Editing King K. Rool (SSBU)

|tier = E+

|ranking = 80

{{Cquote|''King K. Rool Comes Aboard!''|cite=Introduction tagline}}

{{cleanup|Introduction needs to be shortened to summarize his most noteworthy strengths and weaknesses. Any additional information belongs in their respective sections below}}

Much like {{SSBU|Bowser}}, {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, and {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}}, ''Ultimate'' forgoes King K. Rool's voice actor ({{iw|mariowiki|Toshihide Tsuchiya}}), in favor of realistic crocodilian vocals.

King K. Rool is currently ranked 80th out of 82 on the ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]], in the middle of E+ tier, making him the lowest ranked newcomer. Typical for a super-heavyweight character, King K. Rool possesses a wide arsenal of very powerful, hard hitting attacks, with many of them also having great range. King K. Rool also boasts some of the best endurance in the game - he is the second [[weight|heaviest]] character behind {{SSBU|Bowser}}, which in combination of his unique character-specific perk, [[Belly Super Armor]], high falling speed, and a very long-distanced recovery thanks to [[Propellerpack]], allows him to survive to ludicrously high percentages and utilize [[rage]] very well, especially with his aforementioned powerful attacks.  

In addition, King K. Rool has a unique and rather versatile moveset. Some of his attacks, such as his neutral attack, up tilt, up smash and up aerial, all have disproportionately quick startup in comparison to other super-heavyweight characters. King K. Rool also has two projectiles, [[Blunderbuss]] and [[Crownerang]], with the former also functioning as a command grab and the latter having damage-based [[armor]], while his down special, [[Gut Check]], functions as a both counter and reflector. These moves alongside Belly Super Armor grant K. Rool unique anti-zoning tools atypical for his weight class. King K. Rool has interesting utility with many of his normals as well - down tilt can [[bury]] his opponents, neutral aerial is an excellent landing - and edgeguarding tool thanks to Belly Super Armor and long-lasting, lingering hitbox, forward aerial has a combination of great power, reach and safety due to relatively low landing lag, up aerial gives a slight vertical momentum and is disproportionately powerful, and back aerial is a very powerful [[meteor smash]]. Finally, King K. Rool has an excellent grab game, all of his grabs have very far reach and he possesses arguably one of the best set of throws in the game, with two of them having great KO potential (up and back throws), one functioning as a burying throw that can setup for KOs (down throw), and one with combo potential at low percentages (forward throw).

However, for his many strengths, King K. Rool has several weaknesses. His tall, rotund hurtbox is among the largest in the game, which combined with his gargantuan weight and high falling speed makes King K. Rool very easy to combo. King K. Rool's mobility also leaves a lot to be desired - while his initial dash speed is above average, his actual run speed is poor, and his air speed is also below average. While King K. Rool has relatively fast startup on many of his attacks, a few of them (down tilt, forward smash, down smash and back air) are nevertheless somewhat slow, and almost all of his attacks suffer from a universal flaw - extreme ending lag. Because of the latter, King K. Rool is very susceptible to being whiff punished, while having very few attacks that are safe on shield. The ending lag issue is especially prominent with King K. Rool's aerials - all of his aerials other than his neutral aerial suffer from disproportionately high ending lag, with all of them having total duration of at least 54 frames. This somewhat restricts King K. Rool's air game, as most of his aerials are very punishable if not performed right before landing.

Many of King K. Rool's own unique attributes have flaws attached to them. Belly Super Armor only protects his belly and can break akin to a shield break if it takes too much damage. Similarly, Gut Check only protects King K. Rool's belly, making his head and back vulnerable. While Propellerpack grants him a long-ranged recovery, it is slow, very linear, and only protects King K. Rool from above, making his recovery predictable and very exploitable. Crownerang's armor does not protect against strong attacks or grabs, and the crown can also be picked up as an item by other characters. King K. Rool also has very lackluster out of shield options - while his up smash is fast, the initial hit only hits above K. Rool and is very punishable, while his second fastest option, neutral aerial, has a short range, especially behind him. This is further made worse by the fact that King K. Rool is forced to shield relatively often due to his massive hurtbox and below-average mobility. Finally, because of his massive size and limited ledge options, King K. Rool is very susceptible to being ledgetrapped.

Overall, King K. Rool's weaknesses outweigh his strengths, leaving him with limited high-level representation and a small playerbase, with only a few notable representatives such as {{Sm|Lukewarm}} in the current metagame and {{Sm|Ben Gold}} in the early metagame.

However, King K. Rool's numerous advantages are also met with several weaknesses. His below-average mobility spells trouble for him in certain matchups, and can make him easier to zone. Blunderbuss Kannonballs are slow to set up, and while they can occupy space well, fast characters can easily ignore it if they are even remotely close to him. Crownerang is also somewhat slow, although the crown is a fairly powerful item that opponents can use to rack up damage very quickly. [[Gut Check]] is generally inferior to other counterattacks due to having a hitbox only on his stomach, while having significantly higher endlag than most reflectors (around 30 frames if it fails), making it unreliable. This endlag makes it almost meaningless against some projectiles, such as {{Mvsub|Mega Man|SSBU|neutral attack|poss=y}}.

King K. Rool's extreme weight, very large hurtbox, and above-average falling speed make him seriously vulnerable to combos, and while his Belly Super Armor can help alleviate this, it's not completely foolproof: if K. Rool takes 36.02% of total damage to his armor over a short period of time, he will suffer a pseudo-[[shield break]] and be rendered immobile until his belly armor recovers. It also replenishes only 0.3% per second, making abuse quite difficult. Its limited HP punishes abuse of this mechanic if used frequently. Although it is hard to break in most matchups, it is certainly possible especially against other heavyweights with strong attacks, such as Bowser and {{SSBU|Ganondorf}}.

Though a lot of King K. Rool's moves have decent start-up, especially for a super heavyweight, an equal amount of them suffer from very high ending lag, which means that King K. Rool gets easily punished if he fails to connect his attacks. Despite the wide array of tools he has at his disposal, he lacks many moves that can simply be thrown out quickly, as many of his attacks are punishable or force him to use up his belly armor. This ironically makes his [[approach]] ineffective despite the sheer amount of different, fast attacks he has; few of his attacks can maintain pressure without being exploited, and the lag can make moves like forward tilt a neutral reset at best. King K. Rool is also vulnerable to being pressured and rushed down due to a poor out-of-shield game; his up smash cannot be used out of shield in most matchups, as the headbutt (which comes out on frame 6) only hits directly above him, while the later plank hitboxes are weak and slow to come out and he is wide open if it's shielded.

King K. Rool's neutral aerial, his fastest and most reliable out of shield option, has poor range, especially behind him, only covering his belly, and is unsafe on hit at low percents. As a result, K. Rool is particularly vulnerable to characters that can cross-up his shield easily, since he effectively has no option to punish this kind of approach and has to resort to retreating or jumping away. Finally, even his amazing grab game has some flaws, mainly due to the low knockback scaling of his throws: forward throw is unable to KO at realistic percentages, up throw requires platforms to KO effectively and is too laggy to have true followups, back throw loses a lot of its KO power if used center-stage due to its low knockback growth, and down throw's extensive mixups and KO confirms more often than not require reads to be effective. It is also affected by the [[bounce glitch]], which adds even more inconsistency to the move.

Additionally, King K. Rool's air game can overall be seen as mediocre. Although his aerials are generally very potent moves and have interesting attributes, including two meteor smashes and armor on some of them, all of these moves (apart from his neutral aerial) suffer from one fatal flaw—very high ending lag in the air—making many of them somewhat situational, and forcing K. Rool to land with the moves to minimize the ending lag in the air. His down aerial's meteor smash hitbox only lasts for two frames and the move itself has high ending lag, making the potential punishes off of it very situational. His up aerial has extreme ending lag (the highest of any aerial in the game), preventing King K. Rool from acting even after a jump (though platforms can alleviate this), making it somewhat risky to use high up in the air. While his back aerial is very strong and has a lingering hitbox, it has very high start-up lag, which makes it easy to stuff out especially with its lack of armor or intangibility, and it additionally has a very weak sourspot that doesn't KO at reasonable percents, making it somewhat inconsistent.

King K. Rool received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was significantly buffed overall. In response to his early metagame perceptions, update 2.0.0 shortened [[Blunderbuss]]' vacuum duration and decreased the horizontal range of [[Propellerpack]]'s hitbox, the latter of which would previously hit opponents on the edge from noticeably far away. The most notable change, however, was to down throw: its [[bury]] duration's scaling was changed to be less effective at low percentages, but more effective at high percentages. While the former two are direct nerfs, they did not significantly impact his playstyle. While originally considered to be a significant nerf, King K. Rool proved to benefit from the change to his down throw, as the popularization of forward throw to dash attack made the early percentage usage obsolete, and the higher scaling allowed for down throw to up tilt to be a reliable KO confirm beginning around 130%.   

Overall, King K. Rool fares significantly better than he did at the launch of ''Ultimate'': his [[neutral game]] has improved drastically, he has far more reliable KO options, and his disadvantage state has been considerably reworked. Numerous top professionals, such as {{Sm|Raito}}, {{Sm|MVD}}, {{Sm|ESAM}}, and {{Sm|Dabuz}}, have acknowledged his significant turnaround, which has been reflected by players such as {{Sm|Ben Gold}}, {{Sm|KirbyKid}}, and {{Sm|Raphy}} achieving considerable success partially because of his buffs.

[[File:KingKRoolNSpecialSearchSSBU.gif|thumb|200px|Blunderbuss' updated vacuum searchbox for Kannonballs in update 6.0.0. Once the vacuum is completely stretched out, it remains as such until the Blunderbuss is put away.]]

|ftiltdesc=Rears back and performs a forceful clap, similarly to {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}'s forward smash. Gains [[Belly Super Armor]] when he rears back to clap, making it a highly effective approach option with pivot canceling. Sends at a [[semi-spike]] angle and is decently fast for its power (comes out on frame 12), KOing at 107% at the edge of [[Final Destination]]. It can be angled up and down, making it a decent anti-air tool when angled up, and it is capable of hitting the ledge when angled down. This move has impressive range due to a massive, disjointed hitbox surrounding K. Rool's hands. It does suffer from moderately high ending lag, though this flaw can be partially mitigated when spaced correctly. The combination of its range, Belly Super Armor, KO potential, and ability to angle it up or down makes it a useful grounded move on King K. Rool's kit.

|dashdesc=A [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling strikes#Body avalanche|body avalanche]]. It covers a good distance and has incredibly fast start-up for its power (comes out on frame 7), but has very high ending lag. It also deals much less damage later into the attack. Has Belly Super Armor and can KO, allowing it to tank opposing hits (especially projectiles) as a risky [[approach]]. KOs at 102% at the edge of Final Destination, making it a very good move to use out of [[down throw]] through [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-mWaJuVdlo Instant Dash Attack], as it KOs larger characters earlier than forward tilt. It resembles the body avalanche he used in ''{{iw|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Land}}''.

|nairdesc=A [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving splash|splash]]. Decently fast (comes out on frame 7), acts as a [[sex kick]] and has Belly Super Armor. In addition, it has very little lag in comparison to most of King K. Rool's moveset, and is his safest move on shield. Finally, it is also his fastest out-of-shield option that is somewhat practical, next to his neutral attack. Because of all of this, it is one of the safest and most versatile moves to use in K. Rool's kit. It can be used for landing, contesting aerials, approaching, and even gimping, as it beats out most recovery moves, even ones with hitboxes. In addition, due to its safety, it can be used to pressure, and it can also combo into several moves, such as his neutral attack, up tilt, forward tilt, dash attack, grab, and even situationally into down tilt, which can lead to devastating early KOs. However, it has poor range, only covering his belly, and is unsafe on hit at low percents. It is similar to an attack he uses in ''Donkey Kong Land''.

|uairdesc=An upward battering ram. It causes K. Rool to float slightly, giving it more reach. It has extremely high ending lag due to King K. Rool laughing after the move, preventing him from acting even if performed out of a double jump, making it risky to use offstage and making it the laggiest aerial in the game. However, is one of K. Rool's fastest aerial attacks (comes out on frame 7), and deals less damage if hit later. In addition to this, the early hitbox is among the strongest up aerials in the game, being able to KO at around 100% and even earlier if used near the upper blast zone, giving K. Rool a possibility to pick up very early KOs with the move, especially with rage. The early hit has a large, disjointed hitbox much larger than K. Rool's head, which also lingers for a disproportionately long time. The move has Belly Super Armor while K. Rool stretches his head out, ending after the hitboxes are over. When short-hopped, this move can allow K. Rool to move onto a platform, allowing for some movement options, and significantly helps with the issue of the move having high ending lag. Like up smash, there are intangibility frames on K. Rool's head during the attack, making it disjointed and allowing it to beat projectiles or some other even reasonably disjointed moves, such as {{SSBU|Mr. Game & Watch}}'s down aerial. This move can also be used for recovering from high to mid-levels, as K. Rool can be moved from side to side while using the move. <!--K. Rool's crown does not increase this move's damage, this has been tested. Remember that short hop attacks have a damage penalty in ''Ultimate''.-->

|dairdesc=A front flipping [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling strikes#Double foot stomp|double foot stomp]]. The hitbox is situated on K. Rool's legs. Decently fast (comes out on frame 14) and meteor smashes if the early hitbox connects, although the meteor smash itself is rather weak. If the opponent is hit by the early hitbox - but not meteor smashed - on-stage by this move, it confirms into a wide variety of attacks. There is also a late hitbox with a sweetspot on K. Rool's hips that has more knockback growth, plus a sourspot on the feet. It also has Belly Super Armor after K. Rool stomps, giving it some safety. It is a partial reference to the jump attack he did in the first DKC, albeit without the flip.

|grabdesc=Reaches out. King K. Rool's grabs are moderately slow, but have great ranges. If K. Rool misses, his left eye comically bulges in frustration.

|pummeldesc=Headbutts the opponent. Slow but strong.

|uthrowdesc=Heaves the opponent over his head, leaps high into the air, and then descends to perform an {{h2|wikipedia:Backbreaker|Argentine backbreaker rack}} [[wikipedia:Backbreaker#Backbreaker drop|drop]]. This is the most damaging throw in the entire game, and it's powerful enough to KO at around 160%, or even earlier if he lands on a raised platform.  

SSBUKingKRoolIdle1.gif|King K. Rool's first idle pose.

SSBUKingKRoolIdle2.gif|King K. Rool's second idle pose.

*{{Sm|Ben Gold|Australia}} - The best King K. Rool player in the early metagame. He is best known for winning {{Trn|Battle Arena Melbourne 11}}, which remains the largest event won by a King K. Rool player and the character's only superregional win. He also has several other noteworthy results in Australia, such as 5th at {{Trn|Phantom 2019}} and 9th at {{Trn|BigWinChampionship 2}}. He has made a few international appearances, notably placing 17th at {{Trn|Thunder Smash 3: Clash of the Pandas}} and 25th at {{Trn|2GG: Nightmare on Smashville}}. After 2019, he dropped the character in favor of playing {{SSBU|Wolf}} and has seldom competed since.

*{{Sm|Bruho|USA}} - One of the best King K. Rool players in the post-pandemic metagame, known for his brutally unforgiving punish game and edgeguards. He first broke out onto the scene after placing 13th at {{Trn|Shine 2022}} defeating {{Sm|MuteAce}}. Although he eventually picked up {{SSBU|Kazuya}} as a co-main, his best performances were still primarily with King K. Rool. These performances include his win at {{Trn|Mash Harder 10}}, only the second ranked event won by a King K. Rool player in the post-pandemic metagame, where he used King K. Rool to defeat {{Sm|Zomba}}; placing 7th at {{Trn|Max Rez}} using mostly King K. Rool, particularly defeating {{Sm|Syrup}}'s {{SSBU|Steve}} in the first game and ultimately winning the set; and finally placing 5th at {{Trn|Knightmare at The Roundtable}} with mostly King K. Rool as well.

*{{Sm|Lukewarm|USA}} - The best King K. Rool player of all time, having been the best since 2021. He was ranked 78th on the [[OrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse]], which remains the only time a King K. Rool player was ranked in the top 100 globally. He is best known for winning {{Trn|Anime Houston 2021}}, the largest tournament win from a King K. Rool player in the post-pandemic metagame, and placing 7th at {{Trn|Lost Tech City 2022}} and 17th at {{Trn|CEO 2021}}. Although his attendance has been sparse since Lost Tech City, he still remains one of the character's best representatives, having placed 3rd {{Trn|Comicpalooza Fight Club 2024}} defeating {{Sm|Lima}} and {{Sm|Lui$}} and 49th at {{Trn|Luminosity Makes BIG Moves 2024}} defeating {{Sm|MKBigBoss}}.

Upon ''Ultimate''{{'}}s release, many players noted King K. Rool's numerous strengths that were never seen before on a super-heavyweight character, namely his two projectiles, unique [[Belly Super Armor]] mechanic, a down throw that — in theory — leads to very early kill confirms, good startup on many moves, and a very long-ranged recovery. This, coupled with the inherent strengths of being a super-heavyweight, had top professionals speculating that King K. Rool could be high- or even top-tier on release. Additionally, less experienced players struggled mightily against him, with some calling him "broken". In the first few weeks of the game's release, King K. Rool picked up multiple strong early tournament results, primarily in the US, such as {{Sm|Vikerkaar}} placing 9th at {{Trn|Don't Park on the Grass 2018}}, {{Sm|Ito}} placing 13th at {{Trn|Super Splat Bros}}, and {{Sm|WAR}} placing 4th at {{Trn|Poi Poundaz 2}}.

Ben Gold would continue achieving astounding results at PGR-level events well into 2020, such as 17th at {{Trn|Phantom 2020}}, which was the event to truly bring King K. Rool's low-tier status into question. During this period, western players began connecting with the Japanese playerbase, most notably with players such as {{Sm|Chirori}} and {{Sm|Dera}}, where they exchanged knowledge and developed more nuanced, aggressive gameplay lines. As resources continued to improve, the skill floor for King K. Rool began to increase as well. Thus, by the time Ben Gold dropped King K. Rool, {{Sm|KirbyKid}} carried the torch, going on to place 13th at {{Trn|InfinityCON Tally 2021}}. Additionally, Raphy, a German player, placed 5th at {{Trn|Smash Contest: DoKomi 2021}}. While Ben Gold dropped the character, his, Raphy, Dera, and KirbyKid's successes in solo maining King K. Rool from 2020 through 2022, along with repeated significant buffs in hand, led to further conversations about King K. Rool's viability. {{Sm|Dabuz}} went as far as to say that King K. Rool is a high-mid-tier character, and some Japanese players — such as {{Sm|Raito}}, who considered him to be the worst character in the game — stated that K. Rool might be a lot more threatening than initially perceived.  

More recently, however, many of King K. Rool's top players have either decreased in tournament attendance or moved towards different characters. Many of his buffs, while accentuating his strengths, failed to answer many of his weaknesses, such as a poor [[out of shield]] game and lack of non-committal anti-airs. With multiple periods of competitive viability, his staying power at top level can be called questionable, with him fading in and out of top cut lists over months. King K. Rool's true viability is hotly contested, with some arguing his national-level top cut placements prove his potential, while others would call it a fluke. King K. Rool would end up ranking 74th on the first tier list, near the top of the low tier. With a lack of top-level representation throughout 2023, alongside his inherent flaws and inconsistent top-level results, he would fall even further to 80th on the second and current tier list, in the newly created E+ Tier, ranking him among the worst characters in the game. However, 2024 has marked a strong improvement for King K. Rool's results, with the return of KirbyKid, now Lukewarm, showing sparse yet strong performances at events, and the rise of breakout players such as {{Sm|Sanyukkuri}} and {{Sm|Bruho}} winning large events {{Trn|Seibugeki Rising 3}} and {{Trn|Mash Harder 10}}, continuing to contest the character's competitive perception.

|6||{{CharHead|Donkey Kong|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Kongo Jungle]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Crocodile Cacophony}}''||Items do not appear.

King K. Rool's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} as King K. Rool. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after King K. Rool has been unlocked. Unlocking King K. Rool in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in ''Ultimate''.

SSBUWebsiteKingKRool1.jpg|Posing on [[Green Greens]].

*King K. Rool is also the second fighter to have both a [[counterattack]] and a [[reflection|reflector]] in their default moveset, with the first being {{SSBU|Palutena}}.

*King K. Rool makes the most CGI-animated appearances of any newcomer, appearing in [[World of Light]]'s opening cutscene; as well as the reveal trailers for himself, {{SSBU|Ken}} and {{SSBU|Incineroar}}, {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}}, {{SSBU|Sephiroth}}, and {{SSBU|Sora}}.