The focus goes back on Fox and Diddy Kong, who have wandered out of the jungle and into lush tropical swampland. Bowser's troops still patrol the area, so Bowser himself may be nearby. Can they find Bowser and the Donkey Kong trophy in his possession?
Air gusts from below[edit]
Most of the enemies encountered here will be Bowser's goons, like the usual Goombas and Koopa Troopas. You should have no trouble fighting them, as merely jumping onto them is enough to defeat most of them. Keep going forward until you reach a large gap with a leaf platform and strong winds blowing up. The winds will improve your jump height and slow your descent, but the leaf will sink down when you stand on it. Keep that in mind when you encounter them further in your adventure.
While on the leaf, fall off it and move to the right to land on a secret alcove containing a gold item box. Attack the bomb block to clear away back to the main path. Continue on to the right and you'll soon start seeing swinging platforms. You must use two of them to cross a large gap. If you fall, try to recover to the side rather than back on to the platforms, as it is hard to accurately land on them because of their constant movement. Another pit ahead combines falling leaves with swinging platforms, but the lifting wind should help you make it across easily to the door to the next area.
Tricky platforming[edit]
Go forward and you'll quickly come across some downward-blowing winds. These winds do the opposite of the gusts in the previous area. They make you jump a bit lower, so you must be more precise with your platforming. For now, you only need to use a small moving platform to cross a wide pit. After the pit is another deep gap, which you must instead scale by jumping from ladder to ladder. You can hop off the Koopa Paratroopas rising between ladders for an extra boost.
After crossing that gap, you can jump off the ledge to the right and leap to the left to reach an alcove containing a blue item box, as well as a bomb block that you can attack to let you return to the top. Next, you must transition from climbing ladders to leaping on to a moving platform, while winds bellow down from above. Once you reach the other end, you will be locked in a battle with various enemies. The Floows combined with the Hammer Bros can make the fight quite chaotic, and you still have to watch out for the launcher that sends you back into the pit to the left.
After the fight, the screen will start scrolling upward. For most of this section, you must hang on to some ladders moving side to side to ascend, jumping off to avoid obstacles like spikes. Along the way, enter the first door you come across and go left to find a blue item box. Jump up and use the wind to help you reach a higher ledge on the left, which contains a gold item box. Return outside and keep climbing. Soon, you must attack some bomb blocks in a stone structure to clear a path forward. The door is at the end of this scrolling section.
As both fighters walk along the path, Diddy Kong is suddenly hit by a Dark Cannon shot, turning him into a trophy. It appears that Bowser has returned to hunt them down, but Fox swiftly dodges the Dark Cannon shots aimed at him. Shadow Bugs envelop Diddy Kong's trophy, morphing into a false version of Diddy. Fox finds himself against two strong foes, but his teammate Falco arrives just in the nick of time. Falco easily destroys Bowser's Dark Cannon with just a few Blaster shots. Bowser simply bails on his Clown Car, as Fox and Falco now have to contend with a steadily expanding fake Diddy. Fox revives the real Diddy Kong for some extra help, as the three of them prepare to face a humongous primate powerhouse.
False Diddy Kong Fight[edit]
This fake version of Diddy Kong might be intimidating due to how big it is, but you can use its size against it. As false Diddy is so large, none of your attacks are likely to miss. Giant Diddy Kong is very heavy, heavier than any fighter you've faced before, so traditional KOs won't work. Instead, you should get him to the edge of the screen as far as you can, and keep knocking him to the sides to KO him quickly. Be very careful whenever Diddy isn't flinched or knocked back, as even its weakest attack and deal lots of damage and knockback. Its size also gives it tons of range on its attacks, so don't think you're safe is you just stay away.
Emerging from the battle victorious, Falco bids Fox and Diddy farewell. However, Diddy drags him along in their adventure. If he's going to take down Bowser and rescue Donkey Kong, he'll need every ounce of help he can get.
Swamp rides[edit]
Hop into the minecart to get sent to the lake covering much of this section. After that, stand on the launcher to make it launch you into several other launchers, shooting across the stage quickly and straight into a forced battle. The launchers make the battle a little more annoying, but you should be able to take out the multiple Hammer Bros with ease. After the fight is a cannon section. Simply aim yourself at the next cannon and avoid shooting yourself into a Jyk or the water. Past that is another series of cannons, but you must now aim at the bomb blocks to continue forward. The door to the next area is at the very end.
Springs and rainbows[edit]
Expect lots of springs in this area. You can use them to leap over enemies or to launch yourself over gaps. There is also a gold item box sitting on a floating platform that you can use a spring to help you reach. A blue item box is positioned even higher up, usually requiring you to use a recovery move after jumping on the spring below it. After that, you have to use springs to leap over a floor of spikes. Make sure to hop on the angled springs so that you're launched over the spikes instead of straight up.
While it might seem that you must leap over the tower of spikes after that, you can take an alternate route. Go down and break the blocks to reach an alcove below containing a door. Inside the room is some useful items, one of which is hidden on a platform that is revealed once you attack the bomb block underwater. Go back out and jump on to the moving platform and make a small hop to cross the small tower of spikes. Attempt to land on the angled springs pointing to the right so that you clear the next set of spikes too. There is one more spike tower that you must leap over, but the springs need to be reached by a moving platform containing another set of springs. From there, you must make sure to land on the straight springs to send you up vertically, letting you clear the spike tower manually. The door is on the other side.
Towering aquatic flora[edit]
Go right and jump on the floating platform to cause it to move. Try to stay on the platform as it travels to the right, avoiding the Bullet Bills. Also watch out for the spiky plants to shoot out from below. You can see where they will appear by ripples in the water, so steer clear of these areas when they do. After the moving platform section, you will be locked in battle with many of Bowser's troops, including red Koopas that relentlessly pursue you to attack.
After the forced battle, jump on the wooden bridge and start dashing to the other side. The spiked plants from before will also pop up here, and they will break parts of the bridge in their path. Be careful not to fall in, as you can easily get hit or get left behind as the screen scrolls. You must then jump from there to a small moving platform, as the last of the plants spring up. It will carry you to a ledge, where the golden door to the end is. A Giant Goomba guards it, but you can simply ignore it and rush to the door.
A Subspace transport travels along the river before rocketing to a floating island in the distance. The three fighters fails to reach it in time, but Falco can help them go to that floating island. The Great Fox rises from below. As a spaceship used to ferry the team of StarFox between planets and systems, it is more than enough to let them reach the island.
Falco will now join your team!