Donkey Kong (Super Smash Bros.)

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

Donkey Kong
Universe	Donkey Kong
Also appears in	Super Smash Bros. Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. Brawl Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Availability	Starter
Tier	B (9)
Voice Actor
Voiced by	Takashi Nagasako

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu) is a starter character in Super Smash Bros. He is known as a slow (in terms of attacks) yet powerful character, with his trademark move being the Giant Punch, which, when fully charged, deals 36% damage.

DK is ranked 9th in the tier list for his powerful moves and his infamous grab release. However he is somewhat slow, and is the largest and heaviest character in Super Smash Bros., making him viable for many combos.

Attributes

Donkey Kong's ending picture in Super Smash Bros.

Donkey Kong is the heaviest and largest character in Super Smash Bros. This means he gets hit quite easily (and having a poor shield cover makes this worse), but he can take many hits before being KOed. Like most heavyweights, DK has attacks that deal lots of damage and have good knockback. He also has two spikes, and his Giant Punch is extremely powerful when fully charged. However, he has slow attacks, and most of his KOs still require setup. Contrary to popular belief, Donkey Kong has slightly above average dashing speed.

Donkey Kong has a great grabbing/throwing game, due to having the longest non-tether grabbing horizontal range, terrific throw combos (especially when there are walls), and an infinite throw called the Infinite Throw Trap. Donkey Kong has good reach, which allows for good combos despite his slow attack speed, but he lacks a projectile, as well as a reliable way to deal with them, making his approach poor and unvaried. Donkey Kong's Up Special Move, Spinning Kong, travels great horizontal distance, but poor vertical distance. It should be noted that Donkey Kong is extremely vulnerable to combos, due to being very large, very heavy, and falling somewhat quickly.

In high level play, DK is known for his incredible priority and for Back Throw gimps. He is known as a heavy counter to Jigglypuff, as he can grab, cargo, release, and regrab into a Giant Punch for kills. DK however has problems with projectiles and characters like Fox, Kirby, and Falcon combo DK too heavily.

DK is usually considered to be the best low tier in Low Tier Tournaments due to his punch combos, and the fact that there are a very low amount of projectile users in low tiers.

In Doubles

DK is considered to be better for doubles than singles, as he is better at killing as opponent characters are forced to approach. What helps him also is that partners can save him from large grab combos and that he is one of the few characters with a good recovery. DK also happens to be excellent at gimping, one of the main ways of KOing in teams. This is especially true on Dream land.

Moveset

Ground attacks

• Neutral Attack - Jab with 4%, followed by an uppercut for another 4%. Comes out fast, but short range.
• Forward Tilt - Extended Punch. A somewhat slow punch forward with decent range and good knockback. 12% damage.
• Up Tilt - Upward Knock. DK swings his hand in an arch above him. Hitbox is the arch above him and foes standing on the ground close to him. Can chain into itself, but is DI-able. Sets up for aerial combos. Kills around 130%. Good anti-air move if timed right. Some ending lag. Can also lead into a Down Smash at lower percents. 13% damage.
• Down Tilt - Low Slap. A quick hand swipe aimed downwards with a little startup. 8% damage.
• Dash Attack - A very awkward move where DK sticks his foot out and stops. Bad range and duration, lots of lag, and easily shielded. Will not hit foes that are lying down on the ground. This move has set knockback. 12% damage.

Smash attacks

• Forward Smash - DK reels his hand back and thrusts it forward. Very noticeable startup, but good range and excellent knockback. Damage depends on angle. 19%/20%/21% damage.
• Up Smash - DK claps directly above him, with some startup lag. Grounded enemies near him will not be affected at all. Best used under a platform where an opponent is standing or as a well timed anti-air attack. Very powerful. 21%.
• Down Smash - He does a 360° spin while doing a split, which comes out surprisingly fast, and hits on both sides at the same time. However, it does have some ending lag. 19% damage.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral Aerial - DK swirls around in the air. Some long duration and good close up move in the air. 15%, later 12%.
• Forward Aerial - DK does a complete aerial spin with both hands put together. A good spike if the foe is hit correctly, especially since it has range in front of DK. 16% damage.
• Back Aerial - DK puts his feet together and aims them behind, his body moving sideways with them. Some long duration, but good range. This attack is DK's Sex Kick, since it not only has a long duration, but it gets weaker as it stays out. 8-15% damage.
• Up Aerial - DK swings his hand, in an arch almost exactly like his Up Tilt. Useful for juggling. Some ending lag. 12% damage.
• Down Aerial - A simple near-instantaneous spike where DK thrusts his feet down. His feet grow slightly as he's doing so, and has a slightly longer hitbox than most spikes. 13%, later 10%.

Other attacks

• Ledge Attack - Jumps onto the stage backwards, ramming into opponents with his back. Long range, low knockback. 5-6% damage.
• 100% Ledge Attack - Climbs back onto the stage slowly, pausing when half on to slap opponents in front of him. Very short range, low knockback. 5-6% damage.
• Floor Attack - Kicks on his back, forcing his body down, then picks himself up and kicks on the other side. 6% damage.

Throws

• Forward Throw - Cargo Throw - Donkey Kong will hold his opponent on his back, dealing 8%. He can then move around before throwing them forward for another 8%. This throw is heavily based on his ability in Donkey Kong Country to effortlessly carry barrels on his back. However, foes will eventually escape from his grasp whether DK likes it or not. The throw has good knockback, though is often DI'd. Can be used to Infinite Throw Trap (covered below). It also expands your dong until your expansion stops!
• Back Throw - Backward throw. Pretty strong in terms of damage and KO power. Best used by a ledge for a quick kill, or if it didn't kill, a Forward Aerial follow up on recovering foes. 18% damage.

Special moves

Donkey Kong's Special Moves
	64	Melee	Brawl	3DS/Wii U	Ultimate
Standard Special	Giant Punch
Side Special	—	Headbutt
Up Special	Spinning Kong
Down Special	Hand Slap
Final Smash	—		Konga Beat		Jungle Rush

Taunt

• Turns to his right, raises his arms so that his palms are facing upwards, and shrugs while shaking his head.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Character Matchups

Avg.

In Single-player

In the game's single-player mode, the player and two randomly chosen allies will fight a Giant DK on the Congo Jungle stage.

Strategies

Infinite Throw Trap

DK has the ability to use his Forward Throw as a method to constantly stack damage to most characters. In order to do this, DK must use the Cargo Throw, but he must not throw the opponent. If the opponent wiggles out, they will likely wiggle out into DK's grab range, whereupon they can be grabbed again. This throw trap can be broken if the opponent can shake towards DK and his grab. Yoshi and Ness have the most problem getting out of the throw trap due to their different midair jump. Pikachu is the easiest to get out with due to being able to get out of it using the invincibility frames of Quick Attack.

Another infinite trap is to use Hand Slap in the lower left part of Mushroom Kingdom to continuously damage the target. However, this can easily be teched out of, and it is not allowed in tournaments anyway, because the stage is banned.

Ledge Dropping

Due to DK's laggy aerials, DK has very little comboing potential with his aerials except Down Aerial or Forward Aerial into a Throw. However, if DK drops from a ledge, DK can quickly use an Up Aerial and then land to move to do another attack. DK can also jump, use an aerial, and land on a ledge for a similar effect. As a result, on ledges, DK can juggle characters with Up Aerial that he would otherwise never be able to. However, DK may accidentally Self-destruct while attempting this, due to the ending lag in his aerials. It is recommended to only try this on Planet Zebes or the top ledge of Sector Z.

Hand Slap Resets and Down Aerial Usage

DK can also cancel the first slap of the Hand Slap by moving the Control Stick directly back after the first slap to allow him to combo it into a Back Aerial, a grab, or even a Giant Punch or Up Smash to kill the majority of the cast outside of Luigi and Jigglypuff. DK's other main killing combo outside of grab-based gimps is Down Aerial into Up Smash or Down Aerial into Down Smash.

Edge Guarding

When an opponent is off the map jump off the map facing towards the map. Use up-B to knock your opponent further from the edge and then swing back to the edge and stay there so your opponent has nothing to grab. Also, when an opponent is off the map wait at the edge and time the use of the Donkey Punch to KO an opponent.

Description

Donkey Kong and Mario started out as arch-rivals, but they've patched things up in recent years. These days DK spends his time searching the jungle for bananas instead of kidnapping beautiful maidens. In the past few years, other members of the Kong family have cashed in on DK's fame as well, including his favorite nephew, Diddy.

Works:

• Donkey Kong (NES)
• Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
• Mario Kart 64 (N64)

Costume Gallery

Donkey Kong's changeable palette swaps in SSB

Trivia

• DK is one of 4 characters along with Kirby, Mario, and Captain Falcon in SSB to have a green costume not normally accessible via character select, only available if DK is in on the Green Team in Team Battle.
• Donkey Kong, along with Yoshi, is one of two characters in Super Smash Bros. to never be portrayed with head wear in-game.
• Donkey Kong is the only character in Super Smash Bros. that can walk while carrying a Crate or Barrel.
• Donkey Kong is the only character in Super Smash Bros. who can appear to be giant. This makes him to be the only character in all games that has a giant form.