Rambi

Rambi the Rhinoceros is the first Animal Buddy to appear in the Donkey Kong Country series. He is found in a crate, midway into the first level of the original Donkey Kong Country. He has made the third most appearances in the Donkey Kong Country series, appearing in five games. He is behind Enguarde and Squawks, who have appeared in six games each. However, Rambi is always the first Animal Buddy to be released in whatever game he appears in. Rambi is a common animal buddy in Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2, however in Donkey Kong Country 3 he was replaced with Ellie the Elephant.

Rambi’s greatest asset is his giant horn which he uses to defeat enemies. Additionally, Rambi can use his horn to open up hidden passages. All games following Donkey Kong Land give Rambi the ability to supercharge his attack. After charging, Rambi will run at incredibly fast speeds, taking out a line of enemies or breaking down heavy barriers. In Donkey Kong 64, he only appears in the level Jungle Japes, as well as a few mini-games. Only Donkey Kong can transform into him.

Rambi was going to be a rideable Animal Buddy in the now cancelled game Donkey Kong Racing. Interestingly early screenshots of this game showed that other Rambis, some gigantic in size and some extremely small were going to be rideable.

In Mario Kart DS, the Rambi Rider was a kart shaped like Rambi and driven by Donkey Kong, then enabled to be driven by the other racers after the cups are finished.