As an IC supporter, I'd like to mention another aspect of the IC missing is their dead-in-the-water franchise. In addition to the programming issues, Sakurai mentioned that they weren't a high priority because their franchise didn't have a future. They would have received more attention if there were some IC game on the way, and who knows, they could have made it. But he decided he would be better off prioritizing other things than working out the IC. We don't know how long they spent trying to make the IC work on 3DS before moving on. I'm responding to this because this misconception that hardware issues were the sole issue behind the IC not returning is causing people to not support them in the poll (and the ballot is influential for future Smash games too, so it could potentially even jeopardize future appearances since they're a dead franchise, a programming nuisance, and "nobody wants them back anyway - look at these poll numbers!"). I'm not delusional; the hardware issues were probably the primary reason they didn't get in, but we don't know what could have happened if Sakurai made them higher priority.
Gotta say, respect to the K. Rool fans for their presence. You guys have got some dedication. I don't know anything about him, so I can't say he's an important character to me, but y'all have made a pretty good case for him and I dearly hope that this Mii Costume isn't the last we see of him. Maybe this is that IC delusion fogging my lens, but I don't think hope is lost on him. Here's hoping!
Unfortunately, as I've heard recently, Sakurai stated in a much more recent interview that
he tried really hard to make them work. I believe this was translated by PushDustin.
*checks*
Yeah, here it is:
http://www.sourcegaming.info/2015/07/09/i-answer-some-questions-sakurai-famitsu-column-vol-461-464/
"I couldn’t get them to work no matter how hard I tried: I removed as many joints as I possibly could, and even when I removed certain effects, like gravity, they still wouldn’t work. Olimar and his Pikmin were also extremely difficult, but I managed to at least get them to work."
Yes, the argument that Sakurai might not have tried too hard was a major argument in favor of them getting in later. However, Sakurai completely and totally debunked this notion recently, literally within the past month.
I was thinking that King K. Rool can use the Blunderbuss in different ways. If you tap the B button he can shoot a kannonball that goes until it's offscreen. If you hold the B button and charge it up for a second, a kannonball will go a short distance and then fall to the ground and spikes will pop out. This can be great for edge guarding if you know the distance and hit box well enough. Maybe if you use it in midair, it will bounce. Or maybe you can simply reactivate the B button while the kannonball is traveling to make it fall and turn into the spiked ball. I don't know, just some ideas to incorporate the different ways he fights in DKC2.
I was thinking that its a side Special, and holding the button in harder will cause it to spew a spiked cannonball instead. His standard special could be gas spray (the common suggestion is usually krown throw, but that could potentially be a Smash if he just throws the ground a short distance and it comes right back; Mii Gunner has a very long Side Smash).
If you push down for either gas or kannonball, it bounces (once if you don't hold it in too long, or upwards of three times if you hold it in longer), and likewise, if you push up when spewing gas or kannonball, it'd rotate. Again, same deal; rotate once if you hold it only briefly, or upwards of three times if you hold it a decent length).
The disadvantage would be that K. Rool couldn't shoot more than one at a time.
For his Down B, I think he could either shoot a giant kannonbal directly below him (ala DKC) or maybe it can be an electric node that stays kaput, and if he shoots kannonballs through it they can even get electrified.
His grab will be sucking opponents into the blunderbuss. For his down throw, he'd grab them with his hand and wack them with the blunderbuss (ala his DKC2 attack), for his side throw he'd grab them and pelt them away with kannonballs, and for his up throw he'd just fire them straight out of it.
The blunderbuss suck can pull items towards him, and naturally, throwing his kannonball back at him (or perhaps other large items) will cause it to blow up in his face, dealing damage and stunning him, though this wouldn't be a viable tactic unless the K. Rool player spams his blunderbuss suck.