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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 (ドンキーコング, 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

  • High launching power on most attacks.
  • Powerful special moves in terms of damage and shield damage.
  • Headbutt can burrow opponents for a follow-up attack.
  • Has four Meteor Smashes: Forward Aerial, Down Aerial, Side Special and Down Special (in the air).

Weaknesses

  • Large character, meaning larger hurtboxes.
  • Some movies have considerable lag (either startup, ending or both).
  • Has poor vertical recovery.
  • Cannot deal very well with opponents that can use projectiles or very fast pushers, such as Sheik.

Summary

Donkey Kong is a powerhouse. Nearly all of his attacks have potential KO power, and his super armor during some of them allows him to sustain and even shrug off flinching.

His attacks are pretty straightforward: high damage and knockback, while some can even be used for combos. His Down Throw combined with Forward Tilt or Dash Attack are true combos against certain characters at very low percentages. His Back Aerial and Up Aerial can also combo with themselves against opponents with low damage percentage.

Donkey Kong is also notable for being able to inflict high shield damage, allowing him to put more pressure on his opponents. Headbutt can break some shields in two or three hits, and Hand Slap also inflicts considerable shield damage in each consecutive hit. Also, Donkey Kong has powerful Meteor Smashes that allows him to KO opponents at lower percentages.

His flaws, however, lie in his poor vertical recovery (which also means he can't gimp or Meteor Smash opponents near the bottom blast line without suiciding) and his large frame, meaning he is an easy target and can be easily hit and juggled by some characters.

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

  • Slightly lower base jump.
  • Slightly faster overall.

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

Jab

◾Jab – Punches in front of him once and then uses an uppercut.

Tilts

◾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.

◾Forward Tilt – Swipes a fist in front of him; hits with the back of the fist.

Smash Attacks

◾Up Smash – Claps his hands above his head.

◾Forward Smash – Claps his hands in front of him.

◾Down Smash – Slams his fists on the ground on both sides.

Other attacks

◾Dash Attack –

◾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

◾Up Aerial – Headbutts in an upward arc above him.

◾Down Aerial – Stamps down with one foot.

◾Neutral Aerial – Rotates in the air with his fists extended.

◾Forward Aerial – Clobbers with both fists in a downward arc in front of him.

◾Back Aerial – Kicks behind him with one foot.

Grabs and Throws

◾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.

◾Down Throw – Slams the opponent on the ground.

◾Up Throw – Turns slightly and tosses the opponent upwards.

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

DonkeyKongTrophy3DS

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.)

DonkeyKongEXTrophy3DS

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

External links


DKSymbol Donkey Kong universe
Characters Donkey Kong (64  · Melee  · Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
Diddy Kong (Brawl  · 3DS/Wii U  · Ultimate)
King K. Rool (Ultimate)
Side Characters Boss Giant Donkey Kong
Assist Trophy Klaptrap
Mii Fighter Costumes King K. Rool  · Dixie Kong
Background characters Cranky Kong
Stage Hazards Klaptrap  · Donkey Kong
Enemies Kritter  · Tiki Buzz
Other Funky Kong
Stages Kongo Jungle  · Kongo Falls  · Jungle Japes  · Rumble Falls  · 75m  · Jungle Hijinxs
Items Hammer  · Barrel Cannon  · Spring  · Peanut
Music List List of Music (Donkey Kong series)
Song "Gang-Plank Galleon"
Collectibles Trophies Melee Trophies  · Brawl Trophies  · 3DS Trophies  · Wii U Trophies
Stickers List of Stickers (Donkey Kong series)
Spirits List of spirits (Donkey Kong series)
Masterpiece Donkey Kong
Related universes Mario  · Yoshi  · Wario  · Wrecking Crew
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