Kingkrool

Rare employee Gregg Mayles is at it again, giving us even more tasty insights into the makings of the Donkey Kong Country franchise. Earlier today, Mayles shared a list of the original names for Donkey Kong Country's characters and even the game itself, including the recent addition to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster, King K. Rool. Now, he's shared some early concept art designs with the world and they're all rather lovely (in a scary way, of course).

As you can see from his tweet below, Mayles explains that these early concepts come from a time where King K. Rool was intended to be much more serious looking - and have yet another name, 'Krudd' - alongside a military theme which was eventually scrapped.

Kremlings1
Kremlings2

All of this is getting us even more ready and excited for the characters' inclusion in Super Smash Bros., while simultaneously making us want to boot up our SNES Minis for another run through of the original game. Who'd have thought King K. Rool would be back in the news in 2018? Lovely stuff.

Are you a fan of the Donkey Kong Country series? Let us know what you think of these designs with a comment below.