Donkey Kong (PM)

Donkey Kong is a playable character in the Brawl mod Project M. In Project M, Donkey Kong was remade as a buffed version of his Melee counterpart.

Donkey Kong is currently ranked 11th out of 41 on the official tier list, placing him in the higher half of the A- tier. This position is significantly higher than his Melee and Brawl placements, where he was 16th out of 26 and 21st out of 38, respectively. In the official Project+, Donkey Kong ranks 15th in the A tier, a slight drop from his Project M placement but nevertheless a noticeable improvement over his Melee and Brawl counterparts.

Attributes
Donkey Kong falls under the generic super heavyweight archetype, boasting slow but powerful attacks. What sets Donkey Kong apart is his surprisingly fast dashing speed, a fast falling speed (making him one of the only two fast-fallers to be heavyweight, alongside ), an average air speed, and decent attack reach. As a result of his weight (he is the second heaviest, being second only to ) and falling speed, Donkey Kong inherits the second best horizontal and third best vertical endurance, losing only to Bowser horizontally and and  vertically. Donkey Kong has a unique throw that allows him to carry opponents on his back. He is able to walk in either direction, jump, and throw in any direction while he has an opponent in cargo. The up throw out of cargo is notorious for setting up both combos and KOs, especially on fast-fallers. Donkey Kong has many moves with decent range like his back air and his Hand Slap, the latter of which is great at tech chasing, as it can cover multiple options at once. With his heavy damage and knockback-dealing moves and his aerial and grab combos, Donkey Kong does not have much trouble setting up a hit with his forward aerial, his Giant Punch, or any of his other powerful finishers.

Donkey Kong is one of the strongest fighters in the game, possessing a myriad of reliable and powerful finishers in his repertoire. His unusually fast mobility, combined with his power, allows him to execute devastating combos. Donkey Kong's aerial game is above average, as his array of aerial attacks have great utility and strength. His forward and down aerials send his opponents downwards, with the latter being a strong meteor smash (especially with his foot) and the former being a powerful spike with the late hitbox. He also has incredibly deadly options out of shield.

However, Donkey Kong suffers from approach issues. A combination of a long jump squat and an above average traction gives him a slow and short wavedash. Additionally, while his high weight and falling speed make him difficult to KO off the stage horizontally and vertically, said factors also make him easy to combo, an issue compounded by his large size. Additionally, while Donkey Kong has an above-average horizontal recovery in Spinning Kong, the move is among the worst in terms of vertical distance. Donkey Kong's greatest weakness, however, may be his lack of means to combat projectiles. As a large target, Donkey Kong is forced to play aggressively against projectile users, who may have the ability to punish Donkey Kong if he gets close.

Moveset
Up to date as of version 3.6.

Notable tech
Labbing Discord Tech Post

Most historically significant players
Any number following the Smasher name indicates placement on the PMRank 2019, which recognizes the official top 50 players in the world in Project M during 2019.

See also: Category:Donkey Kong players (PM)
 * - Ranked 6th on the Connecticut Project M Power Rankings. Placed 17th at Blacklisted 3 and 49th at The Bigger Balc.
 * (#26)
 * (#2) - One of the best players in the world, and the best Donkey Kong main in the world. Formerly ranked 1st on PMRank 2016 and PMRank 2017.
 * - One of the best Australian Project M players. Ranked 2nd on the Australian Project M Power Rankings.

Project M
Donkey Kong has an alternate costume based on his secret boss fight in the Wii version of Punch-Out!! The costume has no gameplay effects. It also has green and blue recolors so that it can be used in Team Battles. The green color on Donkey Kong third Punch Out!! outfit is based on Little Mac and His default white recolor, however, has its necktie changed from red to blue, in reference to Super Kong from Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Project+
Donkey Kong received a selection of recolors for both of his costumes in Project+. His standard costumes include colors similar to his Donkey Kong 64 multiplayer costumes. The pink Boxer costume is based on the character Junior (II) from the NES game Donkey Kong Jr. Math.



All Costumes:

Default

Black: Resembles the fur colors of real-life gorillas, as well as Donkey Kong's appearance in Donkey Kong Country's Two-Player Contest mode.

Red: Resembles Donkey Kong's original sprite from the similarly-titled arcade game, Donkey Kong.

Blue: Resembles one of Donkey Kong's alternate color schemes from Donkey Kong 64, as well as a similar alternate color scheme when Right is pressed on the D-Pad when selecting him in Mario Golf.

Green

White: Resembles a Super Kong clone of Donkey Kong from Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Pink: Similar to his red costume, but with a lighter color scheme and a white-and-red necktie. Coincidentally, Nintendo and Illumination would use a similar coloration for Fire Donkey Kong, albeit with white highlights on his ankle fur, wrist fur, and the top of his head fur, in The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Purple

Neon Green

Tan

Boxer: Inspired by Donkey Kong's appearance in the Mac's Last Stand game mode of the Wii version of Punch-Out!!. The major difference is that his necktie is replaced by a championship belt resembling a Banana Coin, a pair of red and yellow trunks, and bandages on his face that, prior to Version 2.3 of Project+, were a part of his costume. Since Version 2.3, the bandages become part of a damage system similar to those of Little Mac.

Boxer Blue

Boxer Green: Vaguely resembles Little Mac.

Boxer Pink: Resembles Junior (II), a character found exclusively in the multiplayer of Donkey Kong Jr. Math.

Boxer Yellow: Vaguely resembles Disco Kid, a boxer exclusive to the Wii version of Punch-Out!!.

Z-Secret Costume: Mini Donkey Kong: Based on the Mini Donkey Kong toys that first appeared in Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis.

R-Secret Costume: Funky Kong: Based on Funky Kong, a surfer dude member of the Kong family with a similar build to Donkey Kong who first appeared in Donkey Kong Country. The costume is based on the character's redesign from DK: King of Swing, which itself is partly based on his appearance in Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble, minus the toolbelt and shoes.

Trivia

 * Donkey Kong is one of the only two characters to be equipped with two spikes, alongside, who coincidentally shares the same falling speed.