Ninjape

Ninjapes are enemies appearing in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat and its enhanced remake, New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. They appear to be Helper Monkeys who turned towards the lifestyle the of the ninja and originally oppose Donkey Kong in the first levels they’re seen in, in favor of working for the enemy Kongs. After Donkey Kong defeats all his enemies, the Ninjapes have a much higher respect for him and seem to be aligned with him as they can be seen clapping and chanting for Donkey Kong at the end of the game. Despite their name, Ninjapes are monkeys.

Ninjapes first appear in the same kingdom in which Ninja Kong first appears, the Durian Kingdom.

Donkey Kong must also race Ninjapes in the Star Fruit Kingdom's level, Ninjape Rally.

Variants
There are four different types of Ninjapes: black, blue, green, and red, each with their own specialized attacks and traits.

Black Ninjapes
Black Ninjapes are the first types of Ninjapes to be encountered. They will rush towards Donkey Kong with katanas and jump high into the air, flinging themselves at the player, dealing damage to Donkey Kong if the player fails to avoid the attack. Before the Black Ninjapes do fling themselves at the player, however, they will momentarily pause midair, giving the player a chance to hit them using their Sound Wave Attack. If the player does this correctly, the Black Ninjapes will be stunned allowing Donkey Kong finally defeat them.

Green Ninjapes
Green Ninjapes try to keep their distance from Donkey Kong and attack by throwing shurikens. If the player gets too close to a Green Ninjape they will back away from him, but since Donkey Kong is faster than them, he can easily catch up to them and defeat them with a Sound Wave Attack.

Blue Ninjapes
Blue Ninjapes are most common in levels that involve Donkey Kong having to use a Helibird to float to higher parts of the stage. They will throw shurikens at the player to damage them and hide when they get too close. Sometimes a Blue Ninjape assists a Tusk boss during battle.

Red Ninjapes
Red Ninjapes are the least involved of the Ninjapes and can be seen hanging around cannons and sitting on Fire Pig Poppos and Kiba Pig Poppos. They cannot hurt the player and when Donkey Kong gets too close to them they disappear. Likewise, if Donkey Kong attacks either type of Pig Poppo that has a Red Ninjape on top of it, the Red Ninjape will simply disappear.