Donkey Kong (SSB4)

Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Konga Beat
Tier	E (27)

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) was confirmed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 Nintendo Direct. He is among the first wave of compatible amiibo figures for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Donkey Kong also retains his realistic gorilla grunts, albeit with a new set of voice clips.

Donkey Kong is ranked 27th out of 56 characters on the tier list, making him the highest ranked super heavyweight. He is placed in the E tier which is an improvement of his ranking in Brawl, where he was ranked 21st out of 38. Donkey Kong retains his signature power, mobility, and spacing options, with his infamous back aerial remaining a quick and powerful option to stop approaches and deal damage. In addition, Donkey Kong now has great combo potential out of his throws, capable of getting guaranteed followups out of a jumping cargo up throw for a large range of percents, and even having a guaranteed KO option at a small range of percents. However, he still retains many of his flaws from Brawl, most notably with his large hurtbox and poor vertical recovery make him very susceptible to combos and edge-guarding. However, Donkey Kong's advantages generally outweigh his disadvantages, and as a result, he is a decent character in the SSB4 metagame, with a few high tournament placings.

Attributes

Donkey Kong is one of the fastest heavyweights in the game in terms of both movement and attack speed, and defies the typical power-type archetype. He has a fast walking speed, a quick dashing speed, above average falling speed and gravity, very high air speed, below average air acceleration and is the second heaviest character in the game. His large size also gives his attacks great physical range.

As expected, Donkey Kong's greatest asset is his speed. Almost all of his attacks are faster than any other heavyweight. However, most of his attacks have high power as well, and those that do not can be used for effective set-ups. These attributes give him a capable combo game, with his aerial game being extremely effective at that. His forward and down aerials can meteor smash and can effectively finish off his combos or his opponents, thanks to their high power. His neutral aerial is very quick and can lead into followups, or it can be used to give Donkey Kong some space. His up aerial launches opponents upwards, making it great for combos and KOing. His back aerial is long-ranged, has a lasting hitbox, and can be used to edgeguard opponents. The last three aerials can also autocancel in a short hop, further demonstrating their utility. In addition, the aforementioned combo abilities pair well with his grab game. His pummel is decently quick, making it great for racking up damage. While his up and down throws are now rarely used because of their limited utility, his forward and back throws make up for that. His back throw is among the strongest, with only Ness, Villager, Toon Link and Bowser cleanly outperforming it, making it one of his safest KO moves. His forward throw is an all-purpose throw, as well as an excellent damage racker. Using it will open up four different throws, commonly known as the "cargo throws". Cargo down throw is a semi-spike and is great for edgeguarding. Cargo back throw deals 12% and can KO at higher percentages. His most notable throw, however, is his cargo up throw, which can lead into any aerial at lower percents. Since it connects directly into his powerful up aerial at most percents, this combo can be used to KO opponents at specific percents, and has since been humorously nicknamed the "Ding Dong".

His special moveset also has a lot of utility. Giant Punch is a deadly KO move, and a fully charged one has super armor, making it difficult to interrupt. Headbutt can bury opponents, leaving them exposed to any move. It also does a lot of shield damage, threatening attempts to block the move. Hand Slap has very long range and allows for stage control, but since it is a quake move, it has no effect on aerial opponents when it is performed on the ground. However, an aerial Hand Slap is now capable of meteor smashing and is not only fairly easy to land, but it is an effective one as well. Finally, Spinning Kong can be used as an out of shield option, thanks to its super armor and high damage output. As a recovery, it lets Donkey Kong move horizontally quickly and for a long time, giving him a very long horizontal recovery.

Despite these advantages, Donkey Kong has noticeable flaws. All of his stats can be turned against him, since his large size makes him very easy to hit. His rolls and ledge recovery options are also very slow, hindering his ability to escape pressure. He is also equally vulnerable to combos and juggling, as his options outside of aerial maneuvering are not effective. His moveset is very slow in regards to ending lag, making him heavily susceptible to punishment. Finally, his vertical recovery is almost nonexistent, due to Spinning Kong's vertical distance being considerably low. This also makes it extremely difficult for him to survive even the weakest meteor smash.

Custom moves can give Donkey Kong considerable benefits, more so than most other characters. Storm Punch has a wind effect, and is very effective for edgeguarding and spacing. Jumping Headbutt has more vertical range and a hitbox during the entire descent, making it a good alternative to fast falling, but at the cost of being unable to properly bury opponents. Stubborn Headbutt eschews its role as a pressure move due to its slow startup. However, it has higher power and super armor, protecting Donkey Kong from any attack. Focused Slap and Hot Slap sacrifice range for paralyzation and vertical range, respectively. Both are also potent KOing options, with the latter having high diagonal knockback, and the former having extremely high vertical knockback. Kong Cyclone is often considered to be Donkey Kong's most valuable move, as well as the best custom in the game, as it has super armor, a suction effect, more power, and the aerial version has greater maneuverability and speed, as well as autocancelling capabilities, significantly improving his neutral game.

Overall, Donkey Kong is viewed as a potent character, and is perhaps the most effective of all of the super-heavyweights. He has had average tournament representation and above average results, with dedicated mains such as Will.

Changes from Brawl

Donkey Kong has been considerably buffed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. The most noticeable improvement has been to his overall speed; his attacks, such as his signature Giant Punch, are now performed faster, and his already excellent movement speed has also been greatly increased, allowing him to better keep up with, and in quite a few cases, even out-speed lightweights. He is also much heavier, which allows him to withstand potential KOs easier and enables him to become an effective user of the new rage mechanic, which results in his already fantastic power becoming even more effective. In addition, Donkey Kong is a lot harder to combo than before due to the removal of chain grabbing. Finally, DK benefits considerably from the removal of edge-hogging and the introduction of edge-stealing, which prevents his poor vertical recovery from being edge-hogged and thus, significantly improves his recovery.

Although he was buffed, Donkey Kong did receive a few noticeable nerfs. His grab game was slightly weakened and many of his attacks now deal less damage. Even with the removal of chain grabbing, his increased falling speed and large hurtbox enable him be comboed easily regardless, although he is still less susceptible to being juggled. However, these nerfs are considered to be largely negligible due to the impact of his initial buffs and especially because of the subsequent buffs he has received in game updates. As a result, he is considered to be more viable than he was in Brawl.

Aesthetics

• Donkey Kong appears to have more stylized fur, even more so than he did in Brawl. His proportions seemed to have been tweaked slightly, with his appearance reminiscent of his recent appearances in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Lastly, his teeth are now white instead of yellowish white.
• Most of DK's animations are now more fluid. His general expressiveness has been greatly exaggerated as well, with many of his moves and animations now accompanied with smirks (like his forward smash), toothy grins, or a look of utter confusion. When Donkey Kong is launched, his eyes will even bulge out of his head, much like in the Donkey Kong Country series for the SNES.

Attributes

• Donkey Kong walks faster (1.2 → 1.3).
• Donkey Kong dashes faster (1.622 → 1.7031).
• Donkey Kong's air speed has been increased (1.081 → 1.15), making it now tied for the eighth fastest in the game.
• Donkey Kong is heavier (116 → 122).
• Donkey Kongs falls faster (1.58 → 1.63). This makes him more susceptible to combos, but less vulnerable to being juggled.
• The removal of hitstun cancelling severely harms Donkey Kong's overall endurance as he can no longer use Spinning Kong to cancel momentum despite his increased weight, but improves his offensive game as many of his attacks (e.g. forward throw) now benefit as combo starters.
• Donkey Kong greatly benefits from the removal of meteor cancelling, as his meteor smashes (forward air, down air, Headbutt and aerial Hand Slap) are even harder to recover from than in Brawl. Conversely, it also seems to have crippled Donkey Kong the second most out of any returning veteran (only Fox is more vulnerable), as his increased falling speed and almost nonexistent vertical recovery have made him even more vulnerable to meteor smashes.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack's first hit no longer launches opponents at the Sakurai angle.
• Down tilt deals 1% less damage (8% → 7%).
• Donkey Kong's has a new dash attack, the Barrel Roll from the Donkey Kong Country series. It has 1 frame faster start-up (10 → 9), lasts 4 frames longer (10-21 → 9-24), and has slightly less cooldown (interruptibility frame: 55 → 48) compared to the previous dash attack.
• New dash attack deals slightly less damage (11%/9% → 10%/8%).
• Forward tilt has increased cooldown (interruptibility frame: 34 → 38).
• Forward smash's hitbox size was increased (5.0u → 5.7u) and now has intangibility on Donkey Kong's head and arms on frame 20-26.
• Up smash's hitbox size was increased (7.5u/6.0u → 8.8u/7.0u).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial, back aerial, and up aerial have more landing lag (neutral: 15 frames → 17, back: 15 frames → 18, up: 22 frames → 25).
• Forward aerial and down aerial have less landing lag (forward: 30 frames → 29, down: 31 frames → 24).
• Forward aerial has significantly less start-up (27 frames → 18).
• Forward aerial's sourspot deals less damage (16% → 15%/13%) with its knockback compensated.
• Up aerial deals 1% less damage (14% → 13%) with its knockback compensated.
• Down aerial is significantly faster (frame 18 → 14) and now has a powerful sourspot at his chest that deals horizontal knockback.

Throws/other attacks

• Pummel is slightly faster.
• Pummel deals 0.9% less damage (3% → 2.1%).
• Donkey Kong's dash grabs have been slowed down slightly (frame 9/10 → 10/11).
• Dash grab has significantly reduced cooldown.
• Cargo forward throw deals 2% more damage (8% → 10%).
• Cargo back throw deals 4% more damage (8% → 12%) with significantly higher knockback growth (38 → 80).
• Cargo back throw's angle was altered.
• Cargo up throw deals 3% more damage (7% → 10%) with significantly less knockback (90 base/50 growth → 58 base/52 growth), allowing it to combo into other moves.
• Cargo down throw deals 1% more damage (6% → 7%).
• Donkey Kong now hops slightly during cargo down throw.
• Donkey Kong has a new ledge attack, a forearm club. It is slower and has less range compared to his previous ledge attack.
• Front and back floor attacks deal 1% more damage (6% → 7%).

Special moves

• Giant Punch charges faster, comes out faster, and ends faster with Donkey Kong now quickly retracting his fist after throwing the punch.
• Giant Punch's reduced start-up makes it slightly harder to utilize the super armor that comes before throwing the punch. It also no longer deals any Shield damage (2 → 0).
• Headbutt significantly benefits from the removal of damage reduction on shields, allowing it to bring shields to a sliver of health. It also has increased range.
• Headbutt deals 4% less damage in the air (14% → 10%), no longer stalls Donkey Kong in the air, deals slightly less shield damage (30 → 25), and has slightly increased cooldown.
• Grounded Spinning Kong now instead spins at an angle instead of completely horizontally, increasing the attack's vertical range.
• Aerial Spinning Kong is now a multi-hit attack, allowing it to rack up much more damage.
• Grounded Spinning Kong deals 19% less damage (36% → 17%), severely limiting Donkey Kongs's ability to rack up damage.
• Hand Slap can now be used in midair, which meteor smashes foes on the second hit. It also has a larger hitbox on the ground.
• Hand Slap has significantly increased cooldown.
• Konga Beat is now accompanied by an indicating bar that shows when to press the attack button.
• While using Konga Beat, if Donkey Kong performs all button presses with the correct timing, he will perform a thumbs up at the end of the Final Smash.

Update history

Donkey Kong has been buffed overall via game updates so far. Update 1.0.6 saw Giant Punch's charging time decreased even further, making it even more viable as a KOing option. Update 1.0.8 buffed the damage outputs of all variations of Donkey Kong's cargo throw, which helps his initially weakened grab game. Update 1.1.0 gave him a faster and longer lasting dash attack and noticeably improved his combo game due to cargo up throw's base knockback being decreased considerably, which gave Donkey Kong new follow-up options. The most famous follow up, cargo up throw to up air, has been affectionately nicknamed the "Ding Dong". Update 1.1.1 reduced the shield damage dealt by Giant Punch and Headbutt, but this is compensated by the increased shieldstun allowing Hand Slap to break shields more easily. The shieldstun changes in general, significantly benefit his powerful, high hitlag attacks by making them safer on shield. However, it also inhibits Donkey Kong's effective out of shield options and his already poor shield game, however the nerf is largely migitated.

1.0.6

• Giant Punch charges significantly faster: 172 frames → 144.
• Headbutt no longer stalls Donkey Kong in midair.
• Neutral attack's first hit no longer launches opponents at the Sakurai angle.

1.0.8

• Cargo forward throw deals 2% more damage: 8% → 10%.
• Cargo back throw deals 4% more damage: 8% → 12%.
• Cargo back throw's angle altered.
• Cargo back throw's knockback growth increased: 38 → 80.
• Cargo up throw deals 3% more damage: 7% → 10%.
• Cargo down throw deals 1% more damage: 6% → 7%.
• Cargo down throw's animation has slightly changed. Donkey Kong now hops while performing it.

1.1.0

• Up smash's hitbox size increased: 7.5u/6.0u → 8.8u/7.0u.
• Forward smash's hitbox size has increased: 5.0u → 5.7u.
• Forward smash's bone intangibility on his head and arms have added frames (20-26).
• Dash attack has one frame less of start-up and its hitbox lasts three more frames: 10-21 → 9-24. It also has less ending lag: 48 → 41.
• Cargo up throw's base knockback decreased: 90 → 58. These changes re-purpose it into a combo starter, which can be performed even up to high percents.
• Cargo up throw's knockback growth increased: 50 → 52.

1.1.1

• All variations of Giant Punch deal less shield damage: 2 → 0.
• Headbutt and Stubborn Headbutt deal less shield damage: 30 → 25.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	A cross followed by an uppercut. The tip of the first punch's hitbox will knock targets towards Donkey Kong instead of away. At low percents, it can work as a fairly reliable set-up for a fully charged Giant Punch.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		12%	A backhanded slap with his right arm.
	→		10%
	↘		9%
Up tilt			11% (sweetspot), 9% (sourspot)	Swipes his right arm in an arcing motion. It has very reliable arch range and deals more damage and knockback if the target is extremely close to Donkey Kong's behind.
Down tilt			7% (sweetspot), 6% (sourspot)	A quick swat across the ground. Slightly less powerful around his fingers. In addition to great speed and range, it has a chance to trip opponents, allowing for guaranteed follow-ups such as Giant Punch, Headbutt, or a grab.
Dash attack			10% (sweetspot), 8% (sourspot)	His signature attack, the Barrel Roll, from Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Kong rolls over the opponent. It deals less damage towards the end.
Forward smash			20% (hands), 21% (arms)	Performs a very forceful clap. It does slightly more damage if it hits with Donkey Kong's arms. KOs at 92%.
Up smash			18%	Performs a very powerful clap above his head, swinging both of his arms 90˚ in the process. Unlike other up smash attacks, it does not scoop opponents into the main hitbox, making it somewhat problematic to land if the opponent is not airborne or incredibly close to DK. KOs at 119%.
Down smash			14% (arms), 17%-18% (fists)	Swings both of his clenched fists down 90° to perform forearm clubs. It has decent range, fast start-up for a smash attack and has great vertical knockback. It KOs starting at 110% when sweetspotted and is especially good for punishing rolls, laggy attacks and lots of attacks in general as an out of shield option. It could arguably be considered one of the best down smashes in the game, despite it having a fair amount of ending lag.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 8% (late)	Donkey Kong quickly spins around with arms extended similarly to Spinning Kong. Quite possibly his most useful aerial, since it is quick in both start-up and ending lag. The late hit is an excellent combo tool when SHFF'd.
Forward aerial			16% (clean), 15% (late sweetspot), 13% (late sourspot)	Performs a double axe handle. If sweetspotted, the opponent is meteor smashed very hard. This move inspired Donkey Kong's jumping attack in Donkey Kong 64. Unlike many other moves, the early sourspot hitbox is actually stronger than the meteor smash hitbox, sending opponents away with extreme horizontal knockback, making it more effective at higher percentages.
Back aerial			8-13%	A back kick that lingers briefly. A potent move with little start-up, ending, or landing lag, that has decent power and a large hitbox. Its low ending lag allows it to initiate a wall of pain.
Up aerial			13%	An upward headbutt. It is ideal for combos and is a useful KOing option.
Down aerial			16% (sweetspot), 13% (sourspot)	Stomps while flexing his arms in a comedic "macho" pose. Its sweetspot will meteor smash foes with great power. Its sourspot is present close to Donkey Kong's chest.
Grab			—	Donkey Kong's grab range is above average. It grows larger when dash or pivot grabbing.
Pummel			2%	Karate chops the opponent. A fairy fast pummel.
Forward throw			10% (forward), 12% (backward), 10% (upward), 7% (downward)	Donkey Kong cradles the opponent on his back, allowing him to move and jump around while still holding the victim. This gives him access to forward, back, up, and down throws that are distinct from his normal grab. Forward throw: Throws the opponent upwards diagonally. Back throw: Same as the forward throw, but sends the opponent at a slightly higher trajectory and can only be done in the air. Up throw: Hurls the opponent over his head. Has very low base knockback, allowing for follow-ups such as his up aerial twice in a row or his neutral aerial followed immediately by his back aerial. At middle to high percents, Donkey Kong can set up an early KO with his up aerial, making it reminiscent of Diddy Kong's "Hoo-Hah" combo. This combo is commonly referred to by players as the "Ding Dong" combo. Down throw: Flings his opponent towards the ground, knocking the opponent sideways. At low percentages, it can be used off-stage as a surprise option against opponents with poor recoveries to potentially send them too far away to recover. 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 ledge, pull back and throw them against the underside. However, this carries significant risk, as the opponent can tech it and result in Donkey Kong ending up too low to recover if the timing is off.
Back throw			11%	Flings the opponent behind him with stunning force. DK's strongest throw in terms of damage and knockback, KOing at roughly 137% near the edge.
Up throw			9%	The opponent is tossed upwards.
Down throw			7%	Slams the opponent into the ground. It has rather weak knockback with a horizontal knockback angle in front of DK.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Swats at the opponent.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Claps behind himself, then in front.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Does a wind-up spinning punch.
Edge attack Edge getups			8%	Climbs onto the ledge and performs a forearm club.
Neutral special	Default	Giant Punch	10% (uncharged), +2% (per wind-up), 28% (tenth wind-up/fully charged, grounded), 25% (tenth wind-up/fully charged, aerial)	Winds up and forcefully thrusts out his fist as a potentially powerful attack. The attack is at fully charged after eleven wind-ups and gains super armor. The punch deals more knockback but lacks super armor at ten wind-ups. The punch can be saved and chosen when to be released after being fully charged. DK will be put into helplessness if used in the air.
	Custom 1	Lightning Punch	10% (uncharged), +1% (per wind-up), 16% (five wind-ups), 15% (fully charged)	An electrical version of the Giant Punch. Takes less time to fully charge (six wind-ups at increased speed), but deals less damage and lacks super armor at full wind-ups.
	Custom 2	Storm Punch	8% (uncharged), +2% (per wind-up), 18% (fully charged)	Does less damage, but produces a powerful windbox that will push back opponents and takes less time to charge. Higher ending lag and lacks super armor.
Side special	Default	Headbutt	10% (ground/sweetspot aerial), 8% (sourspot aerial)	Slams his head downward. When performed in the air, the struck opponent is meteor smashed if hit by the sweetspot. When performed on the ground the opponent is buried and will remain submerged longer if the opponent has already dealt a fair amount of damage. Unlike in Brawl, DK will not stall in the air. Full power shields will barely manage to avoid breaking against this move.
	Custom 1	Jumping Headbutt	5% (aerial), 10% (ground)	Donkey Kong jumps before slamming his head downward. Buried opponents can break out faster. Will SD Donkey Kong if used off-stage out of ledge-grabbing distance.
	Custom 2	Stubborn Headbutt	13%	Has longer start-up time, but deals more damage (and subsequently even more shield damage) and gives him super armor for the entire move.
Up special	Default	Spinning Kong	7% (grounded first hit), 1% (grounded hits 2-6), 4% (grounded seventh hit), Grounded total deals 18%. 10% (aerial first hit), 2% (aerial subsequent hits), Aerial total deals up to 36%.	Donkey Kong spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before launching them. DK has super armor at the very start of this move. Provides excellent horizontal recovery, but has poor vertical recovery. If used on the ground, Donkey Kong now spins at an angle, increasing the move's vertical range.
	Custom 1	Chopper Kong	0%	Has increased vertical recovery, but almost no horizontal distance and does not deal any damage.
	Custom 2	Kong Cyclone	4% (grounded first hit), 3% (aerial first hit), 15% (grounded second hit), 12% (aerial second hit)	Donkey Kong pulls in opponents in with a windbox while spinning, then launches them with the final hit. On the ground, has no hitboxes except for the first and last hits. In the air, it deals no damage except for the first and last hits, but does deal hitstun. Both the grounded and aerial versions have super armor during the spin. Does not rise as high as Spinning Kong.
Down special	Default	Hand Slap	14%	Donkey Kong repeatedly slaps his hands against the ground, causing earth-shaking vibrations in the process. The attack gives him some protection from opponents while grounded and has good range. The attack originates from Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Kong can now use the move while in midair, although only twice in a row. The second hit meteor smashes opponent and it is a fairly easy, yet effective, meteor smash to land.
	Custom 1	Focused Slap	7% (first hit), 14% (second hit)	A modified Hand Slap that sacrifices range for increased hitstun and knockback.
	Custom 2	Hot Slap	4% (first hit), 12% (second hit)	When Donkey Kong slaps his hands against the ground, flaming pillars erupt on impact. It does not reach behind him at all, and not very far in front. It has much less start-up lag and much higher knockback growth than Hand Slap, meaning that it can potentially KO. However, it does not meteor smash if used in the air.
Final Smash		Konga Beat	Varies	Donkey Kong will take out a pair of bongos and begin to play them to the beat of "DK Island Swing", sending out shock-waves in the process. The attacks range and power is determined by the player's input. The player must push the attack button in succession with the song's beat in order have the greatest range and power. While this was difficult in Brawl, the Final Smash now is accompanied by an indicative bar that will appear above DK. It will let the player know when to press the attack button.

On-screen appearance

• Donkey Kong bursts from a DK Barrel and briefly strikes a pose.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Beats his fists against his chest while scowling.
• Side taunt: Shakes himself as if he was wet, during which he will sport a toothy grin or sport the expression seen in his down taunt.
• Down taunt: Faces the camera, shrugs his shoulders, and grunts while making a humorously confused, bug-eyed expression. It originates from Super Smash Bros.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Bares his teeth and crosses his eyes.
• Bumps his fist together, then performs an underhand strike.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	D-K! Donkey Kong!	Don-key Kong!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

A flourished remix directly from Brawl based on the jingle that would play whenever Donkey Kong completely cleared a bonus room or defeated a boss in Donkey Kong Country.

• Holds his hands above his head and shakes them.
• Does a backflip and holds up his arms. It is identical to his "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.
• Beats his chest and faces the screen with a large toothy grin.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Donkey Kong	3233	3231	3232	1233	1231
	1232	2233	2231	2232	1333

Notable players

Active

•  Average Joe
•  Larry Lurr
•  Riot Lettuce
•  Vex Kasrani
•  Will

Inactive

•  Mew2King

Trophies

Donkey Kong

This king of the jungle really, really loves bananas. His adventures usually start with people stealing his hoard of them. In Smash Bros., he's known for his incredible strength and long reach. Despite his size, he's still pretty quick. He can even jump carrying heavy items! Use this knowledge well.

With help from Diddy Kong and his Animal Friends, this banana-loving king of the jungle will take on anyone causing trouble on his turf. The best things about him in this game are his colossal strength, his speed, his long reach and the fact that he can jump while holding heavy items. Make sure you use all that to your advantage!

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country Returns (11/2010)

Donkey Kong (Alt.)

Donkey Kong pulls no punches when it comes to fighting. Or headbutts, as it turns out. His Headbutt special move will bury anyone on the ground who gets hit, leaving them open to some serious damage. If Donkey Kong strikes an airborne foe with this move, they'll go crashing downward.

Donkey Kong's always been one to use his head. Anyone who's been on the receiving end of his Headbutt special will tell you that. If they're on the ground when it hits them, they'll get buried, leaving them open to a serious walloping. If they're in the air, though, they might find themselves being knocked down. Either way, it;s going to hurt.

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country Returns (11/2010)

Konga Beat

In this Final Smash, DK drums on a set of bongos, just like in the Donkey Konga games. Press the attack button in rhythm with the circles to boost the attack's range and power. Enemy attacks won't affect you, but you can't move, either. Auto-scrolling stages will slow down but won't stop-don't get too carried away in the beat!

In this Final Smash, DK drums on a set of bongos, just like in the Donkey Konga games. Press the attack button in rhythm with the circles to boost the attack's range and power. Enemy attacks won't affect you, but you can't move, either. Auto-scrolling stages will slow down, but be careful or you might still self-destruct!

• Donkey Kong Trophy.png

  Classic (3DS)

• Donkey Kong All-Star Trophy.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Konga Beat

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Donkey Kong is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
• Guardian of the Jungle: Donkey Kong, aided by 2 Diddy Kongs, must defeat 3 Duck Hunts.
• The Jungle in Chaos: Diddy Kong must defeat 20 Donkey Kongs wearing Bunny Hoods.
• The Original Heavyweights: Donkey Kong and Bowser must be defeated by Mario.

Co-op Events

• 1988: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must defeat 3 Marios, each one larger than the last.
• Flat Fracas: A shadow Mario and a giant shadow Donkey Kong are opponents fought by Wario and Mr. Game & Watch.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Donkey Kong in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

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  Donkey Kong's amiibo.

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  Donkey Kong's appearance during E3 2013.

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  Donkey Kong's appearance in the 3DS version of the game.

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  Donkey Kong using Spinning Kong on the ground in the Wii U version.

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  Donkey Kong using Hand Slap in the 3DS version of the game.

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  Being hit by a smash attack from a Home-Run Bat.

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  Grinning while next to Diddy Kong.

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  With Kapp'n.

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  With King Dedede, Mario, and Bowser.

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  Holding a Bomb with Toon Link and Link.

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  With Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Pikachu footstooling on Donkey Kong.

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  The Wii Fit Trainer lifting Donkey Kong.

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  Donkey Kong attacking next to Pikachu.

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  Donkey Kong fighting against enemies in Smash Run.

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  One of Donkey Kong's custom special moves, the Storm Punch.

Trivia

• Donkey Kong's crowd chant in this game references the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64.
• Donkey Kong's default moveset has the most meteor smashing attacks of the roster, at four.
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Donkey Kong's mouth has a tendency to become oddly contorted if he is pummeled. However, this is a graphical issue with no functional problems.