Donkey Kong 64/Boss strategies

Army Dillo 1

Getting hit by Army Dillo makes the rolling phase end sooner.

Dogadon 1

If you throw the barrel from too far away, it may explode before actually hitting Dogadon (although it looks 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.

• 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.

He takes a lot longer to jump if he is jumping to your square (in order to give you a chance to get away). So, you want to make him jump to squares where you aren't so that the jumping phase will end as quickly as possible. One way to do this is to get as far away as possible, but this may not always be effective (maybe the correct switch from the prior round was close to the boss, 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 S2, then S1, then S3. While he is doing so, you can chase him in a circle so that he is continually jumping on vacant squares, saving you time. In rounds 2 and 3, he will probably catch up, so start the process over by jumping to his square as he jumps to yours.

In rounds 4 and 5, Mad Jack has no reservations about jumping back and forth between two squares. 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. The best solution (besides starting far away because of lucky switch placement in the preceding round) is to jump to S1 as he is jumping to S4, forcing him to make two jumps to reach you, one of which is a fast jump to a vacant square. As he jumps to S1, jump back to S4, forcing him to make two more jumps. Repeat until the jumping phase ends.

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 S1 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 S2. 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.

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. When executed properly, this strategy allows you to finish the sinking part of the battle in 3 rounds.

Army Dillo 2

Getting hit by Army Dillo after throwing a barrel at him makes the first rolling phase end sooner. It doesn't help to get hit during the second rolling phase, though.

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.

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: wait for 4 punches.
• Second hit: wait for 4 punches, and make sure you fire while the cannon is moving up.
• Third hit: wait for 3 punches.
• Fourth hit: wait for 7 punches.

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.

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

Each toe attacks a fixed number of times before stopping:

• The first toe attacks 3 times.
• The second toe attacks 2 times.
• The third toe attacks 3 times.
• 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, though, 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. You do not need Gorilla Gone to use the Gorilla Gone pads.