Bleak
| Bleak | |
|---|---|
 Artwork of Bleak from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! | |
| Species | Snowman |
| First appearance | Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (1996) |
| Latest appearance | Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance) (2005) |
| Latest portrayal | Chris Sutherland (2005) |
Bleak is a large, sinister-looking snowman who appears as a boss in both Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III. He resembles a stereotypical snowman by having the traditional top hat, scarf, and carrot nose. In contrast, he has a very deranged and sinister look and is quite bulbous in appearance. He wears sleeve cuffs and fancy shoes.
History[edit]
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble![edit]
In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, Bleak is the boss of K3 and is fought in a snow level, Bleak's House. The area takes place in a large snowfield where either Dixie or Kiddy get in a snowball fight with Bleak. The gameplay is similar to Swanky's Sideshow. Bleak pops in and out of random locations behind the walls, trying to hit either Kong with a snowball. To attack Bleak, either Kong must throw a snowball at the amulet on Bleak's scarf, which appears to be the source of his power. After taking multiple hits, Bleak starts a different tactic of blasting giant snowballs from of his hat like cannonballs. Bleak shoots up to four at a time. After taking six hits in total, Bleak is defeated, and the Kongs win a Bonus Coin.
In the Game Boy Advance version, Bleak's laughter was removed, and his new voice clips, which are shared with Baron K. Roolenstein, are recycled from Kudgel's from the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2, and Chunky Kong from Donkey Kong 64. Bleak also now utters grunts when throwing snowballs, which are recycled from King K. Rool in Donkey Kong 64.
Donkey Kong Land III[edit]
In Donkey Kong Land III, Bleak is the boss of Primate Plains and the second boss overall. He is fought in another snow level, Bleak Magic. Bleak starts off by blasting snow boulders (which have the same sprite as Karbine's fireballs and are purple in the Game Boy Color version) from of his hat at whichever Kong he is fighting. Instead of moving laterally, he stands in one place and stops to shoot his projectiles with various angles. To attack Bleak, the Kongs must throw a barrel at his amulet. After each hit, Bleak's attacks become more erratic. After four hits, Bleak is defeated.
Gallery[edit]
Sprites[edit]
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Donkey Kong Land III
Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong & Dixie Kong
Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Screenshots[edit]
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!
Donkey Kong Land III
Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance) screenshot of Dixie, after defeating Bleak
Scans[edit]
Nintendo Power volume 90 cover
Media[edit]
 Bleak's laugh - Bleak laughing when he stops shooting (sampled from the "Male Low Throaty Laugh 1" track from the Best of Cartoon & Movie Sound F-X album)[1] | File info |
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブリーク[?] Burīku |
Bleak | |
| German | Bleak[?] | - | |
| Italian | Bleak[?] | - |
Trivia[edit]
- The original laughter sound for Bleak is a pitched-down version of a stock sound effect, "Male Low Throaty Laugh". This same sound effect, pitched up, would later be used for King Boo.[2]
- In the Japanese version of the Super Nintendo version, the player can skip the boss fight against Bleak by dying and pausing just before the screen fades out to exit the level, which will cause the game to consider the boss beaten.
