List of Donkey Kong characters

From left to right: Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, Cranky Kong, Wrinkly Kong and Swanky Kong.

Kongs

The Kongs are a group of apes (mostly gorillas) and monkeys.

Kong Family

The Kong Family (also known as the Kong Klan and the DK Crew) is the name of all of Donkey Kong's family and friends. Though they share the same last name, not all of them are related to one another. Instead, the name is a sign of their union as a species, tribe and/or clan. Thus, membership in the Kong Family appears to be earned. They are always at odds with the evil Kremling Krew who are always attempting to steal their Banana Hoard or kidnap them. In some games, they are playable or supporting characters.

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong is a mountain gorilla and is the main protagonist. Donkey Kong first appears in Donkey Kong as the kidnapper of Pauline (this was later retconned where Cranky Kong was the original Donkey Kong that kidnapped Pauline). but the truth is the original Donkey Kong is Cranky Kong and the current Donkey Kong's grandfather.

Donkey Kong Junior

For the video game of the same name, see Donkey Kong Jr..

Donkey Kong Junior, also known as DK Jr. or simply Junior, is the protagonist of the 1982 arcade game of the same name and the son of the original Donkey Kong. Junior wears a white singlet with a red letter "J" on it. His objective in the game is to save his father, who was locked by Mario in a cage. He returns in the 1994 Game Boy video game Donkey Kong, where he teams up with his father, who has kidnapped Pauline, against Mario. Junior also appeared as a playable character in Super Mario Kart, but he didn't return in any of the future installments, he was also in the Virtual Boy game Mario's Tennis, and as a hidden character in the Nintendo 64 version of the similarly named Mario Tennis. He also has his own educational video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System: Donkey Kong Jr. Math. Other appearances by Junior includes the Game & Watch games Donkey Kong Jr. (in wide-screen, tabletop and panorama versions) and Donkey Kong II, as well as the Game & Watch Gallery series compilations for Game Boy. He also appears as the physical appearance of the transformed king of World 4 in the Super NES and Game Boy Advance versions of Super Mario Bros. 3. Donkey Kong Junior had his own segment in the first season of Saturday Supercade and was voiced by Frank Welker. Like his father, he had his own cereal brand in the 1980s.

According to Rare, the developers of Donkey Kong Country, there are multiple Donkey Kongs, and the modern one who appears in Donkey Kong Country onward is actually a grown-up version of Junior himself.[1] However, the Donkey Kong Country manual stated that Cranky is the grandfather of the game's titular character. More recently, Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Donkey Kong Country Returns have stated that the current Donkey Kong is the original Donkey Kong's grandson implying that Junior is the current Donkey Kong's father.

The character Diddy Kong was going to be an updated version of Donkey Kong Junior. However, Nintendo did not like this idea, suggesting either to give him his old look or make him a new character. Rare chose the latter and Diddy Kong was made.[2]

Diddy Kong

Main article: Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong is a young male spider monkey who is Donkey Kong's sidekick. His first appearance was Donkey Kong Country. In the game's storyline, Donkey Kong requested for him to protect his Banana Hoard overnight, while he takes a nap. While guarding the bananas, Diddy was captured by the Kremlings and sealed afterwards. When Donkey Kong heard the news, he set off on his adventure, freed Diddy, and they both confronted King K. Rool. The duo managed to defeat him, and recover the stolen bananas along the way.

In Donkey Kong Country 2, Donkey Kong gets kidnapped by Kaptain K.Rool, and Diddy must team up with Dixie Kong to save him. After rescuing DK and defeating K. Rool, he retreats to his secret island, the Lost World. The Kongs defeat K. Rool a second time, and he gets stuck in Crocodile Isle's generator, which explodes. The Kongs escaped the island and witnessed its destruction.

Later on, both Diddy and DK get kidnapped in Donkey Kong Country 3, and the newly named Baron K. Roolenstein uses them as a power source for KAOS, a giant robot to spy on Dixie and Kiddy Kong's adventure in rescuing the apes. Diddy and Donkey Kong are eventually freed by Dixie and Kiddy.

Years after his defeat, King K. Rool returns in Donkey Kong 64; he gets his minions to imprison Donkey Kong's friends, with Diddy being one of them. He attempts to steal the Banana Hoard again. As soon as Diddy is freed from his imprisonment, he can collect red bananas, red coins, play his electric guitar, charge at foes or objects, fly in his barrel jet pack, and shoot peanuts from his guns.

Diddy Kong also appeared in Donkey Kong Country Returns, its 3DS remake and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. He is one of the main characters of the television series adaption. He has a role in a couple of Mario sports games, including basketball, kart racing and more.

Cranky Kong

Cranky Kong (クランキーコング Kurankī Kongu) is an elderly ill-tempered gorilla, known for his scathing, fourth wall-breaking commentary. Introduced in Donkey Kong Country, he has appeared in a number of Donkey Kong games, primarily as a reluctant adviser to Donkey Kong and his various simian pals (in game and in the instruction manuals), as well as running minigames and tutorials. His wife was Wrinkly Kong.

The Donkey Kong Country instruction manual states that Cranky is the original Donkey Kong character featured in the 1981 arcade game.[3]

A small amount of evidence indicates that the current Donkey Kong (introduced in Donkey Kong Country) is his grandson, making him Donkey Kong III[4][5] However, in Donkey Kong 64, Cranky directly refers to the current Donkey Kong as his son in their first conversation but was changed back to grandson in later games such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Donkey Kong Country Returns.

As his name implies, Cranky is perpetually bitter about many things and complains about them to anyone who gives him even the slightest acknowledgment. He is mostly angry about the state of modern video games, once going so far as to complain about how many bits and bytes are used up to simply animate his swinging beard. Every time he sees any such thing he seems to fondly recall his heyday in which he was an 8-bit character with only three frames of animation.

In Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Cranky's main purpose was to distribute helpful hints about the game's many stages to Donkey Kong and his sidekick Diddy Kong whenever they dropped by his cabin. Donkey Kong Country 2 saw him play a similar role, although this time the player would have to provide enough banana coins to buy specific hints. In Donkey Kong Country 3 he was the player's opponent in a throwing minigame at Swanky's Sideshow; in the Game Boy Advance versions of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3, he hosted several minigames, and was briefly playable in one of them.

Donkey Kong 64 saw Cranky deal out potions that granted each of the five playable Kongs special abilities and could be purchased at Cranky's Lab. He also hosted the Jetpac game, and would let you play it after earning 15 Banana Medals. Achieving 5,000 points in Jetpac earned you the Rareware Coin, which was required to beat the game.

Cranky also made cameo appearances in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as appearing in Donkey Konga and its sequels. His most recent appearances have been dispensing tips in DK King of Swing and DK Jungle Climber, in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast where he served as a fully playable character for the first time (aside from the Dojo minigame of Donkey Kong Country 3's Game Boy Advance port), and in Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3DS remake, where he runs various shops that sell items and helps the player by giving hints and tips when they leave his shop.

In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Cranky becomes a playable character for the first time in a Donkey Kong platformer. His moveset is based around his cane.

Cranky was a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series. He was still as senile as in the games, but without his fourth wall-destroying comments. His cabin was where the Crystal Coconut, the mystical bauble that made DK the future ruler of Kongo Bongo Island (as DK Island was called on the show), was kept. Often, Cranky mixed potions, somewhat prefiguring his Donkey Kong 64 role. He was voiced by Aron Tager, and in the Japanese dub by Ryūsei Nakao.

Funky Kong

Funky Kong (ファンキーコング Fankī Kongu) is a hip gorilla who usually supplies services to the Kongs such as allowing them to go back to worlds they have previously completed in the game. However, in Donkey Kong Country 3, he took on a different role as a watercraft merchant, allowing Dixie Kong and Diddy Kong to reach new areas of the game world. In Donkey Kong 64, Funky switched jobs yet again to become the ammunitions expert of the group, and his business seemed to suggest an army surplus store. He supplied various weaponry and upgrades to the Kongs, and donned camouflage clothing, goggles and a large rocket on his back (which is revealed, in all actuality, near the end of the game, to contain a giant boot) in favor of his old board shorts and sunglasses. He took back on his "surfer" appearance in later games. He is also a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, as well as in multiplayer modes of DK King of Swing and DK Jungle Climber.

Funky was also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country cartoon, where he was voiced by Damon D'Oliveira. An obvious difference one might notice is that the cartoon version of Funky had tan fur as opposed to the brown fur his video game counterpart had. He was also given a Jamaican accent. However, like his game counterpart, Funky is keen on surfing (he can be seen surfing in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest), and like in the first game, he runs his own airline service. He often talks about karma and is the best dancer on the island. Funky is obviously not fond of adventuring or fighting the Kremlings, nor is he keen on doing very much work; he often tries to take the easier way out of a situation, or just leave it up to DK and Diddy.

Funky also appears as an unlockable heavyweight character in Mario Kart Wii, his first appearance in a Mario game.

His next appearance in a Mario game was in Mario Super Sluggers for the Wii, where he was a playable character along with the other Donkey Kong characters. Funky uses his surfboard as a bat in the game.

Funky resurfaces in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as the keeper of the Fly and Buy shops, thus taking over the role of shopkeeper from Cranky Kong, who instead becomes a playable character.

Candy Kong

Candy Kong (キャンディーコング Kyandī Kongu) is a female gorilla who performs various "services" for the Kongs throughout the different games. Candy Kong first appeared in Donkey Kong Country providing save point stations throughout the game. Her second appearance was in Donkey Kong 64; in this game, she provided instruments for DK and company to use against the Kremlings and gives the Kong family more watermelons which increase the player's life. She wore headphones, a pink short-sleeve top, pink short shorts, and some footwear. She also makes a brief appearance in DK King of Swing, and is seen cheering on the player's characters. She wore a pink bikini top and short shorts, and her torso was redesigned (this appearance has remained in subsequent games). She also makes a brief cameo appearance in the GBA remake of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3.

In Donkey Kong Country 2 she appears as a model on Swanky Kong's quiz show, and she wore a purple dress.

In Donkey Kong Country 3, she appeared in one of the challenges of Funky's Rentals as one of the people who had to be rescued from the Kremlings, who were kidnapping the Kongs.

She also made a brief appearance in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast in the mode Candy's Challenges and allowed the players to collect up to a total of 1,000 bananas and to win the tracks in first place. She, along with Swanky Kong are the only two Kongs who have yet to become playable. She was going to be one of the playable characters in Diddy Kong Pilot, but that game became cancelled after Microsoft Game Studios bought Rare from Nintendo.

Candy was also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country animated series as well. She was voiced by Joy Tanner. However, in the series, she looked completely different from the pink-clad blonde seen in the games. Also, on the show, she worked at the barrel factory run by Bluster Kong, her boss, who constantly hit on her. Candy sometimes had a goal of buying the factory. From time to time, she had lunch with Donkey Kong. This version of Candy also showed off a very quick temper.

Candy Kong is Donkey Kong's girlfriend, as said in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and also Donkey Kong Country: Legend of the Crystal Coconut. Some hints in the game about their relationship are that in Donkey Kong Country, Candy Kong always blows a kiss at Donkey Kong whenever he comes to save the game (although she also does this with Diddy Kong). Another clue is that you will find a picture of Candy Kong in Donkey Kong's house and a picture of Donkey Kong on a heart shaped rug in Candy's house, as seen in Donkey Kong 64. In 2007, Games.net ranked Candy Kong #2 on their list of "Top Ten Disturbingly Sexual Game Characters".[6]

Dixie Kong

Dixie Kong (ディクシーコング Dikushī Kongu) is a young female chimpanzee who is Diddy Kong's girlfriend. She is a typical ape and loves collecting bananas alongside Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, although she personally prefers grapes. Her first appearance is Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest as Diddy Kong's sidekick. Cranky is shown to be condescending towards her in this game, implying that instead of being a playable character, her role should have been the same as that of Princess Peach, even though her personality is not in line with this. In Cranky's heyday, females were largely only damsels in distress.

Dixie later made the starring role of Donkey Kong Country 3, subtitled Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, with Kiddy Kong as her sidekick.

While she did not return in Donkey Kong 64, her sister, Tiny Kong, served as her replacement. Her next time featured as a playable character was in Donkey Konga 2 on the Nintendo GameCube, a bongo rhythm game. She appeared once again in the Japan only Donkey Konga 3.

She is also a playable character in Diddy Kong Racing DS, DK Jungle Climber, and Mario Hoops 3-on-3 for the Nintendo DS, DK King of Swing for the Game Boy Advance, Mario Superstar Baseball for the Nintendo GameCube, Mario Super Sluggers and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast for the Wii, and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze for the Wii U. One of Dixie's abilities is her ability to twirl her hair to float downwards.

Dixie appears in the Donkey Kong Country TV series.

Wrinkly Kong

Wrinkly Kong (リンクリーコング Rinkurī Kongu) is an elderly gorilla, the wife of Cranky Kong. Wrinkly first appeared in the game Donkey Kong Country 2 for the SNES, where she ran Kong Kollege. She gave the player advice and allowed the player to save his or her game. She appeared again in Donkey Kong Land 2, and again in Donkey Kong Country 3. This time, she resided in Wrinkly's Save Cave, where the player could both save their game and deposit Banana Birds, which were found throughout the game. This concept remained sans birds in Donkey Kong Land III, where she resided in Wrinkly's Refuge. In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, Wrinkly was portrayed as a spiritual follower of the Banana Birds.

Wrinkly next appeared in Donkey Kong 64. She had apparently died at some point after Donkey Kong Country 3 as she is now a ghost. Every world lobby in the game, with the exception of Hideout Helm, featured five doors with Wrinkly's face on them; each door presented a hint for the level that applied to the Kong that corresponded to the door color (yellow for Donkey Kong, red for Diddy Kong, blue for Lanky Kong, purple for Tiny Kong, and green for Chunky Kong). When the player begins meeting her in Donkey Kong 64, she says, "Don't be afraid of me, young ones! It's only me, Wrinkly Kong," and then she gives the player advice on how to win a Golden Banana on the corresponding level.

Her first playable appearance was in DK King of Swing. She would later return for DK Jungle Climber, and as an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. She also appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros Brawl.

Tiny Kong

Tiny Kong (タイニーコング Tainī Kongu) is a young gorilla character in the Donkey Kong games who first appeared in Donkey Kong 64. She has blonde hair and pigtails. She is Dixie Kong's younger sister and is a cousin to Chunky Kong and Kiddy Kong, as stated in the manual for Donkey Kong 64. In Donkey Kong 64, she was voiced by Kevin Bayliss, an employee at Rare who voiced multiple characters in the game. In Diddy Kong Racing DS and all later games, she is voiced by Jen Taylor. This actress also voiced Dixie in Mario Superstar Baseball. She is now depicted taller than Dixie.

In Donkey Kong 64, her clothing was a beanie hat, blue overalls, a white T-Shirt, and white shoes. She was freed by Diddy Kong in the Angry Aztec level in the building near Candy's Music Shop. Her weapon is the Feather Crossbow, her instrument is the Saxophone Slam, the Potion enables her for Mini-Monkey, Pony-Tail Twirl, and Monkey-Port. She can shrink when she jumps into her special barrel, allowing her access to areas other Kongs cannot go. She can do a helicopter-spin, equivalent to Dixie's, to slow down her descent. And she can teleport virtually anywhere when standing on a blue pad.

Tiny was one of the confirmed characters in Donkey Kong Racing for the Nintendo GameCube with Donkey Kong, Diddy, Kiddy, and Taj, but the game was canceled as Microsoft purchased Rare, Ltd. in September 2002.

She makes a cameo appearance in the GBA port of the SNES games Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3. In Donkey Kong Country 2, Diddy, Dixie, or both must rescue her from the Zingers in a mini-game called Kongnapped and the objective is to rescue six of her in order to win. In Donkey Kong Country 3, she appears in one of Funky's Motorboat challenges. These two games she appeared in are the only games where she is not a playable character.

In her spin-off debut, Diddy Kong Racing DS, she seems to have grown more mature, making her both taller and more physically developed than her older sister, Dixie. Her clothing now consists of a beanie hat, sweat pants, a midriff revealing spaghetti-strap top, sandals and fur wristbands, as well as earrings that she did not wear in the previous games. She is one of the first eight playable characters. Her acceleration and handling are slightly below average, and she has a medium top speed. In the game's commercial, she was using a Hovercraft and instead of being in the usual position in the game, she was standing, leaning forward.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Tiny is one of the Kongs in this game. It is the first game on the Wii she appears in. It is also the second racing game for her character. She is one of the unlockable characters in this game. She was unlocked by completing Sapphire Mode on a Rookie Setting as one of the Kongs.

Tiny Kong also appears as a playable character in Mario Super Sluggers. This is also Tiny Kong's debut in the Mario franchise.[7]

Chunky Kong

Chunky Kong (チャンキーコング Chankī Kongu) is a Western lowland gorilla weighing 2000 lbs and is one of the playable Kongs in the game Donkey Kong 64. Chunky is the older brother of Kiddy Kong and cousin of Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong. He was freed by Lanky in the level Frantic Factory. Before he was freed, he indicates that he does not like heights. Despite his brawny build, he acts somewhat cowardly and childish. He also seems slower on the ball than the other characters. During the attract mode to Donkey Kong 64, all the Kongs are displayed and their abilities shown in the manner of a hip hop video. Chunky Kong is dressed in a flare-legged disco outfit with an afro hairstyle, but immediately realizes this is out of style (or out of place for rap) and runs off, immediately returning wearing more appropriate clothes. One example Chunky's fears is when the player selects him in the barrel, he gets scared, shakes his head 'no' and tries to convince the player to choose Tiny Kong instead (although when not highlighted in the "select spotlight," he is shown to be more enthusiastic about being selected; this, however, could be reverse psychology). His weapon is the Pineapple Launcher, his instrument is the Triangle Trample, and the potion enables him to do Hunky Chunky, turning gigantic, Primate Punch, unleashing a very powerful punch which can smash down some doors and walls, and Gorilla-Gone, turning temporarily invisible. He can carry boulders and other heavy items that the other Kongs cannot carry. It should be noted that it was Chunky, with a combination of the "Hunky Chunky" and "Primate Punch" abilities, who defeated K.Rool in the last boxing match in Donkey Kong 64.

He appears as a sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He also made a brief cameo appearance in the Game Boy Advance remake of Donkey Kong Country 3 in the third challenge of Funky's Rentals, where he was one of the Kongs that he had to be rescued from the Kremlings' kidnapping threat, along with other characters such as Candy, Tiny and Cranky Kong.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, his weapon called the Pineapple Launcher is an item that can be obtained in an item balloon and follows the player ahead of you until it hits them.

Kiddy Kong

Kiddy Kong, known as Dinky Kong (ディンキーコング Dinkī Kongu) in Japan,[8] is a giant infant gorilla that was created by Rareware. He was introduced in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! as Dixie's sidekick and toddler cousin as well as the younger brother of Chunky Kong. Their mission was to solve a series of mysteries in the Northern Kremisphere and find their missing friends Donkey and Diddy. He is a sturdy toddler with lots of strength and is said to be a lot like Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in a way as he seems to always get in trouble.

He was also playable in Donkey Kong Land III where he joins Dixie in her quest to prove herself worthy by finding the fabled lost world before DK, Diddy, and the Kremlings. He did not appear in Donkey Kong 64 but was mentioned in the manual as being the baby brother of Chunky Kong. He was slated to appear in Donkey Kong Racing before it was cancelled and so far has yet to appear in any games since then. His abilities included water skipping, being able to roll farther to make longer than average jumps, and throwing Dixie high out of normal jump reach, with Dixie being able to throw him and guide his fall to break platforms and unveil hidden secrets.

Lanky Kong

Lanky Kong (ランキーコング Rankī Kongu) is a Sumatran Orangutan who is a distant cousin to the Kong family. Lanky's first appearance was in Donkey Kong 64 as one of the game's five playable Kongs. He was freed by Donkey Kong in the Angry Aztec level in the Llama's Temple. His weapon is the Grape Shooter, his instrument is the Trombone Tremor, and the Potion enables him to do OrangStand, walking on his hands to climb steep slopes. Baboon Balloon allows him to inflate himself to reach higher areas, and OrangSprint allows him to run really fast on his hands. In the level, Gloomy Galleon, he can transform into Enguarde the Swordfish when he enters the Enguarde Crate. Lanky Kong is known for his lack of style, lack of grace, as well as his funny face.[9]

Lanky Kong also makes a cameo in the GBA port of Donkey Kong Country 3 in one of Funky's minigames.

Lanky appears in his spin-off debut, Donkey Kong Barrel Blast as one of the Kongs. He is one of the unlockable characters.

It is noteworthy that, in Donkey Kong Country, there is an orangutan enemy called Manky Kong similar to Lanky in both appearance and name. It is unknown if they have any relation or if Lanky Kong was based on Manky Kong.

Lanky Kong appears as a trophy in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Lanky Kong has also known on the Internet as "HE" relating to the prevalence of the word he in the DK Rap, the use of calling Lanky Kong "he" was mainly for people wanting the character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, he also has his own board on 8chan named "/HE/".

Swanky Kong

Swanky Kong (スワンキーコング Suwankī Kongu) is a Kong entrepreneur. He first appears as the game show hosts a TV show called "Swanky's Bonus Bonanza" in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest in which Diddy and Dixie must answer questions about the game correctly to win extra lives. The questions would range from easy ones such as enemies you have seen and the world you're currently in to hard ones such as objects in the background.

After Crocodile Isle was destroyed in Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky ran "Swanky's Sideshow" in the Northern Kremisphere of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! where you had to face off against Cranky Kong. If you won, Swanky awarded you with Bear Coins and Banana Bunches. Even if you lost, Swanky would still give you some as a consolation prize. In Donkey Kong Country 2, he wears a blue oversized jacket and had an afro hair style. In DKC3, he wears a white long-sleeved shirt, a gold vest, a bowler hat, black pants, black and white shoes, and had a diamond-topped cane.

In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2, Swanky's role remained the same except that he now has Candy as his assistant. If you beat all of his quizzes, Swanky will reward you with a photo of himself to add to the scrapbook. In the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, Swanky sported his Donkey Kong Country 2 look and now runs "Swanky's Dash", a virtual reality game where you collect stars as Dixie (as Kiddy is too young to play). If you collect enough stars, Swanky will give you Bear Coins, Banana Bunches, and Extra Life Balloons. Swanky Kong has yet to appear in other games and become playable along with Candy Kong. His relationship to the Kong Family is currently unknown. Many have suggested that he is the brother of Donkey Kong since they look similar, but this is unconfirmed.

Other Kongs

Bluster Kong

Bluster Kong is a Kong who is exclusive to the TV series. He is the co-owner of Barrel Works Factory (which is owned by Bluster's unseen mother) and serves as the comic relief on the Kongs' side.

He has a dapper alter-ego (whom Bluster becomes after mixing up a serum by mistake) named Leo Luster who appears in the episode Hunka Hunka Burnin' Bluster and threatens Donkey Kong's relationship with Candy. However, Bluster is soon forced to tell Candy the truth when his serum runs dry and he reverts to his true self.

Leo Luster

Leo Luster is Bluster Kong's other self. He is visually almost identical to Bluster, except he has a prominent hairdo and sports a gold medallion. He also has the ability to hypnotize other characters in the show, which proves very useful in retrieving the Crystal Coconut.

Dread Kong

Dread Kong is a Kong with dreadlocks who is the ruler of the Banana Kingdom in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He alongside Karate Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong were placed under the spell of Ghastly King. When Donkey Kong defeated Ghastly King, Dread Kong congratulated Donkey Kong for defeating Ghastly King.

Eddie the Mean Old Yeti

Eddie the Mean Old Yeti is a yeti who is exclusive to the TV series. He makes his home in the White Mountains. In one episode, Eddie is shown as Donkey Kong's "Guardian Angel Yeti", when Donkey Kong gets knocked out by walking into a tree.

Karate Kong

Karate Kong is an old and powerful Kong in a violet robe who is the ruler of the Pineapple Kingdom in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He alongside Dread Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong were placed under the spell of Ghastly King. When Donkey Kong defeated Ghastly King, Karate Kong congratulated Donkey Kong for defeating Ghastly King.

Kong Fu

Kong Fu is a Kong exclusive to the television series. He is featured in the episode aptly named "Kong Fu" and as his name implies he is a master of Martial Arts. He challenges Donkey Kong for his title and even replaces Klump and Krusha as K. Rool's henchman, albeit briefly. It soon becomes clear that he is not as tough as he seems and he loses his fight with Donkey Kong due to a sudden bout of darkness (which Kong Fu is afraid of) and Donkey Kong wins the day. He is not seen again.

Ninja Kong

Ninja Kong is a large burly Kong who is the ruler of the Durian Kingdom in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He alongside Dread Kong, Karate Kong, and Sumo Kong were placed under the spell of Ghastly King. When Donkey Kong defeated Ghastly King, Ninja Kong congratulated Donkey Kong for defeating Ghastly King.

Sumo Kong

Sumo Kong is a large Kong who is the ruler of the Star Fruit Kingdom in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He alongside Dread Kong, Karate Kong, and Ninja Kong were placed under the spell of Ghastly King. When Donkey Kong defeated Ghastly King, Sumo Kong congratulated Donkey Kong for defeating Ghastly King.

Human characters

Mario

Main article: Mario

Mario is the protagonist of the original Donkey Kong game, the 1994 Game Boy Donkey Kong game, and the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong games, and the antagonist of Donkey Kong Jr. He also makes a cameo appearance in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Although it has been frequently stated that the Donkey part of the name is meant to mean "stupid" ape, if one looks at the original arcade machine's gameplay description, it is the "Jumpman" character that is referred to as the "Donkey". For example, it says "When the Donkey has a hammer he can beat anything up", and "You can get points when the Donkey jumps". This may have been a misunderstanding or translation error, as these instructions also feature odd grammar and misspelled words.

Pauline

Donkey Kong captures Pauline in the original game and Mario has to rescue her. She also appeared in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!. She also appeared in the bonus room in the original NES pinball game.

Stanley the Bugman

Since Mario was defeated by Donkey Kong Jr. in Donkey Kong Jr., a new protagonist named Stanley is the player's character in Donkey Kong 3. He is a bugman who works to stop Donkey Kong from stirring up any insects that will soon destroy his flowers. Stanley saves the flowers by spraying bug spray on Donkey Kong.

Kremlings

Kremlings are anthropomorphic crocodilians who are ruled by King K. Rool and antagonize the Kongs on a regular basis. The species' home is Crocodile Isle, though they were first seen in the Kongs' island in Donkey Kong Country when King K. Rool stole the banana hoard. They come in many sizes, varieties and colors, and most of them are anthropomorphic. All their names begin with the letter "K" with the exception of Skidda from Donkey Kong Country 3. In the first Donkey Kong Country, the Kremlings were wearing military attire, but with the sequel, they switched their gear to pirate-themed ones (which seemed to be custom in their home island). In the third game, many of them were seen with no clothing of any sort.

The Kremling Krew is the name used for K. Rool's entire army, which not only consist of the Kremlings, but also of many different animal species (birds, mammals, insects, fish, other reptiles, etc.) that seemed to have become followers of the psychotic king. Several machines and ghosts (undead) seem to be included in the Kremling Krew as well.

Many of these enemies also appeared in Donkey Kong 64 and are playable in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

While almost all the Kremlings are enemies of the Kongs, one exception is K. Lumsy, who opens up levels for the Kongs in Donkey Kong 64.

King K. Rool

Main article King K. Rool

King K. Rool is a green Kremling who was the main antagonist of many Donkey Kong games during the era of Rare development. The psychopathic king of Kremlings and master of Kremling Krew, he constantly antagonizes the Kongs, referring to them as "filthy apes," "monkey brains," and "ludicrous lemurs" as well as frequently robbing Donkey Kong's banana hoard. His most distinguishing features are the tic in his left eye, his red cape, his gold crown and wrist bands, and his golden belly with an outie navel. While he is overweight, K. Rool has huge muscles in his arms and he has proven to have enormous brute strength that matches (perhaps surpasses) both Donkey Kong and Chunky Kong in power.

While K. Rool's crown-and-cape look has been his default appearance since Donkey Kong Country, he takes on alternate disguises and personalities to battle the Kongs in other games.

In the TV series, he appears as a king and often feuds with Kaptain Skurvy (who is based on the Kremling enemy Kannon). Besides the Kritters and Klap Traps, King K. Rool's henchmen are Klump and Krusha. He is portrayed as somewhat pompous with a stereotypical English dialect.

He is voiced by Chris Sutherland in Donkey Kong 64, Benedict Campbell in the Donkey Kong Country TV show, Jūrōta Kosugi in the Japanese adaptation of the show, and Toshihide Tsuchiya in recent games. His name is a pun on the word cruel.

K. Rool also appeared in Mario Super Sluggers (his first appearance in a Mario game) as an unlockable character along with Donkey, Diddy, and Funky Kong as well as one of his Kritters. He uses his magical staff as a bat. A Mii Fighter costume based on K. Rool's design appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U as downloadable content.

He is known to shoot the souls of his previous victims out of a cannon in Diddy's Kong Quest.

Klump

Klump is a large tough obese general of the Kremling Krew and the K. Rool's right hand in Donkey Kong franchise. This character has appeared in three of the Donkey Kong games, including as an unlockable playable character in Diddy Kong Pilot which was later to be renamed as Banjo Pilot and got replaced by Klungo for the final release. He has also appeared in the literature and the TV series under the name General Klump.

In the games, he first appeared in Donkey Kong Country as an enemy. In this game, he appears as a Brown kremling with an ammo belt, black boots and wears a strong green army helmet on his head. He has a tendency to march. They are invincible to some attacks in this game such as Diddy Kong jumping on him, due to having a helmet protecting him against some damage. They can only be defeated by Diddy's cartwheel, Donkey Kong's roll and ground slap attack, Donkey Kong jumping on him, or having a barrel be thrown at him.

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, There was an enemy familiar to Klump called: Kannon and according to the manual, It states that Kannon are actually Klump dressed up as pirate armed with cannon as their dangerous weapon.

In Donkey Kong 64, Klump re-appears in this title depicting as a much larger enemy and oddly having some pink colorations on him. His army belt pockets also face the sides instead of the front. His attack is by throwing green unripe Orange Grenades at the Kongs, and the only way to defeat them is by using a shockwave attack or by throwing an Orange grenade of their own. When defeated, he gives a salute and falls over.

In Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, Klump has once again appeared with a dramatic change of appearance. Klump now has a bucket on his head, along with ammo pants and has a brown skin coloration. He rivals Lanky Kong.

In the TV series, General Klump serves as King K. Rool's second-command and general, which he is actually one of the main characters. Originally he is described as a tough military-man like exterior. Despite that, he is actuality quite a softy as well for his personality. He actually befriends Dixie Kong and helps her find her pet lobster Thermidor in the aforementioned episode, "Klump's Lumps". His color is also different too compared to the games. He was Brown in the games, but in Season 1 of the TV series, he was Light Green and in Season 2, he was Dark Green. He is voiced by Len Carlson in the Donkey Kong Country TV show. In the Japanese adaptation, he is voiced by Keiichi Sonobe.

Krusha

Krusha is a blue Kremling known for his supreme super-strength. Only Donkey Kong can defeat him in the original game. He is a secret playable multiplayer character in Donkey Kong 64. He has an Oranges Gun, and he has a sliding ability, similar to Donkey Kong and Tiny Kong.

In the TV series, Krusha appears as one of King K. Rool's henchmen and goes together with Klump as the show's comic relief. He is voiced by Adrian Truss.

Kritter

Kritters are common enemies in the Donkey Kong Country video games and are the main foot soldiers of the Kremling Krew. They are usually either walking or jumping when seen in the games. All the Kritters in Diddy's Kong Quest are dressed as pirates and outfitted with peglegs. Those who walk are named "Klomp" and have one peg, while the jumpers are named "Kaboing" and have two. The Kritters in "Dixie Kong's Double Trouble" appear to be genetically altered, the walkers named "Kobble" have extra muscles added, while the jumpers named "Re-Koil" actually bounce on their spring-loaded tails. In Donkey Kong 64 the Kritters undergo a drastic change, sporting leather jackets, and belt buckles with skulls on them. They play a larger role in this game. Two specific Kritters are seen piloting K.Rool's Mechanical Island, chasing after one of the Kongs, and serve as referees during the final battle. The first two games also have Kritters who ride in minecarts or roller-coaster cars. Respectively, the minecart riders are named "Krash", ride toward the player's cart, and cannot be touched, while the coaster riders are named "Klank" (who are actually Kutlasses), ride in front of the player's coaster tossing barrels at them, and can be landed on to knock them off the track.

In the Mario Strikers series, a Kritter serves as a goalie for each team. A Robo-Kritter serves as the goalie for a robotic team in Super Mario Strikers. In Mario Super Sluggers, Kritters appear as playable characters for the team DK Wilds. They also appear in the Donkey Kong Country TV series as King K. Rool's henchmen.

Kritters In Barrels

"Diddy's Kong Quest" features barrel-dwelling Kritters called Klobbers, with an earring and a black eye. The most dangerous is named "Kaboom", who lives in a dynamite barrel and being hit by one will kill the player, while the less dangerous repeatedly rams the player, sometimes causing them to drop objects. Black Klobbers steal life-balloons from the player, while the yellows steal bunches of bananas the player has in inventory(both items are recoverable).

"Dixie Kong's Double Trouble" feature Kritters which have been fused into barrels. Green "Knocka"s attempt to bump the Kongs off ledges, the red-orange "Klasp"s hang on ropes waiting to lethally explode on contact with a Kong, and the purple "Kuchucka"s sit and repeatedly throw bombs in the path of the Kongs.

All barrel Kritters (except Kuchuckas) can be defeated by a jump or barrel attack (only attack Klasps with a barrel), then used as a regular or exploding barrel themselves.

Klaptrap

Klaptraps are recurring enemies in the Donkey Kong games. They were first called 'Snapjaw's in Donkey Kong Junior, and were re-christened as Klaptraps in Donkey Kong Country, where they appear as small blue crocodiles with large mouths. A 'big-brother' version of them named "Klampon" appears in Diddy's Kong Quest, while Dixie Kong's Double Trouble features a baby-like version named "Krimp".

The Klaptraps also appear in the TV series. There is also a large Klaptrap named Junior who is one of King K. Rool's henchmen.

Kaptain Skurvy

Kaptain Skurvy is a Kremling pirate who is exclusive to the TV series and is Klump's long lost brother. He is often feuding with King K. Rool for the Crystal Coconut, whom his great great grandfather hid many decades ago.

He is based on the Kremling enemies called Kannons (who resemble Klumps) from Diddy's Kong Quest.

Green Kroc

Green Kroc is a Kremling pirate who is exclusive to the TV series. He is a henchman of Kaptain Skurvy.

Kalypso

Kalypso is a female Kremling who is an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

Kass

Kass is a female Kremling child who is a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

Kerozene

Kerozene is a giant Kremling who is the boss of K. Rool's Keep exclusive to the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Kip

Kip is a Kremling child who is a playable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

K. Lumsy

K. Lumsy is a giant Kremling who is an unlikely ally of the Kongs in Donkey Kong 64. He thinks that Kongs are cute. When K. Lumsy refused to take part in the invasion of Donkey Kong Island, King K. Rool locked him up in a cage and scatter the keys throughout the island. Upon being freed by the Kongs, K. Lumsy ends up beating up King K. Rool following his defeat.

Klubba

Klubba is a Kremling that appears in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. He guards the entrance to the Lost World.

Kudgel

Kudgel is a large gray Kremling who is the boss of Krem Quay in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. He is a recolored version of Klubba and serves as the boss of Krem Quay.

Kludge

Kludge is a large, powerful, blue Kremling who is an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.

Resident Demon

Resident Demon is a giant ghost Kremling that appears in Donkey Kong 64. He attacks Donkey Kong on the ghost train ride in Creepy Castle.

Kasplat

Kasplats are Krusha-like enemies who are exclusive to Donkey Kong 64. They wear black leather jackets and dark sunglasses. Like Krusha, they are big, tough brutes, only they have five different hair colors for the blueprints they protect from each Kong. When afar, they slap down to the ground to create a shockwave. When a Kasplat is defeated, they drop the blueprint they were guarding. In one cutscene of the game, a Kasplat attempts to escape from K.Rool before he finds out Snide is recovering the blueprints for the Blast-O-Matic.

Kremling soldiers

Ghastly King

Ghastly King is a giant Kong who served as the dictator of the Fruit Kingdoms in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. He apparently put a spell on Dread Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong to defeat Donkey Kong. After Ghastly King was defeated, Donkey Kong becomes the new ruler of the Fruit Kingdoms.

Tiki Tak Tribe

The Tiki Tak Tribe are a group of evil Tikis who are the antagonists in Donkey Kong Country Returns and its 3DS remake. The tribe is led by Tiki Tong, a gigantic Tiki. The Tiki Tak Tribe use hypnosis-inducing music on the animals of DK Island (namely elephants, giraffes, zebras, and squirrels) and steal Donkey Kong's bananas, forcing him to retrieve the hoard with the help of Diddy Kong. It is interesting to note that the Tiki Tak Tribe's hypnotic music does not work on Donkey Kong or on Diddy Kong (it's hinted that it's because they're not smart enough for the spell to work). It would seem that the Tiki Tak Tribe needs bananas in order to live and to make more tikis, which seems to be the reason as to why they stole all of the bananas in DK Island. The Tiki Tak Tribe made a cameo appearance in Mario Kart 7 on the track DK Jungle where they attack players and make them drop coins.

Tiki Tong

Tiki Tong is the leader of the Tiki Tak Tribe. He is a gigantic tiki with a wooden crown, red eyes, demonic horns, a large mouth, and a carved nose. He is the main antagonist of Donkey Kong Country Returns. In the final battle against him, the previously defeated Tiki leaders throw a bunch of bananas into Tiki Tong's head, which he melts into a golden liquid and pours onto the Tiki leaders, which in turn become his hands. Like the other Tikis, he requires bananas in order to live (which is most likely why the Tiki Tak Tribe stole Donkey Kong's bananas) and to make himself more powerful. Unlike the Tiki leaders who speak in a musical way, he speaks in guttural roars. Tiki Tong perishes in a final battle with Donkey and Diddy after he explodes, launching the Kongs into orbit, which prompts the latter to punch the moon sending the moon plummeting down, crushing Tiki Tong's base, sending a wave of bananas raining down upon the island.

Boss Tikis

The Tiki leaders are all modeled and named after musical instruments. Each one hypnotizes and takes control of a boss character at the end of one of the first seven worlds. As Donkey Kong defeats each boss, the Tiki is forced out of that character, at which point Donkey Kong unloads fisticuffs onto it and sends it flying. At the end of the eighth world, these Tikis are seen again as they form Tiki Tong's hands as described above.

Kalimba

Kalimba is a kalimba-based Tiki who hypnotizes an elephant in the opening scene. Immediately following the opening scene, he tries to take control of Donkey Kong only to end up pummeled as the game begins. Kalimba later hypnotizes Mugly to fight Donkey Kong at the end of the first world.

Maraca Triplets

The Maraca Triplets are maraca-based Tikis. Each one of them possesses one of the three members of the Scurvy Crew at the end of World 2.

Gong

Gong is a gong-based Tiki who hypnotizes a zebra in the opening scene and then leads the animals. At the end of the third world, he hypnotizes Stu to fight Donkey Kong.

Banjo

Banjo is a banjo-based Tiki who hypnotizes Mole Miner Max by having him start the train and have his mole servants dive into the banana-filled carts in order to fight Donkey Kong at the end of World 4.

Panflute

Panflute is a Pan flute-based Tiki who hypnotizes a giraffe and a squirrel in the opening scene and takes control of Mangoruby at the end of World 5.

Xylophone

Xylophone is a xylophone-based Tiki who hypnotizes Thugly to fight Donkey Kong in World 6.

Accordion

Accordion is an accordion-based Tiki who hypnotizes Colonel Pluck into using his Stompybot 3000 on Donkey Kong at the end of the seventh world.

Tiki soldiers

The following are soldiers for the Tiki Tak Tribe:

Snowmads

The Snowmads are a group of arctic animals that are the main antagonists of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. They are a group of Vikings that have invaded Donkey Kong Island with the soldiers consisting of rabbits, owls, penguins, and walruses. Most of the Snowmads were horned helmets on their heads. Their invasion caused Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong to band together in order to reclaim Donkey Kong Island. Their name is a combination of the words snow and nomad.

Lord Fredrik

Lord Fredrik is a large obese Waldough who is the ruler of the Snowmads and the main antagonist of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. He led the Snowmads into invading Donkey Kong Island in order to take over it. He used his horn to freeze the entire island including the volcano which the Snowmads used as their base. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Dixie Kong, and Cranky Kong had to reclaim their island from Lord Fredrik and the Snowmads. Upon Lord Fredrik's defeat, he is blasted out of the island, crashing into the sea where his ships and other Snowmads are stationed. Lord Fredrik's horn is now used by Donkey Kong. With it, he changes Donkey Kong Island back to normal melting the snow and ice.

Pompy

Pompy, the Presumptious is a moustached sea lion who is one of Lord Fredrik's commanders. He is the boss of the Lost Mangroves.

Skowl

Skowl, the Startling is a large gray Hootz who is one of Lord Fredrik's commanders. He is the boss of Autumn Heights.

Ba-Boom

Ba-Boom, the Boisterous is a Kong who is one the Snowmads' side as one of Lord Fredrik's commanders. He is the boss of Bright Savannah and can create two copies of himself.

Fugu

Fugu, the Frightening is a Pufferfish who is on the Snowmads' side as one of Lord Fredrik's commanders. He is the boss of Sea Breeze Cove and can expand his body in battle.

Bashmaster

Bashmaster, the Unbreakable is a large polar bear who is one of Lord Fredrik's commanders. He is the boss of the Juicy Jungle and wields a spiky hammer in battle.

Snowmad Soldiers

Other characters

Animal buddies

In the Donkey Kong Country games, the Donkey Kong Land games, and Donkey Kong 64, the Kong family is assisted by a number of friendly animals who allow the Kongs to ride on their backs or perform various tasks for the Kongs. Among the known animal buddies are:

Brothers Bear

The Brothers Bear are a race of anthropomorphic bears who live in the Northern Kremisphere in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! There are 15 of them located throughout the Northern Kremisphere in order of appearance:

Snide the Weasel

Snide is a weasel who originated in Donkey Kong 64. He was once King K. Rool's chief technician who had invented the Blast-O-Matic and other devices that the Kremlings have used. King K. Rool fired him due to a paranoia that Snide was going to betray him. Snide moved to Donkey Kong Isle where he set up his headquarters. He aided the Kongs by giving them blueprints to the Kremling devices.

Troff and Scoff

Troff the Pig and Scoff the Hippopotamus are animals who originated in Donkey Kong 64. When Scoff is fed a specific amount of bananas, he will lift Troff to reach the key to the boss door.

Diddy Kong Racing characters

Main article: Diddy Kong Racing

Characters formerly associated with the franchise

Two characters from Diddy Kong Racing can no longer be used in Donkey Kong games due to Microsoft's ownership of them.

Both these characters appear in the Microsoft Buys Rare announcement video. Conker is fired from a gun and Banjo comes to pull him out of the "O" in Xbox. Then, the squirrel uses a chainsaw to change the logo from "Xbox" to "Rare".

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Scribes - August 25, 1999". Part of Rareware.com's former "scribes" column. Archived from the original on 2002-08-05. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
  2. ↑ Retro Gamer, Vol. #43
  3. ↑ "In his heyday, Cranky was the original Donkey Kong who battled Mario in several of his own games." - Donkey Kong Country instruction manual, pg. 6
  4. ↑ "Online Magazine".
  5. ↑ Mentioned by Otacon in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
  6. ↑ Karl, Ben; Rudden, Dave (2007-10-05). "Top Ten Disturbingly Sexual Game Characters". games.net. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  7. ↑ Gonintendo.com - Mario Super Sluggers roster
  8. ↑ "Introduction of Dinkey". Nintendo. Retrieved 2008-08-06.
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcP91tQ4ZSM
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