Diddy Kong (SSB4)

Diddy Kong in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Rocketbarrel Barrage
Tier	S (2-3)

Diddy Kong (ディディーコング, Diddy Kong) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was confirmed on February 21st, 2014, coinciding with the international release date of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Instead of using his voice actor Katsumi Suzuki, Diddy Kong retains his realistic chimpanzee screeches from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, though they are slightly less animalistic.

Diddy Kong ranks 2nd/3rd out of 54 characters in the tier list, tying him with Cloud, and placing him in S tier, a slight rise from his equally top-tiered placement of 4th out of 38 in Brawl, and is his best placement in the series. Diddy Kong's strengths lie in his powerful comboing ability, with attacks flowing very well together as a result of their surprisingly long reach for a character of his size, quick frame data, and low knockback. He also has a fair share of strong, effective finishers, such as his smash attacks, which he can combo into. He is also highly mobile and has a strong neutral game, thanks to his Banana Peel, Monkey Flip and Peanut Popgun, all which provide him great mobility and stage control. Diddy Kong also features many safe and reliable ways to KO thanks to his down tilt, forward air, back air, and throws. On top of this, Diddy Kong also has a strong and safe edgeguarding game thanks to back air and Peanut Popgun. Diddy's flaws are his susceptibility to being gimped, owing to how linear and short-ranged Monkey Flip is, as well as the unsafe properties of Rocketbarrel Boost, a poor damage output which is exacerbated by his poor aerial mobility when not using special moves, which hinders his aerial combo game and the lack of a reliable combo breaker. Despite a number of nerfs to his combo ability in updates, Diddy Kong has maintained outstanding tournament results throughout the game’s competitive lifespan, particularly thanks to ZeRo.

Attributes

Diddy Kong, true to his appearance in the Donkey Kong games, is an overall agile character. He is a middleweight with fast walking speed, fast dashing speed, fast falling speed, strong jumps, as well as the ability to wall cling and crawl. However, he has low air speed, below average air acceleration and high gravity, hindering his aerial mobility.

Matching his great mobility overall, Diddy Kong's greatest strength is his quick attack speed. Along with having a variety of moves with quick frame data and low knockback, Diddy Kong's limbs have the unique ability of stretching, giving his attacks surprising range. This grants Diddy Kong one of the best combo abilities in the game, which is further supplemented by the utility of his moves. His grounded game has some interesting options: his up tilt covers a very reliable arc above himself, has follow-up potential at low percentages and great KO potential at high ones despite its speed. Down tilt has low knockback, giving it the ability to combo into itself, as well as KO set-ups into up smash and forward aerial. His smash attacks also have high speed and good power, making them great for finishing off opponents. Forward smash is fairly quick and has the highest knockback of Diddy Kong's attacks, along with having the least ending lag out of his smash attacks. Up smash has incredibly fast startup with good range, and is his most commonly used smash attack to finish an opponent's stock due to the plethora of set-up options into it. Down smash is a semi-spike, making it great for edgeguarding and covering rolls, though it should be used carefully due to it having the highest ending lag out of his smash attacks. Meanwhile, his neutral attack has quick speed and is safe on hit, though it lacks reliable KO potential and cannot jab cancel into Diddy's moves, making it overshadowed by his other options. Forward tilt has very good range, can be angled and deals good knockback, making it great for spacing opponents out, but it is commonly forgone in favor of his smash attacks due to it lacking reliable KO potential, like his neutral attack.

In contrast, Diddy Kong's air game is also strong in any case, due to his aforementioned range, speed, and balance of power. Neutral aerial has a long duration and decent vertical knockback, making it a useful combo extender. Forward aerial is fast, strong and has a long duration and can autocancel from a short hop fast fall, making it the all-purpose attack and one of the staples on Diddy's moveset. Back aerial is his second fastest one, and has decent power for its speed, making it useful for comboing and edgeguarding. Up aerial, while significantly nerfed over time, remains Diddy's fastest aerial and, due to its high base knockback, it is excellent at juggling the opponent. His down aerial, however, despite having very high power for a meteor smash, has a sourspot, high landing lag and lasts for only one frame. Thus, while it is a dependable edgeguarding tool, it is arguably Diddy's least useful aerial.

Diddy Kong's already great neutral game is further supplemented by his versatile special moves. Peanut Popgun allows Diddy Kong to shoot a peanut, a weak projectile that can be used for edgeguarding or disrupting approaches. While slow and difficult to land, the explosion from the overcharged popgun can also be used as an attack. It is also tremendously powerful, dealing 23% damage and heavy knockback, KOing earlier than even King Dedede's forward smash. Monkey Flip is a command grab that lets Diddy Kong latch onto and pummel an opponent. From there, it can be followed up by either a double punch or a jump attack, with the latter being a meteor smash and granting Diddy Kong a second use. Alternatively, it can be cancelled immediately into a strong flying kick. The jump also grants a lot of momentum, making it a great move for recovery. Rocketbarrel Boost is Diddy Kong's primary means of recovery, covering large amounts of distance, especially if fully charged. Diddy Kong can also ram and launch opponents, and if attacked during it, the rocketbarrels become unblockable projectiles. Finally, Banana Peel is a defining part of Diddy Kong's ground game. It can be used as a regular Banana Peel or out of shield, both of which can be used for predicting the opponent's floor recovery or leaving them open to a smash attack. All of these moves grant Diddy Kong excellent stage control options, and give him a fantastic neutral game when combined with his combo potential and strong mobility.

However, Diddy Kong has some weaknesses. One of his flaws is his damage output being below average overall, making it crucial for him to extend his combos in any way possible to rack up the most amount of damage. In addition, despite his small frame and only average weight, Diddy Kong is vulnerable to combos, due to his fast falling speed and high gravity, and he doesn't have a particularly reliable combo breaker. While his neutral aerial is something of an exception due to its long duration, it is only situational for combo breaking as it has surprisingly slow startup at frame 8. This makes it easy for characters with reliable combo abilities to easily rack up damage on him, while his weight isn't heavy enough to sustain heavy hits at high percents. Another flaw is his recovery. While his high jumps, wall cling and special attacks grant very long distance overall and allow for many mix-ups, this is counterbalanced by the numerous risks in using his recovery moves. Monkey Flip's kick input prevents Diddy Kong from using any other special move and, by extension, his Rocketbarrel Boost, which can limit his ability to use the move for recovery, and as mentioned before, Rocketbarrel Boost has to be charged to cover long distances, and the rocketbarrels will detach from Diddy Kong if he's hit or crashes into the stage. This means that any hit during the move can be detrimental to Diddy Kong, with meteor smashes often KOing him outright (it still takes good timing to gimp his recovery because of the sheer speed of his Rocketbarrel Boost). As a result, Diddy Kong's recovery is only average.

Finally, even though his air game is arguably one of the best in Smash 4, it is still flawed. Diddy Kong's aforementioned slow air speed is slow enough to the point that he can only perform Wall of Pain combos at low percentages. His neutral, up and down aerials are good combo combo starters (the lattermost also being a powerful meteor smash), his forward aerial is good for catching dodges due to its long duration and his back aerial is a good edgeguarding option due to its fast startup (frame 5), but none of his aerials have are powerful enough to KO until very high percentages unless under the rage effect. In addition, his forward and down aerials have a surprising degree of landing lag (26 and 28 frames, respectively), his neutral and down aerials have unfavorable autocancel windows, and his up aerial is his only reliable aerial KO option, though it can only KO reliably if used after a down throw (both of which were nerfed in the 1.0.6 and 1.0.8 updates, as the former had its knockback reduced and the latter had its knockback increased and its angle altered). Finally, all of Diddy Kong's aerial attacks are surprisingly easy to punish on shield as none of them are effective at wearing down shields.

Diddy Kong only has a few useful custom moves, having only two that are overall better than their defaults: Rocketbarrel Attack and Shocking Banana Peel. Rocketbarrel Attack has much less maneuverability and is slower, but is extremely powerful even when uncharged, granting Diddy Kong a lethal surprise KO option. Shocking Banana Peel has a different throw trajectory and is less effective when thrown directly at the opponent, but is able to paralyze the opponent, leaving them wide open to any attack. The rest of his custom moves have disadvantages that noticeably outweigh their advantages, with Exploding Popgun being particularly notorious. However, these do not matter much because his default specials are extremely useful.

Overall, despite his constant nerfs, Diddy Kong remains a very potent character. The combination of high combo versatility, easy to land KO options, strong stage control and the lack of a glaring weakness have granted him great results in tournaments, as demonstrated by numerous top-level competitiors such as ZeRo.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Initially, Diddy Kong was considered to be buffed in his transition from Brawl to Smash 4 despite already being a top tier character due to his new incredible up aerial which when combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, he could combo into it with itself or his throws for either a deadly 50/50 with up throw or a long lasting kill confirm with down throw, but as of patch 1.0.8, he has been considerably nerfed from his initial incarnation and has seen a mix of buffs and nerfs from the transition from Brawl to Smash 4 but has been nerfed overall.

His most significant nerf was to his Banana Peel move which was previously the key to his past success. Not only can he now only have one Banana Peel out at a time, but the peels also vanish if they hit an opponent, greatly hindering Diddy's stage control and removing his zero-death potential with his bananas. The removal of glide tossing also hurts his banana game. Peanut Popgun is now laggier and it is weaker when charged which further hurts Diddy's stage control. In addition to this, Diddy's damage output is considerably lower, weakening his damage racking abilities and hindering some of his move's KO potential. Forward aerial and the front hit of down smash are two moves which fall victim to this. Some moves have also seen nerfs to their speed most notably dash attack and back throw with the former in particular suffering from its greatly increased ending lag. Diddy Kong also falls noticeably faster which while improving his vertical endurance and making him less susceptible to juggles, it also makes him considerably more vulnerable to combos. Lastly, Diddy's hitboxes are worse for a majority of his moves with his attacks either having smaller hitboxes and/or having specific hitboxes removed.

He did however see some buffs. His already strong combo potential has been increased further due to the changes to hitstun canceling. Diddy Kong's grab game is much stronger as Diddy releases opponents later from up and down throw (giving them less ending lag), down throw's angle has been altered and the removal of hitstun canceling has given both throws very strong combo potential. Diddy's limbs are also longer which gives a decent amount of his attacks more range even if they have worse hitboxes. Up smash is now considerably stronger (along with having more vertical range) now being a viable KO move which Diddy can even combo into with down tilt. His recovery has also significantly improved. Monkey Flip covers more distance and Rocketbarrel Blast is much more versatile.

Overall, he is still one of the most successful characters in competitive play, albeit not nearly as much as in early versions of the game where he was indisputably the best character in the game. While Diddy Kong technically became inferior to his Brawl counterpart, every other character in Brawl's higher tiers was either nerfed significantly more than him, or outright removed from the game. As a result, his competition has been toned down translates towards an even stronger position relative to the cast.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in Smash 4, Diddy Kong's attire is sleeker and more vibrant, and his fur is of a significantly higher visual quality than in Brawl. His hat's Nintendo logo has also been updated, his head is very slightly smaller, and his teeth are white instead of beige. Altogether, these changes make Diddy Kong appear virtually identical to his appearance as of Donkey Kong Country Returns.
• Diddy Kong is significantly more expressive.
• Diddy Kong's teeth are no longer visible while performing his side taunt.
• Diddy Kong now claps at the results and No Contest screens.
• Diddy Kong's previously unused damage yells from Brawl's Sound Test are now heard when taking high knockback.

Attributes

• Diddy Kong's more elastic limbs stretch out farther in his attacks, which gives a significant increase in the reach of a variety of his attacks.
• Diddy dashes slightly faster (1.721 → 1.824).
• Diddy's air speed is slightly faster (0.82 → 0.88).
• Diddy's falling speed is faster (1.43 → 1.75), which improves his vertical endurance, but worsens his recovery, and makes him more vulnerable to combos.
• Diddy's gravity is higher (0.092 → 0.105).
• Rolls have less ending lag (FAF 30 → 28).
• Rolls have a shorter duration (frames 4-19 → 4-15).
• Air dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 32).
• Air dodge has a shorter duration (frames 4-29 → 2-26).
• Spot dodge has a shorter duration (frames 2-20 → 2-16).
• Diddy Kong's item toss is weaker (1 → 0.9766667) When combined with the removal of glide tossing, this significantly hinders Diddy Kong's approach and item game with Banana Peel (as well as with other items).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack deals less damage, especially the first hit (3% (hit 1)/2% (hit 2) → 1.2% (both), 2%/1% → 0.5% (loop)).
  • The first three hits have much more ending lag (FAF 18 (hit 1)/21 (hit 2)/26 (hit 3) → 34/37/35).
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit later (frame 6 → 8).
  • The first two hits have increased set knockback (10 → 12/18/24) and their far hits launch opponents at a more favorable angle (80°/60° → 105°/78° (hit 1)/100°/78° (hit 2)), making them connect more reliably.
  • The first two hits' close hitbox launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 45°), removing their ability to jab lock.
  • The first two hits' far hitbox is smaller (4u → 3.5u) and their back arm hitbox has been removed.
    • In addition to this, both hits have new animations where Diddy Kong stretches his arms out further. In the change of the first hit, its hitboxes were not properly compensated for this change, with the move now failing to fully cover Diddy's hand.
  • The second hit transitions into the third hit sooner (frame 9 → 8).
  • The second hit's hitboxes are now static, with the far hit having reduced range, now failing to fully cover Diddy's hand in addition to the move having less range behind Diddy.
  • The third hit has increased set knockback (15 → 25/37), making it lead into the rapid jab more reliably.
  • The third hit's far hitbox is slightly larger (4u → 4.2u).
  • The third hit's near hitbox launches opponents at a lower angle (80° → 60°).
  • The third hit transitions into the infinite later (frame 13 → 15).
  • The third hit's near hitboxes are smaller (4u/4u → 3.7u/3.2u).
  • The third hit's far hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 17 → 14), reducing its range.
    • The near hitboxes have also been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 11/5 → 8/2) although due to the new animation, it has no additional range inside of Diddy.
  • The infinite has a much lower SDI multiplier (2x → 0.7x), making it more difficult to escape.
  • The infinite has a much larger hitbox (2.8u → 6.7u) which is now a static extended hitbox, giving it much more vertical range.
    • However, this hitbox does not compensate for the move's horizontal range, with the move now failing to fully cover Diddy's tail.
  • The infinite has decreased set knockback (8 → 4).
  • The infinite has received a finisher, an upward tail swipe. The finisher has a hitbox which deals 3% and horizontal knockback.
  • The finisher has much more ending lag compared to the previous infinite ending animation (FAF 10 → 40).
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has a new more exaggerated animation.
  • Dash attack now uses one static hitbox, rather than hitboxes attached to Diddy.
    • This gives it more horizontal range overall.
    • However, this also gives it less vertical range despite its new animation.
  • The first two hits of dash attack have altered knockback (70 (base), 50 (scaling) → 55 (set)/100(hit 1), 15 (set)/50 → 62/100 (hit 2)) and angles (270°/58° → 40° (hit 1), 285° → 366° (hit 2)), making dash attack connect more reliably (although it is still unreliable).
  • The final hit launches opponents at a higher angle (68° → 78°).
  • The final hit deals more knockback (70 (base), 50 (scaling) → 80/90). This improves its KO potential but hinders its combo potential.
  • Dash attack has a shorter duration with the second and third hits also having more startup lag (frames 9-13 (hit 1)/14-18 (hit 2)/20-23 (hit 3) → 9/18/24).
  • Dash attack has a drastically longer total duration (FAF 24 → 46), with the move no longer being lagless. This greatly hinders its approach/combo potential and safety.
  • Dash attack deals less damage (3% (hit 1)/4% (hit 3)/9% (total) → 2%/3%/7%).
  • Each hit of dash attack has smaller hitboxes (5u (hit 1)/4.5u (hit 2)/5u (hit 3) →3.5u/3.5u/4.5u).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has a new animation where Diddy Kong stretches his arms further.
  • Forward tilt now deals consistent damage (11%/9%/8% → 10%). This makes the body hitboxes stronger but the hand hitboxes weaker.
  • Forward tilt's hand hitboxes are now attached to Diddy, rather than being static.
    • This gives forward tilt more range overall due to its new animation.
    • However, this also gives forward tilt less consistent horizontal range, with the move having less range on all but one frame.
  • The body hitboxes are moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 11/5 → 7.5/1.5) although due to the new animation, it does not have any more range behind Diddy.
  • Forward tilt now has a weaker late hit after its first frame (frames 10-13 → 10 (clean)/11-13) which deals less damage (11%/9%/8% → 7%) and it lacks body hitboxes, creating a large blindspot on Diddy's arms/body.
  • Diddy does not stretch his arms out nearly as far out during the move's first active frame, giving the clean hit less range.
  • The hands now consist of two smaller hitboxes covering them, rather than one big hitbox covering both of them (5u → 2.7u/2.7u). This gives the hands less range overall, with the move no longer being disjointed.
• Up tilt:
  • Diddy stretches his arm further when performing up tilt giving it more horizontal range.
  • Up tilt has more knockback scaling (130 → 150) and it launches opponents at a higher angle (80° → 92°), slightly improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
  • Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 6-12 → 6-11).
  • Up tilt has more ending lag (FAF 25 → 33).
  • Up tilt deals less damage (7% → 6%).
  • Up tilt has smaller hitboxes (4.5u/4.8u/5u → 4u/4u/3.8u), giving the move less vertical range.
  • Up tilt has a higher SDI multiplier (1x → 1.5x).
    • However, SDI is still less effective against the move due to the weakening of the mechanic.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals less damage (7% → 5.5%). This hinders its damage racking potential but improves its followup potential at higher percents, especially with the changes to hitstun canceling/Directional Influence.
  • Down tilt has a shorter duration (frames 4-6 → 4-5).
  • Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (5u/4u/3u → 4.2u/3.5u), its far hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 18 → 16) and the body hitbox has been removed, giving it less range.
    • The arm hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (z offset: 11 → 8.5), although this does not compensate for the removal of the near hitbox.
    • The removal of the near hitbox also means that the move can no longer launch opponents at a 40° angle, hindering its setup potential against near opponents.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has a new animation where Diddy stretches his arms further. This gives it more horizontal reach, especially the second hit.
  • The weakening of SDI makes forward smash connect more reliably.
  • The second hit has higher knockback scaling (90 → 116) improving its KO potential on the hand and arm hitboxes (especially the latter) despite its lower damage.
  • Forward smash starts charging sooner (frame 9 → 5).
  • Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 48 → 51).
  • Both hits have smaller hitboxes (5u/4.25u/3.5u/3u → 4.5u/4.0u/3.5u) and the back arm hitbox has been removed.
  • The second hit has more startup lag (frame 21 → 22).
  • The second hit deals less damage (13% → 11% (hand/arm)/9% (head), hindering the head hitbox's KO potential despite its higher knockback scaling.
  • The second hit no longer deals extra shield damage (3 → 0).
  • The second hit has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.2x).
  • The hand hitbox launches opponents at a less favorable angle (40° → 46°).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has a much more exaggerated animation where Diddy jumps up higher and swings his arms around more, giving the move significantly more range.
  • The first hit has a longer duration (frames 5-7 → 5-8).
  • The first hit's hitboxes now start directly in front of Diddy rather than slightly behind him, noticeably improving its use as an Out of Shield option.
  • The first hit has altered angles (95°/95°/95°/90° → 95°/105°/95°/95°) and knockback (30 (set), 30/50/70 (scaling) → (85/110/50/60)/100) which is now weight independent. This makes it connect more reliably into the second hit.
  • The second hit has altered angles (95°/95°/95° → 125°/105°/95°) and knockback (30 (set), 30/50/70 (scaling) → (48/45/45)/100). This makes it connect more reliably into the third hit.
  • The first two hits deal less damage (5% (hit 1/2)/16% (total) → 2.5%/11%).
  • The first two hits have smaller hitboxes (6u/4u/4u/3u (hit 1)/6u/4u/4u (hit 2) → 5u/3.7u/3.7u (both)) and the first hit's foot hitbox has been removed. This makes the hand hitbox less disjointed and it gives the move less range below Diddy, especially on the first hit.
  • The second and third hits have more startup lag (frame 11 (hit 2)/18 (hit 3) → 12/19).
  • The third hit deals much much knockback (70 (base), 70 (scaling) → 50/129), greatly improving its KO potential.
  • The third hit has larger hitboxes (6u/4u/4u → 6.5u/4.5u).
  • The third hit now launches opponents away from Diddy Kong instead of towards him (95° → 85°).
  • The third hit's body hitbox has been removed and the foot hitbox has been moved closer to Diddy (x/y offset: 0/-5 → 4/0.6) slightly reducing its disjoint and reducing its range below Diddy.
  • Up smash has more ending lag (FAF 51 → 54).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash starts charging slightly later (frame 2 → 3).
  • Down smash launches opponents at a lower angle (361° → 33° (front)/35° (back)).
  • The front hit deals less damage (16% → 12%), considerably hindering its KO potential despite its lower launch angle.
  • The back hit has more startup lag (frame 15 → 16).
  • The back hit deals more damage (12% → 15%) and has higher knockback scaling (72 → 76), significantly improving its KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• All of Diddy's aerials have longer animations (49 frames → 58 (neutral), 47 frames → 55 (forward), 45 frames → 54 (back), 41 frames → 49 (up), 50 frames → 53 (down)). This increases the amount of time Diddy cannot grab the ledge after using an aerial.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has a more exaggerated animation.
  • The changes to hitstun canceling/DI considerably improve neutral aerial's combo potential.
  • Neutral aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-20 → 8-20).
  • Neutral aerial auto-cancels much later (frame 27 → 59), no longer doing so in a short hop.
  • Neutral aerial has smaller hitboxes (3u/3u/3u/3u → 2u/2u/2u/2u).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has less landing lag (30 frames → 26).
  • Forward aerial's hitboxes are now attached to Diddy Kong's feet, rather than being static. When combined with the move's new animation, with Diddy extending his legs out further, this considerably improves the move's range.
    • In addition to this, the late hit's hitboxes now have identical positioning to the clean hit, giving it even more range.
  • Forward aerial deal less damage (14% (clean)/11% (late) → 10%/8%) without full compensation on its knockback scaling (80 → 86), hindering its KO potential.
  • The hitbox on Diddy's body has been removed, significantly reducing forward aerial's range behind Diddy.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has higher knockback scaling (100 → 102).
  • Back aerial's has a new animation. Diddy stretches his leg out further. This slightly improves back aerial's range.
    • However, Diddy's foot is no longer fully covered when performing the move.
  • As with most back aerials, back aerial now always launches opponents behind Diddy Kong.
• Up aerial:
  • Diddy Kong has a new up aerial; instead of performing a flip kick, he now swings his leg up and halfway across his head. It has more range overall (especially horizontally).
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 39). When combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this improves its combo potential.
  • The foot hitbox has been moved further from Diddy (x/y offset: 0/4 → 5/0).
  • Up aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 3-7 → 4-7).
  • Up aerial auto-cancels later (frame 15 → 27).
  • Up aerial no longer has an initial auto-cancel window (frames 1-2 → 0).
  • Up aerial deal less damage (11% → 6%) without full compensation on its knockback (30 (base), 90 (scaling) → 64/89), hindering its KO potential.
  • Up aerial now launches opponents away from Diddy at a less vertical angle (100° → 76°), hindering its KO/combo potential and making it more susceptible to DI.
  • The body hitbox has been removed, reducing up aerial's range below Diddy.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial has slightly less ending lag (FAF 50 → 49) and landing lag (30 frames → 28).
  • The hand hitbox deals more damage (12% → 13%) and knockback (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 25/110).
  • The arm hitbox is larger (5u → 6.7u).
  • The removal of meteor canceling improves down aerial's reliability.
  • Down aerial has a new animation and its hitboxes have been placed further down to reflect this (y offset: 9/4.5/0 → -3/6.5). This gives the move much more range below Diddy.
    • However, the move is also less disjointed and the body hitbox has been removed, significantly reducing the move's range above Diddy.
  • Down aerial has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 13-15 → 17).
  • The arm hitbox deals less damage (12% → 10%) and has less base knockback (30 → 20), significantly hindering its KO and edgeguarding potentiall.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Dash grab has less startup (frame 10 → 8) and a shorter total duration (FAF 40 → 39).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated, giving it slightly more ending lag.
  • All grabs reach slightly further inside Diddy (z offset: 5 (standing/dash)/-5 (pivot) → 4/-4).
  • Standing grab has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 32).
  • Pivot grab has more startup lag (frame 8 → 9), with its total duration was subsequently increased (FAF 36 → 37).
  • All grabs have smaller grabboxes (4u → 3.7u (standing/pivot)/3u (dash) and they do not extend as far out (z offset: 11 (standing)/10 (dash)/-16 (pivot) → z stretch: 8.3/9.9/-13.9), reducing their range, especially standing grab.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel has an updated animation. Diddy now lands one foot at a time and it takes Diddy longer to fully get back up.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals 2% less damage (11% → 9%) with its knockback scaling compensated (55 → 65).
  • Forward throw launches opponents at a higher angle (42° → 46°).
  • Diddy releases the opponent from forward throw much later (frame 11 → 21) and it has a longer total duration (FAF 26 → 32).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated, giving it less ending lag.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) with only a slight decrease to its base knockback (66 → 60).
  • Back throw launches opponents at a higher angle (38° → 42°).
  • Diddy releases the opponent from back throw much later (frame 9 → 18) and it has much more ending lag (FAF 26 → 52), with the throw now being half its previous speed.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw deals much less damage (4% (hit)/5% (throw)/9% (total) → 1%/4%/5% (total)). The hitbox's knockback was not fully compensated (30 (base), 100 (scaling) → 50/120) while the throw's knockback was not compensated.
  • The hitbox has more startup lag (frame 15 → 17).
  • The hitbox has a longer duration (frame 15 → 17-18).
  • Diddy releases opponents from up throw later (frame 16 → 19). While this does make it easier to DI, this also reduces its ending lag as its total duration was unchanged. This combined with its lower damage and the changes to hitstun canceling/DI greatly improves its combo potential.
• Down throw:
  • Diddy releases opponents from down throw later (frame 11 → 19). While this does make it easier to DI, this also considerably reduces its ending lag as its total duration was unchanged.
  • Down throw now sends opponents vertically (130° → 106°). When combined with its lower ending lag and the changes to hitstun canceling/DI, this significantly improves its combo potential.
  • Down throw deals less damage (9% → 7%) and it has increased knockback scaling (40 → 59). This gives the throw more knockback overall, hindering its followup potential at higher percents while still being too weak to KO at realistic percents.
• Floor attacks:
  • Floor attacks have less startup lag (frame 16 → 15).
    • The second hits also have less startup lag (frame 26 (front)/25 (back) → 21/22).
  • Floor attacks have less ending lag (FAF 50 → 46).
  • Floor attacks deal more damage (6% → 7%) and shield damage (1 → 8) per hit, without full compensation on their knockback scaling (50 → 48).
  • Floor attacks now start from in front of Diddy Kong rather than from behind.
  • Floor attacks launch opponents at a higher angle (361° → 48°).
  • Floor attacks have less intangibility (frames 1-26 (front)/1-25 (back) → 1-23).
  • Floor attacks now use one extended static hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes attached to Diddy Kong' body, which covers noticeably less range.
• Front floor attack:
  • Front floor attack has a new animation where Diddy Kong performs a double sided kick, rather than a pair of slaps.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack has less startup lag (frame 28 → 23) and a shorter total duration (FAF 56 → 55).
    • However, its total duration was not fully compensated, increasing its ending lag.
  • As with other edge attacks, edge attack no longer has set knockback (110 (set), 100 (scaling) → 90 (base)/20).
  • Edge attack now deals consistent damage (8%/6% → 7%).
  • Edge attack now uses one extended static hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes, which gives the move less vertical range.
  • Edge attack has less intangibility (frames 1-26 → 1-20).
  • As with other edge attacks, edge attack now always launches opponents in the direction Diddy Kong is facing, removing its ability to set up edgeguards.
• Trip attack:
  • Trip attack deals more shield damage (1 → 8) per hit.
  • Trip attack now has transcendent priority.
  • Trip attack has less intangibility (frames 1-8 → 1-7).
  • Trip attack now uses one extended hitbox rather than multiple normal hitboxes, which decreases the move's range inside of Diddy Kong.

Special moves

• Peanut Popgun:
  • Peanut Popgun's explosion from overcharging now has a very powerful hitbox.
    • In addition to this, the explosion occurs sooner (frame 174 → 122), benefitting this new overcharge hitbox.
  • The peanuts fired from the Peanut Popgun no longer break into pieces, making the peanuts no longer consumable. This removes Diddy's potential of recovering damage this way, but also keeps the opponents from healing.
  • Uncharged peanuts are shot at a lower angle (45° → 35°).
  • The peanuts now launch opponents vertically (361° → 70°) and they have more base knockback but less knockback scaling (10 (base), 100 (scaling) → 40/70).
  • The peanuts deal less damage, especially when charged (5%-17.5% → 3%-12%).
  • Diddy Kong reaches the danger state of the charge sooner (frame 74 → 53), meaning that the move cannot be shield canceled for as long.
  • The peanuts have more startup (frame 1 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 26 → 36), slowing its rate of fire down.
  • The peanuts travel at a slower speed (1.6 (uncharged)/4.0 (fully charged) → 1.5/3.0).
• Monkey Flip:
  • Monkey Flip has a longer duration (frames 19-23 (aerial opponents)/19-32 (grounded opponents) → 20-30/20-36).
  • Monkey Flip travels further (1.5 (normal input), 1.9 (smash input) → 1.9/2.4) and it no longer halts Diddy's momentum after using it.
  • Monkey Flip now has a pummel hitbox once Diddy grabs onto the opponent. The pummel deals 1% and happens automatically after a certain period of time.
  • Monkey Flip has more startup lag (frame 19 → 20).
  • Monkey Flip has a smaller grabbox against grounded opponents (4u → 3u).
  • Monkey Flip grants less height (1.6 → 1.5). When combined with Diddy's faster falling speed, this prevents the move from auto-canceling when used on the ground.
  • Diddy can no longer reuse Monkey Flip if he is hit out of it by Mario's Cape.
• Monkey Flip grab attack:
  • The grab attack deals less damage (5% (punch)/10% (throw)/15% (total) → 3%/7%/10%).
  • The punch deals more knockback (40 (base), 75 (scaling) → 60/150).
  • The punch has larger hitboxes (4u → 6u/3u).
  • The punch has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 12-20 → 18-20).
  • The punch has a higher hitlag multiplier (1x → 1.5x), making the throw slower to execute.
  • The throw deals more knockback (10 (base), 80 (scaling) → 50/100), improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
• Monkey Flip grab jump:
  • The stomp deals less damage (5% (stomp)/10% (total) → 3%/8%).
• Monkey Flip kick:
  • The kick has much higher base knockback (40 → 80).
  • The kick no longer has a 10% sourspot.
    • However, this also reduces the move's range inside of Diddy.
  • The kick has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 4-25 → 6-10 (clean)/11-25 (late)).
    • Additionally, the kick now has a late hit which deals less damage (14%/12%/10% → 12%/10%).
  • The kick has smaller hitboxes (4u/4u/5u → 3.5u/4u).
• Rocketbarrel Boost:
  • Diddy Kong can now control the trajectory of Rocketbarrel Boost after releasing it, significantly improving its recovery potential and it even allows Diddy Kong to traverse into the ground to cause the explosion hitbox.
  • Rocketbarrel Boost has a wider launch arc curvature (55° → 70°), allowing Diddy Kong to curve the move more before releasing it.
  • Rocketbarrel Boost's initial speed increases more with charging (0.021 → 0.031), making it travel faster/higher when charged.
  • Uncharged Rocketbarrel Boost grants much less height (2.8 → 2.2).
    • In addition to this, the move now has gravity after Diddy has finished rising with the move, further reducing its range.
  • Diddy Kong can no longer land until he enters free fall, hindering the move's safety near platforms.
• Rocketbarrel Boost hitboxes:
  • The clean hit deals more knockback, especially against aerial opponents (85/30 (base), 40/50 (scaling) → 40/85).
  • The clean hit has a longer duration (frame 8 → 8-9).
  • The clean hit no longer meteor smashes aerial opponents (271° → 361°). This improves its KO potential onstage but hinders its edgeguarding potential.
  • The mid hit deals more knockback (85 (base), 40 (scaling) → 40/90).
  • The mid and late hits launch opponents at a higher angle (70° (mid)/60° (late) → 80°/70°).
  • Rocketbarrel Boost has a shorter duration overall (frame 8 (clean)/9-15 (mid)/16-38 (late) → 8-9/10-16/17-35).
  • Rocketbarrel Boost has considerably smaller hitboxes (10u/5u (clean)/7u (mid)/6u (late) → (3.5u/3.5u)/(3.2u/3.2u)/(2.8u/2.8u)).
    • However, the clean hit has more horizontal range against aerial opponents.
  • The mid and late hits deal less damage (10% → 8% (mid), 8% → 6% (late)). The late hit's knockback scaling was not fully compensated (80 → 90), hindering its KO potential.
• Banana Peel:
  • Diddy Kong has a new animation for attempting to pull out too many bananas; trying to pull out a second one will make him look at his empty hands and shrug.
    • This new animation has more ending lag (FAF 40 → 50).
  • The changes to shields improve the safety of Banana Peels, with Banana Peels now being even safer on shield than they were previously.
  • Diddy Kong can now only have one Banana Peel out at a time instead of two, significantly reducing Diddy's ability to control the stage.
  • Due to the changes to the banana peel item, they can only hit opponents once before disappearing and will disappear after touching the ground twice, completely removing the banana lock and the item's ability to zero-death opponents, which is further compounded by the fact that Diddy can only spawn one banana peel.
    • However, these changes also make it harder for Diddy's opponents to use Banana Peels against him, as well as removing their ability to banana lock him.
  • The removal of edge momentum shifting hinders Banana Peel's use as a movement option.
• Rocketbarrel Barrage:
  • Rocketbarrel Barrage no longer puts Diddy into his helpless animation upon completion.
  • Rocketbarrel Barrage deals less damage (18% → 12% (body), 8% → 5% (peanuts), 15% → 10% (peanut explosions)).
  • Similarly to Peanut Popgun, the peanuts fired from Rocketbarrel Barrage no longer break into pieces, making the peanuts no longer consumable.

Update history

Diddy Kong was initially a significantly more potent character in earlier versions of Smash 4, with Diddy Kong being significantly nerfed overall. Update 1.0.4 mostly gave Diddy minor adjustments with the only meaningful change being that Diddy lost his ability to cancel non-tumble hitstun with Peanut Popgun. While this could be a powerful technique when used in the right situations, it was quite situational and restrictive, so the loss of it overall did not significantly hurt Diddy.

However, update 1.0.4 removed the ability to LSI moves which launched between 65°-115° which turned out to be greatly beneficial to Diddy (further helped by the lower vertical blastzones in the Wii U version). Diddy had numerous vertical launching combo starters and KO moves which greatly benefitted from the change, as they could no longer be LSIed (despite being the same moves on paper). Diddy's extremely fast and versatile up aerial became a much more deadly KO move and his throws could combo for a much longer period of time, as his up aerial and vertical throws could no longer be LSIed. Diddy's down throw could reliably combo for a much longer period of timing, becoming a long lasting KO confirm into up aerial without DI (colloquially known as the "Hoo-hah") and a long lasting 50/50 into potential KOes with DI. Diddy's up throw went from a throw which could not lead into KOes or 50/50es (even on a platform) to a throw that could lead into KO confirms with up aerial on the ground at pretty low percents (which then lead into a deadly 50/50 for some time when the opponent escaped the KO confirm window), which Diddy could easily mix up the side he could hit his up air (regardless of the opponent's DI on the up throw) to throw off the opponent's DI on the up aerial, which was incredibly powerful. This also extended to Diddy's other vertical launching moves albeit to a lesser extent. Diddy Kong's up aerial was overall one of the best moves in the game in early Wii U versions being incredibly fast, versatile, powerful and having incredible synergy with the rest of his kit.

As a result, while Diddy was directly nerfed coming to 1.0.4/Wii U, he overall ended up as a more potent character as the changes to LSI greatly benefitted Diddy Kong, giving him far more effective combos and significantly greater KO potential. This resulted in Diddy becoming one of the most successful characters during early Smash 4 Wii U tournaments and likely as a result, Diddy would later receive some significant nerfs.

Update 1.0.6 reduced the KO power of a handful of Diddy's moves with the most notable of which being up aerial. Up aerial was previously incredibly powerful, especially since up aerial was an incredibly fast and versatile move which could be used as a powerful combo ender for KOes. The move received a significant damage and knockback decrease which made it a significantly less devastating KO move. Diddy's up and down throws were also adjusted which had poor synergy with Diddy's weakened up aerial. Up throw was made weaker which did make it a better combo tool at higher percents but when combined with up aerial's reduced power, this notably meant that up throw up aerial did not lead into KOes until significantly higher percents. Down throw received more knockback which made down throw up aerial (which was previously only a true KO confirm with DI) a significantly more restrictive confirm than it previously was. While these changes were impactful overall, making Diddy a less ridiculous character, Diddy still remained a highly potent character despite them, with the nerfs failing to significantly bring Diddy down compared to the rest of the cast.

Update 1.0.8 brought along more changes to Diddy, including some impactful nerfs. Diddy Kong's up aerial was made slower in numerous ways which considerably hindered its utility. Its hitbox came out one frame later, significantly reducing the move's downwards range (which had numerous affects), it gained more ending lag and its auto-cancel window became far less lenient, resulting in up aerial becoming harder to land and removing a whole bunch of applications it previously had. In addition to this, its knockback was significantly reduced again, resulting in the move becoming a significantly weaker KO move. Diddy's throws were also negatively adjusted again. Up throw received a damage decrease with no significant knockback change which made Diddy's up throw combos less damaging and when combined with up aerial becoming weaker, this notably removed up throw up aerial as a KO platform on flat ground. Down throw saw a significant increase to its knockback which completely removed any remaining ability it had to lead into up aerial for potential KOes. These changes overall were even more impactful than the nerfs Diddy received in 1.0.6 and they did slightly bring Diddy down compared to the rest of the cast.

After 1.0.8, Diddy saw a couple of minor adjustments and while some of these changes were beneficial, Diddy still remained an overall far cry to how he was in early Wii U versions. Amusingly, in patch 1.1.1, Diddy Kong had a glitch that had rendered him invulnerable to grabs of any kind (although he could not shield in this state) until he performed any kind of dodging maneuver. This was later fixed in patch 1.1.2, nine days after 1.1.1's worldwide release.

Overall, Diddy Kong has been significantly nerfed since his initial release. While Diddy Kong did become more potent coming from 3DS to Wii U, due to him significantly benefitting from the game's universal changes, Diddy has since been significantly nerfed, receiving numerous reductions to his damage/KO power as well as having weakened combo tools and worse frame data. Up aerial in particular had been a rather drastically nerfed move, going from one of the best moves in the game, to simply a good but balanced move, with the move becoming slower and losing a massive chunk of its KO power, which was only further exacerbated by Diddy's altered combo throws. Despite this, Diddy Kong still remained one of the most potent characters in the game. Diddy's powerful neutral and defensive game were near untouched, with Diddy's excellent mobility and projectiles remaining completely in tact. The nerfs mainly weakened Diddy Kong's punish game but Diddy still retained his strong mobility and moveset, allowing him to still easily win neutral and get his punish game going.

While Diddy's tier placement in the vanilla version of the game is hard to determine due to its unoptimized nature, Diddy was a clear top 2 character in early Wii U versions, where Diddy was at his peak in terms of strength. After numerous patches which brought significant nerfs to Diddy as well as adding new top/high tiers through DLC and buffs, Diddy was still considered to be around top 5 by the end of the game's mainstream competitive life and he continued to receive very strong tournament results throughout the game's life, showing that despite his significant nerfs, Diddy still remained one of the most potent characters in the game.

1.0.4

• Neutral infinite's loop hits deals less damage per hit (1% → 0.6%).
• Neutral infinite's loop hits launch opponents at a higher angle (60° → 70°/90°), they have lower set knockback (8 → 6) and they have a lower hitlag multiplier (2x → 1.3x). All of these changes overall make neutral infinite connect more reliably.
• Neutral infinite's loop hits have bigger hitboxes (2.8u → 3u).
• Neutral infinite's final hit has a larger hitbox (4u → 5u) which is positioned higher (y offsets: 5 → 5.5), improving its range.
• Diddy Kong can no longer use Peanut Popgun to cancel non-tumble hitstun.
  • This naturally hinders the move's utility at lower percents especially, as Diddy can no longer use Peanut Popgun to potentially escape combos.
• Exploding Popgun can no longer hit damageable floors.
• Monkey Flip's grab has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 19-36 → 20-36).
• Monkey Flip and Flying Monkey Flip's grabs have smaller hitboxes (4u/5u → 3u/4u) which have been positioned closer to Diddy (z offset: 5/4 → 3/2), reducing their range.
• Diddy's barrel jets from Rocketbarrel Boost (and its custom variants) have received additional visual wind effects.

1.0.6

• Forward smash has more ending lag (FAF 48 → 51).
• Forward smash's sweetspot launches opponents at a higher angle (40° → 46°).
• Up aerial deals less damage (8% → 6%) without compensation on its knockback, significantly hindering its KO potential.
  • However, this also improves its combo potential at higher percents.
• Forward aerial deals less damage (12% (clean)/10% (late) → 10%/8%).
• Up throw deals less damage (6% (throw)/10% (total) → 4%/8%) without compensation on its knockback. This hinders its KO potential but improves its followup potential at higher percents.
• Down throw deals less damage (7% → 6%) and it has increased kncokback scaling (40 → 50). This gives the throw more knockback overall, hindering its combo potential at higher percents.
• Monkey Flip's kick now has an extra hitbox that deals 10% damage near the end of the kick.
• Monkey Flip's grab deals less damage (12% → 10%).
• Monkey Flip's jump deals less damage (10% → 8%).

1.0.8

• Jab improved. It transitions through to the second hit 2 frames faster, to the third hit 1 frame faster, and to the infinite portion 7 frames faster. The rapid hits additionally have reduced SDI capacity, and the final hit of the jab has increased reach, increased base knockback, and 4 less frames of ending lag.
  • The complete jab deals marginally less damage.
• Down tilt's damage was reduced by 0.5%, decreasing it's knockback. This, however, allows him to combo into moves like forward smash later.
• Up aerial's hitboxes on frame 3 are removed, causing it to cover less range and have more starting lag, it autocancels 12 frames later, and has less interruptibility (frame 36 → frame 39), lessening its usefulness for spacing attacks and making it harder to combo with. Its knockback growth was also decreased weakening its KO capabilities.
• All of Diddy's grabs have 3 more frames of ending lag.
• Up throw's damage was reduced (8% → 5%) and its knockback was increased, reducing its follow-up capabilities & making reliable KO followups slightly more difficult.
• Down throw damage increased: 6% → 7%.
• Down throw has increased knockback growth and a very slightly more diagonal knockback trajectory, reducing its follow-up capabilities and removing all guaranteed follow ups around 135%. Despite its higher knockback growth, it still cannot KO at realistic percentages.
• Up smash's final hit knockback growth: 126 → 129.

Technical changelist

Change	Old value	New value
Jab 1 damage	1.5%	1.2%
Transition from Jab 1 to Jab 2	frame 10	frame 8
Jab 2 damage	1.5%	1.2%
Transition from Jab 2 to Jab 3	frame 9	frame 8
Jab 3 weight-based knockback	30	25
Jab 3 hitbox sizes	4/3.5/3	4.2/3.7/3.2
Transition between third hit and looping hits of jab	frame 22	frame 15
Looping hits of jab now use a large, single hitbox as opposed to many small ones
Looping hits of jab damage	0.6%	0.5%
Looping hits of jab angle	70/90	60
Looping hits of jab weight-based knockback	6	4
SDI capacity of jab rapid hits	1.3	0.7
Unknown parameters of rapid jab hits changed	Default	6.8/6.0
Final hit of jab animation length	frame 8	frame 4
Final hit of jab knockback growth	180	177
Final hit of jab base knockback	30	45
Final hit of jab hitbox size	5	7.2
Final hit of jab Y-offset	5.5	6.8
Unknown parameters of final hit of jab changed	5.5	6.8/6.0
Down tilt given an additional hitbox identical to its other two hitboxes
Down tilt damage	6%	5.5%
Up air startup	3 frames	4 frames
Up air autocancel window	Frames 0-2/15	Frame 27
Up air base knockback	65	64
Up air knockback growth	99	89
Grab total duration	28 frames	31 frames
Dash grab total duration	35 frames	38 frames
Pivot grab total duration	33 frames	36 frames
Up throw (hit 2) damage	4%	1%
Up throw (hit 2) base knockback	30	50
Up throw (hit 2) knockback growth	100	120
Down throw damage	6%	7%
Down throw angle	105°	106°
Down throw knockback growth	50	59
Upsmash knockback growth	126	129

1.1.0

• Down smash knockback growth on both hits increased (69/74 → 72/76), making it slightly better for KOing.
• Up smash's first hit hitbox order altered.
• Up smash's second hit angles altered 95°/105° → 105°/125°.
• Up smash's higher hit's weight based knockback increased (45 → 48).
• Up smash's third hit horizontal displacement (3.5 → 4.0), vertical (0.0 → 0.6).

1.1.1

• Created glitch where Diddy Kong cannot be grabbed if he shield jumps or shield grabs a multihit attack.

1.1.2

• Fixed glitch induced by the previous update where Diddy Kong cannot be grabbed if he shield jumps or shield grabs a multi-hit attack.

1.1.4

• Trip invincibility and all trip followups except floor attack have one less frame of invincibility.

Moveset

• Diddy Kong can wall jump, wall cling, and crawl.

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			1.5%	Diddy Kong slaps forward twice, turns around to quickly kick the foe, and proceeds to repeatedly whip them with his tail. The attack finishes with an upward tail flick. The first hit comes out quickly at frame 3 and has good range, with the multi-hit portion of the move connecting somewhat reliably. In addition, the finisher is quite strong in comparison to that of most other jabs, having KO potential near the edge at high percents. However, the first and second hits have a large amount of ending lag when not followed up with the later parts of the jab, making interrupting the move before the multi-hit portion unreliable. Rarely used in situations where Diddy Kong’s down tilt is applicable instead.
			1.5%
			2%
			0.5% (infinite), 3% (last hit)
Forward tilt			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Diddy Kong leans to the side and thrusts both of his arms forward in a double punch. Can jab lock opponents and can be angled upwards or downwards. It also has decent knockback and long range, as Diddy Kong's arms expand a great size during the attack.
Up tilt			6%	Diddy Kong swats in the air above him with a slap and looks similar to an uppercut. Hits quite quickly and can combo into most of Diddy Kong's aerial attacks at low to mid percent ranges. The hitbox of the attack is active for 5 frames and has no sour spot, making it useful for punishing a neutral getup at the ledge. The attack also has high knockback scaling which gives it killing potential at high percentages, normally when down tilt to up smash stops connecting.
Down tilt			5.5%	Diddy Kong claps forward while crouching. Comes out very fast, hitting at frame 4, and has incredibly low ending lag. It can combo into many moves such as itself, a forward aerial, a forward smash or a down smash at medium percent ranges, and, most notably, a running up smash at high percentages, which is a safe and reliable killing option. Considered to be one of the very best moves in the game due to its ability to safely setup combos and score KOs.
Dash attack			2% (hits 1-2) 3% (hit 3)	Diddy Kong performs his signature Cartwheel attack from Donkey Kong Country. Its adjusted animation from Brawl now has it end with a ground-slap with both hands. The final hit has largely vertical knockback and can combo into aerials at low to mid percent ranges. However, the attack often fails to connect properly, making it unreliable.
Forward smash			5% (hit 1), 11% (sweetspot hit 2), 9% (sourspot hit 2)	Diddy Kong spins and slaps forward, then swings his fist immediately after. The first hit combos into the second, which has good knockback and killing power. However, it is easily punished if missed. It is a potential follow up after a down tilt, however the window for when this works is tight. Often only used in combination with his banana peel.
Up smash			2.5% (hits 1-2), 6% (hit 3)	Diddy Kong hops briefly and performs a stationary cartwheel. Damage wise, it is rather weak, in terms of knockback however, it is rather average, killing at approximately 120% on mid weight characters. It has one of the fastest startup times for a move of its' type, with the first hitbox coming out on frame 5, It also has rather good upwards and sideways range. It is a true follow up after hitting the opponent with a down tilt at high percent ranges, provided that Diddy Kong starts a dash beforehand, which can score a kill. This gives it a large amount of safety and consistency that circumvents its poor knockback.
Down smash			12% (front), 15% (back)	Diddy Kong performs a sweeping kick around himself. Hits very quickly for a smash attack, with the hitbox starting on frame 6. It is weaker that his forward smash but still has a good amount of kill power. The angle of its horizontal knockback makes it useful for forcing opponents off stage, which can be detrimental to characters with poor recoveries. A possible follow up after a down tilt.
Neutral aerial			6%	Diddy Kong does an aerial cartwheel similar to his dash attack. Very high ending lag, so much so that Diddy Kong should never use this move offstage. However, it deals a low amount of vertical knockback, which can lead to potential footstools or aerial follow ups, giving it usage as a combo extender.
Forward aerial			10% (clean), 8% (late)	Diddy Kong kicks both feet forward while spinning, similar to Mario and Luigi's old forward aerial in Super Smash Bros.. Hits very fast, starting at frame 6, and has deceptively long range. In addition, the hitbox of the move lasts for a long period of time. It also deals decent damage and knockback and has a generous auto-cancel window, making it a safe option in the neutral game to stop approaches. It can be safely buffered out of a short hop to hit tall characters without leaving Diddy Kong vulnerable. Finally, it is a potential follow up after an up throw depending on the opponent's DI until high percents. However, the attack is not safe on shield, meaning that is it easily punishable if the opponent blocks it. Considered one of the best forward aerials in the game due to its combination of range, speed, and power.
Back aerial			9%	Diddy Kong thrusts his leg backward and spins it behind him. Extremely fast, Diddy Kong is capable of using two in a row out of a short hop, It is one of the fastest back airs in the game, coming out at an extremely quick frame 5 and ending on frame 31, it has slightly more range than Diddy Kong's forward aerial, and it kills approximately 7% earlier as well. These traits make for an incredibly safe killing aerial at later percents. Combos into itself for decent damage and is a possible follow up after an up throw until high percent ranges.
Up aerial			6%	Diddy Kong performs an overhead kick. Since the 1.0.6 and 1.0.8 updates, it now has low knockback and damage and only hits directly above him, as the initial low reaching hitbox that started on frame 3 was completely removed. However, it still hits extremely fast, with the attack now starting at frame 4, and can still combo into itself and Diddy Kong's other aerials at low percents. A possible follow up after an up throw although it is not a good tool for racking up damage when his other aerials could otherwise be used. At high percent ranges, usually around 130%, it can lead into a kill after an up throw if the Diddy Kong player manages to predict their opponents decision to air dodge. This is because a buffered up air following an up throw at high percents is only avoidable by buffering an air dodge, and if the opponent chooses to do this the Diddy Kong player can simply delay the up air.
Down aerial			13% (hands), 10% (arms)	Diddy Kong swings both arms downward in a double axe-handle punch. A strong meteor smash and Diddy Kong's strongest aerial overall, though it is also his slowest. It has a large auto-cancel window at the beginning of the attack before the hitbox starts, which makes it a good tool for landing provided that you input the move shortly before touching the ground. It can also jab lock opponents at low percent ranges.
Grab			—	Diddy Kong grabs his opponent in a bear hugging style.
Pummel			2%	Diddy Kong jumps up to headbutt his target, angled from the side of his body.
Forward throw			9%	Diddy Kong tosses his opponent forwards. The throw is based on Diddy Kong's barrel toss animation from Donkey Kong Country. Can combo into a forward air at low percent ranges for good damage as well as forcing the opponent offstage. It is also quite strong compared to most other forward throws, killing at around 140%.
Back throw			12%	Diddy Kong tosses his opponent backwards. Diddy Kong's strongest and most damaging throw, KOing middleweights around 130%.
Up throw			1% (hit 1), 4% (throw)	Diddy Kong throws his opponent up and handstand kicks them. Good combo tool before 130%, depending on character's weight. Can combo into back aerials, which in turn can combo into themselves, and potentially a forward air at low to mid percent ranges. It can also lead into one or more up airs from low to high percent ranges, although there exist better damage racking options and the Diddy Kong player shouldn't do this so as to not stale the already low killing power of his up air. A staled up throw can lead into an up air for a KO at above 120%. It can also lead to a kill unstalled at around 130% in a 50/50 situation if the Diddy Kong player can catch the opponent's decision whether or not to buffer an air dodge with an up air.
Down throw			7%	Diddy Kong throws the opponent onto the ground and hops over them. Can lead into aerial attacks from low to mid percent ranges although not as reliably as up throw can considering all of the nerfs this throw received in game updates. Also capable of leading into a footstool at low damage.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Diddy Kong gets up and kicks on both sides.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Diddy Kong gets up and kicks on both sides.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Diddy Kong gets up and kicks on both sides.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	A spinning tail slap.
Neutral special	Default	Peanut Popgun	3-12% (Peanuts), 23% (explosion)	Diddy Kong shoots a peanut from his Popgun. A safe projectile attack that is rather useful in neutral. It can also be canceled in the air if the shield button is held before inputting the special button, which is useful for B-reversing to make Diddy Kong's movement harder to predict. The longer Diddy Kong charges the attack, the farther and quicker the peanut will fly. If Diddy Kong overcharges the attack, however, it will cause a very powerful explosion that leaves him vulnerable but possesses massive knockback.
	Custom 1	Exploding Popgun	1% (Shot), 25% (explosion)	Diddy Kong charges his Popgun, solely for exploding, and it charges roughly twice as fast. If released early, Diddy Kong will then do a shot without a Peanut firing and it will hurt when up close at the cost of damage.
	Custom 2	Jumbo Peanuts	7-11% (Peanuts), 18% (explosion)	Diddy Kong shoots a giant peanut from his Popgun. The peanuts don't fly as far, but uncharged ones are more powerful than normal. Requires slightly less time to fully charge.
Side special	Default	Monkey Flip	14% (clean midair kick), 12% (mid midair kick), 10% (late midair kick), 1% (pummel), 3% (grab attack hit 1), 7% (grab attack hit 2), 3% (jump attack hit 1), 5% (jump attack hit 2)	Diddy Kong performs a sideways hop that has the potential to launch him onto an opponent's face if timed correctly. Smashing the control stick will launch Diddy slightly farther. Once he has clung onto his foe's face, he can double chop them and leap away by pressing the attack button, or can perform a pseudo footstool jump with the jump button. Finally, tapping the special button while he is flipping will cause Diddy Kong to attack with a flying kick instead of latching on to his opponent. However, if Diddy Kong chooses to use the flying kick he will not be able to use his rocketbarrel pack unless he touches the ground first, making it a risky option offstage. More reliable for returning to the stage than Rocketbarrel Boost overall, and should be used for this purpose in place of his rocketbarrels whenever possible or safe to do so.
	Custom 1	Back Flip	17% (clean), 12% (mid), 8% (late)	Diddy Kong hops backwards, and can perform a flying kick forwards with another button press. Can't grab however.
	Custom 2	Flying Monkey Flip	10% (clean midair kick), 8% (late midair kick), 1% (pummel), 3% (grab attack hit 1), 5% (grab attack hit 2), 7.5% (jump attack hits 1-2)	Diddy Kong jumps higher, but his flying kick and regular grab attack is weaker. The jump attack, however, is a much stronger meteor smash.
Up special	Default	Rocketbarrel Boost	10% (launch), 6-8% (collision with opponent), 18% (explosion)	Diddy Kong charges his rocketbarrel pack from Donkey Kong 64 in a powerful attack. Can potentially fly very far and very fast when charged, able to be angled up to 90° in either direction horizontally, and can be steered slightly while flying. Hitting a surface, or being hit, will make Diddy Kong lose his rocketbarrels before falling a huge distance while being unable to perform any action, often falling too far to survive. Diddy Kong will also gain 5% damage for hitting a surface.
	Custom 1	Rocketbarrel Attack	18% (launch), 15% (collision with opponent), 20% (explosion)	A more powerful attack than Rocketbarrel Boost, but has less maneuverability. Only goes straight up when used on the ground, and only tilts slightly in the air, though this makes explosions harder to come by. Requires slightly more time to fully charge.
	Custom 2	Rocketbarrel Kaboom	7% (launch), 5-7% (collision with opponent), 17% (explosion)	Charges faster and controls better than Rocketbarrel Boost, but doesn’t go as far and is more prone to explode if Diddy hits any terrain during the move. Explosion inflicts 10% self-damage and sends Diddy flying farther.
Down special	Default	Banana Peel	6% (smash toss), 4% (smash toss, late), 4% (tilt toss), 3% (tilt toss, late)	Diddy Kong tosses a Banana Peel over his shoulder and into the air to have it fall onto the ground. Grounded opponents who touch the peel while on the ground or are hit by the peel when thrown will slip and trip on the floor. For all banana peel variants, mashing the control stick instead of tilting will make Diddy flick the banana farther. An integral part of Diddy Kong’s kit, as it allows him to take control of the stage, extend and create combos, set up kills, easily punish missed attacks from his opponents even if they are spaced properly, and otherwise dominate the neutral game. A held banana also serves as one of the best out of shield options in the game when thrown. Unlike in Brawl, only one banana peel can exist at one time, and it disappears when striking or tripping an opponent, or when thrown twice.
	Custom 1	Shocking Banana Peel	5% (smash toss), 4% (smash toss, late), 4% (tilt toss), 4% (tilt toss, late), 1-5% (either toss, airborne opponent, depending on timing), 1% (ground trip)	Diddy Kong tosses a banana peel into the air, more horizontally than vertical. Opponents who come in contact with the peel will be stunned momentarily. The stun time is longer if the opponent steps on the peel as opposed to getting hit by it.
	Custom 2	Battering Banana Peel	7% (smash toss), 4% (smash toss, late), 5% (tilt toss), 4% (tilt toss, late), 1-5% (either toss, airborne opponent, depending on timing), 1% (ground trip)	Diddy Kong tosses a banana peel straight up. Opponents who come in contact with the peel will be launched upwards as well.
Final Smash		Rocketbarrel Barrage	5-10% (Peanuts), 12% (collision)	Diddy Kong flies around on his rocketbarrel pack, shooting explosive peanuts everywhere. The peanuts travel large distances and have great power, however crashing into enemies with Diddy Kong himself does even more damage to his opponents than firing the peanuts at them. Has greater movement speed than it did back in Brawl, in addition to it no longer putting Diddy Kong into a helpless state when ended in the air, but it is even harder to control than it was previously.

Announcer call

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• English/Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance

• Diddy Kong bursts out of a DK Barrel and claps his hands above his head.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Tosses his cap in the air and has it land on his head. This is a reference to his victory pose in Donkey Kong Country, after he defeats a boss or wins in a Bonus Area.
• Side taunt: Does a playful fighter's stance, trying to assert his dominance.
• Down taunt: Claps his hands above his head four times, switching feet in the process.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Scratches his rump, gets down on all fours, and shakes his fur.
• Jumps in place twice.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Did-dy Kong!	Diddy Kong!
Pitch	Group chant	Group chant

Victory poses

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

• Shoots at the "camera lens" with his Peanut Popguns.
• Spins around with his Rocketbarrel and does a jig.
• Does a little dance and claps his feet while standing on one hand.

In competitive play

Tier placement and history

Since the game's release, professionals noticed that Diddy Kong gained heavy buffs despite already being one of the best characters in Brawl, and soon, his players became extremely dominant in early competitive play. Diddy's throws perfectly set up his strong aerial game, with his infamous up/down throw to up aerial combo (known as the "Hoo-Hah") being an unavoidable KO confirm at a wide range of percentages, and his Banana Peel offered strong stage control in spite of its nerfs. Aside from this, his up aerial had the speed and range necessary to KO easily without the need of the "Hoo-Hah", as well as many of his moves being both speedy and hard-hitting and with good range (like forward smash). These traits resulted in him being deemed the best character in the game.

As a result of how disproportionately good Diddy Kong was for how easy he was to play, many professionals such as Mew2King and ZeRo picked him up, resulting in an abnormal number of Diddy dittos at the highest level of play. Even players who did not actively practice the game, such as Leffen and Armada, were able to gain strong results using him. Likely as a result of this, Diddy was heavily nerfed by updates 1.0.6 and 1.0.8, and his representation dropped significantly, becoming largely abandoned while Sheik was considered the best character instead. Despite this, the top players who continued playing Diddy, such as Angel Cortes, Jtails, MVD, Nietono, and most notably, ZeRo and Zinoto, continued to push his metagame, adopting a newer, more creative playstyle that emphasizes Diddy's strong neutral game (which was not nerfed).

As a result of these factors, Diddy was ranked 9th on the first 4BR tier list, near the bottom of the A tier, but thanks to continued strong results from multiple top players, along with the nerfs to Sheik, Zero Suit Samus and Bayonetta, some matchups that previously caused him trouble in updates 1.1.5 and 1.1.6, he then took the 1st spot, at the top of the S tier, on the second tier list, despite not being as dominant as he was originally. He has since then seen only a very slight drop to 2nd place in favor of Bayonetta in the third tier list, and then to 2nd/3rd place, tying him with Cloud on the fourth and current tier list; although he remains at the S tier and is still considered to be one of the most viable characters in the game, the larger dominance of the former two characters in other regions has caused views on Diddy to slightly dwindle.

Since ZeRo's retirement, however, Diddy Kong has not won any major tournaments at all and his strong results are still considered to be inconsistent in comparison to other characters like Bayonetta, Sheik, Cloud, Mewtwo, Fox, Zero Suit Samus, and Rosalina, who have managed to obtain overall higher and more consistent results with the character. On top of this, Diddy Kong still has some very troublesome match ups as Fox, Mario, Rosalina, Sheik and even some high and mid tiers such as Olimar and Mega Man do very well against him. Due to this, Diddy's tier placement is debated on as some say that the character has dropped slightly in the meta with some smashers like ANTi, Dabuz, ESAM and even ZeRo himself saying that the character shouldn't be ranked as high as he is.

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Diddy Kong	1121	1123	1113	1131	1133
	1211	3111	1213	1112	3121

Most historically significant players

Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PGR 100, which recognizes the official top 100 players in Super Smash Bros. 4 of all time.

See also: Category:Diddy Kong players (SSB4)

•  dyr (#53) - Placed 9th at both Shine 2016 and Super Smash Con 2017, 13th at Frame Perfect Series 2, and 17th at both EVO 2016 and The Big House 7 with wins over players such as Salem, Abadango, and Marss.
•  Etsuji (#63) - The best solo-Diddy Kong player in Japan. Placed 5th at Umebura 33, 9th at Umebura Japan Major 2017, 13th at 2GGC: Greninja Saga, 17th at Umebura 34, and 25th at EVO 2017 with wins over players such as KEN, Ranai, and 9B
•  K9sbruce (#62) - Co-mained Diddy Kong alongside Sheik and is considered the best Diddy Kong player in SoCal. Placed 9th at both 2GGC: GENESIS Saga and GENESIS 5, 13th at both 2GGC: MkLeo Saga and The Big House 8, and 17th at 2GGC: ARMS Saga.
•  MVD (#31) - One of the best Diddy Kong players in the world following ZeRo's retirement. Placed 5th at The Big House 7, GENESIS 5, and EVO 2018, 7th at Smash 'N' Splash 3, and 9th at Super Smash Con 2016 with wins over players such as Nairo, Salem, and Tweek.
•  Nietono (#33) - Co-mained Diddy Kong alongside Sheik and is considered the best Diddy Kong player in Japan. Placed 3rd at both Apex 2016 and EVO 2018, 4th at both Umebura 29 and EVO Japan 2018, and 7th at Umebura Tokaigi Qualifier.
•  RAIN (#66) - One of the best Diddy Kong players in Japan in the early metagame, but later dropped the character for Sheik. Placed 1st at Umebura 11, Umebura 13, and Umebura 14, 3rd at KSB 2015, and 4th at Umebura 12.
•  Shoyo James (#54) - Co-mained Diddy Kong alongside Luigi and is one of the best Diddy Kong players in United States. Placed 2nd at Midwest Mayhem 6: SoCal Invasion, 7th at both Super Smash Con 2017 and Smash 'N' Splash 4, 9th at Smash 'N' Splash 3, and 13th at Frostbite 2018 with wins over players such as CaptainZack, Elegant, and Mr. E.
•  ZeRo (#1) - The best Diddy Kong player worldwide and of all time. Won 56 tournaments consecutively with Diddy Kong and Sheik.
•  Zinoto (#24) - One of the best Diddy Kong players in the world following ZeRo's retirement. Placed 2nd at CEO 2016, 7th at Frostbite 2017, 9th at both CEO 2017 and Get On My Level 2018, and 13th at Frostbite 2018 with wins over players such as MkLeo, Nairo, and Salem.

Trophies

3DS Classic Mode trophy

Wii U Classic Mode trophy

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong's trusty partner. He sports his signature look: red hat, red shirt, Rocketbarrel Pack. In Smash Bros., he's incredibly agile. Charge the Rocketbarrel Pack by holding down the button before launch, and you can steer with left and right. Don't forget to drop banana peels—enemies love it!

Donkey Kong's trusty partner. He sports his signature look: red hat, red shirt, Rocketbarrel Pack. In Smash Bros., he's incredibly agile. Charge the Rocketbarrel Pack by holding down the button before launch; you can steer with left and right. Don't forget to drop banana peels—enemies love it!

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (11/1995)

Red cap? Red T-shirt? Rocketbarrel Pack? Yep, it's Diddy Kong. His agility lets him get attacks in quickly in this game. Fire up his Rocketbarrel Pack and keep the button held down to fly further. You can even steer him in the air! Tip: If you don't mind fighting dirty, make your opponent slip on a Banana Peel, then hit 'em while they're down.

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (12/1995)

3DS All-Star Mode trophy

Wii U alternate trophy

Diddy Kong (Alt.)

The Banana Peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again midjump). If you grab someone, press the button again to attack or jump off them to go high into the air.

The banana peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again midjump). If you grab foes, press the button again to attack or jump off them to go high into the air.

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (11/1995)

The Banana Peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again mid-jump). If you grab someone, press the button again to attack, or jump off them to go high into the air.

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (12/1995)

Rocketbarrel Barrage trophy

Rocketbarrel Barrage

Diddy Kong's Final Smash is an attack on all fronts! Diddy takes to the air with his Barrel Jet, tackling opponents as he fires explosive shots from his Peanut Popguns. His Final Smash is nearing its end when he begins flashing, so get as close to your foes as you can—the Barrel Jet will explode at the end of this Final Smash!

With a Peanut Popgun in each hand, Diddy showers his foes with a hail of explosive destruction. This Final Smash lets him fly freely through the air, dealing damage to anyone in his way. When his body starts to flash, that means the Final Smash is about to end, so try to catch your foes in the Rocketbarrel Pack's explosion!

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Brawl: Diddy Kong is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents debut in Brawl, and reappear in Smash 4.
• 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.

Co-op Events

• 1988: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must defeat 3 Marios, each one larger than the last.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

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

• 

  Diddy Kong's amiibo.

• 

  The pic of the day shown during Diddy Kong's reveal.

• 

  Forward tilt on Mario.

• 

  With Donkey Kong.

• 

  Rocketbarrel Boost.

• 

  Diddy hitting Villager and Little Mac with Rocketbarrel Boost.

• 

  Up smash with Little Mac.

• 

  Looking at Pikmin.

• 

  Peanut Popgun overloading.

• 

  Back air with Lucario and Samus.

• 

  Teching or rolling with Fox and Wii Fit Trainer.

• 

  Up taunt in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• 

  Down taunt with Fox and a Banana Peel.

• 

  Damaging Bowser with an overcharged Peanut Popgun.

Trivia

• Diddy Kong's confirmation was the first time a character was revealed for an international release of a game as opposed to just the Japanese release.
• Diddy Kong's Banana Peels can only be thrown twice before disappearing once landing on the ground, while the actual item when spawned elsewhere can be thrown three times before disappearing.
• Diddy Kong's neutral aerial attack has an animation glitch in the Nintendo 3DS version: he performs most of a flip, then quickly snaps back upright to begin the cartwheel motion.
• Prior to update 1.0.6, Diddy Kong's down-throw to up-air combo had quickly gained notoriety as a quick KO string. It gained the name "Hoo-Hah" after StaticManny interrupted a set between Hungrybox and Player-1.