Social King K. Rool's Kremling Kutthroats: This...Is Our Finest Hour!

[Mccdbz5]

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.

Beautiful post! And you made all of this possible, my friend! Without your devotion, I truly believe that we would not be here today. You really rallied the troops, and I know for someone like me, you were the person that always made me feel confident that he had a chance.

I've been in a similar boat like you, where I always loved Smash since I was a child, but wondered why there weren't any Donkey Kong characters. I was born in 1991, so I've been on Smash since it started on the N64. I used to play Melee and Brawl competitively as a Donkey Kong main, so my love for Smash always remained consistent. But my first true love (and equal love to the Smash series) was the Donkey Kong Country series. It was my fraternal twin brother and I's first ever video game, and we became obsessed with the series. My favorite Nintendo character as a result has always been Donkey Kong, and his has always been Diddy Kong. So it really bummed us out, as much as we loved Melee, that Diddy Kong wasn't included. Even with wanting Diddy Kong though, I always desired having King K. Rool as well. He's literally a character I've wanted in Smash since I was 10 years old...I'm now 26. I understood King K. Rool not being a character in Melee (didn't understand Diddy Kong not being one), but when Brawl came around, I thought he was a shoo-in. Supporting King K. Rool is literally the reason I created my account on here back in 2007. So I was immensely disappointed and confused when he was skipped over in Brawl, especially since I felt that he was still somewhat relevant back then. Fast forward to Smash 4, and at this point going in, I felt like there was no way K. Rool was going to get passed up. I just felt like he was one of the only really popular iconic characters left, besides Ridley of course. With one Fire Emblem/anime style character reveal after another, I became convinced that Sakurai just straight up did not like the Donkey Kong Country franchise. Only two characters in the franchise included in four games, every stage that was included was almost always based off of Jungle Hijinx, almost all the music was based off of Jungle Hijinx, one item in the whole series (the arrow barrel in Melee), and no assist trophies. It's like he used cliff notes on what you need to know about Donkey Kong Country and just used that to create its minimal representation. And because of this, I became bitter towards the Smash series. I felt like Sakurai always put his personal interests first, in series like Kid Icarus and Fire Emblem and didn't care to entertain anything he wasn't personally invested in. I literally got to the point where I was considering not purchasing Ultimate. For one, I don't really love where Smash has gone competitively (Melee is my favorite Smash game for context). But I also became tired of Sakurai (and Nintendo collectively) essentially acting like my childhood never existed. Acting like the Donkey Kong Country franchise did nothing for them, and their characters meant nothing. I started to take it personal, because I owe my Nintendo fandom to Donkey Kong Country. That series did so much for my brother and I that I can't even put it into words.

I say all this to say, I completely understand how you felt, because I felt exactly the same way. For so long. And you were literally the person that kept me going. That kept me believing that there was still a glimmer of hope, because I almost became convinced that it would never happen. When I saw King K. Rool get revealed on Wednesday, I had a similar reaction to you. I literally almost cried! I just couldn't believe that our efforts paid off, and that my favorite video game villain had finally been revitalized. And then I reflected, and thought to myself that it's because of the efforts of people like you that King K. Rool is not in a trash can right now. I really think this is more significant than people give it credit for. We literally brought a character back from near extinction. A character Nintendo would've liked to forget it seems, especially with their comments pertaining to King K. Rool during the development of Donkey Kong Country Returns.

All in all, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for your time, effort, and devotion over the years to making sure that one of the characters I've loved for so long finally got what he deserved. I've been here with you and other veterans for most of the steps of the way, and your efforts have not gone unnoticed. And with this, I guarantee that he's not going anywhere anytime soon. And that honestly fills me with joy knowing that.

I would also love to sign that letter, by the way. Thank you once again, sir!

 

[S_B]

What's even more startling is the like comparison. Simon's trailer has 4,884 likes. K. Rool's has 12,571. Which is significantly more than the Belmont trailer.

That's because the best roster additions have curves.

 

[Strong DK]

BKupa, thank you for your hard work. Without you this wouldn't have been possible. You will be remembered as the guy who revived K.Rool and brought him back to business. Not only we have him now in smash but now he has true chance to be in future DKC game. Once again thank you.

Also i will sign that Thank you letter too

 

[G-Guy]

BKupa666 , i‘ll be Signing that card with the greatest of pleasure!

 

[SethTheMage]

Count me in for signing that as well. That man and the Smash team are going above and beyond to satisfy the wants of people across the entire Smash fanbase, one of the most difficult fanbases to satisfy. My favorite part of the reveal (aside from Rool smacking the hell out of Dedede after that fake-out) was seeing the Blast-O-Matic sequence in full HD. I got full-on chills from seeing my childhood from 20 years ago flash before me.

I was on Twitter and saw Steve Mayles' tweet about his return:

https://twitter.com/WinkySteve/status/1027631490274926593?s=19

It's pretty cool to see K. Rool's own creator sharing this moment with us.

If I get Dixie as well, I swear to god I will never ask Sakurai for anything again.

 

[Dalek_Kolt]

I feel bad for laughing at this since we were in a similar position not long ago.

E V E R Y O N E IS HERE! #Smash #SmashBrosUltimate pic.twitter.com/KTKqJCH55c

— B00Rad (@B00_Rad) August 8, 2018

 

[Space Detective]

I feel bad for laughing at this since we were in a similar position not long ago.

E V E R Y O N E IS HERE! #Smash #SmashBrosUltimate pic.twitter.com/KTKqJCH55c

— B00Rad (@B00_Rad) August 8, 2018

Even ignoring that I've softened up towards the idea of Waluigi in Smash since E3, I very much can't laugh at this kind of thing right now, for reasons I'm sure anyone looking over to the left could guess.

Doesn't help that a friend of mine keeps showing me similar (and crueler) images, presumably just to try to provoke me.

 

[DarkFoxTeam]

You've done so much for this kampaign, BKuppa. It's still hard to believe that we all managed to pull through and get our favorite kroc into Smash Bros. I've been wanting him since Melee. I can't believe I've had to wait this long, but it was certainly worth it.

It's also worth mentioning that this isn't just big for Smash, but for the character and his future as well. I think we've made our voices loud and clear. We all love King K. Rool and we want to see him become a mainstay again. The DKC series is something truly special to me. With the recent games like Returns and TP, they just haven't given me the same impact the originals did. I think that can finally change with the kremling army returning. But for the moment, we'll enjoy our king in Smash.

You can also count me in the signing! I really want to thank Sakurai and his team into making this dream into a reality. The future is certainly looking bright!

 

[JaidynReiman]

Yeah I hate that kind of thing. I'm really, really happy that Chrom made it in because Chrom was the butt of all the jokes for MONTHS last time. I don't appreciate anyone doing this.


At the same time, I also saw someone on GameFAQs saying "K. Rool fans are trolling Ashley fans" when once again, its just a few jerks doing it. I hate that just as much.

 

[StormC]

I think most of the Waluigi stuff is in good fun, since Waluigi has become kind of a meme as far as being an AT goes. But maybe it is a bit mean.

 

[Super Nintendo Chalmers]

Aw, thank you! As fate would have it, I actually got my grandma a pillow with the Bellboy design on it a few years back, and she got me a drawstring bag and a notebook with the Bellboy design on them last year, but we didn't have them out during our Direct screening, so they weren't in our photo. (I actually went through airport security with the drawstring bag a few weeks ago, and a TSA agent saw it and asked, "Is that a Donkey Kong bag?" I took it as a really good sign that someone actually recognized it; it meant the King wasn't quite so irrelevant after all. )

For the sake of completion, other K. Rool items that my grandma and I didn't have out for our Direct screening include a pair of earrings shaped like crocodiles that I got her for Christmas like a year or two ago, as well as a pin of the crocodile from Peter Pan that I got for her in Disney World last summer. (The general lack of licensed K. Rool merchandise caused us to turn to generic crocodile paraphernalia over the last four years; we're gonna have a field day when the K. Rool Amiibo comes out. )

And your t-shirt is awesome! I'm kind of ashamed that I don't own it myself, considering some of the more generic crocodile merchandise I've purchased instead.

There are a small bunch of Japanese K Rool plushies and toys from the DKC era but they can be expensive, couple of hundred dollars!

The shirt is from a website called the Yetee, cost me 30 posted and from memory there were a couple of different designs.

 

[Crap-Zapper]

Waluigi is Sakurai's punching bag, and has been so since Brawl.
Waluigi does have a legit chance being a troll character we were meant to believe not happen.
Conspiracy or not ...

 

[Diddy Kong]

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.

Kongrats my man. Thanks for your immensive support for this cause during all these years!

Reading how you've "only" been a DKC fan since the GBA ports is a huge surprise to me though! I would swear that by your dedication, you'd have been a straight hardcore DKC fan ever since 1994 since the first game on SNES released.

Shame how I didn't saw this reveal live by myself... I heard the news that King K.Rool was in from a friend, was rather busy that day. But still am 100% statisfied with King K.Rool nonetheless.

Hopefully our community stays around and can manage to get King K.Rool to come back in the DKC franchise as well. As personally, I think that would even be a more grand revival of our favorite reptilian nobleman.

 

[FatNerd]

Kongrats at least it's a good sign for the western characters to be in smash

 

[Klimax]

Thanks BKupa, you did an amazing job and you're clearly a big part of this win !
Very emotional reaction, i had the same, that was so beautiful, so awesome !
It was hard, but damn i don't regret anything !

 

[KingZing]

The official Smash Bros. channel K. Rool trailer currently has 400.000+ views, 13k likes and 115 dislikes. Simon's has near 220.000. Holy smokes.

Pretty sure half of those views are mine, haha

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

Waluigi is Sakurai's punching bag, and has been so since Brawl.
Waluigi does have a legit chance being a troll character we were meant to believe not happen.
Conspiracy or not ...

I mean, he got screwed over in Mario Tennis Aces too. Not only did he have to share a villain role with Wario, it ended up being hijacked by Bowser afterwards.

This is a bad year for Waluigi fans overall.

 

[Gobliiin]

Now the board has calmed down thanks BKupa for everything you've done for us and K.Rool. I don't think things would have been the same without you. Certainly a lot less fun and bearable. The result has made so many people happy I think it's been one of the best reveals mainly as it's made so many things potentially possible now.

I'm really interested in the stats for K. Rool now. He potentially could be heavier than Bowser the way theyve gone with the armour.

 

[meleebrawler]

I mean, he got screwed over in Mario Tennis Aces too. Not only did he have to share a villain role with Wario, it ended up being hijacked by Bowser afterwards.

This is a bad year for Waluigi fans overall.

So basically, the same as usual.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Now the board has calmed down thanks BKupa for everything you've done for us and K.Rool. I don't think things would have been the same without you. Certainly a lot less fun and bearable. The result has made so many people happy I think it's been one of the best reveals mainly as it's made so many things potentially possible now.

I'm really interested in the stats for K. Rool now. He potentially could be heavier than Bowser the way theyve gone with the armour.

Also noticed this. I do think there's a good chance that King K.Rool is heavier than Bowser. Bowser has a far less savage and brutal moveset since Smash 4, and K.Rool seems to be build off around these archetypes far more. Which was also why I was expecting to see K.Rool in Smash 4, because no other character BUT K.Rool could be as cruel as savage as K.Rool.. outside of maybe Ridley.

Also, said this already in the Dixie thread.. But I think a Gangplank Galleon stage is all but confirmed. The way DK's Island is shaped in K.Rool's Final Smash means it'll probably be reused in the background of the new Gangplank Galleon stage. It's very similar to Ridley's Final Smash, and Samus's Spaceship is also reused as Zero Suit Samus's entry, as well as her Final Smash.

Besides that Gangplank Galleon remix has to be used somewhere.

AND WHERE IS OUR KING K.ROOL CHARACTER ICON YET!?

 

[JaidynReiman]

I mean, he got screwed over in Mario Tennis Aces too. Not only did he have to share a villain role with Wario, it ended up being hijacked by Bowser afterwards.

This is a bad year for Waluigi fans overall.

The fact that he got the villain role at all was a positive for Waluigi, honestly. Isn't that better than him being "just there"?

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

The fact that he got the villain role at all was a positive for Waluigi, honestly. Isn't that better than him being "just there"?

Well, that is true (although MTA's story campaign isn't that popular overall, if I'm not mistaken). It's a step above being reduced to comedy relief, as in Power Tennis.

AND WHERE IS OUR KING K.ROOL CHARACTER ICON YET!?

You'd think it would have cropped up by now, hah. It'll be interesting to see how close the fan-made ones are to it, at any rate.

 

[True Blue Warrior]

Am I the only one that noticed the vocals during this part of the Gangplank Galleon remix? Just something interesting.

 

[G-Guy]

I really wish for a Gangplank Galleon stage, but I have the feeling we‘ve reached peak stage count here...

I‘ll stay pessimistic and let Sakurai eventually blow me away

 

[Baddies are back]

Hey, just wanna say congratulations to you guys, I may not have been a supporter of K.Rool but he seems like a fun addition to the cast.

 

[Gobliiin]

We still don't have a new DK stage? I think K.Rool was purely to reveal him to make mass hype. I know Ridley was a big deal but I think this for everyone is bigger.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Am I the only one that noticed the vocals during this part of the Gangplank Galleon remix? Just something interesting.

I didn't hear them untill you pointed this out! Great job at noticing! I don't think they're really vocals, more accapela or background chants... But still, nice feat!

Also, no matter HOW MANY TIMES I check that trailer.. I always get the thrills the exact moment after K.Rool's Final Smash blows up DK's Island and then DK's angry face faces of against K.Rool... THAT SCENE!!! <3

Also, I had a weird dream / premonition / vision where I envisioned Diddy doing a Barreljet-charged version of his Monkey Flip Kick as an attack a day or so BEFORE the Smash reveal... I might need to check my psychic skills. Cause I wasn't even surprised at all when I saw Diddy doing exactly that in the trailer, I was more like 'Ohhh, so that's where that came from'.

 

[JaidynReiman]

I really wish for a Gangplank Galleon stage, but I have the feeling we‘ve reached peak stage count here...

I‘ll stay pessimistic and let Sakurai eventually blow me away

I think we're getting more stages, but the rest will only be new stages. I highly doubt they revealed every single stage 4 months out or that they randomly deconfirmed any additional new IP characters this early as well. I think Sakurai just meant "so far" when he said 103 stages total.

EDIT: Either way I'm certain we're not getting Gangplank Galleon. If we still get a new DKC stage we'll get a TF stage instead.

 

[S_B]

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.

Rock on, man, and your reaction was heartwarming.

I feel like Ridley and KKR were victories for many reasons, including the fact that true heavyweights with large presences and large hurtboxes were still super rare in this game even up to SSB4 where we only really had 3.

I've been so sick of small, quick characters basically dominating SSB for most of its competitive existence, I want heavyweights to take the spotlight for a change.

Now that we have them, I just hope Sakurai and co can ensure they're viable in tournaments as they're hype AF to watch in action.

 

[Jurae818]

Day four of this dream coming true. BKupa666 , thank you for all that you did in leading the Kutthroats. It really says something when you make your voice heard and I stood by that notion that keeping silent or settling for less never cut it. We yelled and our voices were heard. It's a really good feeling to see our work bear fruit.

 

[Empty Number]

Thought you guys might enjoy this:

They make good stuff.

 

[Sirfishe]

one of my biggest fears for King K. Rool is that he is going to easily get combo up because he is such a big character. I hope he is better than bowser because I do not want him to be low teir. High mid tier the least

 

[BKupa666]

Thank you for all the kind words about my video and essay.

https://smashboards.com/threads/want-to-sign-a-thank-you-kard-to-sakurai-post-here.457270/

Here's the thread where anyone who wants their name on the thank-you letter to Sakurai can say so. Others are still working on the translation and artwork so there's some time built in for people to post in that thread and become part of the project-of-sorts.

Also one thing before I forget, there's a Donkey Kong cartoon reference among K. Rool's images. I've seen people say this is an allusion to Skidda, or Troff and Scoff, but this pairing of palettes is way too suspect to be a coincidence. Keep in mind Sakurai is the same guy who made an Eddie the Mean Old Yeti reference on the Brawl DOJO and gave DK the wind-up banana slamma as a Neutral Special.

Spoiler

 

[Maxoxpower]

i love K.ROOL so much that i celebrate it with ... the kid of my girlfriend.
He really know WHO IS K.ROOL now

 

[S_B]

one of my biggest fears for King K. Rool is that he is going to easily get combo up because he is such a big character. I hope he is better than bowser because I do not want him to be low teir. High mid tier the least

This is the game where I hope they finally make heavies truly viable.

I mean, this match is hype AF to watch:
https://youtu.be/znyiqOm93bg?t=9h25m35s
I want to see this kind of thing in grand finals on a regular basis instead of two small, quick things poking each other for 25 minutes.

 

[SmashKeks]

So, here's a thought I had: Assuming K. Rool makes his claim as a mainstay in the Donkey Kong and wider Nintendo sphere from here on, Smash marking only the beginning of his grand return, do any of us worry about how he will be portrayed out of Rare's hands? One of the things a lot of us like about K. Rool is just how cruel and evil he his when compared to most of the wider Nintendo cast, rivaling only Ridley afaik (I can't speak on Wolf; haven't played a Star Fox game yet.). K. Rool isn't interested in stealing princesses or eating all the food, heck he hates bananas, nay, K. Rool is driven by little more than a petty, searing hatred for the Kongs and the wish to see them all dead. Do you think Nintendo can illustrate just what made K. Rool so psychotically awesome in the past? Things like torturing DK in DKC2 on his Flying Croc, or sitting in his chair like a Bond villain in DKC64?

*EDIT* To be fair, maybe it's a little disingenuous to neglect to mention Ganondorf when talking who's the most evil of Nintendo villains, but thought he wants to take over the world, he's always been kind of a sidelines villain imo. We don't see him torture or starve people, and do we really have a good vision of what his takeover would look like? if it's just destruction and monsters, then he's a generic cartoon villain twirling his black moustache. If he has a more nuanced approach where he truly thinks he'll be a better ruler than the Goddess Hylia, then for the love of Link SHOW US THAT STORY.

 

[Jestar]

I found this amazing piece of K. Rool art::

http://mast3r-rainb0w.tumblr.com/post/176790874692/king-k-rool-has-come-aboard-to-smash-ultimate-by

Also I found this to be perfectly appropriate for this special moment in history:

Source

 

[The King of Skulls]

Kongratulations to the King!

I've been out of Smash Speculation since the release on WiiU, and even then I mostly lurked around the Ridley threads. That being said, K. Rool has always been one of my top picks for newcomers.

Imagine my utter awe at the end of the direct, gazing at my Galaxy's screen as I stood admist the Drive-Thru breakfast rush when my number 1 most wanted beat the crap out o' Dedede. I did a little hop up and down in euphoria!

My connection with DKC isn't really that deep. I played a lot of the GBA port of DKC1, got about halfway through DKC3, and really enjoyed DKCR. However, I absolutely loved his boss fight and characterization. It also helps that I have a love for reptiles in general.

I'm uber excited to take him for a spin, and even if he doesn't displace Bowser as my main, he'll still definitely end up on my most played list.

 

[Diem]

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm happy for you all. I don't even really know anything about King K. Rool, but seeing the amount of support he got made me interested in the character. Seeing him in action after he was announced made me really happy we got him, because he looks like such a fun addition to the roster. Also, it means Donkey Kong, one of Nintendo's first franchises, finally gets some proper respect.

And I'm happy for myself. Earlier in the Direct, my much less plausible dream of Dark Samus being a playable character became a reality. I was happy with Ridley, but Dark Samus was a much larger desire, even as just an Echo Fighter. Wednesday was a victory for us all.

 

[Klimax]

Just look how popular he is ! From all of the newcomers, his videos have the most views, in just 3 days !