There may not be an abundance of our mammoth mammal friends in the world of video games, but there are just enough to be able to pick five favourites, all of which are loved in their own unique way.
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble!
Name: Ellie
Released: 1996
Ellie the Elephant is one of the later animal buddies you encounter across the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, making her cameo in Donkey Kong Country 3. Like all stereotypical elephants she has a comical fear of mice, and wouldn’t you just know it, the levels she appears in have them crawling all over. Besides running 30 foot from the nearest rodent, her abilities include picking up barrels with her trunk to cast at enemies or unreachable objects, as well as being able to squirt a limited amount of water. Of all the mountable beasts she is always the one I remember most fondly with her bright blue eyes beaming with a vehement enthusiasm.
Pokemon Gold & Silver
Name: Donphan
Released: 1999
Starting out as Phanpy you’d never expect such a cute and loveable creature to evolve into what becomes a pretty bad-ass ground-type Pokemon, with a cool-looking band of hide stretching from trunk to tail. He most notably appeared in the animated series as Ash’s trusty companion, always strong in battle and hardly ever let his master trainer down. In the games he is pretty underused due to his poor speed and not brilliant specials. He does have it going on in both the physical attacking and defensive areas though and if stat boosted correctly as part of a team can prove a devastating opponent to come up against.
Rolo to the Rescue
Name: Rolo
Released: 1992
Rolo is probably the least recognisable character and game of the bunch, or in this case herd. Produced by Electronic Arts and distributed by Sega on their Genesis/Mega Drive it was a pretty tough cartridge to get hold of. I remember searching for weeks before I finally saw an ad in the local paper for a second-hand copy. I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited than I was when I finally got home and gave it a whirl. The game is incredibly fun and follows the usual 2D platforming lineage, but with your abilities and those of your forest pals you’re able to jump, climb, dig and swim your way to the circus to rescue your mother from almost certain peril.
Diddy Kong Racing
Name: Taj
Released: 1997
Taj is one of those annoying characters that won’t leave you alone in a game, constantly hindering you, blabbering on about hints and tips or some gibberish. He’s also a pretty bad excuse for a genie. However, you just can’t help but feel sorry for the guy, stranded alone on an island with no friends, having to sit back while you get to jump in to all these cool cars, planes and hovercrafts, and partake in def-defying races. It seems I’m not the only one who feels this way as when the DS version rolled around Rare pulled up their socks and included him in the racing line-up as a secret unlockable character.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth
Name: Mumakil
Released: 2004
One of the most memorable moments from the Lord of the Rings movies was the epic battle that took place on the Pelennor Fields, where Oliphant’s reigned supreme, well, until Legolas and those army of the dead fella’s came on the scene. In Battle for Middle-Earth these can be purchased late in to a match to help turn the tide in your favour, but just as is written, and shown on screen, they are vulnerable to fire arrows, and of course, the undead. The reason these gargantuan creatures make the list is because weaknesses aside there truly is no greater feeling than trampling an army of soldiers with one of these things.
Have we missed your favourite? Tell us about it on the comments below.
Craig Bryan, NoobFeed
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the LotR ones feels like cheating, like including a batman villain in a list of top videogame villains, but i digress.
i'm just dying to know how the hell you get the idea for such a list :P "hmm... i should make a top 5... but on what? OH, ELEPHANTS! EVERYONE LOVES ELEPHANTS!"
ummer is truly a special time of the year when the weather is warmer, the grass is greener, and gaming companies play their best hand from their deck. Specifically, they announce t
| Platform(s): | Xbox One, PS4, Switch, Xbox 360, PS3, PC, WII, 3DS, Vita, Mobile |
| Publisher(s): | NoobFeed |
| Developer(s): | NoobFeed Editors |
| Genres: | Artcile |
| Themes: | Feature, Editorial, Interviews, Opinion Pieces |
| Release Date: | 2009-02-14 |
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I must have been the biggest dumb for not knowing that there is a game on LOTR.