Pufftup

Pufftups are underwater enemies appearing in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as well as its Nintendo Switch port. They resemble real life, due to their appearance and primary method of defense. They appear in three levels of Sea Breeze Cove - Amiss Abyss, Irate Eight, and Shoal Atoll.

Pufftups are small, smooth and round. They are capable of inflating themselves to a much larger size. Normally, Pufftups are roughly the size of the Kongs. They have golden skin and stressed expressions. They also feature an underbite, and their mouths are framed by two thick lips.

Their name is a compound of the phrasal verb, "puffed up", which refers to something inflated with air. They are very similar to Puftups, another pufferfish enemy from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, both in behavior and name.

When they inflate themselves, in addition to growing in size, Pufftups reveal numerous spikes. If the Kongs perform a Corkscrew attack on a swollen Pufftup, they risk getting damaged by the spikes. If they are stung, the Kongs lose a single heart from their health meter. During this inflated state, Pufftups are only vulnerable to Cranky's cane swipe, which can both damage and defeat them.

When deflated, Pufftups conceal their spikes, opening them to attacks such as Corkscrews, though simply coming into contact with a Pufftup can harm the Kongs. Pufftups swell and shrink at irregular times, as they swim from side to side and traverse only a certain small distance underwater.