Donkey Kong (SSBM)

Donkey Kong (, Donkey Kong), shortened as DK on the victory screen and character select screen, is a default character in Super Smash Bros. Melee. He returns from the original Super Smash Bros., but with faster moves and agility, as well as an improved recovery.

Donkey Kong's voice consists of modified stock animal grunts and roars, similar to his sounds in Super Smash Bros. Newcomer also uses stock sounds, but they are different from Donkey Kong's.

He is currently 16th out of 26 on the tier list, placing him in the C- tier. This is a slight improvement to his previous placement in Smash 64 where he was ranked 9th out of 12. Donkey Kong, true to being a heavyweight, is difficult to KO, and this is aided by his fast falling speed. Donkey Kong also has powerful attacks, and he has excellent range to boot. For a heavyweight, Donkey Kong is unusually agile; most of his attacks are executed swiftly, he has high air speed, and his jumping prowess is solid. His mobility facilitates combos, and this is further aided by his remarkable grab range. However, Donkey Kong himself is vulnerable to combos due to his large size and high falling speed, and his recovery, while covering a significant amount of horizontal distance, fails to cover much height.

Attributes
Contrary to what his archetype might suggest, Donkey Kong has surprisingly high speed for a character of his power and weight class. In raw characteristics, Donkey Kong boasts a fast walking speed, above-average running speed, high air speed, and high falling speed (though unlike other high-fallers, Donkey Kong's gravity is average as opposed to above-average, with him having the lowest gravity value amongst the high-fallers; he shares the same fall speed as the significantly lighter ), aspects that lead to a short wavedash, but an average SHFFL, and long, safe dash dance.

Owing to his relatively high speed, Donkey Kong possesses a decently versatile comboing game. On the ground, Donkey Kong's various tilts are all fast and can be used to start aerial combos, and in the air, Donkey Kong's fast, low-lag neutral, up, and back aerial attacks can allow him to continue attacking enemies with little penalty against him; adding to this, his high air speed can allow him to pursue enemies that have been popped up into the air. Arguably his most important combo tool, however, consists of his throwing game; despite a below-average grab range, Donkey Kong's various throws have low-knockback and low ending lag, making them excellent combo starting tools. His forward throw, known as the "cargo throw" or "cradle", is especially useful, due to its ability to easily combo into his practical air options. While carrying his opponent, Donkey Kong is free to move around the stage, allowing him to move to areas where he can more easily combo his opponents without interference from platforms or other hazards. He can also use this feature of the cargo throw to either perform a sacrificial KO by walking off the edge of the stage after cradling an enemy or throwing the enemy underneath the stage to stage spike them.

As expected for a character of his weight class, Donkey Kong also has a plethora of powerful attack options in addition to his faster, weaker offerings. All of his smash attacks can cover significant distances away from him, as well as packing significant power in order to KO opponents. Three of his aerials (back, down and forward) can be potent finishers to complement his aerial game, and his Giant Punch can easily be one of the most powerful attacks in the game if landed, though it does require a particularly good read or combo in order to be most effective.

Due to being a heavyweight with a high falling speed, Donkey Kong owns a below-average recovery. While these traits make Donkey Kong highly resilient to the upper blast line, Donkey Kong's survivability on all other blast lines is poor. Spinning Kong grants above average horizontal distance, but poor height, making meteor smashes and spikes extremely powerful against him. Owing to a lack of other options concerning his recovery, this also means that he has very poor recovery options compared to other characters; none of his specials can reduce his falling speed, and he cannot wall-jump or use any other tactics in conjunction with Spinning Kong, and as such, he is simple to edgeguard.

Much like fellow heavyweight Bowser, Donkey Kong's various attributes also make him very easy to combo. In addition to having among the largest raw hurtbox sizes in the game, Donkey Kong's high falling speed and weight make it easy for characters to chain throw him, as well as combo him in the air. Compounding this is Donkey Kong's poor defensive game; a large hurtbox (including a tie hurtbox) causes him to have a small shield that can easily make him vulnerable to shield stabbing, and his lack of a projectile can discourage him from approaching enemies that own one.

Changes from Super Smash Bros.
Donkey Kong has received a large mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition from Smash 64 to Melee. However, whether he was buffed or nerfed overall is debatable since the nerfs and buffs he received were both significant. While he has lost his previously abusable grab release, the generally faster falling speeds have given DK a new type of chaingrab against fast-falling opponents, particularly with his newly buffed cargo throw, and his new up and down throws. However, his reach has been reduced (though it remains among the best) and his power is lower as well, but many of his attacks are faster to execute. He is also more vulnerable to combos due to his faster falling speed and his overall endurance is much worse due to him being much lighter.

Regardless, Donkey Kong ranks better relative to the cast in Melee than he does in SSB64, now ranking 16th out of 26 characters rather than 9th out of 12. Due to the faster mechanics, however, other characters have been given buffs in varying degrees, which results in Donkey Kong still struggling to make a presence in high-level tournaments.

Ground attacks

 * Neutral attack:
 * Forward tilt:
 * Up tilt:
 * Down tilt:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up tilt:
 * Down tilt:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down tilt:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Dash attack:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Forward smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Up smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:
 * Down smash:

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial:
 * Forward aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Forward aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Back aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Up aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:
 * Down aerial:

Throws/other attacks

 * Grabs:
 * Forward throw (cargo throw):
 * Cargo forward throw:
 * Back throw:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Cargo forward throw:
 * Back throw:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Cargo forward throw:
 * Back throw:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Cargo forward throw:
 * Back throw:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Back throw:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Edge attacks:
 * Edge attacks:

Special moves

 * Giant Punch:
 * Headbutt:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Headbutt:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Headbutt:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Headbutt:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Headbutt:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Headbutt:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Spinning Kong:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:
 * Hand Slap:

Version history
Like some other characters, Donkey Kong was slightly altered in the PAL version of Melee. Donkey Kong received one beneficial change although it is not enough to drastically improve his competitive viability.

PAL

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

Stats
NTSC

PAL

Most historically significant players

 * See also: Category:Donkey Kong players (SSBM)


 * - Gathered notoriety as one of the first strong Donkey Kong players. His 4th place run at marks the strongest placement for the character during the MLG era. At the same tournament, he also garnered multiple wins over  and.
 * - Previously considered the best Donkey Kong player in the world. He placed 9th at and made an upset over  and made decent placements at other tournaments such as 25th at  and 49th at.
 * - One of the best Donkey Kong players in Europe, using him and . Placed 9th at and 25th at . Currently ranked 4th at Spanish Power Rankings.
 * - Mid-tier specialist and widely seen as the current best Donkey Kong player in the world, being ranked 45th on the SSBMRank Summer 2023. His local win at Xanadu Legends 500 and major placements such as 13th at and 17th at  started a major discussion for Donkey Kong's viability as a character. He has taken a few sets over top 100 players such as, , and.
 * - Formerly a Fox and Ice-Climbers player who switched to Donkey Kong. Placed 49th at and 33rd at both  and  with wins over  and.
 * - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the world, and the best player in all of Denmark. Placed 9th at, 13th at , and 17th at , , and . Has taken sets off players such as , , , and.
 * - Previously considered the best Donkey Kong player in the world. Placed 9th at, 13th at , and 33rd at both and.
 * - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the world. Placed 17th at, 25th at both and , as well as 33rd at  and . He has beaten players such as , , and.

Tier placement and history
Donkey Kong is currently ranked as 16th on the tier list in the C- tier, making him a situational character in high-level tournament play at first glance. This tier placing, however, is significantly better than his initial tier placings; Donkey Kong was initially viewed as a low-to-bottom tiered character in the early Melee metagame, placing at 20th/21st with Roy on the first tier list. In future tier lists, Donkey Kong would frequently appear at this rank, with his lowest ranking being 22nd on the sixth tier list. Much like Bowser, Donkey Kong was often derided for his large hurtbox and high falling speed, making him an easy target for combos and attacks in general, and despite his slightly better base speed than Bowser, he was regarded as too slow to keep up with many characters that were higher-tiered than him.

Devoted Donkey Kong mains, however, began to immediately improve Donkey Kong's metagame, notably by demonstrating that Donkey Kong's supposed speed issues were skewed; players have demonstrated Donkey Kong had a surprisingly fast and powerful aerial game, and that his dash-dance was also effective, especially when compounded with his unforgiving punish and throwing game. 2022 and 2023 in particular have seen a massive upswing in Donkey Kong's usage and a stronger level of consistency at higher level tournaments more comparable to mid-tier characters. 2023 marked the characters first ever appearance among the globally ranked top 50 with ranking as the 45th best player in the world during the 2023 SSBM Rank. Following the widely proclamed 'renaissance' of the character, Donkey Kong has since become a more respected presence in high-level play.

Donkey Kong appears in a one-on-one, as an ally, on a team with, in a giant battle, in a multi-man battle, or in the metal battle. Donkey Kong appears in or Jungle Japes except the metal battle, where he appears in  instead.

Adventure Mode
Donkey Kong appears in Stage 2 of Melee's Adventure Mode,, in two parts. In the first part, the player battles two tiny Donkey Kongs on Kongo Jungle stage and after they are beaten, the player will battle a giant Donkey Kong on Jungle Japes.

All-Star Mode
Donkey Kong and his allies are fought on.

Event Matches
Donkey Kong is featured in the following event matches:
 * Event 2: Lord of the Jungle: As a giant DK, the player must defeat a tiny DK in a two-stock match on.
 * Event 10: All-Star Match 1: Donkey Kong is the second opponent to be fought in this series of staged battles. The player battles him on Jungle Japes, which will transition to the next stage if Donkey Kong gets defeated. With a timer of four minutes, the player must defeat him along with, , , and.
 * Event 13: Yoshi's Egg: As Yoshi, the player must protect a Yoshi Egg from, , and Donkey Kong for 55 seconds on Rainbow Cruise. If the egg breaks, the match will result in a failure.
 * Event 25: Gargantuans: A scenario designed as a homage to kaiju movies and their various tropes. On the Fourside stage with unlimited time, the player plays as a giant-sized Bowser (symbolically representing, a movie monster from Japan) with 1 stock against a giant-sized Donkey Kong (symbolically representing , a movie monster from the United States) with two stock. Two other characters on the match are a tiny Mario and a tiny Peach, who can be KOed within seconds by either Donkey Kong or Bowser.

Trophies
In addition to the normal trophy about Donkey Kong as a character, there are two trophies about him as a fighter, unlocked by completing both Adventure and All-Star modes respectively with Donkey Kong on any difficulty:

Trivia

 * DK has a hurtbox attached to his necktie, which may have been placed to prevent thin projectiles or other similar attacks from missing hits due to their chances of slipping between DK's arms and ending in the empty space of his standing animation. However, it also artificially inflates his overall hurtbox in many other animations.
 * Donkey Kong is the only character in the game to have an aerial attack that cannot be auto-canceled, being his forward aerial (auto-cancels on frame 85, but only has 60 frames in its entire attack duration). However, the coding of the move shows that it was intended to be able to, but it cannot due to a minor error caused by using the wrong type of timing function. Likewise, his up smash was supposed to interrupt on frame 40, but due to using the wrong type of timing function, it lacks IASA frames. Both of these errors were carried over in Brawl and SSB4, though in SSB4, his up smash now has IASA frames (interrupts on frame 50).
 * Donkey Kong's Headbutt and the Poké Ball Pokémon Togepi's Magnitude are the only attacks in Melee that can bury opponents.
 * Donkey Kong has 3 meteor smashes, tied with and  for most spikes and meteors in Melee.
 * Donkey Kong and are the only characters in Melee who cannot use their down special in the air.
 * Whenever Donkey Kong enters the stage on certain modes in 1-P Mode (excluding Classic Mode, Adventure Mode, Event matches, and the first stage in All-Star Mode), he can be seen briefly in his bind pose position.
 * If the damage ratio of a match is 0.5, and DK grabs, throws, and quickly re-grabs, and cargo carries a CPU before it touches the ground, the CPU will never break free by itself, even if it becomes invincible; they can only break free when DK decides to throw them or the CPU is affected by something (getting attacked, changing size, and so on).
 * Melee is the first game where the Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong Country has visible teeth in his 3D model in-game.
 * In the NTSC versions of the game, Donkey Kong is one of four characters (alongside, , and ) whose neutral special charge is lost if hit out of at least one specific special move.
 * Of these characters, only Donkey Kong received a fix addressing this issue in the PAL version.