Diddy Kong (SSBB)

Diddy Kong in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Diddy Kong
Universe	Donkey Kong
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Rocketbarrel Barrage
Tier	A (2)

Diddy Kong (Japanese: ディディーコング, Dīdī Kongu) 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 2nd on the tier list (the highest-ranked of any Mario character including sub-series characters). This is, of course, thanks to his solid Bananas which can penetrate even the tightest defenses. Another main reason why Diddy Kong is 2nd on the tier list is due to being one of Meta Knight's worst matchups (having an even matchup with him), making Diddy Kong very successful in tourney play due to Meta Knight being a massive part of the Brawl metagame. He also handles his trusty Peanut Popgun and recovers when his Rocketbarrel Boost bursts upward in an explosive climax. Additionally, he has many quick attacks, good agility, a solid down aerial meteor smash, good grab range, powerful throws for his size, and an impressive number of tournament wins.

Attributes

Diddy Kong is a quick, 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 killing power is low due to his few killers and a general weakness in his smashes, which stales very quickly if he uses them too much for racking damage. This forces a reliance on meteor smashes for early kills.

Diddy also has two projectiles- his Peanut Popgun and banana peels. Banana peels in particular hinder the foe's manoeuvrability and also create a glide toss option. His Banana Peels are great with his moveset, allowing him to get lots of true combos to rack damage quickly in compensation of his low KO power because it makes the opponent trip. He can also use his Banana Peels to interrupt certain chain grabs, such as King Dedede's, as well as some grab releases. On the down side, his Banana Peels can be used by other characters and can be reflected. This usually helps those with poor range (e.g.: Wario) as a projectile on himself and eliminates the invulnerability to trip with them if someone gets it or reflects while Diddy throws it.

Diddy has a good aerial game, including a good down aerial meteor smash and the meteor smash Rocketbarrel Boost provides if the opponent is below the barrels. Most of Diddy's ground moves string together well, with his dash attack having minimal lag and large grab range (complimented by powerful throws) to complement his ground prowess. Diddy's recovery is also good, though it's fairly easy to edge guard it, including the Monkey Flip, which can sometimes function as a fourth jump to compensate his poor horizontal air speed. Also, the extended foot on the Monkey Flip is read by the game as a disjointed hitbox, but he can't use Rocketbarrel Boost if he decides to use the attack instead of the grab, although he can still jump. The large area covered by Rocketbarrel Boost when fully charged rivals the recoveries of Pit and R.O.B., although it leaves him very vulnerable to gimping while charging and is easily intercepted during the moving and if Diddy hits a wall while using the Rocketbarrel Boost, he suffers damage and hitstun. Diddy is also able to perform a sacrificial "Diddycide" KO, though it's situational.

Diddy is the only character that can perform a Barrel jump. He can live if he is close to the stage but if he gets hit during up special from a distance, he will probably get KO'd. He is also vulnerable to Counter-Picking because though he is great in neutrals, he suffers from many stages where his Banana game is less effective, forcing him to win the first match of the set against some characters to get the chance of winning the set.

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.			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. Fills in combos.	Hit 1	Hand	Template:DamageWhenCharged	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		Template:DamageWhenCharged		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		Template:DamageWhenCharged	*	6	7	40	72	0
			Hit 2		Template:DamageWhenCharged		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.	Hit 1	Hand	Template:DamageWhenCharged	90	12	13	0	100	28
				Elbow		60					35
				Shoulder		30					42
				Body							50
			Hit 2	Hand	Template:DamageWhenCharged	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.	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.			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.			11%	42	11		69	55	0
Back throw	Rear Toss	Tosses opponent backward.			10%	38	9		66	55	0
Up throw	Vertical Kick	Throws opponent up and kicks them. Can be comboed with Rocketbarrel Boost.	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.			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. 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.	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.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in 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 the forest to a 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.

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, 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.

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

Costume gallery

File:Alt-diddy.jpg

Diddy Kong's costume changes

Trivia

• Diddy Kong is the only character who uses a Final Smash in the Subspace Emissary (when he attacks the skiff carrying DK'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.

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)