King K. Rool (SSBU)

King K. Rool in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Donkey Kong
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Blast-O-Matic

“	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.

With the exception of the third method, King K. Rool must then be defeated on Jungle Japes.

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 very strong grab game: his up throw is the 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 poor in comparison. Despite his aerials having interesting attributes, including two meteor smashes, a lot of his aerials suffer from extreme 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. 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 the aforementioned flaws, King K. Rool doesn't really have much he can do once he attains advantage; it usually leaves him in an awkward situation where he is forced to return to neutral. His speed means it's difficult to follow up while the opponent is trying to land, and the lack of "upward" moves makes it necessary to keep the opponent in front of him rather than go for juggles. As a result, the bait and switch playstyle he has is often forced on the player, restricting creativity and thus making said player more predictable. King K. Rool's advantage position - as a result of these flaws - will often end as quickly as it comes. As a result, K.Rool requires a lot of option 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. King K. Rool has to play completely differently while the Crown is being used as an item, or they are usually losing a stock. This is worsened by the fact that Gut Check, even at maximum throw range, doesn't allow K. Rool to pick it up—he is completely defenseless against an opponent with the crown. 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 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. His heavy drawbacks have resulted in very mixed competitive reception: many professional players have questioned King K. Rool's viability, with some of them even going as far as considering him to be possibly one of the worst characters in the game. This reflects in his tournament results, as his results are almost nonexistent in North America and Japan, especially on national levels. However, thanks to dedicated players like Muk and Mr. L, his results in Europe and Australia are a lot better. As patches have given K. Rool a variety of buffs, his future in competitive play is currently in question.

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.

Overall, King K. Rool has received small but effective buffs, and mostly inconsequential nerfs. However, many of his critical flaws are still unaddressed, so it is unknown how these changes affects his viability.

2.0.0

• Down throw:
• Down throw has less base knockback, but more knockback growth. 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%.
  • These changes improve K.Rool's mixup options at low percents, while making his KO confirms more varied and consistent at high percents.
  • 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.
  • 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%.
  • Down throw's changes make dash attack significantly less effective compared to up tilt at 125%.
  • 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%.
  • 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:
  • Blunderbuss has a shorter windbox duration, being shortened to 2.5 seconds.
  • Blunderbuss no longer turns opponents invisible when KOing at their last stock.
• 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.

2.0.1

• Belly Super Armor recovers health in training mode.

3.0.0

• Forward tilt gained new sweetspot hitboxes on K.Rool's gauntlets, giving it more range.
  • 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.
• Forward aerial's sweetspot has more range, with the sourspot being moved to the torso.
  • The sweetspot's increased size improves its effective range and safety, granting King K. Rool better spacing capabilities.
  • 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.
• Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 82 → 72). This makes the move safer to use offstage, as it was previous notorious for its high ending lag.
• Up throw is no longer affected by windboxes while throwing.
• Crownerang:
  • Crownerang deals less shield damage.
  • Fixed crown duplication with Villager or Isabelle’s Pocket.
  • Egg Lay no longer increases the size of the crown while K.Rool is trapped in an egg.
• Gut Check has less ending lag (Fail/Succeed: FAF 68/48 → 63/43). This makes it less likely for K.Rool to be punished after countering or reflecting a move.
• The desync glitch involving King Dedede has been fixed.

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.
• 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. This is facilitated by a small hitbox on the crown that - while it doesn't deal more damage - has around 10 more units of knockback growth. 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.
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 unsuitable to use for recovery. 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.
Down aerial			12% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	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 sweetspotted, although the meteor smash is rather weak. Has Belly Super Armor after K. Rool stretches his feet out. If the opponent "staggers" on-stage against this move, it confirms a wide variety of attacks.
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. 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

• Viciously snaps forward, similar to Bowser's side taunt.
• Slaps his belly once in amusement. Amusingly, this taunt also uses K. Rool's Belly Super Armor.
• 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.

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In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  808 - Ranked 4th on the Rhode Island Power Rankings with wins on SharpTheDuck and Pugwest.
•  King Funk - Placed 17th at Phoenix Blue 2.
•  Majesty - Placed 7th at Fight Night 3.
•  Mr. L - The best King K. Rool player in Australia and currently the best active King K. Rool player in the world. Placed 5th at Phantom 2019, 33rd at Expand Gong 4, and has placed well in various local tournaments.
•  Somo - The best King K. Rool player in Japan, co-mains him with R.O.B.. While he hasn't used King K. Rool in larger tournaments yet, he's placed well in smaller scale events and also has topped Japan's Wi-Fi ladder with King K. Rool.
•  Suntherion - Placed 25th at Valhalla II.

Inactive

•  Ito - One of the best King K. Rool players in the world. Placed 17th at SoCal Chronicles. Currently inactive from attending tournaments.
•  KOSSismoss - Debuted as 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.
•  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.

Classic Mode: Super Heavyweight Class

All of King K. Rool's opponents are some of the heaviest characters in the game with most of them being antagonists. His boss is Galleom, likely a reference to his hulking proportions. Ironically, both King K. Rool’s boss and credits theme share similar names (Galleom is spelled similarly to “Galleon”).

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Charizard	Unova Pokémon League	Victory Road - Pokémon Ruby / Pokémon Sapphire
2	Bowser	Find Mii	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3
3	King Dedede	Boxing Ring	King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)
4	Ridley	Brinstar Depths (Battlefield form)	Vs. Ridley
5	Ganondorf	Bridge of Eldin	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form
6	Donkey Kong	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 subarea, 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 assisted Alucard in defeating Dracula.

Fighter Battle

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

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.

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  136. King K. Rool

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  162. Kaptain K. Rool

• Baron K Roolenstein Spirit.png

  163. Baron K. Roolenstein

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	Super Mario series	•King K. Rool •Peach		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	Donkey Kong series	•King K. Rool		1,700	Kongo Jungle	•Defense ↑	•The enemy has increased defense •The enemy starts the battle with a Rocket Belt	Jungle Level (64)
161		Klaptrap	Donkey Kong series	•Tiny King K. Rool		4,000	Kongo Jungle	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Klaptrap)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Crocodile Cacophony
162		Kaptain K. Rool	Donkey Kong series	•King K. Rool		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		Lord Fredrik	Donkey Kong series	•King K. Rool		2,300	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Ice Floor	•The floor is frozen	Swinger Flinger
229	File:Imprisoned.png	The Imprisoned	The Legend of Zelda series	•Giant King K. Rool		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	File:Bokoblin.png	Bokoblin	The Legend of Zelda series	•Tiny King K. Rool Team (×4)		1,400	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with an Ore Club	Kass's Theme
281		Queen Metroid	Metroid series	•King K. Rool		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		Kraid	Metroid series	•Giant King K. Rool		10,000	Brinstar Depths (Ω form)	•Jump Power ↓ •Move Speed ↓	•Stamina battle •The enemy is giant	Brinstar Depths (Melee)
461		Snorlax	Pokémon series	•Giant King K. Rool		4,500	Tortimer Island	N/A	•Timed Stamina battle •The enemy prefers not to move	Main Theme - Pokémon Red & Pokémon Blue (Melee)
474		Wobbuffet	Pokémon series	•Reflect King K. Rool (×2)		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	Pokémon series	•King K. Rool		3,900	Mushroomy Kingdom (Battlefield form)	•Sudden Damage	•You'll occasionally take sudden damage after a little while	Pokémon Gold / Pokémon Silver Medley
622	File:DraugSpirit.png	Draug	Fire Emblem series	•King K. Rool		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	Kid Icarus series	•King K. Rool		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	Wario Land series	•King K. Rool		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	File:Emperor Bulblax Spirit.PNG	Emperor Bulblax	Pikmin series	•Giant King K. Rool		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	File:Bear Hugger Spirit.png	Bear Hugger	Punch-Out!! series	•King K. Rool		3,500	Boxing Ring	N/A	•The enemy's throws have increased power •Stamina battle	World Circuit Theme
943		King Hippo	Punch-Out!! series	•Giant King K. Rool		9,500	Boxing Ring	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy is giant	Minor Circuit (Remix)
1,267		King Knight	Shovel Knight series	•King K. Rool		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	File:Chaotix Spirit.png	Chaotix	Sonic the Hedgehog series	•Sonic •Pichu •King K. Rool		1,600	Windy Hill Zone	•Invisibility	•The enemy is invisible	Sonic Heroes	Vector the Crocodile
1,143		Frog & Snake	Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru	•Greninja •King K. Rool		3,600	Dream Land GB (Castle Lololo interior)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Sablé Prince)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear	Castle Lololo	Snake
1,271	File:Allenn.png	Allen	Culdcept series	•Shulk •King K. Rool •Ridley		3,500	Arena Ferox	•Item: Assist Trophy	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Worthy Rival Battle

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  King K. Rool's splash art.

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  King K. Rool's amiibo.

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  King K. Rool's fighter card.

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  On Green Greens.

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  Using his Blunderbuss on Pirate Ship.

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  Posing on Boxing Ring.

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  Villager taking out K. Rool's pocketed Crown on Tortimer Island.

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  Using Gut Check against Snake on Magicant.

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  His pink and blue costumes on Prism Tower.

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  King K. Rool starts the battle on Kongo Falls.

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  Using Crownerang on Peach, who's standing behind Toad.

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  Using Propellerpack on Yoshi's Island.

• KRoolfinalsmash.gif

  Using his Final Smash.

Trivia

• Outside of minor cameos, Ultimate marks King K. Rool's first physical appearance in a decade, as he last appeared in 2008's Mario Super Sluggers.
• 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 third of four newcomers to be announced in Ultimate that was previously featured as a Mii Fighter costume in Super Smash Bros. 4. The other three are Inkling, 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.
• 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 the only character who debuted in Ultimate to be shown in multiple character reveal trailers in CGI form: he appeared in both his own and Incineroar and Ken's reveal trailer.
• 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.
• Pausing and zooming in on and around King K. Rool during his side taunt reveals a gap between his scales and his belly armor.
• King K. Rool is one of four characters whose unlocking battle in World of Light is not on either Final Destination or an Ω form. The other two are Peach, Daisy, and Mii Gunner.
• There was a glitch in v.2.0.0 that could be performed with King K. Rool. One player must be K. Rool, and the other character must be King Dedede. The player who is K. Rool must shoot a Kannonball towards King Dedede, who must inhale it. Then, the player playing as K. Rool must use Crownerang in the opposite direction of Dedede as the Kannonball returns back to K. Rool and hits him, launching K. Rool away. As K. Rool's crown is returning to Dedede, he must Inhale it and spit it out, and if this glitch is performed correctly, King K. Rool will essentially go haywire; his attack animations are played in reverse, and his global positioning is erratic, causing him to teleport everywhere. The glitch couldn't be removed when King K. Rool is KO'd, so the only way to stop it was by quitting the game.