This article is about the character King K. Rool, the main antagonist of theDonkey Kong franchise. For other uses, seeKing K. Rool (disambiguation).

"K. Rool" redirects here. For his ancestor fromSuper Donkey Kong with Mario 2, seeCranky K. Rool.

King K. Rool
Spirit artwork fromSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
Species	Kremling
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Donkey Kong Bananza (2025)
Latest portrayal	Tsuguo Mogami (2025–present)
Member of	Kremling Krew (leader)

“I've been waiting a long time for this moment. Soon,Donkey Kong and his pretty littleisland... will be no more.”

—King K. Rool,Donkey Kong 64

King K. Rool (sometimes shortened toK. Rool orRool) is the arch-enemy ofDonkey Kong and the main antagonist of theDonkey Kong franchise. He is a large potbelliedKremling usually seen with a bulbous, bloodshot eye who has undergone several different aliases while leading theKremling Krew, usually for a scheme that involves stealing theKongs'banana hoard.

Creation[edit]

OriginalDonkey Kong Country concept artwork of King K. Rool (as Krudd)

“Never expected old K.Rool to make it out of DKC, let alone turn up in#SmashBros nearly 25 years later. Maybe I should have spent a bit more than 5 minutes coming up with his slightly rubbish name.”

—Gregg Mayles on King K. Rool's name

During early production ofDonkey Kong Country, the character that would become King. K Rool was named "Krudd".^[1] Another proposed idea had the character named "King Klinker" and have him paired with a female Kremling named "Queen Krapp".^[2] Later in development, "Kommander K. Rool" was considered as the character's name.^[3] This planned name was given a brief nod in the fake credits during his boss fight, which mentioned him as being the "Kommander" of the game.

When asked what the K in "K. Rool" stands for, Gregg Mayles replied "Nothing! It was just a way of making him seem more important, that he'd added it to inflate his ego. In hindsight, it could have been something tonal like 'Kremling', or something deliberately out of character like Keith. What do you reckon it should stand for?"^[4]

His Kaptain K. Rool alter ego was designed bySteve Mayles.^[5] Baron K. Roolenstein was designed byMark Stevenson.^[6]

History[edit]

Donkey Kong Country series[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

Artwork fromDonkey Kong Country, depicting the first design of King K. Rool

King K. Rool first appears inDonkey Kong Country as the seventh and final boss. K. Rool, as the main antagonist, is the catalyst of the game's events, since his minions stealDonkey Kong'sbanana hoard, promptingDonkey Kong andDiddy Kong (whom he frees from aDK Barrel) to go all the way over to K. Rool's ship, theGangplank Galleon, andface him in battle. King K. Rool attacks bythrowing his crown like a boomerang. Without the crown on his head, K. Rool can be stomped. After four hits, K. Rool causes cannonballs to drop from the sky. After K. Rool takes three more hits, the false ending credits ("kredits") are shown, featuring names of Kremlings as programmers, including King K. Rool himself as "kommander". After the "kredits" are shown, King K. Rool gets back up and tries to stomp on the Kongs by jumping: first making long jumps, then long and short jumps, then long, short, and very short jumps. K. Rool is defeated completely after three more hits. K. Rool also appears after the cast of characters is shown in theGame Boy Advanceremake, where he forces Donkey, Diddy, Candy and Cranky Kong off the ship by threatening to blow up Kong Island with his onboard cannons.

Some of King K. Rool's voice clips fromDonkey Kong 64 are reused in the second remake.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[edit]

Kaptain K. Rool

InDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, taking place after the events of the first game, K. Rool (under the alias ofKaptain K. Rool) kidnaps Donkey Kong and holds him ransom over atCrocodile Isle, demanding the banana hoard in exchange. Diddy refuses K. Rool's offer, and he goes on a journey to rescue him, now accompanied by his girlfriendDixie Kong.

K. Rool is supposedly a student atKong Kollege, as one ofWrinkly Kong's lines of dialogue is asking the Kongs if K. Rool has done his homework. K. Rool is not a skilled sailor despite being a pirate, and he is responsible for multiple shipwrecks such as the one in Krem Quay.^[7]

Kaptain K. Rool is first fought inK. Rool Duel, the boss level ofThe Flying Krock. He is first seen whacking Donkey Kong with the butt of hisblunderbuss and shootingkannonballs at him, though only when first visited (later visits show him simply shooting a kannonball out of his blunderbuss before starting). K. Rool's main actions are to shoot kannonballs, both regular and spiked, as well as to dash back and forth with his blunderbuss. Kaptain K. Rool takes damage each time a kannonball is thrown into his blunderbuss, which causes it to spark and eventually backfire, causing him to be covered in soot as well as K. Rool looking to the screen in shock immediately beforehand. Late into the battle, K. Rool begins a tactic of turning invisible and shooting light-blue, red, and purple smoke, which briefly freeze, slow, and invert the D-Pad controls, respectively. After nine hits, just before K. Rool can resume fighting, Donkey Kong breaks free and uppercuts him through the ceiling of the Flying Krock (in the GBA remake, he instead goes flying through the cockpit, causing the Flying Krock to crash), with K. Rool collapsing into the swampy waters of Crocodile Isle. In the SNES version, he falls into Krem Quay and ends up being preyed on by carnivorous fish, while in the GBA version, he instead falls directly into the Lost World and challenges Diddy and Dixie to fight him there.

K. Rool is fought a second time atKrocodile Kore in theLost World, accessible after collecting everyKremkoin. After shooting out some fish from his blunderbuss, K. Rool shoots several kannonballs and lastly abarrel containing a kannonball. The battle ends with K. Rool defeated once the kannonball enters his blunderbuss, which explodes as a result. From this, K. Rool is launched into a geyser that acts as a power source to Crocodile Isle and becomes stuck as the energy continues to build up until finally exploding, sinking Crocodile Isle underwater. The ending scene shows a ship sailing away from the island's remains, with a sinister laugh playing as it sails over the horizon. In theremake, K. Rool and his ship are bombed byFunky Kong from hisGyrocopter, with K. Rool vowing to have revenge.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble![edit]

Baron K. Roolenstein

The title of being theKremling Krew leader seemingly goes from K. Rool toKAOS during the events ofDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. K. Rool, going by the alias ofBaron K. Roolenstein, is not seen until the penultimate battle atKastle Kaos, when the red curtain lifts. After confessing to a plot of world domination involving KAOS, K. Rool says aScooby-Doo-esque line, "[...] and I'd have gotten away with it... ...if it wasn't for you meddling kids," before taking over for the remainder of the battle. K. Rool uses ahelicopter pack on his back to fly and a remote control to send blasts of electricity. K. Rool can be attacked from having a barrel hit his helicopter pack, which Dixie and Kiddy can spawn by grabbing on a certainhandle. When K. Rool is defeated, KAOS crashes on the ground, freeingDonkey Kong andDiddy Kong.

Baron K. Roolenstein is fought a second time inKnautilus, accessible inKrematoa after Dixie and Kiddy recover all fivecogs. The battle is different, as K. Rool is often in the background and only sometimes arrives in front, where the Kongs are. K. Rool attacks by launching fireballs, and later electrical beams. Like before, K. Rool can be damaged fromSteel Kegs hitting his helicopter pack, which for this battle applies also to when K. Rool is in the background. After ten hits, K. Rool is defeated, losing control over his helicopter pack while moving out of control in the Knautilus.

Baron K. Roolenstein is last shown using the stolenHover Craft on theNorthern Kremisphere map, after the player characters free theBanana Queen. She flies after K. Rool as revenge for being imprisoned and drops an egg onto him, trapping K. Rool as his eyes peek out of the eggshell, appearing confused.

Donkey Kong Country book series[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

At the end of theDonkey Kong Country novel, King K. Rool announces to the Kremlings his intention to launch a final attack on the Kong's home, following the destruction of their factory onDonkey Kong Island. He later flees with his speedboat from Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, andCranky Kong when the three characters board theGangplank Galleon, hearing of his scheme.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle[edit]

Taking place after the first book,Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle follows the plot of King K. Rool managing the reconstruction of a factory within the abandonedBig Ape City. He orders the use of a "truth machine" onFunky Kong at one point to determine if Funky is a spy. K. Rool returns in the climax, shooting rockets at Funky's barrel plane from a large zeppelin. BothDonkey Kong andDiddy Kong briefly encounter King K. Rool upon landing on the zeppelin and tell him that the ship will be blown up. K. Rool pushes himself past the Kongs, escaping, stating that he will not be aboard when that occurs. K. Rool's factory is ultimately destroyed when the zeppelin, which hasTNT Barrels, lands in it.

Donkey Kong Country: Rescue on Crocodile Isle[edit]

K. Rool appears in his Kaptain guise in the third installment of theDonkey Kong chapter book series,Donkey Kong Country: Rescue on Crocodile Isle.

Club Nintendo[edit]

King K. Rool as he appeared in theClub Nintendo comics

King K. Rool appears in the GermanClub Nintendo storyDonkey Kong Country. He has human-like hands with five fingers and nails, though his feet are still clawed and reptilian. K. Rool is first seen sealing Diddy Kong into aDK Barrel before stealing Donkey Kong'sbanana hoard. He later appears on the Gangplank Galleon, where he battles but loses to both Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

His pirate alias, Kaptain K. Rool, also appears at the start of theDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest comic special to taunt a captured Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong Land series[edit]

Donkey Kong Land[edit]

The battle against King K. Rool inDonkey Kong Land

King K. Rool makes his second appearance inDonkey Kong Land, the follow-up toDonkey Kong Country. He is called byCranky Kong to steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard,^[8] as part of a bet that Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong cannot have a successful journey on aGame Boy system. K. Rool is the final boss, and he is fought inK. Rool's Kingdom at the end ofBig Ape City. He retains his moves of throwing his crown and dashing to other sides of the screen. After six hits, K. Rool starts using a belly flop attack, which he does not use inDonkey Kong Country, and takes twelve hits to defeat altogether.

Donkey Kong Land 2[edit]

Kaptain K. Rool returns as the main antagonist ofDonkey Kong Land 2, where his role in the plot is identical toDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Kaptain K. Rool is first fought onK. Rool Duel at the end of the Flying Krock. He only shoots kannonballs and lastly a barrel with a kannonball that can be thrown into his blunderbuss. At the end, Donkey Kong breaks free and uppercuts K. Rool out of the arena, results in his defeat.

Kaptain K. Rool is fought again atKrocodile Kore in the Lost World, again requiring every Kremkoin to access. It is mostly the same, but like inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, only a single kannonball is required to defeat K. Rool. Unlike before, K. Rool is not seen escaping from Crocodile Isle as it sinks underwater during the end cutscene afterward.

Donkey Kong Land III[edit]

K. Rool reappears in his ancestral^[9] baron costume inDonkey Kong Land III. He is among the competitors who searches for theLost World. Baron K. Roolenstein is never titled as such in the game, only asK. Rool (incorrectly titledK Rool in levels where he is fought). He is first fought inK Rool Duel, where his attack is to shoot electric beams and, after being hit by abarrel, bounce around briefly. It takes only three hits to defeat K. Rool.

K. Rool is fought again inK Rools Last Stand, at the end of the Lost World. K. Rool attacks using bombs, besides electrical beams, and is vulnerable to barrels like before. Following K. Rool's defeat, Dixie and Kiddy are announced the winners of the Lost World contest, and K. Rool gives the sixWatches to the Kongs, challenging them to complete the Time Attack mode.

Super Mario-kun[edit]

King K. Rool as he appears inSuper Mario-kun

King K. Rool appears involumes 14 and15 ofSuper Mario-kun in the arcs based offDonkey Kong Country. Here, his role is the same as the game: he is the main villain and he steals Donkey Kong's banana hoard, but in addition to fighting Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, he also fights Mario and Yoshi, who are also present in said arcs. Like Bowser, he is shown having a comical side, but most of the time, he is cunning and cruel.

In two special chapters involumes 22 and23, based off theDonkey Kong Country TV series, K. Rool is once again the main antagonist. In the first chapter he is after the Crystal Coconut, while in the second one he ambushes DK andBluster Kong, who were trying to immortalize forCandy Kong the first sunset of 2000, on the mountains, failing miserably.

Super Mario (Kodansha manga)[edit]

King K. Rool is the main antagonist inSuper Donkey Kong with Mario 1 andSuper Donkey Kong with Mario 2. In these appearances, he lacks his bloodshot eye. In the first volume, an adaptation ofDonkey Kong Country, he allies withManky Kong, whose information helps him conquer the island. In the final confrontation onGangplank Galleon, K. Rool eats some of Donkey Kong's bananas and grows to gigantic size. However, with the help of Mario, Donkey Kong defeats K. Rool by sucking him up into aSteel Barrel and tossing the barrel into the ocean.

In the second volume, the barrel drifts to theMushroom Kingdom, wherePrincess Peach opens it, unleashing K. Rool. Gathering his forces back together, he conquers the Kingdom and forces theToads to help him get revenge by returning to DK Isle and challenging Mario and the Kongs to a series of Picross duels. K. Rool eventually loses against Mario and the Mushroom Kingdom is freed from his clutches.

Donkey Kong Country television series[edit]

King K. Rool, as he appears in theDonkey Kong Country television series

“Where I come from, we do things with style, drama, flair.”

—King K. Rool, "Bluster's Sale Ape-Stravaganza"

K. Rool is one of the main characters and the main antagonist in theDonkey Kong Country animated series, where his name is typically pronounced "Kuh-Rool"; "Kay-Rool" is only said twice. In the show, his personality is relatively the same as in the games. He is bossy, loud, megalomaniacal, flamboyant, dramatic, and slightly clumsy; despite this, however, he is not without a soft side, as seen in episodes such as "Baby Kong Blues" and "Four Weddings and a Coconut".

King K. Rool's physical appearance is slightly altered from his video game counterpart. His tail is gone and one eye is not bloodshot, unlike in the games, though it does bulge to large proportions when he is excited or irritated, and it briefly appears bloodshot after DK punches it at the end of "Ape Foo Young" and after he rolls K. Rool into a bowling ball in "A Thin Line Between Love & Ape". His eyes also are not connected as they are in the games, and instead are separated. K. Rool's wrist bands are more detailed, instead of being plain gold, as is his crown, which also has red jewels on top of the prongs. King K. Rool's cape is also much shorter in length in theDonkey Kong Country cartoon. K. Rool also has no combat abilities and thus can easily be defeated by Donkey Kong. K. Rool is a strategist instead of a combatant, trying to outsmart the Kongs using his army of loyal, yet dimwitted Kremlings.

His voice, provided byBen Campbell, is radically different from the games, such asDonkey Kong 64. He constantly brags about his brain and emphasizes this by using more complex jargon. Often, with the aid of his henchmenKlump andKrusha, he attempts to steal theCrystal Coconut and use its power to ruleKongo Bongo Island and possibly the world. He seems to always be hatching plans to steal the coconut; however, they always lead to complete failure or humiliating defeats due to a combination of the stupidity of his troops and the resourcefulness of the Kongs. K. Rool has a very low tolerance for the incompetence of both Krusha and Klump, to the point where, in one episode, he mutters to himself "Do I really want the Crystal Coconut this badly?" while Krusha and Klump try to decode a message they themselves wrote. When not scheming to take the Coconut, he otherwise plans to eliminate Donkey Kong, who is the Coconut's main protector, by incriminating him, or to take overBluster Barrelworks to manufacture exploding barrels. His various other plans vary from episode to episode: for example, during a heatwave, he plots to steal a bunch of Donkey Kong's "Coconut Chill" shakes to keep him and his Kremlings cool.

The series also expands King K. Rool's backstory slightly, with the episode "Best of Enemies" revealing that he was once friends with Cranky Kong and that the two were notorious pranksters; another episode entitled "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" also has King K. Rool mentioning his mother and various unnamed siblings. TheDonkey Kong Country cartoon also introduces a rival of sorts to King K. Rool, a pirate namedKaptain Skurvy, who also wishes to obtain the Crystal Coconut.

In a possible alternate timeline seen in the episode "It's a Wonderful Life", in which Donkey Kong sees what Kongo Bongo Island would be like if he did not exist, King K. Rool is portrayed as a somewhat timid freedom fighter in a feud with Diddy Kong, who is portrayed as a power-hungry tyrant.

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

King K. Rool inDonkey Kong 64

King K. Rool has a new scheme to destroyDonkey Kong Island inDonkey Kong 64, by using theBlast-o-Matic from the rebuiltCrocodile Isle, which breaks down and undergoes repairs after crashing into a rock. To buy time for the repairs, K. Rool hasDiddy Kong,Tiny Kong,Lanky Kong, andChunky Kong imprisoned and steals Donkey Kong'sGolden Banana Hoard again. He has some similarities to theJames Bond villainBlofeld, petting a Klaptrap in the manner of Blofeld petting his cat as well as having his face largely obscured in earlier cutscenes. However, K. Rool breathes and speaks similarly toStar Wars villainDarth Vader. K. Rool's laugh uses a pitched-down version of the "Evil LaughMedia:Evil Laugh.oga" stock sound effect from theCartoon Trax Volume 1 album,^[10] which is reused forKloaks andKrocs in theGame Boy Advance remakes ofDonkey Kong Country 2 andDonkey Kong Country 3, respectively. He witnesses the Kongs' progress at parts of the journey while also scolding the Kremlings for their incompetence. At one point, he sends a large redKlaptrap after aKasplat for trying to escape.

A portrait of Kaptain K. Rool

Portraits of Kaptain K. Rool are in various areas, includingGloomy Galleon's sunken ships (as well as "Kaptain K. Rool's Log Book"), several log cabins inCrystal Caves, and inCreepy Castle's Museum.

Around the time the Kongs infiltrateHideout Helm, the Blast-o-Matic becomes nearly operational. K. Rool orders the machine to activate, ignoring warnings that it could explode. Later, when the Kongs deactivate the Blast-o-Matic entirely, K. Rool tries to escape in hisKremling craft, but a released K. Lumsy knocks it to the ground. The final battle takes place in theboxing arena within the Kremling craft, complete with spectators and King K. Rool, as his boxer aliasKing Krusha K. Rool. There are five rounds, each involving a different Kong:

• Round 1: K. Rool fightsDonkey Kong. He attacks by ground pounding to produce shockwaves. From the perspective of aBaboon Blastcannon, K. Rool is shown throwing punches a number of times but gets distracted by the cheering crowd. Donkey Kong can hit K. Rool while he is distracted. With each hit, K. Rool generates more shockwaves per each ground pound, slowly forming two rows of four shockwaves. After four hits, the next round will begin.
• Round 2: K. Rool fightsDiddy Kong. He attacks by throwing his right boxing glove as a boomerang. Diddy can use hisRocketbarrel Barrels andPopguns to cause a light fixture to fall onto K. Rool. The fourth and final light becomes stuck on K. Rool, going into the next round.
• Round 3: K. Rool fightsLanky Kong. K. Rool is still unable to see because of the light stuck on his head, allowing to Lanky use his elastic arms to punch number buttons and grab a barrel that releases a giant banana peel when thrown. K. Rool sprints towards Lanky if the latter usesTrombone Tremor, slipping if the banana peel is in the way or squishing Lanky otherwise. After slipping four times, the next round starts.
• Round 4: K. Rool fightsTiny Kong, afterKritters manage to get the light fixture removed. K. Rool uses the same ground-pound move from the first round, which Tiny avoid with herPony Tail Twirl, but this time, it injures K. Rool. While K. Rool is hurt, Tiny can useMini-Monkey to enter a hole in K. Rool's left shoe and shoot feathers at his moving toes until they become red. After his four toes become red, the final round begins.
• Round 5: K. Rool is lastly fought byChunky Kong. K. Rool both runs and rebounds off of the ropes while invisible to attack. Chunky can make K. Rool and aHunky Chunky barrel visible bySimian Slamming a switch in the middle of the ring and then usingGorilla Gone pads. When Chunky enters a Hunky Chunky barrel, both he and K. Rool appear on opposite corners of the ring. K. Rool charges at Chunky, attempting to uppercut him, but Chunky can counter this by using aPrimate Punch. Following the second and third hit, K. Rool becomes invisible while attempting to strike, and after a fourth hit, K. Rool collapses in defeat. While K. Rool does recover and tries attacking Chunky from behind, he is distracted byCandy Kong so thatFunky Kong can send him flying. K. Rool lands intoK. Lumsy's Prison, where an angryK. Lumsy beats him as revenge for being locked up before sending K. Rool off once more.

Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong[edit]

InUho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong, K. Rool, just like in the TV series, has his mind set on taking the Crystal Coconut from the Kongs and becoming the DK Isle ruler. Most of his plans parallels the one from the episodes (even if only three chapters are directly based off them). Like in the cartoon, he is followed by General Klump and Krusha.

Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald[edit]

Kaptain K. Rool is also featured as the main antagonist in an obscure GermanDonkey Kong comic,Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald; however, he is always referred to as King K. Rool. In this story, K. Rool sends several members of the Kremling Krew to steal all the bananas on Donkey Kong Island, apparently hoping to starve the Kongs to make them weaker. K. Rool himself appears only near the end of the comic in the "Lost Land". When K. Rool notices that the Kongs are in the Lost Land, he, at first, sends several dozen Kremlings at Donkey, Diddy and Dixie Kong, thinking the sheer number of Kremlings would defeat the Kongs. Unfortunately for K. Rool, the Kongs managed to pulverize his Kremling warriors. Taking matters into his own hands, K. Rool tries to blast the Kongs with apineapple-launching blunderbuss. At first, it seems the Kongs are overpowered, until Donkey Kong finds and throws a nearbyTNT Barrel into the pile of bananas K. Rool is standing on. The resulting explosion buries K. Rool under the huge pile of bananas. King K. Rool is last seen having made a deal with Donkey Kong: in exchange for digging him out of the giant pile of fruit, he would have all the bananas returned to the Kongs.

Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits[edit]

K. Rool is also featured as the villain of another Donkey Kong comic calledDonkey Kong in When the Banana Splits. Here, K. Rool, along with severalKritters, manage to steal all of the Kongs'Golden Bananas. Unfortunately for K. Rool, his heist is a failure, as he steals the bananas when the Kongs are home, so they easily track him and his Kritter minions down. In the end, K. Rool is defeated by Donkey Kong's Super DuperSimian Slam and the Kongs reclaim their stolen bananas.

Camp Hyrule[edit]

King K. Rool inKremling Krunch

King K. Rool has appeared in the different iterations ofCamp Hyrule. In the 1999 version, he appears in only two minigames:Donkey Konk, as one of the Kremlings to appear and bonk from the hatches in the wall; andKremling Krunch, which has an opposite objective. During the end of the 2003 iteration ofCamp Hyrule, King K. Rool destroyed the campsite with a massive earthquake and an avalanche. As a prize for winning a tournament, aKing K. Rool piñataMedia:Camp Hyrule 2003 K Rool pinata.jpg was also given out to one camper.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

SmashWiki article:King K. Rool

The King K. Rool Mii Outfit inSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U

Atrophy of King K. Rool can be obtained inSuper Smash Bros. Melee,Super Smash Bros. Brawl (utilizing hisDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast design),Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, andSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U. The trophy inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl incorrectly states that Kaptain K. Rool is his brother. A few other references and cameos include "KROOL" being a name that is displayed upon pressing the "Random Name" button inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl and his own downloadableMii Brawlercostume inSuper Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS andSuper Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

King K. Rool inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate

SmashWiki article:King K. Rool (SSBU)

King K. Rool is a playablefighter inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was first announced in his reveal trailer at the end of aNintendo Direct on August 8, 2018.^[11] In his debut trailer,Donkey Kong andDiddy Kong are pranked byKing Dedede wearing a King K. Rool costume, before the actual King K. Rool knocks him aside, shocking the Kongs and then roaring before gameplay footage is shown. The trailer ends with Donkey Kong knocked back only to rush on all fours at K. Rool, with the latter doing in kind, before proceeding to have their fists make contact in midair and release a shockwave that causes the jungle to sway. After the logo, more in-game footage of K. Rool is shown, where he feigns defeat as he did inDonkey Kong Country.

Several of King K. Rool'smoves reference earlier boss fights of his, such as using hiscrown as a boomerang, ablunderbuss, thePropellerpack, and boxing gloves, while hisFinal Smash involves him firing theBlast-o-Matic. King K. Rool has the unique moveGut Check, in which he uses hisbelly armor to counter or reflect opponents' attacks, and it can also protect him when he uses hisforward tilt anddash attack. K. Rool's armor takes 47 seconds to fully restore, with four seconds per hit point. K. Rool's armor shattering stuns him in the manner of ashield break. King K. Rool is the secondheaviest fighter, being lighter than onlyBowser. King K. Rool's voice clips are of realistic crocodile grunts, and hisvictory theme is a rendition of the first few notes of "Gang-Plank Galleon" fromDonkey Kong Country. K. Rool's name isannounced differently in the Japanese and Koreanlanguages.

The Mii Fighter costume of King K. Rool returns in the base game, with an updated look to match his design as a fighter inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. K. Rool'sfighter spirit uses his artwork fromDK: Jungle Climber, and his alter egos Kaptain K. Rool and Baron K. Roolenstein each appear as aprimary spirit.

InAdventure Mode: World of Light, King K. Rool appears in the opening cutscene with the other fighters. He is hit byGaleem's beams and imprisoned along with every other fighter exceptKirby, andPuppet Fighters of K. Rool and the other captured fighters are made. K. Rool is defeated and freed from control in theMysterious Dimension.

King K. Rool also appears in several character reveal trailers. At the end ofIncineroar's andKen's reveal trailer, K. Rool joinsBowser Jr. andVillager to fight Incineroar.^[12] Due to theBoxing Ring setting and K. Rool wearing boxing gloves, it supposedly references his battle inDonkey Kong 64.

King K. Rool also has a role inBanjo andKazooie's reveal trailer.^[13] K. Rool is asleep in Donkey Kong's Treehouse with Diddy and Donkey Kong. In a similar vein to K. Rool's reveal trailer,Duck Hunt pretends to beBanjo & Kazooie before the real duo ambush them. At the end, following an attack fromThe Mighty Jinjonator, King K. Rool collapses, before crashing into the ground and boulder falling on top, referencingGruntilda's defeat inBanjo-Kazooie.

In Sephiroth's reveal trailer, King K. Rool is seen on his back behind Pikachu and Pit during the fight against Galeem and an army of Master Hand clones.

King K. Rool also appears in the reveal trailer for Sora as one of the many Nintendo characters who are awakened by Sora from trophy form and witness him and Mario shaking hands.

Classic Mode route[edit]

King K. Rool'sClassic Mode route has him fight against some of the heaviest characters in the game, including his arch-nemesis Donkey Kong and fellowSuper Mario villain Bowser. The title of the route uses boxing terminology, referencing the final fight ofDonkey Kong 64.

Donkey Konga[edit]

King K. Rool sometimes dances to the music and is the focus of theBash K.Rool minigame inDonkey Konga, where the player's goal is to hit him with aSteel Barrel several times. He is also mentioned in the opening scene by Diddy, who claims that the bongos that Donkey Kong found could be a trap of K. Rool's.

DK series[edit]

DK: King of Swing[edit]

Artwork fromDK: King of Swing

King K. Rool returns as the main antagonist ofDK: King of Swing. He steals everymedal to become the self-proclaimed king of theJungle Jam competition, soDonkey Kong goes on a journey to get them back. Each world begins with a few medals dropping out of K. Rool's hovercraft. King K. Rool is fought in hisnamesake stage onK. Kruizer III. The first part involves racing onPeg Boards, with Donkey Kong having to reach the end first. K. Rool dismisses it as practice before the second and final part, where the two battle on Peg Boards. K. Rool and Donkey Kong each try to attack by charging into each other. After enough hits, K. Rool is defeated, earning Donkey Kong the last medal before leaving with K. Rool's hovercraft and all of the other medals.

The game is the first to feature K. Rool as a playable character, specifically inJungle Jam mode, where he is the largest and most powerful of them. K. Rool is partnered by default withBubbles, the main character ofClu Clu Land.

DK: Jungle Climber[edit]

InDK: Jungle Climber, King K. Rool appears as the main antagonist. He is first encountered at the peak ofSun Sun Island, where he and his entourage of fiveKritters steal the fiveCrystal Bananas from the banana alienXananab. When King K. Rool notices Donkey, Diddy, and Cranky Kong are heading their way, they quickly flee the scene using a dimensional portal device known as aSpirowarp. After this encounter, King K. Rool is encountered several more times on the various islands and dimensions of the game, usually appearing annoyed at Donkey, Diddy, Cranky and Xananab pursuing him before having one of his Kritter followers power up with a Crystal Banana and battle them.

After DK claims the fourth Crystal Banana from King K. Rool's completedMega Amp and final Kritter subordinate on theKing Kruizer IV, King K. Rool flees through a wormhole to thePlanet Plantaen after feigning a fight. Chased to a dead end on Planet Plantaen, K. Rool battles Donkey Kong, attacking by jumping at him, charging into him, and throwing exploding spiked balls, but is defeated in this battle. Refusing to submit to his enemies, he uses his last Crystal Banana to grow larger and become even more powerful for a true final battle. In the Japanese version, right before the battle, he also expressed a desire to use his Crystal Banana to obliterate Planet Plantaen if it came down to it.^[14]

In his new form, King K. Rool attacks by exhaling fire, exploding mines, summoning meteors of various sizes, gales of wind, and trying to crush the Kongs with his hands. In this form, King K. Rool's only vulnerable spot is his face, which, once hit five times, depletes King K. Rool's health, depowering him and leaving him unconscious while the expelled Crystal Banana is claimed. King K. Rool is last seen inDK: Jungle Climber being taken back to his and the Kong's home planet, dragged through space by a rope attached to the back of aBanana Ship. It is unknown what the Kongs did with him once they returned home.

Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast[edit]

King K. Rool is an unlockable playable character inDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast. He uniquely rides a barrel-like vehicle that emits a jet flame, has a unique claw attack, and a different slipstream. He has high boost, speed and agility, like his rivalCranky Kong. K. Rool is unlocked by winning Challenge 31 ofCandy's Challenges.

Mario Super Sluggers[edit]

K. Rool's new outfit fromMario Super Sluggers

King K. Rool makes his first appearance in theSuper Mario franchise as a playable character inMario Super Sluggers. Despite normally being enemies with the Kongs, K. Rool is part of Donkey Kong's team because he was impressed with their baseball skills. His artwork for the game is a variation of his artwork used forDK: Jungle Climber, albeit with his pharaoh-like clothing used for his design in the game. King K. Rool bats with his right hand, and fields with his left hand. King K. Rool uses a scepter with a large gem to bat, with its sweetspot being the red area, and he is tied withBowser andPetey Piranha for being the most powerful batter. K. Rool's pitching is slightly above average. He is tied withPurple Toad for the weakest fielding ability andRed Magikoopa for being the slowest runner. King K. Rool has low stamina, but not as much as Petey Piranha. King K. Rool has great chemistry with the Kritters (regardless of color) andKing Boo whilst having poor chemistry with the Kongs andBowser.

During Challenge Mode, King K. Rool appears inDK Jungle, where he uses his green, red, blue, and brownKritter minions to challenge the protagonists. After losing, K. Rool and the Kritters are unlocked for play in all game modes.

Super Mario Odyssey[edit]

Though King K. Rool himself doesn't appear inSuper Mario Odyssey, he is referenced inNew Donk City as a street name titled "KROOL Av."

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

“King K. Rool is back in action! I've been trapped down here with my Kremling Krew. Where are those no-good banana bandits anyway?! Toothless and useless! But no matter. Now I can finally get my claws on that Banandium Root!”

—King K. Rool after being freed in theForbidden Layer

King K. Rool after being released inDonkey Kong Bananza

After a nearly 18-year absence from theDonkey Kong franchise, King K. Rool returns as the final boss ofDonkey Kong Bananza. He appears towards the end of the game in theForbidden Layer, where he is revealed to have been trapped underground while seeking theBanandium Root. Prior to the events of the game, he ordered his Kremling Krew to jump into the final sinkhole between the Forbidden Layer andPlanet Core, but the Banandium Root seized him and rejected his evil wish just as he was about to enter himself, blocking the way to the Planet Core in the process and trapping himself and the Kremlings as well.^[15] He is awoken byPauline's singing, and is subsequently disrupted byVoid Kong, who mistakenly believes he is the root itself. After opening his bloodshot eye, K. Rool uppercuts Void Kong into hisPay-Dirt Piledriver (destroying it in the process) before taking hisAll-Mine Remote and confronting Donkey Kong and Pauline (marking the first time K. Rool and Pauline interact in the franchise). He jumps into the Planet Core and makes his way to the root, intending to use it to turn the world into rotten banana mush for him to eat, with Donkey Kong and Pauline chasing after him.

Core King K. Rool

In the core, he uses the Banandium Root to turn himself intoCore King K. Rool. After K. Rool is defeated in the Planet Core, a fake-out credits sequence plays like the one inDonkey Kong Country before he uses his Propellerpack (which is now upgraded into a jet-pack) to chase after Donkey Kong and Pauline, who had wished on the root to return to the surface. He attempts, and fails, to get them to fall off of the banana platform they are on, either charging into them with his Propellerpack or using the All-Mine Remote to destroy sections of the banana platform. Once they reachNew Donk City, K. Rool manages to catch up to the root and uses it to trap the city under Banandium mush and renovate it in his likeness. When Donkey Kong and Pauline confront him in front ofNew Donk City Hall, he uses the root to manifest himself intoK. Rool, King of Rot. After K. Rool is defeated, Donkey Kong punches K. Rool and causes him to go flying off into the sky (similar to punching the Tikis and Snowmad bosses inDonkey Kong Country Returns andDonkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze respectively), as New Donk City is restored. In the post-game, the fight with K. Rool starting from the fake-out credits sequence can be replayed by speaking to the Banandium Root in theHeart of Gold.

WhenCranky Kong is spoken to throughout the game, he says that he is in theUnderground World because he is chasing after "a certain banana bandit", alluding to King K. Rool. In each layer, he complains about a different aspect of K. Rool, though everything he mentions could also describe Void Kong. The fact that he is referring to K. Rool is made more explicit in the post-game, as Cranky Kong admits that DK already defeated "that crook of a croc". Additionally, K. Rool, specifically his Baron K. Roolenstein alias, is indirectly mentioned in the description for the "Robot"fossil as a "maverick scientist"; the description also references how he created KAOS from his wife's pots and pans.

Although K. Rool himself does not appear in theDK Island & Emerald Rush DLC, Void Kong mentions K. Rool as a "greedy, scheme-stealing croc", fourstatues in his likeness modeled after his various boss forms can be collected and placed onDK Island, with two of them (regular King K. Rool and Flying King K. Rool) located on the deck of theGangplank Galleon, and the remaining two (Core King K. Rool from the first fight, and K. Rool, King of Rot from the final fight) being located on the shallows nearby Gangplank Galleon. Additionally, a figurehead of him is attached under the bowsprit of the Gangplank Galleon, with his new emblem also appearing on the ship as a plaque.

Unused appearances[edit]

Diddy Kong Pilot[edit]

K. Rool appears as a playable character in all builds ofDiddy Kong Pilot. Had the game not been canceled, this would've been K. Rool's first playable appearance.

In the earliest build seen at Space World 2000 and in the2001 iteration, K. Rool had a new alter-ego, Kamikaze K. Rool, who wore an aviator outfit and piloted a green plane with a sneering Kremling face painted on both sides and a nose with theZinger's color scheme.

In the Space World 2000 build, each pilot was going to have their own story mode, and K. Rool's story would have been called K. Rool's Gold. The intro blurbs revealed K. Rool would have been searching for El Dorado, the mythical city of gold after finding a stone tablet with a map in an ancient stone temple. The tablet led K. Rool to an island with a giant magical gate to El Dorado, where a quartet announce that they are the guardians of the gate and tell K. Rool that earlier Cranky Kong had failed to go through. The first guardian, Nikki, explained that only they had the magical power to open the gate, but first K. Rool would have to complete four tests to do so, with the first being to collect the fire key from Crackpot Keep.

While nothing more is known about the plot due to the build being unfinished, the accompanying illustration for K. Rool's Gold depicted K. Rool greedily looking over a pile of gold while a Kong genie, emerging from a nearby magic lamp, hovered behind him.^[16]

In the July 2001 build, these story modes appear to have been removed, though some sprites intended for story cutscenes remain in the game's data.

Inthe 2003 iteration, K. Rool wore his regular outfit, piloted a brown plane, and was the final member of Team Kremling. The final Kremling cup and final cup of the game was K. Rool Kup, which ended in a dogfight match where K. Rool attacked the player with spiked naval mines. After being defeated, K. Rool would have been unlocked as a playable pilot. As a racer, K. Rool had the highest top speed and weight of the cast in exchange for the lowest acceleration of the racers.

K. Rool was replaced withGruntilda in the final version of this iteration,Banjo-Pilot, as indicated by their stats, similar boss fight and shared plane.

General information[edit]

Physical description[edit]

“I'm just an old dried-up lizard!”

—King K. Rool, "Ape Foo Young"

King K. Rool's original design (left) and his design prior toDonkey Kong Bananza (right)

In King K. Rool's most common appearance, he wears a red cape and a gold crown, but he is fond of adopting many other looks and costumes as well. When he takes on the alias of Kaptain K. Rool, he trades in the cape for a brown trench coat and the crown for a pirate hat. When he becomes Baron K. Roolenstein, he wears a white lab coat and a tall prosthetic forehead with a small black wig resemblingFrankenstein's monster, and has a Propellerpack on his back. His outfit is based on a combination of Frankenstein's Monster as portrayed byBoris Karloff in theUniversal horror movieFrankenstein and the character of Baron Victor von Frankenstein (played byPeter Cushing) from the Hammer HorrorFrankenstein series. InMario Super Sluggers, K. Rool wears an Ancient Egyptian-styleusekh collar and loincloth, much like a pharaoh. Cranky Kong mentions in theDonkey Kong 64 instruction booklet that K. Rool had given up his silly disguises in that game. While he has not seriously gone incognito since Baron K. Roolenstein, for the final fight he goes by the moniker "King Krusha K. Rool" as a boxer. During this fight he sports a stereotypical one-piece as well as boxing gloves with a champion's belt.

K. Rool has three clawed toes on each foot and his hands each have four clawed fingers, though early appearances depict blunt or even nailed fingers. His Kaptain K. Rool and Baron K. Roolenstein sprites depict his hands as being much larger than in his typical appearances. K. Rool debuted with a tail, though its length and presence have varied between appearances. His tail was the longest inDonkey Kong 64, stubby inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, and completely absent inDK: King of Swing and the animated series. He is portrayed with a signature bloodshot eye, usually his left eye. K. Rool's skin is light green (though some appearances show it as dark green) and he has muscular arms, as well as usually being shown with jagged teeth.

InDonkey Kong 64, during the final battle in theboxing arena, King Krusha K. Rool (his boxing alias) is wearing a boxing outfit. He is wearing a blue spandex suit, which has a thick, white stripe on both sides. King Krusha K. Rool also has a champion's belt, which has a brown strap and a gold center, tied around his belly. He wears a pair of red boxing gloves, and a pair of reddish-pink shoes, which are almost the same color as his boxing gloves. A large hole appears in front of K. Rool's left shoe; inside of it, K. Rool is shown to have four toes. Contrarily, in his regular character model and artworks, K. Rool has three toes. For both his regular and his boxer alias, K. Rool's crown has eight prongs, fewer than that in theDonkey Kong Country games.

King K. Rool's underbelly was originally golden in texture and color (meant to be a piece of armor according to character designerSteve Mayles^[17]), but sinceDK: King of Swing his underbelly has been changed to a light flesh tone, and has lost the prominent vertical indentation down the middle. InSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, he regains the gold plate, which now has a sharp ridge along the edges but still lacks the vertical indentation; however,Palutena's Guidance mentions his "leathery" belly, though it is possible she is referring to the belly underneath the armor. In this game, his general head and body shape is more akin to the later games, though he has a tail again, albeit a short one. King K. Rool also has more pronounced scales in this game, akin to his design in theRare games. He is also once again depicted as being distinctly larger than Donkey Kong. His cape also appears to be slightly torn up at the bottom.

King K. Rool has seven other costumes to choose from inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, all of which change his colors. His orange costume resemblesKerozene from the Game Boy Advance version ofDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest andRe-Koil fromDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! It also resembles the red Kritters that appear in theDonkey Kong Country series. King K. Rool's blue costume resembles the armored blue Kritters that appear throughout theDonkey Kong Country series, as well asKrusha fromDonkey Kong Country andDonkey Kong 64. His yellow costume resemblesKutlass from Donkey Kong Country 2, as well asKopter as he appeared inDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast. King K. Rool's pink costume resemblesSkidda inDonkey Kong Country 3,Klump as he appears inDonkey Kong 64, and Kritters from the Game Boy Advance version ofDonkey Kong Country. King K. Rool's black costume resembles the armored Black Kritters fromDonkey Kong Country, while his brown costume resembles Klump's original appearance in said game, one of his alternate colors inDK: King of Swing, and a partial inversion of his normal colors. Lastly, King K. Rool has a white costume, which somewhat resembles an albino crocodile.

King K. Rool's design inDonkey Kong Bananza is largely based on hisSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate appearance, but with a few differences: his scales are square-shaped (alongside now being a slightly darker shade of green), his snout and teeth are more akin to that of his Rare-era design, his bulging eye is more bloodshot, his tail is back to its longer length again and his cape now has a slightly frayed hem instead of the large rips. He is also much larger in this game, even larger than he was inDonkey Kong Country andDonkey Kong 64. In his Core King K. Rool form, his eyes become golden yellow (including the blood vessels in his bulging eye), his belly armor slightly cracks, and his wristbands, crown, and cape turn into bananas and the gem holding the cape is replaced with his new emblem. He additionally gains two more bands near his shoulders.

Personality[edit]

“That slimy, scaly, foul-breathed lizard, King K. Rool! Professional bad guy, the big daddy of evil.”

—Cranky Kong, "Bad Hair Day"

K. Rool, as his name, a pun on "cruel", may imply, is brutal, ruling his minions through threats and intimidation, often punishing them severely when they fail. This is mentioned byKlubba inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, who says that K. Rool mistreats his minions.^[18] This is also seen inDonkey Kong 64, when he punishes a purple-hairedKasplat via a giant redKlaptrap for losingBlueprints and calling him "fatso", not realizing that K. Rool was listening. Even his most powerful followers seem to fear his wrath, as displayed inDonkey Kong 64, when his subtle display of anger results inArmy Dillo fainting on the spot. He does not seem to respect his henchmen, the Kritters, much better either. InMario Super Sluggers, he refers to brown Kritter as "the dirty under-belly of the Kremling Krew", and inDonkey Kong Bananza, when noticing their lack of presence shortly after being freed from encapsulation when explaining to Donkey Kong and Pauline why he was near the Planet Core in the first place, he insultingly referred to the Kremling Krew as "no-good banana bandits" and "toothless and useless" after wondering where they were. InDonkey Kong 64, he even has K. Lumsy locked up due to his gentle nature, with it being even more harsh in the Japanese version due to the latter being his younger brother. This abuse of his underlings has also worked against him, as demonstrated by Klubba openly rooting for Diddy and Dixie to ruin his boss's plans, and also K. Lumsy being implied to have supplied him with a massive beatdown before sending him flying again as revenge for locking him up after being sent flying by Funky Kong earlier. Despite all of this, however, he and the Kritters have good chemistry with each other inMario Super Sluggers and the trophy bios ofKalypso andKludge show he respects and trusts the former as a capable leader and is intimidated by the latter's ferocious temper. K. Rool is also somewhat of a dirty fighter. He fakes defeat, often collapsing in the middle of combat and making it seem like he has been defeated, only to rise seconds later and begin fighting again after a fake credits sequence. He has also shown himself to be negligent towards nature.^[19] He has also shown some desire for planetary destruction if such benefitted him, as in the Japanese version ofDK: Jungle Climber, he declared his intention to use the power of his Crystal Banana to obliterate Planet Plantaen.^[14] This is further indicated withDonkey Kong Bananza where he declares that he intends to transform New Donk City, and ultimately the entire planet, into a world full of overripened banana mush for him to feast on as a "meal fit for a king."

K. Rool hates the Kongs, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong more so than the others, having referred to them as "filthy apes" and "monkey brains". Despite his hatred of the Kongs, however, he is nevertheless willing to employ evil Kongs such asManky Kong andMinkey, as well as being susceptible toCandy Kong's charm, as evidenced by his being mesmerized by Candy flirting with him inDonkey Kong 64, even going so far as to reach out to her from the ring in apparent infatuation (which was later revealed to be a diversion to distract the Kremling leader long enough for Funky Kong to literally "give him the boot" by firing a boot from his bazooka). He is also capable of commending the Kongs' skill, as shown when they first enter the Lost World inDonkey Kong Land III, where he also gives them sixWatches and invites them to try Time Attack mode after he is defeated, as well as inMario Super Sluggers where he joins Donkey Kong's team after acknowledging their skill. K. Rool also appears to have some respect for the oldest Kongs as he had worked withCranky Kong to steal the banana hoard inDonkey Kong Land and had taken classes fromWrinkly Kong inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

BothDonkey Kong 64 andSuper Smash Bros. Melee imply that K. Rool is somewhat insane and demented. The final battle ofDonkey Kong 64 also shows him to be somewhat of a showboater, constantly showing-off and making taunting gestures. He has bad chemistry with all of the Kongs inMario Super Sluggers, although he makes it clear that he is only teaming up with them when playing baseball, showing that he is capable of putting aside his hatred for them and will team up with them if needed, similarly to Bowser. He is also seen with Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong at their house sleeping inBanjo &Kazooie's reveal trailer despite his hatred for them.

Donkey Kong Bananza loading screen artwork of King K. Rool eating overripe and rotten bananas

According toLeigh Loveday (one of the writers of theDonkey Kong Country series) on Rareware.com's former Scribes column, K. Rool's motivation for stealing the banana hoard is either that he wants Donkey Kong to starve to death so that he can occupy his "cosy^[sic] treehouse pad", or perhaps that he simply likes bananas.^[20] The latter explanation is supported in theDonkey Kong Country manual which states that the Kremlings coveted the bananas for their nutritional value,^[21]Palutena's Guidance inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate which states that Kremlings like bananas, the half-eaten bananas on theGangplank Galleon, and a piece of art bySteve Mayles depicting K. Rool reading a banana recipe book.^[22] However, K. Rool instead states that he hates bananas in the English localization ofDK: Jungle Climber.^[14] WhileDonkey Kong Bananza does make clear that he enjoys bananas like in previous sources, it further specifies that he enjoys them being overripe and rotten.

Powers and abilities[edit]

• In combat, King K. Rool usually uses his size and strength, attempting to tackle, crush and even leap onto opponents; considering his physique, attacks, and athletic abilities from the firstDonkey Kong Country andDonkey Kong 64, he is capable of inflicting considerable damage with physical strength alone. Although, inDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast, King K. Rool's attack is a single claw swipe. Additionally, despite his size, King K. Rool can actually be quite swift and speedy in battle (far more so then Donkey Kong, as shown inDonkey Kong Country where he can leap from one end of the Gangplank Galleon to the other in one jump). InDK: King of Swing, King K. Rool had the highest attack out of all the characters. He is tied with Bowser andPetey Piranha for the best batting abilities inMario Super Sluggers.
• InDonkey Kong Country, King K. Rool boasts the ability to summon a barrage of large cannonballs to rain down on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.
• InDonkey Kong Country 2, Kaptain K. Rool can teleport.
• InDonkey Kong Country 3, Baron K. Roolenstein simply uses a remote control to activate his arenas' gadgets and weaponry in battle. While not directly observed, he was also capable of practicing powerful sealing magic, as stated by theBanana Queen. InDonkey Kong Land III, K. Roolenstein can shoot electricity from his hands and throw bombs.
• InDonkey Kong 64, King K. Rool displays the ability to create multiple shockwaves by slamming the ground once (although, as demonstrated with Tiny Kong, doing this too many times will cause him to injure his posterior, leaving an opening for Tiny to inflict damage to his toes). He can also perform a powerful uppercut after charging at the Kongs, which can knock Chunky Kong high into in the air, even when he is the same size as K. Rool.
• InDonkey Kong Country 2 andDonkey Kong 64, King K. Rool displays his ability to turn invisible, though minor details still give away his position. InDonkey Kong Country 2, his blunderbuss leaves smoke puffs behind him, and inDonkey Kong 64, his shadow can still be seen on the ground when he is invisible.
• InDK: Jungle Climber, King K. Rool, after being damaged in battle, can turn temporarily invincible (gaining a reddish coloration) and the ability to assume a ball shape and bounce off surfaces rapidly. After being empowered by a Crystal Banana, King K. Rool gains a multitude of different powers, such as manipulating the weather, summoning meteors, breathing a barrage of fireballs and exploding mines.
• InDonkey Kong Bananza, King K. Rool uses theBanandium Root to empower himself into K. Rool, King of Rot, giving him control over Banandium mush. He retains his physical strength as well, defeating Void Kong with a single punch.

Weapons[edit]

Kaptain K. Rool wielding a blunderbuss

Throughout his various appearances, King K. Rool uses a variety of weaponry.

InDonkey Kong Country andDonkey Kong Land, using his trademark attack, King K. Rool attacks Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong by taking off his crown andthrowing it at them, which can boomerang back to him.

InDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest andDonkey Kong Land 2, Kaptain K. Rool uses a powerfulblunderbuss. He fires different types of ammunition such as Kannonballs, spiked Kannonballs, barrels, and status-afflicting mists, which either freeze, slow, or disorient his targets. K. Rool also uses his blunderbuss as a vacuum to suck the Kongs toward him, whereupon he hits them with the butt of his blunderbuss. In addition to using it as an offensive weapon, he also uses it as his primary form of movement by aiming it in the opposite direction and using the jet propulsion to thrust him forward at high speeds.

InDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! andDonkey Kong Land III, Baron K. Roolenstein uses ahelicopter-equipped pack on his back to obtain flight. Despite the fact that K. Rool can actually move faster on his feet, and the fact that the helicopter pack is his weakpoint in the game, it is necessary for his trap-based fighting strategy; it allows him to avoid his own electric beams by hovering over them. Through the use of a remote, he can manipulate various objects in his lair, such as altering positions and movements of platforms, and activating pods that send blasts of electricity at Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong. During the battle in Krematoa, Baron K. Roolenstein's remote can also activate a fireball-launching cannon and a moving conveyor belt, in addition to the electric pods. InDonkey Kong Land III, he shoots electric beams and throws bombs.

During the final battle ofDonkey Kong 64, in his fight against Diddy Kong, King Krusha K. Rool is capable of throwing his boxing gloves as boomerangs.

InDonkey Kong Bananza, King K. Rool stealsVoid Kong'sAll-Mine Remote, allowing him to transform terrain. His Propellerpack has been upgraded to a jetpack, allowing him to outpace the Banandium Root Tower to the surface. He also uses a triple-barreled blunderbuss both in the Planet Core and as the King of Rot in New Donk City, which fires large cannonballs that generate toxic Banandium mush as they roll across the ground.

Vehicles[edit]

King K. Rool also uses a wide variety of vehicles, from his Gangplank Galleon, to large airships, such as the Flying Krock and K. Kruizer III.DK: King of Swing also shows King K. Rool has in his possession a personal hovercraft, which can move quickly. He also uses a type of barrel vehicle inDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast. Another one of these vehicles is the Propellerpack.

Family[edit]

“Oh, my favorite part is going back to the swamplands to play gator-games with all my slithering siblings. We just roll around in the muck all day, drinking bog-nog and exchanging villain stories! And then later, we will gorge on one of mummy's home-mademud pies!”

—King K. Rool, "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights"

King K. Rool mentions havinga wife inDonkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! Specifically, after KAOS is defeated a second time, Baron K. Roolenstein appears, stating he built KAOS from his wife's best pots and pans. It is unknown if K. Rool is telling a joke, or if he actually has a wife. In a December 23, 1999 edition of the Scribes section of Rare's website,Leigh Loveday stated that K. Rool's "my wife is going to kill me" line was merely "a typically throwawayVic and Bob reference."^[23] The wife does make a physical appearance in4koma Gag Battle and4koma Manga Ōkoku where she is depicted as a thin Kremling woman with light hair and an apron over a black dress. His wife is mentioned again in the description for thefossil based on KAOS inDonkey Kong Bananza.

In the episode "The Big Switch-a-Roo" of theDonkey Kong Country television series, King K. Rool mentions his mother, and in "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights" he mentions his "slithering siblings."

Though K. Rool'strophy information erroneously states that Kaptain K. Rool is his brother, according to the Japanese version ofDonkey Kong 64,K. Lumsy is King K. Rool’s little brother.^[24]

According to the Nintendo Magazine System, K. Rool is a descendant ofKremlantis' former residents.^[25]

In theDonkey Kong Country television series episode "Baby Kong Blues," King K. Rool attempts to raiseBaby Kong for an heir, renaming him "Prince Junior Croc," but Donkey Kong eventually manages to convince him otherwise.

InSuper Donkey Kong with Mario 2, K. Rool meets an ancestor of his calledCranky K. Rool who lived in Donkey Kong Island's depths for more than 500 years after the shame of losing at Picross against the Kongs.

Pets[edit]

InDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, K. Rool's parrot isScreech, while in the cartoon, K. Rool takes the parrot,Polly Roger, as a spy.

InDonkey Kong 64, K. Rool keeps an unnamed green Klaptrap as a pet, stroking it in a manner similar toErnst Stavro Blofeld fromJames Bond. The Klaptrap enjoys using K. Rool's viewscreen in its spare time. Exclusively in the Japanese script, K. Rool also refers toDogadon as his cute pet.

Themes[edit]

King K. Rool is most often associated with the themes "Gang-Plank Galleon", which plays on hisboss level inDonkey Kong Country, and "Crocodile Cacophony (K. Rool's Theme)", which plays during his boss battlesK. Rool Duel andKrocodile Kore inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Both themes have gone on to reappear in several other games, acting as his leitmotifs.

Gang-Plank Galleon - The final boss theme inDonkey Kong Country

File info ​

Crocodile Cacophony (K. Rool's Theme) - The final boss theme inDonkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

File info ​

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

InDonkey Kong 64, King K. Rool has a unique leitmotif, which is incorporated into several other themes in the game, such as inside theTemple with Five Doors and during a Game Over. This leitmotif would go on to also appear when he is first revealed and during his boss battle inNew Donk City inDonkey Kong Bananza.

K. Rool's theme[conjectural] - The theme that plays in the intermission cutscenes featuring K. Rool inDonkey Kong 64

File info ​

Blueprint Appears[conjectural] - The tune that plays when aKasplat is defeated and ablueprint appears inDonkey Kong 64

File info ​

Angry Aztec (Temple with Five Doors)[conjectural] - A portion of the music that plays in the Temple with Five Doors inAngry Aztec inDonkey Kong 64

File info ​

K. Rool Escapes[conjectural] - The music that plays when K. Rool escapes in hisKremling craft inDonkey Kong 64

File info ​

K. Rool Battle[conjectural] - The final boss theme inDonkey Kong 64

File info ​

Game Over[conjectural] - The Game Over music inDonkey Kong 64

File info ​

New Donk City - A portion of the music that plays in New Donk City inDonkey Kong Bananza

File info ​

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

Profiles and statistics[edit]

Main article:List of King K. Rool profiles and statistics

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

King K. Rool
	World	N/A	Level	Gang-Plank Galleon
	Hits to defeat	9	Reward	Completion
<< |Directory of bosses (#7)

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest[edit]

Instruction booklet:

• The leader of the pack is back, and this time he's packing a blunderbuss! Ouch!

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

Spirit #136 King K. Rool
	Series/game	Donkey Kong Series
	Type	Fighter
	How to obtain	Classic Mode as King K. Rool

Spirit #162 Kaptain K. Rool
	Series/game	Donkey Kong Series
	Type	Primary
	Slots	2
	Class	Legend
	Strength / effect(s)	Attack
	How to obtain	World of Light (Final Battle); Spirit Board
Spirit battle	Opponent(s)	King K. Rool
	Conditions	Rule: Invisibility The enemy's neutral special has increased power Stamina battle The enemy is invisible after a little while
	Stage	Halberd
	Song	Crocodile Cacophony

Spirit #163 Baron K. Roolenstein
	Series/game	Donkey Kong Series
	Type	Primary
	Slots	3
	Class	Ace
	Strength / effect(s)	Shield
	How to obtain	Summoned with Dr. Crygor, Kritter, and Creature & Flea Man cores

Gallery[edit]

For this subject's image gallery, seeGallery:King K. Rool.

• 

  Donkey Kong Country

• 

  Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

• 

  Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!

• 

  Donkey Kong 64

• 

  Donkey Konga

• 

  DK: King of Swing

• 

  Donkey Kong Bananza

Portrayals[edit]

In the initial versions ofDonkey Kong Country as well as its sequels, his voice clips were reused fromKrusha andRambi provided byChris Sutherland.^[26] In theDonkey Kong Country animated series, King K. Rool was voiced byBen Campbell, while in the Japanese dub of the television series he was voiced by Jūrōta Kosugi.

InDonkey Kong 64, King K. Rool possesses an ominous and lowDarth Vader-like voice provided by Chris Sutherland again, complete with loud, emphasized breathing similar to Vader's. This was also done inDiddy Kong Pilot.^[27] K. Rool's evil laughter is a pitched-down stock sound effect from the Cartoon Trax Volume 1 sound effects library by The Hollywood Edge and has also been used byRare in otherDonkey Kong games. In his boxing guise, K. Rool adopts a more showy and boisterous tone of voice. Many of these voice clips are re-used byKrusha in the game's multiplayer mode. According to Gregg Mayles, this change in persona to a boastful prize fighter was intentionally done because he felt it would lead to a more fun boss fight than one with K. Rool'sErnst Stavro Blofeld-inspired alter ego.^[28]

FromDonkey Kong: Barrel Blast (2007) toMario Super Sluggers (2008), King K. Rool was voiced byToshihide Tsuchiya, though inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is given bellows and roars similar to that of a real crocodile, as well as some guttural laughter. He is later voiced byTsuguo Mogami inDonkey Kong Bananza, sounding much more similar to Chris Sutherland inDonkey Kong 64.

Quotes[edit]

Donkey Kong Country television series[edit]

• "Bravo!She lives, she lives! She could fool any idiot!" ‐ "Bad Hair Day"
• "Now 'the snip clip power slip, you're a wimp and that's it!' A curse onDonkey Kong, she'll cut his hair, which will cut his strength and cut him out of the picture! AHAHAHA!" - "Bad Hair Day"
• "My loyal reptilian subjects. This marks a glorious day history for all Kritters." - "Bad Hair Day"
• "Because it wouldn't be a surprise, you numbskull! Now, we'll make them think we are participating in the ceasefire, but instead, we are going to be sneaky! Clever." - "Kong for a Day"
• "Ooh, you should be. You'll be punished! You're grounded! Off to the dungeon with her." - "Raiders of the Lost Banana"
• "All right, lizards! Today is the day! Today, we will take over Kongo Bongo! At this very moment, Krusha has bravely infiltrated Cranky's cabin under the guise of getting a medical exam! He will seize the Crystal Coconut! Once that beautiful orb is in my possession, Kongo Bongo, will fall at my feet! MEHAHAAA! Hahahahahahaaaa...." - "From Zero to Hero"
• "Klump, didn't I say no news, no calls, and no tyranny until tomorrow?! It's a bad villain day!" - "Legend of the Crystal Coconut"
• "SHUUUUT UP! Don't you morons even realize? I'll be King K. Fool to future generations thanks to Cranky and that film! It's an outrage, a catastrophe. BLOW THAT SPACESHIP UP!" - "To the Moon Baboon"
• "You think this has been fun? Oh, let me explain it so that even your underdeveloped cranium can understand. I'm just pretending to be buddies so I can get back at that loser Cranky and claim my prize. Now LET ME GO!" - "Best of Enemies"
• "You good-for-nothing, slimy sack of scum-sucking SCOURGE!" - "The Kongo Bongo Festival of Lights"

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

• "I've been waiting a long time for this moment. Soon,Donkey Kong and his pretty littleisland... will be no more."
• "Guards! I want you to do everything in your power to keep Donkey Kong distracted. Steal that hoard of Golden Bananas he treasures so much and take care of his pathetic friends. This time there can be no mistakes."
• "I hope foryour sake, you're right this time."
• "Whileyou'll be busy looking for your precious golden bananas and flea-bitten friends, I'll be preparing mylizard flavored surprise! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"
• "Fatso, is it? I'd choose my last words more carefully if I wereyou."
• "Yeah!! Thank you!"

Mario Super Sluggers[edit]

• "By my toothy grin! Who dares to disturb my rest?"
• "You fools know who I am, don't you?"
• "You think to oppose my glorious girth?! Graw haw haaa! I love it!"
• "You deserve a kingly beating! Come on! Graaaw haw haaaaaaaw!"
• "You think it's a good idea to challenge me?"
• "King K. Rool doesn't do anything halfway! Hope you've said your good-byes, fools!"
• "What a bunch of misfits!"
• "Come back if you ever get the courage to challenge me."
• "I see you fools failed to learn your lesson... If you strike at a king, you must finish him!"
• "You'll regret the day you ran into me."
• "Great gravyboats! You saps are pretty good!"
• "Graw haw haw! I like your style! I'm going to join your lineup!"
• "Come on! It's obvious who's better! Listen up, Kritters! From here on, we're allies!"
• "Don't get me wrong! This is ONLY while we're playing baseball!"

DKC: Return to Krocodile Isle[edit]

The following quotes are from the fan-made animationDKC: Return to Krocodile Isle, in which Ben Campbell reprises his role as King K. Rool from the officialDonkey Kong Country television series.

• "If absence sows a hungry heart,
  "Are you famished without your king?
  "It seems you lot forgot the brand
  "Of ka-rool-ty that I bring.
  "I'll remind you faithful subjects
  "I know it's been a while:
  "Lest you fancy your death by my jaws or my breath,
  "Don't smile at this crocodile!"
• "I knewyou'd be back! Fate entangled, destined forever,yin and yang! I did this all for you. Wanna know the funny part? I don't even like bananas! Am I enough for you now? Am I !?!"
• "Klump, my dearly, dauntless Klump. Remind me if I ever were to kill myself, I could scale to the heights of your blind devotion and leap down towards your IQ!"

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

• "YOU'RE the ones who released me?!"
• "King K. Rool is back in action!"
• "I've been trapped down here with my Kremling Krew... Where are those no-good banana bandits anyway?! Toothless and useless! But no matter. Now I can finally get my claws on thatBanandium Root!"
• "Finally! Banandium Root... you WILL grant my wish! GRA HA HA HA HA HA!"
• "Behold the power... of the Banandium Root! I'll change the whole world... into overripe, ROTTEN banana mush... then FEAST until I've had my fill!"
• "Filthy monkeys! The Banandium Root is MINE!"
• "I WILL claim the Banandium Root! Watch me!"
• "Sothis is a human city? I'll take it! Hmm... First I'll spoil it rotten... Then I'll open my jaws... AND DEVOUR THIS WHOLE TOWN! GRA HA HA HA HA HA HA! GRAAA HA HA HA HA HA!"
• "You broke through my Kremling Krew... No surprise. Your beat is strong. HOWEVER! I've got my own beat... I've got the Banandium Root... and when it comes to rot... I RULE!"
• "I'm rotten to my core! Now I'll turn you... into Banandium mush... and eat a meal FIT FOR A KING!"
• "No... My victory... Spoiled agaaaiiin!"

Voice samples[edit]

Donkey Kong 64 - "I've been waiting a long time for this moment. Soon, Donkey Kong and his pretty little island... will be no more." (Chris Sutherland)

File info ​

Donkey Kong 64 -"Thank you!"

File info ​

Mario Super Sluggers - K. Rool's laugh (Toshihide Tsuchiya)

File info ​

Help:Media file •Having trouble playing?

List of appearances[edit]

Naming[edit]

King K. Rool's name is a pun on the word "cruel," which often describes his actions and his personality, as well as a corruption of the word "rule." In Asian languages, unlike in English, his name is pronounced similarly to "cruel."

Names in other languages[edit]

King K. Rool[edit]

Kaptain K. Rool[edit]

Baron K. Roolenstein[edit]

King Krusha K. Rool[edit]

Notes[edit]

King Koopa wearing a red cape and resembling King K. Rool

• In theAdventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 episode "Never Koop a Koopa",King Koopa wears a red cape, giving him a passing resemblance to King K. Rool. However, this is coincidental, as King K. Rool debuted four years after the episode aired. Incidentally, aside from the similar appearance, the two characters have a similar habit ofassuming thematic identities.
  • Bowser and his Koopa Troop would later take up King K. Rool and his Kremlings' usual role in stealing the Kongs' banana hoard inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl.
• On Nelvana's official plot synopsis for theDonkey Kong Country animated series, King K. Rool's name is often mislabeled as "King Karro."^[56][57]

References[edit]

King K. Rool coverage on otherNIWA wikis:

---

SmashWiki

Wikipedia has an article onKing K. Rool.

• Kremlings
• Captains
• Final bosses
• Gluttons
• Kings
• Politicians
• Kremling Krew
• Married characters
• Pirates
• Scientists
• Martial artists
• Playable characters
• Thieves
• Club Nintendo
• DK: Jungle Climber bosses
• DK: Jungle Climber characters
• DK: King of Swing bosses
• Donkey Kong 64 bosses
• Donkey Kong Bananza bosses
• Donkey Kong Bananza statues
• Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast characters
• Donkey Kong Country bosses
• Donkey Kong Country (television series) characters
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest bosses
• Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! bosses
• Donkey Kong Land bosses
• Donkey Kong Land 2 bosses
• Donkey Kong Land III bosses
• Donkey Konga
• Mario Super Sluggers playable characters
• Super Mario-kun characters
• Super Smash Bros. amiibo line
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl stickers
• Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS trophies
• Super Smash Bros. for Wii U trophies
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fighters
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirits

• Articles with dead external links
• Featured articles
• Pages with audio files
• Articles with unsourced foreign names