Klaptrap

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

—Donkey Kong Country manual, page 28

Klaptraps (also spelled Klap Traps or Klap-Traps) are small Kremlings who first appear in Donkey Kong Country. Klaptraps are usually light blue, with yellow stripes on their back, but they also have a red, a green, and a purple.

Klaptraps resemble real world crocodiles more closely than most Kremlings, as they are quadrupedal and have large pair of jaws, hence their name. Klaptraps might be inspired by Snapjaws, which are crocodile enemies from Donkey Kong Jr.

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 Gnawty, by continuing 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 Klaptrap, as they bite Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong from attempting this. Given their short size, the Kongs can easily avoid Klaptraps by jumping over them. Expresso is unaffected by Klaptraps because it has long legs that Klaptraps move straight through.

Klaptraps have a purple variant who appear 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 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.

Klaptraps do not appear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, and were instead replaced by two similar enemies, Klampon and Krimp, respectively.

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.

Donkey Kong 64

After several years of absence, Klaptraps (which are green, rather than blue) return in Donkey Kong 64, where they are given a new ability. Once a Klaptrap is defeated, its set of teeth will continually attack the Kongs until they break. The teeth will not attack the Kongs if an Orange or a musical instrument was used to defeat the Klaptrap. The teeth will also break upon falling into water. The Kongs can now defeat them with a frontal attack (like DK's Barrel Roll or Diddy's cartwheel). In this game, they are given a vicious expression, rather than a neutral expression.

Purple Klaptraps also make a reappearance and are slightly larger than the Kongs. They are immune to all of the Kongs' attacks (even the shockwave attack), but can be defeated with an Orange or a musical instrument. Some of Donkey Kong 64's cutscenes show King K. Rool with a small Klaptrap that seems to be his pet. Red Klaptraps can also be seen in two cutscenes, and a giant red one was sent by King K. Rool to execute a Kasplat.

A Klaptrap is playable in the minigame Beaver Bother, marking the first playable appearance of a Klaptrap.

Donkey Konga

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

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

In Donkey Konga, blue and purple Klaptraps appear as obstacles in the 100M Vine Climb minigame. Unlike their previous appearances, purple Klaptraps act no different from the 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

Two Klaptraps in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Klaptraps appear in Donkey Kong's stages, Kongo Jungle and Jungle Japes. They swim through the water rapid and leap out of it in an attempt to bash characters to their doom; they can also fall into, occupy, and use the Barrel Cannon on the former stage. Since Jungle Japes returns in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Klaptraps reprise their roles. Klaptraps also reappear in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, as both stages return in that game. The Klaptraps on the Kongo Jungle stage are colored orange, while those on Jungle Japes are blue.

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 they 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. The latter must be unlocked by playing Classic mode with King K. Rool and reaching the goal of the bonus stage within 45 seconds.

Mario franchise

Mario Power Tennis / New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis

Klaptraps appear in Mario Power Tennis in Donkey Kong's Jungle Court. They try to bite the player, causing the player to slow down. Klaptraps also appear in the minigame Balloon Panic. Here, the player must protect several balloons from hungry Klaptraps.

Mario Superstar Baseball

Klaptraps are distractions in Donkey Kong's course in Mario Superstar Baseball. Klatraps try to bite the outfielder's heels, slowing them down. However, if the player were to hit the baseball into a Klaptrap's mouth, it will give the player a Team Star.

Mario Party 7

Klaptraps make a cameo in Mario Party 7 as enemies in one of the Pyramid Park events. If they bite a player, they will lose some of their coins.

Appearances in other media

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 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.

Levels

Donkey Kong Country

• Stop & Go Station (blue)
• Orang-utan Gang (blue)
• Snow Barrel Blast (blue)
• Slipslide Ride (blue)
• Ice Age Alley (blue)
• Trick Track Trek (blue and purple)
• Blackout Basement (blue)
• Misty Mine (blue)
• Loopy Lights (purple)

Donkey Kong Land

• Riggin' Rumble
• Snake Charmer's Challenge
• Pot Hole Panic
• Kong Krazy
• Skyscraper Caper

Super Smash Bros. Melee Trophy

Name	Image	Game	Description
Klap Trap		Donkey Kong Country 11/94	This low-slung alligator made its first appearance in Donkey Kong Country. You can subdue it by jumping on its back, but its 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 information

Image	Game	Effect
	Donkey Kong Country	[Electric] - Resistance +7

Game 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	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	2018	Nintendo Switch

Gallery

Sprites and models

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  Donkey Kong Country

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  Donkey Kong Country

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  Donkey Kong Land

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  Donkey Kong Country (GBC)

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  Donkey Kong 64

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  Donkey Kong 64

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  Super Smash Bros. Melee

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  Donkey Kong Country (GBA)

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  A green Klaptrap in Mario Power Tennis

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  A red Klaptrap in Mario Power Tennis

Screenshots

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  A green Klaptrap in Donkey Kong 64

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  A red Klaptrap in Donkey Kong 64

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  A Purple Klaptrap in Donkey Kong 64

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  A Klaptrap next to the letter "K" letter in Donkey Kong Country (GBC)

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  A blue and red Klaptrap in the cast of characters in Donkey Kong Country for Game Boy Advance.

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  Klaptraps in Pyramid Park in Mario Party 7

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  A Klaptrap in the Jungle Japes stage of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	クラップトラップ Kurapputorappu	Klaptrap
Russian	Клаптрап Klaptrap	Klaptrap