The Kremling Krew, or just Kremlings for short, are the main enemies of the Donkey Kong games. They are a legion of anthropomorphic crocodiles led by King K. Rool and exist simply to get in Donkey Kong and friends' way.

The Kremlings first appeared in Donkey Kong Country in 1994, by Rareware. There, they were following the orders of K. Rool to steal Donkey Kong's famed banana hoard. The drone archetypes that appeared in this game would set a template for future Kremling designs to follow.

The Kremlings returned in 1995 with Donkey Kong Land and again in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. In that game, following the self-proclaimed Kaptain K. Rool's fashion sense, virtually every Kremling was dressed in pirate fatigues, some even going as far as amputating arms or legs. This trend continued into the game's psuedo-sequel Donkey Kong Land 2. It should also be noted that the game took place on Crocodile Isle, the Kremling's home island. The island was subsequently destroyed at the end of both games.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, K. Rool had been ousted as the Kremling leader and replaced with the robot KAOS. In accordance, the Kremling designs in this game were quite different from the designs in the first two games. This style was kept for Donkey Kong Land III a year later.

In Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, a sole Kremling by the name of Krunch was available as a playable character. As the story goes, his mission was to investigate Diddy Kong's visit to Timber's Island and find out if the monkey was hatching some sort of anti-Kremling plot. Krunch was set to return in Diddy Kong Pilot for the Game Boy Advance, however, the game was refit into Banjo Pilot after Rare was sold to Microsoft in 2002.

The Kremlings returned in Donkey Kong 64 in 1999. There, once again under the command of King K. Rool, the Kremlings returned to a look more accurate to the original Donkey Kong Country than DKC2 or 3.

The classic Kremling designs returned in the port of Donkey Kong Country for Game Boy Color, and after that, they disappeared for a while, only warranting a brief cameo in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

In 2003, Donkey Kong Country was once again ported, this time to the Game Boy Advance. This brought about the return of the Kremlings, and a year later, they appeared in the port of Donkey Kong Country 2 for the GBA, as well as the sports game Mario Power Tennis and the music game Donkey Konga. The Kremlings are also set to return as the main foes in DK King of Swing for Game Boy Advance, in 2005.

Strangely, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, the apparent successor to the Donkey Kong series on the GameCube, does not feature any Kremlings whatsoever, though a passing reference is made to them at the beginning of the game.

The Kremlings were also a frequent part of the Donkey Kong Country TV series, once again appearing as the main villains. Strangely, they were never referred to as "Kremlings" in the entire span of the program.

Notable types of Kremlings

Kritters are the grunts of the Kremling army. They walk on two legs and wander back and forth, though in some games they will attempt to attack. They are adorned in either gold-plated shoulderpads or skull-adorned biker jackets. Krunch was of this latter variety.

Klaptraps are low-to-the-ground crocodiles that continually snap their jaws while walking around. This makes frontal attacks on them impossible. Klaptraps are very popular amongst Nintendo's second and third parties, having appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Mario Power Tennis. In the TV Show, they were used merely as ammunition that was fired from guns and bit like termites. One particularly large Klaptrap (about Diddy's size) appeared in a few episodes and was called Junior.

Klumps are fat, bumbling Kremlings decked out in military attire. Their hard hats make it impossible for smaller characters to damage them, though a frontal attack will defeat them. In Donkey Kong 64, they threw and could only be defeated by orange grenades. On the animated TV series, only one Klump was featured, and he was K. Rool's general.

Krushas are muscular Kremlings with camouflage tank-tops. These appear to be the strongest Kremlings. In Donkey Kong Country, the blue ones can only be beaten by DK jumping on them. There were also grey ones that were stronger and could only be defeated by having barrels thrown at them. This particular Kremling also appeared as an unlockable character to play as in Donkey Kong 64 's VS mode. Like Klump, only one Krusha was featured on the TV series. This Krusha was K. Rool's bodyguard, who had a childlike IQ and enjoyed watching "Sing Along with Uncle Swampy".

Kutlasses are small pirate Kremlings who carry two large cutlasses (hence the name). When they see Diddy Kong or Dixie Kong, they will charge and swing their swords, resulting in them getting stuck in the ground. This presents a moment of opportunity for the player to jump on them and defeat them. Incidentally, the animated series also had a character named Kutlass, but he worked for Kaptain Skurvy and looked sort of like K. Rool with a lighter color scheme .

Kasplats are burly Kremlings spread through Donkey Kong 64. Each Kasplat has a piece of Snide's blueprint for the Blast-O-Matic laser, and every Kong can defeat their specific Kasplat to retrieve the blueprint and return it to Snide in return for a Golden Banana.

Koshas are small Kremlings dressed in Viking clothing that wielded giant spiked clubs. They appeared in Donkey Kong 64 and are very similiar to Kutlass.

Klobbers are Kremlings that hide in barrels. They first appeared in Donkey Kong Country 2, and later re-appeared in Donkey Kong 64. When the characters ventured near them, they would pop out and attempt to push them around by knocking into you.

Kabooms are like Klobbers, only they hid in TNT barrels. They also first appeared in Donkey Kong Country 2, and also re-appeared in Donkey Kong 64. Needless to say, if the characters were hit by one of these they would explode.

Kremling appearances

Donkey Kong Country - Super Nintendo, 1994

Donkey Kong Land - Game Boy, 1995

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - Super Nintendo, 1995

Donkey Kong Land 2 - Game Boy, 1996

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! - Super Nintendo, 1996

Donkey Kong Land III - Game Boy, 1997

Diddy Kong Racing - Nintendo 64, 1997

Donkey Kong 64 - Nintendo 64, 1999

Donkey Kong Country - Game Boy Color, 2000

Super Smash Bros. Melee - GameCube, 2001

Donkey Kong Country - Game Boy Advance, 2003

Donkey Kong Country 2 - Game Boy Advance, 2004

Donkey Konga - GameCube, 2004

Mario Power Tennis - GameCube, 2004

DK King of Swing - Game Boy Advance, 2005