Expresso
| Expresso | |
|---|---|
 Artwork from Donkey Kong Country. | |
| Full name | Expresso the Ostrich[1] |
| Species | Ostrich |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country (1994) |
| Latest appearance | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (spirit cameo) (2018) |
- “You guys look like you could use a hand. Actually, a foot. Well, really, two feet-wearing my sure-grip sneakers.”
- —Expresso, Donkey Kong Country (novel)
Expresso is an Animal Friend first appearing in Donkey Kong Country. He is an ostrich with the appearance of a regular male one, complete with black and white feathers, but he also wears a pair of sports sneakers. Expresso can run fast and glide through the air by flapping his wings. His name is a portmanteau of "express" and "espresso," a type of coffee.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong Country series[edit]
Donkey Kong Country[edit]
Expresso is an ally in Donkey Kong Country. He is encountered in Temple Tempest, Orang-utan Gang, Ice Age Alley, and Misty Mine. Expresso cannot defeat any enemies by jumping on them, even harming him in the process. Expresso is unaffected by Klaptraps, which pass through his long legs. Expresso's main ability is gliding distances while flapping his wings. Like the other Animal Friends, Expresso has his own bonus stage (named Expresso Bonus! in the Game Boy Advance version), and the Kongs can enter it by obtaining three Expresso Tokens. The bonus stage is set in a jungle-themed area, and like other Animal Friend stages, Expresso must collect as many mini Expresso Tokens within the time limit in exchange for extra lives. The sound effect of when Expresso hits an enemy is identical to the one of a Mini-Necky being defeated.
Donkey Kong Country 2[edit]
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, a golden statue of Expresso appears in the background inside the Monkey Museum. Cranky Kong also mentions him in one of his quotes.[2]
In the Game Boy Advance remake, Expresso is a playable character in the Expresso's Racing minigame. Both Cranky and his pet Expresso are at Cranky's Hut, and before the game's events, Cranky used the "vast fortune" he made from his "starring role" in Donkey Kong Country to buy Expresso as a pet. However, Cranky wishes to raise Expresso as a racing bird, but his Expresso is too small and weak for racing competitions, so Cranky asks Diddy and Dixie Kong to find and obtain golden feathers, which each increase a bar of Expresso's Power, Speed, Acceleration, or Boost for the Expresso's Racing challenges. Expresso becomes increasingly larger each time a golden feather is given to him. Any time Expresso wins first place in Expresso's Racing, he wins a gold trophy, and when all six trophies are won, Cranky rewards Diddy and Dixie with a photograph of himself for the Scrapbook. Additionally, a photograph of Expresso appears in Animal Antics, and collecting the photograph causes it to appear under the thirteenth page of the Scrapbook.
Donkey Kong Land[edit]
Expresso is an ally in Donkey Kong Land. It is only one of the two Animal Buddies, the other one being Rambi the Rhino. Like Donkey Kong Country, Expresso also appears in four levels, in this case, Deck Trek, Mountain Mayhem, Landslide Leap, and Collapsing Clouds, however mostly just in Bonus Levels. A difference with Expresso is that he can now defeat enemies by jumping on them, including Zingers.
Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24[edit]
In the German Club Nintendo magazine comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24", Diddy and Dixie Kong are briefly seen riding Expresso to an airport.
Picross NP[edit]
Expresso appears in Picross NP Vol. 8 as one of the images that must be cleared.
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
Expresso makes a few cameos in the Super Smash Bros. series. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Expresso has a trophy that can be unlocked by collecting it when it appears at random in any of the game's modes, such as Vs. matches or the Home-Run Contest. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, there is another collectible trophy of Expresso. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Expresso is a Novice-class support spirit that takes up one support slot, and during battles, fighters who use the Expresso spirit begin with 30% damage but have increased movement speed.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle[edit]
In the Donkey Kong Adventure story of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Expresso makes a cameo appearance as one of Rabbid Cranky's Boombow weapons, the Expresso Atomizer. The weapon is described as officially licensed Expresso the Ostrich merch. The description also mentions that it has double kneecaps for authenticity, referencing how bird legs are composed of two intermediary articulations, although they only have one kneecap for each leg.
Super Mario Odyssey[edit]
A street name in New Donk City from Super Mario Odyssey is "Expresso Street". One of the store signs on the side of the buildings reads "Expresso Espresso".
Other appearances[edit]
An Expresso appears in the Banjo-Pilot course Jinxy's Dunes. This was a leftover from the Plain Pursuit stage from the 2003 build of Diddy Kong Pilot.
Unused appearances[edit]
Donkey Kong Racing[edit]
A stampede of Expressos appears at the start of the trailer for the canceled Nintendo GameCube title Donkey Kong Racing.
Profiles[edit]
Donkey Kong Country[edit]
- Instruction booklet: This crazy bird is a valuable animal to find. Although he can't really fly, he can run even faster than Rambi and can make long, wing assisted leaps. Expresso's legs, being long and spindly, are not suitable for jumping on enemies. Smaller enemies will crawl right under him, but larger ones are trouble. You can make Expresso flap his wings by repeatedly pressing the
Button.[3]
Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
| Trophy Express | ||
| ||
| Appears in: SNES Donkey Kong Country GBA Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[sic] | ||
| How to unlock: Random | ||
| An ostrich friend with sneakers on both feet. Riding Expresso allows for high-speed dashing. As an ostrich, Expresso can't fly, but rapid button pressing can put extra distance on his jumps. This can be used to help Donkey Kong reach distant places. | ||
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
| Trophy Expresso | ||
| ||
| Category: Series Related | ||
| How to unlock: Random | ||
| His name is no joke—this bird is fast! Despite his size, Expresso is light as a feather and loves to glide through the air. In fact, he was too light to hurt enemies at first! He got a little stronger in Donkey Kong Land, and now jumping on foes is a piece of cake! (American English) | ||
| Just as fast as his name implies! Expresso can't fly, but his running and jumping make up for it. Try not to step on any enemies, though, or he'll get hurt! Unless you're playing the Game Boy title Donkey Kong Land, that is. If you are, he can stomp on fiendish foes to his heart's content! (British English) | ||
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
| Spirit #153 Expresso | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
Series/game | Donkey Kong Series |
| Type | Support | |
| Slots | 1 | |
| Class | Novice | |
| Strength / effect(s) | Trade-Off Speed ↑ | |
| How to obtain | World of Light (The Light Realm); Spirit Board | |
| Spirit battle | Opponent(s) | Falco |
| Conditions |
Rule: Slippery Stage
| |
| Stage | Green Hill Zone | |
| Song | The Map Page / Bonus Level |
Gallery[edit]
- For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Expresso.
Donkey Kong Country
Donkey Kong Land
Donkey Kong Country (GBC)
Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA)
Diddy Kong Pilot (2003, reused in Banjo-Pilot)
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | エクスプレッソ[?] Ekusupuresso |
Expresso | |
| Russian | Экспрессо[?] Ekspresso |
Expresso | |
| Spanish | Expresso[?] | - |
Trivia[edit]
- Cranky Kong references Expresso in the Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest instruction booklet[4] as well as in the Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ 2000. Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Color) instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 15.
- ^ "Where's Expresso? A clumsy spider and a fat parrot, is that the best they can think of?" – Cranky Kong. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
- ^ 1994. Donkey Kong Country instruction booklet. Nintendo of America (English). Page 24.
- ^ "A more tragic looking bunch of useless no-hopers you'll never see! I liked Expresso and Winky--where have they gone?" – Cranky Kong. Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest instruction booklet.[page number needed]
- ^ "I just hope they've included poor old Winky and Expresso this time instead of that bone-brained rhino that always seems to get in the games." – Cranky Kong. Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet.[page number needed]
