Diddy Kong (PM)

Diddy Kong in Project M and Project+
Universe	Donkey Kong
Base game appearance	Brawl
Moveset inspiration	Diddy Kong (SSBB)
Alternate costume	Hooded Diddy (Project+)

Diddy Kong is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. He is currently ranked 4th out of 41 on the official tier list, a slight improvement where he is ranked 4th out of 38 in Brawl. However, in Project+, Diddy Kong ranks 18th on the official tier list in the A tier, a stark drop from both Brawl and Project M, but nonetheless remaining a high tier character.

Attributes

Diddy Kong is a quick, unwieldy fighter, able to rack up quick damage, combo well and make use of setups with his bananas. The ability to produce banana peels unlocks many techniques with Diddy Kong. The peels cause opponents hit by them or who walk over them to trip, making them fantastic tools for approaching, heckling, or setting up traps to extend combos. Diddy Kong can use his jab combo to transition into other moves or aerial combos. He is adept at gimping opponents with his refined Monkey Flip, his dash attack, and his down air. Peanut Popgun can now be used more liberally, as the gun shoots further and is stronger. Diddy's aerials are solid for comboing, and the same stands for his tilts and up smash.

However, Diddy Kong lacks ways to quickly and reliably finish off opponents. This can lead to opponents surviving much longer, and makes gimping opponents almost a necessity. In addition, his recovery options are somewhat limited. Rocketbarrel Boost flies in a mostly linear fashion, making it easy to disrupt for some characters.

Regarding item play, Diddy Kong has a ridiculously deep and distinct tool kit with which he can outwit his opponents.

Changes from Brawl to PM

Diddy Kong received some nerfs mostly noticeably to his Banana Peel which was the key part to his success in Brawl. Diddy can only have one banana peel out at a time and the changes to Tripping in Project M hinder their utility. Diddy Kong's endurance is also significantly worse due to his lower weight and he is much more vulnerable to combos due to his higher fall speed and gravity.

Besides the nerfs to his Banana Peels, he mostly gained noticeable buffs from Brawl to PM to fit with the Melee physics. His mobility, combo and edgeguarding game has been significantly improved and his damage output/kill power has increased. His grab game is also significantly stronger due to the physics changes as well as his up and down throws being altered. His recovery is also a lot better due to his higher air speed as well as having more options out of his side and up specials.

Overall despite his nerfs, Diddy remains a threat in PM's meta due to his buffs. He still remains one of the strongest characters in the game.

Aesthetics

• Diddy Kong is now more expressive while idling as his old down taunt is now apart of his idle animation and he now makes noises during his original idle pose.
• His up taunt has been replaced with a juggling animation, possibly as a reference to his idle animation in Donkey Kong Country 2. Diddy will continue to juggle as long as the taunt button is held. His previous up taunt is moved to his down taunt.
• For his side taunt, Diddy now leans his head forward and puts a hand in his mouth with a burly expression, as if trying to contain his laughter from a foe (using the same SFX as the original side taunt).
• One of Diddy's victory poses now involves him wearing sunglasses while dancing around to the music playing on his beatbox, similar to his victory animation in Donkey Kong Country 2.
• Diddy no longer makes a noise when performing a full hop.

Attributes

• Diddy Kong now benefits from the addition of aerial glide tossing, both in his approach, combo, and movement options, and in his recovery.
• Diddy dashes faster (1.721 → 1.9)
• Diddy's air speed is faster (0.82 → 1.0).
• Diddy's traction is higher (0.484 → 0.6).
• Relative to the cast, Diddy's falling speed was drastically increased (1.43 → 2.55), going from the 15th fastest faller out of 39 characters to the 5th fastest faller out of 41. While this dramatically increases his vertical endurance, it makes him more susceptible to combos despite being a small lighter-middleweight.
• Diddy's gravity is higher (0.092 → 0.12) which improves his endurance but makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Diddy's double jump is lower.
• Diddy is lighter (93 → 85) hindering his endurance. Despite this, he is also more vulnerable to combos due to his much higher fall speed and gravity.
  • His new weight however allows him to be knocked down by Fox's shine.
• Diddy can no longer DACUS removing a potential mixup/mind game he had with his dash attack/up smash

Ground attacks

• Jab combo does more damage (7% → 9%) and as with Captain Falcon, the third hit of Diddy's neutral attack is now always separated from the rapid hits, so he can either launch foes with the third hit to then jab cancel and follow up, or rack up damage with the rapid hits against enemies at low percentages.
• Diddy no longer make noises when performing tilts.
• Forward tilt deals more damage when not angled or angled up (8%/10%/11% → 9/12% (not angled), 10/13% (angled up)) has more knockback, especially at its sweetspot, and up tilt and down tilt do slightly more damage (7% → 8%).
• Up tilt has its IASA frames later (frame 25 → 31).
• Down tilt has more startup lag and has a shorter duration (frames 4-7 → 5-6)
• Dash attack has less startup lag (frame 9 → 7) does more damage (9% → 14%), and hits connect more smoothly at lower percents as the move only has two hits instead of three. The second hit has a longer duration (frames 14-18 → 12-22) and the whole move has a longer duration of 1 frame. Like Donkey Kong's, his dash attack now can move off ledges, setting up offstage KOs. It also has increased speed for longer range, improving his ground game.
• Dash attack has more end lag when used on stage (FAF 25 → 39) and the first hit has significantly increased knockback hindering its combo potential while still being too weak to kill until very high percents.
• Diddy no longer has a unique sound clip for each smash attack.
• The second hit of forward smash has less startup lag (frame 21 → 18) does more damage (13% → 14%) has stronger knockback and has less hitlag. The second hit also does not take longer to come out if the first hit connects.
• The first hit of forward Smash deals less damage (5% → 4%) and has more startup lag (frame 12 → 14). The second hit also has a shorter duration (3 frames → 2)
• Up smash links much better and is a stronger KO move. It also has a longer duration (frames 5-22 → 5-25).
• Up smash deals slightly lower damage (16% → 15%) and has more end lag (FAF 50 → 53).
• Down smash has slightly stronger knockback and the back hit deals more damage (12% → 13%). It also has less end lag (FAF 52 → 44).

Aerial attacks

• All of Diddy's aerials now have sourspots as opposed to just his forward air.
• Diddy now only makes a noise when performing down aerial
• Neutral aerial is considerably stronger, dealing twice the former damage (6% → 13% (clean), 9% (late)). It also has less startup lag (frame 6 → 4).
• Since neutral aerial now has a sourspot, the sweetspot has a shorter duration (frames 6-20 → 4-7). It also has more landing lag (13 frames → 16).
• Forward air has more knockback less landing lag (30 frames → 22), and nows sends opponents in the Sakurai angle. The sweetspot also deals more damage (14% → 15%).
• Forward aerial has a shorter duration (frames 6-9 (clean), 10-16 (late) → 6-7/8-14).
• Back aerial does more damage (9% → 12% (foot) 11% (leg)).
• Back aerial has less KO power and more landing lag (12 frames → 16). He can also no longer perform two back aerials in a short hop due to his higher fall speed.
• Up aerial does slightly more damage (11% → 12%).
• Up aerial's new sourspot deals less damage (11% → 8%). It also has more startup lag (frame 3 → 5) and the sweetspot has a shorter duration (5 frames → 3).
• Up aerial has weaker but more horizontal knockback now sending opponents in the Sakurai angle (100° → 361°). This hinders its juggling potential but makes it more useful for edgeguarding.
• Down aerial has faster start-up (frame 13 → frame 10), less landing lag (30 frames → 25) and does more damage (12% → 15% (fists), 14% (arms)), making the meteor smash stronger.

Grabs and Throws

• Standing and pivot grabs have more startup lag (frame 6 (standing) frame 8 (pivot) → 7/9).
• Back throw has slightly more KO potential.
• Up throw does more damage (9% → 10%). The changes in Project M's physics also allows Diddy to chain grab with up throw.
• Up throw has altered knockback improving its combo potential at lower percents and improving its KO potential (although it is still too weak to reliably KO) however, these changes also hinder its combo potential at higher percents.
• Up throw has more ending lag.
• Pummel does slightly more damage (2% → 3%).
• Down throw does slightly less damage (9% → 8%).
• Down throw sends opponents at a different angle (130° → 50°). This combined with Project M's physics changes gives down throw tech chasing potential.
• Down throw has altered knockback (85 (base), 40 (scaling) → 60/105). This makes it easier to combo with at lower percents although it doesn't grant it any extra KO potential.
• Forward throw has slightly less KO potential.

Special Moves

• The Peanuts from Peanut Popgun now travel in straighter arcs and are much more powerful. A fully charged peanut can travel across the entire distance of Final Destination. Diddy Kong can also air dodge out of his Peanut Popgun, allowing him to waveland between shots.
• While Diddy can still cancel charging his Peanut Popgun with shield, he will no longer instantly shield on the ground or air dodge in the air. He can also no longer grab out of charging Peanut Popgun.
• Monkey Flip had its distance increased. Attacking regularly after grabbing now sends opponents upward, leading into aerials at higher percents and the kick comes out right away when you hold the special button and has more knockback.
• Diddy has a different voice clip when performing Monkey Flip (his old full hop voice clip).
• Monkey Flip's attack (15% → 12%) and kick (14% (clean) 10% (late) → 12%/7%) both do less damage. Diddy can also only throw out the kick at the beginning of the move rather than the entire duration.
• Diddy can no longer reuse Monkey Flip if he is hit out of it by Mario's cape.
• Diddy can now use Rocketbarrel Boost out of Monkey Flip if he uses the kick improving his recovery.
• Rocketbarrel Boost has its distance increased. Furthermore, Diddy has more control over both its arc and launch angle allowing for better and trickier recoveries. It can do 21% at full charge and its power is very dramatically increased, making it a viable combo finisher.
• As Rocketbarrel Boost can't be charged for as long, fully charged Rockbarrel Boost covers significantly less distance.
• Banana Peels, when thrown, have greater distance and does more damage (3-7% → 3-10%).
  • Diddy Kong can no longer infinite trip opponents with his Banana Peels, as tripping can now be teched removing their inescapable 0-death potential. These changes significantly hinder Banana Peel's utility.
  • Only one banana can be out at a time rather than two. They also have a shorter duration.

Revisions

v2.6b

• Down tilt deals a bit more overall knockback
• Up smash's hits link into each other more reliably
• Forward aerial's initial hit damage and knockback adjusted so that it doesn't send very far at low percents but scales more rapidly with higher percent
• Back aerial sends farther at low percents
• Down aerial's upper (sourspot) hitbox deals slightly more damage
• Dash grab box has an extra active frame and its total duration is increased slightly
• Turn grab range increased, and grabs slightly later to match other Turn Grab speeds
• Up throw clank bug from Brawl that caused him to freeze up fixed
• Neutral B can be airdodged out of a couple frames earlier
• Side B kick timing window now exists during the beginning portion of the move (startup + first 7 frames of grab). Once this window passes Diddy is unable to kick and continues the grab
• Up B initial hit deals increased knockback
• Grounded glide-toss moves Diddy significantly farther
• Side B Jump Throw angle slightly forward. Diddy leaps a bit shorter lower in height but now has an air dodge window as he goes airborne
• Footstool height reduced
• Forward tilt's hip hitbox removed. Arm (sourspot) hitbox damage matches the fist (sweetspot) but still retains a higher angle and less knockback
• Forward aerial's lingering hit knockback reduced overall
• Side B's tilt/smash distances reduced and more noticeably vary in length. The tilt input sends Diddy at a much shorter distance than the smash input
• Side B kick hitbox deals less damage and its knockback scales higher with percent
• Side B Attack Throw ("A" or "B" Input from grab) knockback lowered.
• Up B landing lag increased
• Diddy falls a bit faster while charging Up B in the air
• Up B's grounded startup now matches the aerial startup (7 frames) and no longer has invincibility
• Up B damage decreases throughout the boost's duration
• Up B's loose barrel moves 20% slower and deals slightly less damage
• Thrown Banana hitboxes are now clankable
• Dash Attack now has multiple hits and sends at a lower angle. No interrupt window when done on the ground but still retains the no-lag feature when landing from the aerial version.
• Neutral aerial's initial hit angle is slightly higher
• Up aerial sends at a lower angle and damage no longer depends on leg hitbox positioning
• Banana knockback (air and grounded) is now weight dependent. Opponents are knocked away at different lengths depending on their individual weight properties (lighter characters are knocked farther than heavier characters, essentially)
• Throwing a banana downward (while grounded) near an opponent's feet will cause them to trip instead of being hit

v3.0

• Shield size increased
• Jab angles and damage adjusted to better link into each other. Final jab (the kick) knockback increased
• Dash attack's hitboxes link more reliably and have had their sizes increased slightly. Grounded version can be interrupted earlier
• Forward tilt's hitbox sizes increased slightly. Forward and high versions have their damages increased slightly
• Up smash's hits link more reliably
• Diddy steps more forward on the second hit of forward smash. The first hit's knockback and timing changed to better link into the farther-reaching second hit
• Forward air's base knockback increased slightly
• Down air's active frames activate slightly earlier
• Neutral B (Peanut Popgun): Air Dodge window activates slightly earlier
• Up B (RocketBarrel Boost): Grounded startup reduced. Increase in damage from charging made slightly faster. Meteor hitbox more accurately reflects the blast graphic effects
• Down B (Banana Toss): Grounded banana hits induce the trip effect and retain weight-dependent knockback. Aerial banana hit knockback slightly increased
• Down throw base knockback lowered but has higher knockback growth. Damage redone to be a two-hit move
• Up throw sends up and slightly forward
• Side B (Monkey Flip): Tilt version now sends the same distance as the Smash version. You can now however hold back while jumping to shorten your overall distance. Attack ("A") Throw's trajectory moved inward slightly. Jump-throw knockback growth and damage increased significantly, and Diddy's jump height has been reduced

v3.02

• Fixed a bug where the sound effect for Diddy's shades breaking would play whenever he was hit after the shades were already broken

v3.5

• Rocketbarrel Boost charges much faster.
  • Its damage has also been increased.
  • However, Diddy's falling speed is higher when using the move.
  • It also has more endlag.
• Forward tilt deals more damage when angled upwards.
  • It now has a hitbox on Diddy's body that deals slightly less damage.
• Forward aerial deals more damage.
• The base knockback of Diddy's up smash has been lowered.
  • It also has more endlag.
• Diddy's neutral aerial has been weakened overall.
  • It deals slightly more damage.
• Down aerial has a slightly smaller hitbox.
• Up throw deals less damage.
  • It also has more endlag.
• Monkey Flip has more endlag.
  • It also has more endlag landing or kicking.
• The number of Banana Peels that can be on the stage at once has been reduced from 2 to 1.
• The damage from the first two hits of Diddy's up smash has been lessened, but the last hit gives more damage to compensate.
• The rocketbarrels no longer explode whenever it hits a character/stage. Instead, it will explode after 3 seconds of being detached.

v3.6 Beta

• Frame moved from between hits of forward smash to before the attack to prevent opponents from escaping second hit.
  • First hit of forward smash deals less damage.
• Up special barrel movement reverted to Brawl's iteration of the move.
  • The hitboxes have been modified to protect Diddy Kong's recovery somewhat.

Moveset

Up to date as of version 3.6.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			3%	Diddy Kong slaps forward twice, turns around to quickly kick the foe, then proceeds to repeatedly whip them with his tail. The first hit can set up a grab if jab-canceled, or even a buffered down smash.
			2%
			4%
			1-2% (loop)
Forward tilt	↗		13% (arms), 10% (body)	Diddy Kong leans to the side and thrusts both of his arms forward in a double punch. This attack can be angled up or down.
	→		12% (arms), 9% (body)
	↘		11% (arms), 8% (body)
Up tilt			8%	Diddy Kong swats in the air above him with a slap. Quick and can combine with other attacks. This move can be used to juggle an opponent at low percentages.
Down tilt			8%	Diddy Kong claps forward while crouching. Extremely useful for racking up damage at low percentages.
Dash attack			9% (clean), 5% (late)	Diddy Kong performs 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 or up tilt. This attack can also go off edges and platforms.
Forward smash			4% (hit 1), 14% (hit 2)	Diddy Kong spins and punches forward, followed by a second punch. The first hit deals no knockback, which makes it easier to land the second hit. When fully charged and both hits connect, it can KO at 85% on lightweights and 92% on heavyweights.
Up smash			2% (hits 1-2), 11% (hit 3)	Diddy Kong sops a little and does a sort of cartwheel, hitting three times with extremely low knockback that doesn't KO until 115%. Fills in combos and can rack up damage easily.
Down smash			Front: 14% (body) 16% (leg) Back: 12% (body), 13% (leg)	Diddy Kong performs a sweeping kick. It has less knockback than his forward smash and sends enemies at a more horizontal angle.
Neutral aerial			13% (clean), 9% (late)	Diddy Kong does an aerial cartwheel similar to his dash attack. Has decent knockback.
Forward aerial			15% (clean), 11% (late)	Diddy Kong kicks both feet forward while spinning. Diddy Kong's strongest aerial, a great edge-guarding 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.
Back aerial			12% (foot), 11% (body)	Diddy Kong thrusts one leg backward and performs a single spin. His fastest aerial, being a great option for spacing whether a short hop is used or not.
Up aerial			12% (clean), 8% (late)	Diddy Kong does an overhead flip kick. Decent knockback, fairly fast.
Down aerial			15% (fists), 14% (arms)	Diddy Kong swings both his arms downward in a double axe-handle punch. A powerful meteor smash.
Grab			—
Pummel			3%	Diddy Kong headbutts his target, angled from the side of his body. Hits almost instantly.
Forward throw			11%	Diddy Kong tosses the opponent forward. Based on how Diddy Kong would throw barrels in Donkey Kong Country. Best used to get opponents offstage to set up an edgeguard. This throw can also combo into a f-air.
Back throw			10%	Diddy Kong tosses the opponent backward, very similar to his forward throw in that it is useful for getting opponents offstage.
Up throw			3% (hit 1), 7% (throw)	Diddy Kong throws the opponent up and kicks them. This throw is a decent option for getting opponents into the air.
Down throw			5% (hit 1), 3% (throw)	Diddy Kong throws the opponent onto the ground and hops over them. Deals fair backwards knockback. This throw can be followed up by multiple moves and is a great combo starter.
Floor attack (front)			6%	Diddy Kong gets up and slaps on both sides.
Floor attack (back)			6%	Diddy Kong gets up and kicks on both sides.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Diddy Kong gets up and kicks on both sides.
Edge attack (fast)			6% (tail far), 8% (tail close)	Diddy Kong quickly climbs up and does a spinning tail slap.
Edge attack (slow)			10%	Diddy Kong slowly climbs up and sticks his left foot out.
Neutral special		Peanut Popgun	5-18% (peanuts), 20% (explosion)	Diddy Kong pulls out his peanut popgun and fires a peanut. This move can be charged, but charging it too long will cause the popgun will explode, dealing 5% recoil damage, and will stun Diddy Kong for a second.
Side special		Monkey Flip	12% (midair kick clean), 7% (midair kick late), 5% (grab & jump attack hit 1), 7% (grab & jump attack hit 2), 5% (release)	Diddy Kong performs a sideways hop that can latch him onto an enemy's face if timed correctly. If the attack button is pressed once Diddy Kong has grabbed onto an enemy, he will perform a double chop attack that deals vertical knockback, which can lead into aerials at higher percents. If the jump button is pressed, he will instead jump on the enemy's head and push them downwards, which is a footstool jump. Finally, pressing the attack button before the jump will cause Diddy to attack with a flying kick that deals strong knockback. This move can be used to gain some extra recovery distance horizontally.
Up special		Rocketbarrel Boost	11-20% (launch), 10% (flight early), 8% (flight late), 1-3% (explosion)	Diddy Kong charges up his Rocketbarrel Pack and launches himself upwards. While charging, it's possible to change the direction Diddy will be launched by holding the control stick/pad left or right. This method can also be used to control the arc Diddy flies in once he starts flying, making it a great recovery move, especially when fully charged. If someone attacks Diddy Kong when he's wearing his Rocketbarrel Pack, it'll break free and fly around aimlessly.
Down special		Banana Peel	3% (hand)	Diddy Kong tosses a Banana Peel into the air to have it fall onto the ground. Opponents who come in contact with the peel will slip and trip. Only one banana peel can be thrown at a time.
Final Smash		Rocketbarrel Barrage	8% (peanuts), 15% (peanuts explosion), 18% (contact), 20% (ending explosion)	Diddy Kong flies around on his Rocketbarrel Pack, shooting explosive peanuts everywhere. Puts Diddy Kong into a helpless state when ended in the air.

In competitive play

Most historically significant players

See also: Category:Diddy Kong players (PM)

•  Aero - Formerly ranked as high as 5th on the SoCal Project M Power Rankings. Ranked 27th on PMRank 2016.
•  BaconPancakes - The best Diddy Kong player in the world during 3.6; ranked 4th on PMRank 2017.
•  Junebug - Was widely considered to be the best Diddy Kong player in the world from 2014-2016. Ranked 27th on PMRank 2017.
•  Luck - Ranked 32nd on PMRank 2018.
•  SipMastah - Considered the best current Diddy Kong player. Won Against All Odds and placed 3rd at Warp Zone 2 using primarily Diddy Kong.
•  Sneez - R.O.B main with a Diddy Kong secondary. Ranked #32 on PMRank 2023.

Alternate costumes

Project M

Diddy Kong's alternate costumes remain unchanged from Brawl, except for a new orange costume that makes him look like Funky Kong in the Donkey Kong Country TV series.

Diddy Kong's alternate costumes in PM

Project+

Project+ gives Diddy Kong several new recolors, as well as a hoodie for an alternate costume. His red hoodie costume is a reference to Captain N's outfit in the Nintendo cartoon series. The hoodie's also have logos based on some of Diddy's appearances in the Mario sports games.

Diddy Kong's alternate costumes in P+

Z-Secret Costume: Based on Diddy Kong's appearance in Mario Strikers Charged.

R-Secret Costume: Donkey Kong Jr.-inspired costume.

Trivia

• Diddy Kong was the only character in Project M that didn't have an alternate costume or any new recolorings prior to the 3.6 Beta.
  • This still applies to Wario in PM, as the masquerade code to break his 12 costume limit had not been invented
• Diddy Kong's peanuts have 1 hp, and thus can be broken by Fox's lasers.

External links

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