Donkey Kong (PM)

Donkey Kong in Project M and Project+
Universe	Donkey Kong
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Donkey Kong (SSBM)
Alternate costume	Punch-Out!! Outfit, Turbo Charge Donkey Kong (Project+)

Donkey Kong is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. In Project M, Donkey Kong was remade as a buffed version of his Melee counterpart.

Donkey Kong is currently ranked 11th out of 41 on the official tier list, placing him in the higher half of the A- tier. This position is significantly higher than his Melee and Brawl placements, where he was 16th out of 26 and 21st out of 38, respectively. In the official Project+ tier list, Donkey Kong ranks 15th in the A tier, a slight drop from his Project M placement but nevertheless a noticeable improvement over his Melee and Brawl counterparts.

Attributes

Donkey Kong falls under the generic super heavyweight archetype, boasting slow but powerful attacks. What sets Donkey Kong apart is his surprisingly fast dashing speed, a fast falling speed (making him one of the only two fast-fallers to be heavyweight, alongside Captain Falcon), an average air speed, and decent attack reach. As a result of his weight (he is the second heaviest, being second only to Bowser) and falling speed, Donkey Kong inherits the second best horizontal and third best vertical endurance, losing only to Bowser horizontally and Captain Falcon and Wolf vertically. Donkey Kong has a unique throw that allows him to carry opponents on his back. He is able to walk in either direction, jump, and throw in any direction while he has an opponent in cargo. The up throw out of cargo is notorious for setting up both combos and KOs, especially on fast-fallers. Donkey Kong has many moves with decent range like his back air and his Hand Slap, the latter of which is great at tech chasing, as it can cover multiple options at once. With his heavy damage and knockback-dealing moves and his aerial and grab combos, Donkey Kong does not have much trouble setting up a hit with his forward aerial, his Giant Punch, or any of his other powerful finishers.

Donkey Kong is one of the strongest fighters in the game, possessing a myriad of reliable and powerful finishers in his repertoire. His unusually fast mobility, combined with his power, allows him to execute devastating combos. Donkey Kong's aerial game is above average, as his array of aerial attacks have great utility and strength. His forward and down aerials send his opponents downwards, with the latter being a strong meteor smash (especially with his foot) and the former being a powerful spike with the late hitbox. He also has incredibly deadly options out of shield.

However, Donkey Kong suffers from approach issues. A combination of a long jump squat and an above average traction gives him a slow and short wavedash. Additionally, while his high weight and falling speed make him difficult to KO off the stage horizontally and vertically, said factors also make him easy to combo, an issue compounded by his large size. Additionally, while Donkey Kong has an above-average horizontal recovery in Spinning Kong, the move is among the worst in terms of vertical distance. Donkey Kong's greatest weakness, however, may be his lack of means to combat projectiles. As a large target, Donkey Kong is forced to play aggressively against projectile users, who may have the ability to punish Donkey Kong if he gets close.

Changes from Melee to PM

Aesthetics

• Most of Donkey Kong's attacks involving his arms or head have new hit SFX.

Attributes

• Donkey Kong dashes slightly faster (1.6 → 1.8), now running as fast as Marth, Pikachu, and Sheik.
• Most attacks retain their Arm Intangibility from Brawl.
• Most arm bases attacks have had their hitboxes adjusted to cover his whole arm, where as in Melee most of the said hitboxes failed to do so, this greatly improves Donkey Kong's overall range and spacing capabilities.

Ground attacks

• Jab 1 has more base knockback (0 → 1).
• Jab 1 has less start-up (Frame 5 → 3).
• Up tilt has less ending lag (IASA 40 → 36).
• Down tilt deals more damage (7% → 9%) and has higher knockback (10 (base)/80 (growth) → 25/95).
• Forward smash's sweetspot has slightly more base knockback (22 → 30).
• Up smash has slightly more knockback growth (93 → 98).
• Dash attack has been changed. It is now a roll similar to that of the Donkey Kong Country series. It acts much like the original one, but has light armor and can roll off edges and platforms similar to Kirby's Melee dash attack. Can be jumped out of in midair. The move has more utility overall than the old dash attack.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial has more range and has less startup (frame 10 → 7).
  • Neutral aerial's animation has been slightly altered where Donkey Kong stretches out his arms more, further improving it's range.
• Forward aerial comes out faster (frame 25 → 22) and has more KO potential, and its late hitbox now spikes opponents instead of meteor smashes, meaning it cannot be meteor canceled anymore.
• Up aerial has a longer duration (3 frames → 4).
• Down aerial's ending lag has been shortened.

Grabs and throws

• Back throw's knockback has increased, making it a reliable KO move against light characters.

Special moves

• Hand Slap now has much wider grounded hitboxes that ground-bounce the opponent and only slaps the ground twice per button press (making it optionally much shorter); it functions well for shield pressure and tech-chasing.
• Giant Punch no longer causes DK to become helpless if used while airborne.
• Headbutt no longer meteor smashes, as it now spikes opponents, thus improving his edgeguarding potential.

Revisions

v2.1

• Donkey Kong's cargo drop from platforms glitch has been fixed
• Fixed Donkey Kong's dash attack grabbing the edge bug
• Donkey Kong is now be able to Fastfall his dash attack when it goes offstage
• Donkey Kong's Up-Aerial received an animation adjustment

v2.5b

• Donkey Kong's Dash and Run slightly increased in speed
• Donkey Kong's Jab 1 comes out faster and links better into Jab 2
• Donkey Kong's Jab 2 hitbox sends at a higher trajectory than previously
• Donkey Kong's Neutral-Air has better coverage and comes out slightly sooner
• Donkey Kong's Cargo hold mashing formula adjusted, and it is no longer possible to break out by holding up or down on the control stick
• Donkey Kong's Up-B can now be reversed on the ground during startup
• Donkey Kong's Forward-Air reduced slightly in damage and knockback, and a misplaced hitbox was moved from his body to his arm
• Donkey Kong's Down-B knockback has been adjusted, extra shield damage removed, and is slightly less safe on block
• Donkey Kong's hurtboxes adjusted
• Donkey Kong's Forward-Air spike sends slightly outward like other spikes do to be outside meteor trajectory range
• Donkey Kong's Down-Air leg hitbox position adjusted
• Donkey Kong's Up-B multihits hit at the same times as they did in Melee

v2.6b

• Back-Aerial's sweetspot damage increased slightly. Duration on weaker hit increased slightly
• Cargo Hold is now fastfallable
• Fixed an issue with dropping through a platform while Cargo Holding an item
• Forward-Aerial damage and knockback reduced slightly
• Dash-Grab distance reduced significantly. Grab boxes adjusted to better match animation
• Pivot Grab range reduced slightly
• Neutral-B shoulder hit damage/knockback decreased significantly
• Down-B range reduced significantly, graphical effects adjusted to match. Damage reduced slightly, knockback mostly compensated. Outer hitboxes send very slightly inward instead of straight up
• Neutral-B graphical effect visible at the appropriate time
• Dash Attack duration reduced slightly. Strong hit damage increased slightly. Armor changed from 6/3% damage to Light Armor throughout. Grounded version can now be Jump Canceled a few frames after the hitbox terminates

v3.0

• Jab1 links more reliably into Jab2
• Grounded Dash Attack Jump-Cancel removed
• Neutral-Air bone invincibility duration reduced significantly
• Dash Attack (ground & air) sweet/sourspot roles reversed from previously. Sweetspot now sends upward and has slightly less duration, sourspot sends outward
• Up-B travels less horizontal distance, but gains more height. SDI multipliers on grounded multi-hits reduced to be normalized

v3.5

• All aerials except down aerial are weaker, having reduced damage and knockback.
• Can no longer jump cancel when using a grounded dash attack.
• Arm invincibility in Giant Punch changed to intangibility to remove hitlag when interacted with an opponent's attack.
• Arm invincibility in grounded Spinning Kong changed to intangibility to remove hitlag when interacted with an opponent's attack.
• Wavedashing ability significantly improved.

v3.6

Beta

• White costume's tie is made blue as a reference to Super Kong in Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Full

• Headbutt's angle for both grounded and aerial changed from 290 and 315, respectively, to 300.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	Donkey Kong performs a quick cross punch followed by an uppercut.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		12%	Donkey Kong quickly swats nearby foes with his outstretched hand. Donkey Kong's extended arm is intangible while the hitboxes are out, allowing it to be used safely against most other attacks. This move can be aimed up or down.
	→		11%
	↘		10%
Up tilt			9% (hand), 10% (arm), 11% (shoulder)	Donkey Kong quickly swipes his hand in the air. Fast with a good arch range. Again, DK's arm cannot be injured while the hitboxes are out.
Down tilt		Slouch Slap	9%	Donkey Kong does a quick swat across the ground.
Dash attack			10% (clean), 7% (late)	Donkey Kong performs a rolling attack similar to that of the Donkey Kong Country series. This move has light armor and can roll off edges and platforms.
Forward smash			18%-19% (body), 20% (hands), 21% (arms)	Donkey Kong performs a very forceful clap with both hands.
Up smash			18% (hands), 16% (body)	Donkey Kong claps both his hands above his head. This move has great vertical reach, but will fail to hit a nearby enemy due to its poor horizontal range. One of the strongest up smashes in the game. Both of DK's arms and his head are intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Down smash			16% (close), 17% (far)	Donkey Kong performs a double back-handed punch by bringing both his closed fists down 90° at both sides. Both of DK's arms are intangible while the hitboxes are out.
Neutral aerial			14% (clean), 10% (late)	Donkey Kong quickly spins with his arms extended.
Forward aerial			17%	Donkey Kong puts his fists together above his head, and then does a powerful ax-handle smash. This move sends enemies downwards the moment Donkey Kong swings his arms in front of his face. However, unlike in Melee, this move is now a spike rather than a meteor smash, meaning it can no longer be meteor-canceled.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 9% (late)	Donkey Kong performs a quick kick directed behind him that lingers briefly.
Up aerial			14%	Donkey Kong performs a quick headbutt upwards. A great juggling move.
Down aerial			16% (foot), 13% (body)	Donkey Kong performs a downward stomp whilst holding his arms up in a macho pose. Serves as a meteor smash should it hit.
Grab			—
Pummel			3%	A fairly quick slap.
Forward throw		Kong Karry	6% (breakout), 9% (forward & back throw), 7% (up throw), 6% (down throw)	Donkey Kong cradles the opponent on his back, allowing him to move and jump around while still holding the victim. Then, he can perform any of the following throws listed below. Forward: Tosses the opponent forward. Back: Tosses the opponent behind him. Up: Tosses the opponent upwards. Can chain grab fastfallers. Down: Tosses the opponent forward like a bowling ball.
Back throw			11%	Donkey Kong swings his arm back and throws the opponent.
Up throw			9%	Donkey Kong throws the opponent upwards.
Down throw			7%	Donkey Kong slams the opponent onto the ground with his hand.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Donkey Kong gets up and swats both sides of himself.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Donkey Kong gets up and claps once both sides of himself.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Gets up and does a wind-up spin around the floor.
Edge attack (fast)			8%	Donkey Kong throws his rear at the opponent.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Donkey Kong slowly climbs onto the stage and swats forward.
Neutral special		Giant Punch	12%/10% (uncharged), +2% per windup, 28%/30% (fully charged ground), 25%/27% (fully charged air)	Donkey Kong winds up and thrusts out his arm as a potentially powerful attack. The attack is at fully charged after eleven windups and gains invincibility frames right before he unleashes the punch. The attack itself has good range and decent speed.
Side special		Headbutt	8% (bury), 10% (grounded), 14% (aerial)	Donkey Kong slams his head downward. When performed on a grounded opponent, they will be buried and will remain submerged the more damage they have taken. Like with his forward air, this attack was changed from a meteor to a spike (270° to 300°).
Up special		Spinning Kong	Ground: 12% (startup), 8% (loop early), 3% (loop late) Air: 10% (startup), 4-5% (loop early), 2% (loop late)	Donkey Kong spins in the air, getting great horizontal distance, but little distance vertically. Donkey Kong gains invincibility frames during the startup of this move.
Down special		Hand Slap	12%	Donkey Kong repeatedly slaps his hands against the ground, causing earth-shaking vibrations in the process. This attack gives him some protection from opponents while grounded due to its good range but cannot hit airborne opponents. This move cannot be used in the air.
Final Smash		Konga Beat	Varies	Donkey Kong takes out a pair of bongos and begin to play them to the beat of "DK Island Swing", sending out shock-waves in the process. The attacks range and power is determined by the player's input. The player must push the attack button in succession with the song's beat in order have the greater range and power.

In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Donkey Kong players (PM)

•  ThundeRzReiGN - One of the best players in the world, and the best Donkey Kong main in the world. Formerly ranked 1st on PMRank 2016 and PMRank 2017.
•  Nogh - Considered the best active Donkey Kong. Ranked 5th on PMRank 2022.
•  King Koney - Ranked 6th on the Connecticut Project M Power Rankings. Placed 17th at Blacklisted 3 and 49th at The Bigger Balc.
•  Sora - One of the best Australian Project M players. Ranked 2nd on the Australian Project M Power Rankings.
•  Stango - Fox, ZSS and DK tri-main ranked #4 on PMRank 2022.

Alternate costumes

Project M

Donkey Kong has an alternate costume based on his secret boss fight in the Wii version of Punch-Out!! The costume has no gameplay effects. It also has green and blue recolors so that it can be used in Team Battles. The green color on Donkey Kong third Punch Out!! outfit is based on Little Mac and his default white recolor, however, has its necktie changed from red to blue, in reference to Super Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Donkey Kong's alternate costumes in PM

Project+

Donkey Kong received an updated Boxer costume with battle damage. Bandages will appear as he takes more damage. The pink Boxer costume is based on the character Junior (II) from the NES game Donkey Kong Jr. Math. His new costume is Turbo Charge Donkey Kong from the Nintendo-exclusive releases of Skylanders: Superchargers and Skylanders: Imaginators. His Red Turbo Charge color coincidentally resembles Fire Donkey Kong, Dark Turbo Charge Donkey Kong is also included, and his pink Turbo Charge color resembles Giorno from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

Donkey Kong's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: Mini Donkey Kong: Based on the Mini Donkey Kong toys that first appeared in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis.

R-Secret Costume: Funky Kong: Based on Funky Kong, a surfer dude member of the Kong family with a similar build to Donkey Kong who first appeared in Donkey Kong Country. The costume is based on the character's redesign from DK: King of Swing, which itself is partly based on his appearance in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, minus the toolbelt and shoes.

Trivia

• Donkey Kong is one of the only two characters to be equipped with two spikes, alongside Roy, who coincidentally shares the same falling speed.

External links

• Donkey Kong's page at the Project M website
• Labbing Discord Tech Post