Donkey Kong 64 Boss Battles Ranked

Not every boss fight you come up against is as easy, memorable, or fun as the last. Donkey Kong 64 has a variety of different boss battles, and they have been ranked from worst to best. How would you rank the boss battles?

[@kennethdegraw848]

There actually is a way to dodge the fire wall attack from the 2nd battle with Dogadon. You just have hang off the edge of the stage and it will go over you without damaging you.

[@zeospark9715]

Yeah it can be very risky though. I remember I tried it a few times and I ended up clipping into the lava below. These days, I just take the damage through it since it only takes a slice of a melon

[@superjoebros64]

Yuuup, that's what I've been doing these days. It's just faster, I'm not taking damage any other way lol

[@lemmy15yt]

I think Mad Jack might be my favorite boss from any video game. But in all seriousness, I have Imagined of a few upgrades if he got a rematch. Instead of a 4x4 battlefield, make it a 3x3 so there's not much breathing room. Make the platforms a little closer so Diddy could stand a chance. (Yup, Diddy Kong should've gotten 2 bosses.) You would have to long jump to get to the other platforms. He can use fireballs and lasers, it's random which he uses. After 3 hits, turn invisible. After 4 However, make a clone of himself and the both chase after you. One will bombard you with fireballs and the other will overwhelm you with lasers. Wouldn't that be cool?

[@marley7659]

Maybe diddy would need his peanut gun to shoot down Mad Jack. hehe

[@joshjones7605]

Chunky vs Dogadon gave me soooo much anxiety as a kid, I remember crying and getting stuck often

[@superjoebros64]

haha I felt the same! The lava slowing rising was my first panic attack

[@watergirl929]

@@superjoebros64 same! I panicked when the phase started!

[@hanggeng7269]

no shit man! That's definitely the HARDEST ONE, even HARDER THAN THE FINAL KING ROOL KO BOXING match!

[@alexanderjakel8001]

Making it so that Lanky was the only one who could transform into Enguarde made it seem to me that Enguarde would be used in the boss battle when Lanky's picture pops up on Troff and Scoff's door.. which woulda been fun. Imagine my disgust when it turned out to not be the case.

[@darkseidmcdonald2125]

Fantastic list! The only thing I loved about puftoss was the incredibly catchy music, tho Army Dillo Rematch, Mad Jack, and Dogodon 1 are my favorite boss themes in the game. Gosh I love this games OST

[@superjoebros64]

Ooh good call! That is a good soundtrack. Kudos to Grant Kirkhope!

[@Trilasent]

Hate that this hasn't gotten more attention. This was really well put together and I enjoyed listening to your commentary!

[@superjoebros64]

hey thank you! I appreciate it!

[@Joe_Parmesan]

My list is similar, but I'd probably put Mad Jack ahead of Dogadon 2, even though there's more to the Dogadon rematch. I enjoyed the Puftoss fight a lot. Intimidation factor goes a long way with me, and Puftoss definitely had that in spades (I easily was most frightened by him more than any other boss). Loved how the setting too, and the introduction to the battle. It all fit so well with Gloomy Galleon, which I also didn't mind. Next to Mad Jack in Frantic Factory, Puftoss in Gloomy Galleon was the best thematic fit for a boss. It was difficult to navigate though and I completely understand people's dislike for that battle.

[@superjoebros64]

This is a great point about Puftoss and his relationship to GG! I still feel my heart beating heavily while fighting him, so I gotta give it praise for that!

[@Joe_Parmesan]

King Kut Out was so eerie to me, and that battle got my heart racing more than all of them, except for maybe Puftoss. The thought of losing Kongs made my young self sad and extra careful

[@superjoebros64]

Honestly, same!! Losing a Kong gave me so much anxiety, I thought I lost them permanently!

[@UncleFlutus]

Really good list! Hope you make more DK vids in the future.

[@superjoebros64]

Thank you! More to come, for sure. Also, love your username haha

[@tophario1492]

1. Mad Jack- Fits his world best. A spooky misfit Jack in the box deep in the bowels of a corrupted factory. He's genuinely scary and Tiny's ponytail whirl to great effect. Also, doesn't require the obligatory barrel at center. 2. K. Rool- a bit long winded but uses the characters special abilities well. 3. Dogadon 2- improves on Diddy's take with great spectacle of the platform descending into the lava 4. Armydillo 2- not as interesting as Dogadon 5. Dogadon 1- game felt rushed a bit with repeat bosses 6. Armydillo 1- spectacle is cool but dark as a cold winter's night and near impossible to see on crt. 7. Pufftoss- meh. I love lanky. Both of "his" boss fights did not use his abilities however 8. King Kut out- Dk64's "Phantom Ganon" falls flat for me Thematic relevance of bosses means a lot to me. Dogadon and Armydillo were copy paste jobs on an already bloated game. Id love if you fought a poisonous Mushroom in Fungi Forest or a crystalline bear/yeti in Crystal Caves. I also find the crocodile Isle portion of the game to be much better overall because of thematic resonance. Angry Aztec makes no sense and while the other 3 dk isles worlds are better conceived, they're guilty of repeat bosses.

[@superjoebros64]

Good list!

[@dragoncaptain678]

I'm with you on the decision of the top 3 boss fights. I remember having a tough time beating him at first, and I always had fun fighting against the factory boss. I'd always go for jumping on his last platform repeatedly. Like we were playing a game inside a game

[@superjoebros64]

Ooooh, great twist! Really make him work for you haha

[@dragoncaptain678]

@@superjoebros64 lol that's the idea

[@darkensama1390]

Mine: #1 King Kut Out (Original and amazing) #2 Mad Jack (Great, Amazing) #3 Pufftoss (I'm the only Who likes this Boss?) #4 Armydillo 2 (I like this Battle) #5 Dogadon 2 (The moment of Time-limit And the fireblast...) #6 Armydillo 1 (Easiest but at this time you have only 1 Watermelon) #7 Dogadon 1 (I don't like Dogadon 1, is the easiest)

[@superjoebros64]

Very interesting list! What do you like about Pufftoss?

[@timdavis7758]

I agree with this list!

[@darkensama1390]

@@superjoebros64 Is funny. It's difficult but funny. Also the Ost Is Amazing.

[@Gymbrojoe]

Love me some dk64

[@giancarlodaponte6349]

My list (without King K. Rool) would be: 1. Mad Jack 2. King Kut Out 3. Dogadon 2nd Battle 4. Army Dillo 2nd Battle 5. Dogadon 1st Battle 6. Pufftoss 7. Army Dillo First Battle

[@superjoebros64]

Good list! Army Dillo needs a better fight haha

[@JamesGamesTreasureHunting]

Nothing better than Tiny kicking butt 😎

[@superjoebros64]

It's right there in the rap!

[@Zmario116]

I was stuck on Mad Jack and Puftoss for the longest time and I always dread replaying those two levels because of it.

[@superjoebros64]

to this day I still dread fighting Puftoss. The entire body clenches

[@stevebrewer1679]

I put both refights at the bottom of my list. I beat these characters once already, new bosses for the levels would’ve been my cup of tea.

[@superjoebros64]

I agree with ya. While I like the refights more than the first round, new bosses would have been appreciated!

[@goldenhydreigon4727]

My List (excluding K. Rool) 7. Pufftoss Why are we in a boat? Surely we could've found SOME way to make this boss fun while also using the water. Plus, Lanky's abilities are sadly not used here. Not like it'd matter on a watee level anyways since Baboon Balloon is useless in terms of attacking, but still 6. King Kut-Out. Funny boss? Yes. Is it fun? No. Swimming back to the center sucks the life out of me and on later phases, its far too easy to miss and lose a Kong. 5. Army Dillo 1 Ah yes its my favorite boss. Its the one where you can't fUCKING SEE! 4. Army Dillo 2 Better attacks from the boss and also makes it visible. Only problem is the reusing of DK. THIS should've been the traditional Lanky Kong fight 3. Dogadon 1 A boss with actual motivation and one of the best boss themes in the game 2. Dogadon 2 Dogadon 1 but better 1. Mad Jack Amazing music, actual difficulty, great variation of attacks, and a Kong's abilities being utilized for the first time in a boss fight.

[@superjoebros64]

solid list!

[@droidpeti7953]

But you can dodge The giant fire wall in dodagon rematch fight.You just need to grab on The ledge

[@superjoebros64]

I KNEW IT! I remember being able to do that as a kid and I just can't do it now to save my life

[@stupidhead_2812]

We should have been able to use Lanky's Balloon and Enguard transformations to activate the towers to stun Puftoss and attack him from the bottom respectively And we should have gotten an air to air with Diddy against Dogadon I also believe we should have been allowed to use the Rambi transformation in Armydillo's second fight due to DK getting no actual interesting moves in the game. Maybe using Rambi to tilt Dillo over from an armored spot to hit him in the belly with the TNT barrel or something. Lots of things could have been done to make DK64s bosses better. I love the game but it deserved better than it got

[@superjoebros64]

I love all these ideas! These are great ways to make the boss fights more engaging and ties in the Kongs and their abilities. A lot of the current boss fights are a little too flat

[@gameover.171]

6:50 chunkys fight ends with the guy giving you the bird

[@superjoebros64]

LOL he made it personal

[@Blade-hf9po]

I now feel kinda bad that I always defeated Jack the same way. Fall down, stay in the platform he can't reach, then jump to the platform with the switch. Sure sometimes I wouldn't reach it in time, but meh, it seemed like the better idea at the time.

[@superjoebros64]

this here is big brain strategy though

[@efraimsanchez7136]

Mad Jack should be number 1 🔥🔥🔥

[@retrorobbyreviews]

Mad Jack was the boss who would always scare 😱 😨 😳 me as a kid, lol. Even looking at him now, he still scares me but not as bad as an adult.

[@superjoebros64]

I agree! This fight has my heart pounding the most haha. He's terrifying as a kid!

[@retrorobbyreviews]

@superjoebros64 Oh yes, this boss battle was very anxiety inducing, lol. I remember my hands were sweeting so much that the N64 control would fall out of my hands hahahah.

[@superjoebros64]

@retrorobbyroom truth be told I still kind of struggle with this boss today! It's genuinely challenging haha. Adds to even more reasons why I think this is a good boss fight!

[@retrorobbyreviews]

@superjoebros64 Oh, you still struggle with that boss fight, too...... I'm glad I'm not the only one. It is indeed challenging even today. I think the most annoying part is how you have to keep hopping from platform to platform. It's also annoying to hear Tiny Kong saying "WEEEEEEEE" all the time, too, lol.

[@christiangledhill4848]

The developers were being nice in the cardboard cutout boss to put the pufferfish in those waters. If the starfish were placed there, that boss would be a little harder.

[@RatedRMario21]

In defense of DK64's brightness issue, I have to jack up the brightness on many N64 games on my HDTV. Ocarina of Time, Majoras Mask and Banjo Kazooie all have the same issue

[@superjoebros64]

This is good to know! Now I should reconsider this list lol. Thank you for sharing!

[@cosmicvoidtree]

DK64 has a great premise with, not great but not terrible execution. Nintendo, rehire rare so DK can have another 3D game

[@superjoebros64]

Well said!

[@markcobuzzi826]

My ranking would be almost identical to yours: 7.) Puftoss 6+5.) Army Dillo 1 and Dogadon 1 (both feel almost like the same boss to me, plus act as beginner-level prototypes of their tougher selves fought later, like Very Gnawty and Master Necky in DKC1) 4.) Army Dillo 2 3.) King Kut Out 2.) Mad Jack 1.) Dogadon 2

[@superjoebros64]

That's a good point about Army Dillo 1 and Dogodon 1 fights, they're super similar. Makes sense being the first 2 boss fights

[@rmtsapphire0]

Lankey's real boss is the beetle and the rabbit. Very sad he doesn't get a true fight that utilizes his abilities. He has so many.

[@superjoebros64]

LMAO honestly yeah, that's damn accurate!

[@watergirl929]

My personal favorites 1 Armydillo (Crystal Caves) I quite enjoy this fight! And the additional attacks it added were fun! It’s a better version of the first easy boss. 2 Dogadon (Fungi Forest) again a harder and more fun version of an easy boss. (And I actually like the boss for what it is! I love Dogadon he’s a cool dragon/dragonfly!) It just added more mechanics and fun to an already good fight! 3 K-rool cardboard cutout. I like how it used all the kongs and required concentration to figure out when exactly the right time to hit him is. Just a little sad that the boss itself doesn’t have any other attacks other than lasers. 4 Mad Jack. This one is legit hard which makes it good! I just find it kinda tedious when you have to go back and fourth between 2 platforms when he gets fast enough. 5 Dogadon (Angry Aztec) nothing to say but it’s an easier first version of him. 6 Army Dillo (Jungle Japes) again easier first version. It’s the first boss and the lighting is annoying! I wanna see game! 7 Pufftoss. You nailed it. It’s just annoying and tedious. And it takes so many hits!! There’s nothing to like about this boss. It’s not hard, just annoying.

[@watergirl929]

Oops I forgot K rool lol. He’s obviously the best like you stated! 😂

[@superjoebros64]

That's a solid list! I gotta give more praise to Mad Jack for being the only boss fight to make me legitimately sweat, even today. Tricky, yes, but a worthy opponent haha

[@watergirl929]

@@superjoebros64 Yeah Mad Jack was definitely the hardest boss. I mean I’ve played the game a million times in my life so it’s not hard anymore. But back when I wasn’t a pro it was!

[@kevincoates5066]

Took me 10 years to beat the dragon fly with chunky after I saw how on youtube

[@superjoebros64]

I remember struggling too when first playing years ago. No way to just google search it haha.

[@kevincoates5066]

@@superjoebros64 I went a decade without knowing wat the rest of the game looked like lol

[@sgtjohnson]

KingKutOut was the bane of my existence

[@superjoebros64]

Man, I remember my heard skipping a beat if I lost a Kong during that fight... Thought I lost them for good.

[@PapaDante]

What would you think the upgrades Mad Jack would get if he had a 2nd fight?

[@superjoebros64]

that's an awesome question. I suppose it depends on which Kong would fight him? Maybe it would have to be Tiny again because of the stage. There's so many possibilities!

[@KingConnor523]

I know, you’re Tiny, you shrink and you take the fight to him; second portion of the fight you go in his box

[@glitchy7216]

You forgot about the other bosses like the spider

[@ajbroaj2881]

Mad Jack is my favorite 2nd dragon Mixed between all others 100th puffafish

[@superjoebros64]

heck yeah

[@brucki-s98]

Actually you CAN avoid the fire wall, you cast have to go to the opposite corner ;)

[@superjoebros64]

aaahh I could have sworn I did it once. Felt like a fever dream haha

[@williamwolfxrivera9929]

Have Chunky hang on the ledge that's My strategy in beating him

[@thefunnynintendobros5924]

Donkey kong

[@superjoebros64]

Yes

[@Scrubermensch]

OMG, you ranked castle boss way high up. That FIGHT is so goofy and pointless, final boss is way better lol Dogodon 2 is hands down, the best boss

[@superjoebros64]

Haha that's fair. It's pretty pointless at the end of the day. I felt it was worth putting somewhere in the middle. Not the best, not the worst. Love fighting Dogodon!

[@brunobuono4056]

A very good list, but I put King K Out on the Buttom, i relly don't like this boss. And my favorite boss on DK 64 is Mad Jack.

[@superjoebros64]

I tend to go back and forth on the cut out haha. I completely understand why it isn't a favorite though. Mad Jack is the bomb

[@Aswoop9000]

Army dillo got cheated

[@superjoebros64]

It's a shame 😔 could have had better fights!

[@hanggeng7269]

Same here dude! mad jack is NOT EVEN CLOSE to the HARDEST TOUGHEST BOSS in the game! For me it's Dodagon 2 CHUNKY FOREST BOSS because you're GUARANTEED TO TAKE DAMAGE with the super FIRE WALL BLOW ATTACK if you don't know how to edgeguard with Chunky(to avoid it, simply walk down to the ledge & hang there till the fire wall blows past you)! Then the 2nd part of that fight, YOU MUST KILL THE TEETEEFLY IN TIME otherwise you'll be melted by magma!! That's about 4 rounds max! So if you can't kill him in 4 rounds, then you're dead! That's even harder than the final KO King Rool fight! So from HARDEST to EASIEST it's 1. Chunky TEETEE FLY 2--Self explanatory cuz that's INSTANT DEATH!! 2. KING ROOL(final battle) 3. Pufferfish(Galleon), I think it's hard because if you don't know how to control the galleon/boat well, then you'll get damaged mostly by the fireballs or shockwaves!! & also the DK rings get SMALLER & SMALLER after each electric current damage & the arena is DARK to see too. Plus this is a RACE AGAINST TIME just as Chunky's teetee fly battle except it's NOT INSTANT DEATH! 4. mad jack, the only trick is the ponytail twirl over & over again but not hard to damage the boss & there's no time limit to kill it unlike the teetee fly! 5. King Kut out aka(for me only) AHHHAHHH CH FEI DIAO!! His weird noises I still remember from my teenage years)))))) I even tried to imitate his voice like when he suddenly appears, he screams HUU HEHEHEH AH HER HER :) :DDDD It's funny as hell but still easy to kill! 6. Armadillo 2, still easy as fk! At 1st when I fought him, I thought, GREAT, I gotta hit him at least 6 times before he died! & possibly have at least 3 HOMING MISSILES aiming at DK during his turn to attack, but NO!!! The developer was too lazy & made him a pathetic easy piece of crap! 7. teetee fly 1 8. Armadillo 1

[@superjoebros64]

I'm so bad at performing the edgeguard to avoid the wall of fire! I don't know how I did it perfectly as a kid haha I like this list of yours!