Video Game Menagerie Trivia Quiz

Answer: Blooper

You may consider that some of the most popular foes in the "Mario" universe are the humble Goomba and the turtle-like Koopa Troopa, both of whom are somewhat original in nature. This being said, the Blooper and Cheep-Cheep, both aquatic creature, are based on actual animals (the former is a squid and the latter is a flying fish). Bloopers return throughout later games in the series, occasionally becoming an ally, but in the early platformers they can navigate in the water and sometimes the air, floating around in swooping patterns to attack. Unlike normal squids, they are generally black and white.

Answer: Far Cry 5

The "Far Cry" series has never really been known for its subtlety and sense; many games in the series have taken excess to the extreme in different environments, but the fifth of them introduced Fangs For Hire, a service providing unique animal companions. Players could partner up with Boomer the Dog, acquiring him from a pumpkin farm; they could get Peaches the Cougar from the taxidermist; Cheeseburger the Bear could become a tanky partner from the F.A.N.G. Center. All three featured different abilities, all of which could help out in different ways depending on the situation.

Answer: Yooka

Appearing in the 2017 platformer game "Yooka-Laylee", Yooka is one of the two playable main characters you can get a handle on. Acting as a spiritual sequel to the beloved Nintendo 64 game "Banjo-Kazooie", "Yooka-Laylee" sent players into different worlds to collect pages of books leading to a final fight against Hivory Towers' Capital B.

While Yooka was the more physical Banjo-esque bipedal character, Laylee the bat was the winged, wise-cracking partner. The duo returned in 2019 in "Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair".

Answer: No More Heroes

Though players who've made their way to the end of Suda-51's "No More Heroes" know that Jeane is the final boss in Travis Touchdown's journey to rise to the top, Jeane the cat appears in the first game (as a kitten) and reappears in subsequent titles in the series at an older age.

Interestingly, one of the side-quests in "No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle" involves helping Jeane lose weight. Travis, having overfed her between games, can feed her in his apartment, but the real goal is to play with her until she gets healthy.

Answer: Enguarde

Each of the "Donkey Kong Country" games featured a handful of animal companions, some of whom returned in later instalments and a small amount who were one-and-done. Enguarde lasted the full run of SNES titles, also appearing in "Donkey Kong 64", as a typical underwater buddy capable of charging through foes and barricades.

He wasn't alone-- Glimmer was also seen in some underwater stages, available to lead the way in the dark as an anglerfish. Other animals in the first "Donkey Kong Country" game included Espresso the ostrich and Rambi the rhino.

Answer: Fable II

The dog companion added into "Fable II" started a trend of faithful companions in role-playing games across several generations; the feature recurred in several "Fable" games. The dog is introduced early on and follows the character's quest throughout Albion and, because of the game's interest in the protagonist's choices throughout, your actions can determine whether or not the canine goes good or evil. Players would later acquire dogs in later western RPGS like "Dragon Age" and "Fallout 4"...even in first-person shooters (like "Call of Duty: Ghosts").

Answer: The Legend of Zelda

Appearing in both Nintendo 64 titles in the series, Kaepora Gaebora acts as a bit of a guide, showing up in locations along the route, especially when Link is a child, to ensure that the right path is being taken. He seems to be associated with Rauru, the Sage of Light.

This owl also appears in "Majora's Mask", being the character who teaches Link the Song of Soaring near Woodfall Temple. Thirdly, Kaepora shows up in "Four Swords Adventures". Interestingly, there are many other bird characters in the series, notably the Rito people of "Wind Waker".

Answer: Roach

Roach is one of the easiest methods with which Geralt can traverse the land in "Witcher 3", and as such there are plenty of ways to upgrade the mount (ie. with saddlebags, blinders, etc.). Though Roach did appear in the "Witcher" fantasy novel series by Andrzej Sapkowski (as far back as "The Last Wish"), he was never usable in the first couple of "Witcher" games. "Witcher 3" also features horseback combat which can come in handy on specific quests if you happen to get the hang of navigating.

Answer: Houndmaster

One of seventeen adventurer types to add to the party of four heading into each dungeon, the houndmaster makes use of a faithful companion to attack foes (especially with Bleed effects). This being said, the character is likely best used as support; its camping skills are strong for stress removal.

The character uses whistles as its dedicated equippable trinket. Originally, the houndmaster wasn't a usable class, but instead released with the 'Corpse and Hound' update, the second major content drop on PC.

Answer: Skateboard

In this game, all of the players take on the role of a playable animal and attempt to get to a goal on a platforming level to earn points. It's pretty simple in concept; if you've played an old-school "Super Mario" game, the 2D platforming is very similar.

The catch is that with each successive round, the players get to add obstacles and platforms to aid their way to the finish or hinder everyone else. Amongst the unique playable animals include a snake on a skateboard, a robo-bunny, and of course, of course, a chicken and a horse. "Ultimate Chicken Horse" released on Steam for PC in 2016 and has since been released on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.