King K Rool (Smash Plus)

King K. Rool is a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Plus for the Nintendo Switch Plus. Representing the Donkey Kong universe, he is listed as Fighter #15 in Smash's modified numbering system and is classified as a Super Heavyweight Fighter. He is hidden at the start of the game, but can be unlocked through random encounters in Versus Mode, or by defeating any 5 Boss characters in Boss Rush Mode with either Donkey, Diddy or Dixie Kong.
King K. Rool ranks as one of the heaviest characters in the game, a bruiserweight with poor mobility but powerful KO moves. He also boasts great defensive capabilities in the form of his Belly Armor (which protects him from many front facing attacks) and from his sheer survivability. The Kremling leader can take a beating, which he has to be able to given his below average stats in many other categories. While many of his attacks pack a wallop, timing is everything as the vast majority of them are heavilty exploitable if he misses. In addition, his previously mentioned poor mobility, large hitbox and generally bad aerial stats make him very easy to combo. While his recovery has been improved (given the option of canceling out of the Propeller Pack early), it is still fairly linear and easy to counter. Still, if K. Rool can press the advantage early, one or two major attacks may be all that are needed for the King to reign supreme. King K. Rool has two normal jumps and no additional movement options.
==Moveset==
===Basic Attacks===
*Special Gimmick: Belly Armor- For many of his attacks (specifically those involving his stomach), King K. Rool has Super Armor centered around his gold plated belly. This will protect him from all knockback while activated, and will also significantly reduce the damage he takes from said attacks (though how much varies on the attack K. Rool is performing and the attack he is protecting against). The Belly Armor has a total of 45 HP, giving K. Rool significant protection, though the Armor only regenerates at 0.3% HP per second, meaning it takes nearly 15 seconds to fully charge if nearly depleted. The armor will crack when it drops below both 15 and 30 HP (with more significant cracks showing in the former). If it is fully depleted, then K. Rool will be stunned as if his normal shield were broken and left vulnerable for that time as well.
*Neutral Jab- K. Rool performs a three hit combo consisting of a palm thrust, a claw swipe and then finally a front kick to knock foes away.
*Side Tilt- K. Rool rears back and performs a clap attack straight in front of himself, similar to Donkey Kong's Forward Smash. Arguably one of the best side tilt attacks in the game.
*Up Tilt- K. Rool performs an uppercut, which has a wide hitbox in front of him and knocks opponents up at high vertical angles.
*Down Tilt- K. Rool performs a sumo style stomp in front of himself, which has the potential to bury grounded opponents at higher percentages.
*Dash Attack- K. Rool flings himself forward with a flying body splash, landing on the ground with a weaker hit to the initial dash strike.
*Grab & Pummel- K. Rool has a long range grab with a single hand. He pummels with a headbutt.
*Forward Throw- K. Rool lifts the opponent over his head and then slams them off the stage, knocking them up for further attacks.
*Back Throw- K. Rool pins the opponent to the ground and drags them across it before flinging them backwards.
*Up Throw- K. Rool lugs the opponent onto his back, jumps in the air and performs a backbreaker, knocking them upwards from the impact.
*Down Throw- K. Rool piledrives the opponent into the ground, burying them for a brief time.
*Neutral Air- K. Rool assumes a stance similar to a body splash, creating an attack with a lingering hitbox.
*Forward Air- K. Rool performs a midair dropkick, launching opponents with the initial attack as opposed to the lingering hitbox.
*Back Air- K. Rool throws a haymaker punch from high to low behind himself, spiking foes if it connects at the start of the downward motion.
*Up Air- K. Rool stretches his neck upward and performs a headbutt straight above himself. Has slightly more knockback power if K. Rool's Crown is on his head.
*Down Air- K. Rool performs a double stomp in midair, potentially spiking foes if the timing is handled correctly.
===Smash Attacks===
*Side Smash- K. Rool puts on a boxing glove and performs a powerful forward punch with tremendous launch power. The move is surprisingly quick to come out, but suffers from extreme endlag, making it very easy to punish if it misses. The punch can be angled slightly up or down depending on directional input.
*Up Smash- K. Rool jumps straight up into the air with a powerful headbutt, falling forward and landing awkwardly on his stomach if it misses. The headbutt does great damage, but only in the initial frames of the move. Everything else acts as a moderate sourspot, only doing moderate damage and little to no knockback.
*Down Smash- K. Rool jumps up in the air and performs a belly flop on the ground, creating a small shockwave to damage nearby foes. If enemies are caught beneath him when he lands, they will be dealt immense damage and sent flying. Enemies hit by the shockwave, though, only suffer minor damage and knockback.
===Special Moves===
*Neutral Special: Blunderbuss- Donning his Kaptain's hat, K. Rool pulls out his Blunderbuss and fires a cannonball across the stage. The projectile travels a good distance and deals decent damage. Holding down the special button, though, will cause K. Rool to begin vacuuming up anything nearby with his Blunderbuss. If it pulls in an enemy (or the cannonball that was previously fired), it will be launched out with better damage and knockback than the initial blast. The captured projectile can also be aimed either above K. Rool or behind him. There is a 1/12 random chance that K. Rool will fire a spiked cannonball instead, which does much more damage and knockback to opponents, but doesn't travel as far as the other cannonball.
*Side Special: Crownerang- K. Rool removes his crown and tosses it forward. The crown travels a good distance with decent damage, before boomeranging back to K. Rool, who then puts it on his head. If for some reason K. Rool doesn't catch the crown, it will remain on the ground (or will respawn in a location near K. Rool) where it can be picked up and used as a projectile by anyone. K. Rool cannot use the Crownerang if it is not on his head. K. Rool also doesn't need to pick up the crown, just touch it to place it back on his head (unless it is thrown as a projectile by another player.)
*Up Special: Propeller Pack- K. Rool pulls out a propeller pack from DKC 3 and flies skyward with it, covering a good vertical distance and able to steer horizontally to some extent (similar to Snake's Up Special). Players can also cancel out of the rising propeller pack animation to allow for greater control over landing spots. However, once K. Rool enters his falling animation, the move cannot be interrupted. Opponents hit by the blade during the rising animation will take minor flinching damage, likely multiple times.
*Down Special: Gut Check- K. Rool puffs out his stomach as it glows briefly. If he is hit by a physical attack during this animation, he will counter the attack with a 1.5x damage multiplier. If he is hit by a projectile, he will also execute the counter attack, while also reflecting the projectile. The counter hitbox, like with the Belly Armor, is only centered around K. Rool's stomach, making the rest of him vulnerable. If the counter misses, K. Rool will also be left wide open briefly. Any countered attacks or projectiles do not effect K. Rool's Belly Armor HP.
*Final Smash: Blast-o-Matic- King K. Rool dashes forward a good distance on the ground, sending anyone hit by him into a cinematic final smash. The opponents appear on DK Island, while K. Rool appears in his floating Blast-o-Matic, laughing. He fires the large cannon and blows up DK Island. The scene cuts back to the stage as the FS ends, the trapped players being dealt massive damage and sent flying due to the explosion.
===Miscellaneous===
*Entry Animation- K. Rool drops in from the sky, his arms crossed, chuckling as he does so.
*Idle Animation 1- K. Rool bites the air twice in succession.
*Idle Animation 2- K. Rool pounds on his belly twice, gloating in the process.
*Side Taunt- K. Rool slaps his belly once, producing a hollow drum sound, snickering evilly while he does so.
*Up Taunt- K. Rool bites the air four times in quick succession, ending on a glare of insanity towards the enemy.
*Down Taunt- K. Rool assumes a sumo-like stance, stomping the ground once as a result.
*Victory Animation 1- K. Rool shifts his eyes from left to right as the camera pans back from his face, ending on a triumphant pose.
*Victory Animation 2- K. Rool flips his cape back in victory, ending on a pose where he points to the side.
*Victory Animation 3- K. Rool belly flops onto the screen, rebounding off the ground and ending on a victory pose slapping his belly.
==How to Unlock==
King K. Rool can be unlocked any of the following ways:
*Playing versus matches until he randomly appears as a "Challenger Approaching" fight. Defeat him to unlock him.
*Defeat any 5 bosses in Boss Rush mode using Donkey, Diddy, or Dixie Kong.
*Unlock him in the Finale of World of Light by defeating him.
*Pay 1,000 gold in a shop, where he can randomly appear (though rarely.)
Category:Super Smash Bros. Characters
Category:Super Smash Bros. (series)
Category:Smash Plus Characters