Kackle

Kackle
Artwork of Kackle
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Country 2 (GBA) (2004)
Variant of	Kremling

“These ghostly, Kremling spirits haunt many locations on Crocodile Isle.”

—Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, SNES instruction booklet, page 30; GBA instruction booklet, page 23 (written without comma in latter)

A Kackle is a ghostly, skeletal Kremling that appears in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Kackles wear eyepatches and bandannas, and hover around similar to Kloaks, and share an entry in the games' manuals; Kackles are absent from Donkey Kong Land 2, as the game replaces Haunted Hall, the only level they appear in, with a generic rollercoaster level, Krazy Koaster.

A Kackle's appearance in Haunted Hall

Four Kackles appear in Haunted Hall, each with a uniquely colored bandanna, and are encountered in their own gated sections of the level; each zone progressively becomes more challenging as the Kackles become more difficult to avoid. In the SNES release, the first Kackle has a blue bandanna, the second one wears green, the third wears yellow, and the last one wears a red bandanna; in the Game Boy Advance remake, every Kackle wears a blue bandanna like the first one. The first two Kackles appear before the Star Barrel, and the other two appear afterward.

When Diddy and Dixie enter a Kackle's zone, a timer appears at the top of the screen, tracking how much time they have left to leave the zone. Each Kackle is invincible and will hover closer to the Kongs as the timer ticks down in the SNES release; in the Game Boy Advance version, they instead maintain a consistent proximity to the Kongs. If time runs out, the Kackle becomes tangible and launches an unavoidable attack. Nearly every zone takes more time to clear than the Kongs initially have, meaning that they must use Plus Barrels to extend the timer and prevent the Kackle from attacking while avoiding Minus Barrels that reduce the timer further.

The first Kackle area mostly contains Plus Barrels and a few Minus Barrels, while the second Kackle area only contains Plus Barrels; the third Kackle area only contains Minus Barrels, but the timer is longer than normal to compensate; and the final Kackle area has Plus Barrels and Minus Barrels placed very close to each other, requiring well-timed jumps to avoid the Minus Barrels.

According to the end credits, Kackles are classified under the "Kremling Kuthroats" class.

Profiles

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• SNES instruction booklet (page 30): "These ghostly, Kremling spirits haunt many locations on Crocodile Isle."
• SNES Player's Guide (page 15): "This mean-spirited spooks are on the lookout for any hairy intruders into their domain! Kackle haunts the Kremland amusement park, while Kloak fades in and out of several diferent areas. Dealing while Kloak is especially frustating, since he sometimes conjures up Zingers to block paths or items."
• Computer and Video Games vol. 170 (page 70): "You can't kill what's already dead, but it can sure have a go at killing you!"
• GBA instruction booklet (page 23): "These ghostly Kremling spirits haunt many locations on Crocodile Isle."

Gallery

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  Artwork of Kackle chasing the Kongs

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  Sprite of a blue bandanna Kackle

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  Sprite of a green bandanna Kackle

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  Sprite of a yellow bandanna Kackle

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  Sprite of a red bandanna Kackle

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  A Kackle with a green bandana

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  A Kackle with a yellow bandana

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  A Kackle with a red bandana

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  Sprite from the Game Boy Advance remake

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  A Kackle in Haunted Hall in the Game Boy Advance remake

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カックル Kakkuru	Kackle
Italian	Kackle	-
Spanish	Kackle	-

Trivia

• In Donkey Kong 64, a demon resembling a giant skeletal Kremling appears to pursue Donkey Kong in a Mine Cart segment, similar to Kackle.
• According to Steve Mayles, Mr. X is an earlier version of Kackle.
• During the development of Banjo-Kazooie, when it was known as Dream: Land of Giants, Kackles were used as placeholder enemies.
• The official manuals reuse Kloak's description for Kackle, meaning it says he haunts many locations on Crocodile Isle, while the guide claims that he shows up at Krazy Kremland. In the game, Kackle only shows up in Haunted Hall in Gloomy Gulch.