Blunderbuss
| Blunderbuss | |
|---|---|
 King K. Rool shooting a Kannonball from the Blunderbuss in Ultimate. | |
| User | King K. Rool |
| Universe | Donkey Kong |
| Article on Super Mario Wiki | Blunderbuss |
| “ | Fires an iron ball from his gun. The button can be held to suck the iron ball (or opponents) back in. | ” |
| —Description from Ultimate's Move List | ||
The Blunderbuss (パイレーツキャノン, Pirate's Cannon) is King K. Rool's neutral special move.
Overview
K. Rool pulls out a blunderbuss and shoots a Kannonball projectile forward, donning the pirate hat he used in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest.
When the special button is pressed, K. Rool will fire a Kannonball, and then put away his hat and blunderbuss. The projectile is slow, travels straight for 3/4 the length of Final Destination and deals 13%. After around 2 seconds, the Kannonball will disappear. K. Rool cannot fire another Kannonball if one the one he previously shot is still present, instead firing a "Fake Shot".
If the special button is held while the Kannonball is in play, the Blunderbuss will suck in air in front of K. Rool, creating a vortex. This can also be done directly after firing the Kannonball. He will continue to suck as long as the special button is held for a maximum of 2.5 seconds. K. Rool can drop through platforms while in this state, and while dropping a player can influence his direction as well. If the player's own Kannonball or an opponent comes near the vacuum, the blunderbuss will trap them inside it and K. Rool shoots them out immediately afterwards. However, it will usually prioritize a player rather than the Kannonball. If the Kannonball is shot again, its damage increases to 17% with noticeably higher knockback. If an opponent is shot, it will inflict 12% damage to the victim and briefly turn them into a projectile. During this state, the opponent is invincible, somewhat limiting combo utility. The shot can be aimed in 3 directions; up and forward, directly up or up and backwards.
If a Kannonball hits a wall or player, it will fall down and retain its hitbox until it hits the floor, in which case it disappears after around half a second. This means that one can shoot an opponent with a Kannonball, drop down while vacuuming, and still manage to reshoot the Kannonball. However, the length of time the Kannonball is out makes the practicality of this strategy questionable. Off-stage, a falling Kannonball can be used to disrupt recovery, or a bold player could reshoot it at the opponent for a stylish KO.
Blunderbuss Vacuum Delay
Though holding the B Button will transition Blunderbuss into the Vacuum stance, this isn't actually the only way to do it. By tapping B to trigger Blunderbuss, there are 19 frames (after the shot) where Vacuum can be inputted at any point. This is known as Blunderbuss Vacuum Delay by the playerbase.
This trick is typically used by King K. Rool players when ledgetrapping, as a mixup. For example, a player seeking to end a match quickly could try to jump and attack, only to get hit with a delayed Vacuum to reset the loop again.
Fake Shot Vacuum Cancel
In a similar fashion, while the Blunderbuss's Kannonball is out, the move actually changes completely. The "Fake Shot" - where the Blunderbuss shoots but nothing comes out - actually can be cancelled into Vacuum at any point; even before the Blunderbuss even comes out. This is known as a Fake Shot Vacuum Cancel, and is simply executed by pressing and holding B during the Fake Shot animation.
This is used as another mixup option against unknowing opponents being too aggressive on their punishes, allowing a player to reset neutral. The best application for this is dropping through platforms and suddenly going into Vacuum when the opponent tries to exploit the Blunderbuss's lag. It is also used when ledgetrapping as a red herring to keep the mindgames going, although typically Vacuum Delay is better for this. Overall, this isn't necessarily useful more than once per game.
Origin
This attack is based on the boss fight against Kaptain K. Rool, King K. Rool's pirate persona, in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. In the fight, Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong have to avoid Kannonballs shot by K. Rool, then grab and throw them into his blunderbuss when he tries to vacuum up the Kongs; if a Kong got close to the blunderbuss as it vacuumed, they would not get sucked inside, but instead K. Rool would strike them with the butt of the gun. Throwing a Kannonball into the blunderbuss as it vacuumed would result in it clogging up and exploding, dealing damage to K. Rool in a comical manner; this also shoots the Kannonball back out at increasing speeds as the fight goes on. The explosion is absent from Ultimate, likely due to not wanting the move to inflict damage on the player.
Unlike in Ultimate, Kaptain K. Rool's blunderbuss could shoot out Kannonballs with spikes, and at various heights and trajectories, such as bouncing on the ground or spiraling through the air. It could also be used to rocket K. Rool across the stage, with the blunderbuss acting as an exhaust, and it could shoot odd mists that would freeze, confuse or slow down Diddy and Dixie Kong on contact.
Gallery
King K. Rool using the Blunderbuss's Vacuum feature.
Blunderbuss as shown by a Skill Preview in Ultimate.
