Super Donkey Kong 99

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Super Donkey Kong 99
Super King Kong 99

Super Donkey Kong 99

System(s): Sega Mega Drive

Publisher: Gamtec (?)

Developer: Gamtec (?)

Sound driver: Data East/High Seas Havoc

Genre: Action

Number of players: 1

Release	Date	RRP	Code
RU	1999
TW	1999

Super Donkey Kong 99, sometimes known as Super King Kong 99, is an unlicensed Sega Mega Drive game created by a currently unknown developer, possibly Gamtec (as the ROM header is identical to other Gamtec games such as Squirrel King). It is an attempt to bring the likes of the SNES game Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong in Japan) to Sega's system, though it is very different to any of the SNES games.

Gameplay

Players control Donkey Kong through a variety of levels whose graphics are taken from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. There are also several enemies taken from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and a boss will appear every couple of levels, all from the first Donkey Kong Country. The game also borrows some music tracks from Super Mario All-Stars, and most of the sound effects were taken from Donkey Kong Country, Streets of Rage, High Seas Havoc and Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

The controls are limited in comparison to the official games, as picks up barrels, runs and jumps. The rolling attack is not included in the game, which means that enemies can only be killed by jumping on them or throwing barrels at them. Carrying barrels will also take away Donkey Kong's ability to run and jump. Donkey Kong is the only playable character, as there are no DK barrels, meaning the player cannot play as Diddy Kong (though he does appear in the ending), and consequently has only one hit point. There are no checkpoints or means of saving, but the player has infinite continues, with the continue screen featuring Cranky Kong, who doesn't appear anywhere else in the game.

Levels

There are a total of five worlds in the game, with each having two levels. A boss awaits at the end of the second level of each world.

	World 1
	The first world is based off levels set on the docks in Donkey Kong Country 3, and the music that plays is a remix of the SMB1 bonus areas from Super Mario All-Stars. This is a relatively straightforward world with basic enemies like Gnawtys, Neeks and Flitters. The boss of this world is Queen B., who simply flies about, and must be attacked by throwing barrels at her. After each hit, Queen B. turns red and becomes invincible, so the player must avoid her until she turns yellow again.
	World 2
	The second world is based off the mill levels, also from Donkey Kong Country 3, and the musc is another Super Mario All-Stars cover, this time being the SMB1 title screen theme. Both levels in this world are filled with trapdoors that will activate if the player steps on them, most of them resulting in a lost life. The boss of this world is Very Gnawty, who simply jumps back and forth on the spot within a narrow corridor. The player simply has to jump on him when he lands to damage him.
	World 3
	The third world bases itself off the factory levels from the first Donkey Kong Country game, and the music is loosely based on the melody for "Life in the Mines" from the same game. This world's main gimmick are platforms suspended above bottomless pits that shrink and grow, so the player must take care when crossing them. The boss of this world is Master Necky Snr., who appears on the left and right sides of the arena to shoot coconuts at the player, and must be jumped on in order to be defeated. This boss is unbeatable on certain emulators due to Necky becoming an invincible hazard after one or two hits, thus an Action Replay code is required to beat him on such emulators.^[1]
	World 4
	The fourth world gets its aesthetics from the first game's temple levels, and is accompanied by unknown music. The floors of the temple are very uneven and slopey, and vertically-moving platforms are placed above pits. The boss of this world is Really Gnawty, who employs the exact same strategy as his green-coloured counterpart from the second world, only in a more open space. The strategy to beat him is also the same.
	World 5
	The fifth and final world sees the player traverse an icy mountain that uses the foreground graphics from the first DKC game's snow levels and the background from the third game's snow levels, with a cover of the SMB1 Bowser battle theme from Super Mario All-Stars as the background music. There are plenty of small platforms and Barrel Cannons for the player to use in order to traverse over bottomless pits. The final boss is King K. Rool, who is fought similarly to his battle in the original game, except his crown has a programming error. Trying to jump over the crown when he throws it will kill the player; the player must let the crown pass through Donkey Kong before they attack. They also must jump on him when he is NOT throwing his crown to land a hit (which makes no sense, since jumping on him when he is wearing the crown is harmful in the original fight).