Donkey Kong (SSBU): Difference between revisions

'''Donkey Kong''' ({{ja|ドンキーコング|Donkī Kongu}}, ''Donkey Kong'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Donkey Kong is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #02]].

Donkey Kong is unsurprisingly a large [[Weight|super heavyweight]], having the same weight value as {{SSBU|King Dedede}}, and is the third-heaviest character in the game behind {{SSBU|Bowser}} and {{SSBU|King K. Rool}}. Despite this, he's one of the fastest heavy characters in the game, both in terms of general mobility and attack speed. He has the 9th fastest [[walk]]ing speed, the 28th fastest [[dash]]ing speed, the 15th highest [[traction]], above average [[falling speed]] and jumping force, and is tied with {{SSBU|Mario}}, {{SSBU|Sonic}}, {{SSBU|Little Mac}}, and {{SSBU|Inkling}} for the 12th fastest [[air speed]]. In contrast, he has below average [[gravity]] and moderately slow [[air acceleration]].

A typical heavyweight is expected to possess moves with high power, and Donkey Kong is no exception to this - it is possibly his greatest attribute. Donkey Kong has no problem with setting up into KOs with moves that have both high power and decent [[range]]: his sweetspotted up tilt, smash attacks, aerials, back throw, [[Giant Punch]], and grounded [[Spinning Kong]] are all prime examples. His ability to take stocks with his powerful attacks is made easier with his decent approach. His mobility and size work together to give him an effective grounded approach and longer range, respectively. All of these attributes combined allow him to have an easier time fighting in close quarters and landing attacks on his opponents. He also has very strong survivability thanks to his aforementioned high weight and above average falling speed, which is also common for his archetype. In total, Donkey Kong's attributes give him some of the best overall endurance in the game, with only {{SSBU|Bowser}} and {{SSBU|King K. Rool}} surpassing him horizontally.

Donkey Kong works well with his grounded moveset. His neutral attack has decent damage and startup. Forward tilt's long range makes it one of his main spacing tools and works better with its intangibility. Up tilt is a safe move to interrupt his opponents, with the move covering Donkey Kong's entire body, acting as an anti-air, and hitting through low platforms such as the ones on {{SSBU|Battlefield}}. Down tilt gives him a long range crouching option and has a chance to [[trip]] opponents. His dash attack works as a combo starter and a situational KO option at low and very high percentages, respectively. All of his smash attacks are notoriously strong and relatively fast, making them his go-to options for hard reads and scoring KOs. His aerial options also have considerable utility. His forward and down aerials are some of his best edgeguarding tools due to both of them being [[meteor smash]]es. His neutral aerial is hard to interrupt, helps him break out of combos, and is one of the strongest of its type in the game when hit clean. His up aerial serves as an effective vertical KO option (if the situation he's in allows for it) thanks to its high knockback, and it is also safe, as his head is intangible during it and it has modest end lag. His back aerial is his fastest aerial and is debatably an even better spacing tool than his forward tilt, being fast, long-ranged, and having a [[sex kick]]-like hitbox, with a long duration and high knockback when hit clean. His air speed allows his aerial moves to be used at their fullest potential and, with the exception of forward aerial, they’re all decently fast.

A well-known part of his playstyle is his grab game, as he has a long grab that allows for setups into the rest of his moves. Although his down throw has little to no use, every other option does to some extent. His [[pummel]] is slower compared to many others in the cast, but deals decent damage. Up throw has combo potential into his aerials and back throw is his primary kill throw, but his forward throw is easily his most useful one and possibly the most unique part of his character. During his forward throw, Donkey Kong can move, jump, and walk off the stage while having the opponent in his hands, acting like he usually would outside of a typical grab (aside from being unable to use his other moves and having only one jump). Forward throw also gives Donkey Kong different types of throws based on what direction is pressed, basically giving him eight throws; these are commonly known as the "cargo throws." Cargo forward and down throw both work as niche edgeguarding options, with cargo down throw even being a [[semi-spike]]. Cargo back throw does good damage and is a very solid kill throw. It also has utility as a [[stage spike]] unless his opponent is able to properly tech it. Finally, cargo up throw has more combo potential than his vanilla up throw, being able to combo into his aerials at low percents. Cargo up throw also possesses fairly good kill power, since Donkey Kong can jump and then heave his opponents for additional height.

Donkey Kong's special moves are also helpful for his gameplan. [[Giant Punch]] is his surprise KO and punish move, can be used to pressure the opponent, and has [[super armor]] if fully charged. [[Headbutt]] can [[bury]] opponents, which can allow him to setup into KOs, and spikes in the air. It has super armor during the move's startup and deals very high [[shield damage]] while also having deceptively long range, giving him a shield pressure option and the ability to call out poor shield positioning. Grounded [[Hand Slap]] has very long range and allows for stage control, but has no usage for aerial opponents, as it leaves Donkey Kong immobile and its hitbox only deals damage to grounded opponents. The aerial Hand Slap is his last move which can meteor smash and is fast, making it effective and easy to land. His final special move, [[Spinning Kong]], acts similarly to Bowser's [[Whirling Fortress]] as his primary [[out of shield]] option. It is hard to disrupt and is a multi-hit move with high damage. In the air, it works as an incredibly fast horizontal recovery option and deals a lot of damage if all the hits connect. Due to the speed [[Spinning Kong]] has in the air, it can work as an effective combo breaker.

However, despite his versatile moveset and high power, Donkey Kong falls into a plethora of problems. His defensive game is very poor, a common issue for characters of his size. While his massive weight gives him very high endurance and his large frame is the reason his range is better than characters like {{SSBU|Mario}} and {{SSBU|Squirtle}}, it becomes a problem when having to dodge attacks which is hard for him because he is a very large target. His tie hurtbox is also extremely large, further exacerbating the issue. Coincidentally, just like those two previously mentioned fighters, he has frequent trouble dealing with characters that have disjoints due to his lack of projectiles, primarily against swordfighters such as {{SSBU|Shulk}} and {{SSBU|Ike}}, hitboxes on moves such as {{SSBU|Mewtwo}}'s up and back aerials, or fast multi-hits such as {{SSBU|Palutena}}'s neutral air. Donkey Kong's size also makes him vulnerable to combos and [[juggling]], which is worsened by his lack of combo breakers (outside of neutral aerial and up special). The reintroduction of directional air dodges makes his aerial defense even more linear, and the new air dodge's increased ending lag hurts all characters, it debatably hurts a character such as Donkey Kong the most. Moreover, his otherwise great forward throw (cargo throw) also has certain drawbacks - notably, the risk of trying to slam the opponent into the ledge with a backward cargo throw. Due to Donkey Kong's horrid vertical recovery, if the opponent either DIs fast enough, squat jumps on him or simply has better air reach, this attempt for an easy KO may backfire. The trajectory of both forward and back cargo throw also possess a minor challenge. Unlike traditional forward and back throws, Donkey Kong sends the opponent at a high vertical angle instead of horizontal. This makes it more situational if they will KO or not, especially cargo forward throw. Cargo back throw ironically has more vertical range than his cargo up throw and therefore has more usage KOing at the top of the screen than the side. Thus, the player may find more reliability in a normal back throw near the edge.

Despite many of his moves having fast startup, Donkey Kong's moveset is made much slower by its ending lag, and most of his moves are not safe on hit at low percents. This forces him to be more careful with the moves he uses, as he can be heavily punished just for putting out one attack (a situation that can rapidly snowball due to his poor defensive options). Unlike the all-around heavyweight Bowser, perhaps Donkey Kong's most glaring weakness is his lack of out-of-shield options. Neither his neutral attack nor his tilts are enough to distance himself from an aggressive opponent if the player forces him to remain in shield. His forward tilt has good range, but lacks the power or perks of other super heavyweights, like Bowser's Tough Guy or King K. Rool's Belly Armour. A lot of his moves are also limited in some way despite their strengths: his smash attacks are slow and have very linear hitboxes; a chunk of his throws, despite their variety, don't have much utility; Giant Punch forces Donkey Kong to get up-close to the opponent to land the attack and needs to be charged for it to be effective; Headbutt and Hand Slap are both slow, causing them to be difficult to use for their intended purposes; and Spinning Kong, while it has decently long horizontal recovery distance, offers almost no vertical recovery and is prone to edgeguarding against meteor smashes, like {{SSBU|Captain Falcon}} and {{SSBU|Falco}}'s down aerials.

All in all, Donkey Kong's mixture of fast mobility, fairly long range, high weight, decent combo potential, and excellent kill power make him adept and flexible in many different situations, but killing and pressuring opponents stand out as his biggest strengths. Despite this, DK's high weight, large hurtbox, and lack of good escape tools make him vulnerable to many combos. In addition, his recovery is extremely poor, and his moveset is frequently punishable due to the end lag on many of his moves. As such, Donkey Kong has to capitalize on his power and range to limit opponents' approaches in order to win matches.

Donkey Kong has received several useful buffs, with those to his special moves being among the most notable. [[Giant Punch]] no longer leaves him helpless when used in the air, giving him a new edgeguarding option. [[Headbutt]] now grants him [[super armor]] before the hit comes, and moves deal their full damage when opponents are buried, which improves the moves' versatility. It also alleviates some of his difficulty with landing safely, as he can now opt to directly contest a powerful move while he's being juggled. Grounded [[Spinning Kong]] has less difficulty linking its multi-hits and has faster super armor, while the aerial Spinning Kong is now a proper multi-hitting move with a finishing hit, making it safer. [[Hand Slap]] is generally faster and the aerial version has reduced landing lag, which gives Donkey Kong a useful combo starter and allows it to confirm into KOs at high percentages.

His biggest buff, however, comes from a vastly improved forward throw (cargo throw), which now grants him much more options and turns it into his most versatile throw, and arguably the best throw in the game overall. His [[dash attack]] also has less ending lag, giving him another combo starter if the late hit is landed and making it much safer if shielded. Donkey Kong's already impressive KO power has been further increased as well, as most of his moves deal more knockback. Finally, Donkey Kong also benefits to some of the universal changes, as his already great mobility has improved from faster walking and dashing speeds, the universal 3-frame jumpsquat change improves his ground-to-air [[out of shield]] game and allows him for with combo opportunities, and the increased [[shieldstun]] and reduced [[landing lag]] on aerial attacks makes his attacks even safer on shield (despite the reduced shieldstun on aerials).

However, the few direct nerfs Donkey Kong received are severe enough to eclipse his buffs. Like {{SSBU|Bowser}}, his biggest nerf is to his previously infamous combo throw, his cargo up throw - it now has more knockback, which severely hampers both its combo ability and its infamous "Ding Dong" KO confirm at high percentages. Although his grab game was overall buffed, Donkey Kong is one of the characters who suffers the most from the universal nerfing of grabs, making them less safe for him to use. His pummel was nerfed as well, making it less reliable for racking up damage. Thus, this makes it less feasible to rely on his grab as his main way to rack up damage, forcing Donkey Kong to use other methods to rack up damage. Other nerfs include his up aerial having shorter range, which hinders its versatility, and Spinning Kong gaining less horizontal distance and no longer granting intangibility on startup, worsening his already poor recovery. Many of his attacks, such as his tilts and his up aerial, no longer have disproportionately long intangibility, now only matching their hitbox duration.

Although he has gained some notable benefits from them, the universal changes to gameplay mechanics hamper Donkey Kong more than they help him. While the universal increase in mobility, faster jumpsquat, and reduced landing lag on aerials improve his own mobility and combo game, it also means opponents are more likely to close the distance on DK, giving them more combo opportunities. The increased shieldstun, reduced landing lag, and the universal nerfing of grabs also make it harder for Donkey Kong to react to a shielded attack; the universal nerfing of grabs is especially harmful, as it one of the key points to his gameplan. Altogether, this hinders Donkey Kong's grounded out-of-shield game, limiting him to directly contesting them by making use of his moves' super armor to muscle through them, which can be risky despite his large weight. Lastly, the changes to [[air dodging]] worsen Donkey Kong's recovery, as they give him less protection and make him easier to edgeguard. All of these changes worsen Donkey Kong's defensive game, which is further notable since the game's engine prioritizes more aggressive playstyles than defensive ones. This forces him not only to [[approach]] more, but to be more unpredictable at doing so.

In the end, Donkey Kong has potentially received many more options for racking up damage and being less predictable, but the neutering of his KO confirm and grabs means Donkey Kong can no longer close out stocks as reliably as before. While both Donkey Kong's strengths and weaknesses are more defined, the gameplay mechanics accentuate his weaknesses more when compared to his strengths, which has subsequently caused Donkey Kong's nerfs to overshadow his buffs. His overall perception in competitive play has been inconsistent; while he was initially believed to be improved from his already good standing from ''Smash 4'' (doing exceptionally well in early tournaments), as the metagame has evolved, his tournament representation went down significantly to the point that it became rather poor. Many of his players have either dropped him or become inactive, with his most noticeable player, {{Sm|Konga}}, gathering average to somewhat lackluster placements in tournaments and temporarily quitting competitive play. Other prominent players, like {{Sm|HIKARU}} and {{Sm|Tweek}}, have simply dropped the character (though HIKARU would pick him back up as a co-main at the start of 2020). Currently, top players generally see Donkey Kong as a mid- or low-tier character; nevertheless, he has seen respectable success and representation from players such as {{Sm|DKwill}}, {{Sm|Konga}}, {{Sm|Runes}}, {{Sm|ShiNe}}, {{Sm|Sou}} and {{Sm|YMCA}}, which is further supplemented by the buffs he received in 6.0.0. As a result, Donkey Kong's tier placement remains debatable, but it is overall agreed he fares worse in ''Ultimate'' than he did in ''Smash 4''.

Donkey Kong has been buffed via game updates. Initially, his most noteworthy buffs were to inconsistencies of two moves: forward aerial now autocancels properly (an issue that had been present since ''Melee'') and [[Giant Punch]]'s hitbox no longer shifts into the Z-axis, which would result in it missing opponents at point-blank range. Donkey Kong also benefits from the universal nerf on projectiles dealing less shield damage in update 3.0.0.

After receiving some minor buffs, patch 13.0.1 buffed Donkey Kong yet again. The second hit of Donkey Kong’s neutral attack was given more active frames and had it’s ending lag reduced. [[Giant Punch]] was given more super armor on both the ground and in the air. Most notably, Donkey Kong’s down tilt was given 5 additional frames of hitstun, this allows him to follow up with another attack in certain situations.

|neutraldesc=A hook followed by an uppercut. The second hit has above average power for a neutral attack, although generally speaking its KO potential is unimpressive. It can chain into itself fairly reliably at low percentages however.

|usmashdesc=An overhead clap. It grants intangibility to his head and arms (frames 12-15), effectively giving it disjointed hitboxes. It has immense power, being one of the strongest up smashes in the game, with it KOing Mario from the ground level of FD at 92% with optimal DI and no rage. In practice it will KO a bit sooner as it typically hits opponents in the air. Its startup is additionally rather fast for a move of its power (coming out in 14 frames), though it has a lengthy enough duration to be quite punishable (with the move's lasting 49 frames total). However it is hard to hit as its hitboxes are situated straight vertically above DK and aren't that large in size, while it lacks grounded launching hitboxes to launch grounded opponents into it like other vertically-placed up smashes have (e.g. Marcina's and R.O.B.'s up smashes).

|uairdesc=An upwards arcing headbutt that appears visually similar to his side special, Headbutt. It grants intangibility to his head on frames 5-10 and is one of the more powerful up aerials, killing Mario at around 140% from ground level. Those features, along with its fast startup and fairly low ending lag, make it a good move for juggling.

|pummeldesc=Chops the opponent's body. A slow but strong pummel.

|nsdesc=A wind-up punch which fully charges after ten wind-ups. When fully-charged, the punch deals excellent damage, grants super armor and is overall faster than if used uncharged. Its charge can [[charge cancel]]ed and saved, and chosen when to be released after being fully charged. Unlike in ''Melee'', ''Brawl'', and ''Smash 4'', Giant Punch does not induce helplessness in the air, much like in ''Smash 64''.

|fsdesc=Punches forward. If the initial hit connects, Donkey Kong will then perform a long series of rapid punches. Has about the same range as his forward smash, but extremely powerful, killing Mario as low as 24% on Final Destination.

SSBUDonkeyKongIdle1.gif|Donkey Kong's first idle pose

SSBUDonkeyKongIdle2.gif|Donkey Kong's second idle pose

|Don - key Kong! || Don - key Kong! || Don - key Kong! || Don - key Kong!  

Donkey Kong was met in the E3 demo build with a degree of cautious optimism. Although players could no longer easily perform most of Donkey Kong's throw-based kill confirms from ''Smash 4'', including his infamous "Ding-Dong" combo, Donkey Kong players were willing to do away with this in favor of better frame data, speed, damage, and hitboxes, most notably on his tilts and dash attack, and hoped that he would play differently from {{SSBU|Bowser}}. Though DK was considered one of the worst heavyweights from the demo, thought to be only marginally better than {{SSBU|Ridley}}, players were excited for Donkey Kong's opportunities in competitive play.

Upon the game's release, however, Donkey Kong fell out of favor very quickly, for a number of reasons. The biggest issue is his low-percent safety: many of Donkey Kong's moves are punishable on hit at early percents, making his neutral rather egregious in a meta favoring speed and punish games. His already poor disadvantage state was also made even worse due to his later hurtbox and his out of shield options remaining poor. Although Donkey Kong has been buffed in patches, none of Donkey Kong's biggest flaws were addressed. As a result, despite efforts from dedicated players such as {{Sm|LeSou}} and {{Sm|YMCA}} pre-pandemic, {{Sm|HIKARU}} briefly post-pandemic, and {{Sm|ChunkyKong}} online, Donkey Kong was mostly used as an occasional counterpick during the early metagame. As such, he is commonly ranked as a low tier, with some players such as {{Sm|Dabuz}}, {{Sm|Maister}} and {{Sm|ESAM}} ranking him as one of the absolute worst characters in the entire game.

===Most historically significant players===

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''See also: [[:Category:Donkey Kong professionals (SSBU)]]''

*{{Sm|ChunkyKong|USA}} - The best Donkey Kong player in the United States. Placed 13th at {{Trn|Let's Make Moves Miami}}, 17th at {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}}, 25th at {{Trn|InfinityCON Tally 2021}}, and 33rd at both {{Trn|CEO 2021}} and {{Trn|CEO 2022}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Kola}}, {{Sm|MuteAce}}, and {{Sm|Goblin}}. He is also the best online Donkey Kong player in the United States, placing 2nd at both {{Trn|Get Clipped 3}} and {{Trn|Get Clipped 7}}, 9th at both {{Trn|Frame Perfect Series 3: ONLINE}} and {{Trn|Steal the Show 5: Heist in Smashville}}, and 13th at {{Trn|HABBY Birthday 2020}}. Formerly ranked 44th on the [[Wi-Fi Warrior Rank v6]].

*{{Sm|Doctor A Ness|Australia}} - The best Donkey Kong in Australia during the early metagame, but has since been banned. Placed 5th at both {{Trn|Battle Arena Melbourne 11}} and {{Trn|BigWinChampionship 2}}, 7th at {{Trn|Phantom 2020}}, and 9th at {{Trn|Sunny Side Up}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Purple~H}}, {{Sm|Sriks}}, and {{Sm|Ben Gold}}. Currently ranked 8th on the [[Australian Power Rankings]].

*{{Sm|HIKARU|Japan}} - Co-mains {{SSBU|Roy}} with Donkey Kong and is the best Donkey Kong player in the world. Placed 3rd at {{Trn|Ultimate Fighting Arena 2022}}, 5th at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 12}}, 9th at {{Trn|Umebura SP 3}}, 13th at {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 4}}, and 17th at {{Trn|EVO Japan 2020}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Glutonny}}, {{Sm|KEN}}, and {{Sm|zackray}}.

*{{Sm|LeSou|Mexico}} - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the world during the early metagame. Placed 5th at {{Trn|Smash Fest to the Sky}}, 9th at {{Trn|Ragnarok}}, {{Trn|WeTecThose 9}}, and {{Trn|Abierto Guadalajara Ultimo Reto}}, and 17th at {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Cloudy}}, {{Sm|Meme}}, and {{Sm|Joker}}.  

*{{Sm|YMCA|USA}} - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the United States during the early metagame. Placed 9th at {{Trn|SIEGE 2019}}, 13th at {{Trn|DreamHack Anaheim 2020}}, 25th at {{Trn|2GG: Nightmare on Smashville}}, and 65th at {{Trn|EVO 2019}} with wins over players such as {{Sm|Klaatu}}, {{Sm|NAKAT}}, and {{Sm|Ignaize}}.

[[File:SSBU Congratulations Donkey Kong.png|thumb|right|Donkey Kong's congratulations screen.]]

Donkey Kong's path chronicles Donkey Kong traveling from his home (the jungle) to New Donk City (through urban stages) via plane. After defeating Diddy Kong, he becomes Donkey Kong's partner for the rest of the mode, referencing the original ''Donkey Kong Country''.

|1||{{CharHead|Diddy Kong|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||{{SSB|Kongo Jungle}}||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Jungle Level (64)}}''||

|2||{{CharHead|King K. Rool|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Kongo Falls]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Gang-Plank Galleon}}||rowspan="6"|{{Head|Diddy Kong|g=SSBU|s=20px}} Diddy Kong is a CPU ally.

During the opening cutscene, Donkey Kong was present on the cliffside when [[Galeem]] unleashed his beams of light. Galeem's light beams vaporized Donkey Kong offscreen, placing him under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding {{SSBU|Kirby}}.

He can be rescued in a jungle segment of [[The Light Realm]], on a space that looks like the treehouse where he lives on his series.

SSBUWebsiteDonkeyKong3.jpg|[[Taunting]] with {{SSBU|Diddy Kong}} on [[Great Bay]].

*Donkey Kong's pose in his official render resembles the pose he assumes after using [[Giant Punch]].

*Donkey Kong, {{SSBU|Joker}} and {{SSBU|Sephiroth}} are the only characters to face Master Hand and Crazy Hand on a stage other than Final Destination, not counting the [[Master Hand glitch]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''.