Donkey Kong 64/Oddities and Easter Eggs

This is a sub-page of Donkey Kong 64.

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Look into this, as it appears to be real (there's an entry for it in Isles' object list).

DK Isles

Forest Lobby Closed Door

In the Fungi Forest Lobby are three wooden shutters. One opens to reveal a Banana Fairy, while another contains a Chunky Pad, which is used to access a Battle Arena. The third one, however, remains closed. There is a small area inside that shows there may have been something for this door at one point, but despite numerous fan theories to the contrary, there is no way to open it.

The Room Under DK Island

The cockpit of K. Rool's plane, seen briefly in the K. Rool Press Button cutscene, is actually located inside the DK Island model. By using the Swim Through Shores glitch, it's possible to clip through the island and enter it.

(Source: David Wonn (discovery), ResidentCactuar22 (video))

Disappearing Rareware Banana

Hacking or glitching your way to Fairy Island's Rareware Banana without having opened the door first will reveal that... you still can't get it! It vanishes as you approach, and reappears once you're a certain distance away.

The Intro Story Glitch can be used to partially circumvent this, by triggering the door-opening cutscene independent of the Fairy requirement.

(Video: markusman64ds)

Treehouse Clones

Extraneous copies of DK and Squawks are present inside DK's treehouse, for use in the last scene of the Intro Story (when Squawks flies in to tell DK the bad news). After the scene finishes, DK becomes controllable, while Squawks lingers outside the entrance. Unlike most cutscene actors, however, these are loaded on every subsequent visit to the treehouse, and so are present even during gameplay. Squawks sits behind the picture of Candy, where he can't be seen unless one moonjumps out of bounds. The DK clone is normally invisible, but he can be triggered to appear by standing in a certain spot.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Jungle Japes

Unreachable Red Banana

Inside the hill, there is a Red Banana under the ground near the minecart minigame. It can be seen using the Moon Jump cheat.

Hidden Yellow Banana

The banana is at the position of Donkey Kong but far under the map

The banana can be seen at the bottom of the image

Far underneath the Rambi Crate cage in the stormy section is an out-of-bounds Yellow Banana.

(Source: Isotarge)

Invisible Film Pickups

There are three invisible rolls of film next to Snide's, which can be picked up once the camera has been acquired. They're present and perfectly visible in the kiosk version, so it seems they were meant to be removed, but due to an oversight only had the sprites taken out and not the objects themselves.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Angry Aztec

Tiny's Temple Triangle

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: There's a small pool of water that will sometimes spawn far below the map.

In the temple where Tiny is imprisoned, there's a very small black triangle placed out of bounds near the rotating room with the Klaptraps.

Llama Temple Door

In-Game	Full

The door to the Llama Temple is quite a bit larger than its doorway. In the kiosk version, the Llama Temple uses the same wide door as every other temple (object 00B2), which the final door seems to be an edit of.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

#2 Door Bars

The bars blocking the passage to Lanky's cage have a "2" on the back, like several other doors in the game. This can only be seen if you glitch or hack your way out of bounds to look at it from behind.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Lava Floor

Underneath the lava pool in the Llama Temple's sound-matching area is a flat plane with a matching texture. Since the actual lava is opaque, this can't be seen without going out of bounds.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Gloomy Galleon

To do: Chest and tunnel texturing oversights.

Training Barrel Objects in the Submarine

In the submarine, the objects from the vine training barrel can be found behind a wall. The leaves at the top of the tree are not solid though, as opposed to the final version of the tree object. There is also a green rectangle that doesn't seem to have any purpose.

The submarine's map ID (B3) puts it right among the training barrels, so it's likely the vine barrel was originally in its place before being relocated to B6.

Collision Oversight

One of the shipwreck faces in the cavern area has no collision whatsoever. With a bit of patience, it can be used to get out of bounds.

Mermaid's Window

In the Mermaid's room, there is an odd chamber on the left side of the throne covered with glass. It is possible to get inside using the Swim Through Walls glitch, showing that the chamber has been modelled out as though it was originally meant to contain an object. It's possible that like the Creepy Castle Pillar and its Golden Donkey Kong Statue, this location was meant to house an item intended for Stop 'N' Swop, but had to be removed during development.

The Mermaid's Coconuts

In the Mermaid's room, there are two inaccessible Crystal Coconuts beneath her throne. These can be seen using the Swim Through Walls glitch.

Mermaid's Room Geometry

In the Mermaid's room, there's some blue ground behind the entrance which can't be seen.

Hidden Chunky Banana Coins

Near the sunken ship with five different entrances are three Banana Coins for Chunky that are underneath the ground. These are very likely misplaced treasure chest coins because they are under the treasure chest and all other Kongs have their treasure chest with 3 coins in it. The only way to obtain these is by using the Swim Through Walls glitch.

Hidden Purple Banana

In Tiny's section of the sunken ship is a single out-of-bounds Purple Banana.

(Source: Isotarge)

Obscured Sky Texture

A unique cloud texture is used as the backdrop inside K. Rool's drifting ship, but it is never fully visible due to the placement of the windows.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Hidden Boxing Ring Corner

In the Pufftoss boss fight, there is a hidden boxing ring corner in the center of the arena. Its model scale is set to 0, but with some trickery you can resize it and therefore make it visible.

(Source: theballaam96)

Fungi Forest

To do: Get a proper screenshot of this (in map 3C) and document it.

Useless Entrance

Diddy's night barn has an entrance opposite to where you're supposed to enter. You can reach it by moonkicking off the nearby mushroom, but there is no loading zone in it. There may have been plans for another room inside the barn, or an alternate way to leave after collecting Diddy's Golden Banana.

Hidden Rainbow Coin

In front of the Tag Barrel by the well in the mill area, there is a DK Dirt Pile (and accompanying Rainbow Coin) that is impossible to see due to being hidden under some tall grass (though the effects of the inclines of its sides can be seen if stood upon). Thanks to this sneaky location, it went largely unnoticed until 2017, when speedrunning tools finally brought it to widespread attention.

(Source: Isotarge)

Minecart Flames

On the minecart course, a random Troff 'n' Scoff torch flame sits directly under the cart's starting position. It's only partially out of bounds, so it can (just barely) be spotted in the opening cutscene.

There is also a regular torch flame sitting under the track slightly further ahead, which can be seen during the ride by the embers emanating from it.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Crystal Caves

Gorilla Gone Room

There are unused (inactive) spawners for many enemies inside this room. One of them is for a Red Klaptrap, which normally only appears in cutscenes. Oddly, it's also the only enemy in the game that drops an Ammo Crate. In the Kiosk ROM, this is used to get the golden banana in this room as opposed to using gorilla gone.

(Source: theballaam96)

(theballaam96: source needed)

Beetle Slide Second Banana

There is a Golden Banana far out of bounds in the beetle slide. Getting to it is incredibly tough without the use of hacking. Strangely enough, it is the only Golden Banana in the game to have a slight tilt.

(Source: theballaam96)

Creepy Castle

Hedge Maze Entrance

The hedge maze contains an inaccessible path next to the entrance, which uses a different texture than the rest of the maze. It has collision, so you can stand on it. It's likely that this was going to be the original entrance.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Player's Guide

The book enemy in the library contains a secret message of sorts: Its front cover reads "DK64 Players [sic] Guide". This is all but impossible to see in normal gameplay, since the books move too fast and the texture is blurred to the point of illegibility. Even with the ripped texture in front of you, it's hard to read without zooming in on it.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Hidden Ammo Crates

Behind the switches leading to the Skull Crypt are three out-of-bounds ammo crates.

(Source: Isotarge)

Leftover Ground

A stray triangle of ground can be found at the bottom of the platform under the ballroom entrance, presumably a remnant of some rearrangement to the area. While a bit tricky to get to, it has collision and can be walked on.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

The Pillar

Inside the museum is a room with a small pedestal, accessible via a Tiny Pad behind the racetrack. Aside from a few Purple Bananas, it contains nothing of worth and is largely only for decoration. The seemingly useless pillar struck many as conspicuous, sparking several rumors and theories as to its true purpose. This wasn't entirely without merit: Rare confirmed that the pillar did do something at one point (with no reason given for the cut other than "developmental fluctuations"), but what this was has never been elaborated on.

A curious find was discovered in the German version of the Donkey Kong 64 strategy guide, which features a map that has been edited in its North American counterpart. In the location where the room appears empty, the pillar has been rendered, along with a Golden statue/bust of Donkey Kong. Given that an earlier map in the German guide showcases the removed chamber in Crystal Caves, it's not out of the question that the Golden statue was at point part of the Stop 'N' Swop feature, and was removed just a month before the game was released. Nintendo of America expunged all of the information regarding the chamber and pillar in their version of the North American strategy guide, whereas Nintendo of Europe simply removed the text and screenshots, leaving the shared maps that show the older iteration of these areas intact.

(Source: Scribes, Uncle Tusk, Twitter,Rare Gamer)

Hideout Helm

There are three versions of the main level map, which each serve a different purpose. For simplicity's sake, they will be referred to by their map IDs:

• 11 is the playable version of the level.
• 1C is used for level intros and other DK Theatre cutscenes.
• 98 is only used for the Intro Story.

Pipe Tree

Underneath the Mini-Monkey pipe in map 11 is a misplaced fir.

Intro Story Prison

Similarly to the DK Island room above, the prison cells from the Intro Story (where the Kongs are depicted being captured) are stored out of bounds in the main level, some ways away from Diddy's medal chamber. There is actually only one cell, which is reused for every Kong in the sequence to save space. All three maps have it, but only 98's is shown, which technically makes the other two unused duplicates.

Using GameShark codes, it is possible to warp straight here upon entering the level.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Invisible Fire

This needs some investigation. Discuss ideas and findings on the talk page. Specifically: Map 98 also has some random crackling in the room before the pipe, but whatever object(s) it's coming from are completely invisible.

Maps 1C and 98 have a flame sitting out of bounds behind the steering wheel in the bridge. The fire itself is invisible, but its embers can be seen through the windows and crackling heard when near the camera.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Boss Room Leftovers

Using the Warp Modifier to access map 1C outside of cutscenes shows it to have a number of control quirks that set it apart from the other Hideout maps. There are only two C-Down zoom levels instead of three, R puts the camera in a fixed position instead of centering it behind you, and all C-button moves are disabled. These restrictions are shared with the game's boss fights, and are a remnant of when the map was used as a boss room. Interestingly, in lieu of an actual boss, the fixed-mode camera centers around K. Rool in the throne room.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Other

Skipping Unlocking Donkey Kong

To do: Add the yellow question mark from the file select screen.

All of the playable Kongs in the game, including Donkey Kong, are treated as locked when the game begins. Normally, the other Kongs are imprisoned inside gates and cages that must be opened in order to allow access to them in the Tag Barrel. However, Donkey Kong is also considered to be "imprisoned", in that his "cage" is the gate blocking off the tutorial area from the rest of DK Isles (that requires the Simian Slam to open). If this gate is skipped past without being unlocked, Donkey will not appear as unlocked in the Tag Barrel, an otherwise unseen property. If you manage to forcefully swap Kongs without entering a Tag Barrel (only possible in the King Kut Out and King K. Rool fights), you will also be able see an otherwise unused yellow question mark graphic for Donkey Kong in the Tag Barrel (right). This is only possible through this method, as entering a Tag Barrel as a Kong unlocks that Kong as a playable character.

• 

  A version of the yellow question mark intended for the Troff 'n' Scoff and Wrinkly doors, but not used there.

Simian Slam Oddities

To do: There might be more of these in the game.

Several Simian Slam switches exhibit strange properties when accessed in a state you're not meant to encounter them in. The first of these can be observed normally, being the first switch in Jungle Japes required to progress not needing to be slammed, since it can be activated by simply landing on top of it. When using glitches or cheats to access later worlds with earlier than intended levels of Simian Slam, more of these strange switches can be seen.

• While not technically a Simian Slam switch, the switches in the ice tomato's puzzle game in Crystal Caves behave strangely if Donkey Kong enters the area with a regular Simian Slam. The switches won't flip a majority of the time when slammed upon, something not seen anywhere else in the game. This behavior can only be seen with Donkey Kong using a regular Simian Slam, since all types of slams work with every other Kong.
• The Super Simian Slam switch during the Chunky phase of the final boss can be pressed with a regular Simian Slam, despite its color.
• The Diddy Switch(es) in Jungle Japes' mine area can actually be hit by any Kong.

In addition, there is a sole green Simian Slam switch in Fungi Forest, at a point where you'd be expected to already have the Super Simian Slam. However, since the box covering it up can only be broken with a Super Simian Slam, this switch's type ends up being completely useless.

(Mine area switches: Taichō)

Krusha in Adventure Mode

While normally only available in multiplayer, hacking Krusha into the main game brings a few unseen traits of his to light, mainly showing that he's an edit of Chunky.

• Tag Barrels, Bonus Barrels, and Training Barrels are transparent, as if you were an Animal Buddy.
• Bananaporters do not function at all.
• The pause menu shows him as "All Kongs", with green pickups.
  • He has his own pickup counts, which, without hacking, all read 0.
• His shockwave move is the same as Chunky's, albeit with a yellow shockwave instead of a green one.
• He has a unique animation for taking fall damage, which goes unseen since it's not possible to do so in multiplayer.
• He also has a unique idle animation, in which he tries not to fall asleep. Idle animations are likewise disabled in multiplayer.

Snide's Flowers

Version	GameShark code
USA	817444E6 000F

(Use in DK Isles for desired effect; the room won't exit properly)
In Snide's HQ, where the Golden Bananas are stored, there is a small bunch of flowers with grass for some reason.

There is also a way to gain control in Snide's HQ and grab one of his Golden Bananas without the need of hacking.

Snide's Logo

Snide's jumpsuit has "KKi" emblazoned on the back, which goes unseen since he is never shown from behind. It's likely that the "KK" stands for "King K. (Rool)", Snide's former boss, though the meaning of the "i" remains unclear (likely "Industries").

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Cranky's Embers

The glowing ember texture seen on a few monitors throughout the game is also, bizarrely, on one of the test tubes in Cranky's Lab. This is normally never seen because the tube is always off-camera, but gaining control using the Warp Modifier (see Snide's Flowers above, but replace 000F with 0005) will allow you to look at it.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Hidden Triangles

The model for the metal gate that can be found several times throughout the game has a couple of yellow arrows below it which are always out of bounds. These arrows point in the direction the door opens and are likely indicators to let the developers know which way it's facing.

Blueprint Art

At object IDs DD-E1 are 3D models of the blueprints. These briefly appear just after picking up a 2D blueprint (whereupon they zip offscreen), but are otherwise unused. While strange in itself, the real oddity lies in the artwork inside their frames, which shows up nowhere else and is unexpectedly hi-res for such a minor detail. Between how small the blueprints are and how quickly they vanish, it's nigh impossible to catch a glimpse of this in-game. Very rarely, an emulation error will cause a 2D blueprint pickup to turn 3D instead of disappear, offering a better look.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Maze Game Out-of-Bounds Behavior

Landing on the floor outside of the maze in Stash Snatch, Stealthy Snoop, or Mad Maze Maul will instantly fail the minigame (with a different losing message than for running out of time or being caught), even though this is impossible to do normally.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Main Menu Square

In the main menu area, there's a black square which can't be seen, placed above the area where Donkey Kong lifts the barrel.

Monkey Smash Arena 3 Geometry

In Monkey Smash Arena 3, there's a black rectangle just outside of one of the walls.

Battle Arena Triangles

The battle arena has eight blue triangles placed around the arena which are never visible.

Enguarde Arena Geometry

The Enguarde arena has some orange out-of-bounds geometry that can't be seen.