The Crystal cave stage was probably my favorite in DK64. I nearly cleared it out, except that I missed ten of Donkey Kong's normal bananas (though those are probably optional). I did everything else: Got all the blue prints, got everyone's golden bananas, found both banana fairies, etc.

One reason I liked this stage more than the others is because it had more good, little parts. For one thing, there was a rematch against the sliding bug. Another part that was okay: There was a series of cabins, each of which had a goal inside for one of the kongs. One of Diddy's was arrainged thusly. There was one large raised platform in the middle of the room, and four additional platforms, one in each corner. On the middle platform were four barrels with enemies inside. On two other platforms were large kremlings; on the other two, two small kremlings. You had to use Diddy's rocket barrel (also in the room) to reach any platform. What made this stage somewhat difficult was that you can only destroy the barrels with orange grenades, and you can't hit all the barrels in their original positions from any one corner. You also can't hit them on their own platform because they'll knock you off instantly (and you can't throw grenades while airborne). And, there's a fairly restrictive time limit that you'll have to destroy all 8 enemies under.

I also thought the stage's layout was better than the others. Rather than being split into "compartments" (Aztec is split into two main compartments, which are connected with tunnels; Factory has a lot of narrow tunnels as well as several larger compartments; Galleon and Fungi Forest both have several large compartments), no part of the stage is isolated from any other. It's one big, open cavern. One interesting consequence of this is that when you're flying with Diddy's rocket ability, you can fly to any point in the stage. This makes exploring the stage more fun, imo. But, on the other hand, I don't think it makes exploring the stage too simplistic. This stage is the first, maybe only, that justifies not being able to switch kongs at will (say, as you could switch between characters in Castlevania III). In other stages, it just seemed to force you to repeatedly go back and forth between the barrel where you could change kongs. Here, though, you might need to reach one area with one kong, activate a way for another kong to warp there, and then warp there with the other kong. There are various features in this stage (an ice palace, the aforementioned cabins, an igloo, and so on), and they're fit together sort of like a big 3D puzzle. I first explored the stage a lot on foot, and thought I had explored it fairly thoroughly, but once I found Diddy's rocket barrel and used it, I noticed that an area or two was slipped past my attention.

The main disappointment with this stage was that the boss was a rehash (slightly changed, but not enough) of the first boss of the game.

That aside, the Crystal area is enough that I can't say this game is that bad. I might even say it's better than Wind Waker. There's nothing as boring as sailing in this game, and DK64 probably has at least as many decent parts. And the best parts of DK64 are probably better than the best parts of Wind Waker.



Anyway, beating that boss opened up the path in K. Rool's tower (I needed 100 golden bananas to get in; I have 155). I finished a good portion of it tonight. First, the number of blue print pieces you've found is translated into a time limit for completing the first area. I found about 33/40 pieces (as I recall, I found all of Lanky's and Tiny's, was missing only one each of Diddy's and Chunky's, and was missing a few of Donkey's... though one was simply one I found at the last minute, and didn't return to the weasel, so it probably didn't count) and was given between 40 and 50 minutes to beat that section. You have a lot of tasks to do there, and you also have to beat two new minigames with each kong. I finished with about 7 minutes to spare. After that, there are several locked doors which only open if you've found certain things earlier in the game. For one, you must have earned at least 4 battle crowns (I won 8); for another, you must have earned the Nintendo and Rare coin. After that, you're given two banana fairies and another boss key (it's sort of lame that you're simply given it, rather than have to fight another boss for it). Those extra fairies opened up the next secret in the mysteries section of the game. It says something like, "Battles: Kruncha (off/on)". I have no idea what that means. Anyway, that's where I left off tonight.
I LOOOOOOVE Flying Omelette!!
Crawl and 1000