In Donkey Kong 64, there are five playable characters: Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, and Chunky Kong.
Donkey Kong is the starting character, while the other four Kongs are kidnapped by King K. Rool and rescued during the adventure. Each character has distinct abilities, weapons, musical instruments, and colored banana collectibles, making character switching central to solving puzzles and reaching hidden areas.
The five-character structure is one of the game’s defining features. Donkey Kong can operate levers, Diddy Kong can use his jetbarrel, Lanky Kong can float, Tiny Kong can shrink and spin with her ponytail, and Chunky Kong can lift heavy objects. These abilities are gradually unlocked through Cranky Kong and are required to complete many objectives.
A common mix-up is counting animal transformations such as Rambi the rhino or Enguarde the swordfish, or confusing the five single-player Kongs with the four-player multiplayer mode. The game’s multiplayer battles support up to four players, but the main adventure has five playable Kong characters.