King K. Rool

King K. Rool
Artwork from DK: Jungle Climber
Species	Kremling
First appearance	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Latest appearance	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018)
Latest portrayal	Toshihide Tsuchiya (2007–2008)
Member of	Kremling Krew (leader) DK Wilds

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

—King K. Rool, Donkey Kong 64

King K. Rool (sometimes shortened as simply K. Rool) is the arch-enemy of Donkey Kong and the main antagonist of the Donkey Kong franchise. He is a large Kremling who has undergone several different aliases while leading the Kremling Krew, usually for a scheme that involves stealing the Kongs' banana hoard, specifically so that he can starve Donkey Kong to death and take over, in addition to simply liking bananas.

His name is a pun on the word "cruel," which often describes his actions and his personality, as well as an intentional misspelling of the word "rule."

History

Donkey Kong Country series

Donkey Kong Country

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

King K. Rool first appears in Donkey 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 steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard, prompting Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong (whom he frees from a DK Barrel) to go all the way over to K. Rool's ship, the Gangplank Galleon, and face him in battle. King K. Rool attacks by throwing his crown, in the manner of a manner of 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") is shown, featuring names of Kremlings as programmers. King K. Rool gets 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 credits of the second remake, 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 from Donkey Kong 64 are reused in the second remake.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest

Kaptain K. Rool

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, taking place after the events of the first game, K. Rool (under the alias of Kaptain K. Rool) kidnaps Donkey Kong and holds him ransom over at Crocodile 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 girlfriend Dixie Kong.

K. Rool is supposedly a student at Kong Kollege, as one of Wrinkly 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.

Kaptain K. Rool is first fought in K. Rool Duel, the boss level of The Flying Krock. He is first seen whacking Donkey Kong with his blunderbuss and shooting kannonballs at him, though only when first visited. 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. 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 out of the stage, with K. Rool collapsing into the swampy waters of Crocodile Isle.

K. Rool is fought a second time at Krocodile Kore in the Lost World, accessible after collecting every Kremkoin. K. Rool shoots several kannonballs and lastly a barrel 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 the remake, K. Rool and his ship are bombed by Funky Kong from his Gyrocopter, with K. Rool vowing to have revenge.

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

Baron K. Roolenstein

The title of being the Kremling Krew leader seemingly goes from K. Rool to KAOS during the events of Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!. K. Rool, going by the alias of Baron K. Roolenstein, is not seen until the penultimate battle at Kastle Kaos, when the red curtain lifts. After confessing to a plot of world domination involving KAOS, K. Rool says a Scooby-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 a helicopter 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 certain handle. When K. Rool is defeated, KAOS crashes on the ground, freeing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.

Baron K. Roolenstein is fought a second time in Knautilus, accessible in Krematoa after recovering all five cogs. 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 from Steel 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 stolen Hover Craft on the Northern Kremisphere map, after the player characters free the Banana 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: Tropical Freeze

A reference to King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

While K. Rool is not in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, the background of Grassland Groove displays a rock formation in the likeness of his head and several Banana Bunches of his crown.

Donkey Kong Country book series

Donkey Kong Country

At the end of the Donkey 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 on Donkey Kong Island. He later flees with his speedboat from Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Cranky Kong when the three characters board the Gangplank Galleon, hearing of his scheme.

Donkey Kong Country: Rumble in the Jungle

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 abandoned Big Ape City. He orders the use of a "truth machine" on Funky 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. Both Donkey Kong and Diddy 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 has TNT Barrels, lands in it.

Donkey Kong Country: Rescue on Crocodile Isle

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

Club Nintendo

King K. Rool as he appeared in the Club Nintendo comics

King K. Rool appears in the German Club Nintendo story Donkey 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 a DK Barrel before stealing Donkey Kong's banana 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 the Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest comic special to taunt a captured Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong Land series

Donkey Kong Land

The battle against King K. Rool in Donkey Kong Land

King K. Rool makes his second appearance in Donkey Kong Land, the follow-up to Donkey Kong Country. He is called by Cranky Kong to steal Donkey Kong's banana hoard, as part of a bet that Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong cannot have a successful journey on a Game Boy system. K. Rool is the final boss, and he is fought in K. Rool's Kingdom at the end of Big 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 in Donkey Kong Country, and takes twelve hits to defeat altogether.

Donkey Kong Land 2

Kaptain K. Rool returns as the main antagonist of Donkey Kong Land 2, where his role in the plot is identical to Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. Kaptain K. Rool is first fought on K. 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 at Krocodile Kore in the Lost World, again requiring every Kremkoin to access. It is mostly the same, but like in Donkey 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

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

K. Rool is fought again in K 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 six Watches to the Kongs, challenging them to complete the Time Attack mode.

Super Mario-kun

King K. Rool as he appears in Super Mario-kun

King K. Rool appears in volumes 14 and 15 of Super Mario-kun in the arcs based off Donkey 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 in volumes 22 and 23, based off the Donkey 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 and Bluster Kong, who were trying to immortalize for Candy Kong the first sunset of 2000, on the mountains, failing miserably.

Super Mario (Kodansha manga)

King K. Rool is the main antagonist in Super Donkey Kong with Mario 1 and Super Donkey Kong with Mario 2. In the first volume, an adaptation of Donkey Kong Country, he allies with Manky Kong, whose information helps him conquer the island. Mario and the Kongs defeat him, trapping him in a Steel Barrel and tossing him in the ocean.

In the second volume, the barrel drifts to the Mushroom Kingdom, where Princess Peach opens it, unleashing K. Rool. The Kremling King conquers the Kingdom and forces the Toads in helping 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 64

King K. Rool in Donkey Kong 64

King K. Rool has a new scheme to destroy Donkey Kong Island in Donkey Kong 64, by using the Blast-o-Matic from the rebuilt Crocodile Isle, which breaks down and undergoes repairs after crashing into a rock. To buy time for the repairs, K. Rool has Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong imprisoned and steals Donkey Kong's Golden Banana Hoard again. He has some similarities to the James Bond villain Blofeld, 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 to Star Wars villain Darth Vader. K. Rool's laugh uses a pitched-down version of the "Evil LaughMedia:Evil Laugh.oga" stock sound effect from the Cartoon Trax Volume 1 album, which is reused for Kloaks and Krocs in the Game Boy Advance remakes of Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey 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 red Klaptrap after a Kasplat for trying to escape.

A portrait of Kaptain K. Rool

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

Around the time the Kongs infiltrate Hideout 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-Mastic entirely, K. Rool tries to escape in his Kremling craft, but a released K. Lumsy knocks it to the ground. The final battle takes place in the boxing arena within the Kremling craft, complete with spectators and King K. Rool, as his boxer alias King Krusha K. Rool. There are five rounds, each involving a different Kong:

• Round 1: K. Rool fights Donkey Kong. He attacks by ground pounding to produce shockwaves. From the perspective of a Baboon Blast cannon, 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 fights Diddy Kong. He attacks by throwing his right boxing glove as a boomerang. Diddy can use his Rocketbarrel Barrels and Popguns 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 fights Lanky 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 uses Trombone Terror, 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 fights Tiny Kong, after Kritters manage to get the light fixture removed. K. Rool uses the same ground-pound move from the first round, which Tiny avoid with her Pony Tail Twirl, but this time, it injures K. Rool. While K. Rool is hurt, Tiny can use Mini-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 by Chunky Kong. K. Rool both runs and rebounds off of the ropes while invisible to attack. Chunky can make K. Rool and a Hunky Chunky barrel visible by Simian Slamming a switch in the middle of the ring and then using Gorilla 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 a Primate 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 by Candy Kong so that Funky Kong can send him flying. K. Rool lands into K. Lumsy's Prison, where an angry K. Lumsy beats him as revenge for being locked up before sending K. Rool off once more.

Uho'uho Daishizen Gag: Donkey Kong

In Uho'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.

Donkey Kong Country television series

King K. Rool, as he appears in the Donkey 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 the Donkey Kong Country animated series, where his name is typically pronounced "Kuh-Rool"; "Kay-Rool" is only said once. 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 and 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. King K. Rool's cape is also much shorter in length in the Donkey 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 by Ben Campbell, is radically different from the games, such as Donkey Kong 64. He constantly brags about his brain and emphasizes this by using more complex jargon. Often, with the aid of his henchmen Klump and Krusha, he attempts to steal the Crystal Coconut and use its power to rule Kongo 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 over Bluster 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. The Donkey Kong Country cartoon also introduces a rival of sorts to King K. Rool, a pirate named Kaptain 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.

Bumm-Badabumm im Urwald

Kaptain K. Rool is also featured as the main antagonist in an obscure German Donkey 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 a pineapple-launching blunderbuss. At first, it seems the Kongs are overpowered, until Donkey Kong finds and throws a nearby TNT 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

K. Rool is also featured as the villain of another Donkey Kong comic called Donkey Kong in When the Banana Splits. Here, K. Rool, along with several Kritters, 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 Duper Simian Slam and the Kongs reclaim their stolen bananas.

Super Smash Bros. series

SmashWiki article: King K. Rool

Super Smash Bros. fighter King K. Rool
Game appearances
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (unlockable)
Special moves
Neutral:  Blunderbuss Side:  Crownerang Up:  Propellerpack Down:  Gut Check Final Smash:  Blast-o-Matic
Battle entrance
King K. Rool lands on-stage with his arms folded and laughs.

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

A trophy of King K. Rool can be obtained in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. Brawl (utilizing his Donkey Kong Barrel Blast design), Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. His trophy in Super 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 in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and his own downloadable Mii Brawler costume in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

SmashWiki article: King K. Rool (SSBU)

King K. Rool is a playable fighter in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was first announced in his reveal trailer at the end of a Nintendo Direct on August 8, 2018. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong are pranked by King 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 in Donkey Kong Country. The trailer plays a different arrangement of Gang-Plank Galleon and concludes with K. Rool and Donkey Kong dashing toward each other from opposite sides before jumping and extending their fists out to one another.

King K. Rool joins Bowser Jr. and Villager to fight Incineroar to fight it at the end of it and Ken's reveal trailer. Due to the Boxing Ring setting and K. Rool wearing boxing gloves, it supposedly references his battle in Donkey Kong 64.

King K. Rool also has a role in Banjo and Kazooie's debut trailer. 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 be Banjo & Kazooie before the real duo ambush them. At the end, following an attack from the The Mighty Jinjonator, King K. Rool collapses, before crashing into the ground and boulder falling on top, referencing Gruntilda's defeat in Banjo-Kazooie.

Several of King K. Rool's moves reference earlier boss fights of his, such as using his crown as a boomerang, a blunderbuss, the Propellerpack, and boxing gloves, while his Final Smash involves him firing the Blast-o-Matic. King K. Rool has the unique move Gut Check, in which he uses his belly armor to counter or reflect opponents' attacks, and it can also protect him when he uses his forward tilt and dash 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 a shield break. King K. Rool is the second heaviest fighter, being lighter than only Bowser. King K. Rool's voice clips are of realistic crocodile grunts, and his victory theme is a rendition of the first few notes of "Gang-Plank Galleon" from Donkey Kong Country. K. Rool's name is announced differently in the Japanese and Korean languages.

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

In Adventure Mode: World of Light, King K. Rool appears in the opening cutscene with the other fighters. He is hit by Galeem's beams, which imprison him and every other fighter except Kirby, and Puppet Fighters of K. Rool and the other captured fighters are made. K. Rool is defeated and freed from control in the Mysterious Dimension.

King K. Rool's Classic Mode route, "Super Heavyweight Class," features battles with heavy fighters, including two of the Super Mario franchise: Donkey Kong and Bowser. He engages in the following battles in the following order:

1. Charizard at Unova Pokémon League
2. Bowser at Find Mii
3. King Dedede at Boxing Ring
4. Ridley at Brinstar Depths
5. Ganondorf at Bridge of Eldin
6. Donkey Kong at Kongo Jungle
7. Final boss fight against Galleom

Donkey Konga

King K. Rool sometimes dances to the music and is the focus of the Bash K.Rool minigame in Donkey Konga, where the player's goal is to hit him with a Steel 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

DK: King of Swing

Artwork from DK: King of Swing

King K. Rool returns as the main antagonist of DK: King of Swing. He steals every medals to become the self-proclaimed king of the Jungle Jam competition, so Donkey 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 his namesake stage on K. Kruizer III. The first part involves racing on Peg 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 in Jungle Jam mode, where he is the largest and most powerful of them. K. Rool is partnered by default with Bubbles, the main character of Clu Clu Land.

DK: Jungle Climber

In DK: Jungle Climber, King K. Rool appears as the main antagonist. He is first encountered at the peak of Sun Sun Island, where he and his entourage of five Kritters steal the five Crystal Bananas from the banana alien Xananab. 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 a Spirowarp. 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 completed Mega Amp and final Kritter subordinate on the King Kruizer IV, King K. Rool flees through a wormhole to the Planet 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 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 in DK: Jungle Climber being taken back to his and the Kong's home planet, dragged through space by a rope attached to the back of a Banana Ship. It is unknown what the Kongs did with him once they returned home.

Donkey Kong Barrel Blast

King K. Rool is an unlockable playable character in Donkey 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 rival Cranky Kong. K. Rool is unlocked by winning Challenge 31 of Candy's Challenges.

Mario Super Sluggers

K. Rool's new outfit from Mario Super Sluggers

King K. Rool is playable in Mario 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 for DK: 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 with Bowser and Petey Piranha for being the most powerful batter. K. Rool's pitching is slightly above average. He is tied with Purple Toad for the weakest fielding ability and Red 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) and King Boo whilst having poor chemistry with the Kongs and Bowser.

During Challenge Mode, King K. Rool appears in DK Jungle, where he uses his green, red, blue, and brown Kritter minions to challenge the protagonists. After losing, K. Rool and the Kritters are unlocked for play in the mode.

Super Mario Odyssey

King K. Rool is referenced in New Donk City of Super Mario Odyssey as a street named titled "KROOL Av."

Other appearances

King K. Rool in Kremling Krunch

King K. Rool has appeared in the different iterations of Camp 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; and Kremling Krunch, which has an opposite objective. In the 2003 version, King K. Rool is the villain, and he caused chaos in Camp Hyrule by creating a massive earthquake.

Unused appearances

Diddy Kong Pilot

K. Rool appears as a playable character in all builds of Diddy 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 the 2001 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 the Zinger'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.

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.

In the 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 with Gruntilda in the final version of this iteration, Banjo-Pilot, as indicated by their stats, similar boss fight and shared plane.

General information

Creation and development

Original Donkey 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 of Donkey Kong Country, the character that would become King. K Rool was named "Krudd". Another proposed idea had the character named "King Klinker" and have him paired with a female Kremling named "Queen Krapp". Later in development, "Kommander K. Rool" was considered as the character's name. 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?"

His Kaptain K. Rool alter ego was designed by Steve Mayles, Baron K. Roolenstein was designed by Mark Stevenson.

Physical appearance

“I'm just an old dried-up lizard!”

—King K. Rool, "Ape Foo Young"

King K. Rool is most commonly depicted wearing a crown, gold wrist bands, and a red cape.

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 resembling Frankenstein's monster, and has a Propellerpack on his back. His outfit is based on a combination of Frankenstein's Monster as portrayed by Boris Karloff in the Universal horror movie Frankenstein and the character of Baron Victor von Frankenstein (played by Peter Cushing) from the Hammer Horror Frankenstein series. In Mario Super Sluggers, K. Rool wears an Ancient Egyptian-style collar and loincloth, much like a pharaoh. Cranky Kong mentions in the Donkey 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 in Donkey Kong 64, stubby in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and completely absent in DK: 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.

In Donkey Kong 64, during the final battle in the boxing 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 the Donkey 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 designer Steve Mayles), but since DK: King of Swing his underbelly has been changed to a light flesh tone, and has lost the prominent vertical indentation down the middle. In Super 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, similar to his tail in the cartoon. King K. Rool also has more pronounced scales in this game, akin to his design in the Rare 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 in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, all of which change his colors. His orange costume resembles Kerozene from the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Re-Koil from Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! It also resembles the red Kritters that appear in the Donkey Kong Country series. King K. Rool's blue costume resembles the armored blue Kritters that appear throughout the Donkey Kong Country series, as well as Krusha from Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64. His yellow costume resembles Kutlass from Donkey Kong Country 2, as well as Kopter as he appeared in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. King K. Rool's pink costume resembles Skidda in Donkey Kong Country 3, Klump as he appears in Donkey Kong 64, and Kritters from the Game Boy Advance version of Donkey Kong Country. King K. Rool's black costume resembles the armored Black Kritters from Donkey Kong Country, while his brown costume resembles Klump's original appearance in said game, one of his alternate colors in DK: 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.

Personality

“Don't tell me what I can't do!”

—King K. Rool, Donkey Kong 64

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 by Klubba in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, who says that K. Rool mistreats his minions. This is also seen in Donkey Kong 64, when he punishes a purple-haired Kasplat via a giant Klaptrap for losing Blueprints and calling him "fatso", not realizing that K. Rool was listening. Even his most powerful followers seem to fear his wrath, as displayed in Donkey Kong 64, when his subtle display of anger results in Army Dillo fainting on the spot, and Dogadon ends up begging for mercy over his failure when admitting how his wings ended up singed by the Kongs (although K. Rool seems more shocked than angry at the failure regarding the latter). He does not seem to respect his henchmen, the Kritters, much better either. In Mario Super Sluggers, he refers to brown Kritter as "the dirty under-belly of the Kremling Krew". In Donkey 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 in Mario Super Sluggers and the trophy bios of Kalypso and Kludge show he respects and trusts the former as a capable leader and is intimidated by 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. He has also shown himself to be negligent towards nature.

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 as Manky Kong and Minkey, as well as being susceptible to Candy Kong's charm, as evidenced by his being mesmerized by Candy flirting with him in Donkey 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 in Donkey Kong Land III, where he also gives them six Watches and invites them to try Time Attack mode after he is defeated, as well as in Mario 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 with Cranky Kong to steal the banana hoard in Donkey Kong Land and had taken classes from Wrinkly Kong in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.

Both Donkey Kong 64 and Super Smash Bros. Melee imply that K. Rool is somewhat insane and demented. The final battle of Donkey 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 in Mario 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 in Banjo & Kazooie's reveal trailer despite his hatred for them.

According to Leigh Loveday (writer of the Donkey 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. The latter explanation is supported in the Donkey Kong Country manual which states that the Kremlings coveted the bananas for their nutritional value, Palutena's Guidance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which states that Kremlings like bananas, the half-eaten bananas on the Gangplank Galleon, and a piece of art by Steve Mayles depicting K. Rool reading a banana recipe book. However, K. Rool liking bananas is contradicted in DK: Jungle Climber, where K. Rool states that he despises bananas.

Weapons

Kaptain K. Rool wielding a blunderbuss.

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

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

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Donkey Kong Land 2, Kaptain K. Rool uses a powerful blunderbuss. 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.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and Donkey Kong Land III, Baron K. Roolenstein uses a helicopter-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. In Donkey Kong Land III, he is capable of shooting electric beams from his gloves.

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

Vehicles

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 in Donkey Kong Barrel Blast. Another one of these vehicles is the Propellerpack.

Powers and abilities

• 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 first Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64, he is capable of inflicting considerable damage with physical strength alone. Although, in Donkey 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 in Donkey Kong Country where he can leap from one end of the Gangplank Galleon to the other in one jump). In DK: King of Swing, King K. Rool had the highest attack out of all the characters. He is tied with Bowser and Petey Piranha for the best batting abilities in Mario Super Sluggers.
• In Donkey Kong Country, King K. Rool boasts the ability to summon a barrage of large cannonballs to rain down on Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong.
• In Donkey Kong Country 2, Kaptain K. Rool can teleport.
• In Donkey Kong Country 3, Baron K. Roolenstein simply uses a remote control to activate his arenas' gadgets and weaponry in battle. In Donkey Kong Land III, K. Roolenstein can shoot electricity from his hands and throw bombs.
• In Donkey 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.
• In Donkey Kong Country 2 and Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool displays his ability to turn invisible, though minor details still give away his position. In Donkey Kong Country 2, his blunderbuss leaves smoke puffs behind him, and in Donkey Kong 64, his shadow can still be seen on the ground when he is invisible.
• In DK: 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.

Family

“Oh, my favorite part is going back to the swamplands to play gator games with all my slithering siblings.”

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

King K. Rool mentions having a wife in Donkey 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 throwaway Vic and Bob reference." The wife does make a physical appearance in 4-koma Gag Battle and 4koma Manga Ōkoku where she is depicted as a thin Kremling woman with light hair and an apron over a black dress.

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

Though K. Rool's trophy information erroneously states that Kaptain K. Rool is his brother, King K. Rool does have K. Lumsy as his little brother.

According to the Nintendo Magazine System, K. Rool is a descendant of Kremlantis' former residents.

In Super Donkey Kong with Mario 2, K. Rool meets an ancestor of his called Cranky 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

In Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, K. Rool's parrot is Screech, while in the cartoon, K. Rool takes the parrot, Polly Roger, as a spy.

In Donkey Kong 64, K. Rool keeps an unnamed green Klaptrap as a pet, stroking it in a manner similar to Ernst Stavro Blofeld from James Bond. The Klaptrap enjoys using K. Rool's viewscreen in its spare time. Exclusively in the Japanese script, K. Rool also refers to Dogadon as his cute pet.

Profiles and statistics

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

Donkey Kong Country

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

Instruction booklet:

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

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

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

Portrayals

In the initial versions of Donkey Kong Country as well as its sequels, his voice clips were reused from Krusha and Rambi provided by Chris Sutherland. In the Donkey Kong Country animated series, King K. Rool was voiced by Ben Campbell, while in the Japanese dub of the television series he was voiced by Jūrōta Kosugi.

In Donkey Kong 64, King K. Rool possesses an ominous and low Darth Vader-like voice provided by Chris Sutherland again, complete with loud, emphasized breathing similar to Vader's. This was also done in Diddy Kong Pilot. 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 by Rare in other Donkey 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 by Krusha 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's Ernst Stavro Blofeld-inspired alter ego.

From Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (2007) to Mario Super Sluggers (2008), King K. Rool was voiced by Toshihide Tsuchiya, though in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is given bellows and roars similar to that of a real crocodile, as well as some guttural laughter.

Actor/sample	Appearance
Chris Sutherland	Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong Country (Game Boy Advance), Donkey Kong Country 2 (Game Boy Advance), DK: King of Swing, Donkey Kong Country 3 (Game Boy Advance)
Ben Campbell	Donkey Kong Country (television series)
Hollywoodedge, Evil Laugh CRT023801	Pitched down for K. Rool. Originated from Cartoon Trax Volume 1. First used in Donkey Kong 64 as K. Rool's evil laugh.
Toshihide Tsuchiya	Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, DK: Jungle Climber, Mario Super Sluggers

Quotes

Donkey Kong Country (television series)

• "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"

Donkey Kong 64

• "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 for your sake, you're right this time."
• "While you'll be busy looking for your precious golden bananas and flea-bitten friends, I'll be preparing my lizard flavored surprise! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!"
• "Fatso, is it? I'd choose my last words more carefully if I were you."
• "Yeah!! Thank you!"

Mario Super Sluggers

• "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

The following quotes are from the fan-made animation DKC: Return to Krocodile Isle, in which Ben Campbell reprises his role as King K. Rool from the official Donkey 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 knew you'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!"

Audio

Voice samples

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 infoMedia:K Rool Chris Sutherland.oga ​

Donkey Kong 64 - "Thank you!"

File infoMedia:K. Rool (thank you).oga ​

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

File infoMedia:K Rool's laugh 2008.oga ​

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

Themes

K. Rool's Theme - The theme that plays in the intermission cutscenes featuring K. Rool in Donkey Kong 64

File infoMedia:K. Rool 1.oga ​

Blueprint Appears - The tune that plays when a Kasplat is defeated and a blueprint appears in Donkey Kong 64

File infoMedia:K. Rool 1 (blueprint).oga ​

Angry Aztec (Temple with Five Doors) - A portion of the music that plays in the Temple with Five Doors in Angry Aztec in Donkey Kong 64

File infoMedia:K. Rool 1 (temple).oga ​

K. Rool Escapes - The music that plays when K. Rool escapes in his Kremling craft in Donkey Kong 64

File infoMedia:K. Rool 1 (escape).oga ​

K. Rool Battle - The final boss theme in Donkey Kong 64

File infoMedia:K. Rool 1 (final boss).oga ​

Game Over - The Game Over music in Donkey Kong 64

File infoMedia:K. Rool 1 (game over).oga ​

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List of appearances

Title	Description	Release date	System/format
Donkey Kong Country	Main antagonist, final boss	1994	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Land	Main antagonist, final boss	1995	Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest	Main antagonist, final boss	1995	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Land 2	Main antagonist, final boss	1996	Game Boy
Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!	Main antagonist, final boss	1996	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Donkey Kong Land III	Main antagonist, final boss	1997	Game Boy
Donkey Kong 64	Main antagonist, final boss	1999	Nintendo 64
Donkey Kong Country	Main antagonist, final boss	2000	Game Boy Color
Super Smash Bros. Melee	Cameo as a trophy	2001	Nintendo GameCube
Donkey Konga	Non-playable character	2003	Nintendo GameCube
Donkey Kong Country	Main antagonist, final boss	2003	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 2	Main antagonist, final boss	2004	Game Boy Advance
DK: King of Swing	Main antagonist, final boss, unlockable playable character	2005	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Country 3	Main antagonist, final boss	2005	Game Boy Advance
Donkey Kong Barrel Blast	Unlockable playable character	2007	Wii
DK: Jungle Climber	Main antagonist, final boss	2007	Nintendo DS
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Cameo as a trophy and sticker	2008	Wii
Mario Super Sluggers	Unlockable playable character	2008	Wii
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS	Cameo as a trophy	2014	Nintendo 3DS
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U	Cameo as a trophy	2014	Wii U
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Unlockable playable character, spirit	2018	Nintendo Switch

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery: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

• 

  Diddy Kong Pilot
  (canceled)

• 

  Donkey Konga

• 

  DK: King of Swing

Names in other languages

King K. Rool

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キングクルール[?] Kingu Kurūru	King K. Rool (pronounced closer to "King Cruel")
Chinese (simplified)	克鲁王[?] Kèlǔ Wáng	King Cruel	DK: King of Swing
	库鲁鲁王[?] Kùlǔlǔ Wáng	King K. Rool	Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Chinese (traditional)	庫魯魯王[?] Kùlǔlǔ Wáng	King K. Rool
Dutch	King K. Rool[?]	-
	Koning Wreed[?]	King Cruel	Donkey Kong Country television series
Finnish	K.Ohje[?]	From either kohje (slang for a bungler) or literally ohje ("instruction")	original Donkey Kong Country trilogy and the Donkey Kong Land series
French (NOA)	Roi K. Rool[?]	King K. Rool
French (NOE)	King K. Rool[?]	-
German	King K. Rool[?]	-
	King Kroko[?]	From Krokodil ("crocodile")	Donkey Kong Country television series
Italian	King K. Rool[?]	-
	K. Roole[sic]
	Re K. Roll	King K. Roll
	King K. Roll	-
Korean	킹크루루[?] King Keururu	King K. Rool
Portuguese	Komandante K. Roll[sic]	From comandante ("commander")	Donkey Kong Country
Russian	Кинг К. Роль[?] King K. Rol	К. Роль is a pun on Король ("king")
Spanish (NOA)	King K. Rool[?]	-
	Rey Cruel[?]	King Cruel	Donkey Kong Country television series
Spanish (NOE)	King K. Rool[?]	-
	Rey K. Rool[?]	King K. Rool	Donkey Kong Country television series

Kaptain K. Rool

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キャプテンクルール[?] Kyaputen Kurūru	Kaptain K. Rool
Chinese (simplified)	库鲁鲁船长[?] Kùlǔlǔ Chuánzhǎng	Captain K. Rool
Chinese (traditional)	庫魯魯船長[?] Kùlǔlǔ Chuánzhǎng	Captain K. Rool
Italian	Kapitano K. Rool[?]	Kaptain K. Rool
	Capitain[sic] Krai	Captain Krai
Portuguese	Kapitão K. Rool	Kaptain K. Rool
Spanish	Kaptain K. Rool[?]	-

Baron K. Roolenstein

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	バロンクルール[?] Baron Kurūru	Baron K. Rool
Italian	Barone K. Roolenstein[?]	Baron K. Roolenstein
Spanish	Baron K. Roolenstein[?]	-

King Krusha K. Rool

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	キング“クラッシャー”クルール Kingu "Kurasshā" Kurūru	King “Krusha” K. Rool

Notes

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

• In the Adventures 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 of assuming 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 in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
• On Nelvana's official plot synopsis for the Donkey Kong Country animated series, King K. Rool's name is often mislabeled as "King Karro."