Diddy Kong

For fighter info, see Diddy Kong (SSBB), Diddy Kong (SSB4), and Diddy Kong (SSBU).

Diddy Kong
Diddy Kong Official artwork of Diddy Kong from Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
Universe	Donkey Kong
Debut	Donkey Kong Country (1994)
Smash Bros. appearances	Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Most recent non-Smash appearance	Mario Sports Superstars (2017)
Console/platform of origin	Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Species	Kong
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Donkey Kong Island
Created by	Rare
Designed by	Kevin Bayliss
Article on Donkey Kong Wiki	Diddy Kong

Diddy Kong (ディディーコング, Diddy Kong) is a main character from the Donkey Kong series who debuted in Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. He was created by Rare and has starred in many titles, such as Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, also for the Super NES, Diddy Kong Racing for the Nintendo 64, and its Nintendo DS remake Diddy Kong Racing DS. He is Donkey Kong's best friend and sidekick, and is known for his fast running and climbing speed.

Character description

Official artwork of Diddy from DK: Jungle Climber, which inspired his design in Brawl.

Diddy Kong is a monkey who is Donkey Kong's best friend and sidekick in Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong 64. He is also the main character in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest and Diddy Kong Racing. He wears a red cap with the Nintendo logo on it and has a girlfriend named Dixie Kong.

In Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong hires Diddy to guard his banana horde from the Kremlings who might want to steal it. Overhearing this, King K. Rool sends an attack on Diddy, who is tossed in a barrel and thrown into the bushes. Donkey Kong soon finds and frees him, and the two set out on an adventure to get the bananas back. In the game, Diddy Kong was used either for two player mode, or as a sort of hit point. As long as either Donkey Kong or Diddy Kong were alive, a life was not lost. The missing teammate could then be retrieved by breaking open a barrel with the letters DK on it, similar to the one Diddy was initially trapped in.

Since his debut, he has appeared in many games, ranging from those in the Donkey Kong universe, like Donkey Kong Barrel Blast, to those in the expanded Mario universe, such as Mario Kart: Double Dash!! and Mario Sports Superstars.

In Super Smash Bros.

Diddy Kong is briefly mentioned in Donkey Kong's biography.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

Diddy Kong is briefly mentioned in Dixie Kong's trophy description. Also, he is mentioned in the DK Rap, which plays on the Kongo Jungle stage. However, despite his prominence within the Donkey Kong series as the secondary protagonist, he lacks a trophy of his own.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Diddy Kong, as he appears in "Super Smash Bros. Brawl".

Main article: Diddy Kong (SSBB)

Diddy Kong is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, available to play as from the beginning. He uses many unique special attacks, such as his Rocketbarrel Boost, and Peanut Popgun attacks, both of which are used in his Final Smash, the Rocketbarrel Barrage. His small size and lack of power, combined with the use of weaponry offer a completely different fighting style than Donkey Kong, despite their alleged familial relation. Due to the strategic use of his banana peels, great comboing potential, good agility, a powerful down air Meteor Smash finisher, and an overall impressive amount of tournament wins, he is currently in 4th position on the official tier list.

According to Masahiro Sakurai, Diddy Kong was initially planned to be teamed with Dixie Kong, where the two could swap out with each other in the midst of battle, emulating their tagging out mechanic in Donkey Kong Country 2. However, when Sakurai ran into technical difficulties in implementing the idea, he scrapped it, as well as scrapping Dixie Kong as a playable character, leaving Diddy Kong as a solo character and the lone new playable Donkey Kong character.

Trophy Info

Diddy Kong has a trophy that is awarded each time Classic Mode is completed with Diddy Kong on any difficulty. See Rocketbarrel Barrage for the trophy description of Diddy Kong's Final Smash.

Diddy Kong

The Diddy Kong trophy in Brawl

Donkey Kong's little buddy. He's famous for his quickness and his long tail. He usually plays second banana to DK, but he teamed up with his girlfriend, Dixie, to rescue DK when he got captured. He's spent some time playing music and competing in races, and he's also an expert at using barrels.

: Donkey Kong Country

: Donkey Kong 64

Stickers

Name	Game	Effect	Character(s)
Diddy Kong	Donkey Kong 64	SpecialLaunchPower+020 +20	DK Diddy
Diddy Kong	Donkey Kong Country	AttackTail+028 Attack +28	Diddy
Diddy Kong	Mario Hoops 3-on-3	AttackLeg+028 Attack +28	DK Diddy
Diddy Kong	Mario Superstar Baseball	AttackLeg+012 Attack +12	DK Diddy

Diddy Kong (DK64)

Diddy Kong (Donkey Kong Country)

Diddy Kong (Mario Hoops 3-on-3)

Diddy Kong (Mario Superstar Baseball)

In Super Smash Bros. 4

Diddy Kong as he appears in Super Smash Bros 4

Diddy Kong returns as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His reveal corresponded with the US release of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. His design is based of his appearances in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. His limbs stretch farther in his attacks, significantly improving his reach. Although he was already a top tier character in Brawl, he was heavily buffed with his KOing moves being strengthened and has gained many options to deal with his opponents, but at the cost of his Banana Peel move being significantly nerfed.

Notably and infamously, Diddy Kong dominated competitive play of SSB4 for the first six months following the game's release. Diddy Kong was an easy to use character with quick and powerful attacks, alongside effective combos to rack up damage and KOs, including his infamous down throw to up air combo (christened the name "Hoo-Hah" by competitive players). However, as of patch 1.0.6 that was released on April 15, 2015, Diddy Kong received major nerfs to the damage and knockback of several of his most frequently used moves, causing his overall tournament usage to decline.

Yet, regardless of the above, Diddy Kong ranks 3rd on the current tier list, placing him in the S tier. He still retains his fantastic mobility, and a strong combo game thanks to his generally low knockback, quick frame data and long reach despite his small size. He also has a few usable finishers, such as his smash attacks and Monkey Flip. His biggest flaw, however, is his recovery: Rocketbarrel Blast. He is required to charge it up to gain any decent distance, leaving him incredibly open to edge-guarding, and the rocketbarrels themselves can be detached by any attack, leaving him helpless. Despite his heavy nerfs in updates, Diddy Kong's positives still remain notable, still allowing for excellent tournament representation and results, with his current tier placement possibly being a result of nerfs to other top-tier characters after he himself had been nerfed, such as Sheik and Zero Suit Samus, allowing him to rise above them.

Trophies

Trophy descriptions

Diddy Kong

Donkey Kong's trusty partner. He sports his signature look: red hat, red shirt, Rocketbarrel Pack. In Smash Bros., he's incredibly agile. Charge the Rocketbarrel Pack by holding down the button before launch, and you can steer with left and right. Don't forget to drop banana peels—enemies love it!

Red cap? Red T-shirt? Rocketbarrel Pack? Yep, it's Diddy Kong. His agility lets him get attacks in quickly in this game. Fire up his Rocketbarrel Pack and keep the button held down to fly further. You can even steer him in the air! Tip: If you don't mind fighting dirty, make you opponent slip on a Banana Peel, then hit 'em while they're down.

Diddy Kong (Alt.)

The Banana Peel Diddy throws when you use his down special can be picked up and used against you, so be careful. His Monkey Flip side special is a rolling leap followed by a grab (or a kick if you press the button again midjump). If you grab someone, press the button again to attack or jump off them to go high into the air.

• Diddy Kong Trophy.png

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• Diddy Kong All-Star Trophy.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Main article: Diddy Kong (SSBU)

Diddy Kong, as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Diddy Kong will return as a playable combatant in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Trivia

• Being a Rare creation, Diddy Kong is the only playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series who was created outside of Japan, instead being created in the United Kingdom.
• Diddy Kong is the only playable character from a Mario sub-series to not have debuted in a game featuring Mario.
• Diddy Kong is one of only two characters in the Smash Bros. series to have placed at the very top of the tier list and then later lose that position (the other being Sheik), having been at the top of the second Smash 4 tier list.