Klaptrap

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Klaptrap
Klaptrap in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Artwork of a Klaptrap from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
First appearance Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
Variant of Kremling
Variants
Derived subjects
Comparable
Notable members
“His huge teeth will dissuade you from roll attacks!”
Donkey Kong Country instruction booklet, page 28

Klaptraps[1][2] (also spelled Klap Traps[3][4][5][6] or Klap-Traps[7]) are small Kremlings that first appear in Donkey Kong Country. Klaptraps resemble real world crocodiles more closely than most Kremlings, as they are quadrupedal and have large pairs of jaws, hence their name. Klaptraps are usually light blue (with bright yellow stripes on their back), but they can also come in a variety of colors, such as red, green, and purple. They are less anthropomorphic than other Kremlings and act like pets to the Kremling Krew. Their name comes from "claptrap," a word meaning "nonsense," playing off the enemy's snapping bear trap-like jaws. Klampons and Krimps from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! respectively are similar in that regard.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

Klaptrap in Donkey Kong Country
Artwork of Klaptrap for Donkey Kong Country

Klaptraps are common enemies in their debut appearance, Donkey Kong Country. They behave similar to Gnawties, by moving in a single direction. A notable difference with Klaptraps is that they repeatedly chomp while moving around. As such, frontal attacks do not work on Klaptraps, as they will just damage Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong if they attempt to beat them that way. Given their short size, the Kongs can easily avoid Klaptraps by jumping over them. Klaptraps cannot hurt Expresso because it has long legs that they move straight through. Klaptraps first appear in Stop & Go Station and return in Orang-utan Gang, Snow Barrel Blast, Slipslide Ride, Ice Age Alley, Trick Track Trek, Blackout Basement, and lastly Misty Mine.

Klaptraps have a purple variant in Loopy Lights and also a Bonus Area of Trick Track Trek. In the Game Boy Color version, these Klaptraps are changed to brown, and in the Game Boy Advance version, they are changed to red. These Klaptraps behave mostly the same as their light blue counterpart, except that they jump whenever the Kongs do, thus making them harder to avoid than normal ones. Some purple Klaptraps remain in one spot and do not move around.

In this game, the sound of Klaptraps snapping their jaws is a digitized sample of one of the game artists clattering his teeth together, which was a noise that startled other team members.[8]

Donkey Kong Land[edit]

Klaptraps are one of the three Kremling enemies who reappear in the handheld title, Donkey Kong Land, the other two being Krushas and Kritters. They have the same behavior as in Donkey Kong Country, although the jumping Klaptraps do not reappear. Klaptraps first appear in Riggin' Rumble, and return in Snake Charmer's Challenge, Pot Hole Panic, Kong Krazy, and lastly Skyscraper Caper, a total of five level appearances.

Donkey Kong Country novel[edit]

Illustration showing Diddy Kong with a Klap Trap.
Illustration showing Diddy Kong with a Klap Trap, from Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle

An individual Klap Trap appears as an antagonist in the Donkey Kong Country novel. An employee of the Kremling factory, Klap Trap has a small chat with his coworker Zinger about King K. Rool's absence at the site and he then notices that the Kongs are eavesdropping on them. Klap Trap lunges at the group, but Diddy Kong defeats him by doing a cartwheel. The Kongs destroy the factory shortly after.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle[edit]

In the novel Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle, while looking for a replacement part for Funky Kong's barrel plane, Diddy Kong encounters a Klap Trap within the Kremlings' supply room. Diddy Kong immediately tries to attack the Klap Trap, however it quickly evades all of his attacks, causing Diddy to crash into a storage shelf. Diddy manages to lodge a barrel in the Klap Trap's jaws while it was charging towards him, allowing Diddy time to escape the store room with the water pump.

Donkey Kong Country television series[edit]

Klaptraps in Bad Hair Day.
Several Klaptraps inside a Klap-Blaster

In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, Klaptraps are, instead of soldiers, ammunition for a weapon called a Klap-Blaster. Unlike the Klaptraps of the games, the ones on the show are bipedal and capable of speaking. Often times when a Klaptrap is seen, it makes a sarcastic comment about its job or what it had just eaten. The show also features a singular Klaptrap character larger than his brethren.

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

Klaptrap as they appear in Donkey Kong 64.
Klaptraps were entirely redesigned in Donkey Kong 64

Klaptraps reappear as enemies in Donkey Kong 64, where they are green rather than light blue. Their expression is more vicious rather than neutral and their behavior is similar to a guard dog, wearing collars and growling like one. This makes them somewhat resemble Krimps from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, which also have a similar, vicious expression, and have also been described as dog-like Kremlings, as well as wearing a dog collar. Klaptraps have had their behavior changed in that when a Klaptrap sees a Kong, it growls similarly to a dog and chomps at them. Klaptraps can be defeated in one hit (including frontal attacks, which are ineffective in previous games); however, their set of dentures still remain and continually clamp after the Kongs. The dentures eventually break by either crashing into a wall or falling into water. If the Kongs use an Orange or their musical instrument move to defeat a Klaptrap, its teeth do not chase after them.

One Klaptrap in particular sits on King K. Rool's lap in several cutscenes, being petted by its master, likely a reference to James Bond villain Blofeld. K. Rool's pet Klaptrap is last seen startled by K. Rool when he's awoken by the alarm, revealing the Kongs have entered Hideout Helm. There is another specific Klaptrap, and it is playable in the minigame Beaver Bother, where it has to guide a number of Gnawties down a hole within a barrel by snarling at them.

The game also features purple Klaptraps that are immune to every direct attack method that the Kongs have. They are even completely immune to the Kongs' shockwave attack; using it will just hurt the Kongs, while the purple Klaptrap is unaffected. They can only be defeated with an Orange or a musical instrument, and drop three Oranges upon defeat. One of them is seen being directed to move the helm-shaped hamster wheel left and right in the opening scene. There are also red Klaptraps, which only appear in two cutscenes. In one of them, the "Castle Intro", a giant red Klaptrap was sent out by K. Rool to execute a fleeing Kasplat.

Donkey Konga[edit]

A blue and pink Klaptrap as they appear in 100M Vine Climb of Donkey Konga.
A blue and pink Klaptrap as they appear in 100M Vine Climb of Donkey Konga.
A blue and pink Klaptrap as they appear in 100M Vine Climb of Donkey Konga.

In Donkey Konga, light blue and pink Klaptraps appear as obstacles in the 100M Vine Climb minigame. Unlike their previous appearances, pink Klaptraps act no different from the light blue Klaptraps. The Klaptraps walk on the vines and their connected bushes. If Donkey Kong hits a Klaptrap while climbing the vines, he falls down, though he respawns on the vines seconds later.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

SmashWiki article: Klaptrap
Klaptraps in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Two Klaptraps in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Klaptraps are a recurring stage hazard in the Super Smash Bros. series. Their first series appearance is in Super Smash Bros. Melee, where Klaptraps appear in both of Donkey Kong's stages, Kongo Jungle and Jungle Japes. They swim through the water rapids and jump out from it, attempting to damage fighters by biting them. In Kongo Jungle, Klaptraps can also fall into, occupy, and use the Barrel Cannon; these Klaptraps are colored orange, while those on Jungle Japes are light blue. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Klaptraps retain their role in the returning Jungle Japes stage. In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Klaptraps return in both Kongo Falls (renamed from Kongo Jungle) and Jungle Japes, both of which return from Super Smash Bros. Melee, although the Klaptraps in Kongo Falls are instead colored brown.

Klaptraps have two other roles in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A Klaptrap also appears as the first and only Assist Trophy from the Donkey Kong series, where it lunges and bites on to opponents. If Klaptraps are hit, they make the same sound they did when they were defeated in Donkey Kong Country. One additionally appears as an Advanced Attack spirit, which must be unlocked by playing Classic mode with King K. Rool and reaching the goal of the bonus stage within 45 seconds.

Mario Power Tennis[edit]

Green and red Klaptraps appear in Mario Power Tennis in Donkey Kong's Jungle Court. They try to bite players, causing them to slow down. Klaptraps also appear in the minigame Balloon Panic where the player's objective is to protect several balloons from hungry Klaptraps, including the regular blue Klaptraps. From this game onwards, the green and red Klaptraps have the same Donkey Kong Country design as the blue Klaptraps themselves.

Mario Superstar Baseball[edit]

In Mario Superstar Baseball, green Klaptraps are obstacles in the Donkey Kong Jungle stadium. Similar to Mario Power Tennis, Klaptraps try to bite the outfielders' heels, causing them to slow down. If the batter hits the baseball into a Klaptrap's mouth, they earn a Team Star.

Mario Party 7[edit]

Klaptraps attempt to bite Wario as he tries to collect coins in the lake.

In Mario Party 7, two green Klaptraps appear in a lake in an oasis on Pyramid Park. If a player lands on a Happening Space in front of the lake, they will be asked to swim in it and collect coins. The Klaptraps become visible, and attempt to bite the player. If successful in their attack, the player will lose two coins. This is the only time an enemy from the Donkey Kong series appears in a Mario Party game.

Unused appearances[edit]

Diddy Kong Pilot (2003)[edit]

In Diddy Kong Pilot's 2003 build, Klap Trap is a playable character and a member of Team Kremling. Klap Trap's name is in the first cup, Klap Trap Kup, and he can be unlocked by completing the cup and then beating him in a dogfight match. As a racer, Klap Trap has the highest acceleration and the lowest top speed of the racers. Unlike other games, Klap Trap speaks with vocalized dialogue and sounds like a bratty child. The Options screen has a "Multiplayer Weapons" option; if selected, a brief cutscene of a Klap Trap defeating another Klap Trap in a dogfight match is shown.

Klap Trap was replaced with Humba Wumba in the final version of this iteration, Banjo-Pilot, as indicated by their stats.

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

Trophy
Klap Trap
Klaptrap
Game/move:
Donkey Kong Country
11/94
How to unlock: Random
This low-slung alligator made its first appearance in Donkey Kong Country. You can subdue it by jumping on its back, but it's powerful jaws make it dangerous to approach from the front. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, it swims in the river and sometimes jumps in the Barrel Cannon to stop players from using it.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl sticker[edit]

Sticker
Klaptrap
A sticker of Klaptrap in the game Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Artwork from: Donkey Kong Country
Effects in The Subspace Emissary: [Electric] - Resistance +7
Usable by: Anyone

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit[edit]

Name Image Game Type Class Effect How to obtain Spirit battle
Opponents Battle conditions Stage Song
Klaptrap Klaptrap in Donkey Kong Country Donkey Kong Series Primary (0) Advanced Attack
Weight ↓
Challenge (Classic Mode: As King K. Rool, reach the goal in Bonus Game within 45 seconds.); Spirit Board Tiny King K. Rool Rule: Assist Trophy Enemies (Klaptrap)
  • Hostile assist trophies will appear
Kongo Jungle Stickerbush Symphony

List of appearances[edit]

Title Description Release date System/format
Donkey Kong Country Enemy 1994 SNES
Donkey Kong Land Enemy 1995 Game Boy
Donkey Kong 64 Enemy; Playable character in Beaver Bother 1999 Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong Country (remake) Enemy 2000 Game Boy Color
Super Smash Bros. Melee Stage hazard in Kongo Jungle and Jungle Japes; cameo as trophy 2001 GameCube
Donkey Kong Country (remake) Enemy 2003 Game Boy Advance
Donkey Konga NPC 2003 GameCube
Mario Power Tennis Enemy 2004 GameCube
Mario Superstar Baseball Enemy 2005 GameCube
Mario Party 7 Enemy in Pyramid Park 2005 GameCube
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Stage hazard in Jungle Japes; cameo as sticker 2008 Wii
New Play Control! Mario Power Tennis Enemy 2009 Wii
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Stage hazard in Jungle Japes 2014 Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Assist Trophy; Stage hazard in Kongo Falls and Jungle Japes; cameo as spirit 2018 Nintendo Switch

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Klaptrap.

Names in other languages[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese クラップトラップ
Kurapputorappu
Klaptrap

Italian Klap Trap
Trappidrillo[9]
-
From trappola (trap) and coccodrillo (crocodile)
Russian Клаптрап
Klaptrap
Klaptrap

References[edit]

  1. ^ Donkey Kong Country cast roll
  2. ^ Donkey Kong 64 instruction booklet. Page 4.
  3. ^ Donkey Kong Country "Kredits" roll
  4. ^ Donkey Kong Country instruction booklet. Page 28.
  5. ^ Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy
  6. ^ Donkey Kong Country cast roll (Game Boy Advance version)
  7. ^ Donkey Kong Country Player's Guide. Page 13.
  8. ^ Shesez (November 21, 2019). The Donkey Kong Country 25th Anniversary Interview Documentary. YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Mario Power Tennis (GameCube) Italian instruction booklet. Page 28.