Kremling

A Kritter, the most generic type of Kremling.
Kremling
Origin	Crocodile Isle
Type	Reptilian
Debut	Donkey Kong Country

The Kremlings are a race of reptilian creatures that appear as the primary enemies in the Donkey Kong series from Donkey Kong Country on. There are many different types of Kremlings to appear throughout the Donkey Kong games, with the most basic variety being known as the Kritter.

Information

The Kremlings hailed from Crocodile Isle. It was said that they originated from the Lost World that was hidden beneath the island. Crocodile Island was later destroyed at the end of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and afterwards the Kremlings have primarily been operating out of mobile bases. They have been ruled by King K. Rool for the entire series. The only exception was Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, when they took orders from the robot KAOS, although KAOS turned out to be operated by K. Rool.

The Kremlings, like the Koopa, are a race composed of many different variations, and thus their ranks contain a large variety of reptilian creatures big and small with varying strengths and weaknesses. The basic and most common type is the Kritter, alternately known as the Klomp in Donkey Kong Country 2 (due to having a pegleg to match the game's pirate theme) and Kobble in Donkey Kong Country 3.

The Kremlings are known to be malevolent in nature and have frequently stealing the Kongs' banana horde under K. Rool's orders. The only known good-willed Kremling was the colossal K. Lumsy, who was good-hearted and naive, and K. Rool imprisoned him because of his nature. Another notable Kremling was the Kritter named Krunch, who aided Diddy Kong in liberating Timber's Island from Wizpig in Diddy Kong Racing, although he had originally joined them to ensure that they weren't brewing any anti-Kremling plots.

Within Mario games, Kritters originally made background appearances at the DK Jungle Court in Mario Power Tennis, and they went on to make playable appearances in other sports games. Kritters appeared in Super Mario Strikers and Mario Super Strikers as the goalies, and three different color variations (red, brown and blue) of Kremlings appeared as unlockable team members in Mario Super Sluggers. Also, a single Kritter appeared as one of the starting playable racers in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast and a rival to Donkey Kong, along with other named Kremlings appearing as playable racers.

Variations

• Bazuka - Appearing in Country 3/Land 3, they are small red Kremlings who wield giant bazookas that shoot out different types of barrels. The Kongs can often jump across the barrels they fire, but sometimes there are TNT barrels fired as a trap. In some levels, they must be tricked into hitting Koin with their barrels.
• Kackle - They are skeletal ghosts of Kremlings appearing in the Haunted Hall Level of Country 2. In that level, they pursue the Kongs and will automatically attack them if the Kong does not reach a certain point before the time limit. They cannot be harmed, so there is no choice but to escape them within the time limit. A similar ghost appears in the Ghost Train Ride area of Creepy Castle in Donkey Kong 64.
• Kasplat - These are strong Kremlings who act as K. Rool's enforcers in Donkey Kong 64 and carry pieces of the Blast-o-Matic blueprints.
• Kloak - They are ghosts of Kremlings appearing in Country 2 that take on the form of floating green disembodied jackets, with a pair of eyes visibly peering from the collar of the jacket. They attack by throwing objects such as barrels or crates or even Zingers, although in some cases they may throw helpful items like treasure chests and bananas. They attempt to stay out of the Kongs' reach, but they can still be defeated through normal means. In the GBA remake, one had to be defeated by shooting at it from the Gyrocopter in one of Funky's missions.
• Klinger - They are orange Kremlings who are pirate of the pirate crew seen in Country 2/Land 2. Klingers simply attack by climbing up ropes, chains, vines or swamp reeds and then sliding down it in hopes of striking any Kongs climbing up the same thing. They also hold daggers in their mouths, but they do not use them.
• Klobber/Kaboom - They are Kremlings in barrels who appear in Country 2/Land 2 and Donkey Kong 64, and Klobbers also appear in DK: King of Swing. Klobbers are green Kremlings in normal barrels who charge at Kongs upon seeing them. Jumping on one makes it retreat into its barrel, which can than be thrown to destroy it. Kabooms are red Kremlings living in explosive TNT barrels, and they will explode upon contact with others, so they must be beaten from a distance.
• Klump/Kannon - A purple militaristic Kremling that is usually rotund and sports a helmet to protect it from attacks. In Country 2/Land 2, they are known as Kannons due to wielding cannons as their primary weapon, and they wear pirate hats in place of their helmets.
• Knocka/Kracka/Klasp/Kachucka - Appearing in Country 3/Land 3, this grouping of enemies are a successor to the Klobber and Kaboom from Country 2/Land 2. They are Kremlings who live in differently-colored barrels that have mouths painted on them. Knockas are green Kremlings in green barrels and charge at the Kongs. Although they do no damage, they can push the Kongs into other enemies or obstacles. Krackas and Klasps are red Kremlings in red TNT barrels that will explode upon contact with the Kongs. The difference between the two are that Klasps are found clinging to ropes, while Krackas (who were added only in the GBA remake of Country 3) are on ground and run directly at Kongs similar to Knockas. Finally, Kachuckas are purple Kremlings in purple barrels that remain stationary while throwing bombs from their barrels.
• Koin/Koindozer - A Koin is a special green Kremling wearing a bucket helmet and wielding a makeshift shield containing a DK Coin. In Country 3/Land III, there is one in every level, and the Kongs have to find a way to defeat him in order to earn the DK Coin. The Koin will use his shield to block most attacks, so inventive methods often have to be employed to hit them indirectly with barrels or other means of attack. There is also a red variant called the Koindozer that wield shields without any DK Coins. Koindozers instead charge relentlessly at the Kongs and attempt to shove them off cliffs with their shields. They only appear in one level of the KAOS Kore area.
• Kop - These are burly green Kremlings dressed as security guards who appear in one minigame of Donkey Kong 64. The Kongs have to elude the light of their flashlights while solving a maze to win the minigame.
• Kopter - They are helmeted Kremlings who wield helicopter blades and use them to spin through the air. Their blades are dangerous, but jumping on their heads could give Kongs a boost to their jumps. A Kopter later was featured as an unlockable character in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
• Kritter/Klomp/Kobble - As mentioned above, this is the standard type of Kremling that appears as a basic enemy. They are mostly known as Kritters, except in the latter two Country/Land games. In Country 2/Land 2, they sport a peg leg and are known as Klomp. In Country 3/Land III, they are referred to as Kobble, with the only difference from the Kritters being that they wear no armor or clothing.
  • When riding minecarts, Kritters are known as Krashes.
  • In Country 2/Land 2, a Klomp with two peg legs is known as a Kaboing and use those legs to continuously bounce in the air.
  • In Country 3/Land 3, pink versions of Kobbles that slide around in snowy environments are known as Skiddas.
• Kosha - They are small Kremlings wearing Viking helmets and wielding giant clubs that appear in Donkey Kong 64 . When their club strikes miss, they spend a moment trying to lift it back up. They cannot be defeated through physical attacks, and they can only be hurt with instruments or other special means. There is also a giant one found in an area of the Crystal Caverns.
• Krockhead - They appear in Country 2/Land 2 and are merely Kremling heads that are seen peeking out from bodies of water or lava. They do not attack and act as stepping stones for traversing some areas. Green ones act as normal platforms, while red ones are more like springboards which launch a Kong into the air. There are also Krockhead Barrels which can be hit to temporarily summon Krockheads to a body of water/lava.
• Krook - A type of Kremling from Country 2/Land 2. They wear giant coats that cover most of their bodies and have a pair of hook hands which they attempt to throw at enemies. The hooks return to them like boomerangs.
• Krumple - This is a large, blue, muscular Kremling appearing in Country 3/Land 3. He is similar to Krusha and Kruncha from the previous games. Dixie's jump attacks cannot hurt him, and he will just laugh them off. He can only be beaten by the attacks of Kiddy, animal buddies or thrown objects such as barrels.
• Kruncha - A muscular blue Kremling appearing in Country 2/Land 2. They are similar to Krusha, but shorter and wearing pirate clothing. Like Krusha, they are resistant to the attacks of smaller Kongs. However, while Krusha (and Krumple from the third games) laughs off those attacks, Kruncha will be enraged by attempts to jump on his head. This causes him to temporarily turn red and move faster. There are also pink versions of the Kruncha, which become even faster when enraged.
• Krusha - They are strong blue Kremlings with mohawks who are among the most prominent Kremlings to appear. They are known for being resistant to the attacks of smaller Kongs.
• Kuff 'n' Klout - Appearing in Country 3/Land 3, they are identical pairs of stout tan Kremlings who perform coordinated movements such as charging together or playing games of leapfrog. They cannot be hurt by physical attacks and can only be beaten by barrels or Squitter's webs. They appear only in Krematoa.
• Kutlass/Klank - They are short Kremlings who appear in Country 2/Land 2. As Kutlass, he wields a giant sword and attempts to attack with it. Their swords will get stuck in the ground if they miss a target, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Their swords were apparently ordered through informercials. They also appear in the game as Klanks, when they ride roller coaster carts instead of wielding swords. One level involves having to defeat a series of Klanks in a race. Kutlasses are always green, while Klanks come in a variety of colors.
• Re-Koil - They are orange bouncing Kremlings from Country 3/Land III. They are known for their long orange tails, which they use as springs to launch themselves into the air. There was also an unused model for them in Donkey Kong 64, indicating that they were intended to appear in that game at some point in development.
• Rockkroc - They appear in one level of the first Country within the Monkey Mines known as the Stop & Go Station. They are brown Kremlings with rocky skin and glowing red eyes. They are found only in caves, with their behavior controlled by green and red lights. When the lights are green, they are active and run around at high speeds. When the lights turn red temporarily by hitting a special barrel, they temporarily curl up into balls and become inert. There is no way to defeat these Kremlings, and the Kongs instead had to avoid them.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Within the Super Smash Bros. series, Kritters were featured as enemies in the Smash Run mode of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. They have also been represented through two trophies (the second being of a Kremling goalie from Mario Strikers Charged) and two stickers (using art from DK: King of Swing and Mario Strikers Charged) in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, a trophy in the 3DS/Wii U game and a Novice Primary Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (using the model from Barrel Blast). When fought in a Spirit battle, the Kritter's Spirit would possess K. Rool, who would fight while wearing a Rocket Pack (in specific reference to Barrel Blast) and receive periods of increased defense.

Other Media

• Various types of Kremlings appeared in the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where they also lived on Congo Bongo Island (the equivalent of Donkey Kong Island). The term "Kremling" was not used in this version, and instead they were all referred to as lizards.

Trivia

• Kremling names typically begin with the letter 'k', often in place of a 'c'.
• The name "Kremling" is likely derived from "gremlin", which were creatures said to be responsible for sabotaging aircrafts. Alternatively it could come from "Kremlin", which is the Russian word for castle or citadel.
• The concept of the Kremlings apparently originates from a canceled computer game that Rare had made called Jonny Blastoff and the Kremling Armada.