Donkey Kong (Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U)

This article is about Donkey Kong's appearance in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. 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. (Wii U and 3DS)
Availability	Starter
Tier	N/A (N/A)

Donkey Kong is the main protagonist of the Donkey Kong Country series, and shares the name of the main antagonist of the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong. One of the original 12 characters who have appeared in every Smash Bros. game, Donkey Kong was confirmed to return for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U at E3 2013. He retains most of his attributes from previous titles.

Attributes

Strengths

• Strong throws

• High launching power on many attacks

• Powerful special moves in terms of damage

• Headbutt can burrow opponents for a follow-up attack

Weaknesses

• Lacks a projectile

• Is a large character meaning larger hurtboxes

• Slower for a heavier character

• Has poor vertical recovery

Summary

Donkey Kong retains his standing as a slow, powerful character. His Final Smash, Konga Beat, has been cosmetically changed, making it easier for him to use and making it more dangerous.

Differences from Brawl

While mostly identical to his Brawl counterpart, Donkey Kong has gained a buff in speed, being overall faster in both movement and attack, and also with increased range in some moves.

Attributes

• Dash Attack has less ending lag.
• Slightly lower base jump.

Ground Attacks

• Neutral Attack second hit is faster and with less ending lag.
• Up Tilt has less startup lag and hits in a wider arc.
• Down Tilt causes less damage.
• Up Smash covers slightly higher horizontal range, being able to hit enemies by the side more easily.
• Dash Attack is now a roll, mimicking his move in the Donkey Kong Country games. It has slightly higher reach and ending lag.

Aerial Attacks

• Forward Aerial has less startup lag, but a has smaller hitbox, with DK's hand no longer "growing".
• Up Aerial has less startup lag and higher vertical range.
• Back Aerial has slightly more range and damage.
• Down Aerial has a different animation, and is now a punch instead of a kick, being slightly faster and with higher reach. However, it has a sourspot that inflict less damage and knockback.

Grabs and Throws

• Dash Grab is slightly slower.
• Down Throw has much lower knockback scaling.

Special Attacks

• Giant Punch has slightly higher startup lag, and has slightly longer reach. It is much more powerful in both damage and knockback when fully charged.
• Headbutt now inflicts huge shield damage. However it no longers stops DK's momentum when used in midair.
• Spinning Kong, when used on the ground, now causes DK to move in an angle.
• Hand Slap can now be used in midair and can cause Meteor Smash. Its ground version is faster and has larger hitboxes, hitting enemies from a slightly longer distance.
• Konga Beat now shows a bar to indicate when the player must hit the attack button. It also slows down time for auto-scrolling stages, preventing DK from being left behind, causing suicide.

Moveset

Ground Attacks

Normal

Jab: Punches in front of him once and then uses an uppercut

Side Tilt: swipes a fist in front of him; hits with the back of the fist

Up Tilt: Swings an open hand in an upward arc over his head

Down Tilt: swings an open hand along the ground in front of him

Smash Attacks

Side Smash: Claps his hands in front of him

Up Smash: Claps his hands above his head

Down Smash: Slams his fists on the ground on both sides

Other attacks

Ledge Attack: Pounds his fist on the ground as he climbs back up from the ledge

Get-Up Attack: Claps behind him and then in front of him before getting up

Aerial Attacks

Neutral Air: Rotates in the air with his fists extended

Forward Air: Clobbers with both fists in a downward arc in front of him

Back Air: Kicks behind him with one foot

Up Air: Headbutts in an upward arc above him

Down Air: Stamps down with one foot

Grabs and Throws

Grab: Swipes with one open hand

Pummel: Hits the opponent with his other hand

Forward Throw: grabs the opponent with both hands and carries them over his head; can move around and jump while carrying them; once a forward or backward direction is input he will throw them away with both hands

Back Throw: Spins around and hurls the opponent behind him

Up Throw: Turns slightly and tosses the opponent upwards

Down Throw: Slams the opponent on the ground

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

Donkey Kong's Custom Special Moves
	Custom 1	Custom 2
Standard Special	Lightning Punch	Storm Punch
Side Special	Jumping Headbutt	Stubborn Headbutt
Up Special	Chopper Kong	Kong Cyclone
Down Special	Focused Slap	Hot Slap

Taunts

Up Taunt: Beats his chest

Side Taunt: Shakes around

Down Taunt: Looks at the camera, raises his hands to the sides as if to shrug and growls

In competitive play

To be added

Trophy Description

Donkey Kong

This king of the jungle really, really loves bananas. His adventures usually start with people stealing his hoard of them. In Smash Bros., he's known for his incredible strength and long reach. Despite his size, he's still pretty quick. He can even jump carrying heavy items! Use this knowledge well.

• SNES - Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)
• Wii - Donkey Kong Country Returns (11/2010)

Donkey Kong (Alt.)

Donkey Kong pulls no punches when it comes to fighting. Or headbutts, as it turns out. His Headbutt special move will bury those on the ground who get hit, leaving them open to some serious damage. If Donkey Kong strikes airborne foes with this move, they'll go crashing downward.

• Same as above

Donkey Kong + Barrel Train

This mean machine may look like it was meant for the tracks, but really it was made to soar. That fine wood finish isn't so great in the water, though. I bet more than a few players have fond memories of the Barrel Train and its first driver, Diddy Kong.

Other features

To be added

Costume Gallery

Trivia

• His forward throw is a reference to the original Donkey Kong arcade game when the gorilla lifted barrels and other objects above his head before throwing them.

• His Final Smash is pulled from the Donkey Kong Jungle Beat game and features Donkey Kong's theme song.

Gallery

Donkey Kong's veteran artwork.

External links

• Donkey Kong's page on the SSBWU/3DS Website