Rocketbarrel Boost

The Rocketbarrel Boost (, Barrel Jet) (labeled Rocketbarrel Blast in the Super Smash Bros. Brawl instruction booklet) is Diddy Kong's up special move.

Overview
Diddy Kong activates a Rocketbarrel Pack and starts charging it, slowing his fall. When the special attack button is released, he propels himself in the chosen direction.

The distance the Rocketbarrel Boost will cover depends on how much the attack is charged. During the charging period, the angle that Diddy travels can be altered by tilting the Control Stick left or right; charging the move longer allows a more significant angle shift.

Touching an opponent while ascending will cause fire damage. In Brawl, the explosion generated from liftoff also has a hitbox which meteor smashes opponents. If Diddy is attacked while using the move, the barrels will fly off and become irregularly-moving, unblockable but reflectable projectiles, exploding on contact with the stage. The player can alter the direction the barrels will move in for a small amount of time before they lose control. If Diddy hits a surface while using the move, he takes about 5% damage.

From Super Smash Bros. 4 onward, the move can be used to travel at more horizontal trajectories, improving the move's uses for recovery.

Barrel jumping
Barrel jumping is an advanced technique in Brawl and SSB4. It is very similar to 's zap jump except that the zap jump can be used as an extended jump but the timings are almost exact. When taking knockback, if the player performs a midair jump and quickly executes Rocketbarrel Boost at the same time, then the player moves upwards while charging the move. This results from a mechanic in which if Diddy Kong has any residual knockback when attempting to use the move, it will not disrupt Diddy Kong's momentum like it usually does, including momentum from a jump, and this is amplified by Diddy Kong's gravity being reduced while charging the move, causing his jump to be floaty.

Customization
Special Move customization was added in Super Smash Bros. 4. These are the variations:


 * 1) Rocketbarrel Boost: Default.
 * 2) Rocketbarrel Attack: Deals more knockback, but doesn't fly as well.
 * 3) Rocketbarrel Kaboom: Faster charge and better steering, but the pack explodes if Diddy hits terrain. It doesn't go as far as Rocketbarrel Boost.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
The Rocketbarrel Pack trophy is unlocked by clearing Level 4 of Target Smash.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
The Rocketbarrel Pack trophy is available in both versions. In it is part of the Animal Friends and Items.

Origin
Rocketbarrel Boost is one of Diddy Kong's moves from , which he can purchase from from the second level  onwards. Diddy Kong uses it to fly in the air for a short time and can also use it with his Peanut Popguns to shoot at foes in the air. The move also appears in , where it allows Diddy (and Donkey Kong, if the two are paired up) to temporarily hover. The Barrel Jet itself has a different appearance in Donkey Kong Country Returns and the subsequent : a tan cloth backpack containing a single rocket-shaped barrel on a metal arm. Despite this redesign, SSB4 retains the move's appearance from Donkey Kong 64.

Trivia

 * In Brawl, charging the move in the air while in lower gravity causes him to float up, as if the gravity was reversed.
 * Professional Smash 4 player has earned the title "The Barrel Technician", due to his creative use of Rocketbarrel Boost in tournaments, most notably CEO 2015.
 * In the Japanese versions of Brawl, the Rocketbarrel Pack's other game appearance is labeled Mario Power Tennis rather than Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast/Jet Race.