Donkey Kong 64/Boss strategies

Army Dillo 1

Army Dillo always shoots the same number of fireballs before revealing his head. He'll shoot 4 in the first round, 9 in the second, and 11 in the third. Getting hit makes the rolling phase end sooner.

Dogadon 1

If you throw the barrel from too far away, it may explode before actually hitting Dogadon (it will look as if Dogadon is blocking your attack). Since you walk very slowly with the barrel, the best way to prevent this from happening is to get as close to the boss as possible before picking up the barrel (i.e. get between the barrel and the boss).

Mad Jack

Mad Jack always jumps a certain number of times before stopping. Occasionally, he jumps without changing squares; that counts as a jump.

• In the first round, he will jump 9 times.
• In the second round, he will jump 11 times.
• In the third round, he will jump 12 times.
• In the fourth round, he will jump 13 times.
• In the fifth round, he will jump 15 times.

Mad Jack has two types of jumps: a slow jump and a fast jump. A slow jump occurs when he jumps to your square (he slows down to give you a chance to get away). A fast jump occurs when he isn't jumping to your square. Occasionally, though, he'll do a slow jump even when he isn't jumping to your square. Whether he does slow jumps or fast jumps, he always jumps the same number of times, so you want to maximize the number of fast jumps to end the jumping phase as quickly as possible. One way to do this is to be as far away as possible when he starts jumping, but this may not always be possible (maybe the correct switch from the prior round was close to him, for instance). During the first three rounds, he will ordinarily not jump back to a square he was just on if you are there. Observe this crude diagram:

Let's say you are on S4 and he is on S3. If you jump to S3 as he jumps to S4, he will not immediately jump back to S3 unless you quickly get off of it. Instead, he will go to S1, then S2, then S3. With this in mind, the best way to force Mad Jack to do fast jumps is to jump diagonally toward him. Suppose you're on S2 and he is on S4; then jump to S4 and he'll jump to either S1 or S3, then to S2. At this point, you should jump back to S2; he will make his way to S4. Keep doing this until he stops jumping.

In rounds 4 and 5, Mad Jack will jump back to a square he was just on; for example, if you are on S4 and he is on S3 and the two of you switch places, he will jump right back to S3 to squish you. However, if he isn't right next to you, his natural tendency seems to be not jumping to a square he was just on. In order to maximize the number of fast jumps he does, you should do the following. Suppose you are on S2 and he is on S4. Wait for him to jump to S1 or S3, then jump toward S4. Make sure you don't get too close to S4 until Mad Jack starts jumping toward S2; otherwise, he'll jump back to S4 instead. Once he's on S2 and you're on S4, he will fast jump to either S1 or S3; typically, he'll jump toward the one he didn't jump to earlier. Jump to the square he doesn't jump to. He will then jump to either S2 or S4; either way, it'll be a fast jump. You can then do a diagonal jump as Mad Jack slow jumps to the square you're on (S1 or S3). Once you get this pattern going, Mad Jack's jumps will be fast, fast, slow, fast, fast, slow, etc.

In round 5, after Mad Jack stops jumping, his hitbox becomes unusually large. To avoid touching it, which almost always results in falling and restarting the round, make sure not to go by him diagonally. That means that if he is on S2 and you are on S3, the way to get to S2 is NOT to jump directly to it, but instead to jump to S4 and then S1. This is also not a bad idea when he is throwing fireballs at you in the first three rounds; he is very likely to hit you if you get too close.

The cutscene that plays the first time Mad Jack fires a laser does not play while you're in the air; once it's time for him to shoot his first laser, he'll wait until you touch the ground. If you are in the air when this happens and you pound a switch, the laser cutscene will start playing, but will be immediately interrupted by the damage cutscene. This effectively skips the laser cutscene.

If you drop below a certain height, Mad Jack can exhibit strange behavior. He can jump two squares sideways; he can jump diagonally; and he can jump like a knight in chess. He can also make switches disappear just after they appear. This behavior seems more common if you use kongs other than Tiny to fight him. Video (#2)

Puftoss

The quickest way to do a U-turn is to release Z and swing a hard left or right turn. The locations of the stars in each round are always the same and are described below.

CW: clockwise CCW: counterclockwise

1. Round 1. The first star appears in front of your initial position and to your right (CCW). Travel CW to reach the second star. Do a U-turn and travel CCW to reach star 3. Do another U-turn and head CW for star 4. Finally do another U-turn and head CCW for star 5.
2. Round 2. Stay close to the boss, traveling CCW. You should reach the first 3 stars before being hit by the shockwave attack. Continue CCW for the final 2 stars.
3. Round 3. The first 2 stars appear in roughly the same spot as the final star in round 2. For the 3rd star, head CCW. For star 4, do a U-turn and head CW. Do one more U-turn and head CCW for the final star.
4. Round 4. The first 2 stars appear in roughly the same spot as the final star from round 3. Head CW to star 3. The 4th star will appear nearby and next to the boss. The 5th star is also nearby, but it's against the wall.
5. Round 5. Head CW to find the first 2 stars. The 3rd star appears in roughly the same location as star 2. Head CW for star 4. Star 5 appears in roughly the same spot as star 4.

Dogadon 2

After Dogadon pounds the floor and causes it to start to sink, you should try to make it so that you are facing him and standing right behind the TNT barrel when he lands. This way, after you throw the barrel at him and jump into the Hunky Chunky barrel, you will be facing him and can get 15 regular punches off before Chunky shrinks. You don't need to step forward before you start punching. When executed properly, this strategy allows you to finish the sinking part of the battle in 3 rounds. Be careful not to stand where the barrel will spawn, though, or you'll actually prevent it from spawning.

Army Dillo 2

Getting hit by Army Dillo after throwing a barrel at him makes the rolling phase end sooner. It doesn't help to get hit during the rolling phase after the shockwave attack, though. As in the first battle, Army Dillo will reveal his head in the first three rounds after firing 4, 9, and 11 fireballs, respectively.

King Kutout

During the third phase, when he rapidly teleports around the room, he will always move counterclockwise. This can be used to predict where he will first pop up after shooting the lasers. Think of the arena as a clock. If he shoots his second round of lasers fron 3 o'clock, he will pop up first at 12 o'clock and then proceed to 9 o'clock and so on.

This boss fight can be used to unlock kongs. See the main page.

K. Rool

DK's Round

K. Rool always spends the same amount of time punching before leaving himself vulnerable. The time to fire in order to hit him as soon as possible is different for each hit:

• First hit: If you jump at the right time, you can enter the barrel during the cutscene showing the barrels appearing. You can then fire and hit K. Rool almost immediately after regaining control. To get inside the barrel soon enough, you should jump just after the third shockwave pauses for the second time. If you don't manage to do this correctly, fire after 4 punches.
• Second hit: wait for 4 punches; fire a little later than in you would for the third and fourth hits.
• Third hit: wait for 3 punches.
• Fourth hit: wait for 7 punches.

If you don't jump high enough to get into the barrel after climbing to the top of a post, you will grab onto the top of the post. From there, you can get into the barrel easily by releasing the control stick and jumping.

Diddy's Round

You can shoot through the lights if you are close enough to them. While waiting for the targets to appear, align yourself so that you can hit both of them quickly. It helps to stay as far from the targets as you can while remaining close enough to shoots through the light; this creates a smaller angle between the targets, which lets you hit them more quickly.

Lanky's Round

K. Rool has a set movement pattern. If you always throw the barrels in the same places and use the same music pads at the same times, K. Rool will run the same way. You can thus develop a strategy that works every time. The music pad you use is not necessarily the one that disappears; you can use the same pad multiple times.

Tiny's Round

K. Rool does 5 toe attacks before lifting a toe. As long as you don't get hit, each toe attacks a fixed number of times in each set of 5 attacks:

• The first toe attacks 3 times.
• The second toe attacks 2 times. It never attacks in the first set.
• The third toe attacks 3 times. It always attacks in the last set.
• The fourth toe attacks 2 times.

By counting the number of times a given toe attacks, you can figure out where it is safe to stand. You do not need the Feather Bow to use it inside K. Rool's shoe. If you don't have it, you will not fire immediately when you press B; if you keep pressing B repeatedly, though, you will eventually fire.

Chunky's Round

When you pound the switch for the first time, you become invincible momentarily. The same thing happens the first time you become invisible and every time you enter the Hunky Chunky barrel. An easy way to time your Primate Punches is to look at K. Rool's position relative to the floor. Don't backflip for any reason once you are Hunky Chunky or you may end up facing the wrong direction. You don't need Gorilla Gone to use the Gorilla Gone pads and you only need regular Simian Slam to pound the blue switch.