Donkey Kong (SSBB)

Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in SSB4 in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Konga Beat
Tier	D (21)

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) is a character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He was first shown very briefly at the E3 2007 press conference. Rather than utilizing the recycled animal sounds from Super Smash Bros. Melee or being voiced by Grant Kirkhope or Takashi Nagasako (who voiced Donkey Kong starting with Mario Power Tennis), Donkey Kong now uses modified tiger sounds sourced from the The Best of Saul Zaents Film Center CD included with Sound Ideas' Amadeus Sound Library.

Donkey Kong is currently ranked 21st out of 38 on the tier list in the D tier. This is a slight improvement over his ranking in Melee, where he was ranked 16th out of 26. Donkey Kong possesses a combination of incredible power and range in his attacks. Along with this power and reach combination, Donkey Kong boasts remarkably good mobility for a character of his size, and many fast attacks. Additionally, he has by far the greatest horizontal endurance with his superb weight and momentum cancelling options, as well as some of the strongest vertical endurance, making him one of the hardest characters to KO.

Donkey Kong's offensive prowess may be great, but his defensive capabilities are quite the opposite. While his massive weight makes him incredibly difficult to KO, it also makes him incredibly easy to combo, juggle, and chain throw, including making him vulnerable to infinite and zero-to-death chain grabs (most notoriously from King Dedede). On top of that, his undersized shield leaves him heavily vulnerable to shield stabbing, and his spot-dodge is nearly useless, being one of the slowest and spreading out his hurtboxes during the animation. Additional problems include most of his attacks having heavy ending lag, his recovery being very vulnerable to meteor smash gimps due to lacking overhead hitboxes and meaningful vertical distance, and lack of a projectile, which, when combined with his very large size and aforementioned shield issue, gives Donkey Kong almost no means of dealing with camping, making for two big factors that superior fighters can often abuse to invalidate Donkey Kong's best traits.

Overall, while Donkey Kong sports good matchups against most ranked below him, he heavily struggles against higher-tiered characters that can chain grab and camp him, leading to a non-viable fighter with limited representation and mediocre tournament results. Despite this, dedicated players like Bum and DKwill have shown it is still feasible for Donkey Kong to place highly at major events.

Attributes

Donkey Kong is a very heavy character with very powerful attacks, great attack range, and high knockback capabilities. Despite these pros, Donkey Kong lacks projectiles and a reliable way to deal with them, which makes his moveset and style of approach unvaried. He is one of the fastest heavyweight characters; his movement speed is above average: fast running, fast walking, fast air speed, and very high initial jump. Donkey Kong's weight helps him stay alive longer, though he is a big target and has very poor vertical recovery, but extremely long horizontal recovery. He can even use Spinning Kong to momentum cancel knockback from an attack that would even KO Bowser, Snake, or King Dedede. Despite his extremely long horizontal recovery, it is vulnerable to disjointed attacks and has poor vertical height, which means even weak meteor smashes can be devastating, though it is hard to edge guard without a disjointed attack due its initial invincibility frames. Combining his impressive weight and good horizontal recovery with good directional influence, he will be extremely hard to KO.

Although he can has excellent endurance courtesy of his high weight, he is quite vulnerable to attacks due to his large size, which is not helped by the fact that he has a tie hurtbox. His large size and heavy weight also leaves him open to many chain grabs (e.g. King Dedede's infinite chain grab without a wall, which cannot be escaped from), except Bowser's ground releases. However, given his attack range and speed, it can be difficult for characters with short-ranged grabs like the Ice Climbers to grab him to begin with. His Headbutt attack allows him to get a free attack on the opponent, as many of his follow-up attacks have low startup time, and it also does very high damage to shields. His fully charged Giant Punch also heavily damages shields, and the armor it grants may allow him to trade KO moves with an opponent and survive. Even his grounded Spinning Kong does high damage to opponents or shields. Having three high shield damage attacks means he can give high shield pressure. Donkey Kong has numerous KO options and no problems doing so: all of his smash attacks are powerful, with his up and down smashes coming out very fast; his up aerial can compensate for a missed edge-guard; and he has three reliable meteor smashes, in addition to his back aerial and throw, Giant Punch (10 charges is actually more powerful than fully charged, but does not have armor), and the cargo stage spike.

He can counter any ground grab release because of his unique extremely short grab release animation, making him escape from release lag 10 frames earlier than any other character does and being immune to Bowser's grab release game, with the addition of only Snake and Yoshi being able to force him to jump break from grabs. Donkey Kong also has a large grab range with powerful throws, and he is even able to chain-grab some characters. DK can infinite-Cargo release Lucas and Ness, and he can KO characters in low damage percentages when using the Cargo stage-spike. Donkey Kong can also perform Kongocide, although it has limited utility. Overall, Donkey Kong relies on his great power and range to limit opponent's approaches.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Melee

In the transition from Melee to Brawl, Donkey Kong was heavily buffed overall. He has been improved in several aspects, including his mobility, endurance potential, power, recovery, and range.

One noticeable nerf he received was to his grounded Spinning Kong. The hitbox grounded Spinning Kong once possessed which came out on frame 2-5, had intangibility, and could kill opponents under 100% was completely removed, hindering grounded Spinning Kong's utility (although he does now have the "Invincicopter" to give his grounded Spinning Kong some new utility). Besides the change to his grounded Spinning Kong, Donkey Kong did not receive any other significant nerfs to his moveset.

Overall, DK is a stronger character than he was in Melee, although he still struggles against much of the cast.

Aesthetics

• Like all characters, Donkey Kong has received a massive boost in quality, having brighter and more detailed fur. In addition, he gains his current appearance from Mario Party 4 onward.
• Like Bowser & King Dedede, the screen now visually shakes whenever Donkey Kong lands onto the ground.
• Donkey Kong has received new voice clips, though there are still stock sound effects.
• Donkey Kong no longer uses his stun voice clip when waking out of sleep status.
• Donkey Kong has a new white costume with a red tie. His black costume now has a yellow tie instead of a blue tie, and his blue costume now has a pink tie instead of a purple one.
• Another carryover from his current appearance, Donkey Kong's teeth are yellow-ish white instead of white.

Attributes

• Donkey Kong's shield size was increased (although it is still very small for his size).
• The introduction of buffering has made it easier for Donkey Kong to punish his opponents after they perform a grounded grab release on him despite his animation being one frame longer.
• The changes to aerial grab releases hinder Donkey Kong, as it makes him more susceptible to followups as he travels in an unfavourable arc. While DK usually cannot be forced air released on the ground, DK himself lacks air release followups on most characters including Squirtle and Meta Knight due to his his lengthy grab release animation and lack of a move with enough speed and range to follow up, while his above-average mobility isn't good enough to compensate.
• Donkey Kong's dashing speed is slightly faster (1.6 → 1.622).
• Donkey Kong's air speed is faster (1 → 1.081).
• Donkey Kong's air acceleration is higher (0.04 → 0.06).
• Donkey Kong is slightly heavier (114 → 116).
• As with the returning veterans, Donkey Kong's falling speed was reduced (2.4 → 1.58). Compared to the returning veterans, however, Donkey Kong falls slightly slower. While worsening his endurance, it slightly improves his poor vertical recovery and makes him harder to combo. However, Donkey Kong is still one of the easier characters to combo on, and his vertical recovery is still very poor.
• Donkey Kong's gravity is lower (0.1 → 0.081).
• Donkey Kong's traction is lower (0.08 → 0.0529), especially when comparing with the returning veterans, now going from the 7th highest in Melee to only the 28th highest. This makes it harder for him to punish out of shield.
• Spot dodge has less ending lag (FAF 37 → 30), although it is still one of the longest spot dodges in the game.
• Donkey Kong's forward glide toss covers much more distance.
• As with several other veterans returning from Melee, the introduction of a much wider variety of chain grabs makes Donkey Kong significantly more vulnerable to it than in Melee, hindering his endurance against several characters.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit's outer hitbox is bigger (4.69u → 5.6u), and pulls opponents towards Donkey Kong (361˚ → 140˚), helping the first hit combo into the second.
  • The second hit has increased base knockback (0 → 40), improving its safety at low percents.
  • The second hit's outer hitbox is bigger (4.66u → 7u).
  • The second hit has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 5-11 → 6-11).
  • The second hit launches at a higher angle (361˚ → 60˚).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt now grants intangibility to DK's arm.
  • The up angled variant deals more damage (11% → 12%), giving Donkey Kong another quick KO move under 150%.
  • The down angled variant has a 15% chance to trip opponents.
  • Forward tilt has bigger hitboxes (2.73u/3.52u/3.91u/4.30u → 3.5u/4u/5u/5.5u).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup lag and a longer duration (frames 6-11 → 5-11). It also has slightly less ending lag (FAF 40 → 39).
  • It now grants intangibility to DK's arm.
  • The hitboxes are bigger (3.91u/3.12u/3.91u → 4.8u/4u/5u), and spaced differently, increasing the move's range. The first active frame being earlier also allows the move to hit lower in front of Donkey Kong, reducing its blindspot.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals more damage (7% → 8%).
  • It now has a 40% chance to trip opponents, and sends at the Sakurai Angle (40˚ → 361˚).
  • It has altered hitboxes that give the move more range.
• Dash attack:
  • DK now vocalizes during the first frame of his dash attack. While this may seem insignificant, it allows him to mix his opponents up with a dash attack, a boost grab or a DACUS to throw his opponents off.
  • Its clean hit now launches opponents at a different trajectory (100° → 50°), with its knockback also altered (115 (base), 15 (scaling) → 100/20)).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash's sweetspots have increased base knockback (22 → 30). Its hitbox sizes has also been increased (4.8u/5.6u/3.408u/2.4u → 6.4u/6.8u/4.3u/3u).
  • Its hitlag multiplier has been significantly increased (1.0x → 1.4x), making it somewhat less safe on shield, and easier to SDI, especially considering the increased hitlag overall from Melee to Brawl. The opponent can also SDI his forward smash to lessen its knockback, despite it being increased from Melee.
• Up smash:
  • The universally decreased falling speeds and the slightly altered knockback formula have improved up smash's KO potential. It can also hit grounded opponents much easier as its hitbox size has been increased (6.84u → 9.5u), and also covers a wider area above Donkey Kong as a result. Finally, it has less ending lag (FAF 54 → 50). Overall, it is a much more viable anti-airing and platform pressuring tool, despite it having lost the limited combos into it that it had in Melee.
• Down smash:
  • Down smash's sweetspot deals more damage (16% → 17%).
  • Its hitboxe lasts a slightly longer duration (4 frames → 5), and its size has been significantly increased (4.69u/3.52u → 7u/4.5u).
  • Donkey Kong's arms are now intangible for the entire hitbox duration.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has less landing lag (20 frames → 15) and can now auto-cancel in a short hop due to DK's slower falling speed/gravity. It also has increased base knockback (0 → 20 (clean), 10 (late)) improving the clean hit's KO potential.
  • Its hitboxes are slightly bigger, particularly on the arms (3.33u (arms)/4.66u (body) → 4u/5u), improving the move's notoriously poor range.
  • It deals less damage (12% → 11% (clean), 10% → 8% (late)). The late hit deals less knockback as a result.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's sweetspot deals increased knockback growth (80 → 85) and can trip opponents if they don't take enough knockback to leave the ground. It's also superior for edgeguarding due to the meteor cancel changes and being much safer to use offstage due to DK's slower falling speed/gravity.
  • Its late hit has received a sourspot that launches at the Sakurai angle and deals less base knockback (50 → 30).
  • Unlike many other aerials in Brawl, DK's forward air's landing lag was not reduced to compensate for the removal of L-canceling. Since it has such high landing lag (30 frames), this results in this move in particular suffering from the removal of the mechanic, making it much less safe to land with, especially considering it cannot autocancel.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial can now be performed twice in a single short hop. It also greatly benefits from the introduction of reverse aerial rush significantly improving its approach potential.
  • It also has increased base knockback (10 → 20 (clean), 0 → 10 (late)), a longer duration on the late hit (frames 9-15 → 9-16) and more hitboxes, all of which are bigger, increasing the move's range. Overall, the move is much more versatile and easier to land.
  • Its late hit deals slightly less damage (9% → 8%).
  • It autocancels later (frame 20 → 31).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has a longer duration (frames 6-8 → 6-9) and less landing lag (25 frames → 22). The universally decreased falling speeds also improve its KO potential.
  • It autocancels later (frame 13 → 26).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's sweetspot can trip opponents if they don't take enough knockback to leave the ground. It's also superior for edgeguarding due to the meteor cancel changes and being much safer to use offstage due to DK's slower falling speed/gravity.
  • Down aerial's hitboxes are larger (7.03u/6.25u/4.69u → 8.5u/7.7u/5.7u).
  • Unlike many other aerials in Brawl, DK's down air's landing lag was not reduced to compensate for the removal of L-canceling. Since it has such high landing lag (31 frames), this results in this move in particular suffering from the removal of the mechanic, making it much less safe to land with, especially considering its very narrow autocancel window.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs:
  • Standing grab and dash grab have slightly less ending lag (FAF 31 → 30 (Standing), 51 → 50 (Dash)).
  • Grab range is considerably higher for both standing and dash grabs, going from below-average in Melee to being the 4th longest reaching non-tether grab in Brawl. This grants Donkey Kong much more reliable access to his throws.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel is faster (FAF: 24 → 16) and still deals 3%. It is now one of the most damaging pummels in the game overall.
• Forward throw:
  • Donkey Kong gains armor when carrying an opponent when using Cargo throw (Kong Karry).
  • Donkey Kong no longer takes damage if an opponent breaks free from his forward throw. Additionally, he can now perform an infinite on Ness and Lucas if they break out of his cargo throw due to their longer grounded grab release animations.
  • Cargo forward throw launches opponents at a higher angle (55° → 60°).
  • Cargo down throw launches opponents at a much lower angle (40˚ → 28˚), making it much better for gimping and edgeguarding.
  • Donkey Kong's lowered falling speed combined with an improved vertical recovery makes it much safer to stage spike an opponent with the cargo back and down throws.
  • An opponent takes 4% less damage if they break free from Donkey Kong's forward throw (10% → 6%).
  • The changes to Brawl's physics have removed up throw's chaingrabbing and combo potential, significantly reducing its utility. Cargo throw also has less combo potential because of this.
• Back throw:
  • It launches at a lower and more effective angle (45˚ → 40˚).
  • It has less base knockback (65 → 60), reducing its KO power. Additionally, it has an extra frame of startup (throw frame: 14 → 15), making it slightly easier to DI on reaction.
• Down throw:
  • The removal of DI against moves which don't put opponents into a tumble makes Donkey Kong's down throw more reliable for chaingrabs despite its higher knockback scaling (45 → 50).
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attacks have increased intangibility (frames 1-5 → 1-7 (fast), frames 1-34 → 1-41 (slow)) and larger hitboxes (8u → 9.6u (fast), 6.4u/3.2u/3.2u → 7.5u/6u/4u/4u (slow)).
  • Slow edge attack has more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 37-50 → 38-41).

Special moves

• Giant Punch:
  • Giant Punch now has armor when fully charged, it charges faster and it can now be reversed, but reversing it does not increase damage or knockback, unlike Falcon Punch and Warlock Punch. The back hit additionally has more KO potential due to the universally decreased falling speeds, with a level 10 back hit being able to KO King Dedede on Final Destination at 50%.
  • All variants of the grounded front hit deals 2% less damage (12%-30% → 10%-28%) and the fully charged version for both variants has less knockback scaling (90 → 80), hindering its KO potential and further encouraging Donkey Kong to use a level 10 Giant Punch. Additionally, the aerial variant deals less damage (12% → 8% (back uncharged), 6% (front uncharged), 17%/26% → 15%/25% (fully charged). Lastly, all variants of the front hit have a sourspot which has less knockback scaling (100/90 → 60/50).
  • It has increased landing lag (7 frames → 30) due to Donkey Kong now having a landing animation when landing while helpless.
  • A fully charged Giant Punch no longer has invincibility frames on frames 17-18, although this is compensated with super armor on frames 17-20.
• Headbutt:
  • Headbutt is faster, deals more damage when on the ground and in the air (5% → 10%/8% (grounded), 10% → 14%/8% (aerial)) although its knockback was compensated (0 (base), 100 (scaling) → 20/40 (grounded), 30/40 (aerial)), and DK can now also bury his opponents while he is in midair. Since buried characters now can receive knockback when buried, Headbutt can now combo more easily into Giant Punch or other attacks. It can also be used as an inferior version of Mario's cape glide, giving DK another edgeguarding option. Its meteor hitbox is also easier to land.
    • However the meteor hitbox's knockback was overcompensated, to the point of it KOing later offstage despite the differences in meteor cancelling.
  • Donkey Kong no longer vocalizes when using Headbutt.
• Spinning Kong:
  • Spinning Kong goes slightly farther, both horizontally and vertically. It can also be used to completely negate all momentum due to the introduction of momentum canceling, and the grounded version has super armor. The aerial version also deals 3% more damage (33% → 36%).
    • In addition to momentum canceling, Spinning Kong is also completely immune to the "pushing effect" of attacks such as wind or water.
  • DK now has access to the "Invincicopter", allowing him to use grounded Spinning Kong while being completely invincible.
  • Grounded Spinning Kong's loop hitboxes deal less damage (8% → 4-5%) and knockback, reducing their damage output, but making them connect more reliably.
  • The grounded version of Spinning Kong no longer has an initial hit with invincibility. This significantly hinders its KO potential as the new first hit comes out much slower (frame 2 → 19) and is significantly weaker, dealing less damage (12% → 4/5%) and knockback (60 (base), 100 (scaling) → 50/70), and is incapable of killing opponents until beyond sudden death percents, removing one of DK's best kill options. The aerial version also has more startup lag (frame 3 → 4), also meaning that he gains invincibility slightly later.
  • It has increased landing lag (7 frames → 40) due to Donkey Kong now having a landing animation when landing while helpless.
• Hand Slap:
  • Hand Slap does 3% more damage (11% → 14%) and has longer range (9.216u/9.216u/9.216u/9.216u/10.24u/10.24u/10.24u/10.24u → 13u/13u/13u/13u/13u/13u/13u/13u). It also has high base knockback and low knockback scaling, rather than set knockback (20/30 (base), 100 (scaling), 110 (set) → 82/23).
• Konga Beat:
  • Donkey Kong has received a Final Smash, Konga Beat. Donkey Kong takes out the DK Bongos and plays them to the beat of "DK Island Swing", which emits shockwaves in the process. Pressing the attack button to the beat increases the size and damage of the shockwaves.

Moveset

For a gallery of Donkey Kong's hitboxes, see here.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Jab (ジャブ) Upper (アッパー)	4%	Donkey Kong performs a quick cross punch followed by an uppercut. The tip of the first punch's hitbox will knock targets towards Donkey Kong instead of away, which can lead into a grab.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗	Kongo Backhand (コンゴバックハンド)	12%	Donkey Kong quickly swats his outstretched hand. Donkey Kong's arm is intangible while the hitboxes are out, allowing it to be used safely against most other attacks. This can be aimed up or down. KOs at 148% when angled up from the center of Final Destination.
	→		10%
	↘		9%
Up tilt		Spiderweb Clearing (くもの巣はらい)	9% (hand), 10% (elbow), 11% (arm)	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. The arm hitbox KOs at roughly 110%.
Down tilt		Slouch Slap (ロースラップ, Low Slap)	8%	Donkey Kong quickly swats towards the opponents feet. A great lock move at low percentages and a trip can be comboed with his Hand Slap.
Dash attack		Iron Kick (アイアンキック)	11% (clean), 9% (late)	Donkey Kong skids to a halt doing a side-kick. High ending lag and poor shieldstun.
Forward smash		Dyna Clap (ダイナクラップ)	20% (fingers), 21% (hands), 19% (arms), 18% (body)	Donkey Kong performs a very forceful clap in front. One of the strongest forward smashes in the game, KOing at 70% when uncharged and 37% when fully charged.
Up smash		Jumbo Press (ジャンボプレス)	18%	Donkey Kong claps hands above his head. Good for hitting from below a platform and a great running up smash. Both DK's arms and head cannot be hit during the middle of the attack. KOs Mario at 74% when uncharged and 43% when fully charged from the platforms on Battlefield.
Down smash		Twin Beat (ツインビート)	17% (hands), 14% (arms)	Does a double back-handed punch by bringing his closed fists down 90˚ at both sides. Very fast, great vertical knockback and is the 3rd strongest down smash in the game, KOing at 91% when uncharged and 57% when fully charged.
Neutral aerial		Donkey Lariat (ドンキーラリアット)	11% (clean), 8% (late)	Donkey Kong quickly spins with arms extended. Similar to the Spinning Kong, but much faster to execute. KOs middleweights at around 150% from the center of Final Destination.
Forward aerial		Hammer Knuckle (ハンマーナックル)	16%	Donkey Kong puts his fists together above his head, and then does a powerful ax-handle smash, which at KO at 159% if hit with the sweetspot and grounded from the center of Final Destination, and 97% from the center of Battlefield without the sweetspot. A powerful meteor smash when sweet spotted, which also causes a significant hitlag increase. Great for catching edge guarders while recovering. Resembles his midair attack from Donkey Kong 64.
Back aerial		Kong Rocket (コングロケット)	13% (clean), 8% (late)	Donkey Kong performs a quick kick directed behind him that lingers briefly. Very fast, long ranged and strong, is an effective wall of pain. KOs Mario at 126% from the center of Final Destination.
Up aerial		Air Headbutt (エアヘッドバット)	14%	Donkey Kong performs a quick headbutt upwards. Extremely quick, can be used to juggle at low percentages and star KO at 113% from the platforms on Battlefield.
Down aerial		Air Stampede (エアスタンピード)	16% (foot), 13% (body)	Donkey Kong performs a downward stomp whilst holding his arms up in a macho pose. Always treated as a meteor smash when it hits. KOs at 141% when grounded from the center of Final Destination.
Grab		Grab (つかみ)	—
Pummel		Grab Chop (つかみチョップ)	3%	Does a slight karate chop at the enemy's neck. A fairly fast pummel.
Forward throw		Kong Karry (リフティング, Lifting)	6% (breakout), 8% (forward & back throw), 7% (up throw), 6% (down throw)	Regardless of the opponent's size, DK heaves the opponent onto his back, just like carrying a crate or a barrel. Can be released and regrabbed if he can react quicker, being an infinite on Lucas and Ness when turn releasing and turn grabbing. Both players gain knockback-based armor, similar to Yoshi's double jump.
Back throw		Reverse Throw (反転投げ, Inversion Throw)	11%	Swings his arm back and throws the opponent. A very good KO throw with fast start-up.
Up throw		Coconut Toss (ココナッツトス)	9%	Swings his arm back and throws the opponent upwards.
Down throw		Bottom Shoot (ボトムシュート)	7%	Slams the opponent into the ground with his hand. Can chain grab characters like Snake, Kirby, Squirtle, Charizard, King Dedede and much more.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			6%	Gets up and swats both sides of himself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			6%	Gets up and claps once both sides of himself.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Does a wind-up spin around the floor.
Edge attack (fast) Edge getups (fast)			8%	Throws his rear at the opponent. Good range for an edge attack.
Edge attack (slow) Edge getups (slow)			10%	Climbs onto the stage and swats forward.
Neutral special		Giant Punch	Ground: 12% (uncharged elbow), 10% (uncharged punch), 18% (fully charged elbow & body), 28% (fully charged punch) Air: 8% (uncharged elbow), 6% (uncharged punch), 15% (fully charged elbow), 20% (fully charged body), 28% (fully charged punch)	Donkey Kong winds up and thrusts out his arm as a potentially powerful attack, which can KO at 67% from the center of Final Destination when fully charged. The attack is at fully charged after eleven windups and gains armor right before DK unleashes the punch. A punch just under full charge (ten windups) deals more knockback but lacks armor. The punch can be saved and chosen when to be released after being fully charged.
Side special		Headbutt	Ground: 10% (grounded), 8% (air) Air: 14% (sweetspot), 8% (sourspot)	Donkey Kong slams his head downward. When performed on the ground, the opponent is buried and will remain submerged longer if the opponent has already taken a fair amount of damage. When performed in the air, the struck opponent is meteor smashed if hit by the sweetspot. Can be used to "stall" Donkey Kong in the air.
Up special		Spinning Kong	Ground: 5-4% (loop early), 3% (loop late), 4% (final hit) Air: 10% (startup), 5-4% (loop early), 2% (loop late)	Donkey Kong spins around with his arms extended. Has armor on the ground and arms are intangible in the air.
Down special		Hand Slap	14%	Donkey Kong repeatedly slaps his hands against the ground, causing earth-shaking vibrations in the process. The 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 and will be interrupted if Donkey Kong becomes airborne while using the move.
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 attack's 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 to have greater range and power.

Stats

This article or section may require additional technical data. The editor who added this tag elaborates: Needs short hop and double jump heights You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

Stats	Weight	Dash speed	Walk speed	Traction	Air friction	Air speed	Air acceleration	Gravity	Falling speed	Jumpsquat	Jump height	Double jump height	Empty landing lag
Value	116	1.6 – Initial dash 1.622 – Run	1.2	0.0529	0.015	1.081	0.01 – Base 0.05 – Additional	0.081	1.58 – Base 2.212 – Fast fall	6	35.83759414 - Base ? - Short hop	?	4

Announcer call

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.