Rambi

Rambi the Rhinoceros is an Animal Buddy in the Donkey Kong series who first appears in Donkey Kong Country. Rambi can often be found in Animal Crates, and can be used to ram enemies or smash barriers blocking the entrances to Bonus Levels with his horn. The options in Bonus Bananza for his name are "Bambam," "Rambi," and "Rambus."

Donkey Kong Country
In the original Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Rambi debuted as the first Animal Buddy found by DK and Diddy.

Levels:
 * Jungle Hijinxs
 * Oil Drum Alley
 * Manic Mincers

Donkey Kong Land
Along with Expresso, Rambi is only one of two Animal Buddies to appear in Donkey Kong Land for the Game Boy; he has no significant changes in appearance or gameplay.

Levels:
 * Jungle Jaunt
 * Tricky Temple
 * Pot Hole Panic
 * Mountain Mayhem

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest/Donkey Kong Land 2
In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest for Super Nintendo and Donkey Kong Land 2 for the Game Boy, Rambi aids Diddy and Dixie Kong in their adventure to save Donkey Kong from Kaptain K. Rool, and is given the ability to perform a Supercharge Attack, which can be used to smash through doors and walls to uncover hidden bonuses. He's also capable of jumping on enemies that the Kongs themselves can't safely jump on; namely, the Zingers.

Levels: Rambi appears in both versions unless otherwise noted.
 * Pirate Panic (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)
 * Gangplank Galley (Donkey Kong Land 2)
 * Red-Hot Ride
 * Barrel Bayou
 * Rambi Rumble
 * Castle Crush (Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest)
 * Animal Antics

Donkey Kong 64
After being absent in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Rambi reappears here but can only be played if Donkey Kong jumps into an Animal Crate with Rambi's face on it; Rambi is also usable in a minigame unlocked after taking pictures of a certain number of Banana Fairies.

Levels:
 * Jungle Japes
 * Hideout Helm

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Rambi increases the players' speed and can charge through barrels; the Kongs and Kremlings can ride Rambi after releasing him from an Animal Crate.

Levels:
 * Mt. Dynamite/Dynamite Run

Donkey Kong Country Returns
Rambi reappears in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D as one of the only two Animal Buddies from the previous three games to return (the other one being Squawks the Parrot). He appears again to aid the Kongs in their quest to defeat the Tiki Tak Tribe. This is the first time that Rambi doesn't debut in the first level; instead, he debuts in the third level. He has the same abilities as in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, but can also destroy blocks with the emblem of his face, and spikes. Also, if the Kongs fall off him, he will destroy all the enemies in his way, unlike the past games. Diddy Kong can not use his jetpack very well when riding Rambi. Also, Rambi can't defeat enemies that are imbued in flames, such as the Flaming Tiki Buzzes and Flaming Tiki Zings.

Levels:
 * Tree Top Bop
 * Temple Topple
 * Precarious Plateau
 * Smokey Peak

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
Rambi returns in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, having the same function as Donkey Kong Country Returns. He only appears in three levels, which are Mountain Mania, Frantic Fields, and Meltdown Mayhem.

Mario Kart DS
Rambi makes a cameo appearance in the Nintendo DS game Mario Kart DS, where a kart called the Rambi Rider appears as one of Donkey Kong's main karts.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Rambi makes a cameo appearance as a trophy and sticker. However, he doesn't appear in the game itself.

Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24
In the Club Nintendo comic Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24, Donkey Kong is briefly seen riding Rambi to an airport.

Donkey Kong Country

 * Instruction Booklet: "Rambi always likes to go full speed ahead. If you press and the Button, Rambi will take off and run over everything in his path. Just make sure that you keep your eyes open for pits and cliffs. Rambi is a powerful animal and can break his way into most secret doors."

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest GBA

 * Instruction Booklet: "This powerful rhinoceros loves to charge. Press and hold Button to make him run, using his horn to butt everything out of his path."

Trivia

 * The name "Rambi" is a combination of ram ("to break down") and bambi ("child"); it may also be a play on the macho action-film title, Rambo.
 * Rambi was going to be a ridable Animal Buddy in the now canceled game Donkey Kong Racing for the Nintendo GameCube. Early screenshots of this game also showed that other Rambis, some gigantic in size and some extremely small, were going to be rideable.