Helper Monkey

Helper Monkeys, also known simply as monkeys, are Kong-like characters found in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. They demonstrate what to do in various situations and help tally up his bananas at the Sacred Tree found at the end of every level. Often, they are shown playing instruments, dancing, or clapping.

They are predominately found in the stretch of the jungle referred to as the Opening Ceremony, but they appear throughout the game. Aside from telling Donkey Kong what to do, the Helper Monkeys also assist him in getting to hard to reach places. Often, a green bush that is floating in the air will have a Helper Monkey in it; once Donkey Kong stands close to the bush and the player claps, the Monkey inside grabs Donkey Kong and throws him up to the higher area. A rare variation of this only found in the Clock Tower follows Donkey Kong up along a straight rope to fling him in a Wall Jump-esque manner. Occasionally, Helper Monkeys will hold on to each other and form a rope, which Donkey Kong can swing across on.

In New Play Control! Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, some in orange shrubs with signs can be talked to, and they tell Donkey Kong tips. Additionally, Checkpoint Monkeys in blue shrubs act as checkpoints. Some background ones now swing Wii Remotes instead of clapping.

A Helper Monkey also appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a sticker (labeled Party Monkey), and it boosts the strength of head attacks by six and it can only be used by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. A scrapped trophy of a Helper Monkey can be found in the game files for Brawl. An unused model of a Helper Monkey appears in Super Mario Galaxy's files.

In a pre-release build of Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Helper Monkeys resembled smaller versions of Donkey Kong, and by extension resembled Donkey Kong Jr.