DK Mountain

DK Mountain is allegedly an unused stage found in certain personalized copies of Super Mario 64. It is said to be very similar to the stage Tall, Tall Mountain, even replacing the painting in the 2nd floor of Peach's Castle. The course takes place on a tall, jungle-like mountain filled with Goombas, Monty Moles, and Ukikis, and overall taking heavy inspiration from Rareware's Donkey Kong Country series.

Geography
DK Mountain is said to have very similar stage layout to Tall, Tall Mountain, being a tall mountain that the player must scale in order to collect certain stars. In fact, it is said to be nearly identical to said stage, albeit with a few key differences, the most obvious being the fact that the entire stage has a more jungle-like aesthetic, having many trees, vines, and grass everywhere. Other major differences include the lack of mushrooms around the course, instead being replaced by tall tropical trees which Mario can climb up and down on similar to every other tree found in the game. Another major difference is some extra flooring in the area where the Crazed Crate is found, being a large grassy field having many trees and Goombas. The rocky area with the Monty Moles is also said to be gone, replaced with a small cave containing a few Monty Moles and coins. The area with the rolling balls is also said to have no Big Steelies, as well as the lower area with the climbable ceiling being missing. The secret slide is also missing, and an extra wooden area is seen nearby the missing entrance, having a box containing a few coins as well as a small hut which cannot be entered. Perhaps the biggest change is the top of the mountain, being much bigger with tons of trees, Goombas, coins, and a tall hut with the letters D K on top of it. Located in the middle of the area is also one of the course's stars.

Other areas include a small cave found near the waterfall, which, when entered, takes Mario to a secret are containing tons of bananas as well as the 8 red coins.

Missions

 * 1) SCALE THE MOUNTAIN
 * 2) THE DREADFUL DK
 * 3) RED COINS IN THE BANANA HORDE
 * 4) BREATHTAKING VIEW FROM BRIDGE
 * 5) 5 SECRETS IN THE TREETOPS
 * 6) BLAST TO THE LONELY TREETOP
 * 7) 100 COINS

SCALE THE MOUNTAIN
Essentially the same as the star with the same name in Tall, Tall Mountain. Mario must scale to the top of the mountain while avoiding the various enemies and obstacles along the way. The star itself is located near the top of the DK hut, which can be accessed by climbing a nearby tall tree.

THE DREADFUL DK
One of the more unique stars in the course. It essentially has the same concept as Scale the Mountain, however, 'Donkey Kong' (which takes the appearance of a large white circle, likely meant as a placeholder) can be seen at the top of the mountain, throwing down barrels which essentially act similar to the Big Steelies, rolling down slopes in an attempt to damage Mario. If Mario manages to reach the top of the mountain and talk to 'Donkey Kong,' he will say some placeholder Japanese text (has yet to be translated) before a battle begins. In the battle, 'Donkey Kong' slowly stumbles towards Mario while throwing barrels forward, which explode on contact. Occasionally, the barrels might release a Bob-omb from it. In order to defeat 'Donkey Kong,' Mario must pick up the Bob-ombs and chuck them at 'Donkey Kong' three times, in which he will be defeated. Afterwards, 'Donkey Kong' will say some more placeholder text in Japanese before disappearing, giving away the star.

RED COINS IN THE BANANA HORDE
A star found in the banana horde, only allowed access after completing the previous star, The Dreadful DK. In order to access it, Mario must jump into the cave located near the top of the mountain. Inside is a large cavernous area filled with bananas and wooden ledges with 8 red coins scattered about. If Mario manages to collect all 8 red coins while avoiding the barrels that drop down from near the top of the course, the star will be summoned.

BREATHTAKING VIEW FROM BRIDGE
Though similar in concept, this star is quite different from the star of the same name seen in Tall, Tall Mountain. Located near the start of the course is a broken bridge that leads to nowhere. By standing near the end of it, Mario will be warped to a secret area previously inaccessible by normal means, in which, after avoiding a few Goombas, he can reach the star.

5 SECRETS IN THE TREETOPS
One of the unique stars found in DK Mountain. Found at the top of the mountain, Mario must climb 5 of the tallest trees in order to uncover their secrets, notified by a number flying above the player's head. If Mario manages to uncover all 5 secrets, a star will be summoned near the middle of the area.

BLAST TO THE LONELY TREETOP
Essentially the same as the star of the same name found in Tall, Tall Mountain. By standing on top of one of the trees, the player will be warped to a secret narrow passageway containing a cannon in which, with proper angling, the player can launch themselves to a tall tree above the deathzone, which contains a star. It is said to be much easier to obtain than in Tall, Tall Mountain, due to the player being able to climb up the tree.

Theorizing
Many theories have sprouted up attempting to explain the course. A common theory is that DK Mountain was the original version of Tall, Tall Mountain, essentially confirmed due to the many similarities the course has to it. Additionally, in the code of Super Mario 64, Tall, Tall Mountain's codename is said to be 'DONKEY,' likely a remnant of when the developers was turning DK Mountain into a more generic mountain.

The reason for why DK Mountain was scrapped and changed to Tall, Tall Mountain is unknown, though a major theory is perhaps the use of Donkey Kong's design. Due to him simply being a white placeholder circle, it is likely that Nintendo were unsure of whether or not to use Donkey Kong's classic or modern design, as the modernized design was technically owned by Rareware at the time, similar to how in Mario Party, Donkey Kong's character icon was blacked out in one of the debug menus. This likely could've been the reason as to why DK Mountain was changed into the more generic Tall, Tall Mountain in order to avoid being associated with the Donkey Kong Country games.