King K. Rool

**King K. Rool** (sometimes shortened as simply K. Rool), who has gone by many aliases, is the malevolent king of the Kremlings and the main antagonist in the Donkey Kong franchise, as well as the archenemy of Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and their allies. King K. Rool has repeatedly tried to steal the Kongs' banana hoard. It has been suggested that he takes the hoard in order to starve the Kongs, in addition to Kremlings simply liking bananas. He has even kidnapped members of the Kong Family on various occasions. His name is a pun on the word "cruel", which often describes his actions and his personality, as well as a corruption of "rule". At the end of the Super Smash Bros. Nintendo Direct broadcast on August 8, 2018, King K. Rool was revealed as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Outside minor cameos, this marks his first physical appearance in a decade since Mario Super Sluggers. This also marks the first time his underbelly has been shown as being gold-plated since the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 3, released 13 years prior. King K. Rool overtakes Donkey Kong as the second-heaviest fighter; he is lighter than only Bowser. A number of King K. Rool's moves are references to his previous boss fights, such as using his crown as a boomerang, a blunderbuss, the Propellerpack, and boxing gloves, while his Final Smash involves him firing the Blast-o-Matic. His crown can actually be intercepted after it is thrown, meaning it can fall to the floor and be used as a throwing item or be stolen by Villager and Isabelle's Pocket. He can also use a move known as the Gut Check, which involves using his belly armor to counter or reflect opponents' attacks. On a related note, King K. Rool's belly armor can protect him while he uses certain moves, such as his forward tilt and dash attack. However, his armor has a set amount of durability: it takes 4 seconds to replenish a little over 1 hit point (and 47 seconds to fully replenish), while shattering the armor will stun King K. Rool similarly to a shield break. King K. Rool uses realistic crocodile grunts instead of his voice clips from previous games, similarly to Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong. Unlike the other two Donkey Kong characters, King K. Rool has a unique victory theme, which is a rendition of the first few notes of "Gang-Plank Galleon" from Donkey Kong Country. Additionally, his Kaptain K. Rool and Baron K. Roolenstein identities appear in the game as spirits. In his debut trailer, King Dedede pranks Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong by wearing a King K. Rool costume, only to end up being knocked aside from behind while laughing at the Kongs' expense by the actual King K. Rool, much to the Kongs' horror. The king then roars before gameplay footage is shown. The trailer ends with Donkey Kong knocked back only to rush on all fours at K. Rool, with the latter doing in kind, before proceeding to have their fists make contact in midair and release a shockwave that causes the jungle to sway. After the logo is shown, more in-game footage is seen of K. Rool, where he feigns defeat as he did in Donkey Kong Country. The two Kongs then celebrate only to be stomped into the ground by an enlarged K. Rool, who proceeds to furiously chomp his jaws. K. Rool's debut trailer uses a new arrangement of Gang-Plank Galleon, his boss theme from his debut game, which appears in the final game as battle music on Donkey Kong stages and is also used in K. Rool's character showcase video and Classic Mode credits. K. Rool's announcement was foreshadowed towards the end of the Nintendo Direct in which it occurred, as when Masahiro Sakurai was signing off, the camera began to shake, with the quakes gradually becoming more severe as the main broadcast ended.