If the last Super Smash Bros Ultimate Direct proved anything, is that Nintendo truly is going all out to make this the ultimate Smash Bros title. For in the course of one direct, five characters were revealed. Two from Castlevania in the forms of Simon and Richter Belmont, Chrom from Fire Emblem, Dark Samus from Metroid, and to the joy of many, King K. Rool from the Donkey Kong Country franchise.
King K. Rool has long been asked for, but a “beef” between Nintendo and Rare (who made the DKC games and by extension K. Rool) seemed to prevent that from happening…until Ultimate that is. With his epic reveal trailer, fans all over the world rejoiced. Key among them was the characters’ creator, Steve Mayles, who actually didn’t know he would be coming into Ultimate, though he did have hope.
“I had no idea he was going to be included,” he said to Nintendo Life. “I knew he had a fair chance as he had appeared as a Mii costume previously, and since then he has been at the top, or close to the top, of many votes and ballots. There seemed to be a real groundswell of positivity in K.Rool’s direction that Nintendo would find hard to ignore, I thought. I’d love to have been involved in any capacity of bringing K.Rool back of course. Maybe another time.”
It’s sad that he wasn’t consulted, but at least his character is in the game. And as he noted, he truly believes that it’s because of the fans that King K. Rool got into Ultimate:
“Some fans on the internet had made it their personal mission in life to bring back K.Rool, restore the King to his former glory; this passion amongst gamers always amazes me. I saw footage of the Nintendo Direct from the Nintendo store in New York with people chanting ‘K.Rool, K.Rool’ – it was great! I have no doubt the fans’ attitude to K.Rool and the proactive way they went about supporting their favourite crocodile made all the difference.”
Super Smash Bros Ultimate releases on December 7th.
