The Kong Quest Continues: A 30th Anniversary TAS Tribute to Donkey Kong Country 2!
- Plays at the Hardest Difficulty
- Takes Damage to Save Time
- Uses In-Game Cheats
- Uses Debug Codes
- Emulator Used: BizHawk 2.11
Goal and Overview
This TAS aims to achieve the True Ending of Donkey Kong Country 2 as fast as currently possible. Bonus Coins must be collected via an in-game cheat to gain access to the Lost World. Additionally, new debug codes are used in creative ways to skip boss fights, speeding up the process. Using advanced movement techniques, optimal Animal Buddy usage, and precise damage boosts, this run showcases the current limits of the game’s mechanics.
New Techniques and Tricks Used
Before presenting the new tricks used in this run, I must clarify something about the Funky Skip:
- Does not rely on external cheats, hacks, or memory editing.
- Is achieved using only legitimate in-game inputs.
- Is reproducible on original hardware, confirming its authenticity.
Think of it like performing a Hadouken in a Street Fighter game. Let’s say I know the commands and you don’t. Am I cheating if I beat you with a Hadouken? Let’s go even further: in a run of Donkey Kong Country 2, I know how to perform a Wrong Warp, but you don’t. Can I obsolete your run using Wrong Warps, or am I cheating if I use them?
The spirit of TASing is to push games to their absolute limits — exploring every possible route, glitch, and input optimization to achieve theoretically perfect runs. Once a new technique like Funky Skip is proven faster and legal, excluding it means the run no longer represents the “best known completion.”
Hold L + Select, then press R, L, U, D, R, L, U, D.
The developers’ intended use for this code was simple: to return to Gangplank Galleon at any time for testing. Amaraticando found a more interesting use for this code — the Boss Skip Trick.
At the pause screen, press R + Y, L + A, U + B, D + X to exit a level, even if you haven’t completed it yet.
This isn’t new, but it’s necessary for the next trick. Perform certain actions with a barrel or a beetle, hold an invisible item, and throw it to the left near a bonus or warp barrel.
If you see a Blast Barrel near a green Kutlass and one of the Kongs being tossed at him, chances are a Wrong Warp is about to happen. If it’s not a green Kutlass, you won’t see any tossed Kong.
Combine all of the above, and you can skip almost every boss in the game. It’s not possible to skip K. Rool in The Flying Krock, though.
Now this is new. When you’re about to Wrong Warp in any of the Lost World stages, use the Exit Any Level code and visit a Kong Family Member or Klubba’s Kiosk. If you’re lucky, you’ll land on a Map Warp location.
Route Highlights
Gangplank Galleon
The 75 Kremcoins cheat was optimized to make it even faster than what’s seen in the 102% run. A new technique developed by hidaigai was used to reach the Warp Barrel even faster than previously thought possible.
The strategy here can be found in the any% run of the game, so nothing new. However, since this is the fastest stage for a Wrong Warp, it’s used frequently to skip boss fights.
The new technique developed by hidaigai involves teaming up and throwing your partner at the top of a barrel or platform, then pressing Down. You’ll jump while crouching and then jump again in midair.
This stage constantly advances the RNG and is normally used to manipulate Krow, the boss. That’s not the case here — it was done as fast as possible without giving a flying banana to any of the game’s three RNGs.
Exactly the same strategy used in the any% run. Fun fact: both Diddy and Dixie can perform this Wrong Warp, but only Diddy can do it in Mainbrace Mayhem.
Crocodile Cauldron
Starting the stage as Diddy made it even faster than before but required some tweaks to the strategy used in the any% run.
As most stages with Warp Barrels are already optimized to the extreme, it’s more rational to use the strategies already proven to be the fastest.
With this version of BSNES, it’s easier to create lag where older versions wouldn’t. Fortunately, some of it can be reduced by tweaking your inputs.
The strategy used here is as old as the oldest any% run of Donkey Kong Country 2 I could find, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t beat it. It’s a rock-solid strategy.
Here’s a combination you’ll be hard-pressed to find a faster solution for: stages with Warp Barrels are already heavily optimized — this one is no exception.
Krem Quay
The any% strategy was slightly improved with lots of small touch-ups, but otherwise it was already pretty solid.
If you use the Funky Skip code as soon as you finish Lockjaw’s Locker, you end up here at Glimmer’s Galleon. Sadly, it can’t be used in a True Ending run, as we still need to complete previous stages to be able to skip the boss fights.
Now this is an example of speedruns and TASes helping each other. When I did this part of the run, only runs by Leftover0w0 showed up when I searched for "Kutlass Wrong Warps," so it was inspired by his run.
This is a stage you will have a hard time with if you try to splice from other runs: the ship’s movement, enemy spawns in different positions, and so on and so forth.
A new trick was found here, but it can save time only in a 102% run: by switching Kongs on the surface of the water, it’s possible to team up.
Nothing new here, and unless we find a new trick, this stage seems to be perfectly optimized already. Oh, yes, it is possible to avoid another Blast Barrel by starting the stage with Dixie, but it’s not worth it.
Krazy Kremland
This stage separates the men from the boys, but the any% run made short work of it, and no matter what, it remains one of the most optimal stages in the game.
These cart stages... although it’s a pleasure to play them in real time, TASing them is another story. I mean, it’s not boring or anything like that, but it’s really hard to optimize.
Wrong Warps. There’s a shortcut in version 1.0 of the European game: if you bump into Squawks’ crate instead of throwing the beetle to the left. Maybe one day we’ll see it used in the 102% run.
The memory address of the roller coaster cart makes no sense at all. Sometimes you’ll fall behind other runs of this stage for no clear reason. Also, jumping slows you down — but by jumping, you can still save frames here and there. Crazy.
Another stage that was TASed with a YouTube video as a guide. Weeks later, I found the original movie file, but I decided to keep it like that, as it’s not slower at all.
I spent a lot of time here trying to make that pesky Kutlass fall a few pixels farther to the right to make him drop lower. Little did I know, what actually makes him fall lower is a small delay before entering the Blast Barrel.
Gloomy Gulch
This stage would benefit from starting with Dixie, then sacrificing her to avoid a lot of lag. Sadly, as mentioned before, Dixie can’t Wrong Warp like Diddy does in Mainbrace Mayhem, so I couldn’t find a better solution.
At least this one has a Lua script to help you jump at the right spots. Not that it makes more sense than Rickety Race’s convoluted physics, but it’s easier to keep pace.
The strategy used here saves very little time over the RTA one, but man, it looks so cool.
WARNING: This stage is so fast it can cause motion sickness. It’s advised to skip this part of the run. The any% strategy was used here, as it remains the most effective.
Lost World
The first stage of the Lost World — obviously not found in any% runs — was done from scratch but inspired by other True Ending runs.
The strategy here is a mix between the 102% and True Ending runs. Avoiding that Flitter (the dragonfly) is just as fast as rolling through it. It’s also possible to Wrong Warp here, and it was tested, but proven slower than the current strategy.
Thanks to these two invisible barrel tricks, the TAS completes Klobber Karnage several seconds faster than previous runs, while showcasing a lot of style and precision.
The first time the stage is cleared, it’s simply to set the path to Krocodile Kore. The second time is to set up the Map Warp Trick to access Animal Antics earlier.
Thanks to everything learned in recent weeks, it was possible to cut a considerable amount of time from my canceled True Ending submission. This is now the final stage of the run — but the run isn’t over yet, as one final Funky Skip code must be used to trigger the True Ending.
Final Thoughts
In TASing, every frame counts. The Funky Skip saves several seconds of in-game time by avoiding mandatory events. This isn’t just a small optimization — it’s category-defining. Since TAS rules prioritize the best possible performance under legitimate in-game mechanics, omitting a time-saving, reproducible, and legal technique would make any TAS obsolete the moment this discovery was verified. This TAS represents the culmination of countless hours of testing, input refinement, and routing — showcasing the most up-to-date tricks, glitches, and codes found by the SpeedRunning and TASing community. It’s a celebration of a game that shaped my memories, inspired my imagination, and continues to hold a special place in the hearts of so many around the world.
PS
This run may pave the road for others to follow, or mark the final heartbeat of a dream called Funky Skip.
Special Thanks:
- BlueImp – His Funky Skip code is the basis for great time savers.
- Amaraticando – His Boss Skip trick is the reason for this run.
- Ivan F. – His Jungle Jinx wrong warp provided the necessary steps.
- Hidai Gai – His True Ending run served as a guide for this one.
Suggested Screeshot
It shows that Dixie and Diddy have many unbeaten stages.
