Editing Diddy Kong (SSB4)

|name = Diddy Kong

|image = [[File:Diddy Kong SSB4.png|250px]]

|game = SSB4

|ssbgame1 = SSBB

|ranking = 2-3

'''Diddy Kong''' ({{ja|ディディーコング|Didī Kongu}}, ''Diddy Kong'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. He was confirmed on February 21st, 2014, coinciding with the international release date of ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze}}''. Instead of using his voice actor Katsumi Suzuki, Diddy Kong retains his realistic chimpanzee screeches from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' (sampled once again from the commonly used "Chimpanzee Screeche PE026201" stock sound effect).

Diddy Kong ranks 2nd/3rd out of 54 characters in the [[tier list]], tying him with {{SSB4|Cloud}}, and placing him in S tier, a slight rise from his equally top-tiered placement of 4th out of 38 in ''Brawl'', makes him the highest ranked base-game character and is his best placement in the series. Diddy Kong's strengths lie in his powerful comboing ability, with attacks flowing very well together as a result of their surprisingly long reach for a character of his size, quick frame data, and low knockback. He also has a fair share of strong, effective finishers, such as his smash attacks, which he can combo into. He is also highly mobile and has a strong [[neutral game]], thanks to his {{B|Banana Peel|move}}, [[Monkey Flip]] and [[Peanut Popgun]], all which provide him great mobility and stage control. Diddy Kong also features many safe and reliable ways to KO thanks to his down tilt, forward air, back air, and throws. On top of this, Diddy Kong also has a strong and safe edgeguarding game thanks to back air and [[Peanut Popgun]]. Diddy's flaws are his susceptibility to being [[gimp]]ed, owing to how linear and short-ranged Monkey Flip is, as well as the unsafe properties of [[Rocketbarrel Boost]], a poor damage output which is exacerbated by his poor aerial mobility when not using special moves, which hinders his aerial combo game and the lack of a reliable combo breaker. Despite a number of nerfs to his combo ability in [[updates]], Diddy Kong has maintained outstanding tournament results throughout the game's competitive lifespan, particularly thanks to {{Sm|ZeRo}}.

Matching his great mobility overall, Diddy Kong's greatest strength is his quick attack speed. Along with having a variety of moves with quick frame data and low knockback, Diddy Kong's limbs have the unique ability of stretching, giving his attacks surprising [[range]]. This grants Diddy Kong one of the best combo abilities in the game, which is further supplemented by the utility of his moves. His grounded game has some interesting options: his up tilt covers a very reliable arc above himself, has follow-up potential at low percentages and great KO potential at high ones despite its speed. Down tilt has low knockback, giving it the ability to combo into itself, as well as KO set-ups into up smash and forward aerial. His smash attacks also have high speed and good power, making them great for finishing off opponents. Forward smash is fairly quick and has the highest knockback of Diddy Kong's attacks, along with having the least ending lag out of his smash attacks. Up smash has incredibly fast startup with good range, and is his most commonly used smash attack to finish an opponent's stock due to the plethora of set-up options into it. Down smash is a [[semi-spike]], making it great for [[edgeguarding]] and covering [[roll]]s, though it should be used carefully due to it having the highest ending lag out of his smash attacks. Meanwhile, his neutral attack has quick speed and is safe on hit, though it lacks reliable KO potential and cannot jab cancel into Diddy's moves, making it overshadowed by his other options. Forward tilt has very good range, can be angled and deals good knockback, making it great for spacing opponents out, but it is commonly forgone in favor of his smash attacks due to it lacking reliable KO potential, like his neutral attack.

 

In contrast, Diddy Kong's air game is also strong in any case, due to his aforementioned range, speed, and balance of power. Neutral aerial has a long duration and decent vertical knockback, making it a useful combo extender. Forward aerial is fast, strong and has a long duration and can autocancel from a short hop fast fall, making it the all-purpose attack and one of the staples on Diddy's moveset. Back aerial is his second fastest one, and has decent power for its speed, making it useful for comboing and edgeguarding. Up aerial, while significantly nerfed over time, remains Diddy's fastest aerial and, due to its high base knockback, it is excellent at juggling the opponent. His down aerial, however, despite having very high power for a [[meteor smash]], has a sourspot, high landing lag and lasts for only one frame. Thus, while it is a dependable edgeguarding tool, it is arguably Diddy's least useful aerial.

 

Diddy Kong's already great [[neutral game]] is further supplemented by his versatile special moves. [[Peanut Popgun]] allows Diddy Kong to shoot a [[peanut]], a weak [[projectile]] that can be used for edgeguarding or disrupting [[approach]]es. While slow and difficult to land, the explosion from the overcharged popgun can also be used as an attack. It is also tremendously powerful, dealing 23% damage and heavy knockback, KOing earlier than even {{SSB4|King Dedede}}'s forward smash. [[Monkey Flip]] is a command grab that lets Diddy Kong latch onto and pummel an opponent. From there, it can be followed up by either a double punch or a jump attack, with the latter being a meteor smash and granting Diddy Kong a second use. Alternatively, it can be cancelled immediately into a strong flying kick. The jump also grants a lot of momentum, making it a great move for [[recovery]]. [[Rocketbarrel Boost]] is Diddy Kong's primary means of recovery, covering large amounts of distance, especially if fully charged. Diddy Kong can also ram and launch opponents, and if attacked during it, the rocketbarrels become [[unblockable]] projectiles. Finally, {{B|Banana Peel|move}} is a defining part of Diddy Kong's ground game. It can be used as a regular [[Banana Peel]] or [[out of shield]], both of which can be used for [[predicting]] the opponent's [[floor recovery]] or leaving them open to a smash attack. All of these moves grant Diddy Kong excellent stage control options, and give him a fantastic neutral game when combined with his combo potential and strong mobility.

 

However, Diddy Kong has some weaknesses. One of his flaws is his damage output being below average overall, making it crucial for him to extend his combos in any way possible to rack up the most amount of damage. In addition, despite his small frame and only average weight, Diddy Kong is vulnerable to combos, due to his fast falling speed and high gravity, and he doesn't have a particularly reliable combo breaker. While his neutral aerial is something of an exception due to its long duration, it is only situational for combo breaking as it has surprisingly slow startup at frame 8. This makes it easy for characters with reliable combo abilities to easily rack up damage on him, while his weight isn't heavy enough to sustain heavy hits at high percents. Another flaw is his [[recovery]]. While his high jumps, wall cling and special attacks grant very long distance overall and allow for many mix-ups, this is counterbalanced by the numerous risks in using his recovery moves. Monkey Flip's kick input prevents Diddy Kong from using any other special move and, by extension, his Rocketbarrel Boost, which can limit his ability to use the move for recovery, and as mentioned before, Rocketbarrel Boost has to be charged to cover long distances, and the rocketbarrels will detach from Diddy Kong if he's hit or crashes into the stage. This means that any hit during the move can be detrimental to Diddy Kong, with meteor smashes often KOing him outright (it still takes good timing to gimp his recovery because of the sheer speed of his Rocketbarrel Boost). As a result, Diddy Kong's recovery is only average.

 

Finally, even though his air game is arguably one of the best in ''Smash 4'', it is still flawed. Diddy Kong's aforementioned slow air speed is slow enough to the point that he can only perform Wall of Pain combos at low percentages. His neutral, up and down aerials are good combo combo starters (the lattermost also being a powerful meteor smash), his forward aerial is good for catching dodges due to its long duration and his back aerial is a good edgeguarding option due to its fast startup (frame 5), but none of his aerials have are powerful enough to KO until very high percentages unless under the rage effect. In addition, his forward and down aerials have a surprising degree of landing lag (26 and 28 frames, respectively), his neutral and down aerials have unfavorable autocancel windows, and his up aerial is his only reliable aerial KO option, though it can only KO reliably if used after a down throw (both of which were nerfed in the 1.0.6 and 1.0.8 updates, as the former had its knockback reduced and the latter had its knockback increased and its angle altered). Finally, all of Diddy Kong's aerial attacks are surprisingly easy to punish on shield as none of them are effective at wearing down shields.

Diddy Kong only has a few useful [[custom moves]], having only two that are overall better than their defaults: Rocketbarrel Attack and Shocking Banana Peel. Rocketbarrel Attack has much less maneuverability and is slower, but is extremely powerful even when uncharged, granting Diddy Kong a lethal surprise KO option. Shocking Banana Peel has a different throw trajectory and is less effective when thrown directly at the opponent, but is able to [[paralyze]] the opponent, leaving them wide open to any attack. The rest of his custom moves have disadvantages that noticeably outweigh their advantages, with Exploding Popgun being particularly notorious. However, these do not matter much because his default specials are extremely useful.

Overall, despite his constant nerfs, Diddy Kong remains a very potent character. The combination of high combo versatility, easy to land KO options, strong stage control and the lack of a glaring weakness have granted him great results in tournaments, as demonstrated by numerous top-level competitiors such as {{Sm|ZeRo}}.

Initially, Diddy Kong was considered to be [[buff]]ed in his transition from ''Brawl'' to ''Smash 4'' despite [[Tier list|already being a top tier character]] due to his new incredible up aerial which when combined with the changes to [[hitstun canceling]]/[[DI]], he could combo into it with itself or his throws for either a deadly 50/50 with up throw or a long lasting kill confirm with down throw, but as of [[List of updates (SSB4)/1.0.8 changelog|patch 1.0.8]], he has been considerably [[nerf]]ed from his initial incarnation and has seen a mix of buffs and nerfs from the transition from ''Brawl'' to ''Smash 4'' but has been nerfed overall.

His most significant nerf was to his {{B|Banana Peel|move}} move which was previously the key to his past success. Not only can he now only have one Banana Peel out at a time, but the peels also vanish if they hit an opponent, greatly hindering Diddy's stage control and removing his [[zero-death]] potential with his bananas. The removal of [[glide toss]]ing also hurts his banana game. [[Peanut Popgun]] is now laggier and it is weaker when charged which further hurts Diddy's stage control. In addition to this, Diddy's damage output is considerably lower, weakening his damage racking abilities and hindering some of his move's KO potential. Forward aerial and the front hit of down smash are two moves which fall victim to this. Some moves have also seen nerfs to their speed most notably dash attack and back throw with the former in particular suffering from its greatly increased ending lag. Diddy Kong also falls noticeably faster which while improving his vertical endurance and making him less susceptible to juggles, it also makes him considerably more vulnerable to combos. Lastly, Diddy's hitboxes are worse for a majority of his moves with his attacks either having smaller hitboxes and/or having specific hitboxes removed.

He did however see some buffs. His already strong combo potential has been increased further due to the changes to [[hitstun canceling]]. Diddy Kong's grab game is much stronger as Diddy releases opponents later from up and down throw (giving them less ending lag), down throw's angle has been altered and the removal of hitstun canceling has given both throws very strong combo potential. Diddy's limbs are also longer which gives a decent amount of his attacks more range even if they have worse hitboxes. Up smash is now considerably stronger (along with having more vertical range) now being a viable KO move which Diddy can even combo into with down tilt. His recovery has also significantly improved. [[Monkey Flip]] covers more distance and [[Rocketbarrel Blast]] is much more versatile.

 

Overall, he is still one of the most successful characters in competitive play, albeit not nearly as much as in early versions of the game where he was indisputably the best character in the game. While Diddy Kong technically became inferior to his ''Brawl'' counterpart, every other character in Brawl's higher tiers was either nerfed significantly more than him, or outright removed from the game. As a result, his competition has been toned down translates towards an even stronger position relative to the cast.

*{{change|Due to the aesthetic used in ''Smash 4'', Diddy Kong's attire is sleeker and more vibrant, and his fur is of a significantly higher visual quality than in ''Brawl''. His hat's Nintendo logo has also been updated, his head is very slightly smaller, and his teeth are white instead of beige. Altogether, these changes make Diddy Kong appear virtually identical to his appearance as of ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country Returns}}''.}}

*{{change|Diddy Kong is significantly more expressive.}}

*{{change|Diddy Kong's teeth are no longer visible while performing his side taunt.}}

*{{change|Diddy Kong now claps at the results and No Contest screens.}}

*{{change|Diddy Kong's previously unused damage yells from ''Brawl''{{'}}s [[Sound Test]] are now heard when taking high knockback.}}

*{{buff|Diddy Kong's more elastic limbs stretch out farther in his attacks, which gives a significant increase in the [[reach]] of a variety of his attacks.}}

*{{change|Diddy's [[falling speed]] is faster (1.43 → 1.75), which improves his vertical endurance, but worsens his recovery, and makes him more vulnerable to combos.}}

*{{nerf|Diddy Kong's item toss is weaker (1 → 0.9766667) When combined with the removal of [[glide toss]]ing, this significantly hinders Diddy Kong's approach and item game with {{B|Banana Peel|move}} (as well as with other items).}}

**{{nerf|Neutral attack deals less damage, especially the first hit (3% (hit 1)/2% (hit 2) → 1.2% (both), 2%/1% → 0.5% (loop)).}}

**{{nerf|The first hit transitions into the second hit later (frame 6 → 8).}}

**{{buff|The first two hits have increased set knockback (10 → 12/18/24) and their far hits launch opponents at a more favorable angle (80°/60° → 105°/78° (hit 1)/100°/78° (hit 2)), making them connect more reliably.}}

**{{nerf|The first two hits' close hitbox launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 45°), removing their ability to jab [[lock]].}}

**{{nerf|The first two hits' far hitbox is smaller (4u → 3.5u) and their back arm hitbox has been removed.}}

**{{buff|The second hit transitions into the third hit sooner (frame 9 → 8).}}

**{{buff|The third hit has increased set knockback (15 → 25/37), making it lead into the rapid jab more reliably.}}

**{{nerf|The third hit transitions into the infinite later (frame 13 → 15).}}

**{{nerf|The third hit's near hitboxes are smaller (4u/4u → 3.7u/3.2u).}}

**{{nerf|The third hit's far hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 17 → 14), reducing its range.}}

***{{change|The near hitboxes have also been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 11/5 → 8/2) although due to the new animation, it has no additional range inside of Diddy.}}

**{{buff|The infinite has a much lower [[SDI]] multiplier (2x → 0.7x), making it more difficult to escape.}}

**{{buff|The infinite has a much larger hitbox (2.8u → 6.7u) which is now a static extended hitbox, giving it much more vertical range.}}

***{{nerf|However, this hitbox does not compensate for the move's horizontal range, with the move now failing to fully cover Diddy's tail.}}

**{{nerf|The infinite has decreased set knockback (8 → 4).}}

*[[Dash attack]]:

**{{buff|The first two hits of dash attack have altered knockback (70 (base), 50 (scaling) → 55 (set)/100(hit 1), 15 (set)/50 → 62/100 (hit 2)) and angles (270°/58° → 40° (hit 1), 285° → 366° (hit 2)), making dash attack connect more reliably (although it is still unreliable).}}

**{{change|The final hit deals more knockback (70 (base), 50 (scaling) → 80/90). This improves its KO potential but hinders its combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack has a shorter duration with the second and third hits also having more startup lag (frames 9-13 (hit 1)/14-18 (hit 2)/20-23 (hit 3) → 9/18/24).}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack has a drastically longer total duration (FAF 24 → 46), with the move no longer being lagless. This greatly hinders its approach/combo potential and safety.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack deals less damage (3% (hit 1)/4% (hit 3)/9% (total) → 2%/3%/7%).}}

*[[Forward tilt]]:

**{{change|Forward tilt now deals consistent damage (11%/9%/8% → 10%). This makes the body hitboxes stronger but the hand hitboxes weaker.}}

**{{change|Forward tilt's hand hitboxes are now attached to Diddy, rather than being static.}}

***{{buff|This gives forward tilt more range overall due to its new animation.}}

***{{nerf|However, this also gives forward tilt less consistent horizontal range, with the move having less range on all but one frame.}}

**{{change|The body hitboxes are moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 11/5 → 7.5/1.5) although due to the new animation, it does not have any more range behind Diddy.}}

**{{nerf|Forward tilt now has a weaker late hit after its first frame (frames 10-13 → 10 (clean)/11-13) which deals less damage (11%/9%/8% → 7%) and it lacks body hitboxes, creating a large blindspot on Diddy's arms/body.}}

**{{nerf|Diddy does not stretch his arms out nearly as far out during the move's first active frame, giving the clean hit less range.}}

**{{buff|Diddy stretches his arm further when performing up tilt giving it more horizontal range.}}

**{{buff|Up tilt has more knockback scaling (130 → 150) and it launches opponents at a higher angle (80° → 92°), slightly improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.}}

**{{nerf|Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 6-12 → 6-11).}}

**{{nerf|Up tilt has more ending lag (FAF 25 → 33).}}

**{{nerf|Up tilt has a higher SDI multiplier (1x → 1.5x).}}

***{{buff|However, SDI is still less effective against the move due to the weakening of the mechanic.}}

*[[Down tilt]]:

**{{change|Down tilt deals less damage (7% → 5.5%). This hinders its damage racking potential but improves its followup potential at higher percents, especially with the changes to [[hitstun canceling]]/[[Directional Influence]].}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 4-6 → 4-5).}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u/4u/3u → 4.2u/3.5u), its far hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 18 → 16) and the body hitbox has been removed, giving it less range.}}

***{{change|The arm hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 11 → 8.5), although this does not compensate for the removal of the near hitbox.}}

**{{buff|Forward smash has a new animation where Diddy stretches his arms further. This gives it more horizontal reach, especially the second hit.}}

**{{buff|The weakening of SDI makes forward smash connect more reliably.}}

**{{nerf|The second hit deals less damage (13% → 11% (hand/arm)/9% (head), hindering the head hitbox's KO potential despite its higher knockback scaling.}}

**{{nerf|The second hit no longer deals extra shield damage (3 → 0).}}

**{{nerf|The second hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.2x).}}

**{{nerf|The hand hitbox launches opponents at a less favorable angle (40° → 46°).}}

**{{buff|Up smash has a much more exaggerated animation where Diddy jumps up higher and swings his arms around more, giving the move significantly more range.}}

**{{buff|The first hit's hitboxes now start directly in front of Diddy rather than slightly behind him, noticeably improving its use as an [[Out of Shield]] option.}}

**{{buff|The first hit has altered angles (95°/95°/95°/90° → 95°/105°/95°/95°) and knockback (30 (set), 30/50/70 (scaling) → (85/110/50/60)/100) which is now weight independent. This makes it connect more reliably into the second hit.}}

**{{nerf|The first two hits have smaller hitboxes (6u/4u/4u/3u (hit 1)/6u/4u/4u (hit 2) → 5u/3.7u/3.7u (both)) and the first hit's foot hitbox has been removed. This makes the hand hitbox less disjointed and it gives the move less range below Diddy, especially on the first hit.}}

**{{buff|The third hit deals much more knockback (70 (base), 70 (scaling) → 50/129), greatly improving its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|The third hit's body hitbox has been removed and the foot hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (x/y offset: 0/-5 → 4/0.6) slightly reducing its disjoint and reducing its range below Diddy.}}

**{{nerf|Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 51 → 54).}}

**{{buff|Down smash starts charging slightly later (frame 2 → 3).}}

**{{buff|Down smash launches opponents at a lower angle (361° → 33° (front)/35° (back)).}}

**{{nerf|The front hit deals less damage (16% → 12%), considerably hindering its KO potential despite its lower launch angle.}}

**{{nerf|The back hit has more startup lag (frame 15 → 16).}}

**{{buff|The back hit deals more damage (12% → 15%) and has higher knockback scaling (72 → 76), significantly improving its KO potential.}}

*{{nerf|All of Diddy's aerials have longer animations (49 frames → 58 (neutral), 47 frames → 55 (forward), 45 frames → 54 (back), 41 frames → 49 (up), 50 frames → 53 (down)). This increases the amount of time Diddy cannot grab the ledge after using an aerial.}}

**{{change|Neutral aerial has a more exaggerated animation.}}

**{{buff|The changes to hitstun canceling/DI considerably improve neutral aerial's combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|Neutral aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-20 → 8-20).}}

**{{nerf|Neutral aerial [[auto-cancel]]s much later (frame 27 → 59), no longer doing so in a short hop.}}

**{{nerf|Forward aerial deal less damage (14% (clean)/11% (late) → 10%/8%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (80 → 86), hindering its KO potential.}}

*[[Back aerial]]:

**{{buff|Back aerial has higher knockback scaling (100 → 102).}}

**{{buff|Diddy Kong has a new up aerial; instead of performing a flip kick, he now swings his leg up and halfway across his head. It has more range overall (especially horizontally).}}

**{{buff|Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 39). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this improves its combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 3-7 → 4-7).}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial deal less damage (11% → 6%) without full compensation on its knockback (30 (base), 90 (scaling) → 64/89), hindering its KO potential.}}

**{{nerf|Up aerial now launches opponents away from Diddy at a less vertical angle (100° → 76°), hindering its KO/combo potential and making it more susceptible to DI.}}

**{{nerf|The body hitbox has been removed, reducing up aerial's range below Diddy.}}

**{{buff|Down aerial has slightly less ending lag (FAF 50 → 49) and landing lag (30 frames → 28).}}

**{{buff|The hand hitbox deals more damage (12% → 13%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/110).}}

**{{buff|The arm hitbox is larger (5u → 6.7u).}}

**{{buff|The removal of [[meteor cancel]]ing improves down aerial's reliability.}}

**{{buff|Down aerial has a new animation and its hitboxes have been placed further down to reflect this (y offset: 9/4.5/0 → -3/6.5). This gives the move much more range below Diddy.}}

***{{nerf|However, the move is also less disjointed and the body hitbox has been removed, significantly reducing the move's range above Diddy.}}

**{{nerf|The arm hitbox deals less damage (12% → 10%) and has less base knockback (30 → 20), significantly hindering its KO and edgeguarding potentiall.}}

**{{buff|Dash grab has less startup (frame 10 → 8) and a shorter total duration (FAF 40 → 39).}}

**{{buff|All grabs reach slightly further inside Diddy (z offset: 5 (standing/dash)/-5 (pivot) → 4/-4).}}

**{{nerf|Pivot grab has more startup lag (frame 8 → 9), with its total duration was subsequently increased (FAF 36 → 37).}}

**{{nerf|All grabs have smaller grabboxes (4u → 3.7u (standing/pivot)/3u (dash) and they do not extend as far out (z offset: 11 (standing)/10 (dash)/-16 (pivot) → z stretch: 8.3/9.9/-13.9), reducing their range, especially standing grab.}}

**{{change|Pummel has an updated animation. Diddy now lands one foot at a time and it takes Diddy longer to fully get back up.}}

**{{nerf|Forward throw deals 2% less damage (11% → 9%) with its knockback scaling compensated (55 → 65).}}

**{{buff|Back throw deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) with only a slight decrease to its base knockback (66 → 60).}}

**{{nerf|Back throw launches opponents at a higher angle (38° → 42°).}}

**{{nerf|Diddy releases the opponent from back throw much later (frame 9 → 18) and it has much more ending lag (FAF 26 → 52), with the throw now being half its previous speed.}}

**{{nerf|Up throw deals much less damage (4% (hit)/5% (throw)/9% (total) → 1%/4%/5% (total)). The hitbox's knockback was not fully compensated (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 50/120) while the throw's knockback was not compensated.}}

**{{buff|The hitbox has a longer duration (frame 15 → 17-18).}}

**{{buff|Down throw now sends opponents vertically (130° → 106°). When combined with its lower ending lag and the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this significantly improves its combo potential.}}

**{{nerf|Down throw deals less damage (9% → 7%) and it has increased knockback scaling (40 → 59). This gives the throw more knockback overall, hindering its followup potential at higher percents while still being too weak to KO at realistic percents.}}

**{{buff|Floor attacks have less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).}}

**{{buff|Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, without full compensation on their knockback scaling (50 → 48).}}

**{{nerf|Floor attacks now use one extended static hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes attached to Diddy Kong' body, which covers noticeably less range.}}

**{{buff|Edge attack has less startup lag (frame 28 → 23) and a shorter total duration (FAF 56 → 55).}}

***{{nerf|However, its total duration was not fully compensated, increasing its ending lag.}}

**{{change|Edge attack now deals consistent damage (8%/6% → 7%).}}

**{{nerf|Trip attack now uses one extended hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes, which decreases the move's range inside of Diddy Kong.}}

*[[Peanut Popgun]]:

**{{buff|Peanut Popgun's explosion from overcharging now has a very powerful [[hitbox]].}}

***{{buff|In addition to this, the explosion occurs sooner (frame 174 → 122), benefitting this new overcharge hitbox.}}

**{{change|The [[peanut]]s fired from the Peanut Popgun no longer break into pieces, making the peanuts no longer consumable. This removes Diddy's potential of recovering damage this way, but also keeps the opponents from healing.}}

**{{nerf|The peanuts deal less damage, especially when charged (5%-17.5% → 3%-12%).}}

**{{nerf|Diddy Kong reaches the danger state of the charge sooner (frame 74 → 53), meaning that the move cannot be shield canceled for as long.}}

**{{nerf|The peanuts have more startup (frame 1 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 26 → 36), slowing its rate of fire down.}}

**{{nerf|The peanuts travel at a slower speed (1.6 (uncharged)/4.0 (fully charged) → 1.5/3.0).}}

*[[Monkey Flip]]:

**{{buff|Monkey Flip travels further (1.5 (normal input), 1.9 (smash input) → 1.9/2.4) and it no longer halts Diddy's momentum after using it.}}

**{{buff|Monkey Flip now has a pummel hitbox once Diddy grabs onto the opponent. The pummel deals 1% and happens automatically after a certain period of time.}}

**{{nerf|Monkey Flip grants less height (1.6 → 1.5). When combined with Diddy's faster falling speed, this prevents the move from auto-canceling when used on the ground.}}

**{{nerf|Diddy can no longer reuse Monkey Flip if he is hit out of it by {{SSB4|Mario}}'s [[Cape]].}}

*Monkey Flip grab jump:

**{{nerf|The stomp deals less damage (5% (stomp)/10% (total) → 3%/8%).}}

**{{buff|The kick no longer has a 10% sourspot.}}

*[[Rocketbarrel Boost]]:

**{{buff|Diddy Kong can now control the trajectory of Rocketbarrel Boost after releasing it, significantly improving its recovery potential and it even allows Diddy Kong to traverse into the ground to cause the explosion hitbox.}}

**{{buff|Rocketbarrel Boost has a wider launch arc curvature (55° → 70°), allowing Diddy Kong to curve the move more before releasing it.}}

**{{buff|Rocketbarrel Boost's initial speed increases more with charging (0.021 → 0.031), making it travel faster/higher when charged.}}

**{{nerf|Uncharged Rocketbarrel Boost grants much less height (2.8 → 2.2).}}

***{{nerf|In addition to this, the move now has gravity after Diddy has finished rising with the move, further reducing its range.}}

**{{change|The clean hit no longer meteor smashes aerial opponents (271° → 361°). This improves its KO potential onstage but hinders its edgeguarding potential.}}

**{{change|Diddy Kong has a new animation for attempting to pull out too many bananas; trying to pull out a second one will make him look at his empty hands and shrug.}}

***{{nerf|This new animation has more ending lag (FAF 40 → 50).}}

**{{buff|The changes to shields improve the safety of [[Banana Peel]]s, with Banana Peels now being even safer on shield than they were previously.}}

**{{nerf|Diddy Kong can now only have one Banana Peel out at a time instead of two, significantly reducing Diddy's ability to control the stage.}}

**{{nerf|Due to the changes to the banana peel item, they can only hit opponents once before disappearing and will disappear after touching the ground twice, completely removing the banana lock and the item's ability to [[zero-death]] opponents, which is further compounded by the fact that Diddy can only spawn one banana peel.}}

***{{buff|However, these changes also make it harder for Diddy's opponents to use Banana Peels against him, as well as removing their ability to banana lock him.}}

*[[Rocketbarrel Barrage]]:

**{{buff|Rocketbarrel Barrage no longer puts Diddy into his [[helpless]] animation upon completion.}}

**{{nerf|Rocketbarrel Barrage deals less damage (18% → 12% (body), 8% → 5% (peanuts), 15% → 10% (peanut explosions)).}}

**{{change|Similarly to Peanut Popgun, the [[peanut]]s fired from Rocketbarrel Barrage no longer break into pieces, making the peanuts no longer consumable.}}

Diddy Kong was initially a significantly more potent character in earlier versions of ''Smash 4'', with Diddy Kong being significantly nerfed overall. Update [[1.0.4]] mostly gave Diddy minor adjustments with the only meaningful change being that Diddy lost his ability to cancel non-tumble hitstun with [[Peanut Popgun]]. While this could be a powerful technique when used in the right situations, it was quite situational and restrictive, so the loss of it overall did not significantly hurt Diddy.  

However, update 1.0.4 removed the ability to [[LSI]] moves which launched between 65°-115° which turned out to be greatly beneficial to Diddy (further helped by the lower vertical blastzones in the Wii U version). Diddy had numerous vertical launching combo starters and KO moves which greatly benefitted from the change, as they could no longer be LSIed (despite being the same moves on paper). Diddy's extremely fast and versatile up aerial became a much more deadly KO move and his throws could combo for a much longer period of time, as his up aerial and vertical throws could no longer be LSIed. Diddy's down throw could reliably combo for a much longer period of timing, becoming a long lasting KO confirm into up aerial without DI (colloquially known as the "Hoo-hah") and a long lasting 50/50 into potential KOes with DI. Diddy's up throw went from a throw which could not lead into KOes or 50/50es (even on a platform) to a throw that could lead into KO confirms with up aerial on the ground at pretty low percents (which then lead into a deadly 50/50 for some time when the opponent escaped the KO confirm window), which Diddy could easily mix up the side he could hit his up air (regardless of the opponent's DI on the up throw) to throw off the opponent's DI on the up aerial, which was incredibly powerful. This also extended to Diddy's other vertical launching moves albeit to a lesser extent. Diddy Kong's up aerial was overall one of the best moves in the game in early Wii U versions being incredibly fast, versatile, powerful and having incredible synergy with the rest of his kit.

 

 

Update [[1.0.8]] brought along more changes to Diddy, including some impactful nerfs. Diddy Kong's up aerial was made slower in numerous ways which considerably hindered its utility. Its hitbox came out one frame later, significantly reducing the move's downwards range (which had numerous affects), it gained more ending lag and its auto-cancel window became far less lenient, resulting in up aerial becoming harder to land and removing a whole bunch of applications it previously had. In addition to this, its knockback was significantly reduced again, resulting in the move becoming a significantly weaker KO move. Diddy's throws were also negatively adjusted again. Up throw received a damage decrease with no significant knockback change which made Diddy's up throw combos less damaging and when combined with up aerial becoming weaker, this notably removed up throw up aerial as a KO confirm on flat ground. Down throw saw a significant increase to its knockback which completely removed any remaining ability it had to lead into up aerial for potential KOes. These changes overall were even more impactful than the nerfs Diddy received in 1.0.6 and they did slightly bring Diddy down compared to the rest of the cast.

 

After 1.0.8, Diddy saw a couple of minor adjustments and while some of these changes were beneficial, Diddy still remained an overall far cry to how he was in early Wii U versions. Amusingly, in patch [[1.1.1]], Diddy Kong had a glitch that had rendered him [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQlcYmSAb2w invulnerable to grabs of any kind] (although he could not shield in this state) until he performed any kind of dodging maneuver. This was later fixed in patch 1.1.2, nine days after 1.1.1's worldwide release.

 

 

While Diddy's tier placement in the vanilla version of the game is hard to determine due to its unoptimized nature, Diddy was a clear top 2 character in early Wii U versions, where Diddy was at his peak in terms of strength. After numerous patches which brought significant nerfs to Diddy as well as adding new top/high tiers through [[DLC]] and buffs, Diddy was still considered to be around top 5 by the end of the game's mainstream competitive life and he continued to receive very strong tournament results throughout the game's life, showing that despite his significant nerfs, Diddy still remained one of the most potent characters in the game.

{{UpdateList/1.1.0|char=Diddy Kong}}

*{{newbug|Created glitch where Diddy Kong cannot be grabbed if he shield jumps or shield grabs a multihit attack.}}

|neutralinfdmg=0.5% (infinite), 3% (last hit)

|neutraldesc=Diddy Kong slaps forward twice, turns around to quickly kick the foe, and proceeds to repeatedly whip them with his tail. The attack finishes with an upward tail flick. The first hit comes out quickly at [[frame]] 3 and has good range, with the multi-hit portion of the move connecting somewhat reliably. In addition, the finisher is quite strong in comparison to that of most other jabs, having KO potential near the edge at high percents. However, the first and second hits have a large amount of ending lag when not followed up with the later parts of the jab, making interrupting the move before the multi-hit portion unreliable. Rarely used in situations where Diddy Kong’s down tilt is applicable instead.

|ftiltdesc=Diddy Kong leans to the side and thrusts both of his arms forward in a double punch. Can [[jab lock]] opponents and can be angled upwards or downwards. It also has decent knockback and long range, as Diddy Kong's arms expand a great size during the attack.

|utiltdesc=Diddy Kong swats in the air above him with a slap and looks similar to an uppercut. Hits quite quickly and can combo into most of Diddy Kong's aerial attacks at low to mid percent ranges. The [[hitbox]] of the attack is active for 5 frames and has no sour spot, making it useful for punishing a neutral getup at the ledge. The attack also has high knockback scaling which gives it killing potential at high percentages, normally when down tilt to up smash stops connecting.

|dtiltdesc=Diddy Kong claps forward while crouching. Comes out very fast, hitting at frame 4, and has incredibly low ending lag. It can combo into many moves such as itself, a forward aerial, a forward smash or a down smash at medium percent ranges, and, most notably, a running up smash at high percentages, which is a safe and reliable killing option. Considered to be one of the very best moves in the game due to its ability to safely setup combos and score KOs.

|dashdesc=Diddy Kong performs his signature {{s|mariowiki|Cartwheel}} attack from ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country}}''. Its adjusted animation from ''Brawl'' now has it end with a ground-slap with both hands. The final hit has largely vertical knockback and can combo into aerials at low to mid percent ranges. However, the attack often fails to connect properly, making it unreliable.

|fsmashdesc=Diddy Kong spins and slaps forward, then swings his fist immediately after. The first hit combos into the second, which has good knockback and killing power. However, it is easily punished if missed. It is a potential follow up after a down tilt, however the window for when this works is tight. Often only used in combination with his [[Banana Peel (move)|banana peel]].

|usmashdesc=Diddy Kong hops briefly and performs a stationary cartwheel. Damage wise, it is rather weak, in terms of knockback however, it is rather average, killing at approximately 120% on mid weight characters. It has one of the fastest startup times for a move of its' type, with the first hitbox coming out on frame 5, It also has rather good upwards and sideways range. It is a true follow up after hitting the opponent with a down tilt at high percent ranges, provided that Diddy Kong starts a dash beforehand, which can score a kill. This gives it a large amount of safety and consistency that circumvents its poor knockback.

|dsmashdesc=Diddy Kong performs a sweeping kick around himself. Hits very quickly for a smash attack, with the hitbox starting on frame 6. It is weaker that his forward smash but still has a good amount of kill power. The angle of its horizontal knockback makes it useful for forcing opponents off stage, which can be detrimental to characters with poor recoveries. A possible follow up after a down tilt.

|nairdesc=Diddy Kong does an aerial cartwheel similar to his dash attack. Very high ending lag, so much so that Diddy Kong should never use this move offstage. However, it deals a low amount of vertical knockback, which can lead to potential [[footstool_jump|footstools]] or aerial follow ups, giving it usage as a combo extender.

|fairdesc=Diddy Kong kicks both feet forward while spinning, similar to Mario and Luigi's old forward aerial in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' Hits very fast, starting at frame 6, and has deceptively long range. In addition, the hitbox of the move lasts for a long period of time. It also deals decent damage and knockback and has a generous [[auto-cancel]] window, making it a safe option in the [[neutral game]] to stop approaches. It can be safely buffered out of a short hop to hit tall characters without leaving Diddy Kong vulnerable. Finally, it is a potential follow up after an up throw depending on the opponent's [[DI]] until high percents. However, the attack is not safe on shield, meaning that is it easily punishable if the opponent blocks it. Considered one of the best forward aerials in the game due to its combination of range, speed, and power.

|bairdesc=Diddy Kong thrusts his leg backward and spins it behind him. Extremely fast, Diddy Kong is capable of using two in a row out of a short hop, It is one of the fastest back airs in the game, coming out at an extremely quick frame 5 and ending on frame 31, it has slightly more range than Diddy Kong's forward aerial, and it kills approximately 7% earlier as well. These traits make for an incredibly safe killing aerial at later percents. Combos into itself for decent damage and is a possible follow up after an up throw until high percent ranges.

|uairdesc=Diddy Kong performs an overhead kick. Since the [[1.0.6]] and [[1.0.8]] updates, it now has low knockback and damage and only hits directly above him, as the initial low reaching hitbox that started on frame 3 was completely removed. However, it still hits extremely fast, with the attack now starting at frame 4, and can still combo into itself and Diddy Kong's other aerials at low percents. A possible follow up after an up throw although it is not a good tool for racking up damage when his other aerials could otherwise be used. At high percent ranges, usually around 130%, it can lead into a kill after an up throw if the Diddy Kong player manages to [[predicting|predict]] their opponents decision to [[air dodge]]. This is because a [[buffering|buffered]] up air following an up throw at high percents is only avoidable by buffering an air dodge, and if the opponent chooses to do this the Diddy Kong player can simply delay the up air.

|dairdmg=13% (hands), 10% (arms)

|dairdesc=Diddy Kong swings both arms downward in a double axe-handle punch. A strong [[meteor smash]] and Diddy Kong's strongest aerial overall, though it is also his slowest. It has a large auto-cancel window at the beginning of the attack before the hitbox starts, which makes it a good tool for landing provided that you input the move shortly before touching the ground. It can also jab lock opponents at low percent ranges.

|fthrowdesc=Diddy Kong tosses his opponent forwards. The throw is based on Diddy Kong's barrel toss animation from ''Donkey Kong Country''. Can combo into a forward air at low percent ranges for good damage as well as forcing the opponent offstage. It is also quite strong compared to most other forward throws, killing at around 140%.

|bthrowdesc=Diddy Kong tosses his opponent backwards. Diddy Kong's strongest and most damaging throw, KOing middleweights around 130%.

|uthrowdesc=Diddy Kong throws his opponent up and handstand kicks them. Good combo tool before 130%, depending on character's weight. Can combo into back aerials, which in turn can combo into themselves, and potentially a forward air at low to mid percent ranges. It can also lead into one or more up airs from low to high percent ranges, although there exist better damage racking options and the Diddy Kong player shouldn't do this so as to not [[stale]] the already low killing power of his up air. A staled up throw can lead into an up air for a KO at above 120%. It can also lead to a kill unstalled at around 130% in a 50/50 situation if the Diddy Kong player can catch the opponent's decision whether or not to buffer an air dodge with an up air.

|dthrowdesc=Diddy Kong throws the opponent onto the ground and hops over them. Can lead into aerial attacks from low to mid percent ranges although not as reliably as up throw can considering all of the nerfs this throw received in [[List_of_updates_(SSB4-3DS)|game updates]]. Also capable of leading into a footstool at low damage.

|nsdefdesc=Diddy Kong shoots a peanut from his Popgun. A safe projectile attack that is rather useful in neutral. It can also be canceled in the air if the shield button is held before inputting the special button, which is useful for [[B-reversing]] to make Diddy Kong's movement harder to predict. The longer Diddy Kong charges the attack, the farther and quicker the peanut will fly. If Diddy Kong overcharges the attack, however, it will cause a very powerful explosion that leaves him vulnerable but possesses massive knockback.

|nsc1desc=Diddy Kong charges his Popgun, solely for exploding, and it charges roughly twice as fast. If released early, Diddy Kong will then do a shot without a Peanut firing and it will hurt when up close at the cost of damage.

|nsc2desc=Diddy Kong shoots a giant peanut from his Popgun. The peanuts don't fly as far, but uncharged ones are more powerful than normal. Requires slightly less time to fully charge.

|ssdefdesc=Diddy Kong performs a sideways hop that has the potential to launch him onto an opponent's face if timed correctly. Smashing the control stick will launch Diddy slightly farther. Once he has clung onto his foe's face, he can double chop them and leap away by pressing the attack button, or can perform a pseudo footstool jump with the jump button. Finally, tapping the special button while he is flipping will cause Diddy Kong to attack with a flying kick instead of latching on to his opponent. However, if Diddy Kong chooses to use the flying kick he will not be able to use his [[Rocketbarrel Boost|rocketbarrel pack]] unless he touches the ground first, making it a risky option offstage. More reliable for returning to the stage than Rocketbarrel Boost overall, and should be used for this purpose in place of his rocketbarrels whenever possible or safe to do so.

|usdefdmg=10% (launch), 6-8% (collision with opponent), 18% (explosion)

|usdefdesc=Diddy Kong charges his rocketbarrel pack from ''Donkey Kong 64'' in a powerful attack. Can potentially fly very far and very fast when charged, able to be angled up to 90° in either direction horizontally, and can be steered slightly while flying. Hitting a surface, or being hit, will make Diddy Kong lose his rocketbarrels before falling a huge distance while being unable to perform any action, often falling too far to survive. Diddy Kong will also gain 5% damage for hitting a surface.

|usc1dmg=18% (launch), 15% (collision with opponent), 20% (explosion)

|usc1desc=A more powerful attack than Rocketbarrel Boost, but has less maneuverability. Only goes straight up when used on the ground, and only tilts slightly in the air, though this makes explosions harder to come by. Requires slightly more time to fully charge.

|usc2dmg=7% (launch), 5-7% (collision with opponent), 17% (explosion)

|usc2desc=Charges faster and controls better than Rocketbarrel Boost, but doesn’t go as far and is more prone to explode if Diddy hits any terrain during the move. Explosion inflicts 10% self-damage and sends Diddy flying farther.

|dsdefdmg=6% (smash toss), 4% (smash toss, late), 4% (tilt toss), 3% (tilt toss, late)

|dsdefdesc=Diddy Kong tosses a [[Banana Peel]] over his shoulder and into the air to have it fall onto the ground. Grounded opponents who touch the peel while on the ground or are hit by the peel when thrown will slip and [[trip]] on the floor. For all banana peel variants, mashing the control stick instead of tilting will make Diddy flick the banana farther. An integral part of Diddy Kong’s kit, as it allows him to take control of the stage, extend and create combos, set up kills, easily punish missed attacks from his opponents even if they are spaced properly, and otherwise dominate the neutral game. A held banana also serves as one of the best [[out of shield]] options in the game when thrown. Unlike in ''Brawl'', only one banana peel can exist at one time, and it disappears when striking or tripping an opponent, or when thrown twice.

|dsc1dmg=5% (smash toss), 4% (smash toss, late), 4% (tilt toss), 4% (tilt toss, late), 1-5% (either toss, airborne opponent, depending on timing), 1% (ground trip)

|dsc1desc=Diddy Kong tosses a banana peel into the air, more horizontally than vertical. Opponents who come in contact with the peel will be stunned momentarily. The stun time is longer if the opponent steps on the peel as opposed to getting hit by it.

|dsc2dmg=7% (smash toss), 4% (smash toss, late), 5% (tilt toss), 4% (tilt toss, late), 1-5% (either toss, airborne opponent, depending on timing), 1% (ground trip)

|fsdesc=Diddy Kong flies around on his rocketbarrel pack, shooting explosive peanuts everywhere. The peanuts travel large distances and have great power, however crashing into enemies with Diddy Kong himself does even more damage to his opponents than firing the peanuts at them. Has greater movement speed than it did back in ''Brawl'', in addition to it no longer putting Diddy Kong into a [[helpless]] state when ended in the air, but it is even harder to control than it was previously.

|desc=Diddy Kong bursts out of a [[DK Barrel]] and claps his hands above his head.

|desc-up=Tosses his cap in the air and has it land on his head. This is a reference to his victory pose in ''Donkey Kong Country'', after he defeats a boss or wins in a {{s|mariowiki|Bonus Area}}.

|desc-side=Does a playful fighter's stance and cackles menacingly, trying to assert his dominance.

|desc-2=Jumps in place twice.

|victory-desc=A flourished remix directly from ''Brawl'' based on the jingle that would play whenever Diddy Kong completely cleared a bonus room or defeated a boss in ''{{s|mariowiki|Donkey Kong Country}}''.

==In [[competitive play]]==

===Most historically significant players===

<!--This character has a ten player limit for this section. Before adding and/or removing a player, read these guidelines: https://www.ssbwiki.com/SmashWiki:Notability#%22Most_historically_significant_players%22_guidelines -->

*{{Sm|Etsuji|Japan}} - The best solo-Diddy Kong player in Japan. Placed 5th at {{Trn|Umebura 33}}, 9th at {{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2017}}, 13th at {{Trn|2GGC: Greninja Saga}}, 17th at {{Trn|Umebura 34}}, and 25th at {{Trn|EVO 2017}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|KEN}}, {{Sm|Ranai}}, and {{Sm|9B}}

*{{Sm|K9sbruce|USA}} - Co-mained Diddy Kong alongside {{SSB4|Sheik}} and is considered the best Diddy Kong player in SoCal. Placed 9th at both {{Trn|2GGC: GENESIS Saga}} and {{Trn|GENESIS 5}}, 13th at both {{Trn|2GGC: MkLeo Saga}} and {{Trn|The Big House 8}}, and 17th at {{Trn|2GGC: ARMS Saga}}.

*{{Sm|MVD|USA}} - One of the best Diddy Kong players in the world following ZeRo's retirement. Placed 5th at {{Trn|The Big House 7}}, {{Trn|GENESIS 5}}, and {{Trn|EVO 2018}}, 7th at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 3}}, and 9th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2016}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Nairo}}, {{Sm|Salem}}, and {{Sm|Tweek}}.

*{{Sm|Nietono|Japan}} - Co-mained Diddy Kong alongside {{SSB4|Sheik}} and is considered the best Diddy Kong player in Japan. Placed 3rd at both {{Trn|Apex 2016}} and {{Trn|EVO 2018}}, 4th at both {{Trn|Umebura 29}} and {{Trn|EVO Japan 2018}}, and 7th at {{Trn|Umebura Tokaigi Qualifier}}.

*{{Sm|RAIN|Japan}} - One of the best Diddy Kong players in Japan in the early metagame, but later dropped the character for {{SSB4|Sheik}}. Placed 1st at {{Trn|Umebura 11}}, {{Trn|Umebura 13}}, and {{Trn|Umebura 14}}, 3rd at {{Trn|KSB 2015}}, and 4th at {{Trn|Umebura 12}}.

*{{Sm|Shoyo James|USA}} - Co-mained Diddy Kong alongside {{SSB4|Luigi}} and is one of the best Diddy Kong players in United States. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Midwest Mayhem 6: SoCal Invasion}}, 7th at both {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2017}} and {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 4}}, 9th at {{Trn|Smash 'N' Splash 3}}, and 13th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2018}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|CaptainZack}}, {{Sm|Elegant}}, and {{Sm|Mr. E}}.

*{{Sm|Zinoto|USA}} - One of the best Diddy Kong players in the world following ZeRo's retirement. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|CEO 2016}}, 7th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2017}}, 9th at both {{Trn|CEO 2017}} and {{Trn|Get On My Level 2018}}, and 13th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2018}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|MkLeo}}, {{Sm|Nairo}}, and {{Sm|Salem}}.

Since the game's release, professionals noticed that Diddy Kong gained heavy buffs despite already being one of the best characters in ''[[Brawl]]'', and soon, his players became extremely dominant in early competitive play. Diddy's throws perfectly set up his strong aerial game, with his infamous up/down throw to up aerial combo (known as the "Hoo-Hah") being an unavoidable KO confirm at a wide range of percentages, and his Banana Peel offered strong stage control in spite of its nerfs. Aside from this, his up aerial had the speed and range necessary to KO easily without the need of the "Hoo-Hah", as well as many of his moves being both speedy and hard-hitting and with good range (like forward smash). These traits resulted in him being deemed the best character in the game.

As a result of how disproportionately good Diddy Kong was for how easy he was to play, many professionals such as {{Sm|Mew2King}} and {{Sm|ZeRo}} picked him up, resulting in an abnormal number of Diddy dittos at the highest level of play. Even players who did not actively practice the game, such as {{Sm|Leffen}} and {{Sm|Armada}}, were able to gain strong results using him. Likely as a result of this, Diddy was heavily nerfed by updates [[1.0.6]] and [[1.0.8]], and his representation dropped significantly, becoming largely abandoned while {{SSB4|Sheik}} was considered the best character instead. Despite this, the top players who continued playing Diddy, such as {{Sm|Angel Cortes}}, {{Sm|Jtails}}, {{Sm|MVD}}, {{Sm|Nietono}}, and most notably, ZeRo and {{Sm|Zinoto}}, continued to push his metagame, adopting a newer, more creative playstyle that emphasizes Diddy's strong [[neutral game]] (which was not nerfed).

As a result of these factors, Diddy was ranked 9th on the first ''4BR'' [[tier list]], near the bottom of the A tier, but thanks to continued strong results from multiple top players, along with the nerfs to Sheik, {{SSB4|Zero Suit Samus}} and {{SSB4|Bayonetta}}, some matchups that previously caused him trouble in updates [[1.1.5]] and [[1.1.6]], he then took the 1st spot, at the top of the S tier, on the second tier list, despite not being as dominant as he was originally. He has since then seen only a very slight drop to 2nd place in favor of Bayonetta in the third tier list, and then to 2nd/3rd place, tying him with {{SSB4|Cloud}} on the fourth and current tier list; although he remains at the S tier and is still considered to be one of the most viable characters in the game, the larger dominance of the former two characters in other regions has caused views on Diddy to slightly dwindle.

Since ZeRo's retirement, however, Diddy Kong has not won any major tournaments at all and his strong results are still considered to be inconsistent in comparison to other characters like Bayonetta, Sheik, Cloud, {{SSB4|Mewtwo}}, {{SSB4|Fox}}, Zero Suit Samus, and {{SSB4|Rosalina}}, who have managed to obtain overall higher and more consistent results with the character. On top of this, Diddy Kong still has some very troublesome match ups as Fox, {{SSB4|Mario}}, Rosalina, Sheik and even some high and mid tiers such as {{SSB4|Olimar}} and {{SSB4|Mega Man}} do very well against him. Due to this, Diddy's tier placement is debated on as some say that the character has dropped slightly in the meta with some smashers like {{Sm|ANTi}}, {{Sm|Dabuz}}, {{Sm|ESAM}} and even ZeRo himself saying that the character shouldn't be ranked as high as he is.

In All-Star Mode, Diddy Kong is fought in Stage 5 in the 3DS version or Stage 3 in the Wii U version alongside {{SSB4|Pikachu}}, {{SSB4|Ness}}, {{SSB4|Jigglypuff}}, {{SSB4|Sheik}}, {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}, {{SSB4|Mewtwo}}, {{SSB4|Charizard}}, and {{SSB4|Cloud}}.

==={{GameIcon|SSB4-U}}[[Event Match]]es===

* '''[[All-Star Battle: Brawl]]''': Diddy Kong is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents debut in Brawl, and reappear in Smash 4.

* '''[[Guardian of the Jungle]]''': {{SSB4|Donkey Kong}}, aided by 2 Diddy Kongs, must defeat 3 {{SSB4|Duck Hunt}}s.

* '''[[The Jungle in Chaos]]''': Diddy Kong must defeat 20 {{SSB4|Donkey Kong}}s wearing [[Bunny Hood]]s.

* '''[[1988]]''': {{SSB4|Donkey Kong}} and Diddy Kong must defeat 3 Marios, each one larger than the last.

SSB4-3DS Congratulations Classic Diddy Kong.png|Classic Mode

SSB4-3DS Congratulations All-Star Diddy Kong.png|All-Star Mode

====Wii U====

SSB4-Wii U Congratulations Classic Diddy Kong.png|Classic Mode

SSB4-Wii U Congratulations All-Star Diddy Kong.png|All-Star Mode

==[[Trophies]]==

|name=Diddy Kong

|image-3ds=DiddyKongTrophy3DS.png

|image-wiiu=DiddyKongTrophyWiiU.png

|mode=Classic

|desc-3ds-ntsc=Donkey Kong's trusty partner. He sports his signature look: red hat, red shirt, Rocketbarrel Pack. In Smash Bros., he's incredibly agile. Charge the Rocketbarrel Pack by holding down the button before launch, and you can steer with left and right. Don't forget to drop banana peels—enemies love it!

|desc-wiiu-ntsc=Donkey Kong's trusty partner. He sports his signature look: red hat, red shirt, Rocketbarrel Pack. In Smash Bros., he's incredibly agile. Charge the Rocketbarrel Pack by holding down the button before launch; you can steer with left and right. Don't forget to drop banana peels—enemies love it!

|desc-pal=Red cap? Red T-shirt? Rocketbarrel Pack? Yep, it's Diddy Kong. His agility lets him get attacks in quickly in this game. Fire up his Rocketbarrel Pack and keep the button held down to fly further. You can even steer him in the air! Tip: If you don't mind fighting dirty, make your opponent slip on a Banana Peel, then hit 'em while they're down.

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=Donkey Kong Country|release1=11/1994|console2=SNES|game2=Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|release2=11/1995}}

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=Donkey Kong Country|release1=11/1994|console2=SNES|game2=Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|release2=12/1995}}

{{clrl}}

|image-3ds=DiddyKongAltTrophy3DS.png

|image-wiiu=DiddyKongAltTrophyWiiU.png

|mode=Alt

|desc-3ds-ntsc=The Banana Peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again midjump). If you grab someone, press the button again to attack or jump off them to go high into the air.

|desc-wiiu-ntsc=The banana peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again midjump). If you grab foes, press the button again to attack or jump off them to go high into the air.

|desc-pal=The Banana Peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again mid-jump). If you grab someone, press the button again to attack, or jump off them to go high into the air.

|gamelist-ntsc={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=Donkey Kong Country|release1=11/1994|console2=SNES|game2=Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|release2=11/1995}}

|gamelist-pal={{Trophy games|console1=SNES|game1=Donkey Kong Country|release1=11/1994|console2=SNES|game2=Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest|release2=12/1995}}

 

|desc-ntsc=Diddy Kong's Final Smash is an attack on all fronts! Diddy takes to the air with his Barrel Jet, tackling opponents as he fires explosive shots from his Peanut Popguns. His Final Smash is nearing its end when he begins flashing, so get as close to your foes as you can—the Barrel Jet will explode at the end of this Final Smash!

|desc-pal=With a Peanut Popgun in each hand, Diddy showers his foes with a hail of explosive destruction. This Final Smash lets him fly freely through the air, dealing damage to anyone in his way. When his body starts to flash, that means the Final Smash is about to end, so try to catch your foes in the Rocketbarrel Pack's explosion!

[[Category:Diddy Kong (SSB4)| ]]