Winky

Winky as seen in Donkey Kong Country.
Winky
Species	Frog
Eye color	Black
Debut	Donkey Kong Country

Winky is a frog who appeared as an animal buddy in Donkey Kong Country.

Background

Winky was a frog who lent his aid to Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong when needed. In Donkey Kong Country, he could be freed from crates in three levels of the Monkey Mines and one level of Gorilla Glacier. Most of the places he was found were within caves and mines, with the exception being the exterior ruins of the Monkey Mines' Millstone Mayhem level. Winky displayed a greater jumping ability than any of the other animal buddies, and he was strong enough that he could defeat a variety of enemies by jumping on them, including spined enemies such as Zingers.

Outside of Donkey Kong Country, Winky has only made cameo appearances. In the original version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, a life-sized figure of Winky was seen on sale in the background of Cranky Kong's Monkey Museum. In the Game Boy Advance remake, that was replaced with a cage where Cranky was keeping a tiny version of Winky as a pet. Several similar frogs made background appearances in the swamp areas in this version. Beyond that, Winky has also made a background cameo as a spectator in Donkey Konga 3.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In the Super Smash Bros. series, Winky has been represented by a trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and by a Novice-rank Support Spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As a Spirit, his Support effect was to boost the power of foot attacks. When fought against in a Spirit battle, Winky's Spirit would possess Greninja with a boosted jumping ability.

Trivia

• Winky is the only animal buddy out of the original game's group to not have any other appearances as an animal buddy.
• The first level he appears in is called Winky's Walkway.
• Winky and Expresso are also mentioned by Cranky in the instruction manuals for Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong 64. In both instances, Cranky Kong expresses fondness for them, preferring them over the likes of Rambi, and he pities them for their lack of appearances.
• In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, one of Rabbid Cranky's weapons available in the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC is a Barrel Bolt based on Winky's appearance. Known as the Croaker Dispenser, its description references Winky and the Monkey Mines, and like the other animal buddy-based weapons, it is described as being "officially licensed".
• There is also a frog-shaped mech known as Big Winky in Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. Considering that Rare was the former developer of the Donkey Kong Country series and the creator of Winky, it is likely an intentional reference.