Donkey Kong (SSBU)

Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
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.

Attributes

Donkey Kong is unsurprisingly a large super heavyweight, having the same weight value as King Dedede, and is the third-heaviest character in the game behind Bowser and King K. Rool. Despite this, he is one of the faster heavyweights in the game: his ground speed, aerial movement and attack speed are relatively fast, having the 9th fastest walking speed and the 27th fastest dashing speed, above average falling speed and gravity, and the 16th fastest air speed, but below average air acceleration.

A typical heavyweight is expected to possess moves with much power and Donkey Kong is no exception to this and 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 at worst: his smash attacks, aerials, back throw, and Giant Punch are his primary examples. His ability to take stocks due to powerful attacks is made easier with his decent approach. His aforementioned mobility and large size gives him an effective grounded approach and allow longer range for a character of his size, combined allows him to have an easier time to fight in close range and land his attacks on opponents. Another common trait that his archetype grants him is very solid survivability, with his aforementioned high weight and above-average falling speed. This allows Donkey Kong to have the second best vertical and horizontal endurance in the game, being surpassed by only King Dedede vertically and Bowser and King K. Rool 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, act as an anti-air, and hits through low platforms such as the ones on Battlefield. Down tilt allows him to have a long range crouching option and has a chance to trip opponents. Dash attack being a combo starter and a KO option at low and high percents, respectively. All of his smash attacks are notoriously strong and aren't very slow, mainly his option for KOs or hard reads. His grounded options having their own utility can also be said for his aerial game. His forward and down aerials are some of his best edgeguarding tools due to it meteor smashing. His neutral aerial is his fastest aerial, hard to interrupt and help him break out of combos. His up aerial works as a vertical KO option if the specific situation he's in allows for it, and is safe as his head is intangible during the attack. His back aerial is up there with his forward tilt for his most effective spacing tool and is debatably even better, being fast, long-ranged, and has a sex kick-like hitbox having a long duration. His air speed allows his aerial moves to be used at their fullest potential and, with the exception of forward aerial, are all decently fast.

Another part of his playstyle, which is very well-known, is his grab game, allowing set-ups into his moveset and having above-average range. Although his down throw has little to no usage, everything else suffices: His pummel is slower compared to many others in the cast, but deals decent damage, up throw allows some combo potential into his moves, back throw is his primary throw to close out stocks, but his forward throw is easily his most useful one and possibly the most unique part of the 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 (with the exception of being able to use his other moves and having a double jump). Forward throw also gives Donkey Kong different types of throws for the certain direction basically giving him eight throws, these ones are commonly known as the "cargo throws". Cargo forward and down throw work as niche edgeguarding options, with cargo down throw even being a semi-spike. Cargo back throw has a large damage output and can KO at very high percentages if Donkey Kong is near the upper blast line. It also has its utility as a stage spike unless his opponent is able to properly tech the throw. Finally, cargo up throw allows more combo potential than his vanilla Up throw being able to combo into his aerials at low percents.

Donkey Kong's special moves are also helpful for his gameplan. Giant Punch is his surprise KO and punish move, be used to pressure the opponent, and if fully charged has super armor upon using it. 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 also does deceptively high shield damage, allowing him to have a shield pressure option or 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 on the ground and its hitbox only deals damage on the ground. The aerial Hand Slap is his last move which can meteor smash and is fast, making it an effective and easy one to land. His final special move, Spinning Kong, acts similar to Bowser's Whirling Fortress as his primary out of shield option, it's hard to disrupt and is a multi-hit with high damage. In the air, it works as a incredibly fast horizontal recovery option and deals a lot of damage if all the hits connect.

However despite his versatile moveset and high power, Donkey Kong falls into a plethora of problems. His defensive game is rather poor, a commonality for a character of his size. While his large size and weight gives him very high endurance and the reason his range is better when compared to other characters like Mario and Squirtle, it becomes a problem when having to dodge attacks which is hard for he is a very large target. Funnily enough, just like those two previously mentioned fighters, he commonly has trouble dealing with characters that have disjoints mainly due to his lack of projectiles, mainly swordfighters such as Shulk and Ike, hitboxes on moves such as Mewtwo's up and back aerials, or fast multi-hits such as Palutena's neutral air. Donkey Kong's large size also causes him to be vulnerable to combos and juggling, worsened by his lack of combo breakers (outside of neutral aerial) and the reintroduction of directional air dodges makes his aerial defense even more linear, having it made worse with its higher ending lag for all characters, but it debatably hurts a character such as Donkey Kong the most.

In spite of having fast startup in many moves, Donkey Kong's moveset is made much slower by its ending lag. This forces him to be more careful with the moves he used as he can be drastically punished for just putting out one attack, and this is made harder to stop due to his aforementioned limited defense. A lot of his moves are also limited despite their strengths: his smash attacks are slow and have very linear hitboxes, throws outside of the ones that are his "cargo throws" don't have much usage, Giant Punch forces Donkey Kong to get up-close to the opponent to land the attack and needs to be charged for it to even be effective, Headbutt and Hand Slap are both slow causing them to be very hard moves to use for their initial purpose, and Spinning Kong, while having long horizontal recovery distance, gets little to no recovery distance vertically, and is prone to edgeguarding with moves such as Captain Falcon and Falco's down air.

Overall, Donkey Kong is a character that excels in power and pressure, but has a hard time working well in his matchups if the opponent finds just one opening.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Donkey Kong received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition from SSB4 to Ultimate. However, despite receiving more buffs than nerfs, the latter are more prominent than the former, as they either weakened or removed the traits that he had in the previous game. Because of this, Donkey Kong has been significantly nerfed overall.

Donkey Kong received several useful buffs, especially to his special moves. 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. Aerial Spinning Kong is now a proper multi-hitting move with a finishing hit, making it more safe. Hand Slap is generally faster and the aerial version has reduced landing lag, which gives Donkey Kong an excellent combo starter and allows it to confirm into KOs at high percentages.

Other improvements include those to his forward throw, which now grants him more options and turns it into his most versatile throw. His dash attack also has less ending lag, giving him another combo starter if the late hit is landed. Donkey Kong's already impressive KO power has been further increased, as most of his moves do 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 allows him for with combo opportunities, and the increased shieldstun makes his attacks even safer on shield.

However, the few nerfs Donkey Kong received are severe enough to eclipse his buffs. Like Bowser, his biggest nerf is that his cargo up throw now has more knockback, which severely hampers both its combo ability (now mostly limiting it to up aerial) 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 also nerfed as well, making it less reliable for racking up damage. Thus, this makes it less feasible to use a 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, overall worsening his already poor recovery. Many of his attacks no longer have disproportionately long intangibility, now only matching the hitbox duration of attacks such as his tilts and his up aerial.

Although he has gained some notable benefits from them, the universal changes to gameplay mechanics hamper Donkey Kong more than they help him overall. 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 in the distance on Donkey Kong and allow for more combo opportunities on him. 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, hindering his out of shield game. The universal nerfing of grabs is harmful, as it one of his key points to his gameplan, which is hurt with the universal changes. Lastly, the changes to air dodging also worsen his recovery, as they give him less protection and make him easier to edgeguard. Overall, 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, and thus forces him not only to approach more, but to be more unpredictable at doing so.

In the end, Donkey Kong has potentially received more options for racking up damage and be less predictable, but the worsening of his KO confirm and grabs means Donkey Kong can no longer close out stocks as early as before. While both his strengths and weaknesses are more defined than before, the gameplay mechanics also accentuate more his weaknesses compared to his strengths, which has subsequently caused his nerfs to overshadow his buffs. As a result, Donkey Kong fares noticeably worse in Ultimate than in Smash 4, and is one of the characters to be nerfed the most in the transition, alongside Bayonetta, Cloud, Corrin, Diddy Kong, the Ice Climbers, Little Mac, Rosalina & Luma and Sheik.

Donkey Kong's overall perception in competitive play has been negative; 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 in which it is rather poor. Many of his players have either dropped him or become inactive, with his most noticeable player, Konga, gathering average to somewhat lackluster placements in tournaments, and temporarily quit competitive play. Most of his other notable players, such as HIKARU, have also dropped him, while Tweek no longer uses him as a secondary. Currently, top players see Donkey Kong as a low tier character, with some players considering him to be potentially one of the worst characters in the game. Nevertheless, he has seen success from players such as DKwill, Runes, and YMCA, which is further compounded with the buffs he received in 6.0.0. Until further notice, Donkey Kong's tier placement remains debatable.

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. His nose has also been updated to match its appearance in Mario Party 10 onwards.
• Donkey Kong now faces the foreground at an angle, instead of facing directly forward. In addition, most of his animations are now mirrored while some are slightly altered, such as his walk/dash animations.
• Like most of the returning roster, Donkey Kong has become much more expressive than in the previous games. For example, he now scowls during multiple attacks, he also appears furious when he fully charged the Giant Punch, with his face turning red and veins being visible.
• 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.
• Donkey Kong's chest beating victory pose has been slightly altered. He now maintains an angrier expression.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Donkey Kong's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 6).
• 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.
• Donkey Kong walks slightly faster (1.3 → 1.365).
• Donkey Kong runs faster (1.7031 → 1.873).
  • Donkey Kong's initial dash speed is much faster (1.6 → 2.09).
• Donkey Kong's air speed is slightly higher (1.15 → 1.208).
• Donkey Kong's traction is much higher (0.0529 → 0.123).
• Donkey Kong's gravity is slightly lower (0.08505 → 0.085).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 4-15) and has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 31).
• Back roll has has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 36).
• Spot dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 29 → 27).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grant more intangibility (frames 4-29 → 4-32).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 35 → 49).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 11 → 8).
  • The second hit comes out faster (frame 6 → 4), which alongside the previous change allows it to connect better from the first hit.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • Both hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5× (hit 1), 1.8× (hit 2)), giving opponents more time to SDI the first hit and DI the second hit.
  • The first hit deals less knockback (0/35/45 base/100/25/25 scaling → 25/20/20 base/35/20/20 scaling) and its outermost hitbox launches opponents closer to Donkey Kong (110° → 180°), allowing it to connect better, but hindering its jab cancel setups.
• Forward tilt:
  • The move has less startup (frame 8 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 38 → 35).
  • Its hitboxes are larger (4.5u/5u/3.2u → 5.5u/5u/3.5u).
  • It deals less damage when angled up (11% → 9%) and not angled (10% → 8%).
  • It grants much less intangibility on Donkey Kong's arm (frames 7-11 (up), 1-25 (forward, down) → 6-9 (all)), being in line with the duration of the hitboxes.
  • For all angles, it has higher base knockback, but lower knockback scaling (10 base/100 scaling → 50/78). This makes it much safer on hit at low percents, but weakens its KO potential.
    • Due to its higher base knockback, it can no longer lock opponents, and the down angled variant can no longer cause tripping.
• Up tilt:
  • The move deals less damage (11%/10%/9% → 10%/9%/8%) without compensation on knockback, hindering its KO potential.
  • The sweetspot is now on the hand instead of the shoulder, making it easier to land overall.
• Down tilt:
  • The move has less startup lag (frame 7 → 6).
  • The hitbox duration is shorter (3 frames → 2 frames).
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 23 → 25).
  • It grants much less intangibility on Donkey Kong's arm (frames 1-9 → 5-7), being more in line with the duration of the hitboxes.
  • The hitboxes on Donkey Kong's arm deal less damage (7% → 6%), now matching the sourspot.
    • However, their knockback was not compensated, allowing them to trip opponents for longer.
• Dash attack:
  • The move has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 35).
  • It deals more damage (10% → 12% (clean), 8% → 9% (late)), with knockback scaling compensated (53 → 46 (clean), 65 → 60 (late)).
  • Its hitboxes are larger (6u → 7u (clean), 4u → 5.5u (late)), and further out (Z offset: 7 (clean)/4.2 (late) → 8/5.2), improving its range.
  • It deals more hitlag (1x → 1.25x), making it easier to DI.
• Forward smash:
  • The move deals more damage (20%/19% → 22%/21%) without proper compensation on knockback (30/25 base/91 scaling → 21/18 base/88/86 scaling), improving its KO power.
  • Its animation has been altered: Donkey Kong no longer brings his arms behind him as much when charging the move, now doing so before releasing the move.
• Up smash:
  • The move deals more damage (18% → 19%) and has increased knockback (30 base/83 scaling → 40/84), improving its KO potential.
  • Up smash's hand hitbox is higher up (Y offset: 26 → 28), and the arm hitbox is lower down (Y offset: 20 → 18) and extends further outwards (Z offset: -3—3 → -5—5). This improves the move's range above and next to Donkey Kong, allowing it to hit larger fighters on the ground.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (17 frames → 11 (neutral), 29 → 17 (forward), 18 → 11 (back), 25 → 15 (up), 24 → 14 (down)).
• The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves the combo potential of Donkey Kong's forward and down aerials onstage, compounded further by their reduced landing lag.
• Neutral aerial:
  • It deals more damage (11% → 12% (clean), 8% → 9% (late)) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO potential.
  • It has larger hitboxes (5u/4u → 5u/5u/5.7u), and the clean hit has received an additional hitbox during its first active frame that is placed further vertically (Y offset: 8u) and horizontally (Z offset: 15u), greatly improving the move's range.
• Forward aerial:
  • The late hit lasts one frame longer (frames 21-22 → 21-23), allowing it to reach farther below Donkey Kong.
  • It has a slightly altered animation, with Donkey Kong spinning at an angle after performing a downwards punch. This new animation is longer (55 frames → 62) increasing the amount of time DK cannot grab the ledge after using it, although its interruptibility and late auto-cancel window were compensated.
• Up aerial:
  • The move grants less intangibility on Donkey Kong's head (frames 1-10 → 5-10), being more in line with the duration of the hitboxes.
  • The move has an altered animation where Donkey Kong doesn't bring his head as far backwards as before, reducing its coverage behind him.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 31 → 39 (standing), 39 → 47 (dash), 37 → 42 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have slightly more startup lag (frame 10 → 11 (dash), 11 → 12 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have less range (Z2 offset: 17 → 15.9 (dash), -24.5 → -21.5 (pivot)).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2.1% → 1.6%).
  • It has much less startup (frame 9 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 8), but deals considerably more hitlag (4 frames → 15), increasing its effective duration.
    • Relative to the rest of the cast, Donkey Kong's pummel is among the slowest but most damaging, rather than average on both accounts.
  • Its animation has been slightly changed. Donkey Kong chops the opponent's body rather than their head.
• Donkey Kong's throws are no longer weight-dependent. This improves their combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• Forward throw (cargo throw):
  • Cargo throw involves Donkey Kong hauling the opponent over his shoulder, similarly to his grandfather in the Donkey Kong arcade game and his own carrying animation in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
  • Cargo forward throw:
    • The move deals more damage (10% → 12%) without proper compensation on knockback (80 base/50 scaling → 90/46), slightly improving its KO potential.
  • Cargo back throw:
    • Donkey Kong has a new cargo back throw: he holds the opponent with both hands by the legs and hurls them behind himself. This new throw deals more damage (12% → 13%) and knockback (70 base/50 scaling → 85/52), improving its KO potential to the point it can KO middleweights under 150% in the air.
  • Cargo up throw:
    • The move deals more damage (10% → 12%).
    • The move has increased knockback (58 base/52 scaling → 65/53). While this slightly improves its combo potential at low to mid-percentages due to Donkey Kong's faster jumpsquat, it also limits its combo potential into only up aerial. It also noticeably worsens its combo potential past mid-percentages, no longer leading into guaranteed KOs off the top blast line except if initiated on platforms.
  • Cargo down throw:
    • Donkey Kong has a new cargo down throw: he performs a bearhug instead of throwing the opponent downward.
    • This new throw deals more damage (7% → 11%).
    • It grants Donkey Kong a slight boost upwards if used in the air, giving it more offstage utility.
    • It has altered knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 70/45). Combined with its upward boost, this makes it safer to use at low percentages and keeps its KO potential at high ones if used offstage, but removes its ability to chain grab opponents on moving platforms (such as Smashville's) or against walls, while still lacking KO ability if not used offstage.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw releases the opponent earlier (frame 24 → 19), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 60 → 55), making it harder to DI in time.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (8% → 10%).

Special moves

• Giant Punch:
  • The move has less lag when charge-canceled by shielding (8 frames → 4), making it safer to charge. It can also be charge-canceled by jumping or spot dodging, with the same amount of lag beforehand.
    • However, this lag applies to rolls out of the move as well, instead of them being immediate, making it riskier to charge-cancel by rolling.
  • It no longer causes helplessness when used in the air, much like in Smash 64.
  • The move reaches its full charge much faster (frame 154 → 121).
  • The move gains damage at a different rate (2% per 14 frames → 1% per 6.77 frames). This makes it closer to other chargeable moves.
  • Uncharged Giant Punch deals less knockback (15 base/100 scaling → 45/70). This makes it weaker than the fully charged version regardless of charge.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch deals more knockback that is consistent throughout (10 base/80/50 scaling → 35/73), making it stronger than the almost fully charged version.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch's mid-arm hitbox is larger (5u → 6.5u).
  • The move no longer has a hitbox that hits behind Donkey Kong, removing its situational ability to KO off the top blast line.
  • Donkey Kong charges Giant Punch with either arm due to his mirrored animation. Previously, it was charged with his right arm in Smash 64 and his left arm in the other games.
  • Donkey Kong charges up Giant Punch with more circular arm motions, and trails of electricity appear on Donkey Kong's arm and fist during the charge up and punch of the move (reminiscent of Lightning Punch, one of his custom moves in Smash 4). Additionally, he makes an angry expression when he gets a full charge (including maintaining the expression throughout other animations after its charge), and he winds up faster the closer the move is to being fully charged. He also has an altered pose upon using the punch.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch triggers the Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
• Headbutt:
  • The move has super armor on frames 5-14.
  • It has one frame less ending lag (FAF 64 → 63).
• Spinning Kong:
  • The move's loop hits connect more reliably, especially for the aerial version, which uses the autolink angle (20°/180°/180° → 366°). The grounded version's loop hits hold the opponent in place rather than knocking them back and forth.
  • The move has less landing lag (40 frames → 38).
  • The grounded version's super armor starts earlier and has a longer duration (frames 8-17 → 5-17).
  • The grounded version's last hit has more base knockback (40 → 60), but less knockback scaling (170 → 157), slightly improving its KO potential overall.
  • The aerial version now has a final hit that launches opponents away with more knockback (0 base/100 scaling → 72/80), improving its utility.
  • The grounded version has more ending lag (FAF 93 → 105).
  • Both versions of the move deal less total damage, most significantly the aerial version (17.5% → 16% (grounded), 36% → 19% (aerial)). The grounded version deals more damage on its loop hits (1.3% → 1.4%), but less on the first hit (7% → 5%), and the aerial version has 14 hits instead of 8, but they deal drastically less damage (10% (hit 1), 5%/4% (hits 2-5), 2% (hits 6-8) → 5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-13), 2% (hit 14)) and have inconsistent timing, only dealing full damage to opponents that are very close to Donkey Kong.
  • The aerial version no longer grants intangibility on frames 3-6 upon startup.
  • Donkey Kong glints and strikes a pose upon ending a grounded Spinning Kong, doing another spin before coming to a full stop.
  • The aerial version travels a shorter distance horizontally, but also goes slightly higher overall.
  • The aerial version has a shorter duration due to its animation being sped up (94 frames → 54).
  • Unlike Grounded Spinning Kong, the aerial version no longer produces a visual "blue ring" effect upon startup.
• Hand Slap:
  • The grounded version has less startup lag (frame 18 → 12).
  • Both the grounded and aerial versions have drastically less ending lag (FAF 75 → 47 (grounded), 62 → 50 (aerial)).
  • The aerial version has significantly less landing lag (30 frames → 10), greatly improving its ability to set up combos and tech-chases.
  • The grounded version's hitboxes are smaller (13u → 10.3u).
  • The grounded version has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 0.58×, thus dealing less shieldstun than in Smash 4 despite it being increased for moves other than smash attacks and aerials. This allows shielding opponents to escape between hits more easily, worsening the move's shield breaking ability.
• Final Smash:
  • Donkey Kong has a new Final Smash called Jungle Rush, which replaces Konga Beat. It consists of a single punch that, if successfully landed, leads to a barrage of rapid punches that traps the opponent, concluding with an uppercut that launches them. The move, alongside the comical bongo noises it produces, are based off Donkey Kong's attacks in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.
  • Since the move's first hit only hits in front of Donkey Kong, Jungle Rush can no longer hit opponents behind, above and below him as Konga Beat could, giving it significantly less range.
  • Jungle Rush's hits deals less damage than a perfectly inputted Konga Beat (7% initial shockwave/1% "miss" shockwave/7% "good" shockwave/12% "great" shockwave/15% fourth "great" shockwave → 12% hit 1/1.2% hits 2-19/1.1% hits 20-32/14% hit 33). This makes the Final Smash deal potentially deal less damage than Konga Beat (150~% → 61.9%), but makes it more consistent.
  • Jungle Rush's last hit has stronger knockback than a fourth "great" shockwave from Konga Beat (55 base/90 scaling → 90/96), making it much more powerful and consistent at KOing.
  • Jungle Rush's last hit sends at a vertical angle compared to Konga Beat's horizontal one for the fourth "great" shockwave (361° → 70°).

Update history

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 3.0.0.

After only receiving minor buffs for the first few game patches, update 6.0.0 gave Donkey Kong more noticeable buffs. His forward tilt deals significantly more knockback to the point of becoming a viable KO move, his neutral aerial deals more damage and knockback and has more range, and his Giant Punch reaches the maximum charge even faster than before and deals slightly more knockback. Spinning Kong was also improved, as the move's super armor starts three frames faster, it connects more reliably against airborne opponents, and the last hit deals more knockback. Finally, Hand Slap on the ground has less startup and less ending lag.

Overall, Donkey Kong has improved by a decent margin compared to how he fared during Ultimate's initial release. However, in comparison to the buffs gained by other lukewarmly received characters, Donkey Kong's buffs are fairly minor, so how much he has benefited from these changes is debatable.

1.2.0

• Donkey Kong has been affected, although the changes are currently unknown.

2.0.0

• Forward aerial autocancels earlier (frame 63 → 56), matching the move's interruptibility.

3.0.0

• Giant Punch has more range (5u → 6.5u), no longer missing opponents up close.

3.1.0

• Giant Punch has longer super armor when using a fully-charged punch.
• Fixed a bug that caused Donkey Kong to not get armor when landing during frames 12-17 of Giant Punch.

4.0.0

• The lag upon waking up from the sleep effect has been adjusted, matching the rest of the cast.

6.0.0

• Forward tilt has much more knockback scaling (55 → 78), KOing at around 160% at the edge of Final Destination.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial deals more damage (11% → 12% (clean), 8% → 9% (late)) with no compensation on knockback.
  • It has larger hitboxes (4.5u/4.5u/5.5u → 5u/5u/5.7u), and the clean hit has received an additional hitbox during its first active frame that is placed further vertically (Y offset: 8u) and horizontally (Z offset: 15u), greatly improving the move's range.
• Giant Punch reaches its full charge faster (frame 131 → 121), and the fully charged punch has more base knockback (20 → 35), but less knockback scaling (78 → 73), slightly improving its KO potential overall.
• Spinning Kong (grounded):
  • Spinning Kong's super armor starts earlier and has a longer duration (frames 8-17 → 5-17).
  • The looping hits have received hitboxes that use the autolink angle (80° → 366°) against aerial opponents, allowing them to connect more reliably.
  • The last hit has more base knockback (40 → 60), but less knockback scaling (170 → 157), slightly improving its KO potential overall.
• Grounded Hand Slap has less startup (frame 15 → 12) and ending lag (FAF 58 → 47).

Moveset

For a gallery of Donkey Kong's hitboxes, see here.

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. It grants intangibility to his attacking arm.
	→		8%
	↘		9%
Up tilt			10% (hand), 9% (arm), 8% (elbow)	An overhead arcing swipe. It deals more damage and knockback if the target is hit near DK's shoulder. It grants intangibility to his attacking arm.
Down tilt		Slouch Slap	6%	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, granting it combo potential.
Forward smash			22% (hands), 21% (arms)	A lunging clap. It deals slightly less damage if it hits with Donkey Kong's arms. It grants intangibility to his head and arms.
Up smash			19%	An overhead clap. It grants intangibility to his head and arms.
Down smash			14% (arms), 17% (early, fists), 18% (late, fists)	Raises his arms overhead and then quickly swings them downward to perform forearm clubs. It grants intangibility to his arms.
Neutral aerial			12% (clean), 9% (late)	Quickly spins around to perform discus clotheslines with both arms, similarly to Spinning Kong.
Forward aerial			16% (clean), 15% (late, hands), 13% (late, arms)	A double axe handle. If sweetspotted, the opponent is meteor smashed. One of the strongest meteor smashes in the game, KOing at around 35%. 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. It grants intangibility to his head.
Down aerial			16% (foot), 13% (leg)	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 slow but strong pummel.
Forward throw		Kong Karry	12% (forward, up), 13% (back), 11% (down)	Hauls the opponent on his shoulder, allowing him to move and jump around while still holding the opponent. Appears to be based off of when DK holds an item in Donkey Kong Country, such as a Steel Keg. This gives him access to forward, back, up, and down throws that are distinct from his normal grabs. He also gains Knockback-based Armor when he starts a throw instead of gaining Throw Invulnerability, of which allows him to resist up to 16 Units of Knockback, akin to Bowser's Tough Guy. 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. It can be used to start combos. 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. Kong Karry has its own unique Grab mash frame equation, that being 163 + Ceiling[3.2 * Opponent's %] - 18 * N (valid inputs) - n (time held before cargo + previous mash before cargo). For the time held and the previous mash, the Ultimate grab equation would have to be used, which is 89 + Ceiling[1.7 * Opponent's %] - floor[14.4 or 8 (Button or Directional mashing) * N (valid inputs)] holding frames.
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)			7%	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), 5% (aerial hit 1), 1% (aerial hits 2-13), 2% (aerial hit 14)	Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before launching them. Good horizontal distance, but very little vertical distance. The grounded version grants Donkey Kong super armor on frame 5, making it a reliable tool for powering through many moves.
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. Has about same range as his forward smash, but extremely powerful, KOing Mario as low as 24% on Final Destination.

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.

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  Donkey Kong's up taunt.

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  Donkey Kong's side taunt.

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  Donkey Kong's down taunt.

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.

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  Donkey Kong's first idle pose

• 

  Donkey Kong's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Does a backflip and flexes his arms (his "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.).
• Up: Holds his hands above his head and shakes them (his animation upon completing a bonus game in Donkey Kong Country)
• Right: Angrily beats his chest then looks at the camera.

A cover of the short track that plays in Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games whenever a playable Kong defeated a boss or completed a bonus game.

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In competitive play

Donkey Kong was met in the E3 demo build with a degree of cautious optimism. Although players could no longer perform the "Ding Dong" combo, along with similar throw-based kill confirms from Smash 4, 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 Bowser. Though DK was considered one of the worst heavyweights from the demo, thought to be only marginally better than Ridley, players were excited for this new Donkey Kong's opportunities in competitive play.

Upon the game's release, however, DK 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. Although Donkey Kong has been buffed in patches, none of Donkey Kong's biggest flaws were addressed. As a result, in the current metagame, he sees use as an occasional counterpick, but not much beyond that; however, some players have been able to come to terms with his flaws and get impressive results nonetheless, namely YMCA, ShiNe, Sou, and Doctor A Ness.

Notable players

Active

•  Brandon - The best Donkey Kong player in Canada. Placed 3rd at both Frostfire 2019 and Press Less 2019 and 25th at Get On My Level 2019. Ranked 20th on the Smash Canada Rankings Ultimate.
•  DKwill - Considered one of the best Donkey Kong players in the United States. Placed 25th at both Get On My Level 2019 and Tri-state Showdown: Fall 2019.
•  Doctor A Ness - The best Donkey Kong player in Australia. Placed 5th at both Battle Arena Melbourne 11 and BigWinChampionship 2, and 9th at Phantom 2019.
•  Konga - Placed 3rd at Don't Park on the Grass 2018, 65th at 2GG: Kongo Saga and 97th at EVO 2019. Currently ranked as an HM on the Washington Power Rankings. He initially quit playing Ultimate, but has since started competing again.
•  Luigi player - Placed 17th at VCA 2019 with solo Donkey Kong. Has a win over Sirjon.
•  Runes - Considered one of the best Donkey Kong players in the United States. Placed 13th at Midwest Arena 2: Doubles Masters, 49th at 2GG: Kongo Saga, and 65th at Frostbite 2019. Has a win over KEN.
•  ShiNe - Co-mains Lucas with Donkey Kong and is considered the best Donkey Kong player in SoCal and Taiwan. Placed 1st at Taipei Major 2019, 9th at SwitchFest 2019 Kickoff, and 17th at 2GG: Nightmare on Smashville.
•  Sou - The best Donkey Kong player in Mexico. Placed 9th at Ragnarok and 17th at Smash Factor 8.
•  YMCA - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the world. Placed 9th at SIEGE 2019, 25th at 2GG: Nightmare on Smashville, and 65th at EVO 2019.

Inactive

•  HIKARU - Was considered one of the best Donkey Kong players in the world before dropping him in favor to Pokemon Trainer. Placed 3rd at Umebura SP 2, 9th at Umebura SP 3, 13th at Sumabato SP 2, and 17th at Umebura Japan Major 2019.
•  Tweek - Used Donkey Kong as a secondary and was considered the best Donkey Kong player in the world. Placed 1st at Glitch 6, Let's Make Moves, and Sky's Ultimate Invitational while using him with his other characters.

Classic Mode: Journey to New Donk City

Donkey Kong's congratulations screen.

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

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Diddy Kong	Kongo Jungle	Jungle Level (64)
2	King K. Rool	Kongo Falls	Gang-Plank Galleon	Diddy Kong is a CPU ally.
3	Wario and Captain Falcon	Pilotwings	Gear Getaway
4	Ness and Lucas	Onett	The Map Page / Bonus Level (Remix)
5	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	New Donk City Hall (Ω form)	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	Diddy Kong is a CPU ally. On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Donkey Kong has Donkey Kong Country Returns (Vocals) accompany the credits.

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:

1. Bowser
2. Pokémon Trainer
3. Rosalina & Luma
4. King Dedede
5. Sheik
6. Greninja
7. Diddy Kong
8. 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

Finding Donkey Kong 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 the Light Realm, on a space that looks like the treehouse where he lives on his series.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
02		Donkey Kong	Grab	3,300	Kongo Jungle (Ω form)	Jungle Level (64)

Spirits

Donkey Kong's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Donkey Kong in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Donkey Kong makes an appearance in a few Primary and Support Spirits.

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  134. Donkey Kong

• Donkey Kong & Lady.png

  137. Donkey Kong & Lady

• DK Bongos Spirit.png

  169. Donkey Kong & Bongos

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
36	File:Goomba Spirit.png	Goomba	Super Mario series	•Tiny Donkey Kong Team (×5)		1,800	Mushroom Kingdom (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat an army of fighters	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros.
82	File:Barrel Train Spirit.png	Barrel Train	Mario Kart series	•Donkey Kong •Diddy Kong		3,500	Spirit Train	•Item: Bullet Bill	•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you •The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy has increased move speed	Rainbow Road - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
117	File:Flies Hand Spirit.png	Flies & Hand	Mario Paint series	•Giant Donkey Kong • Tiny Dark Pit (×4)		4,000	Living Room	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Flies & Hand) •Item: Food	•Survive until the timer runs out •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Mario Paint Medley	Hand
131		Rabbid Kong	Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle	•Bunny Donkey Kong		1,700	3D Land	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power	Arcade Bunny's Theme
137	File:Donkey Kong & Lady.png	Donkey Kong & Lady	Donkey Kong series	•Giant Donkey Kong •Ally: Peach		13,500	75m	•Item Tidal Wave	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Timed Stamina battle	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley	Original Donkey Kong (currently known as Cranky Kong)
138	File:Donkeykongjr.png	Donkey Kong Jr.	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong •Giant Donkey Kong		9,000	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy's throws have increased power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley	Original Donkey Kong (Giant Donkey Kong)
140	File:Crankykong.png	Cranky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		9,700	Jungle Japes	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing	Opening - Donkey Kong
143		Swanky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		1,700	Kongo Jungle	•Item: Beastball	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Funky's Fugue
144		Wrinkly Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Clear Donkey Kong		3,500	Luigi's Mansion	•Hazard: High Gravity •Hazard: Low Gravity	•Your jumping power decreases when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is less affected by gravity •The enemy starts with damage but is more powerful	The Map Page / Bonus Level (Remix)
149	File:Chunky Kong Spirit.png	Chunky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		3,800	Jungle Japes	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power	DK Rap
150		Rambi	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		9,100	Kongo Falls (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you	Jungle Level (Brawl)
158		Professor Chops	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		1,700	Kongo Falls	•Item: Banana Peel	•The enemy can instantly escape from movement-disabling moves	Jungle Hijinxs
171		Ninja Kong	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat	•Donkey Kong		1,900	Distant Planet (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •The enemy favors side specials	Battle for Storm Hill
197		Goron	The Legend of Zelda series	•Donkey Kong		1,700	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Item: Bob-omb	•The enemy's dash attacks have increased power •The enemy favors dash attacks	Hidden Mountain & Forest
198	File:Darunia Spirit.png	Darunia	The Legend of Zelda series	•Donkey Kong •Jigglypuff (×8)		1,400	Gerudo Valley (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is lava •The enemy starts the battle with a Hammer	Hidden Mountain & Forest
240	File:Daruk.png	Daruk	The Legend of Zelda series	•Donkey Kong		4,300	Find Mii (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •Stamina battle •The enemy's shield has extra durability	Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer BGM
372	File:Bonkers.png	Bonkers	Kirby series	•Donkey Kong		8,400	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Hammer •The enemy can swing the Hammer for a long time	Forest Stage
443		Gengar	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		4,300	Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
506	File:AbomasnowSpirit.png	Abomasnow	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		2,300	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Item: Freezie •Hazard: Ice Floor	•The floor is frozen •The enemy is weak to fire attacks •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Abomasnow)	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Diamond / Pokémon Pearl
530		Landorus (Therian Forme)	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		9,200	Gerudo Valley	•Earthquake	•Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage after a little while	N's Castle
552	File:Bewear.png	Bewear	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		3,500	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Bewear)	Battle! (Trainer) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
608		Polar Bear	Ice Climber series	•Donkey Kong		9,300	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Earthquake •Item: Freezie	•The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Stamina battle •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage	Ice Climber (Melee)
807		Purple Pikmin	Pikmin series	•Tiny Donkey Kong Team (×10)		3,500	Distant Planet	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy deals damage when falling •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Forest of Hope
937		Mr. Sandman	Punch-Out!! series	•Donkey Kong		9,700	Boxing Ring	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	Minor Circuit (Original)
982	File:Blanka.png	Blanka	Street Fighter series	•Donkey Kong		3,700	Jungle Japes	•Jump Power ↓	•Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power •The enemy starts the battle with a Screw Attack	Blanka Stage Type A
1,101		Master Giant	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Giant Donkey Kong		9,900	Final Destination	•Bob-omb Festival	•Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Stamina battle	Master Core
1,146		Muddy Mole	Mole Mania	•Donkey Kong		1,700	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Item: Pitfall	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Float Islands
1,200		Sumo Brothers	Rythm Heaven series	•Giant Donkey Kong (×2) ()		1,900	Arena Ferox (Ω form)	•Earthquake	•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage •The enemy loves to taunt	E. Honda Stage Type B
1,339	File:Bottles Spirit.png	Bottles	Banjo-Kazooie series	•Donkey Kong		1,900	Spiral Mountain	•Invisibility •Item: Pitfall	•The enemy is invisible •The enemy favors side specials •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Spiral Mountain

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
79		Pauline	Super Mario series	•Peach •Mario •Giant Donkey Kong		13,700	75m	•Jump Power ↓	•Defeat the main fighter to win •You have reduced jump power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Jump Up, Super Star!	Original Donkey Kong
141	File:Funky Kong Spirit.png	Funky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Captain Falcon •Diddy Kong •Donkey Kong		9,000	Kongo Jungle	•Item: Bullet Bill	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Funky's Fugue	Donkey Kong
238	File:Botwzelda.png	Zelda (Breath of the Wild)	The Legend of Zelda series	•Zelda •Link •Inkling •Donkey Kong •Falco •Zero Suit Samus		9,200	Great Plateau Tower	N/A	•Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •Defeat an army of fighters	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Daruk
1,132	File:Hockey Players Spirit.png	Hockey Players	Ice Hockey	•Dr. Mario •Donkey Kong •Luigi		1,500	Pokémon Stadium (Ω form)	•Slippery Stage	•The stage's platforms are very slippery	Core Luge	Large hockey player
1,362		Kyo Kusanagi	THE KING OF FIGHTERS Series	•Captain Falcon •Pikachu •Donkey Kong		9,500	King of Fighters Stadium	N/A	•The enemy's explosion and fire attacks have increased power •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •All fighters have reduced jump power	ESAKA!! - KOF 2002 UM	Goro Daimon

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Donkey Kong's fighter card.

• DKJoinsTheBattleSSBU.jpg

  Donkey Kong's unlock notice when obtaining him in World of Light.

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  Donkey Kong grabbing on Kongo Falls.

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

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  Taunting with Diddy Kong on Great Bay.

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  Falling next to Kirby on Gaur Plain.

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  Performing his up smash on Boxing Ring.

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  Performing Spinning Kong on Skyworld.

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  Taunting with Diddy on Distant Planet.

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  Headbutting Mario on Gaur Plain.

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  Idling with Ditto on Battlefield.

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  Captured by Kapp'n on Bridge of Eldin.

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

Trivia

• Donkey Kong and Joker's Classic Mode routes are the only time in the Super Smash Bros. series where Master Hand is not fought on the respective game's Final Destination, not counting the Master Hand glitch in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
  • Donkey Kong is also one of only two characters whose final round takes place on New Donk City Hall's ᘯ form. The other is Bowser who faces Mario (before transforming into Metal Mario upon defeat); the latter of which is the first character unlocked in the former's unlock column of Classic Mode.
• Donkey Kong's Classic Mode battle against Master Hand is the only one in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate where he fights alongside a CPU ally, and yet, does not have a guaranteed battle against both Master Hand and Crazy Hand unless the difficulty is at 7.0 or above.
• Though Donkey Kong's Final Smash has been updated to Jungle Rush, the DK Bongos from his previous Final Smash, Konga Beat, remain within his character files. Despite being unused, the model's textures have been updated.