Super Donkey Kong 99, sometimes known as Super King Kong 99, is an unlicensed Sega Mega Drive game created by a currently unknown developer, possibly Gamtec (as the ROM header is identical to other Gamtec games such as Squirrel King). It is an attempt to bring the likes of the SNES game Donkey Kong Country (Super Donkey Kong in Japan) to Sega’s system, though it is very different to any of the SNES games.
Players control Donkey Kong through a variety of levels whose graphics are taken from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!. There are also several enemies taken from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, and a boss will appear every couple of levels, all from the first Donkey Kong Country. The game also borrows some music tracks from Super Mario All-Stars, and most of the sound effects were taken from Donkey Kong Country, Streets of Rage, High Seas Havoc and Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker.
The controls are limited in comparison to the official games, as A picks up barrels, B runs and C jumps. The rolling attack is not included in the game, which means that enemies can only be killed by jumping on them or throwing barrels at them. Carrying barrels will also take away Donkey Kong’s ability to run and jump. Donkey Kong is the only playable character, as there are no DK barrels, meaning the player cannot play as Diddy Kong (though he does appear in the ending), and consequently has only one hit point. There are no checkpoints or means of saving, but the player has infinite continues, with the continue screen featuring Cranky Kong, who doesn’t appear anywhere else in the game.
