Editing Donkey Kong (SSBU)
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Donkey Kong retains his gorilla-like grunts and roars from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', instead of using his voice actor, Takashi Nagasako. | Donkey Kong retains his gorilla-like grunts and roars from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'', instead of using his voice actor, Takashi Nagasako. | ||
Donkey Kong is ranked 68th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the D+ tier. This is a significant drop from his 22nd out of 54 placement in ''SSB4'' | Donkey Kong is ranked 68th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him in the D+ tier. This is a significant drop from his 22nd out of 54 placement in ''SSB4''. Donkey Kong has surprisingly good mobility for a superheavyweight, having both a good dash and air speed, while possessing good KO power fitting for his weight class. He has the highest amount of conventional [[meteor smash]]es by default (forward and down aerials, [[Headbutt]] and [[Hand Slap]]), which gives him many options to net early kills on recovering opponents. His down tilt has a chance to trip; his up tilt is a solid anti air that can kill at high percents, his forward tilt is a good spacing tool, and his dash attack is a long-reaching, general-purpose move that has late-hit combo potential. His aerials are all good as they serve their purpose in Donkey Kong's strong advantage state, with back aerial as a good walling and edgeguarding option, up air as a strong juggling and KO tool, and neutral aerial as a good get-off-me or landing option. Donkey Kong also possesses one of the best throws in the game with his cargo throw, which works exceptionally well against characters with poor to mediocre recoveries, and can also net early KOs while on platforms. His specials are also effective: [[Giant Punch]] can now be used in the air without becoming [[helpless]]; Headbutt can punish overuse of shields and can [[armor]] through opposing attacks; grounded [[Spinning Kong]] has armor and functions as a powerful kill move and [[out of shield]] option; and Hand Slap can be used to set up for kill confirms and deny grounded approaches. | ||
Despite his strong advantage state, Donkey Kong is held back by notable flaws, the biggest being his disadvantage, which is among the worst in the game. He has one of the largest hurtboxes, and many of his limb-based moves lose [[intangibility]] once their hitboxes cease, meaning Donkey Kong is frequently in danger of being clipped by attacks compared to other fighters. He also has little to no option to escape from combos due to his frame 4 air dodge, and not having many moves that are fast enough to combo break, while most of his out-of-shield options are too slow or high-risk. As a result, this makes him one of the easiest characters to juggle. Alongside this, Donkey Kong has a lackluster and risky [[neutral game]], as many of his attacks have high ending lag and a decent chunk of them are unsafe on hit at low percents. His recovery is also one of the most exploitable in the game, as a simple spike is enough for Donkey Kong to quickly lose his stock, since [[Spinning Kong]] offers very little vertical distance. | Despite his strong advantage state, Donkey Kong is held back by notable flaws, the biggest being his disadvantage, which is among the worst in the game. He has one of the largest hurtboxes, and many of his limb-based moves lose [[intangibility]] once their hitboxes cease, meaning Donkey Kong is frequently in danger of being clipped by attacks compared to other fighters. He also has little to no option to escape from combos due to his frame 4 air dodge, and not having many moves that are fast enough to combo break, while most of his out-of-shield options are too slow or high-risk. As a result, this makes him one of the easiest characters to juggle. Alongside this, Donkey Kong has a lackluster and risky [[neutral game]], as many of his attacks have high ending lag and a decent chunk of them are unsafe on hit at low percents. His recovery is also one of the most exploitable in the game, as a simple spike is enough for Donkey Kong to quickly lose his stock, since [[Spinning Kong]] offers very little vertical distance. | ||
Overall, Donkey Kong is a speedy heavyweight with unique tools and the potential to convert a single throw into early KOs; however, his disadvantage state means a simple mistake can make it hard for him to keep the pressure on. Although historically an unpopular character in competitive play, dedicated players such as {{Sm|ChunkyKong | Overall, Donkey Kong is a speedy heavyweight with unique tools and the potential to convert a single throw into early KOs; however, his disadvantage state means a simple mistake can make it hard for him to keep the pressure on. Although historically an unpopular character in competitive play, dedicated players such as {{Sm|ChunkyKong}} and {{Sm|HIKARU}} have regularly achieved high placements and great wins with the character, improving his representation and perception as time went on. | ||
==Attributes== | ==Attributes== | ||
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There was some optimism on Donkey Kong prior to the game's release: although Donkey Kong could no longer easily perform most of his throw-based kill confirms from ''Smash 4'', including his infamous "Ding-Dong" combo, many players noted how Donkey Kong received better frame data, speed, damage, and hitboxes in the E3 demo build. However, the optimism faded very quickly upon the game's release. Players pointed out how many of Donkey Kong's moves were punishable on hit at early percents, making his neutral rather egregious in the early metagame, which favored speed and punish games. In addition, his already poor disadvantage state was also made even worse due to his larger hurtbox and his out of shield options remaining poor. Finally, although Donkey Kong saw some early success from {{Sm|HIKARU}}, he eventually dropped Donkey Kong for other characters, and no other Donkey Kong player was able to match HIKARU's success, leaving him with below-average representation. As such, although Donkey Kong received a few buffs in subsequent patches, Donkey Kong was widely considered unviable, with a few even calling him one of the worst characters in the game. | There was some optimism on Donkey Kong prior to the game's release: although Donkey Kong could no longer easily perform most of his throw-based kill confirms from ''Smash 4'', including his infamous "Ding-Dong" combo, many players noted how Donkey Kong received better frame data, speed, damage, and hitboxes in the E3 demo build. However, the optimism faded very quickly upon the game's release. Players pointed out how many of Donkey Kong's moves were punishable on hit at early percents, making his neutral rather egregious in the early metagame, which favored speed and punish games. In addition, his already poor disadvantage state was also made even worse due to his larger hurtbox and his out of shield options remaining poor. Finally, although Donkey Kong saw some early success from {{Sm|HIKARU}}, he eventually dropped Donkey Kong for other characters, and no other Donkey Kong player was able to match HIKARU's success, leaving him with below-average representation. As such, although Donkey Kong received a few buffs in subsequent patches, Donkey Kong was widely considered unviable, with a few even calling him one of the worst characters in the game. | ||
2022 became a turning point for Donkey Kong. First, HIKARU began playing Donkey Kong again, and although often only used as a secondary or co-main alongside other characters, it nevertheless gave Donkey Kong some of the best results since the early metagame. Most notable among these results was HIKARU's run at {{Trn|Ultimate Fighting Arena 2022}}, which saw him use Donkey Kong extensively in top 64, defeating several of Europe's best players including {{Sm|Glutonny}} and {{Sm|Bloom4Eva}}, before ultimately placing 3rd. In addition, {{Sm|ChunkyKong}}, initially known for his online performances, began having a bigger impact on the offline metagame with his strong performances at majors, most notably 13th at {{Trn|Let's Make Moves Miami}} defeating {{Sm|Kola}} along the way. With both players ranking in [[OrionRank 2022]]'s top 100, among a few others also ranked with Donkey Kong despite minimal usage, many players began seeing Donkey Kong in a more positive light, and he was no longer considered a candidate for | 2022 became a turning point for Donkey Kong. First, HIKARU began playing Donkey Kong again, and although often only used as a secondary or co-main alongside other characters, it nevertheless gave Donkey Kong some of the best results since the early metagame. Most notable among these results was HIKARU's run at {{Trn|Ultimate Fighting Arena 2022}}, which saw him use Donkey Kong extensively in top 64, defeating several of Europe's best players including {{Sm|Glutonny}} and {{Sm|Bloom4Eva}}, before ultimately placing 3rd. In addition, {{Sm|ChunkyKong}}, initially known for his online performances, began having a bigger impact on the offline metagame with his strong performances at majors, most notably 13th at {{Trn|Let's Make Moves Miami}} defeating {{Sm|Kola}} along the way. With both players ranking in [[OrionRank 2022]]'s top 100, among a few others also ranked with Donkey Kong despite minimal usage, many players began seeing Donkey Kong in a more positive light, and he was no longer considered a candidate for worst character. This was reflected on his placement on the first tier list, where he was ranked 70th as a lower-mid character. His results would remain around the same in the following year: although HIKARU eventually retired and ChunkyKong's results saw a dip, {{Sm|Rarikkusu}} would break out onto the Japanese scene and begin placing well at events. As such, Donkey Kong remained around the same on the second tier list, rising slightly to 68th and ranking in the D+ tier. | ||
=={{SSBU|Classic Mode}}: Journey to New Donk City== | =={{SSBU|Classic Mode}}: Journey to New Donk City== |