Diddy Kong (SSBB)

Diddy Kong in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Donkey Kong
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Rocketbarrel Barrage
Tier	A+ (4)

Diddy Kong (ディディーコング, Didī Kongu), commonly known as just Diddy, is a character for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He is unique, distinct among the cast for his charm and gaiety. Unlike in most Donkey Kong games and Mario spinoffs, where Diddy Kong has a cartoonish voice, Brawl has him using a high-pitched chimpanzee-like voice. He is also the first playable character to be introduced from the Donkey Kong universe since the original game, much like Lucas' appearance from the EarthBound universe.

He currently ranks 4th on the tier list (the highest-ranked of any Mario character including sub-series characters). This is, of course, thanks to his solid Bananas that give him great control of the ground and great setup and damage-racking potential (by attacking opponents that have slipped on them), as well as providing good defense, making them one of the best projectiles in the game, giving him a very strong control of the ground. Additionally, he has quick attack speed, good mobility, a solid down aerial meteor smash, good grab range, and powerful throws, which aid in his ability to control the stage. However, his primary recovery move travels in a linear fashion, is easily edgehogged, and can be stopped by stage lips. Additionally, his few KO moves, while fast and reliable when fresh, stale quickly and are largely dependent on his Banana Peels for a setup. Regardless of the flaws, Diddy Kong has excellent matchups, having very few disadvantageous matchups, and has very strong tournament results.

Attributes

Diddy Kong is a quick, mid-lightweight character. He is capable of wall clinging and crawling. Diddy Kong has a sliding DACUS, which racks up a lot of damage. Many of his attacks have good speed and have decent power to back them. His KO power is low due to his few KO moves and a general weakness in his smashes, which stale very quickly if he uses them too much for racking damage, which forces a reliance on meteor smashes for early KOs.

Diddy also has two projectiles: his Peanut Popgun and Banana Peels. Peanut Popgun, while not particularly strong, is a decent mid-range move for racking up easy damage. In comparison, his Banana Peels, which have the property of tripping opponents, form a much more integral part of his metagame, as they combo well into his other moves, and allow him to setup KOs. The glide toss option provided by the Banana Peels is invaluable, as it allows Diddy to rapidly approach and retreat. If an opponent is tripped by a thrown Banana Peel, Diddy can follow up with another glide tossed Banana to continue the combo, and end with a down or forward smash for a KO. In conjunction with his quick dash attack, large grab range, and powerful throws, Bananas provide Diddy with excellent ground options and stage control. Banana Peels can also help him escape certain chaingrabs, such as King Dedede's, and certain grab releases. However, as Banana Peels are items, they can be used against Diddy even by opponents without reflectors.

Diddy's other special moves Monkey Flip and Rocketbarrel Boost comprise his above average recovery. Besides being a useful move to rack up damage, Monkey Flip can be used as a meteor smash if Diddy uses its grab option in midair (it can also be used as a sacrificial KO, but this is not useful because the meteor smash is much more reliable and safer); it also can be used to gain horizontal distance in tandem with Rocketbarrel Boost to make up for Diddy's poor air speed. Diddy will not be able to use Rocketbarrel Boost if he uses Monkey Flip's attack option in midair, but he will retain his midair jump. The former move provides great vertical distance if sufficiently charged, but it leaves Diddy vulnerable while charging, and he needs to charge to move left or right at all. Potential edgeguarders will still have to watch out for the meteor hitbox on the bottom of Rocketbarrel Boost, as well as the rocketbarrels themselves, which function as powerful explosive projectiles if the attack is interrupted after releasing the charge. Diddy's barrel jump can also improve his recovery, acting like a second midair jump while Rocketbarrel Boost can still be used.

Diddy possess a decent aerial game. His forward aerial has above average knockback and surprising range, making it a viable KO move and useful for edgeguarding, though it has the most landing lag out of all of his aerials. His back aerial, up aerial, and neutral aerial are all relatively fast, with the former being another decent option for edgeguarding and a very quick way to grab bananas in midair, though the latter is rarely used in competitive play. His down aerial is a solid meteor smash (similar to Wolf's down aerial) with some startup lag.

In summary, Diddy Kong is a fast, medium-weight character with agile moves that combo well from his versatile Banana Peels. His KO power is poor, forcing a reliance on racking up a very large amount damage in order to KO, and he generally relies on his bananas to set up KOs. On counterpick stages, his Banana Peels are not as useful as on neutral stages, making it more difficult for a Diddy player to win a set if they do not win the first match.

Brawl manual description

"DK's buddy toys with foes using nimble acrobatic moves."

Moveset

	Move	Description	Segment		Damage	Angle	Hit Frames		BKB	KBG	WBKB	Type
Neutral attack	Combo Swat	Slaps twice, then turns around and kicks with one foot and keeps it raised, while repeatedly hitting by lashing his tail out. First hit can set-up a grab if jab-cancel or even a buffered down smash.	Hit 1	Hand	3%	80	3	4	0	100	10
				Arm		60
				Body		*
			Hit 2	Hand	2%	80	11	12	0	100	10
				Arm		60
				Body		*
			Hit 3	Foot	2%	90	24	25	0	100	15
				Leg		85
				Body		80
			Infinite	Tail	2%	60	2, 8, 13, 15, 20, 23 (24-frame loop)		0	100	8
				Tip	1%
Forward tilt	Lean Punch	Places both arms together above his head. Stands on one foot, leaning to the side and punching with both fists together above his head. Good KO move at high percentages.	Fists		11%	*	10	13	10	100	0
			Arms		9%
			Body		8%
Up tilt	Jump Swipe	Swats in the air above him with a slap and looks similar to an uppercut. Quick and can combine with other attacks. This can be used to juggle at low damage percentages and KO at very high percentages with higher knockback than his up smash.			7%	80	6	12	28	130	0
Down tilt	Low Clap	While crouching, slaps forward. Combos well into more down tilts and even a down smash. Extremely useful for racking up damage at low percentages. Has a trip chance of 40%.	Hands		7%	60	4	6	15	75	0
			Arms			50
			Body			40
Dash attack	Cartwheel	Does a cartwheel spin, resembling the one from the Donkey Kong Country games. A great move due to having almost absolutely no ending lag and combines well with his up smash.	Hit 1	Grounded	3%	270	9	13	70	50	0
				Aerial		58
			Hit 2		2%	285	14	18	0		15
			Hit 3		4%	68	20	23	24		70
Up smash	Fliparound	Hops a little and does a sort of cartwheel, hitting three times with extremely low knockback (weakest up smash in the game in terms of knockback). Fills in combos, can rack up damage easily.	Hit 1	Hand	5%	95	5	7	0	30	30
				Elbow						50
				Shoulder						70
				Body		90
			Hit 2	Foot		95	11	14		30
				Knee						50
				Hip						70
			Hit 3		6%		18	22	70		0
Down smash	Breakdance Kick	Performs a sweeping kick. It has less knockback than his forward smash, but it's still his most reliable smash attack.	Hit 1		16%	*	6	7	40	72	0
			Hit 2		12%		15	17	35
Forward smash	Spinning Punch	Spins, slapping forward twice. The first hit has no knockback, comboing into the second hit; however this can be escaped rather easily. The second hit does an extra 3 damage if shielded. When fully charged and both hits connect, it can KO at 94%.	Hit 1	Hand	5%	90	12	13	0	100	28
				Elbow		60					35
				Shoulder		30					42
				Body							50
			Hit 2	Hand	13%	40	21	23	40	90	0
				Elbow		50
				Arm		60
Neutral aerial	Air Cartwheel	Sticks out hands and feet and spins. Only hits once with decent knockback, making it a sex kick. Looks similar to his dash attack.	Arms		6%	80	6	20	60	75	0
			Legs
Forward aerial	Two-Legged Kick	Kicks both feet forward. Diddy's strongest aerial, a great edgeguarding option, and a good move to use in a short hop (though a bair is quicker and better for spacing). On the edge at above 100%, edge drop -> jump -> fair is considered one of the best options available.	Clean		14%	*	6	9	30	80	0
			Late		11%		10	16
Back aerial	Rear Kick	Sticks leg out and spins it behind him. His fastest aerial, a great option for spacing whether a short hop is used or not. A short hopped bair is useful for quickly picking up bananas; while an air dodge is usually a better option due to having no landing lag, a bair can knock nearby opponents away.			9%	*	5	8	30	100	0
Up aerial	Flip Kick	An overhead flip kick. Decent knockback, fairly fast.			11%	100	3	7	30	90	0
Down aerial	Two-Fisted Pound	Punches both arms down, meteor smashing powerfully as soon as it connects, but with some start-up lag.			12%	270	13	15	30	100	0
Pummel	Headbutt	Headbutts his target, angled from the side of his body. Hits almost instantly.			2%	*	2		0	100	40
Forward throw	Toss	Tosses opponent forward. Strongest throw. Based on how Diddy Kong would throw barrels in Donkey Kong Country. Best used to get opponents offstage to set up an edgeguard, can combo into an fair.			11%	42	11		69	55	0
Back throw	Rear Toss	Tosses opponent backward, very similar to his f-throw in that it is useful for getting opponents offstage.			10%	38	9		66	55	0
Up throw	Vertical Kick	Throws opponent up and kicks them. Can be comboed with Rocketbarrel Boost, is a decent option for getting opponents into the air. If animation is interrupted by something like a projectile, Diddy Kong will freeze in place.	Hit 1		4%	75	15		30	100	0
			Throw		5%	87	16		70	72	0
Down throw	Ground Bounce	Performs a leapfrog-like manoeuvre and throws the opponent underneath him. Has fair backwards knockback. Has little utility and almost no followups available.			9%	130	11		85	40	0
Floor (back)	Swirl Kick	Gets up and kicks to both sides.	Hit 1		6%	*	16	17	80	50	0
			Hit 2				25	26
Floor (front)	Spin Swipe	Gets up and punches on both sides.	Hit 1		6%	*	16	17	80	50	0
			Hit 2				26	27
Floor (trip)	Spin Kick	Another two kicks to either side.	Hit 1		5%	*	19	20	60	50	0
			Hit 2				27	28
Edge (<100%)	Quick Flick	Spinning tail slap.	Base		8%	45	28	30	0	100	110
			Tip		6%
Edge (100%+)	Slow Kick	Short kick.			10%	*	50	54	0	100	110
Neutral special move	Peanut Popgun	Diddy shoots a peanut. Damage depends on either speed or charge level (unknown).	Shot		1%	*			10	100	0
			Thrown		4%				6	20
Side special move	Monkey Flip	A sideways hop, which grabs opponents and can be kicked out of. Can be used to gain some extra recovery distance. If Diddy jumps off the opponent in the air, they will be meteor smashed weakly. If the special move button is pressed after the flip, Diddy will kick, being a great combo move that can lead into a fair if a midair jump is available. However, if the kick is used, Rocketbarrel Boost cannot be used until landing. An impractical sacrificial KO is possible with this move by using it in the air and falling to the lower blast line with the opponent (referred to as "Diddycide"). In the Subspace Emissary, does repeated damage to enemies it passes through instead of grabbing.	SSE		2%	20			0	100	60
			Kick	Hip	14%	*	4	25	40	50	0
				Knee	12%
				Foot	10%
			Attack		5%	*			40	75	0
			Attack Release		10%	*			10	80	0
			Jump Attack		5%	*			30	40	0
			Jump Release		5%	270			25	40	0
Up special move	Rocketbarrel Boost	Diddy charges up his barrels and launches himself upwards. Can be angled with the Control Stick (but not if the move is uncharged). Diddy's primary recovery move, but leaves him vulnerable during the charging and can also self-stage spike on stages such as Final Destination. If Diddy is attacked out of the move, the barrels will fly around and can damage opponents (they also cannot be blocked). Ramming into opponents with the move sends them on a semi-spike trajectory.	Hit 1	Grounded opponents	10%	*	1		85	40	0
				Aerial opponents		271			30	50
			Hit 2		10%	70	2	8	85	40
			Hit 3		8%	60	9	31	40	80
			Loose barrel	Flying	8%	*			40	140	0
				Explosion	15%				10	100
Down special move	Banana Peel	Pops a peel into the air.					3	20
Final Smash	Rocketbarrel Barrage	Diddy flies around shooting explosive peanuts.	Ram		18%	30			30	100	0
			Peanut		18%	70			50	60
			Explosion		20%	70			40	90

On-screen appearance

• Breaks out of a DK barrel and claps his hands above him.

Taunts

• Up: Throws his hat into the air, which lands on his head. This is actually his victory pose from DKC, after he defeats a boss or wins in a bonus room.
• Side: Does a playful fighter's stance and cackles threateningly showing his teeth.
• Down: Claps his hands four times, changing feet as he does so.

Idle poses

• Looks around and briefly twitches. (a reference to Donkey Kong Country)
• Jumps in place.
• Scratches his rump and shakes his fur.

Victory poses

• Does a little dance and claps his feet while standing on one hand.
• Shoots the camera lens with his Peanut Popgun.
• Spins around with his Rocketbarrel Boost and dances.

Cheer

Diddy Kong's NTSC and PAL cheer

Di-ddy Kong!

In competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Notable players

See also: Category:Diddy Kong professionals (SSBB)

•  ADHD
•  Felix
•  Gnes
•  NinjaLink
•  Suinoko
•  Zinoto

Tier placement and history

Diddy Kong was initially a high tier character, ranked 11th on the first tier list (September 2008). However, Diddy Kong players such as NinjaLink and ADHD showed how powerful his Banana Peels were, utilizing them to create damage-racking combos, defense, and stage control, bringing Diddy Kong into the top tiers, with him rising to 7th on the second tier list (January 2009), 5th on the third (June 2009), then 3rd on the fourth and fifth lists before surpassing long-time #2 character Snake by the sixth tier list (July 2011). Though Olimar and the Ice Climbers have since surpassed him, he still remains at 4th place on the eighth (current) tier list, as of April 2013.

Role in the The Subspace Emissary

When Donkey Kong has three Bullet Bills fired at him by the vehicle escaping with his banana hoard, Diddy Kong leaps from behind Donkey Kong and unleashes his Peanut Popguns onto the Bullet Bills, destroying them. He then joins Donkey Kong in pursuit of their stolen bananas. At one point, after getting their bananas, they encounter Bowser, who aims the Dark Cannon at the two. Donkey Kong, realizing what is about to happen, then Giant Punches Diddy Kong, sending him flying away and star KO'd (but he didn't turn into a trophy as Mario and Luigi did). Donkey Kong is shot instead and captured.

Then, Diddy Kong comes out of a forest into The Lake. When he gets to the lake where a crashed Arwing is seen, Rayquaza comes out of the water and grabs Diddy Kong. Then Fox jumps out of the Arwing which is now on fire due to an attack from Rayquaza. Fox uses his Fox Illusion and Reflector to send Rayquaza back into the lake and save Diddy Kong. Fox then makes a hand signal for Diddy to come with him to fight Rayquaza until it faints. After Rayquaza's defeat, Fox begins to leave, but Diddy drags him along to help rescue DK. They battle a Shadowbug clone of Bowser, but upon defeating it, the real Bowser attacks them and Fox flees, dragging Diddy to safety.

Diddy Kong in The Subspace Emissary.

Later, Fox and Diddy get ambushed by Bowser again, who fires a shot at both of them from his Dark Cannon. Diddy is hit and cloned by Shadowbugs, while Fox dodges the shot. Falco arrives just in time and destroys the Dark Cannon, but Bowser gets away in his Koopa Clown Car while the Shadowbug Diddy grows twice its normal size. Fox revives Diddy, who is shocked at what has happened. Diddy Kong and the two Star Fox pilots then fight the Giant Shadowbug Diddy Kong Clone. After the fight, Diddy drags Falco along with him and Fox as they continue through the jungle. Eventually they see Donkey Kong's trophy on a ship in chains. Diddy is mad at this as he, Fox and Falco board the Great Fox.

After, Diddy Kong is ejected out of Falco's Arwing and shoots peanuts at the Primids on the skiff that has DK's trophy on it. He lands on the skiff while Captain Falcon and Olimar jump to the aid of the little chimp. They revive Donkey, then the Kongs and Captains fight a horde of Primids on the little platform. After they have defeated them, Diddy and Donkey Kong do a little dance as Falcon and Olimar watch. As Falco gives a thumbs-up to Diddy, Diddy makes a "thank-you" screech. The four then head into the Subspace Bomb Factory. Diddy, Olimar, Donkey Kong, and Captain Falcon then attempt to infiltrate the Bomb Factory where they fight their way through various armies of Primids, R.O.B. units, and other enemies, they reach where all the bombs are and where the Ancient Minister is standing in melancholy and coincidentally meeting Samus & Pikachu there, where they earlier entered the Bomb Factory another way.

After meeting up with Samus and Pikachu, Diddy Kong tries to stop the R.O.B. Squad members who are setting off Subspace Bombs. He shrieks at R.O.B. to do something, but R.O.B. is melancholy and won't attack his people. Captain Falcon calls his Falcon Flyer to escape the doomed factory. They all pile into the ship while Meta Ridley appears. Diddy can be chosen to fight this boss. After Meta Ridley is defeated, Diddy helps the heroes as the continue their journey into Subspace.

At the entrance to Subspace all the characters (except Wario, King Dedede, Bowser, Luigi, Ness, Ganondorf, Sonic and, to a lesser extent, Wolf, Toon Link and Jigglypuff) are all preparing to invade the subspace. After Ganondorf and Master Hand are defeated by Tabuu, Diddy and the rest of the heroes catch a glimpse of the evil power among them. In a single blow Tabuu defeats all of the characters and turned them into trophies. He is later revived by Kirby, Ness, King Dedede and Luigi and joins them to defeat Tabuu.

Playable appearances

• 4. The Jungle
• 6. The Lake
• 18. The Swamp
• 20. Outside the Ancient Ruins
• 27. The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II)
• 28. Entrance to Subspace (Stage #28)
• 31. The Great Maze (if rescued in Subspace (Part I)

Exclusive stickers

These stickers can either only be used by Diddy, or by a select few who include him.

• Barkle: [Tail] attack +32
• Blathers: [Tail] attack +7
• Bowser Jr. (Super Mario Sunshine): [Tail] attack +25
• Chihuahua: [Tail] attack +12
• Chunky Kong: [Throwing] attack +31
• Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong 64): Launch power +20
• Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong Country): [Tail] attack +28
• Diddy Kong (Mario Hoops 3-on-3!): [Leg] attack +28
• Diddy Kong (Mario Superstar Baseball): [Leg] attack +12
• Dixie Kong: Launch resistance +39
• DK: [Head] attack +27
• DK Barrel: Launch power +53
• Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Jungle Beat): [Arm] attack +22
• Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country): [Electric] resistance +10
• Donkey Kong Jr.: [Arm] attack +14
• Enguarde: [Body, Spin] attack +15
• Fairy: [Tail] attack +7
• Funky Kong: [Leg] attack +13
• Karate Kong: [Battering] resistance +25
• Lanky Kong: [Throwing] attack +6
• Manky Kong: [Arm] attack +10
• Party Monkey: [Head] attack +6
• Pauline & Donkey Kong: [Arm] attack +18
• Rouge the Bat: [Tail] attack +10
• Spitz: [Tail] attack +12
• Stafy (Densetsu no Stafy): [Tail] attack +7
• Tiny Kong: [Arm] attack +4
• Wrinkly Kong: [Battering] resistance +4

Costumes

Diddy Kong's alternate costumes in SSBB

Trophy

Diddy Kong's trophy is obtained by clearing Classic Mode with Diddy Kong.

Diddy Kong's trophy in Brawl

Description

Donkey Kong's little buddy. He's famous for his quickness and his long tail. He usually plays second banana to DK, but he teamed up with his girlfriend, Dixie, to rescue DK when he got captured. He's spent some time playing music and competing in races, and he's also an expert at using barrels.

: Donkey Kong Country

: Donkey Kong 64

Trivia

• Diddy Kong, Captain Falcon, Ike, King Dedede and Olimar are the only characters who use a Final Smash in the Subspace Emissary (when he attacks the skiff carrying Donkey Kong's trophy after ejecting from Falco's Arwing).
• He is one of the few characters (the others being Pokémon Trainer, Ice Climbers and Jigglypuff) to have a "Defeated/No Contest" pose different from the traditional hand clapping. Instead, in a reference to his defeated pose from Donkey Kong Country, he removes his cap and shakes his head while scratching the back of his scalp.
• In the Subspace Emissary, the Giant False Diddy Kong uses his third costume (which resembles Dixie Kong), unlike other false characters which have their neutral colors.
• In the Subspace Emissary, the peanut shells fired from the Peanut Popgun do not release edible peanuts upon breaking open unless the player shoots the peanuts at jet bursts of flame.
• Diddy Kong, King Dedede, Ness, Mario and R.O.B. are the only characters to wear their default costumes when on the red team in Team Battles.
• Diddy Kong's voice borrows some sound clips from the Ukiki in Super Mario 64.
• Diddy Kong, Samus, Fox, Pikachu and Lucas are the only characters in the Subspace Emissary to fight more than 2 bosses (excluding boss re-creations in the Great Maze). Diddy Kong can be chosen to fight Rayquaza at The Lake, Meta Ridley at The Subspace Bomb Factory (Part II), and Tabuu in the final battle at Tabuu's Residence.

External links

• Diddy Kong's page at Smash Bros DOJO!!
• Diddy Kong Character Guide on SWF
• Diddy Kong's hitbox size of each of his moves
• Diddy Kong's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by CrappyCaptureDevice (main video) (addendum)