It has been requested that this article be rewritten and expanded to include more information.
Animal Friends, also known as The Good Guys,[1] Animal Buddies,[2] or First Class Friends,[3] is a term relating to friendly creatures that aid Donkey Kong and his friends and family on their various adventures. Animal Friends help the Kongs by defeating enemies, finding items, and reaching Bonus Levels. Animal Friends first appeared in the game Donkey Kong Country and have appeared in most subsequent Donkey Kong franchise games. There is also a separate yet similar group of allies known as Jungle Buddies.[4]
When an Animal Friend is injured by an enemy or obstacle, it runs away, just like Yoshis in the Super Mario series. The Animal Friend continues in a single direction usually until hitting into a wall, where they change direction. The Kongs can continue riding the Animal Buddy when they jump back on it.
In Donkey Kong Country, the Kongs can jump onto an animal crate to free the pictured Animal Friend and ride it. Animal crates also appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, which also introduces Animal Barrels, which Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong can enter to transform into the depicted Animal Friend. The game also introduces the No Animal Sign, a signpost that the Animal Friend cannot pass. By crossing the No Animal Sign, the Animal Friend disappears, and an item, such as an Extra Life Balloon, is released. When the Kongs cross a No Animal Sign as an Animal Friend, they transform back into themselves.
List of Animal Friends
Animal Friends introduced in Donkey Kong Country
Animal Friends introduced in Donkey Kong Country 2
Animal Friends introduced in Donkey Kong Country 3
Animal Friends introduced in Donkey Kong 64
Jungle Buddies introduced in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat
Animal Friend introduced in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Table of Animal Friends by game
| Animal | DKC | DKC2 | DKC3 | DK64 | DKBB | DKCR | DKCTF | DKJB |
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| Rambi |  |
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| Expresso | |
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| Enguarde | |
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| Winky | |
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| Squawks | |
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| Rattly | |
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| Squitter | |
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| Glimmer | |
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| Clapper | |
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| Ellie | |
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| Parry | |
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| Hoofer | |
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| Flurl | |
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| Orco | |
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| Helibird | |
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| Quawks1 | |
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| Lightfish | |
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| Tawks | |
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- 1 — The character is not fully confirmed as being an Animal Friend.
- 2 — The character is only present in remakes of the game, and not the original game itself.
- 3 — The character is present in the game, but does not have a full fledged Animal Friend role.
Gallery
Donkey Kong Country Returns animals
Concept of several Animal Friends for Donkey Kong Country
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アニマルフレンド Animaru Furendo ジャングルブラザーズ Janguru Burazāzu[?] |
Animal Friends Jungle Brothers |
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| German | Tierisch Hilfreich[?] | Helpful Animals |
Trivia
- In Donkey Kong Country Returns, the elephant, zebra, giraffe, and squirrel seen throughout the game are dubbed "Animal Friends" in one of the unlockable concept artworks;[5] however, these animals only have a background role in the game due to being hypnotized into stealing the banana hoard by the Tiki Tak Tribe.
- Donkey Kong Land was originally going to introduce another Animal Friend, a ram named Ram Bunkshus.
References
- ^ Donkey Kong Country cast roll
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest cast roll
- ^ Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble cast roll
- ^ Donkey Kong Jungle Beat instruction booklet, page 16.
- ^ "Animal Friends" concept artwork, "Critters 1 Gallery" in the "Extras" section of Donkey Kong Country Returns.