Diddy Kong (SSBB)/Down special

This article is about the hitbox visualization in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. For the move itself, see Banana Peel (move).

This article is in need of additional images.
The editor who added this tag suggests: Need hitbox visuals for a stationary and a thrown banana peel.
If you have a good image for this article, upload it here.

This article or section may require additional technical data.
The editor who added this tag elaborates: Hitboxes & Timing sections need completing
You can discuss this issue on the talk page or edit this page to improve it.

Diddy throwing a Banana Peel on Delfino Plaza.

Overview[edit]

Diddy Kong pulls an empty banana peel off his person, seemingly from underneath his shirt, before tossing it over his shoulder. The move can hit opponents while its flying through the air, as well as when it lands on the ground and becomes stationary. Both airborne and grounded peels will cause tripping if they come into contact with an opponent. Additionally, banana peels that land on the ground become items, able to be picked up by Diddy himself as well as his opponent, and will subsequently despawn after a certain period. Diddy can pull out a maximum of two banana peels onto the stage; trying to pull a third before one of the other two despawns will just play an animation of Diddy pulling at thin air. Diddy can keep the peels from despawning by picking them up, extending their lifetime.

The move, much like Melee Fox's Shine and Ultimate Luigi's grab, pretty much defines Diddy as a character in Brawl and his playstyle, and is at its strongest in this game. As mentioned previously, Diddy (unlike every game past Brawl) is able to have a max of two banana peels on-stage. This gives Diddy (assuming he's able to successfully set them up before being rushed down) an amazing amount of on-stage presence, since the opponent slipping on a grounded peel is almost always a free punish for the Diddy player and can even lead to a KO if the opponent is at high-enough percents. The peels are also an incredible neutral tool for Diddy, allowing him to glide toss across the stage. His glide toss, which is 11th out of 39th when comparing average length traveled, gives Diddy a ton of approach and mixup options, and can even allow him to use moves such as forward smash or down smash while approaching. This can also be used as a way to reposition where the peels are on-stage, as downward-thrown peels land almost instantly back on the ground with their grounded hitboxes, a technique referred to as dribbling. Banana peels thrown forward amplify Diddy's shield pressure, and can be followed up by moves such as down smash.

Like all held items, the banana peels can be thrown in the air, making them a terrifying projectile that Diddy has access to given that they can cause tripping. Opponents below Diddy, if successfully tripped, can be followed up on by a following aerial. Additionally, they can be used to edgeguard, allowing Diddy to hit opponents at depths he would be, himself, unable to recover from.

Use in combos[edit]

Diddy infinitely dribbling a Falco.
Diddy infiniting a Meta Knight with a single peel.

Arguably stronger than its use as a neutral tool, the peels make for a devastating punish tool, allowing the Diddy player to perform strong combos, some of which even lead to zero-to-death combos. One simple kill confirm involves a Diddy with two bananas glide tossing forward while repeatedly forward-throwing peels at an opponent to carry them to the edge of the stage, whereupon the Diddy player can take the opponent's stock with a forward smash (assuming they're at sufficiently-high percentages). However, if the Diddy player is able to successfully set up a dribble with two banana peels under the right circumstances, an infinite can be performed, knocking the opponent back and forth until they're at a high enough percent for the move of the player's choice can KO^[1]. Even with one peel, the Diddy player can perform a technique known as the Grizz Infinite^[2] to lead to a KO, although this is very difficult and will require practice on the Diddy player's end to get the timing down.

Conclusion[edit]

Overall, Banana Peel is Diddy Kong's strongest asset as a character, and is responsible for single-handedly pushing him up Brawl's tier list. Aspiring Brawl Diddy players would do well to lab the move and learn its quirks. Even still, the move is not without flaws. The single biggest one is the fact that, being an item, a banana peel can be picked up and used by the opponent, turning all of the move's strengths against Diddy. This is especially noticeable against characters who have throwable items as part of their toolkit and have good distances on their glide toss, such as Peach and ZSS.