Kongo Jungle

Kongo Jungle
File:DKSymbol(preBrawl).png File:DKSymbol.png
Universe	Donkey Kong
Appears in	SSB Melee SSB4 (Wii U)
Availability	Starter (SSB) Unlockable (Melee, SSB4)
Unlock criteria	Complete 15-Minute Melee (Melee) Clear The Original Heavyweights event (SSB4)
Tracks available	In SSB and Melee: Kongo Jungle N64 In SSB4: Kongo Jungle Jungle Level Tribal Style Jungle Level Ver. 2 King K. Rool / Ship Deck 2 Donkey Kong Country Returns Donkey Kong Country Returns (Vocal Mix)
Tournament legality Super Smash Bros. Singles: Neutral (US ruleset) Banned (Japanese ruleset) Doubles: Available Melee Singles: Banned Doubles: Counterpick
Article on Donkey Kong Wiki	Kongo Jungle

Kongo Jungle (コンゴジャングル, Kongo Janguru) is a stage in Super Smash Bros. (refered to as Congo Jungle) that reappears in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (refered to as Kongo Jungle 64). It is one of Donkey Kong's home stages. It is based on various levels from Donkey Kong Country, with pre-rendered backgrounds, environmental themes and tracks, and most notable in a battle, use of a Barrel Cannon for transportation (usually for a vertical recovery).

Origin

The sunset background as seen in the Orang-utan Gang level from Donkey Kong Country.

This stage comes from Donkey Kong Country, loosely based on the levels called Orang-utan Gang, Blackout Basement, and Platform Perils. This stage's background resembles the sunset backgroud in Orang-utan Gang. In Blackout Basement there are two platforms that oscillate up and down, and in Platform Perils there are platforms with arrows on them that move in the direction the arrow is pointing when the player jumps on them. In this stage the two platforms that go in a circle seem to be loosely based on Blackout Basement and Platform Perils. Also from Donkey Kong Country are barrels that the player could get shot out of either automatically or with the push of a button, which can move in a fixed pattern or rotate in place. Donkey Kong Country 2 added arrows to these barrels indicating the direction of fire. In this stage there is a barrel with an arrow that moves from side to side as well as rotate, and players can press the attack button to launch early, or the barrel will fire automatically. In the background, a flock of Neckies, birdlike enemies from Donkey Kong Country, can sometimes be seen flying across the horizon.

It is interesting to note that the name of the stage is incorrect in its original outing, as the actual location in Donkey Kong Country is called "Kongo Jungle". "Congo", on the other hand, is the name of two countries in Africa, and a river that runs through them. This error was fixed as of Melee. The music track that plays on this stage is from Donkey Kong Country's Jungle levels. [1]

Description

This stage appears as a starter stage in Super Smash Bros. This stage is made up of a big platform with four small platforms above it. Two small stationary platforms are above the left and right sections of the stage, and between them are two smaller platforms that circulate clockwise. The main platform can be passed through from below, but not from above. Under the stage there is a Barrel Cannon that can greatly aid many characters' recovery. A player that gets into the barrel can exit either by pressing a button or waiting for a certain period of time. In either case, they will be shot in the direction that the arrow on the barrel is currently pointing. There can only be one character at the time in the barrel.

Kongo Jungle is also known as Past Stages: Kongo Jungle in Super Smash Bros. Melee and is one of the three past stages that can be unlocked. To unlock this stage, the player must beat 15-minute Melee. The stage itself is a near-exact copy of the SSB version, only being slightly larger. There also seems to be a short delay when the player is launched from the barrel, which can almost always spell doom for the mis-aimed character in many cases.

In competitive play

According to the American Smash 64 ruleset, Kongo Jungle is usually considered to be a counterpick. The stage's layout does not provide a significant disadvantage for any character, although the slanted structure can worsen certain characters' horizontal combos, such as Yoshi. The Barrel Cannon below the stage is known as a gimmick, though while it can occasionally catch recovering players who weren't expecting to land in the barrel and catch players offguard by shooting them towards the bottom or side of the screen, it is very easy to punish players shooting upwards out of the barrel, and it is also impossible to stall indefinitely in the barrel. On this stage, certain palette swaps are banned from being used due to the darkness of the stage's background; namely Captain Falcon's black palette swap, Donkey Kong's black palette swap, and Samus's brown palette swap. In the Japanese ruleset, the stage is banned, as with every other stage except for Dream Land. However, no definite reason has been given as to why the stage is banned.

In Melee, the stage was usually regarded at first to be a counterpick. Although it had a relatively non-obtrusive stage design, it had a large size, which gave an advantage to faster characters and characters with projectiles, as well as a high ceiling, giving a slightly larger reliance on horizontal finishers. However, the stage is currently banned in singles, since characters such as Peach and Jigglypuff were found to be very powerful on the stage due to the layout allowing easy circle camping. A match between Pink Shinobi and RockCrock at GENESIS is particularly infamous, and commonly regarded as one of the primary reasons why the stage was banned. However, the stage remains a counterpick in doubles due to the 4-character gameplay removing the camping disadvantages, but the stage is seldom picked in tournaments.

Description from the Instruction Booklet

The moving barrel beneath the stage could be your salvation if you get knocked off.

Gallery

• CJungleSSB.gif

  Kongo Jungle artwork from Smash 64.

• 

  Kongo Jungle in Melee.

• 

  Kongo Jungle 64 in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

• CongoJungleOmega.png

  Ω Mode

• KongoJungle64Smash4.png

  Image of Kongo Jungle in the Challenges mode.

• 

  The stage in My Music.

Trivia

• This is the first stage in the Super Smash Bros. series that appear as returning stages but did not appear in the predecessor.
  • It is also the only stage from the original game to return in Super Smash Bros. 4.
  • It is also the first returning stage from the original game since Super Smash Bros. Melee.
  • It is also the only returning stage that had a different name in every appearance. In Super Smash Bros., it's called "Congo Jungle"; in Melee, it's called "Past Stages: Kongo Jungle" (Kongo Jungle N64 in the Random Stage Switch); and in Smash 4, it's called "Kongo Jungle 64".

External links

• Music for Kongo Jungle