Diddy Kong (Super Smash Bros. Brawl)

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

Diddy Kong
Universe	Donkey Kong
Also appears in	Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	A+ (4)

Diddy Kong (ディディーコング, Dīdī Kongu) is a character for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is unique, distinct among the cast for his charm and gaiety. Unlike in most Donkey Kong games and Mario spinoffs, where Diddy Kong has a cartoonish voice, Brawl has him using a high-pitched chimpanzee-like voice. He is also the first newcomer from the Donkey Kong universe since the original game, much like Lucas' appearance from the Earthbound universe.

He currently ranks 4th on the Tier list (the highest-ranked of any Mario character including sub-series characters). This is, of course, thanks to his solid Bananas which can overcome even the best of defenses. He also handles his trusty Peanut Popgun, and recovers with his Rocketbarrel Boost. Additionally, he has many quick attacks, good agility, a solid D-air Meteor Smash, good grab range, powerful throws for his size, and impressive amount of tournament wins.

Attributes

Diddy Kong is a quick, lightweight character. He is capable of wall clinging and crawling. Diddy Kong has a sliding DACUS, which racks up a lot of damage. Many of his attacks have good speed and have decent power to back them. His killing power is low, due to low amount of killers and general weakness of his smashes, which stale very quickly if he uses them too much for racking damage. This forces a reliance on Meteor Smashes for early kills.

Diddy also has two projectiles- his Peanut Popgun and banana peels. Banana peels in particular hinder the foe's maneuverability, and also create a glide toss option. His Banana Peels are great with his moveset, allowing him to get lots of true combos to rack damage quickly in compensation of his low KO power, because it makes the opponent trip. He can also use his Banana Peels to interrupt certain chain grabs, such as King Dedede's, as well as some grab releases. On the down side, his Banana Peels can be used by other characters and can be reflected. This usually helps those with poor range (e.g.: Wario) as a projectile against himself and eliminates the invulnerability to trip with them if someone gets it or reflects while Diddy throws it.

Diddy has a good aerial game, including a good D-Air Meteor Smash, and the Spike Rocketbarrel Boost provides if the opponent is below the barrels. Most of Diddy's ground moves string together well, with his dash attack having minimal lag, and a large grab range to complement his ground prowess, complete with powerful throws. Diddy's recovery is also good, though it's fairly easy to edge guard it, including the Monkey Flip, which can sometimes function as a fourth jump to compensate his poor horizontal air speed. Also, the extended foot on the Monkey Flip is read by the game as a disjointed hitbox, but he can't use Rocketbarrel Boost if he decides to use the attack instead of the grab, although he can still jump.

The large area covered by Rocketbarrel Boost when fully charged rivals the recoveries of Pit and R.O.B., although it leaves him very vulnerable to gimping while charging, and is easily intercepted during the move, and if Diddy hits a wall while using the Rocketbarrel Boost, he suffers damage and hitstun. Diddy is also able to perform the Diddycide, but it is situational. Diddy is the only character that can perform a Barrel Jump. He is also vulnerable to Counter-Picking, because though he is great in neutral stages, he suffers from many stages where his Banana game is less effective, forcing him to win the first match of the set against some characters to get the chance of winning the set.

Moveset

Ground attacks

Normal

• Neutral Attack - Slaps twice, then turns around and kicks with one foot and keeps it raised. Repeatedly hits by lashing his tail out for damage.
• Dash Attack - Does a cartwheel spin, resembling the one from the Donkey Kong Country games. A great move due to having almost no ending lag and combines well with his up smash. Low knockback (9%)
• Strong Side - Places both arms together above his head. Stands on one foot, leaning to the side and punching with both fists together above his head (9%; 11% if he hits with the tip).
• Strong Up - Swats in the air above him with a slap and looks similar to an uppercut. Quick, and can combine with other attacks. This can be used to juggle at low percents, and KO at very high percents. Has higher knockback than his Up Smash. (7%).
• Strong Down- While crouching, slaps both hands forward in a clap. His hands appear to grow for the duration of this attack. Combos well into more down tilts and even a down smash. Extremely useful for racking up damage at early percents. (7%).

Smash

• Side Smash - Spins with fists outstretched. The first hit has no knockback; the second has below average knockback. First hit does (5%), and second hit does (13%) a total of (18%) uncharged (25%) fully charged. The first hit can be smash Directional Influenced upward out of the 2nd hit though.
• Up Smash - A sliding DACUS. Hops a little and does a sort of cartwheel, hitting three times with extremely low knockback. First two hits do (5%) uncharged, (7%) fully charged, and the last hit does (6%), (8%) fully charged for a total of (16%) uncharged and (22%) fully charged. Fills in combos.
• Down Smash - Performs a sweeping kick. When hitting with the front does (16%) uncharged (22%) fully charged, when hitting with the back does (12%) uncharged (18%) fully charged. It has less knockback than his Forward Smash, but it's still his most reliable smash.

Other

• Ledge Attack - Spinning tail slap.(8%).
• 100% Ledge Attack - Short kick.(10%).
• Floor Attack - Gets up and slaps on both sides. Short range. 6% damage.
• Trip Attack - Sits up and kicks on both sides.

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral Aerial - Sticks out hands and feet and spins. Only hits once with decent knockback, making it a sex kick. Looks similar to his dash attack.(6%).
• Forward Aerial - Kicks both feet forward. Similar to Mario's back aerial and good knockback. (14%).
• Back Aerial - Sticks leg out and spins it behind him. His fastest aerial. (9%).
• Up Aerial - Overhead Flip Kick. Decent knockback, fairly fast.(11%).
• Down Aerial - Performs a double-axe handle, meteor smashing powerfully as soon as it connects.(12%)

Grabs and Throws

• Pummel - Jumps toward and headbutts them, angled from the side of his body.(2%).
• Forward Throw - Tosses opponent forward.(11%). Strongest throw.
• Back Throw - Tosses opponent backward.(10%).
• Up Throw - Throws opponent up and kicks them.(9%).
• Down Throw - Performs a leap-frog-like maneuver and chucks the opponent underneath him. Has fair backwards knockback.(9%).

Special Moves

Diddy Kong's Special Moves
	Brawl	3DS/Wii U	Ultimate
Standard Special	Peanut Popgun
Side Special	Monkey Flip
Up Special	Rocketbarrel Boost
Down Special	Banana Peel
Final Smash	Rocketbarrel Barrage		Hyper Rocket Barrel

On-screen appearance

• Breaks out of a DK barrel and claps his hands above him.

Taunts

• Up: Throws his hat into the air, which lands on his head. This is actually his victory pose from DKC, after he defeats a boss or wins in a bonus room.
• Side: Does a playful fighter's stance and cackles threateningly showing his teeth.
• Down: Claps his hands four times, changing feet as he does so.

Idle Poses

• Looks around and briefly twitches. (a reference to Donkey Kong Country)
• Jumps in place with a slightly cross-eyed look.
• Scratches his butt, gets down on all fours, shakes his fur, relaxes his back, then farts.

Victory Poses

• Slaps forward twice, throws his hands on the ground, and claps his feet while standing on one hand.
• Shoots the camera lens with his Peanut Popgun.
• Spins around with his Rocketbarrel Boost and dances a Russian folk dance.

Diddycide

A strategy used with Diddy Kong's Monkey Flip move (this is preferred for large fighters like DK, Bowser, Ganondorf, etc., but can be used on any if done right). When an opponent is to the left or the right of the stage, and are trying to recover, use the Monkey Flip to grab on to them, and stay still, until it breaks away, or he gets too close to offscreen. Rocketbarrel Boost back to the ledge, while the opponent is fighting an almost hopeless battle trying to get back on stage. Basically this strategy forces the opponent to the bottom of the screen, thus killing them if they do not recover.

There are other variations, which include jumping on the enemy's head after the Monkey Flip breaks away, or Meteor Smashing them with D-Air or Rocketbarrel Boost. This will probably end in a KO if used right, and can kill very early on in the match. Diddycide can also be used to block Snake's recovery, since if the technique is used on Snake while on his Cypher and Diddy Kong lets go, the game will count is as a grab release and Snake will be unable to use Cypher, leaving him too close to the blast line to rely on his C4 jump. This can also be used on Sonic's Spring Jump.

Matchups

 

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

When Donkey Kong has three Bullet Bills fired at him by the vehicle escaping with his banana hoard, Diddy Kong leaps from behind Donkey Kong and unleashes his Peanut Popguns onto the Bullet Bills, destroying them. He then joins Donkey Kong in pursuit of their stolen bananas. At one point, after getting their bananas, they encounter Bowser, who aims the Dark Cannon at the two. Donkey Kong, realizing what is about to happen, then Giant Punches Diddy Kong, sending him flying away and star KO'd (but he didn't turn into a trophy as Mario and Luigi did). Donkey Kong is shot instead and captured.

Then, Diddy Kong comes out of the forest to a lake. When he gets to the lake where a crashed Arwing is seen, Rayquaza comes out of the water and grabs Diddy Kong. Then Fox jumps out of the Arwing which is now on fire due to a Dragon Pulse from Rayquaza. Fox uses his Fox Illusion and Reflector to send Rayquaza back into the lake and save Diddy Kong. Fox then makes a hand signal for Diddy to come with him to fight Rayquaza until it faints. After Rayquaza's defeat, Fox begins to leave, but Diddy drags him along to help rescue DK. They battle a Shadowbug clone of Bowser, but upon defeating it, the real Bowser attacks them and Fox flees, dragging Diddy to safety.

Diddy Kong in the SSE

Later, Fox and Diddy get ambushed by Bowser again, who fires a shot at both of them from his Dark Cannon. Diddy is hit and cloned by Shadowbugs, while Fox dodges the shot. Falco arrives just in time and destroys the Dark Cannon, but Bowser gets away in his Koopa Clown Car while the Shadowbug Diddy expands. Fox revives Diddy, who is shocked at what has happened. Diddy Kong and the two Star Fox pilots then fight the Giant Shadowbug Diddy Kong Clone. After the fight, Diddy drags Falco along with him and Fox as they continue through the jungle. Eventually they see Donkey Kong's trophy on a ship in chains. Diddy is mad at this as he, Fox and Falco board the Great Fox.

After, Diddy Kong is ejected out of Falco's Arwing and shoots peanuts at the Primids on the skiff that has DK's trophy on it. He lands on the skiff while Captain Falcon and Olimar jump to the aid of the little chimp. They revive DK, and the Kongs and Captains then fight a horde of Primids on the little platform. After they have defeated them, Diddy and Donkey Kong do a little dance as Falcon and Olimar watch. As Falco gives a thumbs-up to Diddy, he makes a "thank-you" screech. The four then head into the Subspace Bomb Factory.

After meeting up with Samus and Pikachu, Diddy Kong tries to stop the R.O.Bs that set off Subspace Bombs. He shrieks at R.O.B to do something, but R.O.B is melacholy and won't attack his people. Captain Falcon calls his Falcon Flyer to escape the doomed factory. They all pile into the ship while Meta Ridley appears. Diddy can be chosen to fight this boss. After Meta Ridley is defeated, Diddy helps the heroes as the continue their journey into Subspace.

At the entrance to Subspace all the characters (except Wario, Dedede, Bowser, Luigi, Ness, Ganondorf, Sonic, and, to a lesser extent, Wolf, Toon Link, and Jigglypuff) are all preparing to invade the subspace. After Ganondorf and Master Hand are defeated by Tabuu, Diddy and the rest of the heroes catch a glimpse of the evil power among them. In a single blow Tabuu defeats all of the characters and turned them into trophies. He is later revived by Kirby, Ness, King Dedede and Luigi and joins them to defeat Tabuu. Diddy Kong is known to drag other characters when he wants them to come with him.

Exclusive stickers

These stickers can only be used by Diddy or a select few including him.

• Barkle: [Tail] attack +32
• Blathers: [Tail] attack +7
• Bowser Jr. (Super Mario Sunshine): [Tail] attack +25
• Chihuahua: [Tail] attack +12
• Chunky Kong: [Throwing] attack +31
• Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong 64): Launch power +20
• Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong Country): [Tail] attack +28
• 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
• Fairy: [Tail] attack +7
• Funky Kong: [Leg] attack +13
• Karate Kong: [Battering] resistance +25
• Lanky Kong: [Throwing] attack +6
• Manky Kong: [Arm] attack +10
• Party Monkey: [Head] attack +6
• Pauline & Donkey Kong: [Arm] attack +18
• Rouge the Bat: [Tail] attack +10
• Spitz: [Tail] attack +12
• Stafy (Densetsu no Stafy): [Tail] attack +7
• Tiny Kong: [Arm] attack +4
• Wrinkly Kong: [Battering] resistance +4

Costume Gallery

Trivia

• He's the only character in the Subspace Emissary to see himself as a trophy.
• He's the only character who uses his Final Smash in SSE. He uses it when he attacks the skiff carrying DK's trophy after ejecting from Falco's Arwing.
• Along with Pokémon Trainer, Ice Climbers, and Jigglypuff, Diddy Kong is one of the only characters to have a unique "Defeated/No Contest" pose different from the traditional hand clapping, with him having hat removed, shaking his head while scratching it, facing away from screen. This pose is a reference to the one he makes in the Donkey Kong Country games after losing a life.
• In SSE, the Giant False Diddy Kong uses his third costume, which resembles Dixie Kong, unlike other false characters which have their neutral colors. This is because the real Diddy Kong is playable.
• In SSE, the peanut shells fired from the Peanut Popgun do not release edible peanuts upon breaking open, unless the player shoots the peanuts at jet bursts of flame or spikes.
• Diddy Kong, King Dedede, Ness, Mario, and R.O.B are the only characters to wear their default costumes in team battles when they are on the red team.
• Diddy was at one point the highest ranked, legal fighter in brawl.

External links

• Diddy Kong's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Diddy Kong Character Guide on SWF
• Diddy Kong's hitbox size of each of his moves