Ultimate brings us not one, but two major villains as newcomers! I'm going to admit, K. Rool got more emotional investment than Ridley did, and that's mostly because Donkey Kong Country is one of my favorite video game series of all time. So, what's he been doing for the last several years in this story? Well…

- K. Rool's lost to the Kongs about… six times (SNES trilogy, 64, King of Swing, and Jungle Climber). He's unhinged, but it's mostly a front.

- He missed Returns because DK beat him up at the Sluggers baseball competition Mario held, during which K. Rool tried picking on Diddy and Dixie. He missed Tropical Freeze because he was in the middle of rebuilding his island, and also because he's a reptile, and the island getting frozen over ain't good for 'em.

- His pharaoh outfit from Sluggers is referred to as "Tutan K. Roolmon."

- Neo Crocodile Isle strongly resembles the version of the island from DKC2, but there's a catch: in addition to the Flying Krock, the Gangplank Galleon from the first game, his castle from the third, and the head of the Blast-O-Matic from 64 are present. The Krockodile Kore still runs the island.

This has been updated as of January 2021, as I felt that it was easily the weakest chapter of the bunch.

Neo Crocodile Isle…

King K. Rool, also known as Kaptain K. Rool, Baron K. Roolenstein, Krusha K. Rool, and Tutan K. Roolmon, was festering in his airship atop Neo Crocodile Isle, going over one of his plans to make a grand return and eradicate the Kong clan once and for all. The Blast-O-Matic once again seemed like his best bet, but it would be months until it had the power to annihilate the entirety of DK Island.

It also didn't help that the island's geography had radically changed in the years he had been away. The large DK head that defined the island for years had been completely blown away by the volcano's first eruption, which had greatly satisfied K. Rool. The ice caps on Gorilla Glacier had melted away as a result of said eruption, the declining sea levels had given way to a beach, much of the land between the Monkey Mines and the remains of Kremcroc Industries had crumbled away, leaving behind precarious cliffs and exposing tar pits and fossils, and ancient ruins had been uncovered by a partial deforestation of Vine Valley.

Most of his Kremling Krew had deserted him, save for Krusha, Klump, Klaptrap, and a lone Kritter, who remained with him out of sheer loyalty.

Gnashing his teeth in frustration, K. Rool crumpled up the paper and flung it at his wastebin. Nothing had gone right for him since those blasted Kongs foiled his original scheme of starving them for their island. Nothing, absolutely nothing had worked. Not even a desperate bid for the Super Smash Bros. tournament a couple of years prior could get him his revenge on the clan of primates.

Speaking of the Super Smash Bros. tournament, K. Rool had filed yet another application for the tournament. He was certain that it would work this time, even if it failed twice before…

A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts.

"WHAT IS IT?!"

"Uh, it's Krusha, sir. You have a visitor."

"A visitor?"

"Yeah, he's requesting a personal audience with you, Your Scaliness."

"Very well, then. Let them in, Krusha."

The door opened, and K. Rool saw a large white glove holding a briefcase. Master Hand began, "Ah, King K. Rool, what a pleasant surprise-"

"That's Kaptain K. Rool to you!"

Master Hand balked, with K. Rool having changed his getup into that of a pirate. Looking back at Krusha, who was just beginning to enter the room, Master Hand looked back at Kaptain K. Rool and saw that K. Rool had somehow changed into a lab coat. Riffing through a set of notes, Master Hand transformed into his human form and pinched his nose, saying, "Baron K. Roolenstein, yes?"

"Why yes, yes it is. Pleased to make your acquaintance," before bursting in a fit of maniacal laughter.

Krusha walked into the room, and said to Master Hand, "He gets like this often. He hasn't been right up there ever since KAOS and the Blast-O-Matic failed."

As Krusha left the room, Master Hand decided to cut right to the chase, saying, "K. Rool, you're in the Super Smash Brothers tournament."

Baron K. Roolenstein stopped mid-rant, asking, "Wait… I'm in?"

Sighing in exasperation, Master Hand said, "Yes, King K. Rool, you're in. Here's the envelope. Take the portal when you're ready."

After generating the wormhole, Master Hand gave the invitation to K. Roolenstein and left immediately, muttering under his breath, "My god, that was annoying..."

K. Roolenstein looked at Krusha, who gave him a slightly concerned look, and back at the envelope, which was sealed with a wax version of the Super Smash Bros. tournament's logo. K. Roolenstein leapt in sheer elation, whooping out, "My time has come! At last, I can get my revenge on those meddlesome monkeys!"

Turning to Krusha, K. Rool said, "Krusha, get the devices!"

"All of 'em, sir?"

K. Rool snapped, "Yes, all of them, you numbskull!"

As Krusha left to get the supplies from the Gangplank Galleon, K. Roolenstein looked through his wardrobe. Which one of these outfits would be the best fit for a grand return? The Kaptain's Kloak was easily the best of his guises, as in addition to its intimidating look, it gave him the capabilities of turning invisible, but at the same time... King K. Rool shook his head, having ultimately decided to stick with his first outfit, though he still crammed all of the other ones into a large suitcase. At that point, Krusha ran into the room, grunting, "Here they are, sir!" before collapsing in a heap.

K. Rool looked through the pile, picking out his boxing gloves, his helicopter pack, and his blunderbuss out of the pile and cramming them into his suitcase. With one more triumphant cackle, King K. Rool stepped through the wormhole, ready to exact his revenge on the Kongs for the first time in several years.

Meanwhile, a squirrel in a blue hoodie walked onto the island, and said, "Well, that's certainly not the weirdest thing I've seen all day…" before taking out a beer bottle to drown his sorrows, the crown on his head slipping down as he guzzled the alcohol.

Yes, I liked some aspects of the Donkey Kong Country TV show. Sue me.

I've always liked King K. Rool, he was such a cool villain in the SNES trilogy, especially with the nonverbal humor of the first two games. Just hearing him give that silly croak when the Kongs jump on his head, or seeing him look at the screen before his gun backfires is always good for a laugh.

Also, the little Conker cameo is just that. A cameo.

Anyways, Smashville's our next stop! I wonder how Isabelle's doing with all the paperwork regarding the floating platform up above…