Donkey Kong (SSB): Difference between revisions

'''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.

==Attributes==

[[File:Ssb64donkeykong.jpg|thumb|Donkey Kong using Hand Slap in the ''SSB'' instruction booklet.]]

Contrary to popular belief, Donkey Kong has slightly above-average [[dash]]ing speed (although he does have a relatively slow [[air speed]]). Donkey Kong has a great [[grab]] and [[throw]] game due to having the longest non-tether [[grab]]bing horizontal range, terrific throw combos (especially when there are walls), and the infamous [[infinite throw trap]] that allows him to rack up damage easily and effectively. He also has a KO throw in his back throw. Donkey Kong has good [[reach]], which allows for decent [[combo]]s despite slow attack speed, but he lacks a [[projectile]] and a reliable way to deal with them, making his [[approach]] poor and unvaried. His Up B however also breaks projectiles, outside of {{SSB|Fox}}'s laser.

==Moveset==

{{MovesetTable

|game=SSB

|neutralcount=2

|neutral1dmg=4%

|neutral2dmg=4%

Jab is overall a situational move for Donkey Kong, with his grab being a far better option overall.

|ftiltangles=3

|ftiltupdmg=13%

|ftiltsidedmg=12%

|ftiltdowndmg=11%

|ftiltdesc=Donkey Kong punches forwards. The move is slow and not particularly powerful either, although it can be angled up or down and it does have long range (although its range doesn't quite match Donkey Kong's hand). It is unsafe on shield but it can be spaced to be made safe. It is overall a very situational move, with a dash grab being the superior option in most situations, although forward tilt can be used to edgeguard in certain situations due to its ability to be angled.

|utiltdmg=13%

|utiltdesc=Donkey Kong swings his hand in an arch above him, with the move having strong vertical knockback. It comes out on frame 4, making it tied with {{SSB|Kirby}}'s up tilt for the fastest in the game in terms of startup. It also has great range above and behind Donkey Kong although its range in front of him is lacking. It is also the strongest up tilt in the game, KOing {{SSB|Mario}} at 118% on [[Dream Land]].  

Up tilt is overall a very situational move for Donkey Kong as while it hits hard, it is far too risky to use, and the reward for landing it usually isn't particularly high, especially at lower percents.

|dtiltdmg=8%

|dtiltdesc=Donkey Kong performs a quick hand swipe while crouching. It comes out slowly on frame 11 but it has very little ending lag and it has decent range. It can combo into grab at lower percents and at higher percents, it can set up tech chases and edgeguards. It is also very safe on shield, with Donkey Kong having just enough time to get a guaranteed grab on shield from a fresh down tilt.  

Down tilt is overall Donkey Kong's most useful tilt due to its low ending lag.

|dashdmg=12%

Dash attack has incredibly high ending lag, it covers a short amount of distance and while it technically has a lot of active frames, its hitboxes end before Donkey Kong stops moving, giving it a deceptively short amount of range, especially during the later parts of the animation. These factors make the move difficult to land and incredibly unsafe if it does not connect. It can even be unsafe on hit in some cases, especially if the opponent [[crouch cancel]]s the move and even when it is safe on hit, it is too laggy to lead into anything (although it can lead into followups if it is interrupted by a weaker attack). It can set up tech chases on Dream Land platforms but even in this case, Donkey Kong might not have a significant enough frame advantage to punish the opponent's tech options. It can also be used to [[clang]] with other attacks due to its quick speed but this is overall very risky and not reliable, as a mistimed dash attack can be fatal for Donkey Kong.  

Dash attack is overall considered to be one of the worst moves in the game, as it is far too laggy, hard to land and the reward for landing it is not high at all, regardless of the opponent's percent. It is a move which is almost never used intentionally at high levels of play.

|fsmashangles=3

|fsmashupdmg=21%

|fsmashsidedmg=20%

Forward smash is overall a situational yet rewarding move for Donkey Kong when used in the right situations.

|usmashdmg=21%

|usmashdesc=Donkey Kong claps directly above him. The move deals 21% and very high vertical knockback, being one of the strongest up smashes in the game. It has a very large hitbox, easily hitting opponents on Dream Land platforms and Donkey Kong's head and arms are intangible while the hitboxes are out, making it a powerful anti-air. Donkey Kong can also combo into it using an up or down aerial for a KO and Donkey Kong can combo into a forward aerial out of it at specific percent ranges.

Up smash is overall a situational yet powerful move for Donkey Kong when used in the right situations.

|dsmashdmg=19%

|dsmashdesc=Donkey Kong performs a 360° spin while doing a split. It deals 19% and high diagonal knockback, having above average KO power for a down smash. It also has a long hitbox duration and hits on both sides of Donkey Kong, making it effective at catching rolls. The move does come out slowly on frame 12 but it is Donkey Kong's fastest smash attack. It also has very high ending lag, which makes it very unsafe and easily punishable. It also has an unfavorable launch angle which makes it ineffective at both edgeguarding and setting up combos, especially when combined with its ending lag.  

Down smash is overall a situational move for Donkey Kong as while it has utility in some areas, the move is often too risky for the reward it can give.

|nairdmg=15% (clean), 12% (late)

|nairdesc=Donkey Kong spins around with his arms out. It starts off dealing 15% but after its first four active frames, it deals less damage and knockback. It comes out quickly on frame 4 and it has a somewhat long hitbox duration, making it a decent defensive move. It has above average damage for a neutral aerial although its knockback is below average. It can lead into followups at lower percents but its utility is limited at higher percents and it does not hit below Donkey Kong very well, making him easy to hit from below. It also has high ending lag which can make it quite unsafe to use off stage.

|fairdmg=16%

|fairdesc=Donkey Kong does a front flip with his fists clasped together, smashing them into opponents. It is a powerful [[meteor smash]] although it does also have strong horizontal knockback if Donkey Kong's arms connect rather than his hand, which naturally makes it a strong edgeguarding tool. This move inspired Donkey Kong's air attack in ''Donkey Kong 64''. It comes out fairly quickly on frame 8 and lasts until frame 16, and while it does have a considerable amount of ending lag, it does have the shortest total duration out of all of Donkey Kong's aerials. The move can easily be used as a combo starter, extender or ender at a wide variety of percent ranges, with Donkey Kong having multiple followups out of the move against grounded opponents and he has multiple ways to combo into it for a KO at fairly low percents. It is Donkey Kong's most damaging aerial which also makes it his safest aerial on shield, giving him slightly more time to punish shielding opponents than his other aerials.

Forward aerial is overall a very strong and useful aerial for Donkey Kong due to its speed, arching range, combo and edgeguarding potential.  

|bairdmg=15% (clean), 10% (late)

|bairdesc=Donkey Kong puts his feet together and thrusts them out behind him, his body moving sideways with them. It deals 15% with the clean hitbox but during its later active frames, it deals 10%. It comes out on frame 8 and the hitboxes are fairly large and have a long duration. It has combo potential at lower percents and is highly effective on shield, but is burdened by considerable ending lag and has below average KO potential for a back aerial, making it one of the less effective back aerials overall. Nevertheless, it is still a solid and useful move overall.

In the Japanese version, back aerial dealt less knockback, having the same power as neutral aerial. This made it a worse KO move but this did also allow it to combo into other moves for longer.  

|uairdmg=12%

|uairdesc=Donkey Kong swings his hands in an arch, similarly to his up tilt. The move deals 12% and launches opponents up and towards Donkey Kong with below average vertical knockback for an up aerial. It typically cannot KO and has very high ending lag and landing lag, which can make it quite unsafe and punishable (although the landing lag can be mostly eliminated with Z-canceling, which also makes the move very safe on landing). It has extremely low startup on frame 3 however, and it has a long hitbox duration, with the move covering both in front and behind Donkey Kong, in addition to above him. When combined with its weak vertical knockback and Z-canceling, this makes the move a useful juggling tool. It can be awkward to utilize in some situations, but it can be a strong combo tool when used in the right scenarios, with the move being able to lead into itself multiple times as well as Donkey Kong's up smash, forward aerial, and Giant Punch for KOs at certain percentages.

|dairdmg=13% (clean), 10% (late)

|dairdesc=Donkey Kong thrusts his feet down, with the move meteor smashing opponents. It comes out on frame 6 and its hitboxes last for a very long time while retaining its meteor angle for its entire duration, although it does become weaker during its later frames. It is naturally effective for edgeguarding and against grounded opponents, it can lead into many followups, with up smash working in some scenarios for a KO. In scenarios where up smash will not work, forward aerial will typically be strong enough for a KO and Giant Punch is a viable followup at a wide percent range as well. The move does have high ending lag and landing lag however so it can be unsafe to use off stage depending on Donkey Kong's position and the move is very unsafe if Donkey Kong does not Z-cancel the move. Nevertheless, down aerial is a very useful aerial for Donkey Kong if he can land it.  

In the Japanese version, down aerial dealt less knockback, which can be beneficial or detrimental depending on when it is used.

|grabdesc=Donkey Kong clenches his hands forwards. Donkey Kong has the longest normal grab range out of any character in the game, with his grab also being just as fast as other characters' grabs. This makes Donkey Kong's grab very easy to land, especially since Donkey Kong has multiple ways to confirm into grab. When combined with his very potent throws, Donkey Kong's grab is one of the best in the game (and one of his most useful tools in general), with its only notably weakness being that Donkey Kong grabs fairly high, which can allow shorter characters to low profile under the grab.  

|fthrowdmg=8% (carry), 8% (throw)

|fthrowdesc=Donkey Kong picks up his opponent and holds them on his back. He can then move around and jump before throwing them forward or backwards, although it is possible for the opponent to mash out of the throw. This throw is based on his ability in Donkey Kong Country to effortlessly carry barrels on his back. After throwing the opponent, Donkey Kong can go for a punish attempt to try and catch the opponent's recovery attempt. If the opponent breaks out of the grab, they receive some knockback and they end up close to Donkey Kong. This can lead into followups/mixups for Donkey Kong, with his most powerful option being another grab to reset the situation. This is not guaranteed at lower percents but it is difficult for some characters to avoid and it does become guaranteed at higher percents. It is overall a unique yet useful throw for Donkey Kong.

In the Japanese version, forward throw required more inputs to break out of, which made it a more useful throw overall.

|bthrowdmg=18%

|bthrowdesc=Donkey Kong turns around and tosses the opponent backwards. The throw is very fast and very strong, dealing very high damage and knockback. It is overall the strongest throw in the game, KOing Mario under 100% from the middle of Dream Land, although some throws are stronger at the ledge. At lower percents, it can put opponents onto one of Dream Land's side platforms for a tech chase scenario and if the opponent ends up off stage, they can end up getting KOed if Donkey Kong successfully edgeguards them. At slightly higher percents, it either sends the opponent very far off stage where Donkey Kong can go for an edgeguard for a KO or it just flat out KOes the opponent. Donkey Kong's back throw is overall one of the best in the game due to its incredible strength and speed.

|dsname=Hand Slap

|dsdmg=10%

}}

|victory-theme=DKTheme64.ogg

|victory-desc=A flourish originating from ''Donkey Kong Country'' that played whenever a Kong defeated a boss or completed a bonus level.

|desc-2=Hops and flexes (also his character selection animation).  

|desc-3=Beats his chest.

==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 -->

:''See also: [[:Category:Donkey Kong players (SSB)]]''

==In single-player==

===Down special resets and down aerial usage===

==Description==

===From the Game===

Works:

|{{Head|Donkey Kong|g=SSB|s=25px|cl=Green}}

|}

==Trivia==

**This is also the only game in which a protagonist is the heaviest character.

**Not counting [[Final Smash]]es and [[Boss]]es, the ''Smash 64'' NTSC and PAL iteration of Donkey Kong is the heaviest playable character in the entire franchise, weighing over 140 units (though ''64'' weight units are listed differently).

{{SSBCharacters}}