Editing Animal Friends

{{rewrite-expand|add History section for game-specific information}}
[[File:DKC Animal Buddies.png|thumb|250px|Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong with their Animal Friends]]
'''Animal Friends''' (or '''animal friends'''),<ref>''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' Nintendo Switch Online description</ref><ref>''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' Nintendo Switch Online description</ref> also known as '''The Good Guys''',<ref>''Donkey Kong Country'' cast roll</ref> '''Animal Buddies''',<ref>''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' cast roll</ref> and '''First Class Friends''',<ref>''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' cast roll</ref> are friendly creatures that aid [[Donkey Kong]] and the other [[Kong]]s on their various adventures. Since their first appearance in ''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'', Animal Friends have appeared in several subsequent ''[[Donkey Kong (franchise)|Donkey Kong]]'' titles, especially the [[Donkey Kong Country (series)|''Donkey Kong Country'' series]] and [[Donkey Kong Land (series)|''Donkey Kong Land'' series]].

Every Animal Friend has its own abilities, which are sometimes shared between two or more Animal Friends, usually if they do not appear in the same game. Animal Friends generally help by defeating enemies, finding special items, and allowing the Kongs to reach [[bonus room|Bonus Level]]s and other high areas. In some cases, a special item, such as a couple of [[DK Coin]]s, can be obtained only through the aid of an Animal Friend. A few of the Animal Friends have the sole purpose of allowing the Kongs to navigate an environment, such as by illuminating a dark area, and are found in only a few relevant areas. None of the Animal Friends can use [[rope]]s, and most of them cannot carry objects such as [[barrel]]s.

In most cases, an Animal Friend is contained within an [[animal crate]], which depicts an emblem of its face on the side. The Kongs can release the Animal Friend by breaking open its animal crate. Most of the Animal Friends can be ridden, and when this occurs, the player's control switches over from the Kongs to the Animal Friend. Just like [[Yoshi (species)|Yoshi]]s in the ''[[Super Mario (series)|Super Mario]]'' series, if an Animal Friend is injured by an enemy or obstacle, it runs away, continuing in a single direction until it hits a wall, where it starts moving in the opposite direction, or falls down a [[pit]]. To continue riding the Animal Friend, the Kongs must [[jump]] back onto it. The Kongs can continue riding an Animal Friend until they exit a [[level]] or pass a [[No Animal Sign]], which is a signpost that the depicted Animal Friend is incapable of passing. Crossing a No Animal Sign causes the Animal Friend to disappear, and an item, such as an [[Red Balloon|Extra Life Balloon]], appears in its place.

Similar to animal crates are [[Animal Barrel]]s, which transform the Kongs into the depicted Animal Friend. Whenever two Kongs are active, a small icon of the same Animal Friend is shown at the bottom left of the screen to represent the other Kong. The Animal Friend can sustain two hits from an enemy or most obstacles, meaning that it loses a life only if hit a second time. Whenever the Animal Friend takes one hit, its bottom left icon disappears to indicate that only one of the Kongs is presently transformed into it. Touching a [[DK Barrel]] causes the second Kong, and therefore the Animal Friend's icon, to reappear. Whenever the Kongs cross a No Animal Sign, they transform back into themselves. In the ''Donkey Kong Land'' series, some levels do not have a No Animal Sign near the end, so they can be completed by an Animal Friend, who then turns back into the Kongs afterward.

''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'', its [[Nintendo 3DS]] [[Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D|port]], its [[Nintendo Switch]] [[Donkey Kong Country Returns HD|port]], and ''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]'' reduce the role of the Animal Friends heavily. Only Rambi and Squawks appear. Rambi retains a similar role as in the prior games, though the exact mechanics have changed. Squawks is instead an item which when equipped has him appear in the level to help. The characters are not grouped as "Animal Friends". Instruction manuals group Squawks with the other items and Rambi with vehicles. Trailers also group Rambi with vehicles. The overview trailer for the [[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch)|Nintendo Switch port of ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'']] states Rambi is an Animal Friend.<ref>{{cite|quote=Smash through obstacles with your Animal Friend Rambi...|author=Nintendo of America|date=Apr 25, 2018|title=Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze - Overview Trailer - Nintendo Switch|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1psp2t0Zi9o|timestamp="1:18"|publisher=Youtube|accessdate=February 8th, 2025}}</ref>

In ''[[Donkey Kong Jungle Beat]]'', [[Jungle Buddies]] have a similar role.

==List of Animal Friends==
{|class="wikitable dk sortable"
!class="unsortable"|Image
!style="width:5%"|Name
!class="unsortable" style="width:65%"|Description
!class="unsortable" style="width:25%"|{{hover|Game appearance(s)|This does not include minor or cameo appearances}}
|-
|[[File:Rambi DKCR.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Rambi]]
|Rambi is a rhinoceros who has the most appearances out of all the Animal Friends. He uses his horn to attack enemies and break open walls.
|''[[Donkey Kong Country]]'' (1994)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Land]]'' (1995)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]'' (1995)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Land 2]]'' (1996)<br>''[[Donkey Kong 64]]'' (1999)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Barrel Blast]]'' (2007)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' (2010)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]'' (2014)
|-
|[[File:Expresso.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Expresso]]
|An ostrich who can glide across wide gaps. He has tall legs that short enemies, such as [[Klaptrap]]s, walk right through.
|''Donkey Kong Country'' (1994)<br>''Donkey Kong Land'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Country 2'' (Game Boy Advance) (2004)
|-
|[[File:Enguarde DK Barrel Blast artwork.jpg|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Enguarde]]
|Enguarde is a blue swordfish who often appears in aquatic levels to assist the [[Kong]]s. In the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series, Enguarde moves faster than the [[Kong]]s underwater while having a jab attack that increases momentum and  defeats enemies, though he moves much slower on land.
|''Donkey Kong Country'' (1994)<br>''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (1996)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]'' (1996)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Land III]]'' (1997)<br>''Donkey Kong 64'' (1999)<br>''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast'' (2007)
|-
|[[File:WinkyDKC.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Winky]]
|Winky is a frog who is capable of bouncing high, allowing [[Donkey Kong]] and [[Diddy Kong]] to reach higher areas.
|''Donkey Kong Country'' (1994)
|-
|[[File:Squawks - Donkey Kong Country Returns.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Squawks]]
|Squawks is a green parrot whose role has varied throughout the ''[[Donkey Kong Country (series)|Donkey Kong Country]]'' series. In ''Donkey Kong Country'', he carries a flashlight to light the path forward in the level [[Torchlight Trouble]]. In ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' and ''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (as well as their respective counterparts, ''Donkey Kong Land 2'' and ''Donkey Kong Land III''), Squawks can fly the Kongs through the level, usually only segments. In ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'' and ''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'', Squawks helps the Kongs find [[Puzzle Piece (Donkey Kong Country series)|Puzzle Piece]]s.
|''Donkey Kong Country'' (1994)<br>''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (1996)<br>''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (1996)<br>''Donkey Kong Land III'' (1997)<br>''Donkey Kong 64'' (1999)<br>''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast'' (2007)<br>''Donkey Kong Country Returns'' (2010)<br>''Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze'' (2014)
|-
|[[File:Rattly.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Rattly]]
|Rattly is a green rattlesnake who, like Winky, has a high jumping ability, so Rattly is essentially a replacement for Winky in his appearances.
|''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (1996)
|-
|[[File:Squitter.jpg|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Squitter]]
|A large, orange spider who has the ability to create webs, either as platforms or to attack enemies. 
|''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (1996)<br>''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (1996)<br>''Donkey Kong Land III'' (1997)
|-
|[[File:Glimmer.jpg|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Glimmer]]
|An angler fish who only appears in one level, [[Glimmer's Galleon (Donkey Kong Country 2)|Glimmer's Galleon]], to light the path ahead for Diddy and [[Dixie Kong|Dixie]]. His role is much like that of Squawks's in ''Donkey Kong Country'' albeit underwater.
|''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)
|-
|[[File:Clapper.jpg|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Clapper]]
|These seals are always found next to a body of water. Whenever Diddy or Dixie jumps on a Clapper, it exhales cold air which cools (or freezes) the water.
|''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (1996)
|-
|[[File:Quawks Artwork - Donkey Kong Country 3.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Quawks]]
|A purple relative of Squawks with a similar behavior and appearance, but has one characteristic in which he is disadvantaged; in ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' and ''Donkey Kong Land 2'', he cannot fly upward, and in ''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'', he cannot spit eggs, picking up [[barrel]]s instead.
|''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest'' (1995)<br>''Donkey Kong Land 2'' (1996)<br>''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (1996)
|-
|[[File:EllieDKC3.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Ellie]]
|An elephant who can store a supply of water in her trunk and shoot bursts of them to attack enemies. Ellie can also use her trunk to carry barrels.
|''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (1996)<br>''Donkey Kong Land III'' (1997)
|-
|[[File:Parry DKC3.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Parry (character)|Parry]]
|A small bird who flies to the side of Dixie and [[Kiddy Kong|Kiddy]], similar to Squawks in ''Donkey Kong Country''. If the Kongs take Parry past a No Animal Sign, he often yields a valuable reward, sometimes even a [[Bonus Barrel]].
|''Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!'' (1996)
|-
|[[File:Lightfish DK64.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Lightfish]]<ref group=note>While not referred to as an Animal Friend in any English sources, there are German and Spanish sources that list the Lightfish as an Animal Friend, albeit while referring to it as Glimmer, the name of a similar Animal Friend.</ref>
|A tadpole-like fish who illuminates the darker areas of [[Gloomy Galleon]] for the Kongs. It is similar to Glimmer from ''Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest''.
|''Donkey Kong 64'' (1999)
|}

<references group="note"/>

==Similar characters==
While not Animal Friends themselves, these characters have a very similar role:
{|class="wikitable dk sortable"
!class="unsortable"|Image
!style="width:5%"|Name
!class="unsortable" style="width:65%"|Description
!class="unsortable" style="width:25%"|{{hover|Game appearance(s)|This does not include minor or cameo appearances}}
|-
|[[File:TutorialPig.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Professor Chops]]
|Bespectacled pigs that give advice and act as checkpoints.
|''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' (2010)<br>''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]'' (2014)
|-
|[[File:BlowholeBound.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Whale]]
|Whales appear as large moving platforms in the stage [[Blowhole Bound]].
|''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' (2010)
|-
|[[File:TawksArtwork.png|150x150px]]
|style="text-align:center"|[[Tawks]]
|A red parrot who substitutes for [[Funky Kong]] at [[Funky's Fly 'n' Buy]] whenever he is journeying with the other Kongs.
|''[[Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Nintendo Switch)|Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze]]'' ([[Nintendo Switch]]) (2018)
|}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Animalfriendsdkcr.png|''[[Donkey Kong Country Returns]]'' animals
Animal Buddies Concept.jpg|Concept of several Animal Friends for ''Donkey Kong Country''
</gallery>

==Names in other languages==
{{foreign names
|Jpn=アニマルフレンド
|JpnR=Animaru Furendo
|JpnM=Animal Friends
|Fre=Amis Animaux
|FreM=Animal Friends
|Ger=Tierisch Hilfreich
|GerM=Helpful Animals
|Ita=Amici animali
|ItaM=Animal friends
|Spa=Amigos Animales
}}

==Trivia==
[[File:Ram_Bunkshus.png|thumb|Ram Bunkshus]]
*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;<ref>"Animal Friends" concept artwork, "Critters 1 Gallery" in the "Extras" section of ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'';</ref> these animals have a background role in the game, being hypnotized into stealing [[banana]]s by the [[Tiki Tak Tribe]]. A non-hypnotized elephant appears in the [[Jungle (Donkey Kong Country Returns)|Jungle]]'s [[List of extras in Donkey Kong Country Returns|diorama]] being ridden by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.
*''[[Donkey Kong Land]]'' was [[List of Donkey Kong Land pre-release and unused content|originally]] going to introduce another Animal Friend, a ram named Ram Bunkshus.

==References==
<references/>

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[[Category:Animal Friends|*]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong 64]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Barrel Blast]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Country]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Land]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Land 2]]
[[Category:Donkey Kong Land III]]
[[it:Amici animali]]
[[de:Tierischer Freund]]