Donkey Kong 64 - Gloomy Galleon

All variations of the Gloomy Galleon theme from Donkey Kong 64

[@HumpingIron]

People don’t realize this level song was actually created for Captain Blackeye from Project Dream: Land of Giants. This was going to be his theme song. The project somehow eventually became the game we know now as Banjo-Kazooie and capt. Blackeye only shows as a photo cameo in the first game and in person drunk in the second game.

[@kirstypepper3732]

I had no idea about this! Thanks for sharing

[@metfan5115]

Nothing is more annoying than a water level in a video game. Gloomy Galleon, however, is an exception. The golden bananas with a time limit were pretty awful, though.

[@aaron_aj_knight_95]

(cough cough)-water temple

[@spikeyrex5873]

Rare is a master of water levels, Having Gloomy Galleon, Clanker's Cavern, and Jolly Roger's Lagoon, all water levels done right.

[@CaelumSegura]

@@spikeyrex5873 and everything in sea of theives

[@welon17]

1:54 my favorite part... so beautiful

[@watchinglearner]

After fighting Mad Jack, the sudden and unjustified spike in difficulty in this Donkey Kong game, the first thing that follows is a freaking water level. You'd think this would piss people off, but not me. I freaking love this level. The design and concept is just so captivating to me that it cancels out any confusion and difficulty created in this level. Gloomy Galleon my butt; this is pretty freaking happy for me.

[@jaxixteen]

I was supposed to beat Mad jack before galleon?

[@waxy1885]

​@@jaxixteenThis is not an obligation but usually, yeah, the player is meant to start with Frantic Factory (lower amount of golden bananas needed to enter the level and unlocking the fifth Kong there)

[@DrCactus]

Precisely. The DKC trilogy was just one of those series where every single element of the game, from the core gameplay right down to the level names was just spot on. Its a shame Rareware left Nintendo and became the company they are today, as I don't think any other developer will ever be able to truly capture that same level of creativity and innovation that DKC did. They are and forever will be my favourite games. DKCR not included.

[@tortillajackson881]

As a kid, it always saddened me to hear the seal crying in the background

[@Gruntilda-Winkybunion]

i freaking love that lighthouse in that level, flying it up with diddys jetpack and just watch k.rool´s old ship swimming around it... enjoyed the music so much.. :)

[@markranfone6393]

soooo cool!

[@mitchman2100]

Am I the only one that liked this level? In fact, it was my favorite in the game.

[@hedonism13]

The opening of this is identical to Captain Blackeye's theme from the unrealised Project Dream. It must have been ported to this game.

[@TheDylanJoyce]

I remember I'd play, and play, and play until the game would overheat and freeze...

[@RangoTheMercenary]

1:55 my favorite part.

[@Gruntilda-Winkybunion]

i love coming back, to read all this awesome comments and memories of all those nice people. long live the N64🎉

[@RockieOllie]

This level was so eerie, especially the whole light house area... I love the music though this level and fungi forest has always had a nostalgic feel to me.

[@Xagzan]

One of the best water levels in any platformer.

[@lughlongarm76]

@JordinaryDude Agreed. The music was just what mesmerized me most about DK64. Specifically about the graphics, I loved the landscapes. When a game evokes a sense of adventure in you, that is truly beautiful. And this game has music that was equally beautiful to accompany it. That's why it was such a success and why not only have people uploaded the entire soundtrack to KZbin, but people comment on them everyday posting praise like this.

[@TheGagLover]

You kiddin'? This is one of the few water levels I loved in video games.

[@PeeedaPan]

Most of the Rare crew who worked on this masterpiece don't work at Rare anymore, so there is no point for Nintendo to buy them back since they are pretty much a different company now, just under the same name

[@kevandre]

The only reason I disagree is that certain IP's of theirs are being completely wasted. Either dormant for a long time with nothing or rebooted with completely different gameplay. I think Banjo Kazooie, Conker, etc could be easily salvageable in the right hands.

[@darthpryce]

There's a new studio called "Playtonic Games" pretty much comprised of all the original Rare developers. They're making a spiritual sequel to the Banjo Kazooie franchise called "Project Ukulele", with the original Rare composers returning as well including Grant Kirkhope. They're also very eager to get the game on the Wii U and to work with Nintendo once more. Check them out!

[@BLOWAB]

BRADLEY993ds Actually its called "Yooka-Laylee," and it is coming out for the Wii U. So good news!!!

[@darthpryce]

BLOWAB Well yeah, we know that now haha. I posted that before they had concrete details out for it.

[@trevordabomb]

My cousins (who I played this with as a kid) told me that if you stay in the water too long in this game, a shark will come and eat you. Because of that, this level scared the crap out of me and my cousins had to beat it for me. Ah, the nostalgia. I actually just recently started replaying this game today. Brings back so many memories. Great game. The soundtrack is fantastic as well. Grant Kirkhope is an excellent composer.

[@nubbubnub]

this is so nice is compared those good games like zelda and dk 64 to recent games, there is nothing like this even if the graphics are nostalgic it has an own charme =) reminds me of my childhood, i love this games

[@zspro123]

4:14 Sunken ship parts were pretty creepy, i was always scared of the giant starfish and the skeletons on the wall as a kid, even today they still kinda creep me out. Also lanky kong's and how it starts out with the flashing red lights

[@2hott4dacamera]

i love the random water dripping noises in this level...man i miss my n64 because of this beautiful, mysterious, lovely music...

[@Necromagenvi0n]

Perfect track for a awesome pirate related level =D

[@rootbeer543]

This level basically defines everything that was amazing in games from the 90's.

[@Xagzan]

I just finished replaying this a little over a year ago. And now I already want to play it again.

[@julabard]

I love all banjo music but DK64 never was as good music-wise, Except for this level. Outstanding.

[@MaritaBohme1]

What I love about this ost is that it is the closest thing to Banjo Kazooie-Tooie, obviously, I Love it

[@VGWguy]

1:56 reminds me of banjo tooie SO freaking much... actually the whole freaking game reminds me of Banjo Kazooie... god I love rare... they never seem to live down expectations...

[@Marth1993]

I remember when I had to free the otter in the lighthouse portion. The way it screamed for help scared the living shit out of me at the time. I actualyl called my mom and asked her to hold my ears while I released the damn thing...

[@therealMrA]

If you ask me Donkey Kong 64 was a dark game overall, which is part of what made it so beautiful.

[@jackblake8541]

best level in the game. thugs only

[@mariodude89]

2:19 This track is one of my favorites for some reason, it just always pops into my head when I think about past events. OKAY THAT'S IT I'M GOING TO ATTEMPT A 100% WALK THROUGH THIS WEEK Wish me luck :>

[@Darlombi]

this level had my favorite music

[@legendofdonkeykong]

Talk about annoying. Have you ever played Conker's Bad Fur Day's Water Level. Good game but the water level is terrible

[@joannecalliste9801]

Exactly, water levels suck

[@SenjanArkineer]

This level frightened me a lot. I didnt dare to play this level when it was dark outside lol :S

[@christiangledhill4848]

The starfish were a pain! Especially the ones in Donkey's part of the ship!

[@MMcCombs18]

i agree. this place was THE most confusing objective in the whole game other than Fungi Forest. this level poses a big threat to your game.

[@FionaEevee87]

I was always afraid of those damn skeletons when swimming around inside the sunken ship, even though they didn't do anything.

[@DrCactus]

One of the last truly great games by Rareware, and certainly the last great Donkey Kong game.

[@Birthnote]

Thats an interesting way to look at this stage.

[@bigger819]

You are right, it's so hard to go where you need to go, without drowning or getting chop in pieces

[@aguy70]

yea the only thing about this level is how dark it gets i mean even when you do the boss you can barely see the targets your supposed to motor boast through and then the fact that every pad you slam they time you to get to where your supposed to go

[@SPIRE_FAN]

i think you are right becuase here is what creeped me out about some water levels and still do a little mario 64:the ugani (eel) coming out of nowhere the big cheep cheep coming out of nowhere bano kazooie:clanker coming out of nowhere banjo tooie:the big pink fish coming out of nowhere (heck even last night i went to humba wumbas place in jolly rogers lagoon and man i went in shock and had a chill pulse in an instant becuase even humbas place reminds me of the pink fish place.)

[@Churahm]

This level is a perfect example of why people hate water levels in video games

[@zzwag]

Favorite part starts at 0:54 for me :)

[@deltahexagon]

I always loved this level, though I could never find my way into that blasted coin room. I'd always admire it from afar and wonder how to get into there, but I never could...

[@proseccopopstar]

Lanky turns into a swordfish I think and you break into it ? Lol dang how do u not get in there go do that😅😍

[@MattCipolla]

I LOVE THIS MUSIC

[@wyatta01]

It's weird that I found Frantic Factory harder to navigate than this, since it's set in numbered floors and a lot of commentors have already said they didn't like this level for the difficulty in navigation. I can seriously remember the layout of this level and I haven't played in a pirate-seal's age.

[@sonic2batt]

I used to sound this out on the piano all of the time

[@antmsuperfan]

The place of shipwrecks is so scary, You can survive here, but just barely, raise the water, raise the gates, as you risk your live within all the stakes! Gloomy Galleon is a place of terror, Riches beneath lie in five souls, And if they find them I am told, They will be rewarded with much flair!

[@Beves640]

my favorite map was always the forest one up in the sky. i loved changing the time from day to night

[@ErgortanguperPolice]

I used to think that, but I did it around 11 years ago. Shortly after that my N64 & It's games got stolen along with my Gameboy Colour & it's games. (Did it in an adrenaline rage.)

[@fagelsinnet]

I so love the music from this game!

[@bazla123]

@lughlongarm76 100% agreed. the music is what made me fall in love with the donkey kong series. =D

[@Bloowashere]

@Fishmon14 such as for earthbound for the SNES. it costs 50 bucks for just the cartridge, 300 still wrapped on ebay

[@Zenithprod]

THE WORST PART OF THE GAME = DAT fucking fish that you had to shoot his machine heart with Diddy. Such a PAIN!

[@PondOfTurtles]

The giant robot fish used to scare the shit out of me...

[@CountBleck2009]

That one I failed at the first time, Damn ZInger.

[@ZFFM]

Awesome music. Incredibly rage inducing level.

[@SpyCrabsUnited]

Trivia: This was Blackeye's theme in Project Dream.

[@soldierukn]

yeh it brings bak memories from dk64 AND DKC2

[@Lucky466]

i havent played this since i was like 5 but this song brings back not very good memories... i think i was stuck on a level with this music or something :P

[@NOCAPITALS901]

This level scared me shitless.

[@MrEcentric]

makes u feel like ur on a deserted island.

[@justinblackfacetrudeau8943]

fuck this game was tough for 9 year old me!

[@Teknanam]

The cartridge format was part of the reason many companies who supported Ninty during the SNES abandoned them for Sony during the N64 days, most notably Square and their Final Fantasy 7. And CD games are much cheaper to make. Just be happy the DS still sorta uses the cartridge format.

[@GKF24]

I know - I wish this was on virtual console. Such a good game. But at least I have Paper Mario on VC~ That's one of my favorites ever.

[@maagnuuus]

Ohboy, guess if the big clams in the treasure-chest scared me the first time I saw them xD BTW, so stressful music at 6:32, in that yellow robot-fish =P

[@metamaster5469]

man this place was awesome. i loved playing as enguarde. the music was awesome too. i just hated battling pufftoss. i had my uncle do him for me.

[@Thenumber1yoshi]

*Continued* since it goes down so deep, it went on so long that I was just sick of all the swimming and just wanted to continued with the gameplay on land levels that didn't have as much water as Gloomy Galleon. I like swimming in games (and in reality) even with the Oxygen meter & even more when there is none but doing it for as long as Gloomy Galleon makes you do it is a little too long a little much and kind of hard not to make you get sick of the swimming gameplay even without an air meter.

[@DK64fan100]

Up in the forest,down in the sea,you will never get there you see!1:00 i hear that for some reason.

[@palitodequeso1234]

actually, I liked the fact that you couldn't drown

[@JonnyJinx04]

@chicagoo17 Mind you, the 90s were almost over when this game came out. :P

[@bigger819]

True that, It's like how annoying water levels are in Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie/Tooie

[@Arfiol]

couldnt agree more

[@TheWafflepvvn]

Best level in the game nostalgic wise IMO

[@bazla123]

this themes creepy. i can just picture my self underwater.

[@LeopardSamurai]

These songs could be remixed to have Orchestra sounds. That would be a miracal.

[@Thenumber1yoshi]

And another reason I don't exactly like this stage is because it feels way too massive so I'm not sure what to do first (well actually I do know that I should go to the area where Cranky's Lab is and collect and do the stuff that is possible to do there but after the I kind of have no idea what the most important objectives that aboslutely need to be done after that) and then theres the fact that all the underwater areas are so big it makes collecting bananas & coins kind of hard *2bcont.*

[@magmablock]

OOOOHH BANANA !!

[@thoughtsofglought]

@BCSpore 1. Making cartridges are expensive and was one of the turn offs for game developers. 2. Cartridges can't hold 4 to 8 GBs of data. 3. Its easier and cheaper to use dvd based media plus they hold more data then cartridges. 4.Its easy to take care of dvds for example my copy of twilight princess is in excellent condition it has no scratches at all and i had it since i got it on late 06. Don't leave your disks laying around out of its case.

[@R3dm3talHdZ]

i luved this lvl! lol

[@donaldthescotishtwin]

some of this level reminds me of jolly roger bay and dire dire docks mario 64

[@Lager200]

I have often had internal arguments on whether I should. I think the reason I choose not to is the graphics have not aged well for me. Graphics are not usually a talking point for me, they just have a murky, brown quality to me. I would get them on VC if I was going to. I probably will one day.

[@EBJjengaXD]

wheres that tune when ur DK and you race the pirate seal in the coconut boat in this level???

[@Huanchee]

damn i miss when rare still made good games...

[@Gigabowser4]

i say this game is under rated

[@ManfredMitchum]

Thumbs up if you were scared of this level simply because of the incredibly deep water.

[@gabriellopez5759]

I hated always using the switch. I remember I need Chunky to do his cannon mini game and the water was too high!

[@ballsaque]

@Paulreveere They always seem to be the most challenging....Water Temple anyone?!

[@WilberforceWooster]

@thenameiskip Surely you jest, sir. Is it not an uplifting assignment on the brillancy and epitome of the craft?

[@clankb2o5]

describes my feelings about exactly ;D

[@dragonballz768]

Perhaps I'm wrong. I'll just have to wait and see.

[@SpanishSebas]

This one was scary as hell to me when I was a kid. I don't know why...

[@xNekomimi93x]

Brings back memories *___* I hated this level XD

[@dragonballz768]

This game really has to come out on the Wii Virtual console. But I doubt Rare would allow it :-/

[@xNekomimi93x]

but I love the music x3

[@FlyingAlchemist]

Me too!

[@Xagzan]

I actually have troubling remembering this track when compared to Jungle Japes, Angry Aztec, DK Isles, or the water levels in Banjo Kazooie and Tooie. Not saying it's not good, just kind of too similar to other DK tracks, perhaps.

[@ScrutinousOwl]

Agreed.

[@nicki249]

same makers so there are many similarity's in the music :) this song is also similar to another music at some point (can't remember the name of it).