Diddy Kong
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Diddy Kong (ディディーコング, Diddy Kong), often shortened to Diddy, is the secondary main protagonist of the Donkey Kong series and a recurring character in the Mario series. He debuted in Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. He was created by Rare and has starred in many other titles, such as Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, also for the SNES. He also has his very own racing games, Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, and its Nintendo DS remake sequel Diddy Kong Racing DS. He is Donkey Kong's best friend, sidekick and surrogate nephew, and is known for his fast running speed, incredible agility, high jumps, great strength and super climbing. ContentsOrigin[edit]Originally, Diddy Kong was conceived by Rare as a redesign of Donkey Kong Jr., but Nintendo realized the new design was too different from the original. They advised Rare to either change the design back or make this new design an entirely new character, to which Rare opted for the latter. Diddy Kong is a young monkey who is Donkey Kong's best friend and sidekick in the Donkey Kong series, although he has at times held protagonist roles. He wears a red cap with the Nintendo logo on it and a red shirt with stars on it. He has a girlfriend named Dixie Kong. In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong hires Diddy to guard the Kongs' banana hoard from the Kremlings who might want to steal it. Overhearing this, King K. Rool sends an attack on Diddy, who is tossed in a barrel and thrown into the bushes. Donkey Kong soon finds and frees him, and the two set out on an adventure to get their bananas back. In the game, Diddy Kong was used either for two-player mode or as a sort of hit point. As long as either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong were alive, a life was not lost. Compared to Donkey Kong, Diddy was more agile, but in return was not able to defeat certain large enemies like Krusha. The missing teammate could then be retrieved by breaking open a DK Barrel, similar to the one Diddy was initially trapped in. At some point, Donkey Kong and Diddy make a bet with Cranky Kong that they can't do their original adventure again on weaker hardware, which leads the the events of Donkey Kong Land. Prior to the events of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, the Kremling Krew, led by Kaptain K. Rool, captured Donkey Kong and took him to Crocodile Isle. Diddy calls upon Dixie Kong and go after the Kremlings, eventually defeating Kaptain K. Rool and rescuing Donkey Kong. In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, Donkey Kong and Diddy later get captured again on a fishing trip and get contained within the robot KAOS, ostensibly the new leader of the Kremlings but in reality controlled by K. Rool under his Baron K. Roolenstein persona. Dixie and Kiddy Kong end up rescuing both. Diddy continues to be a valuable partner to Donkey Kong, especially as a member of the DK crew in Donkey Kong 64 and a pseudo-powerup in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. In Diddy Kong Racing, Diddy Kong would go on another adventure without Donkey Kong; rather than established characters from the Donkey Kong Country series, this game used an original cast of characters created by Rare, notably including Banjo and Conker the Squirrel, who would later star in their own series. In the story of the game, Diddy is called to help by his friend Timber in order to defeat the evil alien Wizpig in a series of racing competitions and prevent him from taking over his island. A remake was released for the Nintendo DS, once again developed by Rare, but Banjo and Conker were replaced by Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong because of the Microsoft acquisition of Rare from a few years earlier. Diddy has also been a recurring cast member in many of the Mario spin off games, including various entries in the Mario Kart, Mario Party, Mario Tennis series and many others. In Super Smash Bros.[edit]Diddy Kong is briefly mentioned in Donkey Kong's biography. In an official poll held on Smabura-Ken (the game's official Japanese website) regarding characters for a potential sequel to the first game, Diddy Kong placed 16th with 15 votes, tied with Sukapon.[1] In Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]Diddy Kong is briefly mentioned in Dixie Kong's trophy description. Also, he is mentioned in the DK Rap, which plays on the Kongo Jungle stage. However, despite his prominence within the Donkey Kong series as the secondary main protagonist, he lacks a trophy of his own. In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]As a playable character[edit]Main article: Diddy Kong (SSBB)
Diddy Kong is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, available to play as from the beginning. He uses many unique special attacks, such as his Rocketbarrel Boost, and Peanut Popgun attacks, both of which are used in his Final Smash, the Rocketbarrel Barrage. His small size and power, combined with the use of weaponry offer a completely different fighting style than Donkey Kong, despite their alleged familial relation. Due to the strategic use of his banana peels, great combo potential, great speed, great agility, great acrobatics, great jump, great strength, and an overall impressive amount of tournament wins, he is currently in 4th position on the official tier list. According to Masahiro Sakurai, Diddy Kong was initially planned to be teamed with Dixie Kong, where the two could swap out with each other in the midst of battle, emulating their tagging out mechanic in Donkey Kong Country 2. However, when Sakurai ran into technical difficulties in implementing the idea, he scrapped it, as well as scrapping Dixie Kong as a playable fighter, leaving Diddy Kong as a solo fighter and the lone new playable Donkey Kong fighter.[2] Trophy[edit]Diddy Kong has a trophy that is awarded each time Classic Mode is completed with Diddy Kong on any difficulty. See Rocketbarrel Barrage for the trophy description of Diddy Kong's Final Smash.
Stickers[edit]
In Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]As a playable character[edit]Main article: Diddy Kong (SSB4)
Diddy Kong returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4, once again available from the start. His reveal corresponded with the US release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. His design is based on his appearances in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. His limbs stretch farther in his attacks, significantly improving his reach. Although he was already a top tier character in Brawl, he was heavily buffed with his KOing moves being strengthened and has gained many options to deal with his opponents, but at the cost of his Banana Peel move being significantly nerfed. Notably and infamously, Diddy Kong dominated the competitive play of SSB4 for the first six months following the game's release. Diddy Kong was easy to use and had quick and powerful attacks, alongside effective combos to rack up damage and KOs, including his infamous down throw to up air combo (christened the name "Hoo-Hah" by competitive players). However, as of patch 1.0.6 that was released on April 15, 2015, Diddy Kong received major nerfs to the damage and knockback of several of his most frequently used moves, causing his overall tournament usage to decline. Yet, regardless of the above, Diddy Kong ranks 3rd on the current tier list, placing him in the S tier. He still retains his fantastic mobility, and a strong combo game thanks to his generally low knockback, quick frame data, and long reach despite his small size. He also has a few usable finishers, such as his smash attacks and Monkey Flip. His biggest flaw, however, is his recovery: Rocketbarrel Blast. He is required to charge it up to gain any decent distance, leaving him incredibly open to edge-guarding, and the rocket barrels themselves can be detached by any attack, leaving him helpless. Despite his heavy nerfs in updates, Diddy Kong's positives still remain notable, still allowing for excellent tournament representation and results, with his current tier placement possibly being a result of nerfs to other top-tier characters after he himself had been nerfed, such as Sheik and Zero Suit Samus, allowing him to rise above them. Trophies[edit]Trophy descriptions[edit]
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]As a playable character[edit]Main article: Diddy Kong (SSBU)
Diddy Kong returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, though he is unlockable for the first time in the series. He has a new Final Smash, Hyper Rocketbarrel. Spirit[edit]Names in other languages[edit]Trivia[edit]
References[edit]
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