King K. Rool

"King K. Rool Has His Finest Hour!"

King K. Rool is an antagonist in the Donkey Kong series, serving as the main threat in the original Donkey Kong Country and Land trilogies, as well as several other titles.

He is also a playable character in Nexed.

Real-World History
During the development of Donkey Kong Country, several pitches for a main antagonist were made, with early names including "Krudd" and "King Klinker". Eventually, the name "King K. Rool" was chosen by Rare employee Gregg Mayles, who stated that the K initial stood for nothing in particular (although he jokingly pitched names such as "Kremling" and "Keith"). King K. Rool would go on to serve as the main antagonist in the Donkey Kong Country games on the Super Nintendo, as well as their Donkey Kong Land counterparts on the Game Boy. He would also serve an antagonistic role in Donkey Kong 64.

Following Microsoft's buyout of Rare in 2002, King K. Rool would begin to see less frequent usage in Donkey Kong titles outside of ports of the Country trilogy. While he would continue to appear as an antagonist in games such as DK: King of Swing and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, he would eventually fade into dormancy, with his 2008 appearance in Mario Super Sluggers being his final physical appearance for a decade and him being excluded from the two Donkey Kong Country entries released in the 2010s.

However, King K. Rool would return as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018, having been a highly requested character for previous entries in the series. This has renewed interest in the character among Smash players as well as a pre-existing fan following for him, and has been one of King K. Rool's largest roles since his 90's origins.

Gameplay Information
"King K. Rool is the leader of the Kremlings and sworn enemy of the Kong family. Through a variety of schemes and disguises, he’s dedicated his life to taking over Donkey Kong Island, even if he has to destroy it in the process. While this croc might seem silly on the surface, nobody’s gonna make a monkey out of him!

Naturally, once hearing of Donkey Kong’s entry in the Nexus Tournament, K. Rool was quick to enlist himself, if only to pummel his ape adversary. Once he seizes the Winner’s Wish, he’ll put an end to the Kongs’ era of peace and usher in an era of Kremling rule!"

King K. Rool is among the game's heaviest characters, having great attack resistance (especially when his belly armor is considered) yet below-average mobility. However, his main strength is his trapping game, with a variety of projectiles meant to set up for traps or gain stage control. For example, his Blunderbuss serves as both a projectile and a command grap, with Klaptrap serving as a strong stage control option. Overall, King K. Rool is great at occupying space and keeping opponents locked down.

However, King K. Rool is flawed in some areas. His hefty weight and poor mobility make him suspectible to combos. In addition, his attacks tend to have some lag on them, leaving him open for punishment if whiffed. Finally, while his belly armor can absorb attacks well, absorbing too much damage can cause him to enter a dizzy state, leaving him open for strong attacks. As such, the key to playing as King K. Rool effectively is to limit the opponent's options and using his melee attacks wisely.

Moveset

 * Belly Armor: Certain attacks employ the use of Belly Armor, which absorb damage dealt to King K. Rool’s stomach. However, this armor has limited health which refills over time, and running out of it will cause King K. Rool to enter a dizzy state.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: King K. Rool throws a palm strike.
 * Dash Attack: King K. Rool leaps forward with a body avalanche, resembling an attack used in Donkey Kong Land. This move has belly armor.
 * Forward Light: King K. Rool claps forward.
 * Up Light: King K. Rool performs a brief jump with his head acting as a hitbox.
 * Down Light: King K. Rool stomps the ground, being able to bury opponents.
 * Forward Strong: King K. Rool throws a straight punch with a gloved hand, referencing Donkey Kong 64.
 * Up Strong: King K. Rool throws an uppercut with a boxing glove.
 * Down Strong: King K. Rool performs a belly flop. This move has belly armor and is King K. Rool's best kill move.
 * Counter: King K. Rool bounces the opponent off his stomach. This is among the game's strongest counters, but also damages King K. Rool’s belly armor. This move is inspired by King K. Rool's Down Special in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: King K. Rool spreads his limbs out, emphasizing his gut. This move has belly armor.
 * Forward Air: King K. Rool throws a dropkick.
 * Back Air: King K. Rool throws an overhand punch behind himself, being able to spike opponents.
 * Up Air: King K. Rool throws an upwards headbutt.
 * Down Air: King K. Rool stomps downwards with both feet, being able to spike opponents.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: King K. Rool grabs the opponent with one hand.
 * Pummel: King K. Rool headbutts the opponent.
 * Forward Throw: King K. Rool throws the opponent down, bouncing them forwards.
 * Back Throw: King K. Rool drags the opponent behind himself before launching them backwards. This is his best kill throw.
 * Up Throw: King K. Rool performs a backbreaker, launching the opponent upwards.
 * Down Throw: King K. Rool slams the opponent into the ground, burying them. This is his best combo throw.

Stage Intro
King K. Rool drops from the sky and laughs before entering his battle stance.

Taunts

 * King K. Rool lets out an evil laugh.
 * King K. Rool brandishes his blunderbuss, with it blowing soot in his face as he gives the camera a shocked expression. He quickly wipes the soot off. This is a reference to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest.
 * King K. Rool extends and pats his golden stomach, which does have his belly armor's properties.
 * King K. Rool falls over and lies on his stomach, essentially playing dead. He'll remain in this pose for as long as the taunt button is held; After it's released, he gets back up. This is a reference to Donkey Kong Country.

Victory Animations
King K. Rool's victory theme is an orchestrated version of Gangplank Galleon from Donkey Kong Country, sourced from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
 * King K. Rool looks around before striking a pose.
 * King K. Rool lands on the ground with a belly flop, bouncing into the air and doing a backflip before landing with a pose.
 * A Kremling is seen fanning King K. Rool, who is sitting on his throne and laughing.

Colors / Costumes


Trivia

 * King K. Rool's moveset was mostly unchanged from his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate design since Faz felt that it fit the character extremely well. The only moves that were changed were K. Rool's up light, up strong, and Down Special.
 * Benedict Campbell, King K. Rool's voice actor from the Donkey Kong Country animated series, was originally planned to voice him in Nexed. However, his video game voice actors were chosen instead to put more emphasis on K. Rool as seen in the games.
 * Despite this, King K. Rool's tagline references "K. Rool's Finest Hour", a song from the show.
 * King K. Rool's Neutral Special was originally planned to stun him if he vaccumed a projectile, but this was scrapped.