Army Dillo
- “I-I'm sorry, master, he was too quick for me. B-but I'll get him next time...”
- —Army Dillo, Donkey Kong 64
Army Dillo is a massive Army equipped with a sturdy, iron shell with two large cannons. He is both the first and the sixth boss of Donkey Kong 64, since he is fought in both Jungle Japes and Crystal Caves. For both boss battles, Army Dillo can only be fought by Donkey Kong.
Battle
Jungle Japes
In Jungle Japes, the first fight with Army Dillo takes place in a jungle arena. Before the battle begins, Army Dillo rolls out of a cave and into the arena. Army Dillo pokes out from his shell, where two large cannons emerge. Army Dillo lets out a laugh and retreats back in his shell. The boss battle then begins.
For this battle, Army Dillo is equipped with two large retractable side-mounted fireball cannons and a metal shell. The battle mainly consists of Army Dillo retreating into his shell and shooting fireballs from his cannons. At first, Army Dillo blasts four fireballs at Donkey Kong. It briefly peeks out of its shell, letting out a laugh. During this opportunity, Donkey Kong must pick up a TNT Barrel and throw it at Army Dillo's head. The explosion blasts Army Dillo upward and short-circuits his shell, electrocuting him in the process.
After this, Army Dillo retreats in his shell and rolls around, attempting to run over Donkey Kong. After a few seconds, Army Dillo returns to blasting fireballs, this time blasting nine of them at a faster rate. As Army Dillo pokes his head out again, Donkey Kong must throw another TNT Barrel at him. This short-circuits his shell again, electrocuting him in the process.
In the third and final round, Army Dillo has the same pattern, but moves at a faster rate. He also fires eleven fireballs at Donkey Kong and retracts his head quicker after letting out a laugh. After being hit from a third TNT Barrel, the short-circuiting of Army Dillo's shell causes the cannons to blast off from his shell. Army Dillo flees in embarrassment and relinquishes the first Boss Key to K. Lumsy's cage.
When the Kongs first enter Angry Aztec, a cutscene shows Dillo cowering in fear while being watched by K. Rool. Army Dillo says to K. Rool that Donkey Kong was too quick for him, and that he will "get him next time". K. Rool is mad at Army Dillo's failure and glares at him. Out of fright, Army Dillo falls on his back and faints.
Crystal Caves
Before he faces Donkey Kong for a second time, Dillo is retooled in a Kremling base in Crystal Caves. His weaponry is upgraded with side-mounted rocket boosters, which gives Dillo the ability to perform a shock-wave ground slam. He is also upgraded with a gigantic top-mounted cannon, capable of launching rapid streams of fireballs and homing rockets. In the battle within Crystal Caves, the fight between Army Dillo and DK basically follows the same procedure as their battle in Jungle Japes, only that Army Dillo uses his shock wave attack after he tries to crush Donkey Kong and before he attacks with fireballs again.
Also, when Army Dillo's side cannons explode after receiving three TNT barrels to the face, he keeps on fighting, using his shock wave attack again before he reveals his new top-mounted cannon. Army Dillo then hovers in the air and fires fireballs into the ceiling which rain down on DK. When the last fireball falls, Army Dillo lands and fires a missile which homes in on Donkey Kong. Once that explodes, Army Dillo peeks out from under his shell again. This gives Donkey Kong a limited amount of time to hit Army Dillo with another TNT Barrel. When hit, the short-circuiting of Army Dillo's shell causes the shell to start exploding randomly before it completely blows up. Shell-less and weapon-less, Army Dillo magically flies into the air while spinning. The speed of Army Dillo's spinning increases until Army Dillo disappears, leaving the sixth K. Lumsy Key behind. It is not elaborated what happened to Army Dillo after the rematch.
Jungle Japes (kiosk demo)
In the demo cartridge, the boss fight against Army Dillo is one of three randomly selected stage options. Army Dillo is at a higher difficulty because he uses the attack patterns and armament from the Crystal Caves battle.[1] Another notable difference is that Army Dillo had lines of speech, and was voiced by Kevin Bayliss:
- "You dare challenge me?!"
- "Ah ha ha ha!"
- "Then I must crush you!"
- "You can't beat me!"
- "You'll never defeat K. Rool!"
- "NO!"
- "Noooooooo!"
- "Aaaaaarrgghh!"
Gallery
Army Dillo in Jungle Japes.
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | アーミィ・ジロー[?] Āmī Jirō |
Army Dillo | |
| French | Tatou[?] | Armadillo |
