Donkey Kong (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)


 * This article is about Donkey Kong's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For other uses, see Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong (, Donkī Kongu) is a character for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He was first shown very briefly at the E3 2007 press conference. His appearance, like most other characters in Brawl, has been graphically updated to match his more recent appearances. This means, his fur colour is more brightly coloured, and he also appears furrier, especially around his head. DK ranks in the High Tier, 10th overall, due to his great matchups, range, priority, as well as reasonable speed. He is also a very good counter to Snake, and is only at a slight disadvantage to Meta Knight, the two most prominent tourney threats, which has aided his placements in tourneys.

Attributes
Donkey Kong is a very heavy, slow character with powerful attacks and high knockback capabilities. However, he is one of the fastest heavyweight characters. His weight helps him stay alive longer, though he is a big target and has very poor vertical recovery. His Headbutt attack allows him to get a free attack on the opponent, and many of his attacks have low startup time. Donkey Kong is able to carry crates, barrels and Bonsly without a reduction in speed. Donkey Kong's attacks give him an arsenal of three spike attacks and two stage spikes. DK also has a large grab range with powerful throws, and he is even able to chain-grab some characters. Donkey Kong can also perform Kongocide.

The major problem Donkey Kong has stems from no ranged game. His physical moves all have good reach, but he is vulnerable to projectiles and needs to approach opponents. Being the second-largest (and second-heaviest) character is hit-and-miss: he can take a lot of damage before dying, but he gets hit very easily. His recovery is decent, but it is vulnerable to gimping and lacking in vertical height.

What really hurts Donkey Kong is that his size leaves him open to King Dedede's infinite chaingrab, and Dedede is one of the most prevalent characters at tournaments. Having a hard counter at such a high level is truly problematic.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

 * DK gets Super armor during Giant Punch.
 * Giant Punch is much shorter.
 * Landing on the ground from his Spinning Kong leaves him vulnerable as he lands on his back and has to get up.
 * Attacks became slightly faster and stronger, and range has increased on nearly all moves.
 * Headbutt comes out faster and deals more damage.
 * Hand Slap covers more range.
 * Running speed has slightly increased.
 * Spinning Kong does less knockback.
 * Carry throw gives Super armor.
 * Down tilt now trips foes, leaving them vulnerable.
 * Dash attack knocks back horizontally instead of vertically
 * People escape out of his carry throw automatically, even without touching the control stick.

Normal

 * Neutral attack - Does a quick cross punch and follows up with an uppercut. 4% first hit, 6% second hit
 * Dash attack - Skids to a halt doing a side-kick. 11% damage
 * Strong Side - Swats in front. 10% damage
 * Strong Up - Swats above his head. 9% damage
 * Strong Down - Swats at his opponent's feet. This move causes opponents to trip. 8% damage

Smash

 * Side Smash - Claps hands together in front of him. 20% damage
 * Up Smash - Claps hands above his head. This move only hits foes above him. 18% damage
 * Down Smash - Does a double back-handed punch by bringing his closed fists down 90 degrees at both sides. 17% damage

Other

 * Ledge attack - Throws his back at the opponent. 8% damage
 * 100% Ledge attack - Climbs onto stage and swats forward. 10% damage
 * Floor attack - Swats with his hand in a wide arch. 6% damage
 * Trip attack - Spins with his fists as he stands. 5% damage

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Aerial - Spins with arms extended. 8-11% damage
 * Forward Aerial - Puts fists together above his head, then does a powerful Axe-handle Smash. A powerful Meteor Smash. 16% damage
 * Back Aerial - Back-kicks behind him. This attack is quick. 8 or 13% damage based on hit box
 * Up Aerial - Headbutts above. 14% damage
 * Down Aerial - Stomps down, arching his body forward; is a spike. 14-16% damage

Grabs & Throws

 * Pummel - Does a slight karate chop at the enemy's neck. 3% damage
 * Forward Throw - Heaves the opponent on his back, causing minor damage. He can carry around the opponent (regardless of size) as if the opponent were a heavy item. Forward + Forward : 8% damage Forward + Up: 7% damage Forward + Down: 6% damage Forward
 * Back Throw - Swings his arm back and throws the opponent. 11% damage
 * Up Throw - Grabs the enemy and throws them in the air with his right hand. 9% damage
 * Down Throw - Slams the opponent down with his hand. 7% damage

Role in the Subspace Emissary
After Bowser's minions steal his banana horde, DK and Diddy Kong chase after them to get their bananas back. Soon they learned that it was a trap to lure them to Bowser. As Bowser aims his Dark Cannon at the duo, Donkey Kong punches Diddy away and is turned into a trophy. 

Diddy Kong and Falco find DK and revive him while Captain Falcon and Olimar team up with them. After a short battle, Falco flies away in his arwing while the others sneak into the Subspace Army's base. DK beats down the door to the Subspace Bomb room, meeting up with Samus, Pikachu and R.O.B., helps the heroes defeat Meta Ridley, and joins with the heroes throughout the rest of the story.

Exclusive stickers
These stickers can only be used by Donkey Kong or a select few including him.
 * Chunky Kong: [Throwing] attack +31
 * Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong 64): Launch power +20
 * Diddy Kong (Mario Hoops 3-on-3!): [Leg] attack +28
 * Diddy Kong (Mario Superstar Baseball): [Leg] attack +12
 * Dixie Kong: Launch resistance +39
 * DK: [Head] attack +27
 * DK Barrel: Launch power +53
 * Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Jungle Beat): [Arm] attack +22
 * Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country): [Electric] resistance +10
 * Donkey Kong Jr.: [Arm] attack +14
 * Enguarde: [Body, Spin] attack +15
 * Funky Kong: [Leg] attack +13
 * Karate Kong: [Battering] resistance +25
 * Lanky Kong: [Throwing] attack +6
 * Party Monkey: [Head] attack +6
 * Pauline & Donkey Kong: [Arm] attack +18
 * Tiny Kong: [Arm] attack +4
 * Wrinkly Kong: [Battering] resistance +4

Trivia

 * DK's down B is the strongest attack against Bosses but only works on certain ground bosses.
 * DK might be left handed (or ambidextrous) due to the fact he uses his left hand for his Giant Punch, though he uses the right for Super Smash Bros. In Mario Superstar Baseball, Donkey Kong uses his right to pitch and left to bat.
 * DK is one of the only characters that can't use his down special in midair. Others include Peach and Pokemon Trainer.
 * DK is the only character who can pick up Snake's box and walk around with it.