King K. Rool

For fighter info, see King K. Rool (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate).

King K. Rool
Universe	Donkey Kong
Debut	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Donkey Kong Bananza (2025)
Appears in
Console of origin	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Kremling
Gender	Male
Created by	Steve Mayles Gregg Mayles
Designed by	Steve Mayles

King K. Rool (キングクルール, Kingu Ku Rūru^?) is the main antagonist of the Donkey Kong series, appearing in most of its games. He is the king of the Kremling Krew and the archenemy of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. King K. Rool usually seeks to plunder the Kong Family's Banana Hoard in order to starve them to death and/or to satisfy his own love of bananas.

After making cameos as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, as well as a Mii Costume. King K. Rool finally made his debut as a fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Origin

King K. Rool is the ruler of the Kremling race as well as the pirate captain of the Kremling Krew. He is a sinister, boisterous, burly reptile who antagonizes Donkey Kong, much like how Bowser antagonizes Mario. However, while Bowser is generally benevolent to his minions and has wavered between ally and foe to the Mario Bros., K. Rool often mistreats and berates his minions, and is consistently presented as a threat to the Kong family's safety and way of life — aside from one instance where he teams up with them in Mario Super Sluggers, due to being impressed with their skills.

K. Rool is the main antagonist of most games in the Donkey Kong series and the archenemy of Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, making his debut in Donkey Kong Country as the final boss. In that game, he steals Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong's banana hoard for unknown reasons. Two official reasons given are either that he likes bananas, or he stole them in order to starve Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong and occupy their treehouse to be the ruler of DK island

King K. Rool made his return in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, albeit under his pirate alter-ego "Kaptain K. Rool", where he kidnaps Donkey Kong and demands the Kongs' banana hoard for ransom. In response, Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong travel to his home island, Crocodile Isle, in order to rescue Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! has K. Rool assume the alias of a mad scientist named "Baron K. Roolenstein", as well as kidnap both Donkey and Diddy in order to use them to power his robot, KAOS, in his bid to control the Northern Kremisphere. However, Dixie and her younger cousin Kiddy Kong stop these plans, and free Donkey and Diddy. In the Donkey Kong Land games, his role is much the same as in the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, owing to them being handheld counterparts to the series.

In Donkey Kong 64, he reappears in a new mechanical version of his old island, plotting to destroy DK Island with his Blast-O-Matic, but it gets damaged on arrival. He thus has Diddy, Lanky, Tiny, and Chunky captured, as well as Donkey and Diddy's banana hoard stolen again, to buy time to repair the weapon. Once the Kongs disable it, K. Rool flees, but crashes his airship on DK Island, where the final battle takes place: an extended boxing match where he goes by "King Krusha K. Rool" (with a typical champion boxer getup).

He also appears in the Paon-developed titles DK: King of Swing, DK: Jungle Climber, and Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. In these games, his design underwent some changes, the most notable of which were a smaller crown, his tail being removed entirely, and the removal of his golden breastplate in favor of a tan underbelly. He did not appear in either game of the revived Donkey Kong Country series developed by Retro Studios (Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze), and neither do the Kremlings. Instead, they have been succeeded by the Tiki Tak Tribe and the Snowmads, respectively.

After being absent in the series for 18 years, King K. Rool finally makes his return in the climax of Donkey Kong Bananza. It's revealed that he and his Kremling army were trapped underground by the Banandium Root forcing K. Rool into blocking the path leading to the Planet Core. K. Rool was eventually awakened by Pauline's singing, punching Void Kong in the process and ends up battling against DK and Pauline. After a failed attempt, K. Rool would follow the duo as they make their way to the surface. Just as Donkey Kong and Pauline made their way to New Donk City, King K. Rool had also appeared, using the root to trap the city in mush and change the city to his image. DK and Pauline would eventually win against him and restore the city.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

King K. Rool appears as a collectible trophy.

Trophy description

King K. Rool

The demented head of the Kremlings and big boss in the Donkey Kong series. K. Rool is a giant, greedy glutton with a serious eye tic. While he fits the evil boss mold nicely, he's just enough of a bumbler to have gained a few fans over the years. His plan to blow up the DK Isles with his Blast-o-Matic shows how unbalanced he is.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

K. Rool appears again as a collectible trophy and a sticker.

Trophy description

King K. Rool

The supreme commander of the Kremling Krew. King K. Rool steals bananas from Donkey Kong and ends up kidnapping Diddy Kong. He is so good at playing dead that sometimes the credits even roll as he lies there, feigning defeat. His brother, Kaptain K. Rool, made an appearance in the game Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

• Donkey Kong Country
• Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U

K. Rool does not appear physically, but there is a collectible trophy of him in the base game. Later, a downloadable update released on July 31, 2015 added an outfit resembling King K. Rool. The base part is the K. Rool Outfit, which can only be worn by Mii Brawlers. There is also the K. Rool Hat, a headgear that can be worn by any Mii Fighter. The K. Rool Outfit replicates K. Rool's physique and his signature red cape, while the K. Rool Hat shows some of his characteristic head features, complete with his crown and bloodshot eye.

Trophy description

King K. Rool

Whereas Mario often squares off against Bowser, Donkey Kong must fight against King K. Rool. He's a big croc with a big attitude...and a tiny crown. He probably could have been Donkey Kong's most trustworthy animal friend. Think he'll ever have a change of heart? Not likely.

Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

Donkey Kong 64 (11/1999)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

King K. Rool was introduced as a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, marking his formal introduction into the Super Smash Bros. series. K. Rool's inclusion was particularly notable as it followed a prolonged period of high community demand. He was first revealed in a Nintendo Direct on August 8, 2018.

King K. Rool is a heavyweight fighter whose attacks inflict a high damage output onto opponents. His fighter ability is Belly Super Armor, in which K. Rool puffs out his chest, able to withstand a certain amount of damage until the Belly Super Armor breaks. K. Rool is not without some disadvantages, including slow movement, a large hitbox, and a predictable recovery.

King K. Rool's Special Moves are an amalgamation of abilities and equipment derived from his various appearances throughout the Donkey Kong universe, a design choice that establishes him as a composite representation of his villainous history:

• Blunderbuss (Standard Special Move): A projectile attack in which K. Rool shoots a cannonball, originally done by his Kaptain K. Rool alias in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
• Crownerang (Side Special Move): A projectile based on his signature crown throw from the original Donkey Kong Country
• Propellerpack (Up Special Move): A vertical recovery move in which K. Rool utilizes the helicopter pack from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!.
• Gut Check (Down Special Move): A defensive counterattack and projectile reflector in which K. Rool utilizes his armored belly. It is K. Rool's only special move not derived from any Donkey Kong game.
• Blast-O-Matic (Final Smash): A cinematic attack where K. Rool utilizes his identically named machine from Donkey Kong 64 on Donkey Kong Island, a stand-in for the fighters hit by the attack during the cinematic.

Aside from being a fighter, King K. Rool is still featured in the form of a Mii Fighter outfit, this time unlockable instead of downloadable. King K. Rool also has his own primary spirit, like the other fighters.

Trivia

• While King K. Rool has a voice actor in his own series, with his current voice actor being Tsuguo Mogami, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate does not give King K. Rool a voice actor. Instead, Ultimate gives him realistic crocodile bellows and grunts, similar to his appearances in some Donkey Kong games, such as DK: King of Swing. The same thing happens to Donkey Kong, who is given realistic gorilla grunts instead of reusing Takashi Nagasako's voice clips from other games; Diddy Kong, who uses realistic chimpanzee screeches instead of reusing voice clips from his current voice actor Katsumi Suzuki; Bowser, who uses realistic roars instead of reusing voice clips from his current voice actor Kenny James; and Petey Piranha, who uses monstrous roars instead of reusing voice clips from his current voice actor Toru Minegishi.
• King K. Rool is the only Donkey Kong fighter to have made a non-playable appearance in the series prior to his debut as a fighter, as he appeared as a trophy in Melee, a trophy and sticker in Brawl, and a trophy and a downloadable Mii costume in both versions of 3DS/Wii U.
• Although King K. Rool's name is the same between Japanese and English, the announcer pronounces it differently between regions: the English version pronounces it as "King Kay Rool", while the Japanese version pronounces it "King Cruel", which is the basis of the pun on which his name is built.
• King K. Rool is the only playable Donkey Kong character whose onscreen appearance does not involve him jumping out of a DK Barrel.
• King K. Rool is the third character in the Super Smash Bros. series to be created outside Japan, and the second character to originate from Europe.
• While most characters in the Japanese version omit their royal honorifics and titles (such as King or Princess) from their names, K. Rool is an exception, as he keeps the title of King in his name. In the English version, he shares this peculiarity with King Dedede.
• Even though he was absent in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D alongside the rest of the Kremlings, he and his usual role was indirectly alluded to by Cranky Kong, where the latter, in an obvious reference to the Kremlings' absence and the theft of the Banana Hoard being done by another party, said to Donkey Kong "who hasn't stolen [his] bananas at this point". Similarly, his species alongside that of the Kremlings was also referenced by Cranky Kong dismissing Donkey Kong with "See you later, alligator" before chuckling to himself.
• K Rool can be seen as a foil towards Bowser.
  • Both serve as the main antagonists in their respective series who lead an army of villainous reptiles and monsters. While Bowser is a relatively Benevolent Boss to the Koopa Troop who in turn serve him with genuine loyalty and devotion, K. Rool treats the Kremling Krew with nothing but contempt who only follow him out of fear of provoking his wrath. Bowser has on occasion allied with Mario and Co. to stop a greater threats such as Cursa, Smithy, and Cackletta while K. Rool is defined by his all-encompassing hatred of DK and the Kong clan, only allying with them once to stop Bowser and his Baseball team the Bowser Monsters during Mario Super Sluggers. Finally, Bowser at his worst simply wishes to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom or the universe (although there are times where he decides to go even farther, such as destroying the entire Paper Mario universe with Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario sealed inside it, along with many other Paper Bowser Minions and followers who didn't join their comrades in the Mushroom Kingdom and everyone else still inside the book) while K. Rool's ultimate ambition is to turn the entire world into food for him to feast on.
• Unlike the other newcomer villains in Smash Ultimate such as Ridley, Sephiroth and one of the Piranha Plants who all made their first playable appearance in said game, K Rool was previously playable in King of Swing, Barrel Blast and Super Sluggers.
• Kaptain K. Rool won Worst Villain in the 1995 Nintendo Power Awards.