Rambi the Rhinoceros

"Keep your eyes peeled for Rambi the Rhino! He can crash into almost any hidden room."

- Cranky Kong

Rambi the Rhinoceros is a long-time recurring Animal Buddy and the very first buddy encountered by the Kongs. Rambi is able to take down enemies using his horn for a frontal attack or merely jumping on enemies. Rambi can also charge through some walls into hidden bonus rooms.

Donkey Kong Country/Land
Rambi makes his debut appearance in DKC, on the very first level of the game, Jungle Hijinxs. He is also the first Animal Buddy in the game. His horn can help unlock breakable hidden doors in the levels he appears in, and he makes a good amount of appearances.

He is considered one of the more useful buddies due to his incredible power to literally rampage through a level, destroying "any" enemy in his way, including the feared Zingers. Any enemy who goes directly in front of him will be hurt by his horn, or he can simply jump on enemies. Despite the brute strength, he can only endure one hit, as with the other animal buddies, and will try to flee when he gets hurt.

Rambi reappeared alongside Expresso in DKC's follow up game Donkey Kong Land. He appears in slightly more levels than in DKC. He has not changed much aside from color and detail degrading; he easily rams through enemies and can open up secret bonus levels with his horn.

Donkey Kong Country 2/Land 2
Rambi also makes his first appearance in the first level of Donkey Kong Country 2. His function is also similar to his DKC debut, though he now has a "super move", allowing his to charge very fastly through any enemy that comes in direct contact. He even has his own theme, "Run Rambi, Run!", on a level named after him- "Rambi Rumble", heard when he is chased by King Zing. The most major change is now that Rambi must use his charge attack to break open secret bonus areas, and the breakable bonus level areas are far less common due to the introduction of Bonus Barrels.

Rambi once again appeared in DKC2's semi-sequel Donkey Kong Land 2. As with his DKL incarnation, he has no major changes aside from color and detail degrading, except this time he is completely invincible and he, like all other animal friends in this game, can no longer break open walls.

He did not reappear in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! or Donkey Kong Land III, instead being replaced by Ellie.

Donkey Kong 64
Here he was exclusive to the levels Jungle Japes and Hideout Helm, and can only be played as Donkey Kong via Animal Crate with Rambi's symbol on it. Rambi is also usable in a minigame in the game, unlocked by pictures of a certain number of Banana Fairies.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast
Rambi is usable in the race track Mt. Dynamite of Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. In this game, the Kongs and Kremlings can ride him via freeing him from an Animal Crate which moves from side to side across the course.

Donkey Kong Country Returns
Rambi returns in Donkey Kong Country Returns as the only ridable animal buddy in the game. He is found in a large animal crate that requires some ground pounding to break. Rambi is very destructive; he can smash down blocks with his new symbol on them and can charge through hordes of enemies and even break spikes. His main weakness, however, is fire. Oddly, Rambi is not first found in the first level, rather the third,, making this the first time in DKC history that Rambi is not found in the first level of the first world.

Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24
In the Club Nintendo comic "Donkey Kong in: Banana Day 24", DK rides Rambi to an airport.

Mario Kart DS
In Mario Kart DS, Donkey Kong's first car is called Rambi Rider. The vehicle is a kart with a Rambi head in front and wooden-box sitting area in the back. The kart has moderate speed and poor handling and acceleration, however the drift and item quality are quite high.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Rambi cameos as a collectible trophy and sticker.
 * Sticker Information:
 * Rambi: Donkey Kong Country [Arm] Attack +13 All
 * Trophy Description
 * A rhino friend who appears to help the Kongs in their adventures... from a wooden box, even! His destructive power lets his rider plow through enemies and super-dash to break through walls and other obstacles. Know what that means? It means uncovering more hidden bananas and life balloons
 * Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country

 * Jungle Hijinxs
 * Oil Drum Alley
 * Manic Mincers

Donkey Kong Land

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

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

 * Pirate Panic
 * Red-Hot Ride
 * Barrel Bayou
 * Rambi Rumble
 * Castle Crush
 * Animal Antics

Donkey Kong Land 2

 * Gangplank Galley
 * Red-Hot Ride
 * Barrel Bayou
 * Rambi Rumble
 * Animal Antics

Donkey Kong Country Returns

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