Army Dillo
Species	Army
First appearance	Donkey Kong 64 (1999)
Latest appearance	Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong (volume 2) (2001)

“I-I'm sorry,master,he was too quick for me. B-but I'll get him next time...”

—Army Dillo,Donkey Kong 64

Army Dillo is a massiveArmy equipped with a sturdy, iron shell with two large cannons. He is both the first and the sixth boss ofDonkey Kong 64, first fought inJungle Japes and again inCrystal Caves. His name is a pun on "armadillo", which is what his species is based on. For both boss battles, onlyDonkey Kong can fight Army Dillo, making him the only boss to be faced by the same Kong twice.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

The battle against Army Dillo

In Jungle Japes, the first fight with Army Dillo takes place in a jungle arena. Before the battle begins, Army Dillo rolls out of a cave and into the arena. Army Dillo pokes out from his shell, where two large cannons emerge. Army Dillo lets out a laugh and retreats back in his shell. The boss battle then begins.

For this battle, Army Dillo is equipped with two large retractable side-mounted fireball cannons and a metal shell. The battle mainly consists of Army Dillo retreating into his shell and shooting fireballs from his cannons. At first, Army Dillo blasts four fireballs at Donkey Kong. It briefly peeks out of its shell, letting out a laugh. During this opportunity, Donkey Kong must pick up aTNT Barrel and throw it at Army Dillo's head. The explosion blasts Army Dillo upward and short-circuits his shell, electrocuting him in the process. After this, Army Dillo retreats in his shell and rolls around, attempting to run over Donkey Kong. After a few seconds, Army Dillo returns to blasting fireballs, this time blasting nine of them at a faster rate. As Army Dillo pokes his head out again, Donkey Kong must throw another TNT Barrel at him. This short-circuits his shell again, electrocuting him in the process. In the third and final round, Army Dillo has the same pattern, but moves at a faster rate. He also fires eleven fireballs at Donkey Kong and retracts his head quicker after letting out a laugh. After being hit from a third TNT Barrel, the short-circuiting of Army Dillo's shell causes the cannons to blast off from his shell. Army Dillo flees in embarrassment and relinquishes the firstBoss Key toK. Lumsy's cage.

Army Dillo talks to K. Rool shortly after losing.

When the Kongs first enterAngry Aztec, a cutscene shows Dillo without his armored shell and cowering in fear while being watched byK. Rool. Army Dillo says to K. Rool that Donkey Kong was too quick for him, and that he will "get him next time". K. Rool is mad at Army Dillo's failure and glares at him. Out of fright, Army Dillo falls on his back and faints.

Army Dillo is also the boss of Crystal Caves, where he is fought by Donkey Kong a second time. The Kongs must feed 350 bananas toScoff to unlock the boss door. After Donkey Kong enters through the boss door, a cutscene plays that shows theKremlings, in a laboratory, applying upgrades to Army Dillo's new shell (including some who are banging on his shell purposelessly). Army Dillo's upgrades include side-mounted rocket boosters, allowing Army Dillo to hover in the air, and a large top-mounted cannon, capable of firing several fireballs and homing missiles. After his upgrades were applied, Army Dillo rolls into the crystal arena. He briefly peeks out of his shell, letting out his trademark laughter, and then retreats back inside.

The rematch against Army Dillo in Crystal Caves

The first round of the Crystal Caves fight is identical to the Jungle Japes fight, because Army Dillo shoots out four fireballs and then lets out a laugh, meaning that a TNT Barrel should be thrown at him. Army Dillo briefly attempts to roll over Donkey Kong before going into a corner of the arena. Army Dillo then swaps out his cannons for rocket boosters, hovers up, and slams on the ground, creating a green shockwave for Donkey Kong to avoid. After dodging the shockwave, Army Dillo reverts back to his fireball cannons, and Donkey Kong must dodge another fireball assault until Army Dillo shows his face again. The process is repeated again after Army Dillo takes damage a second time, but he will unleash two shockwave attacks before transitioning back to firing fireballs at Donkey Kong. After being hit a third time, Army Dillo's two fireball cannons break off, and he makes a final attempt to run over Donkey Kong. Afterwards, Army Dillo reequips his rocket boosters and performs up to three shockwave attacks. After the third shockwave attack, a massive bazooka will emerge out from the top of Army Dillo's shell. Army Dillo hovers up and blasts out six fireballs, with Donkey Kong having to avoid each one individually. After the final fireball has fallen, Army Dillo will descend back onto the ground and fire a homing missile, which explodes either by crashing into an object, or after 13 seconds. When the missile explodes, Army Dillo will briefly poke his head back out and laugh, meaning another TNT Barrel must be thrown at him. If Donkey Kong fails to damage Army Dillo, he will have to avoid another raining fireball assault, followed by another homing missile, before he can try again. After a fourth and final hit, Army Dillo's shell explodes. He then evaporates into the air and releases the world'sBoss Key.

In thedemo cartridge, the boss fight against Army Dillo is one of three randomly selected stage options. Army Dillo is at a higher difficulty because he uses the attack patterns and armament from theCrystal Caves battle.^[1]

Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong[edit]

Army Dillo revealing his true form to Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong

Army Dillo appears in chapter 5 of thesecond volume ofUho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong as a mecha built by the Kremlings.

When King K. Rool learns that Donkey Kong andDiddy Kong are heading to theWhite Mountains to askEddie the Mean Old Yeti to share his bananas with them due to the shortage caused by the snowfall, he decides to get ahead of them to ambush them using Army Dillo.

When the duo arrives in the mountains, they find Eddie unconscious on the ground. Despite Diddy's concerns, Donkey Kong enters the cave thinking he will find bananas there. However, he encounters a giant snowball that chases them both. Donkey Kong is crushed but emerges unscathed, much to Diddy's relief. Army Dillo emerges from his shell along with his two cannons, which he uses to shoot at Donkey Kong. DK manages to punch Army Dillo's shell but injures his hand due to its hardness. K. Rool orders Army Dillo to attack the Kongs, and just when all seems lost, Eddie and DK come up with the idea of hitting their chests, causing an avalanche that throws Army Dillo off a cliff along with K. Rool,Krusha, andGeneral Klump.

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

The description for theArmadillofossil inDonkey Kong Bananza states that "Some of them with military training simply carried cannons instead," referencing Army Dillo.

Quotes[edit]

In the kiosk demo, Army Dillo had lines of speech, and he was voiced byKevin Bayliss.

• "You dare challenge me?!"
• "Ah ha ha ha!"
• "I must crush you!"
• "You can't beat me!"
• "You'll never defeat K. Rool!"
• "NO!"
• "Noooooooo!"
• "Aaaaaarrgghh!"

Gallery[edit]

• 

  Army Dillo in Jungle Japes

• 

  Donkey Kong Card Game trading card

Names in other languages[edit]

References[edit]

• Armadillos
• Kremling Krew
• Donkey Kong 64 bosses

• Articles with unsourced foreign names