• Welcome to Smashboards, the world's largest Super Smash Brothers community! Over 250,000 Smash Bros. fans from around the world have come to discuss these great games in over 19 million posts!

    You are currently viewing our boards as a visitor. Click here to sign up right now and start on your path in the Smash community!

Critique my K. Rool

D

Deleted member

Guest
I have previously dropped the character due to a long and infuriating losing streak after getting kicked out of Elite. Because I want to decrease my bad luck with this game, I picked him up again and remembered what I learned with Bowser.

I trashed a Marth, but lost a close match to a Chrom. I'm aware that I panicked at times and I didn't know Dthrow - Utilt doesn't kill all the time, but I wanna know how I did with the big croc and how I can play him efficiently.

Me vs Chrom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoUgb6K6b2A
 

Call_Me_Red

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
420
Location
Yeehaw, Texas
-Stop giving up ledge pressure. Chrom used up b once and you left (I think to pick up your crown), and you let him recover for free.
-Use down air to pressure someone below you on a platform. Make them scared to be under you.
-Chroms up b is extremely weak to Blundersucc. Abuse this.
-Use more cannonball, make more projectiles for them to dance around. When they mess up, punish.
 
Last edited:

Handy Man

Smash Ace
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
916
Location
SoCal
I'm going to comment on various timestamps throughout the video, and explain what I personally may have done in the given situation instead. You do not have to take my advice if you don't want to, but these timestamps stood out to me in particular:

0:02 - Not entirely sure why you jumped over your crown here. In my opinion, it's important to stay as grounded as you can when you throw the crown, as the crown is extremely good against King K. Rool. Since Chrom was in shield as a reaction to the crown coming back, that might have been a good opportunity to go for a grab. With that said, the two nairs you did after the crown toss was a fine option.

0:15 - Good jab, but I think a grab would have worked here against Chrom's dancing blade. I love using up throw at early percents to rack up a nasty 20% early on.

0:44 - Right around here, Chrom sent you upwards in a position that horizontally has you near the ledge. This may have been a good chance to try out the Blunderbuss vacuum to stage spike Chrom, if he did not suspect it.

1:14 - Same situation as 0:15, good jab but a back or down throw may have been a better option.

1:30 - I liked the edgeguard attempt, but your best move in this situation may have been back air. King K. Rool's arm has some priority, and with the right spacing, it could prevent Chrom from coming back. Alternatively, it may have been better to stay on stage and punish Chrom's ledge get up option, as allowing him to return to the stage before you do gives Chrom an advantage in neutral.

1:36 - Not sure why the crown toss was used here. Since Chrom used a dash attack here, this may have been a good opportunity to either grab or forward tilt.

2:21 - Same as 0:15 and 1:14. I think up throw would have been the most optimal here to rack up damage.

3:02 - Like 0:44, this may have been a good opportunity to try the blunderbuss vacuum to stage spike Chrom.

3:13 - Just wanted to point out how good of a forward tilt this was. Great spacing, and it's one of King K. Rool's more reliable kill options at higher percents. I noticed the move was not used to much throughout the video, but this is one of the reasons why I think it's one of the kremling king's most important moves.

3:32 - Same advice as 0:15, 1:14, and 2:21.

3:57 - As a follow up to 0:02, you successfully grabbed Chrom after he put up his shield from the crown toss. I just wanted to put out how good of an option this was, as it's taking advantage of the fact that Chrom is under pressure. I also liked the down throw and up tilt immediately afterwards, as even though it didn't kill him, it put him in a disadvantageous position off-stage. With that said, the up tilt sent him too high upwards for an off-stage punish, so staying on the left platform and punishing his return with a forward air or counter may have been better.

4:23 - The down smash here seemed really unsafe. It was a bit laggy, so the Chrom had some time to retreat and throw the crown again. I think a grab would have landed here since you shielded his forward air before you used down smash, and with Chrom at 126%, there is a good chance that back throw would have killed Chrom here.

4:32 - Like in 4:23, this would have been a good opportunity for a back throw kill to end the match. It's good to keep in mind the rock-paper-scissors dynamic of Smash, where attacks beat grabs, grabs beat shields, and shields beat attacks. Chrom's dash attack is laggy, so if you ever shield it, a grab afterwards is a good punish option.

4:38 - Good down throw. Since Chrom was over 130%, it may have been good to try a downwards angled forward smash or forward tilt. Forward smash would have killed if it connected. However, some opponents are able to mash out even around 130% to 150%, so make sure that the followup punish is swift.

4:45 - The decisive ending of the match. It looked like Chrom was hoping to get back on solid ground for the final kill, so maybe punishing his landing here off of the platform may have been the best option. It's a pretty tricky situation all around though, but you played well.

Overall thoughts: You definitely are aware of King K. Rool's moveset and some of his best tools. With that said, you seem to jump over your crown and lose it quite a bit. I also did not notice some of his moves being used too often, like up tilt and forward tilt. Up tilt has a great disjoint above King K. Rool that cans serve as an anti-air option, and forward tilt has traits like armor, good range, and kill power. I also feel like the blunderbuss was not used too often either, and the vacuum was not used once throughout the match. The canon serves as a slower, farther reaching projectile option, and I feel like Chrom would not appreciate dealing with it if it reaches him off-stage. The vacuum could also serve to get him off-stage for kills or kill setups.

King K. Rool also does not mind staying back a bit and pressure from afar with his crown and blunderbuss, and characters like Chrom and Ganondorf need to get up close to do anything. If you are playing as King K. Rool and currently winning neutral, sometimes staying away from Chrom and maintaining the neutral position would be good. Forward tilt can also block Chrom's attacks if you feel like the Chrom is being overly aggressive. Lastly, in my opinion, going off-stage against Chrom should be done if you feel like you can meteor him with the vacuum or back-air. Otherwise, it's better to stay on stage in order to make sure that Chrom is unable to be in an advantageous state upon returning. Otherwise, missing an off-stage edgeguard punish allows Chrom is safely return, and then it makes it hard for you to get back to the stage safely.

Good stuff overall, but I hope my tips could help you out. You are definitely capable of getting back into Elite with the kremling king, and as long as you keep in mind all of your options, you can come out on top. I would love to try some King K. Rool dittos sometime too if you would want to play against mine. Please keep up the good work, it's great to see more people using the kroc!
 

Klimax

Smash Ace
Joined
Jun 24, 2018
Messages
629
Location
Las Piedras
From what i've seen, I think you should play more like a coward.

Let me explain, I like to think that the Smash Bros' devs want us to play the character like they act in their game. For example, I think playing an overly agressive Little Mac is a fatal mistake (that only works against noobs) while playing a defensive Little Mac can actually be good. Same thing goes for K Rool, I play him like if I was some kind of DKC final boss. I throw my projectiles and force my opponents to jump all the time. And since K Rool has a really good up tilt, i love to have my opponents in the air. I think you're way too agressive and since it's easy to punish K Rool's slow aerials (nair is good but the landing lag is ridiculous), especially with a stupid character like Chrom, that's not the good option in my opinion.

Also, I try to be unpredictable as hell. Sometimes I shoot a cannonball from out of nowhere and it actually works. K Rool is a vicious enemy so it also makes sense. You get the idea, I think K Rool is meant to be annoying, vicious and a huge coward (even though he hits hard).

I currently have 4 350 000 gsp so it's not that bad i guess.
 

GAINAX

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Apr 6, 2015
Messages
289
Try and get Chrom off stage with a back throw. When he recovers low with UpB to get back on, sit on the ledge and use counter. He will not be able to get back on stage.

R.I.P.
 
D

Deleted member

Guest
Here's a recent Rool ditto that I managed to win. I tried to incorporate what I learned from previous Rool dittos and matches, yet I can't figure out what I did to win or how I compared to the white Rool. I'm not very knowledgeable about Frame Data or hitboxes as I don't really pay attention; I'm just a casual.

I also heard Rool is low tier, which doesn't surprise me, considering his vast flaws. Yet, people do wonders with him while I lose more than I win despite playing him since I unlocked him on Day 1. It's a reason why I lost faith in the Kremling multiple times. I just don't have the dedication or the confidence.
 

whitesnake

Smash Apprentice
Joined
Aug 18, 2019
Messages
124
hey -- i've followed this thread since you first posted a video. i think you are trending in the right direction! i jotted down a few observations from the latest clip.

my background: KKR elite, good not great. i fall in and out of elite. currently a bit north of 5.2M GSP

things i like from your video:
- better, more frequent use of ftilt and utilt as compared to your previous video. these are great moves... ftilt to win "even exchanges" and utilt for its great frame data & anti-air
- clever recovery navigation. you did a nice job of mixing up your flight path
- i like how you start the krown motion while falling to get it out faster

potential improvement areas:
- Movement -- forward and BACKWARD! this was my #1 observation from the video. you are pretty much always pushing forward... it's a bit predictable. at the start of a match on omega stage for example i like to jump backwards and throw the krown forwards. also the easiest way to hit an smash is to run backwards and then pivot forwards
- no need for immediate revenge. after you get hit, you tend to immediately run back towards the opponent. when you have just been hit in the air it can be safer to land, regroup and get back to neutral. most obvious example of this is the 2:50 mark when you lose a stock
- gimp harder! i struggle with this myself.. you sometimes pushed the opponent offstage then hesitated to jump off and gimp.. by the time you did it was too late. 4:00 is a good example. KKR has very long recovery and jumping out for a nair (nair especially because of its lower endlag) is pretty safe


hope this helps. keep pushing the King!
 
Top Bottom