Selling Points: Smash DLC Fighter

*pointing on map* “We are here. Smash is there. Here, there, here, there. GET IT?!?!”

K. Rool’s inclusion as a DLC character would put great smiles on the faces of thousands of fans who hoped he would appear in the game’s default newcomer roster. He has been a massive request for Smash among Nintendo fans, Smash fans, and Donkey Kong fans for many years, even back before Melee, where developers noted “he’s just enough of a bumbler to have picked up a few fans” on his trophy.

 

His inclusion would diversify the game’s newcomer roster by adding both a villain and a heavyweight into the mix. Both are character archetypes that are sadly absent from the current newcomer roster, yet are intensely appealing to gamers; villain characters allow players the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finally fight back against the good guys, while heavyweight characters offer thrilling high-risk, high-reward strategies of weaving in and out of lightweight attacks, trying to find openings for crushing finishing blows. He sits neatly on the intersection where these archetypes meet, fitting both to a ‘T.’

Even Krusha knows no one else could bring all of that to the table. . .

K. Rool offers an array of blunderbuss projectiles in DKC2, including cannonballs, normal and spiked, along with three different varieties of clouds, which may slow, freeze, or reverse the controls of victims. These projectiles could be either fired from afar at tricky trajectories, such as bouncing or circling, or placed on the stage as stationary traps, giving K. Rool ranged options that other Smash characters could only dream of possessing, let alone other Smash heavyweights.

If his cartoony blunderbuss is somehow deemed ‘too realistic’ a gun, he could instead fire these projectiles from a Kannon’s cannon.

His trademark Crown Boomerang may appear to be generic, but apply a bit of creative juice and it becomes yet another fantastic projectile option for the King. The crown could slice opponents multiple times, dragging them either away from the King for breathing room or toward him for a follow-up attack. The player could control the trajectory and distance of the crown, letting K. Rool send it out as far as he wishes to smack opponents at the cost of him having to wait for it to return before he can move again, becoming more vulnerable the further he sends it out. The crown could even keep a weak hitbox on it while on K. Rool’s head, shielding him from footstool jumps.

K. Rool could become a successful grab-based grappling character, using his crocodile jaws to snag opponents who draw too near and make them pay using techniques such as the real-life crocodile death roll, hereby deemed the “Death Rool.” His blunderbuss would compound K. Rool’s grab options with its ability to vacuum in opponents (it could also pull in stationary trap projectiles to relocate them onstage).

K. Rool could become a lightning bruiser by making use of his fast dash and high jumps from DKC. As such, his ability to hit opponents like a one-man wrecking ball with his golden belly and crushing weight would be near unparalleled. Of note, his golden belly could offer him frontal super armor against weak attacks, helping him fend off the combo-happy lightweights who would otherwise eat him alive at close range.

K. Rool could offer a fantastic humorous Final Smash: K. Rool plays dead, while the false credits (“Kredits”) from DKC scroll up the screen…as solid platforms capable of lifting opponents off the screen top at high speeds to their untimely doom!

K. Rool: Fighting dirty since 1994

K. Rool is a highly versatile character who could combine any of the above moveset or playstyle options, among others. The sheer number of options he has allows for him to be finished within pretty much whatever time frame is allotted for DLC development; he can be as simple or as complex as developers have time for while still remaining a breath of fresh air. The final product would absolutely result in K. Rool finding his place among Smash’s all-time most unique characters, as well as right at home alongside the unique newcomers currently in SSB4. He’s even got the costumes to put Little Mac, Villager and Wii Fit Trainer’s to shame.

His inclusion would further provide the Donkey Kong series, one of Nintendo’s oldest, most treasured and most profitable franchises, with more of its wacky and personable content that could so fittingly translate into the Smash universe. The Donkey Kong series is in somewhat of a unique position in that, presumably because of Rare-related difficulties during Melee’s development, the amount of content it has received in Smash has always been disproportionately small when the series’ size, longevity and popularity are considered. K. Rool is currently the first and most major step that can be taken toward bridging this content gap.

Lastly, it has come to the fanbase’s attention that Namco Bandai has done a superb job of recreating content from classic Donkey Kong games, be it K. Rool, Ellie the Elephant, Banana Birds and Barnacle Bear dancing in the Donkey Konga games, Kremling Ruins, a Gnawty millstone and a Swanky Kong billboard in Mario Superstar Baseball, playable K. Rool and Kritters in Mario Super Sluggers, and Kritter enemies and (supposedly) a Chunky Kong Assist Trophy in this very game. If given the opportunity, it’s guaranteed that Namco could recreate K. Rool faithfully and meticulously as a Smash character in such a way that would have gamers from near and far lining up down the block, begging them to “shut up and take their money” in a way that few others could.

Thousands of K. Rool fans and I hope and pray that Namco is given this opportunity.