Diddy Kong (SSBU)

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Diddy Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Hyper Rocketbarrel

“	Donkey Kong's trusty partner Diddy Kong uses his light weight and agility to get around quickly! For his Final Smash, Diddy takes to the air with his Rocketbarrel while firing his popguns. The final hit is seriously powerful!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Diddy Kong (ディディーコング, Diddy Kong) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, officially confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Unlike his previous appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, Diddy Kong is now an unlockable character instead of a starter character. Diddy Kong is classified as fighter #36.

Diddy Kong's voice is once again comprised of his realistic chimpanzee screeches that were used in both Brawl and Smash 4.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with Diddy Kong being the 37th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the seventh character unlocked after Greninja.
• Have Diddy Kong join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, Diddy Kong must then be defeated on Kongo Falls.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Having been the most notorious top tier in early Super Smash Bros. 4 and remaining a dominant top-tier character throughout the game's lifespan, Diddy Kong was nerfed from his SSB4 iteration. His Monkey Flip most notably travels a shorter distance which worsens his overall movement and neutral. Banana also has more startup lag making it harder for him to instantly hold bananas when he pulls one out. Down tilt was also nerfed which prevents Diddy from being able to combo into up smash and combo off of the move reliably. His grab game was also toned down as his grab has more startup and endlag and his combo throws have either more endlag or more knockback which significantly hinders their combo potential. His up special also travels a shorter distance which nerfs his recovery as well as his weight being lowered.

He did get some small buffs however. Diddy's already impressive mobility was improved as his initial dash, run speed, walk speed, and airspeed are significantly better. Diddy also slightly benefits from the game's mechanics as his aerials have less ending lag (Although Up Air has a worse hitbox).

Diddy Kong's nerfs seem to outweigh his buffs, making him worse than his iteration in Smash 4, but to what extent is currently unknown due to his below-average results in Ultimate's Early Metagame. ZeRo only uses him as a counterpick and MVD, Zinoto and Nietono have dropped him in favor of other characters.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from SSB4, Diddy Kong's model features a more subdued color scheme. Like Donkey Kong, his fur is less detailed than the previous installment.
• Diddy Kong is more expressive. His hat also appears to be "looser" around his head, popping off slightly while performing many actions.
• Diddy Kong now faces more towards the screen. As a result, his stance, moveset, and animations are now mirrored.
• Up taunt has an altered ending animation. Diddy Kong now fixes his hat as it lands crooked on his head.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Diddy Kong's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 4).
• Diddy Kong runs faster (1.824 → 2.006).
  • Diddy Kong's initial dash is significantly faster (1.7 → 2.09).
• Diddy Kong walks faster (1.25 → 1.313).
• Diddy Kong's air speed is higher (0.88 → 0.924).
• Diddy Kong is lighter (93 → 90). This makes him less susceptible to combos at the expense of worse endurance.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral attack no longer has a multi-jab and instead finishes with a quick side kick. This makes the move much more consistent.
    • The loss of the multi-jab hurts its overall damage potential.
  • The first hit can now be held for a consecutive jab.
  • The third hit of neutral attack has less startup (frame 9 → 5).
• Forward tilt
  • Forward tilt deals less knockback, diminishing its KO potential.
• Up tilt
  • Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 33 → 30).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has greater knockback, reducing its combo potential at higher percents while still failing to KO at realistic percentages.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 43).
  • Since opponents can no longer run each other, dash attack can no longer accidentally whiff at extremely close ranges.
• Down smash has more startup lag (5 → 8).
• Down smash hit 1 deals more knockback.

Aerial Attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag.
• Forward aerial has an altered animation where Diddy Kong does not spin as much.
• Up aerial has less range in front of Diddy Kong.
• Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 39 → 37)

Throws/other attacks

• Diddy Kong now uses one hand to grab instead of both.
• Diddy Kong now has a surprised/shocked expression if he misses his grab.
• Pummel has a altered animation. Diddy Kong no longer hops off the ground while pummeling.
• Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1%).
  • Standing grab has increased startup (frame 6 → 7).
  • Standing grab and dash grab have increased ending lag.
  • Up Throw has more ending lag, and slightly more knockback, which reduces its combo potential.

Special Moves

• Peanut Popgun:
  • Diddy Kong's animation for Peanut Popgun is now mirrored, and can now fire with both his left and right hand.
  • Peanut Popgun has less startup (17 → 15)
• Monkey Flip:
  • Monkey Flip travels a shorter distance.
  • Monkey Flip's attack throw has significantly more knockback growth, now being capable of KOing at reasonable percents onstage.
  • If Diddy successfully lands Monkey Flip on his opponent, he starts to scratch his opponent instead of just latching onto his opponent.
• Rocketbarrel Boost:
  • Rocketbarrel Boost's recovery appears to be shortened.
• Banana Peel:
  • Banana Peel has a snappier animation.
  • Diddy Kong appears to throw the Banana Peel much higher than before.
  • If the Banana Peel is thrown at an opponent once with the respective peel, it no longer disappears until thrown at again, allowing Diddy Kong to quickly pick it up again and reuse it. However, this also means his opponents can do the same when it is out.
• Final Smash:
  • Hyper Rocketbarrel, Diddy Kong's new Final Smash, functions differently from Rocketbarrel Barrage. Diddy Kong now flies through the stage in an erratic fashion to punch his trapped opponents. The final hit is where Diddy Kong does a delayed, aimed punch, dealing heavy knockback. Diddy Kong then lands and deactivates his Rocketbarrel Pack at the spot where he first used the move.

Update history

2.0.0

• Neutral air autocancels earlier. It is now early enough to buffer short hop and fastfall with no landing lag.

Classic Mode: Hey, Little Buddy!

In Diddy Kong's path, he serves as the "little buddy" to the hero of various Nintendo franchises and fights the respective villains or final bosses. In the penultimate stage he finally teams up with his true partner, Donkey Kong, to defeat their nemesis King K. Rool. Donkey Kong is also Diddy Kong's partner for the final fight against Master Hand and Crazy Hand. The title originated from the manual of Donkey Kong Country and was popularized by the Donkey Kong Country TV series; Diddy Kong is also referred to as Donkey Kong's "little buddy" in games such as Brawl and Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Bowser and Bowser Jr.	Princess Peach's Castle	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3	Mario is a CPU ally.
2	Meta Ridley and Dark Samus	Norfair	Nemesis Ridley	Zero Suit Samus is a CPU ally.
3	Ganondorf	Unova Pokémon League	Death Mountain	Zelda is a CPU ally.
4	Mewtwo	Spear Pillar	Battle! (Dialga/Palkia) / Spear Pillar	Pokémon Trainer is a CPU ally.
5	King Dedede and Meta Knight	Fountain of Dreams	King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)	Kirby is a CPU ally.
6	King K. Rool	Jungle Japes	King K. Rool / Ship Deck 2	Donkey Kong is a CPU ally.
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand and Crazy Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand / Crazy Hand	Donkey Kong is a CPU ally.

Role in World of Light

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

Diddy Kong was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed its beams of light. He attempted to fly away with Rosalina & Luma using his activated Rocketbarrel Pack, but a beam of light hit him and he was vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding Kirby.

To find Diddy Kong, the player must access the Kongo Jungle sub-area reminiscent of the first Donkey Kong Coutry game, where he's found right at the end.

Spirits

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

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  135. Diddy Kong

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Diddy Kong's fighter card.

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  Diddy Kong taunting on Kongo Falls.

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  Striking Kirby with Monkey Flip on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Grabbing towards Ness on Moray Towers.

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  Charging his Peanut Popgun on Saffron City.

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  The Peanut Popgun exploding on Spear Pillar.

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  Tossing a Banana Peel on Great Bay.

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  Taunting with Donkey Kong on Distant Planet.

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  With D.K. on Great Bay.

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  Wall clinging onto Alolan Exeggutor with Bayonetta on Big Blue.

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  Diddy Kong and Lucas being attacked by Marshadow on the Bridge of Eldin.

Trivia

• Diddy Kong's blog mentions his Final Smash utilizing his popguns. However, his new Final Smash, Hyper Rocketbarrel, no longer utilizes the popguns he wielded like in Rocketbarrel Barrage.