Name: Shuri
Debut: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
There’s something wonderful about star-shaped creatures. Especially when their points are bendable like this, it’s like they’re the simplest a limbed creature can possibly be! I can really imagine Shuri prancing to and fro. But this is no prancer! You see those huge angry eyes! Something so angry wouldn’t dare prance! This is dangerous!
So how do they attack? Well... it’s a star. Its name comes from “shuriken”. You know what it does! It spins while traveling at high speeds! And as a sea star, it’s only found underwater, where it is capable of floating in place. Now, that’s not something an echinoderm is ever supposed to do, but this one is clearly capable of some sort of jet propulsion. So basically it’s realistic.
Not so realistic are those humungous angry eyes, but I love them anyway! They’re huge. They’re expressive. And in DK64, the disapproving bulbous eyelids are replaced with these superior black bushy eyebrows! Real sea stars have their “eyes” (really eyespots that just detect light and dark) on the tips of their arms, but without huge angry eyes, how would you know a silly star is bad news for monkeys?
Also, in DK64, they are absolutely MASSIVE! According to these trading cards, Diddy is 2 feet, 6 inches tall, which would make this Shuri around five dang feet tall. Around 20 inches larger than the real largest sea star!
Name: Scubi
Debut: Donkey Kong 64
What’s better than a funny angry sea star? A funny angry sea star wearing an old timey diving helmet, one of the best pieces of headgear around! And this one clearly is even custom made specifically for five-limbed sea stars with their eyes on their central disks! Hooray!
Obviously the diving helmet means Scubi is an underwater variant of Shuri, and it... wait, Shuri was already underwater! Well, Scubi is too. And you see that blue rope thing that looks like it would be connecting it to the boat it’s diving from, or something? It’s not. It’s a whip! This star is armed, and with more than just arms! And using the old-timey diver’s classic weapon of choice! The Underwater Whip!
