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 giant snowballs 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 is defeated, giving out a Bonus Coin. In the Game Boy Advance version of the game, the lead Kong no longer has to press "up" or "down" to alter their throw distance, and Bleak's fight was extended.

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 minigames 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".
 * In the Game Boy Advance remake, Bleak's laughs are gone, and his new voice clips (which are shared with Baron K. Roolenstein) are recycled from Kudgel's (from the GBA version of Donkey Kong Country 2).

Bleak