K. Rool

K. Rool (a pun on the word "cruel") is a fictional villain who appears in a number of video games featuring Donkey Kong. He is a member of the Kremling species of anthromorphized crocodiles. Being a recurring villain, he is analogous to Bowser in the Mario series or Ganon in the Legend of Zelda series, and acts as a final boss. A master of disguise, he assumes many different personalities.

K. Rool is the leader of the Kremling Krew, a group of reptillian creatures who live on Donkey Kong Island's neighbor, Crocodile Isle. Over the years since the original Donkey Kong Country, K. Rool has developed a deep hatred against the Kongs. Initially he just wanted Donkey Kong's banana hoard, but his failure to obtain it led him to try and hurt the Kongs directly. His elaborate schemes even led to the destruction of Crocodile Isle and his temporary ousting of the position of king (after the events of Donkey Kong Land 2). After he and the weasel Snide built a mechanical version of Crocodile Isle, the Kremlings gave him his crown back.

In Donkey Kong Country (1994), for the SNES, he is known as King K. Rool, and he steals Donkey Kong's bananas, but is foiled by Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong. Donkey Kong Land (1995) for the Game Boy has a similar plot where Cranky Kong bets the two heroes they can't get the bananas back on an 8-bit system.

In Donkey Kong Country 2 (1995), K. Rool kidnaps Donkey Kong and takes him back to his home of Crocodile Isle. He is foiled by Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong. This time around there is a more pronounced pirate setting, and K. Rool goes under the name Kaptain K. Rool. This is also similar to the plot of the Game Boy's Donkey Kong Land 2, released in 1996.

In Donkey Kong Country 3 (1996), after the events of the previous games, K. Rool is no longer the king of the Kremlings, and is going by the name of Baron K. Roolenestein. Working in the shadows, he captures a vacationing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong in the Northern Kremisphere part of the DK Isles, stuffs them in the cyborgnetic body of the new Kremling king, KAOS, and uses their brain power to control him behind the scenes. He is foiled by Dixie Kong and Kiddy Kong. Baron K. Roolenstein would appear again in 1997 in Donkey Kong Land III for the Game Boy, where he attempts to be the first to discover the game's Lost World in a contest that also includes the other Kremlings, Dixie and Kiddy, and Donkey and Diddy.

In Donkey Kong 64 (1999), for the N64, he had reclaimed the title of king. He steals Donkey Kong's golden banana hoard as a distraction for the Kongs while he attempts to fix his Blast O'Matic laser that is going to destroy Donkey Kong Island. Meanwhile, he has his men lock away five Kongs (Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Tiny Kong, Lanky Kong, and Chunky Kong). They are freed one by one and in the final battle where they foil K. Rool's plans once again, K. Rool dresses as a boxer by the name of King Krusha K. Rool.

K. Rool was also a regular on the Donkey Kong Country TV cartoon, where he was voiced by Ben Campbell. Most of the time, he was attempting to steal the legendary wish-granting Crystal Coconut, which Donkey Kong, whom the Coconut had chosen to be the island's future ruler, guarded. K. Rool wanted to rule Kongo Bongo Island (as DK Island was called on the show), and he figured that if he had the Coconut, he could rule the island with it. Often, K. Rool was accompanied by an army of Kritters and his general, Klump (an enemy drone from the first game), and sometimes his bodyguard, Krusha (also from the first game). Although he was the main villain of the show, K. Rool was sometimes a bit of a softie, as seen in episodes such as "Baby Kong Blues" and "Four Weddings and a Coconut."

King K. Rool recently made a cameo in 2004's Donkey Konga for the Nintendo GameCube (the game was released in 2003 in Japan). In the mini-game, the player bashes K. Rool in the head with a steel keg as he tries to evade you (think Whack-a-mole).

Appearances

• Donkey Kong Country - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (November 1994) (As King K. Rool)
• Donkey Kong Land - Game Boy (July 1995) (As King K. Rool)
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (December 1995)
• Donkey Kong Land 2 - Game Boy (September 1996) (As Kaptain K. Rool)
• Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble - Super Nintendo Entertainment System (November 1996)
• Donkey Kong Land III - Game Boy (September 1997) (As Baron K. Roolenstein)
• Donkey Kong 64 - Nintendo 64 (November 1999 (As King K. Rool and King Krusha K. Rool)
• Donkey Kong Country - Game Boy Color (November 2000) (As King K. Rool)
• Super Smash Bros. Melee- Nintendo GameCube (December 17, 2001)
• Donkey Kong Country - Game Boy Advance (June 2003) (As King K. Rool)
• Donkey Konga - Nintendo GameCube (September 2004) (As King K. Rool)
• Donkey Kong Country 2 - Game Boy Advance (November 2004) (As Kaptain K. Rool)

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