Krusha

"It's the end of the line for you, Kong. I'm taking you to King K. Rool."

- Krusha

Krushas are muscular, blue Kremlings and are among the elite soldiers of the Kremling Krew. They first appear in Donkey Kong Country. All Krushas wear clothing with a camouflage pattern and a silver arm band on each forearm. They also have a spiky yellow mohawk on their heads, three clawed toes, and four fingers.

Donkey Kong Country
In Donkey Kong Country Krushas are uncommon enemies who appear during the later levels.

Like most enemies, Krushas simply walk forward, and injure Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong upon contact with them. Because they are muscular, Krushas will laugh off most of the Kongs' direct attacks. They can only be defeated with a barrel, Donkey Kong jumping on them, or Rambi the Rhino charging into them. Also, while it does not harm them, Donkey Kong can Hand Slap a Krusha, causing it to drop a single banana each time it is Hand Slapped.

Krushas have an even more uncommon gray variant, which wears orange wristbands, a purple camouflage suit, and has orange head spikes. Gray Krushas are stronger than regular ones, as they'll laugh off even Donkey Kong's jump attack, and won't leave behind any bananas when Hand Slapped. Gray Krushas can only be defeated with a barrel. They make their only appearance in Platform Perils, the last level of Chimp Caverns, and the last regular level of Donkey Kong Country. Here, the Kongs must crucially use barrels on the gray Krushas in order to knock them off the arrow platforms.

In the Game Boy Color version, gray Krushas also appear in the level Necky Nutmare.

In the Game Boy Advance version, a Krusha appears in the opening cutscene. Here, the Kremlings try to steal the Banana Hoard, and Diddy successfully fends off some Kritters but is then subdued by a Krusha. Originally, the Super Nintendo release's instruction booklet states that Diddy was instead overpowered by a Klump. A photograph of a blue Krusha can be found floating in mid-air in Platform Perils.

Donkey Kong Land
Krushas are one of the three Kremlings who appear in Donkey Kong Land, along with Kritters and Klaptraps. They act the same as the blue Krushas from Donkey Kong Country, and no gray Krusha equivalent appears in the game. Krushas are featured in more levels than in Donkey Kong Country.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest
While not pointed out in the manual, Krunchas appear to be Krushas in pirate gear in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. This was later confirmed to be true by character designer Steve Mayles in a Twitter post. Despite being the same thing, Krunchas appear to be shorter and wider than Krushas, probably stemming from having a different base model.

Two other muscular Kremlings, Krumples and Kasplats, would later appear in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong 64 respectively, acting as the successors of both Krushas and Krunchas.

Donkey Kong 64
Krusha is an unlockable character in Multiplayer Mode of Donkey Kong 64. The player can unlock Krusha after photographing fifteen Banana Fairies in the main mode. Oddly, he does not appear as an enemy in the game.

Krusha is a large character like Chunky Kong, and has unique moves such as a fast sliding attack. He also utilizes an orange grenade launcher in combat. Both attacks deal 1½ times as much damage compared to Chunky, the strongest Kong. Aside from his default blue appearance, Krusha also has three alternate costumes, each being a different skin color: yellow, green, and purple.

By playing as Krusha in the main game via a GameShark code, Krusha is referred to by name from other characters. He also has some unused animations, some of which are taken from Chunky's.

Donkey Kong Country novel
An individual Krusha (referred to as "the strongest commander") appears as the final antagonist of the Donkey Kong Country novelization. After the Kongs board the Gangplank Galleon and defeat most of King K. Rool's commanders, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong attempt to attack Krusha, but the reptile shrugs off their assault and punches them both. The Kongs then propel themselves using coiled ropes found at opposites of the ship, knocking Krusha unconscious.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle
In the novel Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle, Donkey Kong encounters an individual Krusha on the eighth floor of the Kremling's factory, within Big Ape City. Holding Donkey Kong in a bear hug, Krusha says that he will bring him straight to King K. Rool, the leader of the Kremlings. Krusha is described as "the biggest and strongest of all the Kremlings", although not the "brightest". And Donkey Kong tricks Krusha into thinking that in his backpack, he has a list of the locations of all the Kongs on Donkey Kong Island. Krusha, who desires to make his boss happy by kidnapping all of the Kongs, loosens his grip on Donkey Kong to allow him to reach into his backpack. However, Donkey Kong pulls out a barrel instead, tossing it at Krusha which causes him to stumble and lose his balance. Donkey Kong then uses a barrel roll and double jump to knock Krusha "out cold". He then continues his journey to the factory's defense-system.

The Donkey Kong Country comic
In the German Club Nintendo's comic adaptation of Donkey Kong Country, a Krusha makes a small cameo appearance, on the background of King K. Rool's Gangplank Galleon.

The Donkey Kong Country animated series
In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, a dimwitted Krusha appears as a recurring villain alongside King K. Rool and General Klump.

Donkey Kong Country

 * Millstone Mayhem (blue)
 * Snow Barrel Blast (blue)
 * Torchlight Trouble (blue)
 * Trick Track Trek (blue, absent in Game Boy Color version)
 * Manic Mincers (blue)
 * Necky Nutmare (gray) (Game Boy Color only)
 * Platform Perils (gray)

Donkey Kong Land

 * Tricky Temple
 * Pot Hole Panic
 * Mountain Mayhem
 * Landslide Leap
 * Construction Site Fight
 * Fast Barrel Blast
 * Skyscraper Caper
 * Oil Drum Slum

Donkey Kong Country

 * Manual description : "This muscle-bound Kremling will laugh off most attacks."
 * Player's Guide description : "Check out the big guns on this crazy Kremling! Krusha is the big, blue, buff dude. He's also the big, silver, buffer dude! Donkey Kong can take out the Blue Krushas by jumping on them or rolling through them. Unfortunately, Diddy can not do the same. They make a really funny groaning noise when they bite the dust. When it comes to the Silver Krushas, just leave them alone. They're too tough to take out. Jump over them when the coast is clear or toss a barrel at them if you have one handy."
 * Player's Guide description (GBA) : "Krushas, with their bulging biceps and pecs, are the brawn of King K. Rool's army. Donkey Kong can take out the blue Krushas with one jump, buy the beefy Krocks are a bit too much for Diddy to tangle with. Avoid the silver Krushas by jumping over them, or destroy them with barrels-they're the touguest of all the Krocs."

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

 * Nintendo Power : "And let's not leave out Krusha, who has a chest like a boulder and a brain to match."

Trivia

 * The pre-release version of Donkey Kong Country had blue Krushas being unfazed by Donkey Kong's jump attacks. In the final game, this trait only applied to the gray Krushas.
 * Krushas share their defeat voice clip with Rambi and King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country. They also use K. Rool's voice clips in Donkey Kong 64, but higher pitched.
 * The majority of Kremlings in Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong Country 3 also share Krusha's defeat voice clip, but the clip is often set to a higher pitch level.
 * One artwork of Krusha depicts it wearing gold wrist bands, much like in its appearance in the television series.
 * A Knocka is erroneously titled "Krusha" during the Donkey Kong Land III end credits.
 * Kasplat is mistakenly called Krusha in the Prima guide to Donkey Kong 64.