World seven, the Factory area in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a smidge different from the previous areas. There is a special requirement for getting to the boss that you won’t encounter elsewhere, and that is to find a red button in three of the stages.
It isn’t much of a mystery. The three levels (7-5, 7-6, 7-7) appear on three corners around a big door on the map. More notably, their map icons are square. Even more notably, when you enter the levels, there’s a sign near the beginning that shows a red button with the word “FIND!” (at least in the HD version). Just note that this isn’t optional. In order to proceed, you need to find those buttons, otherwise, you can’t move onto the boss.
The red buttons aren’t the most hidden things in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, but if you’re not in the habit of poking at the margins to find secrets, you might overlook them. It’s the only time you’re really required to look off the beaten path, so you might need a smidge of help. If so, here’s where you can find them.
Where is the red button in DKCR HD level 7-5 Cog Jog?
It’s not impossible to miss the button in 7-5 of Donkey Kong Country Returns, but it is in a somewhat conspicuous place. Here’s how to find it.
The button is located after the letter O and the letter N – between the first checkpoint and the second. Along the way, you’ll see a big, round object made of red metal. Above it is an arrow pointing downward at it. All you need to do is land on it and use your ground pound. When you do, it will start rotating. Stay on top of it, and eventually, you’ll see a small platform on its surface. Ground pound this (when it stops rotating, preferably. And you’ll drop inside.
You’ll find yourself in a big chamber with a giant electrical plug and socket in the background. Pound on the button, and it will plug in. A barrel will appear, allowing you to leave. That’s one down.
Where is the red button in DKCR HD level 7-6 Switcheroo?
The red button in 7-6 is probably the most missable of the three in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD. If you’ve been digging for all the secrets so far, this won’t be a problem, but if you’re just playing through the levels regularly, you might whiz right past it, which means you won’t be able to proceed to the end of world 7.
The button can be found before you even hit the first checkpoint – after the K and before the O in KONG. The level has you switching between blue and red active blocks whenever you pass over a sensor in the background. The red button is found after a vine-swinging section. There’s one spot where you have to keep blue as the active block by swinging through a very narrow gap between sensors. After which you move back to solid (steel) ground and over a gap that requires you to Switch back to red mid-flight.
You then run over a conspicuous red block that is set above a broken girder just above the bottom of the screen. You can’t get to it immediately, so you have to run past it and you’ll find a sensor at the bottom of a vertical platforming area. Activate the sensor to make blue the active block, then double back.
Drop down onto the broken girder, slap the ground, and you’ll drop into the room with the red button. Hit it, then watch it plug itself in. A barrel will appear. Jump into it to return to the level.
Where is the red button in DKCR HD level 7-7 Music Madness?
While still missable, the button in 7-7 is a lot more recognizable, especially if you’ve been plumbing for secrets throughout the game.
If you’ve started sweating as you’re coming up on the G in the level, don’t worry. You haven’t missed it. The button appears directly after you pass the G tile. It’s after the third and final checkpoint and near the end of the level. You’ll get to a set of machines that either spurt fire or water. The water doesn’t hurt you (even though it looks like it’s boiling), but obviously, the fire does. You have to navigate a section, jumping across them. You’ll come to the G tile suspended between a fire machine (shooting down) and a geiser (shooting up).
Pass between them and you’ll come to a very conspicuous spot. Two jets of fire shoot downward, two chickens patrol the edges, and two platforms slide horizontally. Between them is a grey panel floor. Ground pound on that and fall through.
You’ll arrive in the red button chamber. Activate it as usual, then complete the level.
What do the World 7 Red Buttons do in DKCR?
When you activate all three red buttons in Donkey Kong Country Returns, a big door opens on the world map and a rocket rises from the ground. That’s just a visual cue, it’s not necessarily important. What is important is that level 7-R will appear.
Level 7-R is a rocket barrel stage, but unlike the usual horizontal rocket sections, you move vertically into the sky. Pressing the thrust button will push you upward on the screen, and letting go allows gravity to take you back down.
I never found this to be a particularly taxing stage. Mainly, you avoid the Tiki airships. It’s a short level, and once it’s complete, you’re onto the world’s boss.
Published: Jan 16, 2025 07:00 am