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ExitIsNearSign Muncher Marathon ExitSign
MuncherMarathon165
World(s) Forest
Type Forest
Music Theme(s) Tree Top Rock Returns (or Longshot Launch), Muncher Marathon
Animal Buddies None
Bonus Room(s) None
Puzzle Pieces 5
Notable Feature(s) A swarm of baby spiders, the Munchers, will pursue the Kongs during most of this level. The primates must move quickly while avoiding obstacles and collecting items or the Munchers will defeat both heroes instantly. Many spikes are present, along with wooden pillars that can crush the Kongs.
Enemies Encountered Hopgoons, Munchers, Skittlers, Frogoons
Game(s) Donkey Kong Country Returns, Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
First Appearance Donkey Kong Country Returns (2010)
Latest Appearance Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D (2013)


Muncher Marathon is the fortieth level in the games Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, as well as the eighth level in the Forest world of Donkey Kong Island. It is preceded by Wigglevine Wonders and followed by Mangoruby Run.

Overview[]

In this level, a swarm of hungry baby spiders, the Munchers, will pursue the Kongs, engulfing them if they fall behind and even appearing from pits. it makes avoid obstacles and enemies and collect items even harder for the heroes. At some points, the Kongs also need to roll into wooden gates to break them open, bounce on patches of spider eggs and avoid crushing pillars and spikes. Enemies in the level include Hopgoons, Frogoons and purple Skittlers.

Walkthrough[]

Starting off, go right and roll through the wooden gate two times to knock it over. Go past the Hopgoon and when you reach the wooden pillars attempting to crush you, wait until they rise before jumping through. Go past a DK Barrel and another Hopgoon and you will find two bouncy patches of spider eggs ahead. Bounce from the higher one towards the left to collect the first Puzzle Piece at the top of the screen. Diddy Kong's rocket pack can help to collect the Puzzle Piece. Keep going forward and quickly pound through the two cracked logs (three times for each log), and you will find a large swarm of Munchers flooding across the screen from the left. If they touch you, you will lose a life, so you need to keep moving to the right quickly. It will help to use roll-jumps to gain some distance, and the continuous roll move available when Diddy is mounted on Donkey Kong's back is also very useful in some sections. Head right across the ledges, jump across the hanging Skittlers, and get through the opening between the wooden pillars before they crush you. After the pillars, you will find a ledge above a small pit with a line of bananas and the letter "K" floating at the top of the screen. Roll-jump to reach the ledge, collect the letter and continue to the right.

Go past more Skittlers and jump along the upper ledges in the next room, and you will see a yellow plant on the rightmost ledge above the next gate. Ground-pound nearby the plant to find the second Puzzle Piece. Roll through the gate twice to pass and you will see another Puzzle Piece above the pit ahead. Ignore the upper path, and carefully roll-jump over the pit below to collect the third Puzzle Piece and land at the other end before continuing. Run through the waves of bananas ahead and you will have to get through a series of wooden pillars with openings in the middle moving up and down. Use good timing in roll-jumps to get through these segments quickly. After the wooden pillars and some enemies, you will see the letter "O" overhead. Stand below it and ground-pound to make a small and red mushroom to sprout, then bounce upward to take the letter. Using good timing, it is also possible to bounce off the swinging Skittler before the letter and reach the grassy turf. Now cling on and move along the turf-covered ceiling to the right. At the other end, across spikes, enemies and bouncy eggs, there will be three more pillars moving up and down. The third one has an opening at the top, so use the second Frogoon to bounce up there quickly, if necessary. Jump to get the letter "N", then continue moving to the right.

Bounce off the patch of orange eggs to the right and go over the high ledge next to them. Drop to the bottom, defeating the Skittler with two jump attacks, go left to find a hidden alcove containing the fourth Puzzle Piece and collect it. Going forward, jump up the ledges to the right and get over the high column. Roll under the upper ledge and jump across the pit, then go past the Frogoons to continue. You will come to a winding path of bananas with a gate in the middle. Avoid the gate and instead run down, and go left to the bottom passage and then to the right. In the center area at the bottom, you can find the fifth and final Puzzle Piece floating above the ground and hidden by some leaves. After collecting the Puzzle Piece, jump up the ledges at the other side and head right to find more hanging Skittlers and crushing pillars. Go past the spiders and go through this section as the pillars rise, then bounce off the patch of eggs into the autofire barrel at the end. You will be shoot into a new area and land next to a checkpoint. From here, use the patch of orange eggs to bounce to the right and into the autofire barrel above. A second wave of Munchers will come from below. Move upward through the first three barrels, then before going to the fourth one, go left to collect the letter "G" overhead. Reaching the top of this section and from inside the final barrel cannon, shoot into the Slot Machine Barrel to complete the level.

Enemies[]

Items[]

  • Hearts: 1
  • DK Barrels: 2
  • Extra Life Balloons: 1 (does not count eight or more consecutive jumps on enemies)

K-O-N-G Letters[]

  • K: After the second set of crushing wooden pillars, the letter "K" is floating at the top of the screen above some bananas and over one of the upper platforms. The letter is partially hidden.
  • O: After the second Puzzle Piece and seeing the letter "O", ground-pound under it for a small and red mushroom to sprout. Bounce on it to reach the letter. With good timing, it is also possible to bounce off the swinging Skittler just before the letter to reach the turf-covered ceiling and collect it.
  • N: After the letter "O", the letter "N" is above an opening on one of the crushing wooden pillars. If necessary, bounce off a Frogoon next to it to reach the opening quickly. Jump to collect the letter when the pillar rises.
  • G: After the checkpoint, go left when shoot from the third autofire barrel to collect the letter "G".

Puzzle Pieces[]

  • 1: At the beginning of the level, after the second Hopgoon, bounce to the left from the second patch of orange eggs and, if needed, use Diddy Kong's rocket pack to reach the Puzzle Piece floating at the top of the screen.
  • 2: After the letter "K" and two Skittlers, ground-pound nearby the yellow plant above the wooden gate to reveal the Puzzle Piece.
  • 3: Immediately after the second Puzzle Piece and a wooden gate, ignore the upper path with turf-covered ceiling over spikes, and carefully roll-jump over a pit below to collect the third Puzzle Piece and land on the other side.
  • 4: Just after the letter "N", the Puzzle Piece is on the other side of the wooden platform you use a patch of orange eggs to bounce and next to a hanging purple Skittler. The entrance is on the right side hidden by some leaves. Quickly defeat the Skittler with two jump attacks, go left and walk into the platform to reveal the Puzzle Piece and collect it.
  • 5: After the fourth Puzzle Piece, ignore the wooden gate and quickly go through the passage below to find the Puzzle Piece hidden by leaves and floating above the ground.

Puzzle[]

The puzzle of Muncher Marathon is of a strawberry against a light green background. When all of the pieces are found, The Chomp Family artwork will be added to the Critters 2 Gallery of the Image Gallery in the Extras menu.

Time Attack Medals[]

  • Shiny Gold: 01:13.00
  • Gold: 01:32.00 (01:21.00 in the Japanese version)
  • Silver: 01:34.00
  • Bronze: 01:51.00 (01:48.00 in the Japanese version)

Gallery[]

Videos[]

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