Klaptrap

Klaptrap
Artwork of a Klaptrap from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
Variant of	Kremling
Variants Klampon
Derived subjects Krimp
Comparable Snapjaw
Notable members Jr. Klap Trap

“His huge teeth will dissuade you from roll attacks!”

—Donkey Kong Country instruction booklet, page 28

Klaptraps (also spelled Klap Traps or Klap-Traps) are small Kremlings that first appear in Donkey Kong Country. Klaptraps resemble real world crocodiles more closely than most Kremlings, as they are quadrupedal and have large pairs of jaws, hence their name. Klaptraps are usually light blue (with bright yellow stripes on their back), but they can also come in a variety of colors, such as red, green, and purple. They are less anthropomorphic than other Kremlings and act like pets to the Kremling Krew. Their name comes from "claptrap," a word meaning "nonsense," playing off the enemy's snapping bear trap-like jaws. Klampons and Krimps from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! respectively are similar in that regard.

History

Donkey Kong Country

Artwork of Klaptrap for Donkey Kong Country

Klaptraps are common enemies in their debut appearance, Donkey Kong Country. They behave similar to Gnawties, by moving in a single direction. A notable difference with Klaptraps is that they repeatedly chomp while moving around. As such, frontal attacks do not work on Klaptraps, as they will just damage Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong if they attempt to beat them that way. Given their short size, the Kongs can easily avoid Klaptraps by jumping over them. Klaptraps cannot hurt Expresso because it has long legs that they move straight through. Klaptraps first appear in Stop & Go Station and return in Orang-utan Gang, Snow Barrel Blast, Slipslide Ride, Ice Age Alley, Trick Track Trek, Blackout Basement, and lastly Misty Mine.

Klaptraps have a purple variant in Loopy Lights and also a Bonus Area of Trick Track Trek. In the Game Boy Color version, these Klaptraps are changed to brown, and in the Game Boy Advance version, they are changed to red. These Klaptraps behave mostly the same as their light blue counterpart, except that they jump whenever the Kongs do, thus making them harder to avoid than normal ones. Some purple Klaptraps remain in one spot and do not move around.

In this game, the sound of Klaptraps snapping their jaws is a digitized sample of one of the game artists clattering his teeth together, which was a noise that startled other team members.

Donkey Kong Land

Klaptraps are one of the three Kremling enemies who reappear in the handheld title, Donkey Kong Land, the other two being Krushas and Kritters. They have the same behavior as in Donkey Kong Country, although the jumping Klaptraps do not reappear. Klaptraps first appear in Riggin' Rumble, and return in Snake Charmer's Challenge, Pot Hole Panic, Kong Krazy, and lastly Skyscraper Caper, a total of five level appearances.

Donkey Kong Country novel

Illustration showing Diddy Kong with a Klap Trap, from Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle

An individual Klap Trap appears as an antagonist in the Donkey Kong Country novel. An employee of the Kremling factory, Klap Trap has a small chat with his coworker Zinger about King K. Rool's absence at the site and he then notices that the Kongs are eavesdropping on them. Klap Trap lunges at the group, but Diddy Kong defeats him by doing a cartwheel. The Kongs destroy the factory shortly after.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle

In the novel Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle, while looking for a replacement part for Funky Kong's barrel plane, Diddy Kong encounters a Klap Trap within the Kremlings' supply room. Diddy Kong immediately tries to attack the Klap Trap, however it quickly evades all of his attacks, causing Diddy to crash into a storage shelf. Diddy manages to lodge a barrel in the Klap Trap's jaws while it was charging towards him, allowing Diddy time to escape the store room with the water pump.

Donkey Kong Country television series

Several Klaptraps inside a Klap-Blaster

In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, Klaptraps are, instead of soldiers, ammunition for a weapon called a Klap-Blaster. Unlike the Klaptraps of the games, the ones on the show are bipedal and capable of speaking. Often times when a Klaptrap is seen, it makes a sarcastic comment about its job or what it had just eaten. The show also features a singular Klaptrap character larger than his brethren.

Donkey Kong 64

Klaptraps were entirely redesigned in Donkey Kong 64

Klaptraps reappear as enemies in Donkey Kong 64, where they are green rather than light blue. Their expression is more vicious rather than neutral and their behavior is similar to a guard dog, wearing collars and growling like one. This makes them somewhat resemble Krimps from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, which also have a similar, vicious expression, and have also been described as dog-like Kremlings, as well as wearing a dog collar. Klaptraps have had their behavior changed in that when a Klaptrap sees a Kong, it growls similarly to a dog and chomps at them. Klaptraps can be defeated in one hit (including frontal attacks, which are ineffective in previous games); however, their set of dentures still remain and continually clamp after the Kongs. The dentures eventually break by either crashing into a wall or falling into water. If the Kongs use an Orange or their musical instrument move to defeat a Klaptrap, its teeth do not chase after them.

One Klaptrap in particular sits on King K. Rool's lap in several cutscenes, being petted by its master, likely a reference to James Bond villain Blofeld. K. Rool's pet Klaptrap is last seen startled by K. Rool when he's awoken by the alarm, revealing the Kongs have entered Hideout Helm. There is another specific Klaptrap, and it is playable in the minigame Beaver Bother!, where it has to guide a number of Gnawties down a hole within a barrel by snarling at them.

The game also features purple Klaptraps that are immune to every direct attack method that the Kongs have. They are even completely immune to the Kongs' shockwave attack; using it will just hurt the Kongs, while the purple Klaptrap is unaffected. They can only be defeated with an Orange or a musical instrument, and drop three Oranges upon defeat. One of them is seen being directed to move the helm-shaped hamster wheel left and right in the opening scene. There are also red Klaptraps, which only appear in two cutscenes. In one of them, the "Castle Intro", a giant red Klaptrap was sent out by K. Rool to execute a fleeing Kasplat.

Donkey Konga

A blue and pink Klaptrap as they appear in 100M Vine Climb of Donkey Konga.

In Donkey Konga, light blue and pink Klaptraps appear as obstacles in the 100M Vine Climb minigame. Unlike their previous appearances, pink Klaptraps act no different from the light blue Klaptraps. The Klaptraps walk on the vines and their connected bushes. If Donkey Kong hits a Klaptrap while climbing the vines, he falls down, though he respawns on the vines seconds later.

Super Smash Bros. series

SmashWiki article: Klaptrap

Two Klaptraps in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Klaptraps are a recurring stage hazard in the Super Smash Bros. series. Their first series appearance is in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where Klaptraps appear in both of Donkey Kong's stages, Kongo Jungle and Jungle Japes. They swim through the water rapids and jump out from it, attempting to damage fighters by biting them. In Kongo Jungle, Klaptraps can also fall into, occupy, and use the Barrel Cannon; these Klaptraps are colored orange, while those on Jungle Japes are light blue. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Klaptraps retain their role in the returning Jungle Japes stage. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Klaptraps return in both Kongo Falls (renamed from Kongo Jungle) and Jungle Japes, both of which return from Super Smash Bros. Melee, although the Klaptraps in Kongo Falls are instead colored brown.

Klaptraps have two other roles in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A Klaptrap also appears as the first and only Assist Trophy from the Donkey Kong series, where it lunges and bites on to opponents. If Klaptraps are hit, they make the same sound they did when they were defeated in Donkey Kong Country. One additionally appears as an Advanced Attack spirit, which must be unlocked by playing Classic mode with King K. Rool and reaching the goal of the bonus stage within 45 seconds.

Mario Power Tennis

Green and red Klaptraps appear in Mario Power Tennis in Donkey Kong's Jungle Court. They try to bite players, causing them to slow down. Klaptraps also appear in the minigame Balloon Panic where the player's objective is to protect several balloons from hungry Klaptraps, including the regular blue Klaptraps. From this game onwards, the green and red Klaptraps have the same Donkey Kong Country design as the blue Klaptraps themselves.

Mario Superstar Baseball

In Mario Superstar Baseball, green Klaptraps are obstacles in the Donkey Kong Jungle stadium. Similar to Mario Power Tennis, Klaptraps try to bite the outfielders' heels, causing them to slow down. If the batter hits the baseball into a Klaptrap's mouth, they earn a Team Star.

Mario Party 7

Klaptraps attempt to bite Wario as he tries to collect coins in the lake.

In Mario Party 7, two green Klaptraps appear in a lake in an oasis on Pyramid Park. If a player lands on a Happening Space in front of the lake, they will be asked to swim in it and collect coins. The Klaptraps become visible, and attempt to bite the player. If successful in their attack, the player will lose two coins. This is the only time an enemy from the Donkey Kong series appears in a Mario Party game.

Unused appearances

Diddy Kong Pilot (2003)

In Diddy Kong Pilot's 2003 build, Klap Trap is a playable character and a member of Team Kremling. Klap Trap's name is in the first cup, Klap Trap Kup, and he can be unlocked by completing the cup and then beating him in a dogfight match. As a racer, Klap Trap has the highest acceleration and the lowest top speed of the racers. Unlike other games, Klap Trap speaks with vocalized dialogue and sounds like a bratty child. The Options screen has a "Multiplayer Weapons" option; if selected, a brief cutscene of a Klap Trap defeating another Klap Trap in a dogfight match is shown.

Klap Trap was replaced with Humba Wumba in the final version of this iteration, Banjo-Pilot, as indicated by their stats.

Profiles and statistics

Super Smash Bros. Melee

Trophy Klap Trap
	Game/move: Donkey Kong Country 11/94
	How to unlock: Random
	This low-slung alligator made its first appearance in Donkey Kong Country. You can subdue it by jumping on its back, but it's powerful jaws make it dangerous to approach from the front. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, it swims in the river and sometimes jumps in the Barrel Cannon to stop players from using it.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl sticker

Sticker Klaptrap
	Artwork from: Donkey Kong Country
	Effects in The Subspace Emissary: [Electric] - Resistance +7
	Usable by: Anyone

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit

Name	Image	Game	Type	Class	Effect	How to obtain	Spirit battle
							Opponents	Battle conditions	Stage	Song
Klaptrap		Donkey Kong Series	Primary (0)	Advanced	red Weight ↓	Challenge (Classic Mode: As King K. Rool, reach the goal in Bonus Game within 45 seconds.); Spirit Board	Tiny King K. Rool	Rule: Assist Trophy Enemies (Klaptrap) Hostile assist trophies will appear	Kongo Jungle	Stickerbush Symphony

List of appearances

Title	Description	Release date	System/format
Donkey Kong Country	Enemy	1994	SNES
Donkey Kong Land	Enemy	1995	Game Boy
Donkey Kong 64	Enemy; Playable character in Beaver Bother!	1999	Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong Country (remake)	Enemy	2000	Game Boy Color
Super Smash Bros. Melee	Stage hazard in Kongo Jungle and Jungle Japes; cameo as trophy	2001	GameCube
Donkey Kong Country (remake)	Enemy	2003	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Konga	NPC	2003	GameCube
Mario Power Tennis	Enemy	2004	GameCube
Mario Superstar Baseball	Enemy	2005	GameCube
Mario Party 7	Enemy in Pyramid Park	2005	GameCube
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Stage hazard in Jungle Japes; cameo as sticker	2008	Wii
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis	Enemy	2009	Wii
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS	Stage hazard in Jungle Japes	2014	Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Assist Trophy; Stage hazard in Kongo Falls and Jungle Japes; cameo as spirit	2018	Nintendo Switch

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Klaptrap.

• 

  Donkey Kong Country

• 

  Donkey Kong 64

• 

  Super Smash Bros. Melee

• 

  Mario Power Tennis

• 

  Mario Party 7

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	クラップトラップ[?] Kurapputorappu	Klaptrap
Italian	Klap Trap[?]	-
	Trappidrillo (Mario Power Tennis)	Portmanteau of trappola ("trap") and coccodrillo ("crocodile")
Russian	Клаптрап[?] Klaptrap	Klaptrap