Bleak

Bleak is a large, sinister-looking snowman encountered as a boss in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III.

Bleak is the boss of the snowy mountain area K3 in Donkey Kong Country 3, appearing in the level Bleak's House. Bleak resides in a large snowfield which from above seems to have an evil looking face on it (slightly resembling Sassy Squatch's face). Bleak attacks either Dixie Kong or Kiddy Kong by popping up and down in random locations attempting to hit one of the Kongs with snowballs. The Kongs must fight back by throwing snowballs at the amulet on Bleak's tie, which seems to be the source of his power. After being hit multiple times in the amulet, Bleak will try a new tactic, blasting snowboulders out of his hat like cannonballs.

Whichever Kong the player is using must avoid these snow boulders (which sometimes come at two, three or four at a time), and continue to throw snowballs at Bleak's amulet. After Bleak has sustained enough damage he will seem to go into some sort of seizure (quivering and making bizarre noises) and then explode spectacularly.

In Donkey Kong Land III, Bleak returns as the boss of Primate Plains. He is fought in a stage called Bleak Magic, located in a high mountain range. This time, Bleak starts off by blowing snow boulders out of his hat, at whichever Kong he is fighting. Instead of moving laterally, he stands in one place and stoops to shoot his projectiles with various angles. In order to be defeated Bleak must have four barrels thrown at his amulet. Each time Bleak is hit with a barrel, his attacks become more erratic.

The battle against Bleak is similar to the mini-games at Swanky's Sideshow (which is in the SNES version of Donkey Kong Country 3 only).

Trivia

 * The level where the player faces Bleak in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! is named "Bleak's House", a pun of the Charles Dickens novel Bleak House. "Bleak Magic", Bleak's level in Donkey Kong Land 3 is most likely a pun on "black magic".