Knik-Knak

Knik-Knaks are beetles enemies in both Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III. They are common enemies in both games and most often appear in riverside-themed levels.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Knik-Knaks appear in two color variations, red and yellow. The red Knik-Knaks continuously flap their wings to remain airborne; most of them do not move around. This behavior is shared with Flitters from the previous game, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. The red Knik-Knaks can be defeated with a single hit from the Kongs, usually by jumping on them. There are instances where the Kongs must jump from Knik-Knaks to reach a Bonus Area or to obtain items, such as an Extra Life Balloon.

Yellow Knik-Knaks are a bit stronger than the red ones. Unlike their red counterpart, yellow Knik-Knaks cannot fly and therefore walk back-and-forth on the ground. They are a bit stronger than red Knik-Knaks because the Kongs only defeat these Knik-Knaks by jumping on them twice. When Dixie or Kiddy Kong first jump on a yellow Knik-Knak, it flips over on its back. They have the option to pick up the enemy and use it as a projectile. After a few seconds, if the flipped Knik-Knak is not picked up, it jumps right back up and continues moving around. Yellow Knik-Knaks can instantly be defeated from a roll attack. These Knik-Knaks share a behavior with another enemy from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Click-Clacks.

Yellow Knik-Knaks are featured in Belcha's Barn, where the boss fight against Belcha takes places. Here, Belcha spits out individual barrels containing a yellow Knik-Knak inside. The Kongs can throw the Knik-Knak into Belcha's mouth to make him burp backward. If done enough times, Belcha falls backward into a pit and the Kongs win at the battle. Yellow Knik-Knaks are the only type which appear in Lightning Lookout, not including a Bonus Area where the Kongs must defeat 7 red Knik-Knaks. In said level, Dixie can also hold a Knik-Knak above her head to protect herself from being struck by lightning.

At some point during Bobbing Barrel Brawl, Ellie the Elephant encounters two red Knik-Knaks briefly walking on the ground and then taking off. At some point, the two Knik-Knaks stop moving and remain in one position. Ellie must jump from both Knik-Knaks to gain enough momentum to fall down into the second Bonus Barrel at the bottom of a nearby pool.

According to the game's credits, Knik-Knaks are a part of the "Terrorfirma Tuff Guys" enemy class.

Donkey Kong Land III
In Donkey Kong Land III, Knik-Knaks were renamed to Niknaks, as shown in the ending credits. Only the red, flying Knik-Knaks return in the game: their yellow ground variant do not return. In the Game Boy Color port, the Knik-Knaks are red, just like in their debut appearance

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

 * Tidal Trouble
 * Skidda's Row
 * Riverside Race
 * Belcha's Barn (boss level)
 * Springin' Spiders
 * Bobbing Barrel Brawl
 * Rocket Barrel Ride
 * Tracker Barrel Trek (Bonus level only)
 * Fire-Ball Frenzy
 * Demolition Drain-Pipe
 * Tearaway Toboggan
 * Lightning Lookout (Red and Yellow)
 * Criss Kross Cliffs (Bonus level only)
 * Surf's Up (Red and Yellow, Game Boy Advance version only)

Donkey Kong Land III

 * Ford Knocks
 * Koco Channel
 * Riverbank Riot
 * Rocketeer Rally
 * Surface Tension
 * Jungle Jeopardy
 * Simian Shimmy
 * Rockface Chase
 * Bazuka Bombard
 * Rainforest Rumble

Trivia

 * A similar-looking enemy appears in Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2.
 * Their names are a reference to the line "Knick Knack Paddy Wack Give the Dog a bone" in the childhood song "This Old Man".