Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

King K. Rool (SSBU): Difference between revisions

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|neutral2dmg=2.5%
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|neutral3dmg=7%
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|neutraldesc=A three hit combo consisting of a sumo-esque palm strike (comes out on frame 4), a claw swipe (frame 3), then a finshing front kick (frame 5). The first hit can [[jab reset]] on big body characters specifically, allowing for some interesting situations. The second hit resembles King K. Rool's standard attack from ''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast''.
|neutraldesc=A three hit combo consisting of a sumo-esque palm strike (comes out on frame 4), a claw swipe (frame 3), then a front kick (frame 5). The first hit can [[jab reset]] on big body characters specifically, allowing for some interesting situations. The second hit resembles King K. Rool's standard attack from ''Donkey Kong Barrel Blast''.
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|ftiltdmg=13% (sweetspot), 11% (sourspot)
|ftiltdmg=13% (sweetspot), 11% (sourspot)

Revision as of 12:39, July 30, 2019

This article is about King K. Rool's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see King K. Rool.
King K. Rool
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
King K. Rool SSBU.png
DKSymbol.svg
Universe Donkey Kong
Availability Unlockable
Final Smash Blast-O-Matic
King K. Rool (SSBU)
King K. Rool Comes Aboard!
—Introduction Tagline
With long-distance special moves like the Blunderbuss, and counter moves like Stomach Attack, he is a versatile fighter. His Final Smash, Blast-O-Matic, was apparently a weapon created to destroy DK Island...
Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

King K. Rool (キングクルール, King K. Rool) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was announced as a newcomer during the August 8th, 2018 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct. King K. Rool is classified as fighter #67.

Instead of using the voice of Toshihide Tsuchiya, who has voiced the character since 2007's Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, King K. Rool bellows like a real crocodile, similar to how Bowser, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong emit realistic animal sounds.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

  • Play VS. matches, with King K. Rool being the 16th character to be unlocked.
  • Clear Classic Mode with Link, being the first character in his unlock tree.
  • Have King K. Rool join the player's party in World of Light.

King K. Rool must then be defeated on Jungle Japes for the first two methods or Pirate Ship for the third method.

Attributes

King K. Rool is a character that ostensibly fits the mold of a super-heavyweight, being the second-heaviest character in the game and possessing a large array of powerful attacks, along with below-average mobility. However, he has some characteristics that notably set him apart from his heavyweight peers; he has a wide variety of moves that serve multiple utilities, a great recovery, and other valuable techiques that aid his playstyle, focusing on punishing mistakes and zoning against horizontal approach.

King K. Rool's greatest strength is the immense utility of his moveset. Though many of his attacks are typical of super-heavyweights, he also has attacks that lack brute strength in exchange for unique attributes that contribute to his punish-focused playstyle. This is best shown through his character-specific perk, Belly Super Armor: attacks with this property gain short periods of this super armor, which can block incoming attacks during their duration. This mechanic gives him an advantage that allows him to win more exchanges than he would normally, as it can grant him an immediate opening during an otherwise vulnerable state (such as while being juggled). Additionally, it affects a large amount of his moves, granting more safety on his forward tilt, up smash, down smash, dash attack, neutral aerial, up aerial, and down aerial. As a result, Belly Super Armor heavily helps his approach and defense.

Alongside the utility of his Belly Super Armor, King K. Rool has effective tools for ground offense. His neutral attack has good range and speed, making it reliable as a quick spacing option. This is especially useful out of a foxtrot, as it is incredibly quick and is in fact faster than his normal dash speed (effectively replacing his dash in most circumstances). His tilts are very effective: his forward tilt has good range and kill power, and uses belly armor. This makes it one of the best pivot cancel options in the game. Up tilt comes out very quickly, has decent knockback especially at the beginning, and has enough range to hit platforms above K. Rool. This can also be used to anti-air or prevent approaches from characters such as Lucina and Marth. It is also the most reliable move out of down throw, becoming a true combo from around 90% and killing at around 130% on most characters. Down tilt is rather fast and can bury opponents or KO airborne ones, making it a potent punishment option. It also works at the ledge as a 2-frame and can send the opponent into a Blunderbuss Kannonball.

All of his smash attacks are incredibly powerful, and coupled with their unique traits and the belly armor on his up and down smashes, allow for very effective punishment. Forward smash deals heavy knockback on the glove sweetspot, especially if angled upwards. It also confirms out of down tilt at 70%, usually killing the opponent. Up smash functions as a quick anti-air, has a small spike hitbox and a third hitbox that punishes ground foes. However, only the first is really useful as the other two are extremely weak. It also uses belly armor; while this grants it safety, it also means that if his belly armor breaks, K.Rool will be sent catapulting off-stage due to how it raises him off the ground. Down smash deals massive shield damage and lifts K. Rool's entire body off the stage, allowing it to dodge most ground-hugging moves and makes it his best hard punish option. Overall, his smash attacks are all formidable for hard punishes.

His aerials are also fairly unique in their utility. Neutral aerial grants the longest duration of belly armor in K. Rool's moveset, making it a reliable combo-breaker or landing tool to prevent juggling. Neutral and forward aerials also act as sex kicks, making them effective for edgeguarding in a variety of situations. Up aerial has good start-up and decent kill power while also working as niche platform movement out of short hop. This is most effective when platforms are low, such as on Battlefield. Down aerial and back aerial are meteor smashes, with the former coming out relatively fast, while the latter is very slow, but is also one of the strongest meteor smashes in the game. His up and down aerials utilize belly armor, but their utility is minimal due to their hitboxes being separated from K. Rool's belly.

His special moves have a wide array of uses as well, with several efficient projectiles; the Blunderbuss is useful for edgeguarding purposes (such as forcing a situation where the opponent has to recover low, allowing for a down aerial) and throws out a Kannonball that can be sucked back in and aimed in a few directions. The Blunderbuss can also suck in opponents and shoot them out in different directions. The suction of the Blunderbuss is an effective ledge trapping tool, especially on stages with platforms. Since K. Rool can drop through platforms while still being able to move slightly, he can limit the opponent's options to get out of the ledge. Crownerang covers a large distance and grants him super armor in the early frames of the move, and the late hit can set up combos into numerous moves. The pick-up animation also has some ways to be cancelled, such as with other attacks, or a jumpsquat to use the crown again for significant coverage of a stage (although the latter can be difficult). It can also cause K. Rool to slide a bit if he dash dances into it, which is referred to as Crown Sliding by the playerbase.

Furthermore, King K. Rool has immense survivability: between his extremely high weight, above-average falling speed, and armor on numerous moves, King K. Rool has some of, if not the best longevity in the game, as it is not uncommon for him to live past 200%. Additionally, his recovery move, Propellerpack, goes a remarkable distance for a heavyweight and is infamously hard to intercept vertically due to its respectable hitbox. This can be used to poke opponents on the ledge, then jump up with a forward aerial to regain advantage. It can also be used to catch opponents near the ceiling to steal a stock, most notably on high recovery routes.

K. Rool has a very strong grab game: his up throw is the second most damaging throw in the entire game, can KO at high percents with the help of platforms (especially Battlefield's center platform), and can also lead into up tilt if the opponent doesn't jump. His back throw has reasonably solid KO potential near the ledge or otherwise puts the opponent into a position primed for a Crownerang. This throw can also work with a crown thrown backwards, hitting the opponent during the animation. At higher percents, his notorious down throw can lead into semi-guaranteed tilts, aerials, or possibly even smash attacks if the opponent doesn't mash out fast enough, with it being borderline guaranteed with an up tilt at 125%+ on middleweight characters. While his forward throw is his least impressive throw as a whole, it does decent damage, can help put an opponent offstage and in a disadvantageous position, and lead into a dash attack or his forward tilt through pivot cancelling at very low percents. The latter option here can also be used as a tech chase. All of this is made even more effective with the Roll Cancelled Boost Grab; combined with his effective initial dash, this can allow for a string of grabs that strongly deters shielding.

King K. Rool has access to a large amount of advanced techniques. He has a total of 7, all centered on his Crownerang and Blunderbuss. These techniques assist with movement, mixups, and even enable combos. As a result, he is a rather technical fighter that can be rewarding to a player looking for a character with a learning curve. They are all somewhat practical and reward creative use, allowing players to build interesting playstyles of their own. This makes him easily accessed at a low level, while still being usable on a higher level of play. As long as the player is aware of the options that the design of these techs provide, King K. Rool will reward them for it.

However, King K. Rool's numerous advantages are also met with their downsides. His below-average speed spells trouble for him in certain matchups, and can make him easier to zone than others, despite his projectiles. Blunderbuss is laggy and its Kannonball is slow and very easy to avoid, while Crownerang is slow and can backfire very hard when missed, since the crown is a fairly powerful item that opponents can use to rack up damage very quickly. Gut Check is generally inferior to other counters 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 for countering projectile camping. This endlag makes it almost meaningless against some projectiles, such as Falco's Lasers.

His massive weight and very large hurtbox size makes him extremely vulnerable to combos, and while his Belly Super Armor can help alleviate this, it is not foolproof: if K. Rool takes approximately 28% 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 recovers at just .3% per second, making abuse quite difficult. Its limited HP punishes abuse of this mechanic if used frequently, and competent opponents can actually take advantage of it by forcing K. Rool to use up his armor so he runs out during more desperate times. However, its effectiveness varies depending on whether clashing against his attacks are worthwhile. Additionally, due to their brief duration, his belly armor attacks are more reliable on quick, single-hit moves than long, multi-hitting attacks.

While K. Rool's ground game is decent, his overall aerial game is pretty poor in comparison. Despite his aerials having interesting attributes, including two meteor smashes, a lot of his aerials suffer from high ending lag, making many of them situational (especially up aerial). His forward and down aerials are weaker than the comparable moves of other super-heavyweights despite their high ending lag. His neutral aerial, which is his only aerial that comes out fast without having high ending lag, has poor range and is very unsafe on shield. It is also unsafe on hit at lower percentages, which restricts his potential in the early game. While his back aerial is very strong and has a lingering hitbox, it has very high start-up lag. Its sourspot is also relatively weak, failing to KO until high percents. None of King K. Rool's aerials autocancels in a short hop and his back air requires a full hop double jump to autocancel, while up air does not autocancels at all. Due to the high ending lag of his aerials, K. Rool is unable to juggle effectively and his aerial game is mostly constrained to a reactive playstyle. K. Rool's low air speed and overall poor aerial mobility further hampers his aerial capacity.

King K. Rool's recovery, while effective in theory, is very exploitable by many characters. Propellerpack is very linear, and a knowledgeable player can edgeguard him for long periods of time. It is immensely slow, and moving around with it reduces the vertical speed and leaves strong momentum, which can lead to a self-destruct if not accounted for. The hitbox doesn't cover him horizontally, and as he cannot cancel the animation, he has to commit to it. He is usually forced to recover low, which is extremely dangerous due to how many characters have meteor smashing aerials. Moves from characters such as Piranha Plant and Villager have projectiles (Ptooie and forward smash respectively in this case) that can also counteract the vertical hitbox. It also leaves him very vulnerable to a stage spike, as running off and simply using a back aerial is enough to stop him from coming back. The move can be angled to try and prevent this, but any player who knows the matchup will have a very easy time stopping him from coming back. K. Rool also has very few ledge options; his only unique one is forward aerial, which to requires frame-perfect precision to ledgesnap. Other than this, his ledge options are very limited—even Crownerang is too laggy to be used from the ledge reliably—and thus characters like Ness, Simon, and Richter can keep him there for a long time before finally killing him.

Though a lot of his moves have solid start-up frames, especially for a super-heavyweight, an equal amount of them suffer from very high endlag, which means that King K. Rool gets easily punished if he fails to connect his attacks. While his belly armor gives him a lot of safety, it also makes certain moves less safe, especially against characters with very strong moves that can break his belly armor in just a few hits, such as Ganondorf. This means that if his belly armor is used too much, it effectively removes his moves from the game for a while. Finally, despite the wide array of tools he has at his disposal, K. Rool 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 rather lackluster despite the sheer amount of different, fast attacks he has; few of his attacks can maintain pressure without being exploited, or otherwise reset to neutral. However, his foxtrot can alleviate this slightly.

Due to these aforementioned flaws, King K. Rool struggles with maintaining an advantage; it usually leaves him in an awkward situation where he is forced to return to neutral. His speed makes it difficult to follow up while the opponent is landing, and he is unable to effectively juggle, requiring him to keep the opponent in front of him. The player is often forced to utilize his bait-and-switch playstyle, restricting creativity and thus making said player more predictable. King K. Rool's advantage position, due to these flaws, will often end as quickly as it comes. Due to this, his playstyle requires a lot of situational awareness to remain unpredictable by using grab mixups or tech chases as the opponent lands or tries to defend.

Crownerang is both King K. Rool's best and worst move. If an opponent picks up the crown after it has been thrown, it leaves him without one of his best tools. The crown can actually be used to edgeguard against Propellerpack, or it can be thrown up to keep it from respawning. It is also very possible for opponents to combo with the crown, or pick it up again after throwing it, with very little counterplay available. The player must adopt an entirely different playstyle while the crown is on the field, or else risk losing a stock. This is worsened by the fact that Gut Check, even at maximum throw range, doesn't allow K. Rool to pick up the crown—he is completely defenseless against an opponent who has it. As the pick-up animation takes 17 frames to complete, this also means that it can interrupt crucial combos, leading to the opponent getting away and resetting to neutral. While this is alleviated slightly through the Crownless Bounce tech, it is still difficult to come back from this.

All in all, King K. Rool’s weaknesses outweigh his strengths. King K. Rool is an extremely resilient, neutral-based character that excels at keeping opponents out while punishing mistakes extremely hard. He enjoys playing a unique bait-and-switch playstyle, being a zoner that can switch to aggression when there's an opening, alter his pressure on an opponent to force a reaction from them, and net a substantial punish before returning to neutral. This ability to force reactions from his foe makes him unlike any other character in the cast, and creativity rewards the player with a decently versatile character. However, just like how he capitalizes heavily on mistakes and confusion, his own openings can be heavily punished as well, requiring him to play patiently.

Despite his numerous strengths, King K. Rool's competitive reception is generally negative. Early on considered to be a potential high/top tier character and "broken" especially by casual players, King K. Rool's severe, heavily exploitable downsides have resulted in most top professionals ranking him as a low-tier character, with many of them even going as far as ranking him as one of the worst characters in the game. This reflects in his tournament results, as they are practically non-existent in North America and Japan, especially on national levels. However, thanks to dedicated players like Mr. L and Muk, his results in Australia and Europe are significantly better. Mr. L in particular managed to win Battle Arena Melbourne 11, the biggest SSBU major so far in Australia. In addition, patches has given K. Rool a variety of small but helpful buffs. Although his competitive reception still remains negative, his true viability remains to be seen.

Update History

King K. Rool has received a mix of buffs and nerfs during patches, but has been buffed overall. Update 2.0.0's changes were a mixed bag: Blunderbuss's vacuum duration was reduced from 5 seconds to 2.5 seconds, his Propellerpack's hitbox was slightly reduced horizontally, and his down throw's bury time scaling was changed, being less effective at low percents but more effective at high percents. While the former two are direct nerfs, they do not significantly impact his playstyle. In addition, King K. Rool arguably benefits from the changes to his down throw, as they make certain kill confirms reliable (up smash) or even guaranteed (up tilt or dash attack at 130%). Update 3.0.0 directly buffed King K. Rool, with his forward aerial's sweetspot being much easier to land, while his forward tilt gained new sweetspot hitboxes on his gauntlets, which allow it to hit buried opponents it previously wouldn't (such as Diddy Kong). Gut Check and up aerial, previously notorious for their endlag, had their ending lag reduced, which makes them slightly safer, albeit still risky. Like most projectiles, Crownerang had its shield damage reduced in update 3.0.0; however, this doesn't affect the move much as it already had low shield damage and was often used in order to facilitate dash grab approaches. Additionally, the nerfs to the projectiles of other characters, coupled with a slightly safer Gut Check, have somewhat improved his matchup against characters that are more dependent on projectiles, such as Samus.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0

  • Down throw:
  • Change Down throw has a different buried time formula (90 frames + 0.5*damage → 60 + 0.75*damage). This allows buried opponents to easily escape at low percents, but more difficult at high percents. Specifically, it is worse below 125%, and better above 125%.
    • Buff These changes improve K.Rool's mixup options at low percents, while making his KO confirms more varied and consistent at high percents.
    • Buff With these changes, down throw now has 50/50 setup options, which can catch opponents with up smash or up aerial if they mash out of the bury at ~90%, or setup into forward smash if they are conditioned to wait out the bury.
    • Buff Down throw's changes make up tilt a consistent KO option out of down throw on middleweight characters from around 125%; previously, opponents could mash out even at 130%.
    • Nerf Down throw's changes make dash attack significantly less effective compared to up tilt at 125%.
    • Nerf Down throw's followup into forward tilt now has to be angled up from 110% onwards to hit most of the cast as opposed to 100%.
    • Nerf The infinite jab combo (down throw to jab, repeat) that worked at 200%+ has been removed, now having the opponent "bounce" on the third loop.
  • Blunderbuss:
    • Nerf Blunderbuss has a shorter windbox duration, being shortened to 2.5 seconds.
    • Bug fix Blunderbuss no longer turns opponents invisible when KOing at their last stock.
  • Nerf Propellerpack's horizontal hitbox is smaller, making it difficult to KO opponents straight to the upper blast zone and making it less safe when recovering. Most notably, it doesn't snap to the ledge as often as it used to.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.1

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.0.0

  • Buff Forward tilt gained new sweetspot hitboxes on K.Rool's gauntlets, giving it more range.
    • Buff This significantly improves forward tilt as a punish out of down throw, as down angled forward tilt now hits characters that it previously wouldn't, such as Jigglypuff, Mr. Game & Watch. This improves his matchups with said characters.
  • Buff Forward aerial's sweetspot has more range, with the sourspot being moved to the torso.
    • Buff The sweetspot's increased size improves its effective range and safety, granting King K. Rool better spacing capabilities.
    • Nerf However, as the sourspot has been moved closer to K.Rool, this makes the sourspot less consistent for "knockback storage" after a down tilt (using a weaker attack to alter the unbury knockback angle of an opponent), since the sweetspot is more likely to land.
  • Buff Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 82 → 72). This makes the move safer to use offstage, as it was previously notorious for its high ending lag.
  • Change Up throw is no longer affected by windboxes while throwing.
  • Crownerang:
    • Nerf Crownerang deals less shield damage.
    • Bug fix Fixed crown duplication with Villager or Isabelle’s Pocket.
    • Bug fix Egg Lay no longer increases the size of the crown while K.Rool is trapped in an egg.
  • Buff Gut Check has less ending lag (Fail/Succeed/Succeed reversed: FAF 68/47/53 → 63/42/47). This makes it less likely for K.Rool to be punished after countering or reflecting a move.
  • Bug fix The desync glitch involving King Dedede has been fixed.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.1.0

  • Buff Up aerial grabs the ledge more quickly when using the move (Ledge lockout: 102 → 96). As an example of the change, full hop double jump up aerial will now cancel on the ledge during the endlag.
  • Bug fix Fixed an issue with Blunderbuss upon reflect of Kannonball resulted King K Rool's windbox becoming stuck.
  • Change Blast-o-Matic's camera was slightly adjusted.

Moveset

  • K. Rool has a large and tall hurtbox while standing, walking, and jumping. However, he dashes on all four limbs, akin to real-life alligators and crocodiles, which makes his hurtbox smaller.
  • Fighter ability: Certain belly-based moves in King K. Rool's moveset (forward tilt, dash attack, up smash, down smash, neutral aerial, up aerial, down aerial, and side taunt) grant super armor. Each move grants varying durations of this Belly Super Armor. However, taking damage with these moves cracks his stomach armor, with K. Rool getting dazed upon it breaking completely after sustaining too much damage. The armor has 14.01 HP, but since the incoming damage is split 50/50 between K. Rool and his belly, it is practically 28.02 HP. It regenerates at 0.08 every 16 frames (about 0.3 per second) when not using belly attacks. Attacks that hit K. Rool's belly super armor make a loud, distinct clanging sound as an audio cue. It is also possible to estimate the damage it has taken, with small cracks appearing at 11.5 HP (where 23% damage would break it) and large cracks appearing at 5.02 HP (where 10.04% damage would break it).

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack   2.5% A three hit combo consisting of a sumo-esque palm strike (comes out on frame 4), a claw swipe (frame 3), then a front kick (frame 5). The first hit can jab reset on big body characters specifically, allowing for some interesting situations. The second hit resembles King K. Rool's standard attack from Donkey Kong Barrel Blast.
2.5%
7%
Forward tilt   13% (sweetspot), 11% (sourspot) Rears back and performs a forceful clap, similar to his archnemesis Donkey Kong's forward smash. Gains Belly Super Armor when he rears back to clap, making it a highly effective approach option with pivot cancelling. 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. This move is also extremely disjointed, with the hands as a whole being said disjoint.
Up tilt   11.5% (early), 8.1% (middle), 6.8% (late) An uppercut. Has a wide hitbox, covering the front of K. Rool, and starts low enough to reach prone enemies. Almost as fast as his neutral attack. Loses power the longer it is out, with the sweetspot dealing diagonal knockback, and the sourspot dealing mostly vertical knockback while giving combo opportunities. Like his forward tilt, it is decently fast for its power (comes out on frame 5). This move works well out of down throw.
Down tilt   8% (bury), 13% (non-burying), 10% (non-burying, late), 7% (quake) A delayed sumo-esque stomp. K. Rool's foot buries grounded opponents, though it cannot do damage to an already-buried enemy. Much stronger on aerial opponents, and can KO at 104% at the edge of Final Destination. The stomp causes a shockwave near his foot. This deals weak vertical knockback to nearby opponents and allowing for moves like forward aerial to be used out of it. Starts with the non-bury hitbox on Frame 13, before the bury comes out at Frame 14. Forward smash is true out of this from around 70%, and kills a lot of the time as well. The hitboxes can hit some opponents below low platforms (such as the left and right platforms on Battlefield). Due to how buries work in Ultimate, it is possible to "store" knockback on a buried opponent using a weak attack, forcing them to get unburied over time and sent at the angle of the weak attack; this can create long combo strings at low percents.
Dash attack   15%, 11% (late) A belly-first lunge based on an attack from Donkey Kong Land. It covers a good distance and has incredible start-up (comes out on frame 7) for its power, 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 Instant Dash Attack, as it kills larger characters earlier than forward tilt.
Forward smash   19.9% (sweetspot), 17.3% (close) Dons a boxing glove, referencing his "King Krusha K. Rool" persona from Donkey Kong 64, and throws a strong, straight punch. The sweetspot is located at the boxing glove, with massive knockback. Can be angled and deals more damage if angled up or down, which gives it some versatility. It is somewhat slow with a short-lasting hitbox (comes out on frame 19, ending on frame 20), but is extremely powerful, KOing at 53% at the edge of Final Destination. It has also has a disjoint on the boxing glove, which can be used to hard punish short hop approaches in niche circumstance.
19% (sweetspot), 16.5% (close)
19.5% (sweetspot), 16.9% (close)
Up smash   15% (headbutt), 8% (late headbutt), 10% (plank); 3% (meteor smash) A quick upward headbutt followed by a comical plank. The headbutt has a small hitbox, but has very fast start-up (frame 6) and can KO from medium to high percents. It also has a slightly later hitbox on Frame 10 that deals slightly less damage, making it somewhat inconsistent at times. The plank comes out much later and has a bigger hitbox, but deals much less damage and knockback, making it more suited for covering the headbutt or ledgetrapping at best. The plank animation weakly meteor smashes opponents, though this is ineffective for edgeguarding due to its low knockback. In fact, it is the weakest meteor smash in the game. It can be used to force tech situations or awkward placements off-stage, but these are highly situational and impractical. The sheer number of hits do make it useful for causing shield damage under platforms, however. Each hitbox is situated on K. Rool's head and body respectively, meaning it can miss entirely if used poorly. Additionally, the move has extremely high ending lag, with the first actionable frame being 72 and the last hit being on Frame 23. The headbutt and plank KO at 100% and 162% at the edge of Final Destination, respectively. This move has Belly Super Armor shortly after K. Rool hops and before he flops onto the ground. There are intangibility frames on K. Rool's head when the sweetspot comes out. This is very frequently used by more skilled players alongside Down Throw to hard punish mashing out of it, resulting in 50/50s that can be very hard for some opponents to deal with.
Down smash   18%, 4% (quake) A leaping belly flop, which causes a quake. Has Belly Super Armor during the leap, and deals heavy shield damage. As K. Rool physically leaves the ground when using the move, his hitbox gets shifted into the air, allowing it to dodge ground or belly-level attacks to deal a hard punish. It is extremely powerful, being one of the strongest down smashes in the game, KOing at 50% at the edge of Final Destination. However, the move is very laggy overall, with its strongest hitbox coming out on frame 22. This makes it punishable if it is used poorly. The quake is extremely weak, but can occasionally lead to a forward tilt.
Neutral aerial   12%, 8% (late) Inflates his stomach and performs a splash based on an attack from Donkey Kong Land like his dash attack. Very fast (comes out on frame 7), acts as a sex kick and has Belly Super Armor, making it excellent for contesting with aerials or approaching. This is also his fastest out of shield option next to his neutral attack. It has the lowest ending lag of his aerials, but it has poor range, is unsafe on shield and at low percentages it's not safe on hit.
Forward aerial   14% (sweetspot), 10% (sweetspot, late), 12% (sourspot), 8% (sourspot, late) A dropkick, similar to Bowser's back aerial. Its sweetspot is at K. Rool's feet. Also acts as a sex kick, allowing it to be used for approaching or edgeguarding. The sweetspot KOs at around 100% near the edge of Final Destination. Hitbox comes out on frame 11. If King K. Rool's body hits at lower percents, it can lead to combos into neutral attack, or down tilt on big body characters like Donkey Kong. The sourspot on this move lies around the torso, and can be used well with Down Tilt.
Back aerial   19% (sweetspot), 14.5% (sourspot) Turns around and does a delayed downward punch behind him, similar to Mario's forward aerial. It is very slow (comes out on frame 18), but it powerfully meteor smashes opponents if K. Rool's fist hits. It has noticeable landing lag. It also has a slightly lingering hitbox, making it an important tool in neutral when full hopped. There is a disjoint on the fist, being much larger than it actually is, although the hitboxes are not as strong.
Up aerial   14%, 10% (late) A headbutt that goes straight upward. Causes K. Rool to float slightly, giving it more reach. It is one of K. Rool's fastest aerial attacks (comes out on frame 7), and deals less damage if hit slightly later. However, it has extremely high ending lag, preventing K. Rool 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. The hitbox also doesn't extend beside K. Rool's head. The early hitbox KOs at around 120%. The move has Belly Super Armor while K. Rool stretches his head out, but only for a very limited period of time. When short hopped, this move can allow K. Rool to move onto a platform, allowing for some niche movement options. Like up smash, there intangibility frames on K. Rool's head during the attack. 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. However, it does have risk due to how long the endlag is.
Down aerial   12% (early), 9% (late) Does a quick flip before performing a double foot stomp in a Superman pose. 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 rather weak. If the opponent is hit by the early hitbox - but not meteor smashed - on-stage against this move, it confirms a wide variety of attacks. There is also a Late Hitbox with a sweetspot on the hip, with 20 extra stats in knockback growth, plus a sourspot on the feet. It also has Belly Super Armor after K. Rool stretches his feet out, giving it some safety.
Grab   Reaches out quickly with great range. However, his dash and pivot grabs are slower than his standing grab.
Pummel   1.6% Headbutts the opponent.
Forward throw   10% (throw), 7% (slam) Lifts the opponent over his head before slamming them into the ground, sending the opponent flying forwards. The slam damages nearby opponents. Decent knockback. This combos into dash attack or a pivot cancelled forward tilt at 0%.
Back throw   11% Drags the opponent on the ground and throws them behind him. KOs at 124% at the edge of Final Destination.
Up throw   16% Heaves the opponent over his head, leaps high into the air, and performs an Argentine backbreaker upon landing, blasting the opponent upwards. It is the most damaging up throw and also the most damaging throw in the game, but KOs late at around 180%. Stages with low upper blast lines and/or high platforms help mitigate this issue, as it carries opponents up in a similar fashion to Charizard's up throw. Can follow up with up tilt or aerials at low percents. With the assistance of soft platforms, this throw is notorious for leading into Propellerpack, which is lethal with incorrect DI.
Down throw Piledriver 5% Lifts the opponent overhead before slamming them into the ground head-first, burying them. Has the lowest damage output of K. Rool's throws, but this is compensated by its followup potential. K. Rool's most versatile throw overall, as well as one of his most versatile tools in general. Down throw follows up to numerous moves depending on the opponent's percent, including jab, up tilt, and up air at lower to mid percents, as well as forward tilt, forward and down smash at higher percents. It is also possible to infinite many fighters by throwing them, using jab while they're buried and re-grabbing them when they are released. However, most followups can be avoided if the opponent mashes out (especially since the throw itself is slow and gives plenty of time to react), making its kill setups unreliable at much higher percents. Only dash attack, forward and up tilts are able to follow up at 125% and kill reliably. However, up smash and up aerial can be used to discourage mashing and create 50/50 situations at lower percents, as the prior kills at 100% a lot of the time.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Swipes his claws from back to front.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Swipes his claws from back to front.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Swipes his claws from back to front.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  10% Swipes forward with one claw.
Neutral special Blunderbuss 13% (kannonball), 12% (throw), 17% (relaunched kannonball) Pulls out a blunderbuss and fires a Kannonball forward, while donning the pirate hat worn by his alter-ego "Kaptain K. Rool" in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Only one Kannonball can be in play at one time, with another being usable after around 2.5 seconds. After a Kannonball is fired, the special button can be held to use the blunderbuss's vacuum function, sucking in nearby enemies or the Kannonball itself (though the move will eventually cancel after several seconds). K. Rool can drop through soft platforms while vacuuming with his blunderbuss, and he also can move left and right as well while airborne, which is very useful for ledgetrapping. Once it sucks something in, K. Rool will immediately launch it out at a slight angle upward in front or behind him, or directly upwards, depending on the held direction. The blunderbuss "throw" KOs at 100% near the edge of Final Destination, though it deals lower knockback upwards or if reversed. A launched Fighter or re-launched Kannonball is capable of KOing as early as 70%, with the Kannonball lingering while doing minor damage after the first hit.
Side special Crownerang 9% (projectile), 7% (returning), 10.3% (thrown item), 10.8% (smash thrown item), 7.7% (z-dropped item) Takes off his crown and flings it forward, similar to Boomerang. Has normal, non-belly armor while K. Rool is throwing his crown. Deals less damage when returning. Unlike Boomerang, it cannot be smash thrown. The crown will attempt to return to K. Rool while flying, though it will slowly lose altitude. Only one crown can be thrown at once. If K. Rool fails to catch it, the crown will drop as an item for anyone else to use, and will reappear on his head after 12 seconds or if K. Rool touches it again (does not count if the crown hits him as a thrown item, or if the crown is from another K. Rool). The pickup animation can be cancelled through using a move or "unavoidable" animations such as jumpsquat when coming into contact. If an initial dash is performed when coming into contact, King K. Rool will "slide" a short distance, giving a minor movement option as well as a 40.8% combo into Down Smash at 0% if the crown hits both times.
Up special Propellerpack 3% (propellers) Equips the Propellerpack and flies upward. Even for a heavyweight, this recovery covers an excellent amount of distance, allowing K. Rool to fly from one end of Final Destination to the other, though changing direction is difficult. Upon reaching peak height for a moment, K. Rool will slowly drift down while flapping his arms. Pressing down will make K. Rool enter his helpless animation, falling faster and having less landing lag The propellers above K. Rool deal multiple weak hits, protecting him from edgeguards while even allowing him to drag opponents to the top blast line, though this can be DI'd out of if it hits more than 3 times.
Down special Gut Check 1.5× (both counterattack and reflected projectiles), 12-42% (counterattack damage range) Puffs out his stomach and retaliates against attacks. It works like a counterattack and can also reflect projectiles. However, the counter hitbox is centered on K.Rool's stomach, making the rest of his body vulnerable (most notably his face), much like the Melee and Brawl versions of Toad. It has a damage multiplier of 1.5x, making it tied with Counter Throw for the highest damage multiplier out of any counterattack in Ultimate. When reflecting, the stomach has a lingering hitbox that deals the minimum damage (12%) and can actually land a KO in niche situations. This is usually seen when projectiles are reflected from close range.
Final Smash Blast-O-Matic 3% (stomp), 10% (tackle), 25% (laser), 10% (throw) K. Rool stomps, stunning any nearby opponents, and lunges forward while catching those in his path. If at least one opponent was caught, a cutscene plays in which K. Rool sits on his throne on Crocodile Isle before firing a massive laser from his Blast-o-Matic cannon. The laser then fires through Donkey Kong Island, destroying the island and dealing massive damage on the victims.

On-screen appearance

  • Drops from the sky with his arms crossed before chuckling. His pose is based on how he appears in Donkey Konga, while him falling from the sky is a reference to Donkey Kong Country.

Taunts

  • Up taunt: Viciously snaps forward four times.
  • Side taunt: Slaps his belly once in amusement. Amusingly, this taunt also uses K. Rool's Belly Super Armor.
  • Down taunt: Does a sumo-esque stomp.

Idle poses

  • Angrily bites the air.
  • Slaps his belly twice and gloats happily.

K. Rool's idle pose resembles his idle from Donkey Kong Country.

Victory poses

  • Shifts his eyes left and right before ending with a triumphant pose.
  • Flips his cape around before ending in a pose similar to his official artwork.
  • Belly flops on screen and rebounds with a backflip, before landing on his feet and slapping his belly with his tongue sticking out.
A flourished orchestration of the first few bars of "Gang-Plank Galleon", his boss theme from the original Donkey Kong Country.

In competitive play

Upon Ultimate's release, many players noted King K. Rool's numerous strengths that were never seen before on a super-heavyweight character, namely two projectiles, his unique super armor mechanic (Belly Super Armor), down throw that in theory leads to very early kill confirms (such as forward smash that can KO at 60-70%), rather good startup on many moves and very long ranged recovery, in addition to his other strengths more typical to his weight class, namely his survivability and KO power. Because of this, majority top professionals considered King K. Rool a potential high or even top tier character. King K. Rool got universal reputation of being "broken" among the casual players, similar to Little Mac upon SSB4's release. However, it quickly became apparent that King K. Rool isn't nearly as good as thought, as he also has some of the nastiest downsides in the entire game to counter his strengths - gigantic hurtbox, weight, poor overall framedata (with many of his moves having a very high amount of endlag, making a large amount of his moveset very punishable), rather mediocre range and hitboxes for his gigantic size, and finally, many of his strengths also having exploitable mechanics, namely his extremely slow and predictable recovery, linear, laggy projectiles, one which (Crownerang) also becomes a very powerful projectile to use against K. Rool if he fails to pick it up, his Belly Super Armor being breakable, and his down throw being easy to mash out until higher percents, rendering those seemingly "broken" kill confirms not true until higher percents. In addition, his two best players at that time, Ito and KOSSismoss, both went inactive from tournament play, rendering him to have basically non existent playerbase. Because of this, his competitive reception divebombed, with some top professional players already viewing him poorly only a month after the game's release. Finally, King K. Rool got nerfed in patch 2.0.0, lowering his competitive reputation even further. Because of all of this, it was obvious by two months of the release that King K. Rool suffers, with almost every top professional ranking him as a low-tier character, with many of them even considering him to be one of the worst characters in the game.

King K. Rool later received small but helpful buffs in patch 3.0.0, although they weren't significant enough to address his significant flaws and his competitive reputation remained poor. His playerbase in North America and Japan is still almost non existent, with pracically no tournament results outside from local tournaments after the first few weeks. However, his playerbase is somewhat bigger in Australia and Europe, and thanks to the efforts of some of them such as Mr. L and Muk, King K. Rool overall fares somewhat better in those two continents. Although Muk has stopped using King K. Rool in tournaments, Mr. L managed to win a B-tier tournament Battle Arena Melbourne 11 with solo King K. Rool. This made some players question his reputation as a low/bottom tier character, as historically it's been almost impossible for a bottom- or even a low-tier character win a major, especially without a secondary. Even then, most top professionals still view King K. Rool as one of the worst characters in the game. As such, he is expected to be ranked low, especially if he fails to get further buffs in the future patches.

Notable players

Active

Inactive

  • USA Ito - One of the best King K. Rool players in the world. Placed 17th at SoCal Chronicles. Currently inactive from attending tournaments.
  • USA KOSSismoss - Considered one of the best King K. Rool players in the world in very early on in Ultimate's metagame. Placed 9th at Don't Park on the Grass 2018. Currently inactive from attending tournaments.
  • Netherlands Muk - The best King K. Rool player in Europe, placing far higher and more consistently than any other in Europe. Placed 9th at "Lunarsmash Presents: Dawn", "Smash At Liege Tournament 7" and "GGWP", all National Events in Europe. As of recently, he has stopped playing King K. Rool in tournaments. Ranked 12th on the Dutch Power Rankings.

Classic Mode: Super Heavyweight Class

King K Rool's congratulations screen.

All of King K. Rool's opponents are the heaviest characters in the game, with most of them being antagonists. His boss is Galleom, likely a reference to his hulking proportions and his postures being similar to the archnemesis of King K. Rool, Donkey Kong. Additionally, "Galleom" is spelled similarly to "Galleon". Ridley is most likely an exception, as he is lighter than Samus.

Round Opponent Stage Music
1 Charizard Charizard (SSBU) Unova Pokémon League Victory Road - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire
2 Bowser Bowser (SSBU) Find Mii King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3
3 King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU) Boxing Ring King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)
4 Ridley Ridley (SSBU) Brinstar Depths (Battlefield form) Vs. Ridley
5 Ganondorf Ganondorf (SSBU) Bridge of Eldin Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form
6 Donkey Kong Donkey Kong (SSBU) Kongo Jungle Crocodile Cacophony
Bonus Stage
Final Galleom Base Boss Battle - Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Note: When fighting Charizard, its Pokémon Trainer is absent.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as King K. Rool has Gang-Plank Galleon accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light

Finding King K. Rool in World of Light

King K. Rool was among the fighters that were summoned to fight against the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, King K. Rool was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. He was vaporized offscreen and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding Kirby.

King K. Rool was one of the many fighters that fell under Dharkon's control upon Galeem's first defeat. He can be found on a ship in the Mysterious Dimension sub-area, guarded by the spirit of fellow pirate, Risky Boots. To reach his location, the player must defeat the spirit of Trevor C. Belmont, the right answer to a quiz question of which Spirit assisted Alucard in defeating Dracula.

Fighter Battle

No. Image Name Type Power Stage Music
67
King K. Rool SSBU.png
King K. Rool Attack 10,600 Pirate Ship Gang-Plank Galleon

Template:-

Spirits

King K. Rool's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. 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. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, he makes an appearance as a few Primary Spirits under his alter egos from the Donkey Kong Country series.

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit Battle parameters
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music
47
Wart.png
Wart Super Mario series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Peach Peach (SSBU)
Grab
4,000 Skyworld (Battlefield form) •Hazard: Slumber Floor •Defeat the main fighter to win
•The floor is sleep-inducing
Boss Theme - Super Mario Bros. 2
159
Kritter.png
Kritter Donkey Kong series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Grab
1,700 Kongo Jungle •Defense ↑ •The enemy has increased defense
•The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt
Jungle Level (64)
161
Klaptrap.png
Klaptrap Donkey Kong series •Tiny King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Attack
4,000 Kongo Jungle •Assist Trophy Enemies (Klaptrap) •Hostile assist trophies will appear Crocodile Cacophony
162
Kaptainkingrool.png
Kaptain K. Rool Donkey Kong series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Attack
13,500 Halberd •Invisibility •The enemy's neutral special has increased power
Stamina battle
•The enemy is invisible after a little while
Crocodile Cacophony
166
Snowmad.png
Lord Fredrik Donkey Kong series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Grab
2,300 Summit (Battlefield form) •Hazard: Ice Floor •The floor is frozen Swinger Flinger
229 The Imprisoned The Legend of Zelda series •Giant King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
4,600 Gerudo Valley •Assist Trophy Enemies (Ghirahim) •The enemy has super armor but moves slower
•Timed Stamina battle
•Hostile assist trophies will appear
Ballad of the Goddess (Remix)
244 Bokoblin The Legend of Zelda series •Tiny King K. Rool Team King K. Rool (SSBU) (×4)
Neutral
1,400 Gaur Plain (Battlefield form) N/A •The enemy starts the battle with an Ore Club Kass's Theme
281
SSBU Spirits Queen Metroid.png
Queen Metroid Metroid series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Grab
13,300 Brinstar (Battlefield form) •Giant
•Attack Power ↑
•The enemy is giant after a little while
Stamina battle
•The enemy has increased attack power after a little while
Boss Battle 4 - Metroid: Samus Returns
283
SSBU Spirits Kraid.png
Kraid Metroid series •Giant King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Neutral
10,000 Brinstar Depths (Ω form) •Jump Power ↓
•Move Speed ↓
Stamina battle
•The enemy is giant
Brinstar Depths (Melee)
461
Snorlax Spirit.png
Snorlax Pokémon series •Giant King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
4,500 Tortimer Island N/A •Timed Stamina battle
•The enemy prefers not to move
Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
474
Wobbuffet.png
Wobbuffet Pokémon series •Reflect King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU) (×2)
Shield
4,300 The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form) N/A •The enemy reflects projectiles
•The enemy favors down specials
Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
483
Tyranitar Spirit.png
Tyranitar Pokémon series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
3,900 Mushroomy Kingdom (Battlefield form) •Sudden Damage •You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
622 Draug Fire Emblem series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
2,400 Castle Siege (hazards off) •Defense ↑ •The enemy has super armor but moves slower
Stamina battle
•The enemy has increased defense
Under This Banner
716
Thanatos.png
Thanatos Kid Icarus series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
3,800 Kalos Pokémon League (Battlefield form) •Tiny
•Giant
•The enemy is giant
•The enemy is tiny after a little while
In the Space-Pirate Ship
748
Shake King.png
Shake King Wario Land series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Grab
1,900 Pirate Ship (hazards off) •Earthquake •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage
•The enemy favors grabs and throws
Ruins - Wario Land: Shake It!
812 Emperor Bulblax Pikmin series •Giant King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Attack
9,700 Garden of Hope (Ω form) N/A •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch
Stamina battle
•The enemy is giant
Main Theme - Pikmin (Remix)
938 Bear Hugger Punch-Out!! series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Grab
3,500 Boxing Ring N/A •The enemy's throws have increased power
Stamina battle
World Circuit Theme
943
King Hippo Spirit.png
King Hippo Punch-Out!! series •Giant King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
9,500 Boxing Ring N/A Stamina battle
•The enemy is giant
Minor Circuit (Remix)
1,267
King Knight Spirit.png
King Knight Shovel Knight series King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
2,000 Mushroom Kingdom U (Slide Lift Tower) N/A •The enemy's dash attacks have increased power
•The enemy starts the battle with a Star Rod
Flash In The Dark (Dr. Wily Stage 1)

As a minion

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
782 Chaotix Sonic the Hedgehog series Sonic Sonic (SSBU)
Pichu Pichu (SSBU)
King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Grab
1,600 Windy Hill Zone •Invisibility •The enemy is invisible Sonic Heroes Vector the Crocodile
1,143
Sable Prince.png
Frog & Snake Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru Greninja Greninja (SSBU)
King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Shield
3,600 Dream Land GB (Castle Lololo interior) Assist Trophy Enemies (Sablé Prince) •Hostile assist trophies will appear Castle Lololo Snake
1,271 Allen Culdcept series Shulk Shulk (SSBU)
King K. Rool King K. Rool (SSBU)
Ridley Ridley (SSBU)
Neutral
3,500 Arena Ferox •Item: Assist Trophy •Defeat the main fighter to win
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
Worthy Rival Battle

Alternate costumes

Alternate costume (SSBU)
King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool (SSBU)

Reveal trailer


Gallery

Character showcase video

Trivia

  • Outside of minor cameos, Ultimate marks King K. Rool's first physical appearance in over a decade, as he last appeared in Mario Super Sluggers, which released on June 19, 2008.
    • Additionally, this is currently the only Nintendo Switch game in which King K. Rool appears.
  • King K. Rool is the third playable Smash Bros. character to have been created outside Japan, following Diddy Kong, also created as part of the Donkey Kong Country series by the British developer Rare, and Dark Samus, who was created by the Texas-based Retro Studios.
  • King K. Rool is the fourth of five newcomers to be announced in Ultimate that was previously featured as a Mii Fighter costume in Super Smash Bros. 4. The other four are Inkling, Daisy, Chrom, and Isabelle.
  • One of the poses King K. Rool strikes in his victory animations is the same one he poses in his official artwork.
  • According to Masahiro Sakurai, King K. Rool's inclusion in Ultimate was a result of his popularity in the Super Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot.[1]
    • As a result of King K. Rool's inclusion, fans of the character issued a thank you letter to Masahiro Sakurai and Nintendo of America for including him as a playable fighter. The letter was signed by fans, and Nintendo of America even wrote back to the fans, expressing gratitude towards them for the fan letter.
  • Like King Dedede, Lucina, Simon and Richter, K. Rool's name is pronounced differently between the different international versions of Ultimate. It is pronounced "King Kay-Rool" in English and "King Kruel" in Japanese.
    • This is the first time that the English name is spoken verbally in a game. The first time it was spoken verbally was in the pilot episode of the Donkey Kong Country animated series, although it was alternated with the pronunciation "King Kuh-Rool" before the pronunciation of "King Kay-Rool" was dropped entirely.
  • King K. Rool is the second character in the series whose back aerial meteor smashes opponents, the first being Lucas.
    • King K. Rool is also the second character who has a smash attack that meteor smashes, in his up smash, first being Bayonetta's down smash, though it isn't used for spiking opponents.
  • During early gameplay footage released by Nintendo showing King K. Rool facing off against Snake, the announcer did not say, "wins" after saying King K. Rool's name on the victory screen. This was later fixed.
  • King K. Rool is the second character in the series with the ability to counter attacks and to reflect projectiles in his default moveset, the first being Palutena.
  • King K. Rool is the only character in the series with a taunt that utilizes armor.
  • King K. Rool is the character that made the most appearances in newcomer trailers in CGI form, appearing in his own, Ken's and Incineroar's, and Banjo & Kazooie's trailers.
  • While King K. Rool’s Classic Mode route predominantly has super-heavyweight fighters as opponents, Ridley can most likely be considered an exception, as he is lighter than Samus.
    • Excluding an alternate version of King K. Rool himself, Incineroar is the only super heavyweight fighter King K. Rool does not face.
  • Out of all King K. Rool's opponents in his Classic Mode route, Bowser is the only fighter King K. Rool is slightly lighter than.
  • King K. Rool is the only newcomer to face Galleom in his Classic Mode route.
  • Pausing and zooming in on and around King K. Rool during his side taunt reveals a gap between his scales and his belly armor.[2]
  • King K. Rool is one of five characters whose unlocking battle in World of Light is not on either Final Destination or an Ω form. The other four are Peach, Daisy, Toon Link, and Mii Gunner. It takes place on Pirate Ship, reminiscent of Gangplank Galleon, his ship from the original Donkey Kong Country.

References