King Hippo's race and weight have been the subject of discussion. The Retronauts podcast discussed how he was a stereotype of Pacific islanders, pointing to King Hippo being fat and lavish as examples of these stereotypes. Brian Shirk, writing in "Bit Mob", criticized King Hippo's design as offensive, suggesting that his "subhuman caricature" design was likely based on the savage portrayal of Polynesians in media. In an article about the need for more positive non-white characters in Nintendo games, "Ars Technica" writer Sam Machkovech compared King Hippo's face to Donkey Kong's. Comics Beat writer Davey Nieves referred to King Hippo as the game's "body shaming mascot" and stated that he would have not survived past 25 years of age. The Outline writer Anshuman Iddamsetty discussed King Hippo in an article about video games "demonizing obesity," specifically citing the fact that his weakness was his belly.