Rocket Barrel
- This article is about a type of barrel in Donkey Kong Country Returns. For Diddy Kong's jetpack, see Rocketbarrel Boost.
| Rocket Barrel | |
|---|---|
 A Rocket Barrel from Donkey Kong Country Returns HD | |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996) |
| Latest appearance | The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
- “Rocket what? In my day, we had to walk uphill both ways to get around the island!”
- —Cranky Kong, Donkey Kong Country Returns instruction booklet
The Rocket Barrel is a special barrel that allows characters to fly through the air.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong Country series[edit]
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble![edit]
A Rocket Barrel is used throughout Rocket Rush in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. The Rocket Barrel has a limited fuel supply that can be filled by Fuel Barrels only.[1] The Rocket Barrel descends slowly for a third of the level.[2] The Rocket Barrel can be moved either left or right, pressing 
releases exhaust fuel from the Rocket Barrel, but this causes the Rocket Barrel to run out of fuel quicker.[3] The Rocket Barrel also loses fuel faster from hitting obstacles.[4] The Ignition Barrel, which comes after the Star Barrel,[5] causes the Rocket Barrel to rapidly blast upward.[5] The player characters eventually exit the Rocket Barrel and enter the final area with the Level Flag.[6]
In the remake, only green Buzzes can be defeated from exhaust flames, not red Buzzes. If the Rocket Barrel hits either type of Buzz, the player loses a Kong.
Donkey Kong Country Returns[edit]
The Rocket Barrel reappears in Donkey Kong Country Returns. Initially, the Rocket Barrel takes the shape of a Barrel Cannon, and the player has to repeatedly press the 
button to power it up. Once the Rocket Barrel is powered, it launches and brings the Kongs outward, gaining a rocket-like pointy top and revealing red-colored hoops and fins. It does not have a fuel supply, unlike before.
In side-scrolling levels, the player can hold the button to rise up, and let go of to let the Rocket Barrel descend. Doing so is necessary to avoid obstacles and collect items. Like with the Mine Cart, if the Kongs crash into something, the Rocket Barrel explodes, and the Kongs will instantly lose a life. In the 3DS remake, the Rocket Barrel can take an extra hit if Donkey Kong purchases and equips a Crash Guard from Cranky Kong's Shop, though this extra hit will not respawn if he dies.
When using the Wii Remote alone, the 
button is used to ascend. In vertical-scrolling levels, the player can use 
to move left or right, and repeatedly press the button to gain more speed. When using only the Wii Remote, 
is used to move left or right, and the button is used to move faster. The Rocket Barrel usually appears in side-scrolling levels except for Lift-off Launch and the first part of Tiki Tong Terror prior to the final battle. There are two themes associated with the Rocket Barrel, titled "Mine Menace" and "Mole Patrol", which play in different levels. The latter has a variation, titled "Red Rockin'", which only plays in Tiki Tong Terror.
- Levels
- Peaceful Pier
- Mole Patrol
- Crowded Cavern
- Gear Getaway
- Lift-off Launch
- Hot Rocket
- Tiki Tong Terror (first part)
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze[edit]
The Rocket Barrel also appears in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and its Nintendo Switch port. It is mostly the same as in Donkey Kong Country Returns but can take up to two hits before exploding (three in the Nintendo Switch port's Funky Mode), which can once again be further extended by means of the returning Crash Guard. Likewise, the player can collect Hearts on the way to restore part of the vehicle's hit points. In Hard Mode, the Rocket Barrel explodes from taking one hit, just like in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
"Mine Menace" is once again utilized as the main music track in the Rocket Barrel stages, but this time the theme's instrument composition varies between each level.
- Levels
Donkey Kong Country television series[edit]
The Donkey Kong Country television series also features a rocket-like barrel referred to as the Barrel Rocket. In the episode "Barrel, Barrel... Who's Got the Barrel", it is used by Bluster Barrelworks to deliver barrels. In the later episode "To the Moon Baboon", the Rocket Barrel is used to transport several items to the moon as a time capsule.
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast[edit]
In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, a fleet of Rocket Barrels appear in the background in Cosmic Highway, where they attempt to fire homing missiles at the racers and slow them. The Rocket Barrels cannot be destroyed. During one section of the course, the racers enter a giant Rocket Barrel through one side and exit the other.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie[edit]
In The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a pair of Rocket Barrels, retaining their design from Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (with the addition of a stylized depiction of Donkey Kong's face charred on the sides), appear as part of Donkey Kong's kart. Donkey Kong uses one to destroy the Koopa General's kart on Rainbow Road, and Mario and Donkey Kong later use the other Rocket Barrel to escape from a Maw-Ray.
Gallery[edit]
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! sprite
Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance) sprite
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ロケットバレル[?] Roketto Bareru |
Rocket Barrel | |
| Chinese | 火箭木桶[?] Huǒjiàn Mùtǒng |
Rocket Barrel | |
| French (NOE) | Tonneau-fusée[?] | Rocket barrel | |
| Italian | Razzo barile[?] | Rocket barrel | |
| Spanish | Barril cohete[?] | Rocket barrel |
References[edit]
- ^ "You'll have to collect all of the Fuel Drums as you drop or your flight will be a bust." – Munson, Terry, and Paul Shinoda (1996). Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Player's Guide. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 116.
- ^ "In the first third of the stage you'll maneuver your descending rocket between narrow cliff walls to the canyon floor." – Tilden, Gail, et al. (January 1997). Nintendo Power Volume 92. Nintendo of America (American English). Page 71.
- ^ "You'll also burn less fuel if you limit the burn time on your retro rockets." – Munson, et al.. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Player's Guide. Page 116.
- ^ "Hitting obstacles slows your progress and wastes fuel." – Tilden, et al.. Nintendo Power Volume 92. Page 71.
- ^ a b VideoGamePhenom (June 12, 2020). Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES) - Krematoa - Rocket Rush (0:45). YouTube (English). Retrieved December 12, 2024.
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 3 (SNES) - Krematoa - Rocket Rush (01:19). YouTube.
