Donkey Kong 64 Official Strategy Guide

This is one of two strategy guides I used to play this delightful game. There are strengths and weaknesses in both. This guide is particularly helpful in guiding you step by step through each area to accomplish all of the goals and challenges. It is most helpful because it takes you through each area in an order that is the most efficient and the least confusing. Initially, you have to acquire each Kong family member by rescuing them in a particular order and this guide takes you through those steps. Once you have acquired all of your characters, it later becomes necessary to use one Kong member before another or in a particular order. This guide gives the order they recommend and the reason why. Of particular interest to me was the information regarding how to gain a third melon (your life meter in this game). Not being an experienced video gamer, I needed all the help and chances I could get. This information gave me hope that I could get that extra cushion (about a third into the game) so I would not have to keep replaying certain parts over and over again.The maps were not as clear or helpful as they were in the other guide I used which was "Donkey Kong 64: Prima's Official Strategy Guide". (See my other review on it) For me, having the best of both of these books, greatly enhanced my game experience.

BradyGames seem to make the best strategy guides out for all games in general. I have used the Xenogears, Final Fantasy VII and VIII guides by Brady and now I have used the DK64 and all are worth the purchase, easily understood, the maps are done well, and the guides are competently organized

This book is GREAT. It is well organized and the maps are easy to read and very helpful. The maps show where every single banana, banana bunch coin, Banana Fairy, and Battle Arena is. It gives detailed desriptions for each golden banana and blueprint. It also covers the Mystery items and strategies for Kong Battles. One of the best things about this is that it is organized into easy-to-read sections: A 12 page section for each level (except the last), each divided into a title page, which displays the name of the level, the amount of Golden Bananas needed to enter, any Kongs that are rescued in that level, and the way to get to the lobby. The next 10 pages are 2-page sections for each Kong that explain where to find each Golden Banana, banana, and coin for each Kong. The last page shows a complete map of the whole level with locations of the banana fairies and the battle arena.

It is very helpful. I was able to get every thing in the game by using the guide.