Bowser (SSB4)

Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Konga Beat
Tier	C (25)

Donkey Kong (クッパ, Koopa) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was confirmed on June 11th, 2013 during E3 2013, during which he was one of the main subjects of the Developer Direct for SSB4, as well as the last veteran confirmed during the event. Donkey Kong reuses his voice clips from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, some of which have been edited to sound deeper, as well as new voice clips.

Donkey Kong is currently ranked 25th out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the C tier and making him the second highest ranking mid-tier character, as well as the highest ranking super heavyweight. This is a vast improvement from his placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 33rd out of 38, and is first time in the series that he has not been ranked as a bottom-tier character. Many of Donkey Kong's problems from Melee and Brawl have been fixed: he is much more mobile, has much greater range, and has noticeably improved combo and grab games. Aside from his new benefits, he retains his excellent endurance, overall high damage output, and very strong KOing options.

However, Donkey Kong remains virtually defenseless outside of out of shield Whirling Fortress, and is still very susceptible to combos due to his large size, heavy weight, and lack of combo breakers. This is exacerbated by his lack of good landing options, as well as his rolls and sidesteps being short-distanced and having minimal intangibility frames. Lastly, his recovery is still below average despite its improvements.

Overall, Donkey Kong's drastic improvements have resulted in him achieving success ever since SSB4's release. While his perception in the metagame has fluctuated over SSB4's lifespan, he is a viable character as of update 1.1.3, and this has been reflected with his playerbase's success. Greward has won a few regional and national tournaments, while LordMix and Nairo have been able to win difficult matchups against high-level players of top-tier characters; LordMix has defeated Vinnie's Rosalina & Luma and VoiD's Sheik, while Nairo has defeated Tweek's Cloud, Zinoto's Diddy Kong, and Mr.E's Marth.

Attributes

Unlike in Melee and Brawl, Donkey Kong boasts a respectable level of speed to go alongside his renowned power. While he retains a slow walking speed, slow falling speed, high gravity, average air speed, slow air acceleration, low fall speed and the slowest jumpsquat, his dashing speed and double jump height have both been significantly increased. This grants him mobility that is average overall, yet balanced compared to most heavyweights. As the heaviest character in the game, Donkey Kong has the greatest level of horizontal endurance, as well as the third greatest level of vertical endurance, being surpassed only by his fellow super heavyweights King Dedede and Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong's greatest strength is his immense power. Since most of his attacks are highly damaging, Donkey Kong has an easy time racking up damage, especially when compared to combo-oriented characters like Luigi and Sheik. In addition, most of his moves have high knockback, granting him numerous (if not the largest number of) KOing options. Some of his moves are among the strongest of the cast, including the one of the strongest meteor smash in his down aerial, one of the strongest semi-spikes in his back aerial and the second strongest forward smash, which is surpassed only marginally by King Dedede and max Aura Lucario's. The introduction of rage further amplifies the power of his moves without reducing the efficiency of his combos. Donkey Kong's great survivability can also allow him to take full advantage of it, as it is very difficult to KO him without a strong attack. Furthermore, Donkey Kong has great range in many of his attacks, allowing him to space opponents more easily than many other characters. Combined with the aforementioned perks, Donkey Kong is proficient at edgeguarding.

Donkey Kong also has a formidable grab game. While not particularly fast, his grabs have among the longest ranges in the game, with his pivot grab being notoriously effective, making it easy for him to grab opponents that are not right next to him. His pummel and his forward, back and down throws deal respectable damage. His up throw's low damage output is counterbalanced by its low knockback, which grants Donkey Kong many reliable follow-ups until around 75%, depending mostly on the opponent's falling speed. His down throw is the optimal choice for either forcing opponents off-stage for an edgeguard or preventing his other throws from becoming stale. His back throw is among the strongest, being surpassed only by Ness, Toon Link, Mewtwo, Villager, Dr. Mario, and Mario's, and can KO at 180% from center-stage. His forward throw is the strongest of its kind in the game, reliably KOing any character at 180% from center-stage.

Lastly, Donkey Kong has a versatile special moveset. Fire Breath is Donkey Kong's only projectile, which can be used to fend off opponents or gimp recoveries due to it ability to be angled, while the nerf to SDI makes it quite difficult to escape when caught up close. Flying Slam is a command grab, allowing it to ignore shields and counterattacks. Upon a successful grab, Donkey Kong is invincible up until he jumps to perform a flipping belly-to-belly suplex that deals enough knockback to KO around 120% or even earlier if he lands on a platform. After getting grabbed, the opponent cannot do anything other than slightly alter the move's trajectory. Whirling Fortress is Donkey Kong's primary means of recovery, granting below average vertical distance but good horizontal distance, with the former increasing if button mashing is utilized. It is also a phenomenal out of shield option, as well as Donkey Kong's fastest attack. Lastly, Donkey Kong Bomb is very powerful and can be used as an alternative to fast-falling, making it useful for grabbing the ledge while at the same time threatening edgeguarders. It also deals additional shield damage, meaning that a shield break will occur if both of its hits connect.

However, Donkey Kong has some glaring flaws. One of his biggest problems is air-to-ground transitioning. All of his aerials have at least 20 frames of landing lag, with his back and down aerials having 40 frames each. As none of his aerials have favorable autocancel windows, returning to the ground is very difficult for him, or even impossible without air dodging and/or fast-falling, due to his slow aerial mobility. As a result, Donkey Kong is quite vulnerable to combos and heavily susceptible to juggling, making it easy for opponents to rack up damage on him, further worsened by his large size. His down aerial is his only move that can help mitigate these issues, but its aforementioned landing lag and stall-then-fall status can make it quite unreliable most of the time. His moveset, while fast compared to most heavyweights, is slow when compared to the rest of the cast, limiting his combo starters to only up throw and jab canceled neutral attack, and making it difficult for him to keep up with faster opponents, such as Sonic. This also compounds another noticeable problem: his ability to escape pressure. Due to his slow rolls and sidestep, with the former also being short-distanced, Donkey Kong's only real method of dealing with pressure is Whirling Fortress, which can be punished if executed too late. Some of his moves are also inevitable KOs if used off-stage, namely his two stall-then-falls, down aerial and Donkey Kong Bomb, as well as Flying Slam. Lastly, despite his recovery being rather long-distanced, it is among the slowest of the cast, making aggressive edgeguarding more than enough to KO Donkey Kong.

Donkey Kong benefits greatly from custom moves. Compared to Fire Breath, Fire Shot is slower and has noticeable intervals between each fireball, but has more range and deals consistent damage, which make it better for Donkey Kong's neutral and and edgeguarding games. Dash Slam is drastically weaker, but has a lower launch angle and propels Donkey Kong forward, making it easier for him to grab opponents. Dash Slash deals less damage, but deals high knockback, hits throughout most of its animation and maintains the default version's autocanceling, granting Donkey Kong a very reliable move for approaching and setting up combos. Both Flying Slam alternatives can also improve his recovery. Lastly, Flying Fortress cannot be used out of shield, but grants twice as much vertical distance at high speed, significantly improving Donkey Kong's vertical recovery.

Overall, Donkey Kong is a surprisingly speedy powerhouse who relies on a defensive, bait and punish-oriented playstyle. As such, he requires timing his attacks carefully or focusing on punishing his opponents' mistakes in order to avoid serious punishment himself. While Donkey Kong's overall representation in high-level and top-level play has been smaller than higher tiered characters, players such as LordMix and Nairo have managed to achieve notable results, with many players arguing his tier placement should be higher. The most notable instance of this is ZeRo, who considers Donkey Kong to be a high-tier character.

Changes from Brawl

Donkey Kong has been significantly buffed in the transition to SSB4. Most of his moveset and animations have been completely revamped for the better; he is much more mobile overall (such as being able to outrun Marth, Toon Link, Donkey Kong, Pit and Mr. Game & Watch, all of whom were faster than him in Brawl), his endurance and recovery have been greatly improved, he possesses faster and farther ranged attacks, he has become even more powerful than he was in Melee, and his throw-based combo game is much better than ever before as of update 1.1.3. All of these improvements have rendered his punishment game safer and more rewarding than in previous games, while also remedying many of his flaws.

The general physics and mechanics changes brought about by SSB4 also significantly aid Donkey Kong. The universal nerfing of campable projectiles considerably helps Donkey Kong's approach, while the removal of immediately re-grabbing an opponent after throwing them eliminates the zero-to-death or otherwise heavily damaging chain grabs that plagued him in Melee and Brawl. Lastly, the introduction of the rage mechanic results in Donkey Kong's immense endurance and power becoming even more useful than ever before.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Donkey Kong has a more cartoonish and sleeker design, while his overall color scheme is more vibrant. Additionally, his pupils are smaller. Altogether, these changes make him better resemble his appearances in the latest Mario games.
• Like Yoshi, Donkey Kong's posture is more erect and he has a more "battle ready" stance. This is translated into his moveset, be it through a tweaked animation or a completely new attack.
• Donkey Kong's more erect stance has also resulted in his dashing, rolling, midair jumping, air dodging, crouching and crawling animations being changed. He now dashes upright instead of scuttling, and remains upright instead of retreating into his banana when rolling, jumping or air dodging. His crouch also appears similar to his crouching defense stance from Mario & Luigi: Donkey Kong's Inside Story.
• A shadow has been added to the interior of Donkey Kong's banana, which obscures his face (except for his eyes) whenever he retreats into his banana.
• Aside from his star KO voice clip, Donkey Kong's other voice clips from Brawl have been heavily altered.

Attributes

• Like other large characters, such as Donkey Kong and King Dedede, Donkey Kong's general size in proportion to the other playable characters is also greater than in previous installments. This improves his range, but makes his hurtbox larger.
• Donkey Kong is heavier (120 → 130). This improves his survivability, but makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Donkey Kong walks faster (0.8 → 0.858). His walking speed while carrying heavy items also surpasses Donkey Kong's, although Donkey Kong still surpasses him in regard to jumping or falling with them.
• Donkey Kong dashes faster (1.527 → 1.792).
• Donkey Kong's air speed is slower (1.034 → 1.0).
• Donkey Kong's item throw is stronger (1.31432 → 1.33432).
• Double jump is significantly higher.
• Donkey Kong now has universal light armor against attacks that deal less than 19 units of knockback, such as the first hit of many neutral attacks. It is significantly amplified if Donkey Kong has low damage and/or is crouching, but not while crawling or attacking.
• The removal of chain grabbing significantly improves Donkey Kong's survivability.

Ground attacks

• Donkey Kong has a new neutral attack, an alternating pair of punches. Compared to the previous neutral attack's second hit, its second hit deals 1.5% more damage (5% → 6.5%).
• Forward tilt deals 1% more damage (11% → 12%).
• Up tilt deals 3% less damage (12% → 9%) and has increased start-up lag (frame 8 → 11).
• Up tilt has decreased ending lag (FAF 51 → 41) and significantly increased range overall, as it now reaches in front of Donkey Kong.
• Down tilt's second hit has increased range.
• Down tilt's animation has slightly changed. It is now an alternating pair of swiping punches, rather than claw swipes. This animation change also now fully matches its hitboxes, whereas in Brawl, the hitboxes did not cover the entirety of Donkey Kong's hands.
• Donkey Kong has a new dash attack, a side kick. Compared to the previous dash attack, it deals more damage (11% → 12% (clean), 8% → 10% (late)), has more knockback growth (30 → 35), and has significantly more range.
• Dash attack has less base knockback (120 → 110) and more start-up lag (frame 10 → 11) compared to the previous dash attack.
• Donkey Kong has a new forward smash, a dropkick. Compared to the previous forward smash, it has more knockback growth (81 → 98), making it better at KOing. It also has less start-up lag (frame 27 → 22), significantly more range, and better hitbox placements.
• Forward smash has weak hitboxes throughout its later portions that deal 6% less damage than its initial hitboxes (23%/20% → 17%/14%). Compared to the previous forward smash, it has greater knockback, due to its much higher damage output and despite having less knockback (30 (base)/130 (growth) → 10/103). It also has more ending lag (FAF 67 → 70).
• Forward smash consists of one hit rather than two, similarly to Donkey Kong's forward smash in Melee. Compared to the previous forward smash, its overall damage potential is lower by 14% (46% → 32%). Unlike the previous forward smash, opponents cannot avoid its main KOing hitbox by escaping the weaker initial hit while it still has stronger power.
• Up smash has increased knockback growth (80 (sweetspot)/90 (sourspot) → 90/100), now being the third most powerful up smash in SSB4. Its first hitbox also has a longer duration (frames 16-22 frames → 16-23), its sweetspot can now hit grounded opponents, and it can now clang with aerial attacks, improving its safety.
• Up smash's second hit deals less damage (12%/10% → 6%), significantly hindering its KO potential, despite its increased base knockback (60 → 80).
• Down smash deals 5% less damage (21% → 16%) and has decreased knockback growth (140 → 130), hindering its KO potential.
• Down smash has decreased start-up lag (frame 15 → 10) due to receiving an additional hitbox right before Donkey Kong starts spinning. It is also significantly harder to SDI out of.
• Down smash's angle has been altered (65° → 48°).

Aerial attacks

• Donkey Kong has a new neutral aerial, a cartwheel. Compared to the previous neutral aerial, its overall damage potential is higher by 11% (13% → 24%), its hitbox is larger, it consists of multiple hits, its duration is longer (frames 8-28 → 8-29) and it has less landing lag (24 frames → 20).
• Neutral aerial autocancels later (frame 40> → 45>) than the previous neutral aerial.
• Forward aerial has increased range above and below Donkey Kong. Its sweetspot also takes up a much larger portion of Donkey Kong's arm, granting it edgeguarding potential.
• Forward aerial has increased start-up lag (frame 8 → 11).
• Donkey Kong has a new back aerial, a dropkick. Compared to the previous back aerial, it deals more damage (15%/7% → 19%) and it has different knockback (25 (base)/83 (growth) → 20/88), making it better at KOing. It also has less ending lag (FAF 50 → 45) and can autocancel from a short hop (frame 45> → 31>).
• Back aerial's hitboxes are smaller than the previous back aerial's (9u/5u → 7u/5.5u). It also has a shorter duration (frames 9-16 → 9-11) and more landing lag (35 frames → 40). Unlike the previous back aerial, it lacks a sourspot to keep opponents at bay.
• Up aerial deals 2% less damage (17% → 15%) and has decreased knockback growth (93 → 85), hindering its KO potential. It also has a smaller hitbox (7u → 6u).
• Up aerial has significantly decreased start-up lag (frame 16 → 9).
• Up aerial's animation has slightly changed. Donkey Kong now swings his head in a backward motion, rather than in an overhead arcing motion.
• Down aerial deals 13% less damage (29% → 16%) due to consisting of one hit instead of nine. It also has slightly increased start-up lag (frame 14 → 17).
• Down aerial is now a stall-then-fall instead of a drill. It has a larger hitbox (4u → 7u), increased base knockback (10 → 30), it meteor smashes during its first few frames, deals vertical knockback during its later frames, and produces a shockwave upon landing. Altogether, these changes grant it KO, edgeguarding and anti-juggling potential, and improve its safety while on-stage. Because it is now a stall-then-fall, it can also be used to down aerial stall.
• Down aerial can no longer be canceled until it ends and does not edge sweetspot, significantly hindering its safety while off-stage.

Throws/other attacks

• All grabs have increased ranges, to the point that they are now among the longest ranged non-tether grabs in the game.
• Dash grab has decreased ending lag (FAF 50 → 48).
• Pivot grab has increased start-up (frame 9 → 11) and ending lag (FAF 40 → 46).
• Grabs' animations have changed. Donkey Kong now grabs and holds opponents with one arm, similarly to Koopa Klaw's grab from Melee, rather than clinching them with his arms and mouth. Donkey Kong also no longer falls over when he whiffs a dash grab.
• Forward throw deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and has increased knockback growth (50 → 66), improving its KO potential.
• Forward throw's animation has slightly changed. Donkey Kong now rears to the side and sways his head upward to throw the opponent, rather than rearing his head downward swinging it upward.
• Donkey Kong has a new back throw, a one-armed throw similar to Donkey Kong's back throw. Compared to the previous back throw, it deals 2% more damage (10% → 12%) and has more knockback growth (50 → 66), making it better at KOing.
• Up throw deals 3.5% less damage (10% → 6.5%).
• Up throw has altered knockback (120 (base)/100 (growth) → 25/180), decreased ending lag (FAF 32 → 25) and its angle has been altered (70° → 82°), granting it significant combo potential.
• Down throw has significantly increased knockback (75 (base)/30 (growth) → 90/80), improving its KO potential.
• Donkey Kong has a new edge attack, an inward slash similar to his 100%+ edge attack in previous games.

Special moves

• Fire Breath now deals consistent damage (2%/1% → 1.2%).
• Fire Breath has larger hitboxes, decreased start-up and ending lag, and increased range.
• Fire Breath's farthest hitboxes no longer cause flinching.
• Fire Breath slightly pushes Donkey Kong back while slightly pushing the opponent away. This hinders its overall damage output, as opponents will not stay trapped for as long as before. However, this improves its safety, as opponents will no longer be able to SDI through Fire Breath to punish Donkey Kong for using it.
• Flying Slam has increased knockback growth (50 → 60), improving its KO potential. Additionally, Donkey Kong is now invincible before he leaves the ground, while a whiffed grab autocancels upon landing for its entire duration, improving its safety. Lastly, Donkey Kong has more control over Flying Slam's trajectory and it received a hitbox during its landing portion that can hit bystanders.
• Flying Slam's grabbox has decreased vertical range, making it more difficult to grab aerial opponents and removing Koopa Hopping.
• Donkey Kongcide now KOs Donkey Kong first and the opponent is released from Flying Slam when this occurs, significantly hindering its utility.
• Grounded Whirling Fortress now hits eight times instead of once, improving its out of shield potential.
• Aerial Whirling Fortress grants significantly more vertical distance via button mashing, ascends faster, and can now grab edges from behind. Altogether, these changes significantly improving its recovery potential.
• Donkey Kong Bomb deals more shield damage (0 → 5). When combined with the changes to shield mechanics, this makes it capable of breaking full shields if all of its hitboxes connect. It also descends faster and Donkey Kong performs it much faster when performed from the ground.
• Giga Donkey Kong's duration has decreased.

Update history

Donkey Kong has received numerous buffs from game updates. However, he received one major nerf in update 1.0.4, as Flying Slam no longer KOs the opponent first if a Donkey Kongcide is performed. On the flipside, Flying Slam has been significantly compensated for, as Donkey Kong now has more control of its trajectory, it transitions faster, has a larger grab range, and now has invincibility frames before he leaves the ground. His up tilt, neutral aerial and Fire Shot have also been improved to varying degrees, while he significantly benefits from the changes on shield mechanics in updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1; the changes grant his attacks even more chances of breaking a character's shield and give him an open attacking opportunity, but weakens his out of shield punishes with his Whirling Fortress. Update 1.1.3 heavily buffed his grab game by re-purposing his up throw into a very reliable combo starter, though this was toned down somewhat in update 1.1.4. While Donkey Kong's buffs do not address his more critical weaknesses, they have arguably helped to counterbalance them.

1.0.4 Donkey Kong did not receive changes in this update.

1.0.6

• Donkey Kong has more control over Flying Slam's trajectory.

1.0.8

• Up tilt deals 1% less damage: 10% → 9%.
• Up tilt's start-up: frame 12 → 11 and ending lag decreased: FAF 51 → 41.

1.1.0

• Down smash's angle altered: 60° → 48°.

1.1.1

• Neutral aerial deals more damage: 5% (hits 1-4) → 6% and its landing lag decreased
• Fire Shot improved. It deals 1% more damage: 5% (clean)/4% (late) → 6%/5%, its base knockback increased: 25 → 35, its hit radius increased: 4u (clean)/3.5u (late) → 5u (both), its late hit's duration increased: 15 frames → 20 and its ending lag now matches Fire Breath's.

1.1.3 Donkey Kong did not receive changes in this update.

1.1.4 Donkey Kong did not receive changes in this update.

1.1.5 Donkey Kong did not receive changes in this update.

Moveset

• Donkey Kong has universal light armor against attacks that deal deal less than 19 units of knockback, such as neutral attacks (particularly neutral infinites) and a very small number of projectiles (such as Luigi's Fireball, Ness' PK Fire, Bayonetta's uncharged Bullet Climax and Mega Man's neutral attack/forward tilt).
• Donkey Kong can crawl, although it has no practical use due to his large crouching hurtbox.

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			5%	Two alternating punches. Donkey Kong's arms are intangible as long as their hitboxes are active. The first hit has set knockback and can be jab canceled into other moves, such as a dash grab or Donkey Kong Bomb, while the second hit deals more damage and KOs around 155% near the edge.
			6.5%
Forward tilt			12%	A backhanded punch. Fairly powerful with fast start-up and good range, it also renders Donkey Kong's arm intangible as long as its hitbox is active, allowing it to effectively disrupt most oncoming attacks. It is based on the second hit of his Drill Claw attack in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.
Up tilt			9%	An overhead arcing slash. Has respectable utility, as it can be a good combo option at low percentages either by starting and then chaining into itself, acting as a follow-up from up throw, or acting as a KOing option around 150%.
Down tilt			14% (hit 1), 11% (hit 2)	Two sweeping, alternating punches. It has a chance to trip at low percentages, but the first hit does not connect into the second hit past medium percentages. The first hit has slightly stronger knockback, while the second hit has slightly farther range, making it a decent KOing option near the edge.
Dash attack			12% (clean), 10% (late)	A side kick, similar to Meta Knight's dash attack. Good for hitting prone or tumbling opponents.
Forward smash			23% (clean feet), 20% (clean body), 17% (late feet), 14% (late body)	A dropkick. It is the third strongest forward smash in the game, being surpassed only by King Dedede and max Aura Lucario's, and is somewhat fast despite its power. Its outstanding knockback also threatens shields, as they will take severe damage from it, so much so that they can almost break from a fully charged forward smash. When spaced properly, it can even hit opponents hanging on an edge or lingering just below it.
Up smash			20% (hit 1 center), 15% (hit 1 sides), 6% (hit 2)	Gets down on all fours and hops to thrust his banana's spikes upward. Donkey Kong's banana is fully invincible, nullifying any move that happens to collide with it, making this move all but impossible to challenge from above. However, it will still clank against a move that has invincibility frames. It also hits on both sides following the hop, but these hits deal considerably less knockback.
Down smash			2% (hit 1), 1% (hits 2-6), 9% (hit 7)	Spins around in his banana, hitting multiple times with his spikes. A fairly reliable KOing option under 150%.
Neutral aerial			6% (hits 1-4)	A cartwheel. It can combo into forward and up aerials at low to medium percentages. It is a mechanically unusual attack, as both its third and fourth hits are present at once (on Donkey Kong's top and bottom half respectively). As such, connecting with the fourth hit before the third hit will mean the third hit will not connect with the opponent. Despite this quirk, it is the third most damaging aerial attack in the game, being surpassed only by max Aura Lucario's back aerial and Yoshi's down aerial.
Forward aerial			13% (hand), 12% (arm), 11% (body)	Slashes downward with his claws. It has great range, as it can even hit opponents below him, while its quick start-up and respectable knockback allows it to KO reliably at 100% off-stage. It also autocancels from a short hop, which makes it perceived as being Donkey Kong's most useful aerial.
Back aerial			19%	A dropkick. It is very powerful, as it can either KO around 100% from center-stage and as low as 60% at the edge, though it does not have much vertical range. The second strongest and most damaging back aerial in the game behind max Aura Lucario's back aerial. Autocancels from a short hop.
Up aerial			15%	An upward headbutt. Although it is not as strong as in Brawl, it is still a viable KOing option due to KOing around 100% while near the upper blast line. By extension, it is a KO confirm from up throw at high percentages.
Down aerial			16% (drop), 2% (landing)	Retracts into his banana, turns upside down, and propels himself downward. A stall-then-fall, it emits a small shockwave on both sides when he lands. It meteor smashes during the first few frames and deals respectable diagonal knockback during its later frames. Due to its large hitbox, its meteor smashing hitbox can effectively edgeguard when near the edge. Like other stall-then-falls, it will almost certainly cause a self-destruct if used off-stage.
Grab			—	Reaches out. Donkey Kong has a fairly large grab range for a non-disjointed or non-tether grab, especially when pivot grabbing, as his pivot grab can cover an entire battlefield platform.
Pummel			3.1%	A headbutt. Moderately slow, but one of the most damaging pummels in the game.
Forward throw			12%	Places the opponent in between his horns, rears his head back and then whips his head forward to launch the opponent. It is Donkey Kong's strongest throw, alongside his back throw, and is also the strongest forward throw in the game, KOing around 135% near the edge.
Back throw			12%	Throws the opponent backward in a sideways motion. Kong It has the same properties as his forward throw, which makes it Donkey Kong's strongest throw alongside the latter. KOs around 135% near the edge.
Up throw			0.5% (hits 1-7), 1% (hit 8), 2% (hit 9)	Throws the opponent slightly upward, withdraws into his banana, and then spins rapidly in order to repeatedly stab them with his banana's spikes. Donkey Kong's least damaging throw, but sports outstanding combo potential, as it can combo into up tilt, up smash, neutral aerial, up aerial, forward aerial, back aerial or even Flying Slam. Its aerial combos are especially effective against fast-fallers, although its Flying Slam combo requires a hard read.
Down throw			10% (hit 1), 2% (hit 2)	Places the opponent on the ground and splashes them. Its high base knockback, low knockback growth and high ending lag prevents it from having any follow-ups, although it deals impressive damage. It KOs around 150% near the edge and can be used an alternative to his forward and back throws for setting up an edgeguard.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Stumbles up to his feet and claws at opponents behind and in front of him.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Gets up and swipes while spinning.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Slashes around himself while getting up.
Edge attack			7%	Slashes inward while climbing up. One of the farthest ranged edge attacks in the game, making it surprisingly useful.
Neutral special	Default	Fire Breath	1.2% (loop)	Expels a stream of fire from his mouth. It gradually loses strength and range, but will slowly regain its strength when not in use. It can be angled upward or downward, which can potentially gimp recovering opponents, although the flames at the very end of the stream do not cause flinching.
	Custom 1	Fire Shot	6% (clean), 5% (late)	Expels a large fireball that pierces opponents. Unlike Fire Breath, it will not weaken over time when used in succession.
	Custom 2	Fire Roar	2.7% (clean), 1.8% (late)	Deals more damage and has longer range, but loses range quickly and takes longer to recharge.
Side special	Default	Flying Slam	18% (throw), 15% (collateral)	Grabs an opponent, jumps with them into the air and backflips repeatedly before belly-to-belly suplexing them onto the ground. It deals immense vertical knockback that can KO at 120%, making it a very reliable KOing option. Its power and launching angle makes it difficult to properly DI, especially if the user has high gravity. The suplex can also hit other opponents on the ground that it lands into for similarly powerful knockback. It can be used to dive off-stage with the opponent for a potential sacrificial KO.
	Custom 1	Dash Slam	12% (throw), 10% (collateral)	Dashes forward before performing the belly-to-belly suplex with less vertical distance, but deals less damage. Its angle is more horizontal than vertical.
	Custom 2	Dash Slash	8% (clean), 6% (late)	A dashing slash. It deals high knockback, but noticeably less damage. Despite this, it is considered one of the most useful special custom moves in the game due to its complete autocancel property and pseudo-wavedash, which makes it a safe approaching option and grants it combo potential. It is comparable to Koopa Klaw, albeit without the grab.
Up special	Default	Whirling Fortress	1% (grounded hits 1-7), 4% (grounded hit 8), 10% (aerial hit 1), 3% (aerial hits 2-6), 2% (aerial hits 7-11)	Enters his banana and spins rapidly, being able to move forward and backward while doing so. It acts as a recovery when performed in the air, propelling Donkey Kong forward and upwards, but Donkey Kong remains grounded when he performs it on the ground. Very versatile and a useful out of shield option. In the air, button mashing enables it to cover more vertical distance. Surprisingly long-ranged, but it can be intercepted easily.
	Custom 1	Flying Fortress	4%	Covers more vertical distance, but at the cost of horizontal distance. It deals less damage due to only hitting once, but its single hit launches opponents.
	Custom 2	Sliding Fortress	6%	Covers more horizontal distance, but at the cost of vertical distance. It only hits once, deals less knockback and has increased ending lag.
Down special	Default	Donkey Kong Bomb	4% (hop), 20% (drop), 11% (landing)	A Ground Pound. It deals immense vertical knockback to anyone hit and can KO under 100%, making it one of Donkey Kong's most reliable KOing options. If performed in the air, Donkey Kong performs the Ground Pound after a brief pause instead of leaping first. Emits a shockwave upon landing and will break full shields if all of its grounded hitboxes connect. However, it will almost certainly cause a self-destruct if used off-stage due to its ending lag.
	Custom 1	Turbulent Bomb	4% (hop), 9% (drop), 9% (landing)	The Ground Pound emits a gale instead of a shockwave at its impact, pushing away any opponents next to where Donkey Kong lands instead of damaging them. It deals damage overall and less knockback. Donkey Kong also leaps lower, but it covers more horizontal distance, making it useful for gimping opponents with poor recoveries, such as Little Mac and Captain Falcon.
	Custom 2	Slip Bomb	18% (drop), 13% (landing), 2% (shockwave)	The Ground Pound trips any opponents standing near Donkey Kong at its impact, although its high ending lag means it can still be punished by those who trip near Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong also leaps higher, covering more vertical distance, but at the cost of horizontal distance and its leaping hitbox.
Final Smash		Giga Donkey Kong	—	Transforms into Giga Donkey Kong, the final boss of Melee's Adventure Mode. Giga Donkey Kong has total flinch resistance during his transformation. Instead of using the moves he gained in SSB4, Giga Donkey Kong reuses all of Donkey Kong's moves and animations from Melee and Brawl, complete with his smash attacks inflicting elemental effects.

On-screen appearance

• Emerges from a wall of flames.

File:Donkey KongOnScreenAppearanceSSB4.gif

Taunts

• Up taunt: Rears his head back, sways it in a circle, and roars while exhaling steam from his mouth. The voice clip is also used during down smash, much like in Melee and Brawl.
• Side taunt: Leans forward and chomps his jaws furiously five times, with drool coming out of his mouth.
• Down taunt: Balances precariously on one leg, as if teetering.

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt
File:Donkey KongUpTauntSSB4.gif	File:Donkey KongSideTauntSSB4.gif	File:Donkey KongDownTauntSSB4.gif

Idle poses

• Leans back and exhales steam from his mouth.
• Clenches his fists and performs posterior shoulder stretches while exhaling steam from his nostrils.

File:Donkey KongIdlePose1WiiU.jpg	File:Donkey KongIdlePose2WiiU.jpg

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Bow-ser!	Koo-pa! *claps 3 times*
Pitch	Group chant	Male

Victory poses

File:Victory! (Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.).ogg

A rock-based remix of the Victory Theme used in Super Mario Bros.

• Takes two steps forward while swiping with his claws twice.
• Leans forward and then rears back triumphantly before roaring.
• Spins around in his banana and comes out grinning.

File:Donkey KongPose1WiiU.gif	File:Donkey KongPose2WiiU.gif	File:Donkey KongPose3WiiU.gif

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Donkey Kong	1211	1311	3211	3311	1212
	1213	1312	1313	2211	2311

Notable players

Active

•  Ash23
•  Chaos
•  Creamy
•  Daromith
•  DireOnFire
•  Greward
•  HIKARU
•  KENT
•  KingKong
•  Kisha - The best Donkey Kong player in Japan. Placed 5th at Sumabato Tokaigi Qualifiers. He has multiple wins over Ranai.
•  LordMix - Arguably the best Donkey Kong player in the world.
•  Nairo - One of the best Donkey Kong players in the world. Co-mains Donkey Kong along with Zero Suit Samus. He has wins over Zinoto, Mr.E and Tweek while only using using Donkey Kong.
•  Nick Riddle
•  Pollo
•  Rayquaza07 - Ranked 3rd on the Michigan Smash 4 Power Rankings. He has wins over ranked players like Ryuga while only using Donkey Kong.
•  Vreyvus
•  WiiASE
•  Zork
•  FanFan

Inactive

•  Le Troof
•  Shu

Tier placement and history

Opinions on Donkey Kong's viability have greatly fluctuated through SSB4's metagame, but the general opinion is that he has fared much better than in Melee or Brawl. Around the metagame's early lifespan, due to all of the top spots taken at early SSB4 tournaments (including a Donkey Kong ditto for grand finals in the pre-release SDCC Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS tournament), Donkey Kong was initially considered the best character in the game. Players took little time to notice the significant buffs he received to his mobility, recovery, already high power, range, frame data. To further compliment this, characters that were excessively challenging for him in Brawl, such as Marth, Meta Knight, Falco, the Ice Climbers and most notoriously King Dedede, were either heavily nerfed or, in the case of the Ice Climbers, removed entirely.

However, as time went on, perception on Donkey Kong's viability noticeably fell. The first instance of this came about from a significant nerf to vectoring in update 1.0.4, whileand then his vulnerability to combos, his aerials' significantly high landing lag, considerable start-up on a majority of his combo starters (like up tilt), and unsafe landing options all plagued him, as they did in previous installments. He also lacked any noteworthy results at high-level play in a heavy contrast compared to the early lifespan of the metagame, and his perception began declining much like in Brawl.

Despite his lowered perception within the community, update 1.1.3 brought immense buffs, the most notable of which were to Flying Slam, Whirling Fortress and his now-infamous up throw. These buffs allowed Donkey Kong to perform considerably better at locals, as his playerbase managed to achieve a few placements at high-level play, largely thanks to players such as LordMix and KingKong. One notable instance of Donkey Kong's improvements was apparent with LordMix taking a set off of Vinnie's Rosalina and Luma. This ultimately culminated in Donkey Kong being placed at 30th on the first tier list, resulting in him becoming the second lowest ranking mid-tier character. While it was a far cry compared to the positive opinions of his viability during the initial release, it was still his best placement in the series to date.

However, update 1.1.4 nerfed his infamous up throw by weakening its guaranteed KO set-ups, though it brought further buffs to Flying Slam. Update 1.1.5 would also bring more buffs to his survivability and recovery by increasing his weight and air speed, respectively. Thanks to the recent results of his playerbase, Donkey Kong was ranked 32nd on the second tier list. As the tiers were expanded for the second tier list, Donkey Kong maintained his status as a mid-tier character despite his placement drop, with the drop being largely attributable to the inclusion of Corrin and Bayonetta into the game between the first and second tier lists.

In the current metagame, many argued that Donkey Kong's tier placement was somewhat low, with ZeRo considering Donkey Kong to be a high-tier character, and Nairo co-maining Donkey Kong to great effect in a number of upsets. This was later reflected with Donkey Kong's placement of 25th on the third and current tier list, making him the second highest ranking mid-tier character. In addition to causing him to surpass Donkey Kong as the highest ranking super heavyweight, this tier rise was the fourth highest between the second and third tier lists.

Trophies

Donkey Kong

The archenemy of Mario and the reason Peach spends more time kidnapped than in her own castle. His plans aren't always the best, and occasionally he even finds himself on Mario's side. In Smash Bros., he's a serious heavyweight who laughs off weaker attacks. Hit him hard to send him flying!

Mario's archnemesis and the reason Peach spends more time in "another castle" than in her own. His plans almost never work out, and occasionally he even finds himself on Mario's side. In Smash Bros., he's a serious heavyweight who laughs off weaker attacks. You've gotta hit him hard to send him flying!

Mario's princess-kidnapping arch-enemy. Yes, he's quite the villain, but he can also be a bit of a buffoon, too. And sometimes, he even ends up on Mario's side! As a serious heavyweight, he's tough to launch, and using standard attacks on him will only make him laugh. If you want to send him flying, make sure to whack him really hard!

: Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

: Super Mario 64 (09/1996)

Donkey Kong (Alt.)

Donkey Kong makes good use of his heavy physique with his down special Donkey Kong Bomb, slamming down with his bottom. If he's on the ground, he'll jump into the air before crashing down. Also, he can gain a bit of altitude if you press the special button repeatedly while executing Whirling Fortress, his up special.

Donkey Kong makes good use of his heavy physique with his down special Donkey Kong Bomb, slamming down with his backside. If he's on the ground, he'll jump into the air before crashing down. Also, he can gain a bit of altitude if you press the special button repeatedly while executing his up special Whirling Fortress.

Down special Donkey Kong Bomb makes good use of Donkey Kong's bulky physique to crush opponents. If you use it on the ground, he'll jump first, hitting anyone on the way up with his horns, then hit for a combo on the way down. When you use his Whirling Fortress up special in the air, press the button repeatedly to climb higher.

: Super Mario Bros. (10/1985)

: Super Mario 64 (09/1996)

Giga Donkey Kong

Prepare to behold Donkey Kong in all his Koopa glory. This fearsome form first appeared all the way back in Melee. While transformed, Donkey Kong deals extra damage, is better at launching foes, and even gains special effects on some of his attacks. He won't flinch and can't be thrown, but he does still take damage.

The definitive way to prove that Donkey Kong's the king. This fearsome form made its debut all the way back in Melee. While transformed, Donkey Kong deals more damage, launches foes further, and certain attacks have extra effects like freezing opponents. He won't flinch, and he can't be thrown either, but he will still take damage.

• Donkey KongTrophy3DS.png

  Classic (3DS)

• Donkey KongAltTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• Donkey KongTrophyWiiU.png

  Classic (Wii U)

• Donkey KongAltTrophyWiiU.png

  Alt. (Wii U)

• GigaDonkey KongTrophyWiiU.png

  Giga Donkey Kong (Final Smash)

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• A Battle of Scale: As a tiny Olimar, the player must defeat a giant Donkey Kong.
• All-Star Battle: Melee: Donkey Kong is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents debuted in Melee.
• Beautification: As Rosalina & Luma, the player must flower two Donkey Kongs and two Ganondorfs.
• Enough with the Kidnapping: As Peach, the player must defeat Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.
• Family Ties: As Donkey Kong Jr., the player is aided by a giant Donkey Kong and must defeat Mario and Luigi.
• The Final Battle: The player must defeat Donkey Kong, Ganondorf and King Dedede.
• The Original Heavyweights: As Mario, the player must defeat Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong.

Co-op Events

• A Lurking Menace: Mario and Luigi must defeat Donkey Kong Jr., but if the match lasts too long, they must also defeat a giant Donkey Kong.
• A Royal Errand: Robin and Marth must collect 500G from Donkey Kong and Wario in a Coin Battle.
• Final Battle Team-Up: Donkey Kong appears as an opponent to be defeated.
• Peach in Peril: Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. must defeat all opponents except Peach, where KOing her results in a failure.
• Solidarity: Olimar and Rosalina & Luma must defeat Mario and Luigi, and then they must defeat Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

				File:DonkeyKongHeadGreySSB4-U.png	File:DonkeyKongHeadOrangeSSB4-U.png

Gallery

• Donkey Kong Direct.png

  Donkey Kong in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

• 

  Donkey Kong's amiibo.

• Donkey KongWiiUSSB4E32013.png

  Donkey Kong's appearance during E3.

• Donkey KongDropKick.jpg

  Using his new forward smash on Mario.

• Donkey Kong3DS.jpg

  Using Flying Slam on Link in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• Donkey KongShieldSSB4.png

  Shielding against Mario's up smash.

• 

  Using Whirling Fortress against Fox's Blaster.

• 

  Using Flying Slam against Mario in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

• Smash4 Donkey Kong Flying Kick.jpg

  Donkey Kong and Samus on Arena Ferox.

• Mario & Donkey Kong Battlefield 3DS.jpg

  Donkey Kong and Mario on Battlefield.

• Sonic kicks Donkey Kong SSB4.jpg

  Donkey Kong being damaged by the last hit of Sonic's neutral attack.

• Mario Pikachu Donkey Kong Pit On Pilotwing.jpg

  Donkey Kong, Mario, Pikachu and Pit fighting on Pilotwings.

• Mega Man Donkey Kong Wii Fit.jpg

  Donkey Kong, Mega Man and Wii Fit Trainer on Wii Fit.

• 

  Using his down taunt alongside Peach and a Bottled Fairy.

• 

  Donkey Kong being damaged by Diddy Kong's overcharged Peanut Popgun.

Trivia

• Although Donkey Kong was the last veteran confirmed during the E3 2013 event, he was the first veteran to debut in Melee to be confirmed.
• Donkey Kong is the only veteran to have his victory theme change between Brawl and SSB4.
• Donkey Kong's alt. trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U resembles his All-Star Mode trophy in Melee.