Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze - All Puzzle Pieces, Secret Exits & Kong Letters

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We’re finally here. Welcome to World 6: Kong Island — the last normal world in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Join us as we take a whirlwind trip through all the ice-covered areas found in the original Donkey Kong Country. There are even more levels, which means even more collectibles to track down — but there’s only one secret exit to find.

The levels here are the trickiest by far. You’ll have to dead with avalanches, lava, weird machinery, and all sorts of other tricky level gimmicks. This world is overflowing with new stuff, even if it is frozen over. Check out where to find all the puzzle pieces and KONG letters. We’re so close to being done — after this, it’s just a quick trip to World 7. The final world is totally optional, and it’s kind of secret. To unlock it, you must find all the KONG letters and complete the tough temple stages in each world. With all six mysterious relics collected, you’ll be able to enter World 7 and play through three truly challenging levels.

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All Puzzle Pieces, Secret Exits & Kong Letters | World 6: Kong Island

There are four K-O-N-G letters in each stage, and a variable number of puzzle pieces. Finding all the KONG letters will unlock bonus stages in the world.

Puzzle pieces unlock additional concept art in the “Extras” menu. Puzzle pieces are often in secret areas, rewarded for completing bonus areas, or given when collecting certain bunches of bananas.

Secret Exits are special exits to levels that take you to new, completely unique levels. If you’re missing a level in the world, it’s because you need to find a secret exit.

6-1: Homecoming Hijinx

Puzzle Piece #1: After getting launched from the cannon barrel toward the ice-covered slide, stop and jump to the left to reach a lonely cannon barrel. It launches you up into a mini-game room.
K Letter: Next to two burning-blue owls. Bounce off another owl to reach it.
Puzzle Piece #2: Slide through the spiked tunnel and jump to a wall of green grass. Climb down to the bottom edge of the screen.
O Letter: Ahead, find it right beneath an owl. There’s a cannon barrel beneath the owl, so you’re safe to fall down.
Puzzle Piece #3: Bounce off the bunny that generates ice shockwaves. Cling to the top of the green grass and climb up, then open the treasure chest in the secret area.
N Letter: After shooting through the ice-filled arch tunnel, rush over to the ice platform.
Puzzle Piece #4: Climb the vertical shaft of green grass walls, and look on the right side – there’s a boarded up wooden wall concealing a hidden area.
G Letter: At the top of the ice shaft, there’s a blue-burning owl beneath a platform. The letter is between the platform and the owl — Dixie will help here.
Puzzle Piece #5: On the ice platforms beneath the level exit barrel, stay on the ice platforms and collect all the bananas. A puzzle piece will pop up with a barrel.

6-2: Seashore War

K Letter: Floating before the first buddy barrel. You can use the fish arrows to reach it.
Puzzle Piece #1: At the wrecked pirate ship, pull the plug on the deck until the puzzle piece is revealed.
Puzzle Piece #2: Ahead, when you encounter a big penguin with an ice cannon, open the fruit on this platform to reveal a mini-game cannon.
O Letter: Past the checkpoint, pull the plug on the wrecked ship, then jump to the letter in the center of the four spinning blue-fire owls.
Puzzle Piece #3: Past another penguin with an ice cannon, skip the fruit and grab the spinning bananas to the left of the three blue owls.
N Letter: On a swinging vine. You can’t miss it.
Puzzle Piece #4: Next to a walrus throwing fish, break through the cracked ice blocks to find a minigame door.
G Letter: Right before the cannon barrel, stop and pull the plug to lift the wrecked ship. Look left under the desk.
Puzzle Piece #5: The last puzzle piece is on the small ice island with the plug and cracked ice. Instead of breaking the ice blocks, jump up onto the raised section of the island with the fruit. Open the fruit — roll and get a boost from Dixie to get up there.

6-3: Aqueduct Assault

Puzzle Piece #1: Past the first fat owl, land on the platform with the bananas. After jumping on it, the platform will crumble — leaving behind pillars. Use those to reach a barrel cannon that appears only after the platform falls.
K Letter: Directly to the right, there’s a K Letter. Stand on the ice platform — when it collapses, jump down to the K Letter and recover in the barrel cannon.
O Letter: Indoors, you’ll need to set off another breaking ice platform. Jump on the owl to bounce up and grab it.
Puzzle Piece #2: After escaping more falling platforms, you’ll reach an ice floor with an archer to the right. Collect all the spinning bananas (bounce off the fish arrows).
Puzzle Piece #3: Right after the buddy barrel, there’s a large area with a shield you can break through. Continue until you find a helmet-wearing penguin, then backtrack to crack open the mini-game door.
Puzzle Piece #4: Straight ahead, you’ll encounter another barrel cannon. Don’t jump in yet! Instead, roll / jump under the cannon to reach a tiny island with a puzzle piece.
N Letter: You’ll see this one later in the level. It’s above a crumpling platform with a large ice block that slides down. Use the big sliding ice block to reach this letter.
Puzzle Piece #5: When the ice block slides down, it will reveal a secret fruit. Attack it to open it and reveal a puzzle piece.
G Letter: In the escape sequence, jump and grab it after the first cannon barrel.

6-4: Blurry Flurry

Puzzle Piece #1: There’s a mini-game door directly left of the starting spot. Grab a buddy barrel and backtrack all the way to the start.
Puzzle Piece #2: Pull the first plug you come across in the stage. It’s right where the ice cannon balls crash.
Puzzle Piece #3: Pretty difficult — collect the spinning bananas at the start of the rocket barrel sequence. You need to turn into the bananas so they spin into DK.
K Letter: Near the floor, right after the previous puzzle piece.
Puzzle Piece #4: Past the K Letter, grab all the bananas in a line to make this piece appear. This is in the section of the cavern that slopes down.
O Letter: At the end of the ice cannon gauntlet.
Puzzle Piece #5: After the ice cannon gauntlet, the ice blocks will split and form a narrow passage. Grab all the bananas in the path here.
N Letter: On the roof, past the previous puzzle piece.
Puzzle Piece #6: At the bouncing snow balls, grab all the bananas and banana coins to make yet another piece spawn.
G Letter: Follow the bananas up the narrow ice tunnel as it’s cracking.
Puzzle Piece #7: At the exit barrel, jump right and drop through the trapdoor.

6-5: Forest Folly

Puzzle Piece #1: Next to the second bounce pad, open the frosty fruit and collect all the bananas.
K Letter: Floating next to the ceiling covered in green grass.
O Letter: On the rolling climbable grass wheel, climb along so you’re facing right and can collect the O Letter while it slides down the ramp.
Puzzle Piece #2: Past the rolling wheel, drop down onto the grass bounce pad and launch DK to the left, into a hidden mini-game barrel cannon.
Puzzle Piece #3: After the second checkpoint, reach the three hanging vines and collect all the single bananas.
N Letter: Using the grass bounce pads, the N Letter will appear. Just launch yourself to collect it — it’s almost impossible to miss.
Puzzle Piece #4: When you’re in the cannon barrels, trying to avoid the giant snow flakes, wait for a moment and this piece will appear.
Puzzle Piece #5: On the platform with the heavy walrus enemy, defeat him and ground pound to reveal a banana fairy. Collect all the bananas!
G Letter: Grab Dixie before reaching the giant falling snowflake sequence, and you’ll be able to hover under a platform and grab the G Letter safely.

6-6: Cliffside Slide

Puzzle Piece #1: Check the wooden structure underneath the fat walrus enemy. It leads to a puzzle piece alcove.
K Letter: Floating above, past the plug in the avalanche section.
Puzzle Piece #2: At the checkpoint, climb up to the ice cannon enemy and defeat him, then look left for a hidden alcove. Pull the plug to get the piece.
O Letter: Between the two spiked ceilings, to the right of the previous piece.
Puzzle Piece #3: During the second avalanche sequence, you’ll need to climb under a platform with green grass and jump to a bounce pad. Use the pad to get on top of the platform (with the grass at the bottom) and open the fruit flower.
N Letter: Floating over a fat owl while you’re swinging on vines.
Puzzle Piece #4: After the third checkpoint, use the owl that burns up to reach a hidden alcove. Open the fruit flower to get this piece.
Puzzle Piece #5: Yet again, open a fruit flower — this one is during the third avalanche, while you’re climbing up the steep path.
G Letter: To the right of the skull cannon barrel, at the top of the structure in the third avalanche sequence, just above the previous puzzle piece.

6-7: Frozen Frenzy

Puzzle Piece #1: After reactivating the giant machine, you’ll be able to roll / jump left from the machinery pad and grab a pretty visible puzzle piece, hanging out below the ice.
K Letter: Right above the owl enemy, after passing through the opened gate.
Puzzle Piece #2: When you reach the solid ground with two electrified obstacles sweeping left / right, drop through the trapdoor near the plug to enter a mini-game room.
O Letter: Plainly visible, after sliding under the stack of three electrified barriers.
Puzzle Piece #3: After the first checkpoint, collect the bananas flying above the moving platform that touches two electricity outlets, while a third sweeps above the platform.
Puzzle Piece #4: Ahead, you’ll find a tilting platform with only one electrical outlet on the left side. To the right, there’s a hidden mini-game barrel you can jump into.
Puzzle Piece #5: At the vines near the checkpoint, climb the green grass on the left to find a hidden area.
N Letter: Past the fat armored walrus, there’s another walrus and a flying owl. Bounce off the owl to get the letter.
G Letter: Where the ice starts to crack and break, find it above a spear penguin. Just bop off him, too.
Secret Exit: Return with Kranky Kong and reach the teeter-totter with electrified vines hanging down. Reach the platform with the flower fruit, and hop up on top of the teetering platform. You’ll need Kranky to get across the two spike platforms to the left.

6-8: Meltdown Mayhem

Puzzle Piece #1: At the start of the level, activate the lava mayhem, then immediately sprint left to enter a mini-game room.
K Letter: With Rambi, bust through the giant block after the first checkpoint, when you’re jumping over sinking platforms. After the giant rhino block, bop off an enemy to reach the K Letter.
O Letter: Past the tall wall Rambi will have to knock down, move down the solid floor. It’s in a corner, right before two more rhino blocks.
Puzzle Piece #2: Right after the O Letter, collect all the bananas before breaking through another bunch of rhino blocks.
Puzzle Piece #3: After a checkpoint, you’ll need to break through a wall, dropping the platform into the lava. Quickly open the fruit flower to get a puzzle piece before it sinks.
Puzzle Piece #4: Further ahead, there’s a taller structure with a door in the bottom-left corner. Drop down and go inside.
Puzzle Piece #5: After rolling the snowball, step onto the hardened lava platform. Grab all the bananas on this platform, even when it pops up.
N Letter: When you reach the castle ramp slowly sinking into the lava, look under the ice platform ahead before jumping.
G Letter: The last letter is on the small hill during the lava escape sequence.

6-A: Dynamite Dash

Puzzle Piece #1: When you reach the second set of exploding platforms, collect all the bananas in the area to make this piece appear.
K Letter: Between the moving explosive platforms.
Puzzle Piece #2: Right before the checkpoint, grab the barrel and throw it at the switch to activate the bomb in the ice block above. Collect all the bananas, and more will appear to lead you to a hidden mini-game cannon barrel. Jump down into it and complete the challenge.
Puzzle Piece #3: When you reach the big wheel covered in grass, cling onto the side and collect all the bananas.
O Letter: In the cannon barrel sequence, it appears in the center of a line of bananas. You can’t miss it — just time your launch.
Puzzle Piece #4: Through the tunnel you’ll have to race through, you’ll find a wooden deck with two cracked ice cubes on a trap door. Break through and drop down into the mini-game.
Puzzle Piece #5: Later in the tunnels, you’ll activate a switch that lights two fuses — a lower fuse and an upper fuse. When the ice (upper fuse) explodes, you can drop down into the secret area, below the wooden deck. Pull the plug inside.
N Letter: After the third checkpoint, jump up to the ceiling grass and climb all the way to the right.
G Letter: You’ll see the letter while zipping down the vine to escape an avalanche. When the vine falls down with the G, just drop — don’t jump.

6-B: Icicle Arsenal

K Letter: Be fast! The K is on a tall chunk of ice that will tumble down if you take too long. Rush from the start to reach it.
Puzzle Piece #1: At the ceiling grass, climb left and open the flower fruit.
Puzzle Piece #2: Use the buddy barrel to break open the hanging bag.
Puzzle Piece #3: Pull the plug, just left of the first checkpoint, guarded by an armored walrus.
O Letter: At the end of the first cannon barrel sequence, wait a moment for the letter to rise up.
Puzzle Piece #4: When you reach the towers that crumble, you can use the platforms to reach the ceiling grass if you backtrack a little bit. Climb left and up to find a hidden mini-game cannon barrel.
Puzzle Piece #5: Pull the plug to the right of the towers and ride the platform up — jump into the shack to the left, attached to the ceiling, and collect the bananas.
N Letter: After climbing across more ceiling grass, you’ll reach teetering rock platforms. The letter is above two owls.
Puzzle Piece #6: While hopping over the stone platforms, pull a plug to make the wooden sections rise up. When rising up, jump to some ceiling grass and open the flower to summon a mini-game cannon barrel.
Puzzle Piece #7: Past the checkpoint, you’ll have more grass to climb. Keep going until you reach a gap with the grass going up pretty far — the left ceiling will start to fall. While it tumbles, you can climb up until you reach a puzzle piece.
G Letter: During the last escape sequence from the cannon barrels, immediately fire up when you land in the barrel closest to the plainly visible letter. Any longer and you’ll miss your chance.

6-K: Slippy Spikes

Puzzle Piece #1: Very tricky. In the first passage, look for this puzzle piece under one of the swaying ice platforms. Bring Dixie so you can roll into the piece, then jump and flutter up.
Puzzle Piece #2: When the platform is slamming against the ceiling, look for a plug in the danger zone. Quickly pull the plug, and a piece will appear in the gap to the right.
Puzzle Piece #3: At the top of the swaying climb, open the purple vase on the left.
Puzzle Piece #4: When you reach another course that is moving up and down, collect all the bananas that appear when you climb on each section of the green grass stuff. Start from the raised ice path to make the bananas appear on the green grass surfaces.
Puzzle Piece #5: Visible when sliding down the ice ramp near the end of the level. Don’t go down too fast, and you won’t miss it.