DKC Tricks
Contents
Rolling Monkeys
"Can we get off? I'm feeling a bit dizzy."
Rolling is the meat of this game. It's faster than running or jumping and generally does a better job of dispatching enemies and getting over gaps than the jump alone. To sum up DKC speedrunning, it's basically "any time not spent rolling is generally time better spent rolling." DKC is primarily based around speeding yourself up through tight maneuvering and tricks to gain speed, so rolling as often as possible and using enemies and the terrain to your advantage is key. As such, knowing enemy placement and how different parts of the stage can affect the Kongs' roll is very important.
"That's a tasty single-file line you have there."
The most basic and important thing to note is that each enemy you roll through will extend the duration of your roll. A long line of enemies can be used to keep you rolling and let you breeze through an area at a much faster speed than running. Additionally, rolling through any amount of enemies will remove the delay at the end of roll, so you can simply keep moving forward at the end of it. Rolling without going through an enemy will cause Diddy and Donkey to stop in place for a moment at the end of the roll, so normally you need to jump at the end to keep yourself going.
Another way to increase the length of a roll is to drop to a lower part of the stage. The distance you travel is always the same on a normal roll; however, if you fall off an edge, you will keep rolling until you hit the ground (you keep speed while in the air), and then the normal roll distance after that. If you time your rolls correctly, you can maintain your speed for a long period of time. This can be used in conjunction with enemies to keep your roll going through large areas of a stage. Certain spots can stop your roll early, however, and falling off a cliff at the very end of a roll will leave you plummeting straight downwards, so you'll have to be accurate and consistent to achieve the same roll through multiple attempts.
"I've always dreamed of being faster than the camera."
The duration of the roll isn't the only thing you need to focus on. There are a few different ways to gain speed when rolling through enemies. You will accelerate up to a set max speed when rolling through a series of enemies; each enemy will increase this max, up to four.
(Diddy | Donkey)
- Rolling max speed: 1152 | 1024
- After 1 enemy: 1408 | 1280
- After 2 enemies: 1664 | 1536
- After 3 enemies: 1920 | 1792
- After 4 enemies: 2048 | 2048 (this is the max)
Rolling through a line of enemies not only lets you roll longer; it makes you faster, too. This lies in tandem with another technique: the extended roll. The speed boosts above only apply if you are holding down Y when you roll into the enemy. If you let go of the Y button when you roll into an enemy, you will not gain the speed boost right away. If you press Y again before that same roll ends, however, you will get the speed boost and restart the duration of your roll. For example, if you press Y to roll, go through an enemy with the button released, then repress it a moment later, you will gain speed up to 1408. This does not work if you roll through multiple enemies with the button released, though - so for an optimal extended roll through multiple enemies, you want to hold down Y while rolling through all but the last one.
This trick lets us do two things: first, it lets us manipulate when we want to gain speed during a roll. Because rolling only lasts for a short period of time, doing an extended roll will ultimately make you faster, because you get the duration of a full roll with the increased speed on top of the longer roll from rolling through enemies. However, this does not apply if you have to interrupt your roll early - with a jump to reach a platform, for example. In that case, you want to hold down Y so you get your speed boost right away, since you won't be able to keep it for long. Therefore, the extended roll is faster if you have enough room to keep rolling the whole time.
Secondly, extended rolls can let the Kongs roll over much wider gaps than usual. If you release Y through a couple of enemies, then repress it right on a ledge (or even after you fall off), you will blast forward with a new roll at a much faster speed and be able to clear large gaps with ease. This is used pretty heavily in DKC, as you will be able to maintain rolls much longer when you don't have to jump across every gap. It also lets you skip some slow-moving obstacles that the game expects you to use, such as ropes and tire platforms.
"I'm worried my youngest chimp won't ever learn to fly."
The last important rolling mechanic is a glitch called the Jumproll (or Dankspin, Comfy Cozy Roll, Chipotle etc.). Essentially, when you execute a roll on the same frame that you land on an enemy, the game bugs out and sends the Kongs flying -- literally. Upon performing the glitch, Diddy and DK spin in the air as if they were just shot out of a barrel cannon. This continues on until you cancel it (by jumping or sometimes rolling), run into a Zinger or touch the ground. It also stops if you run into an object that changes the way your character moves, such as a mine cart or barrel. The jumproll can save massive amounts of time in some stages, but it typically requires an enemy to be near a ledge in order to execute, and is only useful in a few levels.
Summary
Rolling is the primary form of movement in DKC speedruns, and in most situations, you want to be rolling whenever you can. Rolling through enemies increases your speed and the length of your roll. Performing an extended roll slows you down for short distances but lets you roll longer. Extended rolling is typically faster when you can actually keep the roll for its entire duration. You can chain multiple "extendos" in a single roll if there are enough enemies.
Other Speed Tricks
Fanfare Skip
Its a very useful trick that can save around 53 seconds in Any All Stages . Buttons that work are: A , B , Y and X.It only work in some Versions[1]
Fast exit
Let go of right until you are well into the levels exit, and then repress once you are past the walking trigger.
Enguarde Fast Start
When mounting Enguarde, press up and B right before landing on him to get a faster start.
"The speed you have when you mount an animal, is the speed you'll start with" —Tompa
Enguarde Invisibility Frames
This trick allow you to pass through enemies, require a good timing . Seen in:Coral Capers and Poison Pond.
Barrel Boost
In regular terrain, this trick is frame perfect, but in ice physics the window is huge . Simply grab a barrel and jump from a slope to perform a much larger jump than usual, and gain considerable amounts of speed. Seen in: Snow Barrel Blast
Damage Boost
This allow you to break some basic mechanics of the game. As you can see in the first video we skip one cycle of 'Really Gnawty Rampage' it is possible to do it losing Donkey or Diddy but of course losing Donkey is more optimal.
Invisible Barrel
This trick need a description.
Controlling Two Kongs
First you want to grab a DK barrel an throw it , when the barrel is in the air you have to press start + select. this will work with Diddy and Donkey.
You have to be careful because if some enemy hits you the game will softlock.
So to make this work , you want to lose a Kong and die in a pit. This Glitch is very helpful in Any% for more info watch Reflected's any% noob tutorial.
Fast Crawlspace
If you jump as you enter a crawlspace, you can stay in the air as you go through it. Holding down (or down-right) will allow you to continue jumping after your first jump ends. Note that rolling beforehand is not required to perform the trick; it just makes it easier.
Seen in: Reptile Rumble, Bouncy Bonanza and Elevator Antics.
Advanced Fast Crawlspace
When you are doing a fast crawlspace depending on where you are if you press down + y, or simply Y in some cases you will clip forward or backward. Seen in: Seen in: Reptile Rumble, Bouncy Bonanza , Torchlight Trouble and Elevator Antics.
Tire Roll
By pressing Y as you approach the edge of a tire (before it bounces you upwards), you can roll off the tire instead of jumping.
Seen in: Bouncy Bonanza, Tree Top Town, Temple Tempest, Rope Bridge Rumble, Oil Drum Alley, Mine Cart Madness, Blackout Basement, Loopy Lights and Platform Perils.
Rope Scaling
To climb above the screen while holding onto a rope, hold down and press B. Repeatedly pressing B will cause you to go higher. Releasing down will cause you to be pushed back into the camera.
Seen in: Forest Frenzy and Slipslide Ride.
Super Jump
To do this when you lose a Kong you want to see him flying away after this get it back , now lose the one that you are currently using and use that free jump to hit an enemy (dont release B or you will start falling down) .
Map Warp
When you are moving between stages in Kongo Jungle you will see some pivots so the game recognize that pivot as a level entrance. This trick is very simple but it can be painful in a run . because you only have 1 frame window to do the map warp , also is pretty hard to know the exact frame to just tap one input and get it so the best way to do it is mashing some inputs of the controller . Buttons that work are: A , B , Y , X and Start.
Requirements: you must have one kong in the map or be in Funky's aeroplane.
Jumproll
Miscellaneous Glitches
Clone Kong
While riding a steel keg past an animal buddy, press B+Y to jump on them. Releasing Y will cause the animal buddy to turn into a glitched version of your current kong.
Slide Slap
Press down-right or down-left and Y on the same frame with Donkey Kong in order to slide as you slap the ground. This does not change the effect of the slap itself.
