It's been two days and it's still just barely started to register that K. Rool is back. After a 10-year hiatus, I think it's going to take a while before his return truly sinks in, with him getting brought up in new interviews, getting more facetime in future footage and the like. Here's my immediate reaction:
In a word, that trailer was euphoric. I had heard fourth-hand information that a "Steve Mayles character" might get shown Wednesday, but the Castlevania music leak and BS lupensko laundered through Vergeben about "no DK newcomers" made me skeptical. I wore my "King of Krem" t-shirt as a good luck charm and tuned in anyway. Was content with the Direct and prepared to spend the next few months arguing that DK's first assist trophy being an "irrelevant" Klaptrap boded well, and then...what was that? I thought I had imagined the first rumble, but from the second, I had a good feeling...what newcomer but Rool, the one people are theorizing could be the new heaviest character period, could be responsible? Then I saw the villains montage and the dam burst. I am fully aware how silly it is in the grand scheme of things to get so emotional over an obese fictional crocodile, but in this context it's more than that...it's the understanding that a band of committed fans, including many I would consider longtime friends, finally won the day. We all came together in the first place over two favorite series, Smash and DK, and stayed together over the years because of our desire to steer its trajectory in a certain direction, with K. Rool specifically and in terms of answering fan desires. Years and years of seemingly going unheard, being told repeatedly we wouldn't matter even if we were heard on account of being a small sliver of the customer base, with a side helping of criticism for everything from liking an "ugly Rare character" to being delusional over character chances, and agonizing over whether minor, minor details could maybe mean good things...all over for Rool fans with a two-minute trailer.
K. Rool was a pivotal part of my first exposure to gaming, in that I watched a cousin play his DKC1 boss fight, and memorably succumb to his iconic fakeout, in 1999, when I was a young kid. I then became a DK superfan in 2003 when the first GBA port came out, and I quickly became infatuated with everything about the Country series...the hybrid between natural environments and cartoony characters, the music, the challenge, the whole shebang. I couldn't begin to count how many times I played and replayed those games to completion. The Kremlings and Rool quickly became favorite series staples of mine, as I came to look forward to what new appearance they'd take on in each sequel and what new way they'd escalate their conflict against the Kongs. Later on, in 2005, I got my first exposure to Smash through Melee at a friend's house.
Becoming a Smash fan was a slower burn...I liked the concept of Nintendo characters squaring off, but even back then was wondering why you could play as Mario, Luigi and Bowser, but Diddy and K. Rool weren't there to fight with or against DK (this was before series representation or the Rare buyout were on my radar). It was randomly going onto Mario Wiki in August 2007 and learning that Diddy had made Brawl when I started really getting into Smash, and started hoping for K. Rool. Between 2007 and 2012, my like for the character developed into a bonafide fandom...of note, I made multiple full movesets for K. Rool, including for each of his individual personas, through the Make Your Move competitions, and watched the full cartoon series. I lobbied for the character in general Smash speculation threads on account of what he could contribute to the series, and a sense he deserved his place there, and became a loud critic of the decision to have "no crocodiles" in Returns and Nintendo/Retro's questioning of "whether he really needed to be there." So when 2012 rolled around, and the Smash Wii U character forum opened up, I quickly pounced on making the K. Rool thread. The original title was "K. Rool's Kountry Klub," but it became "Kremling Kutthroats" in part because people thought version one sounded a bit too Brothers Bear-esque, and in part because I wanted to reflect the fans' connection to the character. The Kremling Kutthroats were Rool's army in beloved DKC2, and likewise, an army of fans was going to be necessary to persuade Nintendo, Retro, and Sakurai to return the character to prominence.
And they did! I mentioned it in my brief first impression, but K. Rool wouldn't have a glimmer of a chance at coming back if the fans didn't speak up. The fanbase got somewhat of a reputation for obnoxiousness over it, but had there been less visibly vocal support, we wouldn't be where we are today. The ballot was an opportunity served to us on a silver platter, and we truly seized the opportunity. Through the grapevine, I've heard that K. Rool was 100% a ballot inclusion, and that a recent theory of mine, that Nintendo and Sakurai weren't aware of the character's popularity to that point, was indeed true. But not anymore. And, per the same source of information, the dearth of K. Rool appearances is going to change. I've given Sakurai a ton of crap over the years, and I intend to write a separate post in the "I was wrong" thread walking back the bulk of it. A few others and I also are working on getting a heartful thank-you card written, translated, illustrated and sent to Sakurai, both via Twitter and physical mail. He did us and our series so right, and it's only right that we let him know it.
I'll write more later delving into just how faithful K. Rool looks so far, and gushing over the new direction they're taking his characterization. But for now, I'm ready to just bask and enjoy following the lead-up to the game with no anxiety at all. There are still characters I intend to passively support - namely Dixie, who I think has a great chance at being a Chrom-style echo, taking her fans' suggestion to use Diddy's side and neutral specials, plus DK's up and down specials - but K. Rool is such a labor of love that I don't think anything new could truly disappoint me anymore.
Anyway, I only joined Smashboards after E3 in June, but in the two months I've been here, it's been a pleasure and an honor to sail under your banner; you've made Us a group that I'm proud to be One of. 
