Donkey Kong (SSB4)

Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Donkey Kong
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Konga Beat

Donkey Kong (ドンキーコング, Donkey Kong) was confirmed as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4 on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 Nintendo Direct. He is among the first wave of compatible amiibo figures for Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. Donkey Kong also retains his realistic gorilla grunts, albeit with a new set of voice clips.

Changes from Brawl

Donkey Kong has received very noticeable buffs in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. The most notable of these buffs have been to the speed of his attacks. A prime example is the Giant Punch, which comes out much faster and sees DK retract his hand faster than before. DK's already excellent speed for a character of his archetype has also been greatly increased, which allows him to better keep up with, and in quite a few cases, even outspeed lightweights.

DK's weight has been greatly increased. Not only does this mean that Donkey Kong can withstand potential KOs easier, it also enables him to become an effective user of the new rage mechanic introduced in SSB4, which results in his already fantastic power becoming even more effective. In addition, Donkey Kong is a lot harder to combo than before, since chain-grabbing has been completely removed. Finally, DK benefits considerably from the removal of edge-hogging and the introduction of edge-stealing, which prevents his poor vertical recovery from being edge-hogged and thus, significantly improves his recovery.

However, DK is not without a few noticeable nerfs: his grab game was slightly weakened and many of his attacks deal less damage. His increased falling speed, combined with his larger hurt box, makes him much easier to combo. These noticeable changes have made some see him as still being slightly subpar. These changes, however, are considered to be out shined by his buffs, as DK's improved recovery makes up for it, and he is now much faster with both more mobility and attacking speed, comparable to his first smash appearance in the original Super Smash Bros.

Donkey Kong was buffed signiciantly in updates so far. In update 1.0.6, Giant Punch's charging time was decreased. In update 1.0.8, all variations of cargo throw were made stronger. In update 1.1.0, Cargo Up throw's base knockback was decreased, giving it more combo potential and DK's dash attack received more active frames.

Aesthetics

• Donkey Kong appears to have more stylized fur, even more so than he did in Brawl. His proportions seemed to have been tweaked slightly to be more reminiscent of his recent appearances in Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Most of his motions now have more fluid animations. His general expressiveness has been greatly exaggerated as well, with many of his moves and animations now accompanied with smirks, toothy grins, or a look of utter confusion. When Donkey Kong is launched, his eyes will even bulge out of his head- much like in the original Donkey Kong Country on the SNES.

Attributes

• Donkey Kong walks slightly faster (1.2 → 1.3).
• Donkey Kong dashes slightly faster (1.622 → 1.7031). Very fast dashing speed for a heavyweight.
• Donkey Kong's air speed has been increased even further (1.081 → 1.15), now tied with three other characters for the sixth fastest in the game.
• Donkey Kong's weight was increased (116 → 122).
• Donkey Kong has slightly increased fall speed (1.58 → 1.63) making him more susceptible to combos but less vulnerable to being juggled.

Ground attacks

• Down tilt and dash attack deal slightly less damage (down tilt: 8 → 7%, dash attack: 11/9 → 10/8%).
• Forward tilt has increased cool down (IASA frame 34 → 38).
• Donkey Kong's dash attack has been changed from a running kick to the forward rolling tackle that he uses in the Donkey Kong Country series. The new attack has much less cool down compared to the old one (IASA frame 55 → 49).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral aerial (15 → 17 frames), back aerial (15 → 18 frames), and up aerial (22 → 25 frames) have more landing lag.
• Forward aerial (30 → 29 frames) and down aerial (31 → 24 frames) have less landing lag.
• Down aerial is significantly faster (hits on frame 14 instead of 18) and now has a powerful sourspot at his chest that deals horizontal knockback.
• Forward aerial has significantly less start up (27 → 18 frames).
• Forward aerial and up aerial deal slightly less damage (forward aerial: 16 → 15/13%, up aerial: 14 → 13%) with their knockback compensated.

Throws/other attacks

• Pummel is slightly faster.
• Pummel deals slightly less damage (3 → 2.1%).
• Donkey Kong's dash grabs have been slowed down slightly (9/10 → 10/11 frames).
• Dash grab has significantly reduced cool down.
• Donkey Kong has a new ledge attack that involves him punching the ground in front of him. It's slower and has less range.
• Floor attacks (front and back) deal more damage. (6 → 7%)

Special moves

• Giant Punch comes out faster, and DK now quickly retracts his fist after throwing the punch.
• The reduced start-up of Giant Punch makes it slightly harder to utilize the super armor that comes before throwing the punch.
• Headbutt now deals massive shield damage due to shields no longer taking reduced damage and it has longer range.
• Headbutt deals less damage in the air (14% → 10%) and has slightly increased cool down.
• Spinning Kong no longer spins completely horizontally when used on the ground, and instead spins at an angle, increasing the attack's vertical range. The aerial version is a multi-hit attack that deals much more damage.
• Grounded Spinning Kong inflicts half that damage it dealt in Brawl (36 → 17%), severely limiting DK's ability to rack up damage.
• Hand Slap can now be used in midair, which meteor smashes foes and appears to have a larger hitbox on the ground.
• Hand Slap has significantly increased cool down.
• Konga Beat is now accompanied by an indicating bar that shows when to press the attack button.
• While using Konga Beat, if Donkey Kong performs all button presses with the correct timing, he will perform a thumbs-up at the end of the Final Smash.

Update History

1.0.6

• Giant Punch full charge: 172 frames → 144 frames
• Headbutt no longer stalls.
• First hit of jab no longer has the Sakurai angle.

1.0.8

• Cargo forward toss damage: 8% → 10%
• Cargo back toss damage: 8% → 12%
• Cargo back toss angle modified.
• Cargo back throw knockback scaling: 38 → 80
• Cargo up toss damage: 7% → 10%
• Cargo down toss damage: 6% → 7%
• DK now hops while performing cargo down toss.

1.1.0

• Up smash hitbox size increased (7.5u → 8.8u).
• Forward smash hitbox size increased (5.0u → 5.7u).
• Dash attack hitbox duration and start up altered from 10-21 → 9-24.
• Cargo Up throw has much less base knockback, allowing better combos and mixups.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			4%	Donkey Kong performs a quick cross punch followed by an uppercut. The tip of the first punch's hitbox will knock targets towards Donkey Kong instead of away.
			6%
Forward tilt	↗		11%	Donkey Kong quickly swats his outstretched hand.
	→		10%
	↘		9%
Up tilt			11% (sweet); 9% (sour)	Donkey Kong very quickly swipes his hand in the air. Has very reliable arch range. Deals more damage and knockback if the target is extremely close to Donkey Kong's behind.
Down tilt			7% (sweet); 6% (sour)	Donkey Kong does a quick swat across the ground. Slightly less powerful around his fingers. Great speed and range, and has a chance to trip opponents, allowing for guaranteed followups such as a grab or Headbutt.
Dash attack			10% (sweet); 8% (sour)	Donkey Kong performs his trademark roll attack from Donkey Kong Country. Deals less damage towards the end.
Forward smash			19%-20%	Donkey Kong performs a very forceful clap. DK now smirks as he performs the move.
Up smash			18%	Donkey Kong performs a very powerful clap above his head, swinging both of his arms 90˚ in the process. Unlike other up smashes, it does not scoop opponents into the main hitbox, making it somewhat problematic to land if the opponent is not airborne or incredibly close to DK.
Down smash			14% (arms), 17%-18% (fists)	Donkey Kong performs a double back-handed punch, swinging both of his clenched fists down 90˚ in the process. Decent range, extremely fast start-up, especially for a smash, and great vertical knockback, KOing starting at 100%, makes it especially good for punishing rolls and laggy attacks, as well as lots of attacks in general out of shield, and it could arguably be considered one of the best down smashes in the game (though it has a fair amount of endlag).
Neutral aerial			8-11%	Donkey Kong quickly spins with arms extended similarly to Spinning Kong. Quite possibly his most useful aerial, since it is very quick in both start-up and ending lag. Incredibly powerful when landing the clean hit (can K.O. under 100%) and the late hit is an excellent combo tool when SHFF'd.
Forward aerial			15% (sweet); 13% (sour)	Donkey Kong closes his hands together over his head and quickly thrusts them downward as an ax-handled smash. If landed correctly the opponent is meteor smashed. This move inspired Donkey Kong's jumping attack in Donkey Kong 64. Unlike most other moves, the early sourspot hitbox is actually stronger than the meteor smash hitbox, sending opponents away with extreme horizontal knockback, making it more effective at higher percentages.
Back aerial			8-13%	Donkey Kong performs a quick kick directed behind him that lingers briefly. Powerful, mostly used for Wall Of Pains.
Up aerial			13%	Donkey Kong performs a quick and reliable headbutt. Ideal for combos and KOing.
Down aerial			16% (sweet); 13% (sour)	Donkey Kong performs a downward stomp while flexing his arms in a somewhat iconic "macho" pose. Sweetspot will meteor smash foes. Sourspot present close to Donkey Kong's chest.
Grab			—
Pummel			2%	A fairly quick slap.
Forward throw			10% (forward); 12% (backward); 10% (upward); 7% (downward)	Donkey Kong cradles the opponent on his back, allowing him to move and jump around while still holding the victim. This gives him access to forward, up, and down throws (as well as a back throw that can only be performed in the air) that are distinct from his normal grab. Forward throw -- Throws the opponent diagonally up. Back throw -- Same as forward throw, but sends at a slightly higher trajectory and can only be done in the air. Up throw -- Hurls the opponent over his head. Has very low base knockback, allowing for followups such as an up aerial. Down throw -- Slams the opponent down on his knee, knocking them sideways. At surprisingly low percentages, it can be used offstage on opponents with poor recoveries to potentially send them too far away to recover. When the opponent is too damaged to escape in time, all of these throws allow for easy stage spikes - Donkey Kong can simply walk off the ledge, pull back and throw them against the underside. However this carries significant risk, as the opponent can tech it, and Donkey Kong will end up too low to recover if the timing is off.
Back throw			11%	Donkey Kong flings the opponent with stunning force. DK's strongest throw in terms of damage and knockback, being not much weaker than Ness'.
Up throw			9%	The opponent is tossed upwards.
Down throw			7%	Donkey Kong slams the opponent into the ground. Has rather weak knockback with a horizontal knockback angle in front of DK.
Floor attack (front)			7%	Donkey Kong swats at the opponent.
Floor attack (back)			7%	Donkey Kong tries to clasp the opponent.
Floor attack (trip)			5%	Donkey Kong does a wind-up spin to the opponent.
Edge attack			8%	Donkey Kong climbs onto the ledge and hammers down one fist.
Neutral special	Default	Giant Punch	10% (uncharged), +2% per windup, 28% (10th windup/Fully Charged)	Donkey Kong winds up and forcefully thrusts out his fist as a potentially powerful attack. The attack is at fully charged after eleven windups and gains super armor. The punch deals more knockback but lacks launch resistance at ten windups. The punch can be saved and chosen when to be released after being fully charged.
	Custom 1	Lightning Punch	10% (uncharged), +1% per windup, 16% (five windups), 15% (fully charged)	An electrical version of the Giant Punch. Takes less time to fully charge (six windups at increased speed), but deals less damage and lacks super armor at full windups.
	Custom 2	Storm Punch	8% (uncharged), +2% per windup, 18% (fully charged)	Does less damage, but produces a powerful windbox that will push back opponents and takes less time to charge. Has super armor.
Side special	Default	Headbutt	10% (ground/sweet aerial), 8% (sour aerial)	Donkey Kong slams his head downward. When performed in the air, the struck opponent is meteor smashed if hit by the sweetspot. When performed on the ground the opponent is buried and will remain submerged longer if the opponent has already dealt a fair amount of damage. Unlike in Brawl, DK will not stall in the air. Full power shields will barely manage to avoid breaking against this move.
	Custom 1	Jumping Headbutt	5% (aerial), 10% (ground)	Donkey Kong jumps before slamming his head downward. Buried opponents can break out faster. Will SD Donkey Kong if used off-stage out of ledge-grabbing distance.
	Custom 2	Stubborn Headbutt	13%	Donkey Kong launches a Headbutt with a longer startup time, but it deals more damage (and subsequently even more shield damage) and gives him high knockback resistance. Grants super armor.
Up special	Default	Spinning Kong	7% (1st hit, ground), 1% (hits 2-6, ground), 4% (7th hit, ground), 10% (1st hit, aerial), 2% (subsequent hits, aerial)	Donkey Kong spins with his arms outstretched. DK has launch resistance when using this move. Strong horizontal recovery, weak vertical recovery. If used on the ground, Donkey Kong spins at an angle, increasing the move's vertical range.
	Custom 1	Chopper Kong	0%	Has increased vertical recovery, but does not deal any damage.
	Custom 2	Kong Cyclone	4% (1st hit, ground), 3% (1st hit, aerial), 15% (2nd hit, ground), 12% (2nd hit, aerial)	Donkey Kong pulls in opponents in with a windbox while spinning, then launches them with the final hit. On the ground, has no hitboxes except for the first and last hits. In the air, deals no damage except for the first and last hits, but does deal hitstun. Does not go as high as Spinning Kong.
Down special	Default	Hand Slap	14%	Donkey Kong repeatedly slaps his hands against the ground, causing earth-shaking vibrations in the process. The attack gives him some protection from opponents while grounded and has good range. The attack originates from 'Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Kong can now use the move while in midair, although only twice in a row. The second hit meteor smashes foes.
	Custom 1	Focused Slap	7% (1st hit) 14% (2nd hit)	A modified Hand Slap that sacrifices range for increased hitstun and knockback.
	Custom 2	Hot Slap	4% (1st hit), 12% (2nd hit)	Donkey Kong slaps his hands against the ground, causing flaming pillars to erupt on impact. Does not reach behind Donkey Kong at all, and not very far in front. Has much less start-up lag, and much higher knockback growth than Hand Slap, meaning it can potentially KO. Does not meteor smash if used in the air.
Final Smash		Konga Beat	Varies.	Donkey Kong will take out a pair of bongos and begin to play them to the beat of "DK Island Swing", sending out shock-waves in the process. The attacks range and power is determined by the player's input. The player must push the attack button in succession with the song's beat in order have the greatest range and power. While this was difficult in Brawl, the Final Smash now is accompanied by an indicative bar that will appear above DK. It will let the player know when to press the attack button.

Taunts

• Beats his clenched hands against his chest. DK now smirks as he does so.
• Shakes himself as if his fur was wet. DK now has a large toothy grin as he does so.
• Faces the camera, shrugs his shoulders, and makes a confused grunt. It originates from Super Smash Bros..

On-Screen Appearance

Donkey Kong bursts from a DK Barrel and briefly strikes a pose.

Idle Poses

• Bares his teeth and crosses his eyes.
• Bumps his fist together, the perform an underhand strike.

Victory Fanfare

A flourished remix directly from Brawl based on the jingle that would play whenever Donkey Kong completely cleared a bonus room or defeated a boss in Donkey Kong Country. He shares this with his best friend, Diddy Kong.

Victory Poses

• Beats on his chest.
• Holds his hands above his head and shakes them.
• Backflips and holds his arms in a strongman pose.

In Competitive Play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Donkey Kong	3233	3231	3232	1233	1231
	1232	2233	2231	2232	1333

Notable players

•  Average Joe
•  Bill
•  Riot Lettuce
•  Will

Trophies

Donkey Kong

This king of the jungle really, really loves bananas. His adventures usually start with people stealing his hoard of them. In Smash Bros., he's known for his incredible strength and long reach. Despite his size, he's still pretty quick. He can even jump carrying heavy items! Use this knowledge well.

With help from Diddy Kong and his Animal Friends, this banana-loving king of the jungle will take on anyone causing trouble on his turf. The best things about him in this game are his colossal strength, his speed, his long reach and the fact that he can jump while holding heavy items. Make sure you use all that to your advantage!

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country Returns (11/2010)

Donkey Kong (Alt.)

Donkey Kong pulls no punches when it comes to fighting. Or headbutts, as it turns out. His Headbutt special move will bury anyone on the ground who gets hit, leaving them open to some serious damage. If Donkey Kong strikes an airborne foe with this move, they'll go crashing downward.

Donkey Kong's always been one to use his head. Anyone who's been on the receiving end of his Headbutt special will tell you that. If they're on the ground when it hits them, they'll get buried, leaving them open to a serious walloping. If they're in the air, though, they might find themselves being knocked down. Either way, it;s going to hurt.

: Donkey Kong Country (11/1994)

: Donkey Kong Country Returns (11/2010)

Konga Beat

In this Final Smash, DK drums on a set of bongos, just like in the Donkey Konga games. Press the attack button in rhythm with the circles to boost the attack's range and power. Enemy attacks won't affect you, but you can't move, either. Auto-scrolling stages will slow down but won't stop-don't get too carried away in the beat!

In this Final Smash, DK drums on a set of bongos, just like in the Donkey Konga games. Press the attack button in rhythm with the circles to boost the attack's range and power. Enemy attacks won't affect you, but you can't move, either. Auto-scrolling stages will slow down, but be careful or you might still self-destruct!

• Donkey Kong Trophy.png

  Classic (3DS)

• Donkey Kong All-Star Trophy.png

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Konga Beat

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Donkey Kong is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents are starter characters from the original Super Smash Bros. game.
• Guardian of the Jungle: Donkey Kong, aided by 2 Diddy Kongs, must defeat 3 Duck Hunts.
• The Jungle in Chaos: Diddy Kong must defeat 20 Donkey Kongs wearing Bunny Hoods.
• The Original Heavyweights: Donkey Kong and Bowser must be defeated by Mario.

Co-op Events

• 1988: Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong must defeat 3 Marios, each one larger than the last.
• Flat Fracas: A shadow Mario and a giant shadow Donkey Kong are opponents fought by Wario and Mr. Game & Watch.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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

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  Donkey Kong's amiibo.

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  Donkey Kong's appearance during E3 2013.

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  Donkey Kong's appearance in the 3DS version of the game.

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  Donkey Kong using Spinning Kong on the ground in the Wii U version.

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  Donkey Kong using Hand Slap in the 3DS version of the game.

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  Being hit by a smash attack from a Home-Run Bat.

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  Grinning while next to Diddy Kong.

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  With Kapp'n.

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  With King Dedede, Mario, and Bowser.

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  Holding a Bomb with Toon Link and Link.

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  With Wii Fit Trainer.

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  Pikachu footstooling on Donkey Kong.

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  The Wii Fit Trainer lifting Donkey Kong.

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  Donkey Kong attacking next to Pikachu

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  Donkey Kong fighting against enemies in Smash Run.

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  One of Donkey Kong's custom special moves, the Storm Punch.

Trivia

• Donkey Kong's crowd chant in this game references the DK Rap from Donkey Kong 64.
• Donkey Kong's default moveset has the most meteor smashing attacks of the roster, at four.