Buzz (enemy)
- This article is about a mechanical foe first appearing in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! For a human character from Mario Golf: Advance Tour also named Buzz, see Buzz (character).
- “Multi-talented flying baddy, whose buzzsaw protects his whole body from attacks.”
- —Donkey Kong Country 3 manual, page 19
Buzzes are robotic wasps[1] that appear in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III. They have legs made of metal and a buzzsaw in their abdomen, though their bodies and wings appear to be organic.
Buzzes act as the successor to Zingers, an organic wasp species from the previous two Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land games. Buzzes are comparable to Zingers in numerous ways, such as being one of the most common enemies in both of their game appearances. Buzzes have the same behavior and attacks as Zingers and are among the harder enemies to defeat. Similar to Zingers, Buzzes have a standard type (which are green rather than yellow) and a less common red variant, which like red Zingers, are almost entirely invulnerable except to certain objects, such as TNT Barrels. Purple Buzzes are shown in three artworks relating to Donkey Kong Country 3 despite not appearing in the game itself.
Buzz's name directly references the onomatopoeia "buzz", which both represents the sound made by wasps as they fly and the sound of a buzzsaw. Their name might have been derived from the "buzz" prefix of buzzsaw.
History
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Buzzes are the most common enemy, usually posing as obstacles. Green Buzzes can be defeated by a thrown barrel or by a certain Animal Friend, but the tougher red Buzzes can only be defeated by a TNT Barrel, an Invincibility Barrel, with the fireballs launched by Kroc in Krack Shot Kroc, or with the flames from the exhaust of a Rocket Barrel in the SNES version only.
Buzzes are absent in Lakeside Limbo, Skidda's Row, Koindozer Klamber, Poisonous Pipeline, and all underwater levels.
In the final level Rocket Rush, if the Kongs defeat a Buzz by hitting it with rocket exhaust, the Buzz turns black and is defeated. This effect did not return in the Game Boy Advance version.
Donkey Kong Land III
In Donkey Kong Land III, Buzzes behave the same way they did in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, though only the green type reappears due to the monochromatic screen of the Game Boy. This means that the game lacks the red variation of the enemy, therefore, every single Buzz can be defeated with regular barrels. In the Japanese Game Boy Color version, every Buzz was recolored to green.
Diddy Kong Pilot (2003 version)
Prerelease footage for the canceled 2003 version of Diddy Kong Pilot reveals that pink Buzzes were going to appear in the game as items. When used, Buzz would home in on the nearest pilot and cause them to crash on contact (similar to Red Shells in Mario Kart). The game would have also featured a blue variant, which would home in on the lead driver and attack them (similar to the Spiny Shells in Mario Kart).
Gallery
A green Buzz
Sprite of a green Buzz
Sprite of a red Buzz
Sprite of a Buzz who was defeated by the Rocket Barrel's exhaust pipes.
A Buzz, as seen in Dixie Kong's Photo Album.
- Buzz DKP.png
Sprites of a pink and a blue Buzz as they would have appeared in Diddy Kong Pilot.
Artwork of Green Buzzes in Doorstop Dash.
Artwork of two pink Buzzes chasing Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong outside Kastle KAOS.
Artwork of two pink Buzzes and a Krimp chasing Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong in Demolition Drain-Pipe.
Sprite in Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | バズ Bazu |
Buzz |
