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
Tier	B+ (46)

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Initially teased in the then-unnamed Ultimate's announcement trailer, Donkey Kong was, like all veterans, confirmed on June 12th, 2018. He is classified as Fighter #02.

Donkey Kong retains his gorilla-like grunts and roars from Super Smash Bros. 4, rather than using his voice actor, Takashi Nagasako.

Donkey Kong is ranked 46th out of 82 on the current tier list, placing him at the end of the B+ tier. This is a moderate drop from his 22nd out of 54 placement in SSB4. Donkey Kong has surprisingly good mobility for a super-heavyweight, having above-average speed both on and off the ground, without giving up much KO power in return. He has a plethora of meteor smashes (his forward and down aerials, Headbutt, and Hand Slap), which gives him many options to net reverse-edgeguards and early kills on recovering opponents. His aerials all serve a purpose in his strong advantage state, with his back aerial often being considered one of the best in the game. Donkey Kong also possesses one of the most versatile throws in the game with his cargo throw, which can set up edgeguards, net early kill confirms on platforms, and KO outright if opponents DI incorrectly. His specials are also effective for hard punishes and unconventional edgeguarding, making for a respectable moveset overall.

To contrast a slew of desirable moves and attributes, Donkey Kong is held back by notable flaws, the biggest being his disadvantage state, which is among the worst in the game. He has one of the largest hurtboxes, even bigger than his model would suggest, and many of his moves stick his large arms out, often causing him to get clipped by attacks even when attacking or rolling/spotdodging. He also has little to no options to escape from combos or relieve pressure due to a frame 4 air dodge, and lack of moves that are fast enough to break combos, while most of his out-of-shield options are too slow or risky to be practical. His recovery is also one of the most exploitable in the game, as a simple spike is enough for Donkey Kong to quickly lose his stock, since Spinning Kong is easily intercepted from above, and offers very little vertical distance. Alongside this, Donkey Kong has a lackluster and risky neutral game, as many of his attacks have high ending lag and a decent chunk of them are unsafe on hit at low percents.

Overall, Donkey Kong is a speedy heavyweight with unique tools and the potential to convert a single throw or edgeguard into early KOs; however, his disadvantage state means a simple mistake can make it hard for him to fight at all. Although initially unpopular in competitive play, Donkey Kong's representation and results gradually improved in the post-pandemic metagame thanks to the efforts of players such as ChunkyKong and HIKARU, before exploding in 2024 thanks to the efforts of other players such as Mild na H.O and Rarikkusu.

Attributes

Donkey Kong is unsurprisingly a large super-heavyweight, having the same weight value as King Dedede, and is the third-heaviest character in the game behind Bowser and King K. Rool. Despite this, he is one of the fastest heavy characters in the game, both in terms of general mobility and attack speed. He has the 10th fastest walking speed, the 29th fastest dashing speed, the 16th highest traction, above average falling speed and jumping force, and is tied with Mario, Sonic, Little Mac, and Inkling for the 13th fastest air speed. In contrast, he has below average gravity and moderately slow air acceleration.

A typical heavyweight is expected to possess moves with high power, and Donkey Kong is no exception to this — it is possibly his greatest attribute. Donkey Kong has no problem with setting up into KOs with moves that have both high power and decent range: his sweetspotted up tilt, smash attacks, aerials, back throw, Giant Punch, and grounded Spinning Kong are all prime examples. His ability to take stocks with his powerful attacks is made easier with his decent approach. His mobility and size work together to give him an effective grounded approach and longer range, respectively. All of these attributes combined allow him to have an easier time fighting in close quarters and landing attacks on his opponents. He also has very strong survivability thanks to his aforementioned high weight and above-average falling speed, which is also common for his archetype. In total, Donkey Kong's attributes give him some of the best overall endurance in the game, with only Bowser and King K. Rool surpassing him horizontally.

Donkey Kong works well with his grounded moveset. His neutral attack has decent damage and startup. His forward tilt's long range makes it one of his main spacing tools and works better with its intangibility. His up tilt is a safe move to interrupt his opponents, with the move covering Donkey Kong's entire body, acting as an anti-air, and hitting through low platforms such as the ones on Battlefield. His down tilt gives him a long-range crouching option and has a chance to trip opponents. His dash attack works as a combo starter and a situational KO option at low and very high percentages, respectively. All of his smash attacks are notoriously strong and relatively fast, making them his go-to options for hard reads and scoring KOs. His aerial options also have considerable utility. His forward and down aerials are some of his best edgeguarding tools due to both of them being meteor smashes. His neutral aerial is hard to interrupt, helps him break out of combos, and is one of the strongest of its type in the game when hit clean. His up aerial serves as an effective vertical KO option (if the situation he is in allows for it) thanks to its high knockback, and it is also safe, as his head is intangible during it and it has modest end lag. His back aerial is his fastest aerial and is debatably an even better spacing tool than his forward tilt, being fast, long-ranged, and having a sex kick-like hitbox, with a long duration and high knockback when hit clean. His air speed allows his aerial moves to be used at their fullest potential, and, except for the forward aerial, they are all decently fast.

A well-known part of his playstyle is his grab game, as he has a long grab that allows for setups into the rest of his moves. Although his down throw has little to no use, every other option does to some extent. His pummel is slower compared to many others in the cast, but deals decent damage. His up throw has combo potential into his aerials, and his back throw is his primary kill throw, but his forward throw is easily his most useful one and possibly the most unique part of his character. During his forward throw, Donkey Kong can move, jump, and walk off the stage while having the opponent in his hands, acting like he usually would outside of a typical grab (aside from being unable to use his other moves and having only one jump). The move also gives Donkey Kong different types of throws based on which direction is pressed, basically giving him eight throws; these are commonly known as the "cargo throws". The cargo forward throw is often used offstage as a viable KO option. The cargo down throw is a semi-spike and works as a niche edgeguarding option. The cargo back throw does good damage and is a very solid kill throw. It also has utility as a stage spike unless his opponent can properly tech it. Finally, the cargo up throw has more combo potential than his vanilla up throw, being able to combo into his aerials at low percents. It also possesses fairly good kill power, since Donkey Kong can jump and then heave his opponents for additional height.

Donkey Kong's special moves are also helpful for his gameplan. Giant Punch is his surprise KO and punish move, can be used to pressure the opponent, and has super armor if fully charged. Headbutt can bury opponents, which can allow him to setup into KOs and spikes in the air. It has super armor during the move's startup and deals very high shield damage while also having deceptively long range, giving him a shield pressure option and the ability to call out poor shield positioning. Grounded Hand Slap has a very long range and allows for stage control, but has no usage for aerial opponents, as it leaves Donkey Kong immobile and its hitbox only deals damage to grounded opponents. The aerial Hand Slap is his last move, which can meteor smash and is fast, making it effective and easy to land. His final special move, Spinning Kong, acts similarly to Bowser's Whirling Fortress as his primary out of shield option. It is hard to disrupt and is a multi-hit move with serious damage. In the air, it works as an incredibly fast horizontal recovery option and deals a lot of damage if all the hits connect. Due to the speed Spinning Kong has in the air, it can work as an effective combo breaker.

However, despite his versatile moveset and high power, Donkey Kong falls into a plethora of problems. His defensive game is very poor, a common issue for characters of his size. While his massive weight gives him very high endurance, and his large frame is the reason his range is better than characters like Mario and Squirtle, it becomes a problem when having to dodge attacks, which is hard for him because he is one of the largest targets in the game. His tie hurtbox is also extremely large, further exacerbating the issue. Coincidentally, just like those two previously mentioned fighters, he has frequent trouble dealing with characters that have disjoints due to his lack of projectiles, primarily against swordfighters such as Shulk and Ike, hitboxes on moves such as Mewtwo's up and back aerials, or fast multi-hits such as Palutena's neutral air. Donkey Kong's size also makes him vulnerable to combos and juggling, which is worsened by his lack of combo breakers (outside of his neutral aerial and up special). The reintroduction of directional air dodges makes his aerial defense even more linear, and the new air dodge's increased ending lag hurts all characters; it debatably hurts a character such as Donkey Kong the most. Moreover, his otherwise great forward throw (cargo throw) also has certain drawbacks - notably, the risk of trying to slam the opponent into the ledge with a backward cargo throw. Due to Donkey Kong's horrid vertical recovery, if the opponent either DIs fast enough, squat jumps on him, or simply has better air reach, this attempt for an easy KO may backfire. The trajectory of both the forward and back cargo throws also possesses a minor challenge. Unlike traditional forward and back throws, Donkey Kong sends the opponent at a high vertical angle instead of horizontal. This makes it more situational if they will KO or not, especially the cargo forward throw. The cargo back throw ironically has more vertical range than his cargo up throw, and therefore has more usage KOing at the top of the screen than the side. Thus, the player may find more reliability in a normal back throw near the edge.

Despite many of his moves having fast startup, Donkey Kong's moveset is made much slower by its ending lag, and most of his moves are not safe on hit at low percents. This forces him to be more careful with the moves he uses, as he can be heavily punished just for putting out one attack (a situation that can rapidly snowball due to his poor defensive options). Unlike the all-around heavyweight Bowser, perhaps Donkey Kong's most glaring weakness is his lack of out-of-shield options. Neither his neutral attack nor his tilts are enough to distance himself from an aggressive opponent if the player forces him to remain in shield. His forward tilt has good range, but lacks the power or perks of other super heavyweights, like Bowser's Tough Guy or King K. Rool's Belly Armour. A lot of his moves are also limited in some way despite their strengths: his smash attacks are slow and have very linear hitboxes; a chunk of his throws, despite their variety, have little utility; Giant Punch forces Donkey Kong to get up-close to the opponent to land the attack and needs to be charged for it to be effective; Headbutt and Hand Slap are both slow, causing them to be difficult to use for their intended purposes; and Spinning Kong, while it has decently long horizontal recovery distance, offers almost no vertical recovery and is prone to edgeguarding against meteor smashes.

All in all, Donkey Kong's mixture of fast mobility, fairly long range, high weight, decent combo potential, and excellent kill power makes him adept and flexible in many different situations, but KOing and pressuring opponents stand out as his biggest strengths. Despite this, DK's high weight, large hurtbox, and lack of good escape tools make him vulnerable to many combos. In addition, his recovery is extremely poor, and his moveset is frequently punishable due to the end lag on many of his moves. As such, Donkey Kong has to capitalize on his power and range to limit opponents' approaches to win matches.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Donkey Kong was considered a notorious character (albeit not to the extent of top tier) in SSB4 due to a combination of factors including arguably the most oppressive grab game among the cast, with his infamous forward throw (cargo throw) giving him a plethora of options to rack up damage, combo and KO following game updates. In the transition to Ultimate, Donkey Kong received a mix of buffs and nerfs, though while he received more buffs than nerfs, the latter are more prominent than the former, as they either weakened or removed some of his best traits from SSB4. Because of this, Donkey Kong has been nerfed overall.

Donkey Kong has received several useful buffs, with those to his special moves being among the most notable. Giant Punch charges faster and no longer leaves him helpless when used in the air, giving him a new edgeguarding option. Headbutt now grants him super armor before the hit comes, and moves also deal their full knockback when opponents are buried, both of which improve the moves' versatility. Grounded Spinning Kong has less difficulty linking its multi-hits and has faster super armor. At the same time, the aerial version is now a proper multi-hitting move with a finishing hit, making it safer. Hand Slap is generally faster, and the aerial version has reduced landing lag, which gives Donkey Kong a useful combo starter and allows it to confirm into KOs at high percentages. Particularly, both it and Headbutt alleviate some of DK's difficulty with landing safely.

His biggest buff, however, comes from a vastly improved forward throw (cargo throw), which is much harder to mash out of and has had each individual throws' properties improved; this either improves or grants him many more options, turning it into his most versatile throw (and arguably the best throw in the game overall). His dash attack also has less ending lag, giving him another combo starter if the late hit is landed and making it much safer if shielded. Donkey Kong's already impressive KO power has been further increased as well, as most of his moves deal more knockback. Further miscellaneous buffs include his up smash's previously infamous hitboxes being larger, making the move much easier to land on grounded opponents.

However, the few direct nerfs Donkey Kong received were severe enough to eclipse his buffs. Like Bowser, his biggest nerf is to his previously infamous combo throw — his cargo up throw now has more knockback, which makes its combo potential more strict and limits the effectiveness of its infamous "Ding Dong" KO confirm at high percentages, often requiring it to be initiated on a platform and/or a specific amount of rage to work. Although his grab game was overall buffed, Donkey Kong is one of the characters who suffers the most from the universal nerfing of grabs, making them less safe for him to use. Thus, this makes it less feasible for Donkey Kong to rely on his grab as his main way to rack up damage, forcing him to use other methods to do so.

Among his other direct nerfs, Donkey Kong's up aerial has had its animation altered, which shortens its range and hinders its versatility. Spinning Kong now gains less horizontal distance and no longer grants intangibility on startup, worsening his already poor recovery. Many of Donkey Kong's attacks, such as his tilts and up aerial, no longer have disproportionately long intangibility; now only matching their hitbox duration.

The universal changes to gameplay mechanics have brought various benefits and hindrances to Donkey Kong, but they slightly hamper him more than they help overall. His already great mobility has improved from faster walking and dashing speeds, the universal 3-frame jumpsquat change improves his ground-to-air out of shield game and allows him for with combo opportunities, and the increased shieldstun and reduced landing lag on aerial attacks makes his attacks even safer on shield (despite the reduced shieldstun on aerials); however, these same changes also mean opponents are more likely to close the distance on him, giving them more opportunities to combo Donkey Kong. Particularly, the increased shieldstun, reduced landing lag and the universal nerfing of grabs are especially harmful to Donkey Kong's out of shield game, as they make it harder for Donkey Kong to react to a shielded attack, especially since his grabs are a key point to his gameplan; this can sometimes limit him to directly contesting them via his moves' super armor to muscle through them, which can be risky despite his large weight. The universal nerfs to pummeling also especially affect Donkey Kong due to his reliance on grabs to rack up damage, thus making it less reliable to do so. Lastly, the changes to air dodging worsen Donkey Kong's recovery, as they give him less protection and make him easier to edgeguard. All of these changes, in bulk, worsen Donkey Kong's already poor defensive game, which is further notable since the game's engine prioritizes more aggressive playstyles; this forces him not only to approach more, but to be more unpredictable at doing so.

In the end, Donkey Kong has potentially received many more options for racking up damage and being less predictable, but the sheer limitation of his KO confirm means he can no longer close out stocks as easily and reliably as before. Though he retains most of his strengths from SSB4, his weaknesses are more defined, and the gameplay mechanics accentuate his weaknesses more when compared to his strengths, causing his nerfs to overshadow his buffs, despite the numerous buffs he received in game updates and optimizations to his metagame. As a result, Donkey Kong fares overall worse in Ultimate than he did in SSB4.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, Donkey Kong's model features a more subdued color scheme. His fur appears flatter overall, while his tie features subtle detailing. His facial proportions have also been tweaked. His snout now protrudes out instead of just being nostrils on a flat snout, matching his appearance in later Wii U games such as Mario Kart 8 and Mario Party 10.
• Donkey Kong faces the foreground at an angle, instead of facing directly forward. In addition, he now faces the screen regardless of whether he's facing left or right, resulting in all of his animations being mirrored and many of them being tweaked.
• Like most of the returning roster, Donkey Kong has become much more expressive than in the previous games. For example, he scowls during multiple attacks, he also appears furious when he fully charges Giant Punch, with his face turning red and veins being visible.
• Up taunt has a new animation where he moves his body much less, more closely resembling how real-life gorillas beat their chests.
• Ledge-hanging animation has changed.
• Two of Donkey Kong's victory poses have been tweaked:
  • His up-inputted victory pose now has him looking at the camera at the freeze frame and shaking his hands as opposed to his whole body afterward.
  • His right-inputted victory pose has him strike a different pose while maintaining an angrier expression.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Donkey Kong's jumpsquat animation 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. Nevertheless, this noticeably improves his survivability.
• Donkey Kong walks faster (1.3 → 1.365).
• Donkey Kong dashes faster (1.7031 → 1.873).
  • Donkey Kong's initial dash is much faster (1.6 → 2.09).
• Donkey Kong's air speed is faster (1.15 → 1.208).
• Donkey Kong's traction is much higher (0.0529 → 0.123), going from the 37th highest to the 15th highest.
• Donkey Kong's gravity is very slightly lower (0.08505 → 0.085). It is also lower relative to the cast, going from the 35th highest to the 53rd highest.
• 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. It also has less ending lag (FAF 35 → 32), and a longer hitbox duration (2 frames → 3 frames).
  • 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:
  • The move 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, it has higher base knockback, but lower knockback scaling (10 base/100 scaling → 50/78). This makes it much safer on hit at low percents, but weakens its KO potential.
    • Due to its higher base knockback, it can no longer lock opponents, and the down angled variant can no longer cause tripping.
  • It has an altered animation where Donkey Kong keeps his other arm planted on the ground rather than it twisting with the rest of his body.
    • This new animation shifts his body backwards a considerable distance as soon as it begins; combined with the changes to jostling, this allows him to dodge many close-range attacks as early as frame 1.
• Up tilt:
  • The move deals less damage (11%/10%/9% → 10%/9%/8%) without compensation on knockback, hindering its KO potential.
  • The sweetspot is on the hand instead of the shoulder, making it easier to land overall.
  • The move now has a medium punch sound effect.
• Down tilt:
  • The move has less startup lag (frame 7 → 6).
  • It has a hitstun modifier of +5, improving its combo potential.
  • The hitbox duration is shorter (3 frames → 2 frames).
  • 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%), matching the sourspot.
    • However, their knockback was not compensated, allowing them to trip opponents for longer.
• Dash attack:
  • The move 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)) and further out (Z offset: 7 (clean)/4.2 (late) → 8/5.2), improving its range.
  • It deals more hitlag (1x → 1.25x), making it easier to DI.
• Forward smash:
  • The move deals more damage (20%/19% → 22%/21%) without proper compensation on knockback (30/25 base/91 scaling → 21/18 base/88/86 scaling), improving its KO power.
  • Its animation has been altered: Donkey Kong no longer brings his arms behind him as much when charging the move, doing so before releasing the move.
• Up smash:
  • The move deals more damage (18% → 19%) and has increased knockback (30 base/83 scaling → 40/84), improving its KO potential.
  • Up smash's hand hitbox is higher up (Y offset: 26 → 28) and the arm hitbox is lower down (Y offset: 20 → 18) and extends further outwards (Z offset: -3—3 → -5—5). This improves the move's range above and next to Donkey Kong, allowing it to hit larger fighters on the ground.
• Down smash:
  • The fist hitboxes exchange IDs between the early hit and the clean hit, causing interpolation to cover the floor below Donkey Kong.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (17 frames → 10 (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:
  • It deals more damage (11% → 12% (clean), 8% → 9% (late)) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO potential.
  • It has larger hitboxes (5u/4u → 5u/5u/5.7u), and the clean hit has received an additional hitbox during its first active frame that is placed further vertically (Y offset: 8u) and horizontally (Z offset: 15u), greatly improving the move's range.
• Forward aerial:
  • The 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. This new animation is longer (55 frames → 62) increasing the amount of time DK cannot grab the ledge after using it.
• Up aerial:
  • The move grants less intangibility on Donkey Kong's head (frames 1-10 → 5-10), being more in line with the duration of the hitboxes.
  • The move has an altered animation where Donkey Kong doesn't bring his head as far backwards as before, reducing its coverage behind him.

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, similarly to his grandfather in the Donkey Kong arcade game and his own carrying animation in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
  • Cargo forward throw:
    • The move deals more damage (10% → 12%) without proper compensation on knockback (80 base/50 scaling → 90/46), slightly improving its KO potential.
  • Cargo back throw:
    • Donkey Kong has a new cargo back throw: he holds the opponent with both hands by the legs and hurls them behind himself. This new throw deals more damage (12% → 13%) and knockback (70 base/50 scaling → 85/52), improving its KO potential to the point it can KO middleweights under 150% in the air.
  • Cargo up throw:
    • The move deals more damage (10% → 12%).
    • The move has increased knockback (58 base/52 scaling → 65/53). While this slightly improves its combo potential at low to mid-percentages due to Donkey Kong's faster jumpsquat, it also limits its combo potential into only up aerial. It also noticeably worsens its combo potential past mid-percentages, no longer leading into guaranteed KOs off the top blast line except if initiated on platforms.
      • However, this grants the move KO potential, especially when combined with a jump.
  • Cargo down throw:
    • Donkey Kong has a new cargo down throw: he performs a bearhug instead of throwing the opponent downward.
    • This new throw deals more damage (7% → 11%).
    • It grants Donkey Kong a slight boost upwards if used in the air, giving it more offstage utility.
    • It has altered knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 70/45). Combined with its upward boost, this makes it safer to use at low percentages and keeps its KO potential at high ones if used offstage, but removes its ability to chain grab opponents on moving platforms (such as Smashville's) or against walls, while still lacking KO ability if not used offstage.
• 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:
  • The move has less lag when charge-canceled by shielding (8 frames → 4), making it safer to charge.
    • Additionally, it can now be charge-cancelled by shielding at any point, rather than only when DK's arm is behind him at a certain point.
    • It can also now 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.
  • It no longer causes helplessness when used in the air, much like in Smash 64.
  • The move reaches its full charge much faster (frame 154 → 121).
  • The move gains damage at a different rate (2% per 14 frames → 1% per 6.77 frames). This makes it closer to other chargeable moves.
  • Uncharged Giant Punch deals less knockback (15 base/100 scaling → 45/70). This makes it weaker than the fully charged version regardless of charge.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch deals more knockback that is consistent throughout (10 base/80/50 scaling → 35/73), making it stronger than the almost fully charged version.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch's mid-arm hitbox is larger (5u → 6.5u).
  • The move no longer has a hitbox that hits behind Donkey Kong, removing its situational ability to KO off the top blast line.
  • Donkey Kong charges Giant Punch with either arm due to his mirrored animation. 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, and 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 his custom moves in Smash 4). Additionally, he makes an angry expression when he gets a full charge (including maintaining the expression throughout other animations after its charge), and he winds up faster the closer the move is to being fully charged. He also has an altered pose upon using the punch.
  • Fully charged Giant Punch triggers the Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
• Headbutt:
  • The move has super armor on frames 5-14.
  • The grounded version has an additional hitbox against grounded opponents that is placed higher (Y offset: 5u → 13u), increasing its vertical range.
  • It has one frame less ending lag (FAF 64 → 63).
  • The aerial version stalls less (gravity multiplier: 0.3 → 0.5).
• Spinning Kong:
  • The move's loop hits connect more reliably, especially for the aerial version, which uses the autolink angle (20°/180°/180° → 366°). The grounded version's loop hits hold the opponent in place rather than knocking them back and forth.
  • The move has less landing lag (40 frames → 38).
  • The grounded version's super armor starts earlier and has a longer duration (frames 8-17 → 5-17).
  • The grounded version's last hit has more base knockback (40 → 60), but less knockback scaling (170 → 157), slightly improving its KO potential overall.
  • 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:
  • The grounded version has less startup lag (frame 18 → 12).
  • Both the grounded and aerial versions have drastically less ending lag (FAF 75 → 47 (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.