Donkey Kong (SSBU)

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Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter (Unlockable in World of Light)
Final Smash	Jungle Rush

“	His charged punch is one of the strongest attacks in the game! In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, his Final Smash has been updated from Konga Beat to a flurry of punches!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Donkey Kong is classified as fighter #02.

Donkey Kong retains his realistic gorilla grunts from Super Smash Bros. 4.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Even though he was already considered the best heavyweight in the previous game, Donkey Kong has received numerous buffs, particularly in his off stage game. Giant Punch no longer makes him helpless when used in air, giving him a new edge guarding option and improvements to his forward throw give him a lot more options out of grab.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from Smash 4, Donkey Kong's model features a more subdued color scheme. His fur is less detailed, and his facial proportions have been tweaked.
• Donkey Kong's nose is now based on his design from Mario Party 10 onwards.
• Like most of the returning roster, Donkey Kong has become much more expressive than in the previous games.
• Donkey Kong now always faces the screen regardless of which direction he turns. This makes most of his animations mirrored and alters some of his animations, such as his walk/dash animations.
• Up taunt has a slightly altered animation.
• Donkey Kong now hangs onto the ledge with one hand instead of two.
• Donkey Kong's hand shaking victory pose has an altered animation. He now looks at the camera at the freeze frame and shakes his hands as opposed to his whole body afterwards.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Donkey Kong's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 6).
• Donkey Kong walks slightly faster (1.3 → 1.365).
• Donkey Kong runs faster (1.7031 → 1.873).
  • Donkey Kong's initial dash speed is faster (1.6 → 2.09).
• Donkey Kong's air speed is slightly higher (1.15 → 1.208).
• Donkey Kong is heavier (122 → 127). However, he is no longer the second heaviest character in the game (claimed by King K. Rool) but instead tied with King Dedede for the third heaviest.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack is easier to combo.
• Forward tilt has less startup (8 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 38 → 35)
• Forward tilt damage: 11% upward/10% forward → 9% upward/8% forward
• Up tilt damage: 11%/10%/9% → 10%/9%/8%
• Down tilt has an altered animation.
• Down tilt has less startup lag (6 → 5)
• Down tilt has more ending lag (FAF 23 → 25)
• Dash attack damage: 11%/8% → 12%/9%
• Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 35)
• Forward smash has an altered animation.
• Forward smash damage: 20% hands/19% arms → 22% hands/21% arms
• Up smash damage: 18% → 19%

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (Neutral: frame 17 → 11, Forward: 29 → 17, Back: 18 → 11, Up: 25 → 15, Down: 24 → 14).
• Donkey Kong spins in the opposite direction when performing his neutral aerial.
• Forward aerial has a slightly altered animation, with Donkey Kong spinning at an angle after performing a downwards punch.
• Back aerial deals more knockback and hits at a lower angle, improving its offensive potential. However, this also makes it less effective at performing combos.

Throws/other attacks

• Grab has more ending lag (FAF 31 → 39).
• Dash grab has more startup (9 → 10) and ending lag (FAF 39 → 47).
• Pivot grab has more startup (10 → 11) and ending lag (FAF 37 → 42).
• Pummel animation has slightly changed. Donkey Kong now chops the opponent's body rather than their head.
• Pummel damage: 2.1% → 1.6%
• Up throw's animation has changed. Donkey Kong throws his opponent into the ground, and then into the air with both hands. This animation is considerably faster, making it more difficult for the foe to DI accordingly.
  • Up throw deals more knockback.
• Back throw does more knockback.
• Forward throw (cargo throw):
  • Cargo throw now involves Donkey Kong hauling the opponent over his shoulder, similar to his identically-named ancestor's appearance in the arcade game Donkey Kong.
  • Cargo forward throw damage: 10% → 12%
  • Cargo back throw damage: 12% → 13%
  • Cargo back throw's animation has changed. Donkey Kong holds the opponent with both hands by the legs and hurls them behind himself.
    • Cargo back throw has increased knockback.
  • Cargo up throw deals more damage (10% → 12%) and knockback, which makes it better for KOing.
    • Cargo up throw's increased knockback noticeably worsens its combo potential, especially into up aerial.
  • Cargo down throw damage: 7% → 11%
    • Aerial Cargo down throw now grants Donkey Kong a slight boost upwards, increasing its offstage utility.
  • Cargo down throw's motion changed: Donkey Kong now performs a bearhug instead of throwing the opponent downward.
  • Edge attack damage: 8% → 10%

Special Moves

• Giant Punch:
  • Donkey Kong now charges Giant Punch with either arm due to his mirrored stance. Previously, Giant Punch was charged with his right arm in Smash 64 and his left arm in the other games.
  • Donkey Kong now charges up Giant Punch with more circular arm motions. Additionally, his expression slowly gets angrier as he charges (including maintaining the expression throughout other animations after its charge), and he has an altered pose upon using the punch.
  • Trails of electricity now appear on Donkey Kong's arm and fist during the charge up and punch of Giant Punch, reminiscent of Lightning Punch, one of Donkey Kong's custom moves in SSB4.
  • Giant Punch has more ending lag.
  • Aerial Giant Punch no longer causes Donkey Kong to become helpless.
  • A fully charged Giant Punch triggers Special Zoom.
• Headbutt
  • Headbutt now has super armor.
  • Headbutt has 1 frame less ending lag (FAF 64 → 63)
• Spinning Kong:
  • Donkey Kong now glints and strikes a pose upon ending a grounded Spinning Kong, doing another spin before coming to a full stop.
  • Grounded Spinning Kong's loop hits connect more consistently, now holding the opponent in place rather than knocking them back and fourth.
  • Grounded Spinning Kong hits 2-6 damage: 1% → 1.4%
  • Grounded Spinning Kong initial hit damage: 7% → 5%
  • Aerial Spinning Kong travels a shorter distance horizontally, but also goes slightly higher overall.
  • Aerial Spinning Kong's multiple hits now connect better into a new final hit, giving it more utility.
  • Aerial Spinning Kong appears to have a significantly lower potential damage output.
  • Unlike Grounded Spinning Kong, the aerial version no longer produces a visual "blue ring" effect upon startup.
• Hand Slap:
  • Grounded Hand Slap has less startup lag, and both variants have less ending lag. Startup: 18 → 14 (ground) Ending lag: FAF 75 → 58 (ground), FAF 62 → 50 (air)
  • Aerial Hand Slap now autocancels throughout its whole duration, greatly improving its ability to set up combos and tech-chases.
• Final Smash:
  • Donkey Kong now has a new Final Smash called Jungle Rush that comprises of a single punch that, if successfully landed, leads to a series of rapid punches that traps and launches the opponent. The move, alongside the comical bongo noises it produces, are based off Donkey Kong's attacks in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Moveset

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	A hook followed by an uppercut.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		9%	A backhanded slap. Can be angled to deal more damage.
	→		8%
	↘		9%
Up tilt			10% (arm), 9% (elbow), 8% (hand)	An overhead arcing swipe. It deals more damage and knockback if the target is hit near DK's shoulder.
Down tilt		Slouch Slap		A crouching swat. It has a chance to trip opponents.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 9% (late)	The Roll Attack, his signature attack from Donkey Kong Country. It deals less damage towards its end.
Forward smash			22% (hands), 21% (arms)	A lunging clap. It deals slightly less damage if it hits with Donkey Kong's arms.
Up smash			19%	An overhead clap.
Down smash			17% (early, fists), 18% (late, fists)	Raises his arms overhead and then quickly swings them downward to perform forearm clubs.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 8% (late)	Quickly spins around to perform discus clotheslines with both arms, similarly to Spinning Kong.
Forward aerial			16% (early), 15% (meteor smash)	A double axe handle. If sweetspotted, the opponent is meteor smashed. It appears similar to his midair attack from Donkey Kong 64, which itself was inspired by this attack due to SSB debuting before Donkey Kong 64.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	A back kick.
Up aerial			13%	An upward headbutt.
Down aerial			16%	A stomp. Its sweetspot is a strong meteor smash, while its sourspot, which is close to Donkey Kong's chest, deals diagonal knockback.
Grab			—	Reaches out.
Pummel			1.6%	A slap. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw		Kong Karry	12% (forward), 13% (backward), 12% (upward), 11% (downward)	Hauls the opponent on his shoulder, allowing him to move and jump around while still holding the opponent. This gives him access to forward, back, up, and down throws that are distinct from his normal grabs. Forward: Launches foes away from DK at a high angle. Back: Heaves the opponent backward using both hands, launching them at a slightly higher trajectory. Up: Heaves the opponent upward. Down: A bear hug. When the opponent is too damaged to escape in time, all of these throws allow for easy stage spikes. Donkey Kong can simply walk off the edge, pull back and throw them against the underside. However, this carries significant risk, as the opponent can tech it and thus result in DK ending up too far below the edge to recover if his timing is off.
Back throw			11%	Flings the opponent backward. DK's most damaging throw, it KOs even the heaviest characters in the game below 170% near the edge without rage.
Up throw			9%	Heaves the opponent upward with one arm.
Down throw			7%	Shoves the opponent into the ground with one arm. It launches opponents horizontally in front of DK.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)				Performs a swat before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Claps behind himself and then in front of himself before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Throws a spinning, wind-up punch while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Performs a forearm club while climbing up.
Neutral special		Giant Punch	10% (uncharged), 28% (tenth wind-up/fully charged grounded), 25% (tenth wind-up/fully charged aerial)	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 canceled and saved, and chosen when to be released after being fully charged. DK will lose his midair jump if he uses the attack in the air.
Side special		Headbutt	10% (grounded/sweetspot aerial), 8% (sourspot aerial)	A headbutt. The move buries the opponent, who will remain submerged longer if the opponent has already dealt a fair amount of damage. The aerial version will meteor smash the opponent if they are hit by its sweetspot. The move has super armor from the startup until the hitbox appears. It has a deceptively large range and high shield damage, so full power shields will barely manage to avoid breaking against this move.
Up special		Spinning Kong	5% (grounded hit 1), 1.4% (grounded hits 2-6), 4% (grounded hit 7), 16% (all grounded hits connect)	Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before launching them.
Down special		Hand Slap	14% (ground), 5% (midair hit 1), 6% (midair hit 2)	Slaps the ground to cause earth-shaking vibrations. When grounded, Donkey Kong can keep pounding by repeatedly pressing the special button. The attack gives him some protection from opponents while grounded and has good range, but is unable to KO until extreme percentages due to its very low knockback growth. In midair, Donkey Kong will perform two midair slaps, the second hit being a powerful meteor smash that combos from the first slap. Originates from Donkey Kong Country.
Final Smash		Jungle Rush	12% (initial hit), 1.2% (rapid hits), 14% (final hit) 61.9% (maximum)	Punches forward. If the initial hit connects, Donkey Kong will then perform a long series of rapid punches.

On-screen appearance

• Bursts out of a DK Barrel, rolls thrice, lands and strikes a flexing pose.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Beats his chest rapidly while scowling.
• Side Taunt: Shakes himself as if he is drying off, with a humorous expression.
• Down Taunt: Faces the camera and shrugs, while making a humorously shocked expression.

Idle Poses

• Makes a cross-eyed expression, as if trying to stare at his own nose.
• Fist claps his hand, and makes a rotational shoulder stretch.

Victory poses

• Clenches his hand together, shaking them overhead in self-congratulation, and then looks at the camera.
• Beats his chest and faces the screen, flexing, wearing a fake scowl.
• Does a backflip and then strikes a flexing pose, with a toothy grin. It is similar to his "character chosen" animation in SSB.

Update history

Donkey Kong has been altered via patch 1.2.0. Details are still unknown on his changes.

Classic Mode: Journey to New Donk City

Donkey Kong's path presumably refers to New Donk City Hall being the final stage. After defeating Diddy Kong, he becomes Donkey Kong's partner for the rest of the mode.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Diddy Kong	Kongo Jungle	Jungle Level (64)
2	King K. Rool	Kongo Falls	Gang-Plank Galleon
3	Wario and Captain Falcon	Pilotwings	Gear Getaway
4	Ness and Lucas	Onett	The Map Page / Bonus Level
5	Male and Female Inklings	Moray Towers	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley
6	Mario and Luigi	New Donk City Hall	New Donk City
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand and Crazy Hand	New Donk City Hall (Ω form)	Master Hand / Crazy Hand

Note: Every stage until Round 6 plays a track from the Donkey Kong universe, no matter what universe the stage originates from.

Character unlock tree

Donkey Kong's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:

• Bowser
• Pokémon Trainer
• Rosalina & Luma
• King Dedede
• Sheik
• Greninja
• Diddy Kong
• Duck Hunt

Each character can be unlocked by clearing Donkey Kong's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Mario's character unlock tree, starting with Sonic.

Role in World of Light

Donkey Kong was among the fighters that were summoned to fight against the army of Master Hands.

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 Kirby.

He can be rescued in a jungle segment of World of Light on a space that looks like the treehouse he lives in on his series.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Donkey Kong's fighter card.

• 

  Donkey Kong grabbing on Kongo Falls.

• 

  Charging Giant Punch before a Banzai Bill on Princess Peach's Castle.

• 

  Taunting with Diddy Kong on Great Bay.

• 

  Falling next to Kirby on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Performing his down smash on Boxing Ring.

• 

  Performing Spinning Kong on Skyworld.

• 

  Taunting with Diddy on Distant Planet.

• 

  Headbutting Mario on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Idling with Ditto on Battlefield.

• 

  Captured by Kapp'n on Bridge of Eldin.

• 

  With Mario, Link, Samus, Ice Climbers, Pit, Villager and Inkling on Battlefield.

Character Showcase video

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