could someone help me understand the overwhelming push for kkr? i understand that the donkey kong series could use a new rep, and i understand that kkr was the antagonist of the dkc trilogy, but he doesn't look to me like he fits in in the smash roster. he's not necessarily too big, but it's more in his design, he doesn't look like a fighter. i'd just like to know since there's the possibility he'll be revealed later today.
I think its unlikely he'd be revealed, best-case scenario they announce that he's the most wanted ballot character and will be added later.
That said, you'd really have to play the original DKC trilogy. Plus, a lot of characters don't look like fighters.
King K. Rool has 7 boss battles to draw from going by the original trilogy, the Donkey Kong Land trilogy, and DK64. DK Land 3 is the only land game that has anything different from the DKC games, though, where he shoots beams of electricity and grenades (in DKC3 he just has electric nodes that shoot electricity instead and he just controls everything with a remote).
K. Rool is big and bulky. He is a physical fighter, even though he doesn't look physically fit because of his gut. The Paon design overplays his gut, but he's closer to a sumo wrestler, and has massive muscles as well.
That said, K. Rool tends to rely more on gadgets and trickery in his boss battles. The blunderbuss is an iconic tool he used in DKC2/DKL2 and is generally the main thing people like, but he could also use electricity and grenades from DKC/L3.
The bigger reason why people like him, though, is because he's hilarious. K. Rool has a massive quirky personality, and has amazing expressions. Dedede has great expressions in Smash, and K. Rool would simply be amazing if filled to the brim with his full personality in this game.