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
Universe	Donkey Kong
Also appears in	Super Smash Bros Super Smash Bros. Melee Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	C (20)

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkī Kongu) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He was first shown very briefly at the E3 2007 press conference. Like most other characters in Brawl, has been graphically updated to match his more recent appearances. His fur is more brightly colored, and he also appears furrier, especially around his head. When Donkey Kong jumps and lands, like Bowser and King Dedede, the screen will shake slightly.

Donkey Kong ranks in the C tier, 20th overall, due to his well rounded attacks, good mobility, good range and incredible finishers (namely a fully charged Giant Punch); however, being a candidate for infinite chain grabs as well as problems dealing with certain projectiles are the reasons for his drop from being a high tier character from the first tier list.

Attributes

Donkey Kong is a very heavy character with very powerful attacks, great attack range, and high knockback capabilities. Despite these pros, Donkey Kong lacks projectiles and a reliable way to deal with them, which makes his moveset and style of approach unvaried. He is one of the fastest heavyweight characters; his movement speed is above average: fast running, fast walking, fast air speed, and very high initial jump. Donkey Kong's weight helps him stay alive longer, though he is a big target and has very poor vertical recovery, but extremely long horizontal recovery. He can even use Spinning Kong to cancel knockback from an attack that would even KO Bowser, Snake, or King Dedede. Despite his extremely long horizontal recovery, it is vulnerable to disjointed attacks and has poor vertical height which means even weak spikes can be devastating, though it's hard to edge guard without a disjointed attack due it's initial invincibility frames and after being a high priority move. Combining his impressive weight and good horizontal recovery with good Directional Influence, he will be extremely hard to KO.

Although he can take a lot of damage before dying, he gets hit very easily due to his large size. His large size and heavy weight also leaves him open to many chain grabs (e.g. King Dedede's infinite chain grab without a wall, which is truly problematic at such a high level), except Bowser's ground releases. Though given his attack range and speed, it can be difficult for characters with short-ranged grabs like the Ice Climbers to grab him to begin with. His Headbutt attack allows him to get a free attack on the opponent, as many of his follow-up attacks have low startup time, and it also does very high damage to shields. His fully charged Giant Punch also heavily damages shields, and the super armor it grants may allow him to trade KO moves with an opponent and survive. Even his grounded Spinning Kong does high damage to opponents or shields. Having three high shield damage attacks he can give high shield pressure. Donkey Kong has no problems killing: all his smashes are powerful, with up smash and down smash coming out very fast; up air can compensate for a missed edge guard, three reliable meteor smashes, back air, back throw, Giant Punch (9 charges is actually more powerful than fully charged, but without Super Armor), and the cargo stage spike. He can counter any ground grab releases because of his unique extremely short grab release animation, making him escape from release lag 10 frames earlier than any other character does and being immune to Bowser's grab release game with the addition of only Snake and Yoshi being able to force him to jump break from grabs. Donkey Kong is unique to be able to carry crates, barrels and Bonsly without a reduction in speed, but small items have unusual long end animation (though he has one of the best Glide Tosses in the game). DK also has a large grab range with powerful throws, and he is even able to chain-grab some characters, DK can infinite-Cargo release Lucas and Ness, he can KO characters in low percents when using the Cargo stage-spike. Donkey Kong can also perform Kongocide, although it's not the most useful of the sacrificial KOs.

Although Donkey Kong has his share of problems, he fares decently against the majority of the cast, and there are very few matchups he can't overcome.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

Donkey Kong has been significantly buffed from SSBM to SSBB. Overall, he is a faster, stronger, and longer ranged character with increased priority in most of his moves. For example, both his back air and down smash have highly increased knockback. Giant Punch has shorter range and has less knockback when fully charged (the 9 charge is much stronger but doesn't have super armor like the fully charged), but he can now also reverse it. In addition, it also charges faster. Headbutt comes out faster and deals more damage. Additionally, Headbutt can now dig if Donkey Kong uses it in the air and the opponent is in the ground rather than just Donkey Kong in the ground as well. Furthermore, since buried characters can now receive knockback, and the duration is increased if the victim has higher damage, Headbutt can now easily be comboed with Giant Punch. Hand Slap is a better move in general, as it covers more range and deals 14% instead of 11%. Spinning Kong does less knockback but grants super armor just before it's released. Landing on the ground from his Spinning Kong leaves him vulnerable as he lands on his back and has to get up. However, it gives slightly more horizontal distance and higher vertical height. Donkey Kong's shield is larger, but it's still small in relation to his body. His side smash has higher knockback, and a fully charged side smash has higher knockback than fully charged Giant Punch. His up smash can now hit grounded characters, and his down tilt now trips foes, leaving them vulnerable. People escape out of his carry throw automatically, even without touching the control stick. Additionally, only the opponent takes damage if released. Donkey Kong's falling speed is much slower (no longer among the fastest), which has both advantages (such as making chain grabs less effective) and disadvantages (such as making approaching with aerials less effective). His dash attack now has horizontal knockback instead of vertical knockback. Forward carry throw has more vertical knockback and less horizontal knockback. In terms of cosmetics, Donkey Kong has more realistic gorilla roars (similar to other characters having more realistic noises). His costume is lighter and very different from Melee (making him comparable to his appearance in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat with his furrier appearance), and his black costume now has a yellow tie instead of a blue tie.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

• Neutral attack - Does a quick cross punch and follows up with an uppercut. Certain hitboxes can jab lock. 4% first hit, 6% second hit
• Dash attack - Skids to a halt doing a side-kick. High lag and poor shieldstun. Similar to a move from Donkey Kong 64. 11% damage
• Strong Side - Swats in front. Large range and fast but low knockback, this move can go through Meta Knight's Mach Tornado, 10% damage, 12% angled up, 9% and trips angled down.
• Strong Up - Swats above his head. Fast with a good arch range. 9-11% damage depending on where it connects.
• Strong Down - Swats at his opponent's feet. This move causes opponents to trip. Slightly less range and similar start-up of his his forward tilt, but barely any ending lag and still has long range. A great lock move at low percentages and a trip can be combined with his Hand Slap. 8% damage

Smashes

• Side Smash - Claps hands together in front of him. Highest damage from close, but slightly higher knockback at the farther hitboxes. Extremely high knockback when fully charged. Great priority. Fairly quick for a heavyweight. 20%-21% damage uncharged, 28-29% fully charged
• Up Smash - Claps hands above his head. This move sweetspots when it hits foes above him, and becomes weaker when it hits right beside Donkey Kong. Huge knockback when hitting from below. Good hitting from below a platform and great running up smash. Has almost no hitlag, meaning it is nearly impossible to SDI. 18%-26% damage
• Down Smash - Does a double back-handed punch by bringing his closed fists down 90 degrees at both sides. Very fast, great vertical knockback, and one of the strongest down smashes in the game, but low priority. 17%/25% damage when hit with his fists, 14% up close.

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. Similar to his Spinning Kong move. 8-11% damage
• Forward Aerial - Puts fists together above his head, then does a powerful Axe-handle Smash. A powerful Meteor Smash. Great for catching edge guarders while recovering. Looks almost exactly like the one from Donkey Kong 64, but obviously slower. 16% damage
• Back Aerial - Back-kicks behind him. Very fast, long ranged and strong. 8% if not sweetspotted (closest to DK) or 13% on his foot for max damage and knockback.
• Up Aerial - Headbutts above. Extremely quick, can Star KO at high percentages. 15% damage
• Down Aerial - Stomps down, arching his body forward. When this move hits, it will always spike similar to Ganondorf's d-air, and it is his strongest spike. Has Star KO potential. Can be used on many characters by carry down throwing, then jumping and dair. 14-16% damage.

Grabs & Throws

• Standing grab - One of the longest non-tether grab ranges and high vertical range
• Running grab - Much worse than standing grab range: Much shorter range and a lot of ending lag
• Pivot grab - Slightly longer range than his standing grab range
• Pummel - Does a slight karate chop at the enemy's neck. 3% damage
• Forward Throw - Heaves the opponent on his back, just like carrying the barrels from Donkey Kong Country, causing minor damage. He can carry around the opponent (regardless of size) as if the opponent were a heavy item. Can be released and regrabbed if he can react quicker, being an infinite on Lucas and Ness when turn releasing and turn grabbing. Forward + Forward : 8% damage Forward + Up: 7% damage Forward + Down: 6% damage Forward + Back: release:6% (set damage). Donkey Kong is unable to use his forward throw on enemies in the SSE, making him the only character unable to use one of his standard throws for said reason. If the input for the forward throw is used, he will use his up throw instead.
• Back Throw - Swings his arm back and throws the opponent. A very good KO throw and it has fast start-up. 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. Can chain grab characters like Snake or Kirby. At low percentages, this can combo into Hand Slap and can start aerial juggles from there. 7% damage

On-screen appearance

• Breaks out of a DK barrel, grunts and makes a strongman pose.

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

In competitive play

 

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

The Koopa Troopas and Bowser steal Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. As a Hammer Bro. drives off in a car which contains all the bananas, Donkey Kong watches him from a cliff. The Hammer Bro. and the Goomba aboard the car spot Donkey Kong and shoot Bullet Bills at him. However, Diddy Kong comes out from a bush and expertly shoots the Bullet Bills with his Peanut Popguns. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong then follow the Hammer Bro. to retrieve the Banana Hoard. After following him, they see Bowser with a strange type of gun called a Dark Cannon, revealing that he is working for the Subspace Army. When Bowser charges the cannon, Donkey Kong quickly charges his Giant Punch and launches Diddy into the sky and out of the way, sacrificing himself. Bowser shoots Donkey Kong and turns him into a trophy. Later in the story, Diddy Kong, Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi see a ship which is carrying Donkey Kong as a trophy to a mysterious floating island. Falco then helps Diddy by following it with his Arwing and having the little Kong with him. Falco then does a barrel roll and drops Diddy out. Diddy fires up his Rocket Barrels and takes out his Popguns and shoots the ship. After seeing this, Captain Falcon and Olimar decide to help him and jump to the ship, where Diddy frees Donkey Kong. All four then fight the Primids and other enemies on the ship.

Donkey Kong in the SSE

The ship takes them inside a factory producing Subspace Bombs, and encounter various R.O.B.s that happen to live on the island. They later meet up with Pikachu and Samus Aran where they see the Ancient Minister and a whole lot of R.O.B.s. After Ganondorf controls the R.O.B.s into activating all of the Subspace Bombs, the Ancient Minister is shown to be R.O.B., the leader of all the lesser R.O.B.s who were forced to work for the Subspace Army. R.O.B. then fights with the others. When trying to escape Captain Falcon calls for his Falcon Flyer and tries to leave the cave when Meta-Ridley appears and they must fight him. After that they all meet up with the others.

Donkey Kong and the other heroes enter Subspace and meet Tabuu, who turns everyone into trophies with his Off Waves. However, King Dedede had anticipated this and created badges that revived certain fighters back into their original form. With his team consisting of Luigi and Ness, Dedede rescues Donkey Kong and most of the others, although some of them were rescued by Kirby. They also recruit Bowser, Ganondorf, and Wario when they learned about Tabuu. At the end of the Great Maze, Sonic the Hedgehog shows up and helps weaken Tabuu's Off Waves so Donkey Kong and the others would be able to beat him.

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

Palette Swap

Donkey Kong's changeable palette swaps in SSBB

Trophy description

A carefree jungle dweller with the charisma of a natural leader. He keeps busy by foiling the plans of the Kremlings and their boss, King K. Rool. As his physique suggests, this ape is a powerhouse. He's got speed to match too, and his love for bananas is second to none. His famous necktie is adorned with his initials, DK.

• Donkey Kong Country (Super Nintendo)
• Donkey Kong 64 (Nintendo 64)

Trivia

• Even though Donkey Kong has teeth, he only shows them when performing certain attacks or taunts. He occasionally opens his mouth with no teeth showing.
• When DK is tiny, he actually moves faster while carrying a Crate or Blast Box.
• DK is the only character in Brawl that has more than four different throws.
• On his trophy description it says he debuted in Donkey Kong Country this is probably correct or incorrect because after watching Snake joins the Brawl it says that Cranky Kong debuted in Donkey Kong.
• Donkey Kong is called King Kong in Event #27 Three Beast Carnage from a movie.

External links

• Donkey Kong's page at Smash Bros. Dojo!!.
• Donkey Kong Character Guide at SWF
• Donkey Kong's hitbox size of each of his moves
• Donkey Kong's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by CrappyCaptureDevice