As much as I love Donkey Kong Country 2, that doesn’t mean this beloved entry in the franchise is without its fair share of flaws.  I can appreciate that this game is challenging.  In fact, several difficult levels feature in my post listing my very favorite levels.  But the levels listed below are just not fun.  Cruel, even, as you climb ever higher in the list and discover a few stages that haunt me to this day.  While the modern day option of suspend points makes these levels far more tolerable, keep in mind the depressing fact that I didn’t have such options to rely on back on the good ol’ Super Nintendo…  Remember this and pity me.

10: Slime Climb – This stressful level has rising water, in which resides an invincible fish that wants very badly to consume your flesh.  While it’s nowhere near as difficult as a certain level much later in this list, it’s still a rather unpleasant affair.  Need I say more?

9: Lava Lagoon – Like Slime Climb, this level also requires quick movement.  This time, you will often be finding yourself in the water, which can get red-hot and cook you if you’re too slow!  So how do you proceed, then?  Well, those two secret invincibility barrels are not going to get you through too much of the stage, so you’ll have to rely on…a seal that can spit ice cubes out of its mouth.  Yeah…video game logic is weird…

8: Gusty Glade – I rarely enjoy windy levels.  While you can find Rattly hidden at the start of the level, you’re on your own for the second half.  While the wind can aid you when you jump with it, it can also hinder you when it’s blowing against you.  And when the wind changes with very little warning, well, let’s just say that it causes problems….

7: Parrot Chute Panic – This annoying level stars the purple parrot I’ve just learned is named Quawks.  Unlike its green counterpart Squawks, it can’t shoot projectiles, making it rather useless against a hive full of Zingers.  So instead, you’ll just have to carefully navigate the narrow gaps between all those buzzing bees and just hope you don’t get stung….

6: Windy Well – This annoying vertical level is plagued by bizarre updrafts.  Sometimes you’ll be whisked upwards and forced to avoid baddies along the way, while other times, the wind will only blow for short bursts, forcing you to carefully go beneath Zingers whenever the wind temporarily drops you.  Either way, it’s tough and not terribly fun.

5: Fiery Furnace – This awful lava level features a whole bunch of timed barrels that you can move about freely.  Once the timer runs out, however, it will launch you out, and it doesn’t care if it’s ejecting you over a pit of lava or right into enemies.  The farther you progress, the tighter the time limit gets.  As if lava levels weren’t bad enough…

4: Screech’s Sprint – This rather difficult bramble level ends with a race against the crow Screech.  Playing as Squawks, you’ll need to fly quickly through the bramble, slowing down occasionally to shoot any Zingers out of your way, even though Screech himself can fly right through them.  Which doesn’t seem quite fair.  You better have great control over our green parrot friend because speeding through bramble is most certainly not a safe endeavor.

3: Klobber Karnage – As the name suggests, this level is filled to the brim with every type of Klobber.  Yes, including those awful ones that steal your lives.  But what might actually be the worst part of all are the timed barrels that you must rotate, especially the longer sections where you must quickly launch between barrels in order to avoid Zingers while one is always moving.  You better be quick on your toes or you won’t be making it through this one!

2: Toxic Tower – Yes, we all knew the infamous Toxic Tower would be on the list.  Now this one’s tough, especially the first half where you must use Rattly to outrun, err, out-bounce rising toxic waste!  Every time I had to stop to charge up Rattly’s high-jump as that green liquid rose beneath me was just so darn stressful!  Fortunately, the Squawks and Squitter sections later on aren’t so bad, but good luck even getting that far to begin with!

1: Animal Antics – I feel like everyone would agree that Animal Antics is a truly horrid excuse for a level.  You have to use every animal buddy, which sounds fun in theory, but in execution, it’s not.  The absolute worst part is the later section with Squawks, a windy bramble section where the wind alternates between blowing left and right, making navigation extremely difficult.  After that, you’re still not done, however, because you still have the final section with Rattly!  That part with the Zingers flying over the barrel at the end is especially cruel, as one misstep here means having to redo the Squawks section all over again!  I could honestly not face this level ever again if it wasn’t for the suspend points present in the Switch version of the game…

Dear readers, if you wish to revisit your own darkest memories of DKC2, why don’t you share in the comments below what levels from this game keep you up at night?  We look forward to hearing your thoughts!

DKC2 Title Screen from Official Nintendo Site