Donkey Kong (SSBU)

Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Jungle Rush

“	His charged punch is one of the strongest attacks in the game! In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, his Final Smash has been updated from Konga Beat to a flurry of punches!	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Donkey Kong is classified as fighter #02.

Donkey Kong retains his realistic gorilla grunts from Super Smash Bros. 4, although they are slightly less animalistic.

Attributes

As the third heaviest character in the game - shared with King Dedede - Donkey Kong is unsurprisingly a super heavyweight. However, he is also one of the fastest heavyweights in the game in terms of both movement and attack speed, to the point that he defies the typical heavyweight archetype. He has the 9th fastest walking speed and the 27th fastest dashing speed, above average falling speed and gravity, and the 16th fastest air speed, but below average air acceleration. His large size also gives his attacks great physical range.

As expected, Donkey Kong's greatest asset is his power. In typical heavyweight fashion, Donkey Kong has a plethora of reliable KOing options (sweetspotted up tilt, all of his smash attacks, his forward, back, up and down aerials, his back throw, Giant Punch, and grounded Spinning Kong) and high endurance thanks to his high weight and fast falling speed. However, his aforementioned mobility and frame data (almost all of his attacks are faster than any other super heavyweight) gives him an effective approach and makes it easier to land his attacks, further complemented by his large reach. Conversely, his moves that lack KO potential are effective for set-ups, thanks to their high speed, low knockback, and favorable launch angles. Thanks to these attributes, Donkey Kong can rack up damage and KO his opponents not only quickly, but safely, compared to most heavyweights. Donkey Kong also has the second best vertical and horizontal endurance in the game, being surpassed by only King Dedede vertically and Bowser and King K. Rool horizontally.

Donkey Kong's grounded moveset is very useful; his neutral attack can be jab canceled for follow-ups, and can jab lock, as well as being able to set up into grab, his forward tilt is great for spacing, as it has long range and is intangible, his up tilt is a decent combo starter at low percentages, and his down tilt has incredible speed and can trip opponents, making it ideal for starting or extending combos. All of his smash attacks pack incredible power and have very long ranges, while not being particularly slow either. To complement his ground game, Donkey Kong's aerial game is extremely effective. His forward and down aerials can meteor smash and can effectively finish off his combos or his opponents, thanks to their high power. His neutral aerial is very quick and can lead into follow-ups, or it can be used to give Donkey Kong some space. His up aerial launches opponents upwards, making it great for combos and KOing. His back aerial is long-ranged, has a long-lasting hitbox, and can be used to edge-guard opponents. The last three aerials can also auto-cancel in a short hop, further demonstrating their utility. Finally, Donkey Kong's fast air speed allows him to easily pursue opponents in the air.

In addition, the aforementioned combo abilities pair well with his grab game. Donkey Kong's grab range is the second largest non-tether grab in the game (being surpassed only by Greninja's), while his grabs are decently fast, making them very easy to land. His pummel is fairly fast, making it great for racking up damage. While his up and down throws are rarely used because of their limited utility, his forward and back throws make up for that. His back throw is the tenth strongest in the game, making it a viable KO option.

Donkey Kong's forward throw is an all-purpose throw, as well as an excellent damage racker. Using it will open up four different throws, commonly known as the "cargo throws". Cargo down throw is a semi-spike and is great for edge-guarding. Cargo back throw deals 12% and can KO at very high percentages near the upper blast line. His most notable throw, however, is his cargo up throw, which can lead into any aerial at lower percents. Since it connects directly into his powerful up aerial at most percentages, this combo can be used to KO opponents at specific percentages, and has since been nicknamed the "Ding Dong".

Donkey Kong's special moveset has a lot of utility. Giant Punch is a deadly KO move, and a fully charged one has super armor, making it difficult to interrupt. Headbutt can bury opponents, leaving them exposed to any move. It also does strong shield damage, threatening attempts to block the move. Hand Slap has very long range and allows for stage control, but since it is a quake move, it has no effect on aerial opponents when it is performed on the ground. However, an aerial Hand Slap is now capable of meteor smashing and is not only fairly easy to land, but it is an effective one as well.

Finally, Spinning Kong can be used as an out of shield option, thanks to its super armor and high damage output. As a recovery, it lets Donkey Kong move horizontally quickly and for a long time, giving him a very long horizontal recovery. Spinning Kong also retains its ability from Brawl to completely negate all momentum, against both horizontal and vertical knockback however, this is considered impractical and nearly impossible to utilize due to the changes to hitstun canceling.

Despite these advantages, Donkey Kong has noticeable flaws. His most notable flaw is his poor defensive game. Although his large size gives him high reach, it also makes him very easy to hit. While his out of shield game is strong, Donkey Kong's shield itself is rather poor, due to it being unusually small for a character of his size (like Ganondorf), making him heavily vulnerable to shield stabbing. His rolls and edge recovery options are also very slow. With all of this working against him, Donkey Kong is heavily vulnerable to combos and juggling, worsened by his lack of combo breakers (due to his polarizing aerials) and lack of good dodging options outside of aerial maneuvering.

Despite being very fast in terms of start-up, Donkey Kong's moveset is slow in regard to ending lag, making him susceptible to punishment without careful spacing. Finally, his vertical recovery is almost nonexistent, due to Spinning Kong's vertical distance being considerably low. This also makes it extremely difficult for him to survive even the weakest meteor smashes.

Overall, Donkey Kong is a potent character; with speed, power, range, endurance, and easy-to-use combos, there are very few matchups he cannot overcome. As a result, DK is, alongside Bowser and King Dedede, one of the most effective super heavyweights in the game. This, in turn, is reflected in his presence in the competitive scene, as he has average tournament representation and above average results, the latter of which has been thanks to the likes of HIKARU, Tweek, Konga and DKwill.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Donkey Kong received a mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition to Ultimate, but was generally nerfed overall.

One notable buff is that his Giant Punch no longer makes him helpless when used in air, giving him a new edgeguarding option, as well as improvements to his forward throw give him a lot more options out of a grab. Donkey Kong’s already insane KO power got buffed, as most of his moves do more knockback. Donkey Kong also benefits from the universal changes, as his already great mobility has improved from faster walking and dashing speeds. Donkey Kong also benefits from the universal 3-frame jumpsquat change, as it allows for more combo opportunities.

However Donkey Kong has also received some notable nerfs. Like Bowser, Donkey Kong's up-throw variant of his cargo up throw now has more knockback which, while having great kill potential, severely hampers DK's infamous "Ding Dong" kill confirm of cargo up throw to up aerial. This, along with the nerfs to rage, worsens Donkey Kong's ability to KO at earlier percents. To make matters worse for the nerf to Ding Dong, Donkey Kong is one of the characters who suffers the most from the universal nerfing of grabs. This means it’s much less safer to use a grab for combos, and Donkey Kong will need to find a way to be unpredictable with combos.

In the end, Donkey Kong's nerfs outweigh his buffs, making him fare worse than in Smash 4. It’s currently unknown how these changes will ultimately affect Donkey Kong. He was initially believed to be improved from already his good standing from SSB4, with Donkey Kong doing exceptionally well in tournaments during the first few weeks of Ultimate. This made many professionals believe that Donkey Kong is potentially a top 15-20 character. However, as Ultimate's metagame evolved, his tournament representation went down significantly to the point where his overall representation in tournaments is rather poor, unlike his strong representation in SSB4. Currently the general consensus is that he is a mid-tier character, according to some professionals like ZeRo and VoiD. However, a few professionals paint Donkey Kong as a low-tier character, such as ESAM and Mew2King, both of whom consider him a bottom 10 contender. Until further notice, Donkey Kong’s tier placement remains debatable.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from Smash 4, Donkey Kong's model features a more subdued color scheme. His fur is less detailed, and his facial proportions have been tweaked. His nose has also been updated to match its appearance in Mario Party 10 onwards.
• Donkey Kong now faces the foreground at an angle, instead of facing directly forward. In addition, most of his animations are now mirrored while some are slightly altered, such as his walk/dash animations.
• Like most of the returning roster, Donkey Kong has become much more expressive than in the previous games. For example, he now scowls when he charges his Giant Punch.
• Up taunt has a slightly altered animation.
• Donkey Kong now hangs onto the ledge with one hand instead of two.
• Donkey Kong's hand shaking victory pose has an altered animation. He now looks at the camera at the freeze frame and shakes his hands as opposed to his whole body afterwards.
• Donkey Kong's chest beating victory pose has been slightly altered. He now maintains an angrier expression.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Donkey Kong's jumpsquat animation now takes 3 frames to complete (down from 6).
• Donkey Kong is heavier (122 → 127). However, he is no longer the second heaviest character in the game (claimed by King K. Rool) but instead tied with King Dedede for the third heaviest.
• Donkey Kong walks slightly faster (1.3 → 1.365).
• Donkey Kong runs faster (1.7031 → 1.873).
  • Donkey Kong's initial dash speed is faster (1.6 → 2.09).
• Donkey Kong's air speed is slightly higher (1.15 → 1.208).
• Donkey Kong's traction is much higher (0.0529 → 0.123).
• Donkey Kong's gravity is slightly lower (0.08505 → 0.085).
• Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-16 → 4-15) and has more ending lag (FAF 30 → 31).
• Back roll has has more startup (frame 4 → 5) and ending lag (FAF 30 → 36).
• Spot dodge has less startup (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 29 → 27).
• Spot dodge grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 3-17).
• Air dodge grant more intangibility (frames 4-29 → 4-32).
• Air dodge has significantly more ending lag (FAF 35 → 49).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit transitions into the second hit faster (frame 11 → 8).
  • The second hit comes out faster (frame 6 → 4), which alongside the previous change allows it to connect better from the first hit.
    • However, its total duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
  • Both hits have a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.5× (hit 1), 1.8× (hit 2)), giving opponents more time to SDI the first hit and DI the second hit.
  • The first hit deals less knockback (0/35/45 base/100/25/25 scaling → 25/20/20 base/35/20/20 scaling) and its outermost hitbox launches opponents closer to Donkey Kong (110° → 180°), allowing it to connect better, but hindering its jab cancel setups.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has less startup (frame 8 → 6) and ending lag (FAF 38 → 35).
  • Its hitboxes are larger (4.5u/5u/3.2u → 5.5u/5u/3.5u).
  • It deals less damage when angled up (11% → 9%) and not angled (10% → 8%).
  • It grants much less intangibility on Donkey Kong's arm (frames 7-11 (up), 1-25 (forward, down) → 6-9 (all)), being in line with the duration of the hitboxes.
  • For all angles, forward tilt has higher base knockback (10 → 50), but lower knockback scaling (100 → 55). This makes it safer on hit at low percents, but hinders its KO potential.
    • Due to its higher base knockback, downward angled forward tilt can no longer cause tripping.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt deals less damage (11%/10%/9% → 10%/9%/8%) without compensation on knockback, hindering its KO potential.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt has less startup lag (frame 7 → 6).
  • It has more ending lag (FAF 23 → 25).
  • It grants much less intangibility on Donkey Kong's arm (frames 1-9 → 5-7), being more in line with the duration of the hitboxes.
  • The hitboxes on Donkey Kong's arm deal less damage (7% → 6%) without compensation on knockback. However, this allows them to trip opponents for longer.
  • It has a higher hitlag multiplier (1× → 1.25×).
  • Its animation has been altered.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 42 → 35).
  • It deals more damage (10% → 12% (clean), 8% → 9% (late)), with knockback scaling compensated (53 → 46 (clean), 65 → 60 (late)).
  • Its hitboxes are larger (6u → 7u (clean), 4u → 5.5u (late)).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash deals more damage (20%/19% → 22%/21%), with knockback partly compensated (30/25 base/91 scaling → 21/18 base/88/86 scaling).
  • Its animation has been altered.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash deals more damage (18% → 19%) and has increased knockback (30 base/83 scaling → 40/84) improving its KO potential.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (17 frames → 11 (neutral), 29 → 17 (forward), 18 → 11 (back), 25 → 15 (up), 24 → 14 (down)).
• The removal of teching for grounded meteor smashes improves the combo potential of Donkey Kong's forward and down aerials onstage, compounded further by their reduced landing lag.
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial's hitboxes are larger (5u/4u → 5.5u/4.5u).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's late hit lasts one frame longer (frames 21-22 → 21-23), allowing it to reach farther below Donkey Kong.
  • It has a slightly altered animation, with Donkey Kong spinning at an angle after performing a downwards punch.
  • Forward aerial autocancels earlier (frame 63 → 56), matching the move's interruptibility.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial grants less intangibility on Donkey Kong's head (frames 1-10 → 5-10), being more in line with the duration of the hitboxes.

Throws and other attacks

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have increased ending lag (FAF 31 → 39 (standing), 39 → 47 (dash), 37 → 42 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have slightly more startup lag (frame 10 → 11 (dash), 11 → 12 (pivot)).
  • Dash and pivot grab have less range (Z2 offset: 17 → 15.9 (dash), -24.5 → -21.5 (pivot)).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals less damage (2.1% → 1.6%).
  • It has much less startup (frame 9 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 16 → 8), but deals considerably more hitlag (4 frames → 15), increasing its effective duration.
    • Relative to the rest of the cast, Donkey Kong's pummel is among the slowest but most damaging, rather than average on both accounts.
  • Its animation has been slightly changed. Donkey Kong chops the opponent's body rather than their head.
• Donkey Kong's throws are no longer weight-dependent. This improves their combo potential on heavyweights, but reduces it on lightweights.
• Forward throw (cargo throw):
  • Cargo throw involves Donkey Kong hauling the opponent over his shoulder, similar to his appearance in the arcade Donkey Kong game. It also more closely resembles his carrying animation from Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
  • Cargo forward throw deals more damage (10% → 12%) without proper compensation on knockback (80 base/50 scaling → 90/46), improving its KO potential.
  • Cargo back throw deals more damage (12% → 13%) and knockback (70 base/50 scaling → 85/52), allowing it to KO middleweights under 175% from the ground.
  • Cargo back throw has a new animation: Donkey Kong holds the opponent with both hands by the legs and hurls them behind himself.
  • Cargo up throw deals more damage (10% → 12%) and knockback (58 base/52 scaling → 65/53), allowing it to KO middleweights under 200% from the ground. It also has increased combo potential at low to mid percents when used on the ground, due to Donkey Kong's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
    • Its increased knockback noticeably worsens its combo potential, especially into up aerial, no longer leading into guaranteed KOs off the top blast line except if initiated on platforms.
  • Cargo down throw has a new animation: Donkey Kong performs a bearhug instead of throwing the opponent downward.
  • Cargo down throw deals more damage (7% → 11%).
    • It grants Donkey Kong a slight boost upwards if used in the air, increasing its offstage utility.
    • It has altered knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 70/45), removing its ability to chain grab opponents on moving platforms (such as Smashville's) or against walls, while still lacking KO ability at realistic percents.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw releases the opponent earlier (frame 24 → 19), with its total duration reduced as well (FAF 60 → 55), making it harder to DI in time.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (8% → 10%).

Special moves

• Giant Punch:
  • Giant Punch has less lag when charge-canceled by shielding (8 frames → 4), making it safer to charge. It can also be charge-canceled by jumping or spot dodging, with the same amount of lag beforehand.
    • However, this lag applies to rolls out of the move as well, instead of them being immediate, making it riskier to charge-cancel by rolling.
  • The move reaches its full charge faster (154 frames → 131).
  • It no longer causes helplessness when used in the air, much like in Smash 64.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch deals slightly more knockback that is consistent throughout (10 base/80/50 scaling → 20/78).
  • It no longer has a hitbox on frame 18 that hits behind Donkey Kong.
  • Uncharged Giant Punch deals less knockback (15 base/100 scaling → 45/70).
  • Donkey Kong charges Giant Punch with either arm due to his mirrored stance. Previously, it was charged with his right arm in Smash 64 and his left arm in the other games.
  • Donkey Kong charges up Giant Punch with more circular arm motions. Additionally, his expression slowly gets angrier as he charges (including maintaining the expression throughout other animations after its charge), and he has an altered pose upon using the punch.
  • Trails of electricity appear on Donkey Kong's arm and fist during the charge up and punch of the move, reminiscent of Lightning Punch, one of Donkey Kong's custom moves in SSB4.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
• Headbutt:
  • Headbutt has super armor on frames 5-14.
  • It has one frame less ending lag (FAF 64 → 63).
• Spinning Kong:
  • Spinning Kong's loop hits connect more reliably, especially for the aerial version. The grounded version's loop hits hold the opponent in place rather than knocking them back and fourth.
  • The move has less landing lag (40 frames → 38).
  • The aerial version has a final hit that launches opponents away with more knockback (0 base/100 scaling → 72/80), improving its utility.
  • The grounded version has more ending lag (FAF 93 → 105).
  • Both versions of the move deal less total damage, most significantly the aerial version (17.5% → 16% (grounded), 36% → 19% (aerial)). The grounded version deals more damage on its loop hits (1.3% → 1.4%), but less on the first hit (7% → 5%), and the aerial version has 14 hits instead of 8, but they deal drastically less damage (10% (hit 1), 5%/4% (hits 2-5), 2% (hits 6-8) → 5% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-13), 2% (hit 14)) and have inconsistent timing, only dealing full damage to opponents that are very close to Donkey Kong.
  • The aerial version no longer grants intangibility on frames 3-6 upon startup.
  • Donkey Kong glints and strikes a pose upon ending a grounded Spinning Kong, doing another spin before coming to a full stop.
  • The aerial version travels a shorter distance horizontally, but also goes slightly higher overall.
  • The aerial version has a shorter duration due to its animation being sped up (94 frames → 54).
  • Unlike Grounded Spinning Kong, the aerial version no longer produces a visual "blue ring" effect upon startup.
• Hand Slap:
  • Grounded Hand Slap has less startup lag (frame 18 → 15).
  • Both the grounded and aerial versions have drastically less ending lag (FAF 75 → 58 (grounded), 62 → 50 (aerial)).
  • The aerial version has significantly less landing lag (30 frames → 10), greatly improving its ability to set up combos and tech-chases.
  • The grounded version's hitboxes are smaller (13u → 10.3u).
  • The grounded version has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 0.58×, thus dealing less shieldstun than in Smash 4 despite it being increased for moves other than smash attacks and aerials. This allows shielding opponents to escape between hits more easily, worsening the move's shield breaking ability.
• Final Smash:
  • Donkey Kong has a new Final Smash called Jungle Rush that comprises of a single punch that, if successfully landed, leads to a series of rapid punches that traps and launches the opponent. The move, alongside the comical bongo noises it produces, are based off Donkey Kong's attacks in Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.

Update History

Donkey Kong has been buffed in game updates, although mostly just for fixing inconsistencies like forward aerial not autocanceling properly, an issue that had been present since Melee, and Giant Punch missing opponents point blank due to the hitbox shifting in the Z-axis.

1.2.0

• Donkey Kong was affected in 1.2.0. However, the changes are currently unknown.

2.0.0

• Forward aerial autocancels earlier (frame 63 → 56), matching the move's interruptibility.

3.0.0

• Giant Punch has more range, no longer missing opponents up close.

3.1.0

• Giant Punch has longer super armor when using a fully charged punch.

4.0.0

• The lag upon waking up from the sleep effect has been adjusted, matching the rest of the cast.

Moveset

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	A hook followed by an uppercut.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		9%	A backhanded slap. Can be angled to deal more damage.
	→		8%
	↘		9%
Up tilt			10% (hand), 9% (arm), 8% (elbow)	An overhead arcing swipe. It deals more damage and knockback if the target is hit near DK's shoulder.
Down tilt		Slouch Slap	6%	A crouching swat. It has a chance to trip opponents.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 9% (late)	The Roll Attack, his signature attack from Donkey Kong Country. It deals less damage towards its end.
Forward smash			22% (hands), 21% (arms)	A lunging clap. It deals slightly less damage if it hits with Donkey Kong's arms.
Up smash			19%	An overhead clap.
Down smash			14% (arms), 17% (early, fists), 18% (late, fists)	Raises his arms overhead and then quickly swings them downward to perform forearm clubs.
Neutral aerial			11% (clean), 8% (late)	Quickly spins around to perform discus clotheslines with both arms, similarly to Spinning Kong.
Forward aerial			16% (clean), 15% (late, hands), 13% (late, arms)	A double axe handle. If sweetspotted, the opponent is meteor smashed. One of the strongest meteor smashes in the game, KOing at around 35%. It appears similar to his midair attack from Donkey Kong 64, which itself was inspired by this attack due to SSB debuting before Donkey Kong 64.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	A back kick.
Up aerial			13%	An upward headbutt.
Down aerial			16% (foot), 13% (leg)	A stomp. Its sweetspot is a strong meteor smash, while its sourspot, which is close to Donkey Kong's chest, deals diagonal knockback.
Grab			—	Reaches out.
Pummel			1.6%	A slap. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw		Kong Karry	12% (forward, up), 13% (back), 11% (down)	Hauls the opponent on his shoulder, allowing him to move and jump around while still holding the opponent. Appears to be based off of when DK holds an item in Donkey Kong Country, such as a Steel Keg. This gives him access to forward, back, up, and down throws that are distinct from his normal grabs. Forward: Launches foes away from DK at a high angle. Back: Heaves the opponent backward using both hands, launching them at a slightly higher trajectory. Up: Heaves the opponent upward. Down: A bear hug. When the opponent is too damaged to escape in time, all of these throws allow for easy stage spikes. Donkey Kong can simply walk off the edge, pull back and throw them against the underside. However, this carries significant risk, as the opponent can tech it and thus result in DK ending up too far below the edge to recover if his timing is off. Kong Karry has its own unique Grab mash frame equation, that being 163 + Ceiling[3.2 * Opponent's %] - 18 * N (valid inputs) - n (time held before cargo + previous mash before cargo). For the time held and the previous mash, the Ultimate grab equation would have to be used, which is 89 + Ceiling[1.7 * Opponent's %] - floor[14.4 or 8 (Button or Directional mashing) * N (valid inputs)] holding frames.
Back throw			11%	Flings the opponent backward. DK's most damaging throw, it KOs even the heaviest characters in the game below 170% near the edge without rage.
Up throw			9%	Heaves the opponent upward with one arm.
Down throw			7%	Shoves the opponent into the ground with one arm. It launches opponents horizontally in front of DK.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Performs a swat before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Claps behind himself and then in front of himself before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Throws a spinning, wind-up punch while getting up.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Performs a forearm club while climbing up.
Neutral special		Giant Punch	10% (uncharged), 28% (tenth wind-up/fully charged grounded), 25% (tenth wind-up/fully charged aerial)	A wind-up punch which fully charges after ten wind-ups. When fully-charged, the punch deals excellent damage, grants super armor, and is overall faster than if used uncharged. Its charge can charge canceled and saved, and chosen when to be released after being fully charged. DK will lose his midair jump if he uses the attack in the air.
Side special		Headbutt	10% (grounded/sweetspot aerial), 8% (sourspot aerial)	A headbutt. The move buries the opponent, who will remain submerged longer if the opponent has already dealt a fair amount of damage. The aerial version will meteor smash the opponent if they are hit by its sweetspot. The move has super armor from the startup until the hitbox appears. It has a deceptively large range and high shield damage, so full power shields will barely manage to avoid breaking against this move.
Up special		Spinning Kong	5% (grounded hit 1), 1.4% (grounded hits 2-6), 4% (grounded hit 7), 5% (aerial hit 1), 1% (aerial hits 2-13), 2% (aerial hit 14)	Rapidly spins around, trapping opponents and damaging them with a series of discus clotheslines and spinning backfists before launching them. Good horizontal distance, but very little vertical distance.
Down special		Hand Slap	14% (ground), 5% (midair hit 1), 6% (midair hit 2)	Slaps the ground to cause earth-shaking vibrations. When grounded, Donkey Kong can keep pounding by repeatedly pressing the special button. The attack gives him some protection from opponents while grounded and has good range, but is unable to KO until extreme percentages due to its very low knockback growth. In midair, Donkey Kong will perform two midair slaps, the second hit being a powerful meteor smash that combos from the first slap. Originates from Donkey Kong Country.
Final Smash		Jungle Rush	12% (initial hit), 1.2% (rapid hits), 14% (final hit), 61.9% (maximum)	Punches forward. If the initial hit connects, Donkey Kong will then perform a long series of rapid punches. Has about same range as his forward smash, but extremely powerful, KOing Mario as low as 24% on Final Destination.

On-screen appearance

Bursts out of a DK Barrel, rolls thrice, lands and strikes a flexing pose.

Taunts

• Up Taunt: Beats his chest rapidly while scowling.
• Side Taunt: Shakes himself as if he is drying off, with a humorous expression.
• Down Taunt: Faces the camera and shrugs, while making a humorously shocked expression.

• 

  Donkey Kong's up taunt.

• 

  Donkey Kong's side taunt.

• 

  Donkey Kong's down taunt.

Idle Poses

• Makes a cross-eyed expression, as if trying to stare at his own nose.
• Fist claps his hand, and makes a rotational shoulder stretch.

• 

  Donkey Kong's first idle pose

• 

  Donkey Kong's second idle pose

Victory poses

• Left: Does a backflip and flexes his arms (his "character chosen" animation in Super Smash Bros.).
• Up: Holds his hands above his head and shakes them (his animation upon completing a bonus game in Donkey Kong Country)
• Right: Angrily beats his chest then looks at the camera.

A cover of the short track that plays in Donkey Kong Country and subsequent games whenever a playable Kong defeated a boss or completed a bonus game.

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In competitive play

Notable players

Active

•  Galacticus - The best Donkey Kong player from Australia. Placed 5th at Battle Arena Melbourne 11, 5th at BigWinChampionship 2 and 9th at Phantom 2019
•  Konga - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the world. Placed 3rd at Don't Park on the Grass 2018 and 97th at EVO 2019. Currently ranked 3rd on the Washington Power Rankings.
•  Sou - The best Donkey Kong player in Mexico. Placed 9th at Ragnarok and 17th at Smash Factor 8.
•  YMCA - Currently the best active Donkey Kong player in the world. Placed 9th at SIEGE 2019 and 65th at EVO 2019.

Inactive

•  HIKARU - Uses Donkey Kong as a secondary and is considered one of the best Donkey Kong players in the world. Placed 3rd at Umebura SP 2, 9th at Umebura SP 3, 13th at Sumabato SP 2, and 17th at Umebura Japan Major 2019.
•  Tweek - Uses Donkey Kong as a secondary and is considered one of the best Donkey Kong players in the world. Placed 1st at Glitch 6 and Let's Make Moves while using him with his other characters.

Classic Mode: Journey to New Donk City

Donkey Kong's congratulations screen.

Donkey Kong's path chronicles Donkey Kong traveling from his home to New Donk City via plane. After defeating Diddy Kong, he becomes Donkey Kong's partner for the rest of the mode.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	Diddy Kong	Kongo Jungle	Jungle Level (64)
2	King K. Rool	Kongo Falls	Gang-Plank Galleon	Diddy Kong is a CPU ally.
3	Wario and Captain Falcon	Pilotwings	Gear Getaway
4	Ness and Lucas	Onett	The Map Page / Bonus Level (Remix)
5	Inklings	Moray Towers	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley
6	Mario and Luigi	New Donk City Hall	New Donk City
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	New Donk City Hall (Ω form)	Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)	Diddy Kong is a CPU ally. On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Donkey Kong has Donkey Kong Country Returns (Vocals) accompany the credits.

Note: Every stage until Round 6 plays a track from the Donkey Kong universe, no matter what universe the stage originates from.

Character unlock tree

Donkey Kong's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:

1. Bowser
2. Pokémon Trainer
3. Rosalina & Luma
4. King Dedede
5. Sheik
6. Greninja
7. Diddy Kong
8. Duck Hunt

Each character can be unlocked by clearing Donkey Kong's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Mario's character unlock tree, starting with Sonic.

Role in World of Light

Finding Donkey Kong in World of Light

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

During the opening cutscene, Donkey Kong was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed his beams of light. Galeem's light beams vaporized Donkey Kong offscreen, placing him under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding Kirby.

He can be rescued in a jungle segment of the Light Realm, on a space that looks like the treehouse where he lives on his series.

Fighter Battle

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
02		Donkey Kong	Grab	3,300	Kongo Jungle (Ω form)	Jungle Level (64)

Spirits

Donkey 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 Donkey Kong in World of Light allows the player to preview the first 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.

Additionally, Donkey Kong makes an appearance in a few Primary and Support Spirits.

• 

  134. Donkey Kong

• Donkey Kong & Lady.png

  137. Donkey Kong & Lady

• DK Bongos Spirit.png

  169. Donkey Kong & Bongos

In Spirit battles

As the main opponent

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
36	File:Goomba Spirit.png	Goomba	Super Mario series	•Tiny Donkey Kong Team (×5)		1,800	Mushroom Kingdom (Battlefield form)	N/A	•Defeat an army of fighters	Ground Theme - Super Mario Bros.
82	File:Barrel Train Spirit.png	Barrel Train	Mario Kart series	•Donkey Kong •Diddy Kong		3,500	Spirit Train	•Item: Bullet Bill	•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you •The enemy has increased attack power •The enemy has increased move speed	Rainbow Road - Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
117	File:Flies Hand Spirit.png	Flies & Hand	Mario Paint series	•Giant Donkey Kong • Tiny Dark Pit (×4)		4,000	Living Room	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Flies & Hand) •Item: Food	•Survive until the timer runs out •Hostile assist trophies will appear	Mario Paint Medley
131		Rabbid Kong	Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle	•Bunny Donkey Kong		1,700	3D Land	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power	Arcade Bunny's Theme
137	File:Donkey Kong & Lady.png	Donkey Kong & Lady	Donkey Kong series	•Giant Donkey Kong •Ally: Peach		13,500	75m	•Item Tidal Wave	•You lose if your CPU ally is KO'd •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Timed Stamina battle	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley
138	File:Donkeykongjr.png	Donkey Kong Jr.	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong •Giant Donkey Kong		9,000	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy's throws have increased power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley
140	File:Crankykong.png	Cranky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		9,700	Jungle Japes	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing	Opening - Donkey Kong
143		Swanky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		1,700	Kongo Jungle	•Item: Beastball	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Funky's Fugue
144		Wrinkly Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Clear Donkey Kong		3,500	Luigi's Mansion	•Hazard: High Gravity •Hazard: Low Gravity	•Your jumping power decreases when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy is less affected by gravity •The enemy starts with damage but is more powerful	The Map Page / Bonus Level (Remix)
149	File:Chunky Kong Spirit.png	Chunky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		3,800	Jungle Japes	N/A	•The enemy's punches and elbow strikes have increased power	DK Rap
150		Rambi	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		9,100	Kongo Falls (Ω form)	N/A	•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you	Jungle Level (Brawl)
158		Professor Chops	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong		1,700	Kongo Falls	•Item: Banana Peel	•The enemy can instantly escape from movement-disabling moves	Jungle Hijinxs
171		Ninja Kong	Donkey Kong Jungle Beat	•Donkey Kong		1,900	Distant Planet (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •The enemy favors side specials	Battle for Storm Hill
197		Goron	The Legend of Zelda series	•Donkey Kong		1,700	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Item: Bob-omb	•The enemy's dash attacks have increased power •The enemy favors dash attacks	Hidden Mountain & Forest
198	File:Darunia Spirit.png	Darunia	The Legend of Zelda series	•Donkey Kong •Jigglypuff (×8)		1,400	Gerudo Valley (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is lava •The enemy starts the battle with a Hammer	Hidden Mountain & Forest
240	File:Daruk.png	Daruk	The Legend of Zelda series	•Donkey Kong		4,300	Find Mii (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Lava Floor	•The floor is lava •Stamina battle •The enemy's shield has extra durability	Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017 Trailer BGM
372	File:Bonkers.png	Bonkers	Kirby series	•Donkey Kong		8,400	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•The enemy starts the battle with a Hammer •The enemy can swing the Hammer for a long time	Forest Stage
443		Gengar	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		4,300	Luigi's Mansion (Battlefield form)	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing	Pokémon Red / Pokémon Blue Medley
506	File:AbomasnowSpirit.png	Abomasnow	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		2,300	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Item: Freezie •Hazard: Ice Floor	•The floor is frozen •The enemy is weak to fire attacks •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Abomasnow)	Battle! (Wild Pokémon) - Pokémon Diamond / Pokémon Pearl
530		Landorus (Therian Forme)	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		9,200	Gerudo Valley	•Earthquake	•Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage after a little while	N's Castle
552	File:Bewear.png	Bewear	Pokémon series	•Donkey Kong		3,500	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Bewear)	Battle! (Trainer) - Pokémon Sun / Pokémon Moon
608		Polar Bear	Ice Climber series	•Donkey Kong		9,300	Summit (Battlefield form)	•Earthquake •Item: Freezie	•The enemy has super armor but moves slower •Stamina battle •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage	Ice Climber (Melee)
807		Purple Pikmin	Pikmin series	•Tiny Donkey Kong Team (×10)		3,500	Distant Planet	N/A	•Stamina battle •The enemy deals damage when falling •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd	Forest of Hope
937		Mr. Sandman	Punch-Out!! series	•Donkey Kong		9,700	Boxing Ring	•Hazard: Slumber Floor	•The floor is sleep-inducing •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	Minor Circuit (Original)
982	File:Blanka.png	Blanka	Street Fighter series	•Donkey Kong		3,700	Jungle Japes	•Jump Power ↓	•Stamina battle •All fighters have reduced jump power •The enemy starts the battle with a Screw Attack	Blanka Stage Type A
1,101		Master Giant	Super Smash Bros. Series	•Giant Donkey Kong		9,900	Final Destination	•Bob-omb Festival	•Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while •The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch •Stamina battle	Master Core
1,146		Muddy Mole	Mole Mania	•Donkey Kong		1,700	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Item: Pitfall	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle	Float Islands
1,200		Sumo Brothers	Rythm Heaven series	•Giant Donkey Kong (×2) ()		1,900	Arena Ferox (Ω form)	•Earthquake	•The enemy's physical attacks have increased power •Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage •The enemy loves to taunt	E. Honda Stage Type B

As a minion

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
79		Pauline	Super Mario series	•Peach •Mario •Giant Donkey Kong		13,700	75m	•Jump Power ↓	•Defeat the main fighter to win •You have reduced jump power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Jump Up, Super Star!	Original Donkey Kong (currently known as Cranky Kong)
138	File:Donkeykongjr.png	Donkey Kong Jr.	Donkey Kong series	•Donkey Kong •Giant Donkey Kong		9,000	Kongo Jungle	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The enemy's throws have increased power •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Donkey Kong / Donkey Kong Jr. Medley	Original Donkey Kong
141	File:Funky Kong Spirit.png	Funky Kong	Donkey Kong series	•Captain Falcon •Diddy Kong •Donkey Kong		9,000	Kongo Jungle	•Item: Bullet Bill	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Funky's Fugue	Donkey Kong
238	File:Botwzelda.png	Zelda (Breath of the Wild)	The Legend of Zelda series	•Zelda •Link •Inkling •Donkey Kong •Falco •Zero Suit Samus		9,200	Great Plateau Tower	N/A	•Stamina battle •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •Defeat an army of fighters	Main Theme - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Daruk
1,132	File:Hockey Players Spirit.png	Hockey Players	Ice Hockey	•Dr. Mario •Donkey Kong •Luigi		1,500	Pokémon Stadium (Ω form)	•Slippery Stage	•The stage's platforms are very slippery	Core Luge	Large hockey player

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Donkey Kong's fighter card.

• 

  Donkey Kong grabbing on Kongo Falls.

• 

  Charging Giant Punch before a Banzai Bill on Princess Peach's Castle.

• 

  Taunting with Diddy Kong on Great Bay.

• 

  Falling next to Kirby on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Performing his down smash on Boxing Ring.

• 

  Performing Spinning Kong on Skyworld.

• 

  Taunting with Diddy on Distant Planet.

• 

  Headbutting Mario on Gaur Plain.

• 

  Idling with Ditto on Battlefield.

• 

  Captured by Kapp'n on Bridge of Eldin.

• 

  With Mario, Link, Samus, Ice Climbers, Pit, Villager and Inkling on Battlefield.

Trivia

• Donkey Kong and Joker's Classic Mode routes are the only time in the Super Smash Bros. series where Master Hand is not fought on the respective game's Final Destination, not counting the Master Hand glitch in Super Smash Bros. Melee.
  • Donkey Kong is also one of only two characters whose final round takes place on New Donk City Hall's ᘯ form. The other is Bowser who faces Mario (before transforming into Metal Mario upon defeat).
• Donkey Kong's Classic Mode battle against Master Hand is the only one in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate where he fights alongside a CPU ally, and yet, does not have a guaranteed battle against both Master Hand and Crazy Hand unless the difficulty is at 7.0 or above.