Donkey Kong 64/Minigame strategies

Minecart Mayhem

1. One cart.

Just make sure that you're always in position to switch tracks and you'll be fine.

1. Two carts.

It took a long time but I finally cracked the pattern for this. The carts will obey 3 very specific rules.

1. They will always switch to the track that you are on when given the chance.
2. If they are on the same track as you they will not switch off.
3. Think of the tracks 1 beint the longest and 4 being the shortest. If the cart is traveling up on track 2 and you are on track 1 to the left of its positon it WILL NOT switch to track 3. This is the key to certain victory. Here is the strategy.
   1. You start on track 1 and there are carts on tracks 1 and 3. Get on track 2 as fast as possible.
   2. Brake on track 2 until both carts join you. Wait until the first cart can no longer switch to track 3.
   3. Get over to the left of the screen on track 1 as fast as possible. If done right the second cart will stay on track 2.
   4. Wait for both carts to switch to track 1 and switch to track 2.
   5. Wait till both carts come to track 2 and repeat steps 3-6 until you achieve victory.

Beaver Bother

The trick to Beaver Bother is to set yourself so that the beaver is on a line between you and the hole. When this happens bark to scare it and 1 of 3 things will happen.

1. The beaver will run into the hole.
2. The beaver will attempt to escape around the hole in the direction you are chasing it.(In my experience this is the most likely scenario.
3. The beaver will turn around and run the other direction.

If scenario 1 happens consider yourself lucky and move on to the next beaver. If scenario 2 happens quickly cut it off and scare it again. It should start running in the direction of the hole. Follow behind and scare it a third time and it will almost certainly go into the hole. If it should stop at the edge of the hole move on to the next beaver. Trying to force it in from that position usually isn't worth the trouble. Likewise if scenario 3 happens move on to the next beaver.

Once you get the timing of scaring the beavers you should be able to win Beaver bother on a fairly reliable basis.

Big Bug Bash

The key to winning Big Bug Bash is to recognize that the hit detection with the fly swatter is not that good. If you try to hit it with the bottom of the fly swatter the fly will most likely glitch through the swatter and not get smashed. Therefore you should attempt to hit with the top half of the swatter. If you aim a little to low the game will still give you credit for smashing the fly in many cases. If you have no choice but to swing at a fly with the bottom of the swatter you should drag the swatter down while striking.

Searchlight Seek

The main thing to know is that the klaptrap will NEVER walk straight. Therefore you want to predict where it will be on its turn and shoot out ahead of it so it will walk right into the melon.