King Kut Out

King Kut Out
King Kut Out's model from the game Donkey Kong 64 for Nintendo 64.
Residence(s)	Creepy Castle
Species	Cardboard cut-out
Affiliates	Kremling Krew
Powers/Abilities	Appearing over the four walls of the castle arena, Shooting lasers at enemies, Being assisted by Puftups in the water and Kritters-in-a-Sheet on the ground, Generating three semi-transparent images of itself
Enemies	Kong Family, Lanky Kong, Tiny Kong, Chunky Kong, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong
Game(s)	Donkey Kong 64
First Appearance	Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
Latest Appearance	Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
Voice Actor/Actress	Chris Sutherland

King Kut Out is the seventh (and penultimate) boss of the game Donkey Kong 64. Lanky Kong starts the fight against it in Creepy Castle, the seventh level of the game, but any of the other playable Kongs can be used during the boss battle if the previous one is defeated.

Physical Appearance

King Kut Out is a cardboard version of King K. Rool created and operated by two Kritters in a futile effort to trick the Kongs. It is comprised of four parts: head, torso, left arm, and right arm. Its high-pitched voice and ability to fire lasers make this piece of cardboard quite unique.

Boss Battle

The two Kremlings who kept the seventh Boss Key had no one to guard it, so they quickly made a cardboard cutout of K. Rool. When the Kongs enter the castle arena, they see King Kut Out appear on one of the four sides of the arena, and the battle begins. After defeating it, the Kremlings run away in fear and the Boss Key slowly drops into the center of the arena.

Attacks

• Laser: King Kut Out pops up and fires lasers at the Kongs.
• Kut Out Illusion: King Kut Out pops up on two opposite sides of the arena; one is a shadow, and if a Kong fires at it instead, they will fly out of the arena.
• Lightning Kut Out: King Kut Out pops up at a side of the arena for less than a second before falling back down and then popping up elsewhere.

Strategy

King Kut Out will pop up at each of the four sides of the arena, alternating after each time. When it pops up and does not fire lasers, the Kong must enter the cannon facing King Kut Out and launch themselves at it, damaging the boss. If they enter the cannon too early or too late, or else enter the wrong cannon, and subsequently miss King Kut Out, they will fly beyond the castle walls, out of the battle, and the next Kong will drop out of the Tag Barrel in the middle of the arena to take their place. If all 5 Kongs fly out of the arena, they will need to start the battle over. Hitting King Kut Out three times will knock off its right arm, hitting it six times will knock off its left arm, and hitting it nine times will knock off its head.

The Kongs must hit King Kut Out nine times to defeat it.

Tips

• The Kongs come out of the Tag Barrel in this order: Lanky, Tiny, Chunky, Donkey and Diddy Kong.
• King Kut Out's attack pattern is as follows: it pops up twice, each time firing four Lasers, and then pops up without attacking.
• When King Kut Out pops up without attacking, what it does depends on how many hits it's taken.
  • 0-2 Hits: Pops up and stays for a few seconds before flopping back down.
  • 3-5 Hits: Uses Kut Out Illusion.
  • 6-8 Hits: Uses Lightning Kut Out.
• The cannon facing King Kut Out and the ground beneath it will light up when it is vulnerable to attack, though when it uses Kut Out Illusion, two cannons will light up.
• If the player moves fast, they can strike King Kut Out as soon as the battle starts.
• The player must beware of the Puftups in the water as the Kongs are swimming back to the platform.
• After King Kut Out loses its right arm, a Kritter-in-a-Sheet will appear on the platform, which can restore the Kongs' health by defeating it. However, it should be defeated as quickly as possible each time it regenerates to ensure that the player does not miss a shot.
• When Lightning Kut Out is used, King Kut Out pops up six times in quick succession, moving counter-clockwise around the sides of the arena.
• The Laser attack used by King Kut Out will defeat the Kritter-in-a-Sheet if it hits it.
• If a Kong flies over the castle ramparts in the middle of Lightning Kut Out, the attack will resume as soon as the next Kong emerges from the Tag Barrel.

Profiles

"The Kremlings are running scared now. To try to deter the Kongs, they've assembled a cutout imitation of King K. Rool, complete with projectile weapons. It's up to all the Kongs to blast themselves at the false tyrant by clambering intro the proper cannons when the figure pops up behind the castle walls."

—Donkey Kong 64 Player's Guide, page 108

Trivia

• This is the only one of the five level bosses who doesn't use Fireballs as an attack.
• Thanks to the Kritter-in-a-Sheets that appear on the stage, this is the only boss fight where the Kongs can heal themselves during the middle of the battle.
• If all five Kongs fly over the castle walls in King Kut Out's arena, the player will warp back to the level's entrance rather than to Troff and Scoff.
• King Kut Out is one of two bosses that doesn't produce shockwaves directly from its own body, the other being Mad Jack. However, Mad Jack can indirectly produce them with his laser eye when he fires at the platforms of his arena, which will make those produce shockwaves.