Editing Donkey Kong (SSB)

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'''Donkey Kong''' ({{ja|ドンキーコング|Donkī Kongu}}, ''Donkey Kong''), written as '''DK''', is a [[starter character]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' He has slow, yet powerful attacks, like his trademark move: the [[Giant Punch]]. Due to this, his archetype has also inspired the archetype for most of the heavyweight characters in subsequent games, in which he has also appeared. His voice clips mostly use gorilla grunts and sounds.
'''Donkey Kong''' ({{ja|ドンキーコング|Donkī Kongu}}, ''Donkey Kong''), written as '''DK''', is a [[starter character]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' He has slow, yet powerful attacks, like his trademark move: the [[Giant Punch]]. Due to this, his archetype has also inspired the archetype for most of the heavyweight characters in subsequent games, in which he has also appeared. His voice clips mostly use gorilla grunts and sounds. H


Donkey Kong is currently ranked 9th out of 12 on the [[tier list]]. He has powerful moves such as his aforementioned Giant Punch which when fully charged, deals 36% damage. He also sports an infamously abusable [[grab release]], remarkable reach throughout his moveset, and is the heaviest character in the game, making him very difficult to KO, especially vertically. Donkey Kong also benefits from the [[buff|buffs]] in international releases thanks to the changes to [[SDI]] system as well as the decreased shield stun. However, he is somewhat slow, and is also the largest character in the game, which coupled with his heavy weight makes him an easy target for combos. Despite his incredible endurance, his off-stage survivability is almost non-existent, as his recovery has among the worst vertical distance in the game. In the Japanese tier list, Donkey Kong is ranked 12th, as he does not have the changes from the SDI system and the decreased shield stun, causing him to struggle even more there.
Donkey Kong is currently ranked 9th out of 12 on the [[tier list]]. He has powerful moves such as his aforementioned Giant Punch which when fully charged, deals 36% damage. He also sports an infamously abusable [[grab release]], remarkable reach throughout his moveset, and is the heaviest character in the game, making him very difficult to KO, especially vertically. Donkey Kong also benefits from the [[buff|buffs]] in international releases thanks to the changes to [[SDI]] system as well as the decreased shield stun. However, he is somewhat slow, and is also the largest character in the game, which coupled with his heavy weight makes him an easy target for combos. Despite his incredible endurance, his off-stage survivability is almost non-existent, as his recovery has among the worst vertical distance in the game. In the Japanese tier list, Donkey Kong is ranked 12th, as he does not have the changes from the SDI system and the decreased shield stun, causing him to struggle even more there.


==Attributes==
==Attributes==
[[File:SSB64 Congratulations DK.png|thumb|250px|Donkey Kong's [[congratulations screen]].]]
[[File:SSB64 Congratulations DK.png|thumb|250px|Donkey Kong's ending picture in ''Super Smash Bros.'']]
[[File:Ssb64donkeykong.jpg|thumb|Donkey Kong using Hand Slap in the ''SSB'' instruction booklet.]]
[[File:Ssb64donkeykong.jpg|thumb|Donkey Kong using Hand Slap in the ''SSB'' instruction booklet.]]
Donkey Kong is the [[weight|heaviest]] and largest character in ''Super Smash Bros.'' This means he gets hit quite easily, and he also has a poor [[shield]] game, making him vulnerable to [[shield break]] combos such as {{SSB|Yoshi}}'s Z-canceled [[DJC]] neutral aerial performed repeatedly. However, he can take many hits and high [[damage]] before being [[KO]]'d. Like heavyweight characters in subsequent games, Donkey Kong has attacks that deal lots of damage and have strong [[knockback]]. He also has two [[meteor smash]]es (forward and down aerials), and some extremely powerful finishers, including his forward smash and Giant Punch when fully charged or close to fully charged. However, his attacks are generally slow and laggy, and most of his KOs still require setup.
Donkey Kong is the [[weight|heaviest]] and largest character in ''Super Smash Bros.'' This means he gets hit quite easily, and he also has a poor [[shield]] game, making him vulnerable to [[shield break]] combos such as {{SSB|Yoshi}}'s Z-canceled [[DJC]] neutral aerial performed repeatedly. However, he can take many hits and high [[damage]] before being [[KO]]'d. Like heavyweight characters in subsequent games, Donkey Kong has attacks that deal lots of damage and have strong [[knockback]]. He also has two [[meteor smash]]es (forward and down aerials), and some extremely powerful finishers, including his forward smash and Giant Punch when fully charged or close to fully charged. However, his attacks are generally slow and laggy, and most of his KOs still require setup.
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==Moveset==
==Moveset==
''For a gallery of Donkey Kong's hitboxes, see [[Donkey Kong (SSB)/Hitboxes|here]].''
{{MovesetTable
{{MovesetTable
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|game=SSB
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*{{Sm|Amasawa|Japan}} - Was one of the best Japanese players in the early meta while maining Donkey Kong, a character considered significantly worse in the Japanese version of ''Smash 64''. He holds wins over {{Sm|Red}}, {{Sm|Sekirei}}, and {{Sm|Rinko}}.
*{{Sm|Amasawa|Japan}} - Was one of the best Japanese players in the early meta while maining Donkey Kong, a character considered significantly worse in the Japanese version of ''Smash 64''. He holds wins over {{Sm|Red}}, {{Sm|Sekirei}}, and {{Sm|Rinko}}.
*{{Sm|Darkhorse|USA}} - While he mains {{SSB|Captain Falcon}}, he has gone solo Donkey Kong at a few events such as 9th at {{Trn|Hitstun 5}} and 17th at {{Trn|Keystoned II}} with wins over {{Sm|Wookiee}} and {{Sm|Roman}}. He also used the two characters to place 5th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}} and 7th at {{Trn|Shine 2017}}. Was previously ranked 33rd on the [[2019-2020 Smash 64 Power Rankings]] with Captain Falcon and Donkey Kong being his primary characters listed.
*{{Sm|Darkhorse|USA}} - While he mains {{SSB|Captain Falcon}}, he has gone solo Donkey Kong at a few events such as 9th at {{Trn|Hitstun 5}} and 17th at {{Trn|Keystoned II}} with wins over {{Sm|Wookiee}} and {{Sm|Roman}}. He also used the two characters to place 5th at {{Trn|The Big House 9}} and 7th at {{Trn|Shine 2017}}. Was previously ranked 33rd on the [[2019-2020 Smash 64 Power Rankings]] with Captain Falcon and Donkey Kong being his primary characters listed.
*{{Sm|Lorenzo|Brazil}} - The best solo Donkey Kong player in South America and one of the best in 2017, being ranked 61st on the [[2017 64 League Rankings]]. In 2017, he placed 7th at {{Trn|Boss Battle 2}}, which marked the first time a solo-Donkey Kong player made top 8 at a ''Smash 64'' major. He continued to give the character's best solo results with 13th at {{Trn|UFSmash 3}} and 17th at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2017}}, being able to secure wins over {{Sm|Shalaka}}, {{Sm|Dext3r}}, and {{Sm|Shears}}. He has been inactive since early 2019.
*{{Sm|Lorenzo|Brazil}} - The best solo Donkey Kong player in South America and one of the best in 2017, being ranked 61st on the [[2017 64 League Rankings]]. In 2017, he placed 7th at {{Trn|Boss Battle 2}} which marked the first time a Donkey Kong player made top 8 at a ''Smash 64'' major. He continued to give the character's best solo results with 13th at {{Trn|UFSmash 3}} and 17th at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2017}}, being able to secure wins over {{Sm|Shalaka}}, {{Sm|Dext3r}}, and {{Sm|Shears}}. He has been inactive since early 2019.
*{{Sm|tacos|USA}} - The current best Donkey Kong player in the world, albeit as a secondary at many tournaments. Notably placed 2nd at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}} and {{Trn|Operation Desert Smash III}} using Donkey Kong in a few of his sets and beating {{Sm|Josh Brody}} and {{Sm|Wangera}}. During 2021-2022, he was ranked 28th on the [[2021-2022 Smash 64 Power Rankings]] as the highest and only player to use Donkey Kong.
*{{Sm|tacos|USA}} - The current best Donkey Kong player in the world, albeit as a secondary at many tournaments. Notably placed 2nd at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}} and {{Trn|Operation Desert Smash III}} using Donkey Kong in a few of his sets and beating {{Sm|Josh Brody}} and {{Sm|Wangera}}. During 2021-2022, he was ranked 28th on the [[2021-2022 Smash 64 Power Rankings]] as the highest and only player to use Donkey Kong.


===Tier placement and history===
===Tier placement and history===
Donkey Kong has historically been considered a low to lower-middle tier character. The character was very unpopular throughout the heyday of ''Smash 64'' due to his major disadvantages being the largest character in the game with sluggish normals compared to almost every other character who had combo routes that can take advantage of the game's hitstun mechanics. This was hindered further by the fact that in Japan, a country where even lower-tier characters had notable representation, Donkey Kong was very uncommon and Japanese players considered him the worst character in the game. In North America, the character did not far much better, placing 9th on the first official tier list.
Donkey Kong has historically been considered a low to lower-middle tier character. His major disadvantages are his large size and lack of speed make him easy to combo, which greatly harms him due to the massive amount of hitstun present. However, he does have a few saving graces in Spinning Kong and back air being good gimping tools as well as having the only true chain grab in the game. Players only tend to use Donkey Kong when their opponent is picking a specific character like {{SSB|Jigglypuff}}, as Donkey Kong has specific tools to counter them. Donkey Kong performs comparatively in doubles, as his above average K.O. potential pairs well with characters that can rack up damage but have little in the way of closing stocks like {{SSB|Fox}} and {{SSB|Ness}}.
 
Despite his placement not being much better, Donkey Kong is a vastly more popular character in North America, seen with {{Sm|Lorenzo}} who became one of the best Donkey Kong players of all-time, placing high in South America and boasting the character's best wins and placements in the United States with a 7th place at {{Trn|Boss Battle 2}}. Additionally, Donkey Kong was seen as a popular character for top players to use in pools in less serious matches, seen with players such as {{Sm|SuPeRbOoMfAn}} and {{Sm|Darkhorse}}, with the latter becoming one of the character's best representatives despite primarily being a {{SSB|Captain Falcon}} player. He used both characters to place 5th at major {{Trn|The Big House 9}} and supermajor {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}. The character also found some counterpick potential with some players such as {{Sm|tacos}}, who is Donkey Kong's best representative in recent years, using him at a few major tournaments in specific moments, defeating {{Sm|wangera}} at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2018}} and {{Sm|Josh Brody}} at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}}. SuPeRbOoMfAn has also made occasional returns to the character, most notably winning the regional [https://www.start.gg/tournament/frame-14/event/smash-64-singles FRAME 14] with Donkey Kong, taking the tournament over players such as {{Sm|KD3}}.
 
Overall, Donkey Kong remains a uncommon character despite his occasional moments of success, due to his glaring flaws as a heavyweight character in a game where top tiers and even characters that rank below him can oppress him with combos or stuff him out with moves with better frame data. As such, his feats in North America did place him at 7th during the second and third tier lists, but now remains at 9th on the current tier list. While counterpicking has worked with the character before, his chances of being a consistent threat as a solo-main or as a primary character is very difficult and unlikely to be seen due to his history as a character in the metagame.


==In single-player==
==In single-player==

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