Screaming Pillar
Screaming Pillars are tall, sleeping pillar-like Tikis in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. They appear in the Jungle, Ruins, and Volcano areas, and are usually asleep in the section they are placed in. If Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong approach these pillars, they awake with a scream and collapse onto the ground, attempting to crush the Kongs underneath, with their feathers falling off. Should the heroes receive the shocking treatment, they lose one heart from their health counter. The Kongs can destroy the Screaming Pillars by pounding their feeble heads after they have fallen. Giant Pillars appear in the level Canopy Cannons. Their scream is not high-pitched and they take out the Kongs by just touching them.
Screaming Pillars return in Mario Kart 7. In this game, they scream every once in a while, blowing air to push hanggliding players back. They appear in DK Jungle only and reappear in the retro track version of the course in Mario Kart 8. In Mario Kart 8, the Screaming Pillars are seen as Giant Pillar's appearance and seem to exhale smoke when they are making noises.
Exceptionally close relatives of Screaming Pillars, the Flaming Falling Totem Poles[1], appear in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Having an otherwise unchanged behavior from that of Screaming Pillars, the more recently introduced species sustain an inner fiery core, which spawns a stream of flames out their hollow eyes and mouths whenever the pillars scream and prepare to fall. Additionally, their heads are always on fire before falling on the ground; the fire intensifies whenever the stone creature notices the Kongs, and it is seemingly used as primary object of defense against the primates, despite not damaging them more than a regular Screaming Pillar could. In effect, these are all aesthetic additions, and, as stated above, they do not change the enemies' method of attack. What is more, Flaming Falling Totem Poles cool down after crashing into the ground, ultimately granting the possibility to be destroyed the same way as Screaming Pillars. They can only be seen lounging around in Scorch 'n' Torch, a level that features a savannah affected by a wildfire, which the enemies allude to.
In the E3 2013 trailer for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U, Screaming Pillars can be seen very briefly in the background when Donkey Kong first appears. They also appear in the Wii U version of the game itself as stage hazards in the Jungle Hijinxs stage.
Gallery
Concept artwork of the Screaming Pillars.
Screaming Pillars as seen in Mario Kart 7.
- MK8 Screaming Pillar.PNG
Screaming Pillar from Mario Kart 8.
