Donkey Kong (SSBM): Difference between revisions

|tier = E

|ranking = 17

|rankingPAL = 17  

'''Donkey Kong''' ({{ja|ドンキーコング|Donkī Kongu}}, ''Donkey Kong'') is a [[default character]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Melee]]''. He returns from the original ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'', but with faster moves and agility, as well as an improved recovery.

He is currently 17th out of 26 on the tier list, placing him in the E tier. This is a slight improvement to his previous placement in ''Smash 64'' where he was ranked 9th out of 12. Donkey Kong, true to being a heavyweight, is difficult to KO, and this is aided by his fast [[falling speed]]. Donkey Kong also has powerful attacks, and he has excellent range to boot. Despite his weight and size, Donkey Kong is very agile; most of his attacks are executed swiftly, he has a high [[air speed]], and his jumping prowess is solid. His mobility facilitates combos, and this is further aided by his remarkable [[grab]]. However, Donkey Kong himself is vulnerable to combos due to his large size, and his recovery, while covering a significant amount of horizontal distance, struggles in terms of vertical distance. Due to these traits, Donkey Kong is seen as a situational character.

Contrary to what his archetype might suggest, Donkey Kong has surprisingly high speed for a character of his power and weight class. In raw characteristics, Donkey Kong owns a fast walking speed, an above-average running speed, a high air speed, and a high falling speed (though unlike other fast-fallers, Donkey Kong's gravity is average as opposed to above-average, with him having the lowest gravity value amongst the fast-fallers; he shares the same fall speed as the significantly lighter {{SSBM|Roy}}), aspects that lead to a short wavedash, but an average SHFFL, and long, safe dash dance.  

Owing to his relatively high speed, Donkey Kong owns a flexible, powerful comboing game. On the ground, Donkey Kong's various tilts are all fast and can be used to start aerial combos, and in the air, Donkey Kong's fast, low-lag neutral, up, and back aerial attacks can allow him to continue attacking enemies with little penalty against him; adding to this, his high air speed can allow him to pursue enemies that have been popped up into the air. Arguably his most important combo tool, however, consists of his throwing game; despite a below-average grab range, Donkey Kong's various throws have low-knockback and low ending lag, making them excellent combo starting tools. His forward throw, known as the "cargo throw" or "cradle", is especially useful, due to its ability to easily combo into his practical air options. While carrying his opponent, Donkey Kong is free to move around the stage, allowing him to move to areas where he can more easily combo his opponents without interference from platforms or other hazards. He can also use this feature of the cargo throw to either perform a [[sacrificial KO]] by walking off the edge of the stage after cradling an enemy or throwing the enemy underneath the stage to [[stage spike]] them.

Due to being a heavyweight with a high falling speed, Donkey Kong owns a below-average recovery. While these traits make Donkey Kong highly resilient to the upper blast line, Donkey Kong's survivability on all other blast lines is poor. [[Spinning Kong]] grants above average horizontal distance, but poor vertical distance, making [[meteor smash]]es and [[spike]]s extremely powerful against Donkey Kong. Owing to a lack of other options concerning his recovery, this also means that he has very poor recovery options compared to other characters; none of his specials can reduce his falling speed, and he cannot wall-jump or use any other tactics in conjunction with Spinning Kong, and as such, the character is simple to edgeguard.

Much like fellow heavyweight Bowser, Donkey Kong's various attributes also make him very easy to combo. In addition to having among the largest raw hurtbox sizes in the game, Donkey Kong's high falling speed and weight make it easy for characters to [[chain throw]] him, as well as combo him in the air. Compounding this is Donkey Kong's poor defensive game; a large hurtbox causes him to have a small [[shield]] that can easily make him vulnerable to [[shield stabbing]], and his lack of a projectile can prevent him from easily approaching enemies that own one.

==Changes from ''Smash 64'' to ''Melee''==

Donkey Kong has received a large mix of buffs and nerfs in his transition from ''SSB64'' to ''Melee''. However, whether he was buffed or nerfed overall is debatable since the nerfs and buffs he receieved were both significant. While he has lost his previously abusable grab release, the generally faster falling speeds have given DK a new type of chaingrab against fast-falling opponents, particularly with his newly buffed cargo throw, and his new up and down throws. However, his reach has been reduced (though it remains among the best) and his power is lower as well, but many of his attacks are faster to execute. He is also more vulnerable to combos due to his faster falling speed.

Regardless, Donkey Kong ranks better relative to the cast in ''Melee'' than he does in ''SSB64'', now ranking 17th out of 26 characters rather than 9th out of 12.

*{{change|The voice clips when Donkey Kong taunts and is KO'd in ''SSB'' are switched in ''Melee''. His voice clips are also retained from the previous game, though with better quality.}}

*{{change|Donkey Kong's green alternate costume is now available for Free-for-all, instead of being exclusive to Team Battle. The costume also uses his normal skin color, as opposed to being green like in ''SSB''.}}

*{{buff|Donkey Kong's air speed is faster (30 → 1), going from average in ''Smash 64'' to among the faster air speeds in ''Melee''.}}

*{{buff|His attacks are generally faster.}}

*{{buff|Donkey Kong walks significantly faster (0.32 → 1.2), going from the 3rd slowest in ''SSB'' to the 6th fastest in ''Melee''.}}

*{{nerf|Donkey Kong is catastrophically lighter (141 → 114), which drastically hinders his endurance, while still being just as vulnerable to combos as before due to his increased falling speed.}}

*{{buff|Donkey Kong's falling speed has significantly increased (56 → 2.4). With the introduction of the SHFFL technique, he can make strong use of the technique due to his falling speed.}}  

*{{nerf|His falling speed also makes him considerably more vulnerable to combos and worsens his already poor vertical recovery. Considering that Donkey Kong's vertical endurance hasn't significantly improved from ''Smash 64'' due to his significantly lighter weight in ''Melee'', this falling speed increase does more harm than good.}}

*{{nerf|Donkey Kong can no longer avoid projectiles from hitting his head by taunting.}}

*{{buff|Donkey Kong's [[ground release]] animation is 9 frames shorter, giving him more time to counterattack.}}

*{{buff|Neutral attack now has a wider hitbox. The second hit also does 2% more damage (4% → 6%).}}

*{{buff|New forward tilt: an open outward hand swat that can be angled. It has less startup and ending lag compared to his old forward tilt.}}

*{{nerf|New forward tilt deals less damage regardless of tilt direction (12% → 11% (angled up), 10% (default), 9% (angled down), hindering its KO potential.}}

*{{buff|Down and up tilt have less startup and ending lag.}}

*{{nerf|Down and up tilt both deal less damage (8% → 7% (down tilt), 13% → 9% (up tilt).}}

*{{buff|Donkey Kong has a new down smash: He holds up his arms and punches downwards in a 90° angle, with a sweetspot hitbox located in his hands. It has less ending lag and and is stronger than his old down smash.}}

*{{buff|New forward smash: Donkey Kong performs a powerful clap in front of him. It deals 8% more damage (20% → 28%), and has less startup and ending lag.}}

*{{nerf|New forward smash has less reach and knockback than his old forward smash.}}

*{{buff|Up smash is faster in both startup and ending lag, has more KO power and also deals 5% more damage (19% → 24%).}}

*{{nerf|Up smash can no longer hit grounded opponents when standing on a flat surface.}}

*{{buff|Neutral aerial has less ending lag.}}

*{{change|Damage output in the early and late hits of neutral aerial are changed (15% → 12 for the early hit, 9% → 10% for the late hit).}}

*{{buff|Forward aerial has much better KO potential, regardless if it sweetspots or not. It also deals 1% more damage (15% → 16%).}}

*{{nerf|His forward aerial and down aerial have much slower start-up and the former move only meteor smashes when his hands are in front of him. Additionally, the latter's hitbox length was shortened. Forward aerial also has much more ending and landing lag.}}

*{{buff|Back aerial has slightly faster startup, and much less ending lag. It also deals more damage on both the clean and late hits (12% → 13% (clean hit), 8% → 9% (late hit).}}

*{{nerf|Back aerial's hitbox length has been slightly shortened.}}

*{{change|Donkey Kong now kicks with one foot during his back aerial instead of both.}}

*{{buff|New up aerial: a swinging headbutt similar to Ness' up aerial. This new up aerial is faster and has better comboing and KO ability and deals 2% more damage (12% → 14%).}}

*{{nerf|His new up aerial has less reach and a shorter hitbox duration than his old up aerial.}}

*{{buff|Down aerial deals 3% more damage (13% → 16%), has more range and power and has a consistently powerful hitbox, due to the removal of the late hit.}}

*{{nerf|His grab range was reduced, going from the longest non-tether grab in ''Smash 64'' to below average in ''Melee''. His grab is also slightly slower.}}

*{{buff|Forward throw can now throw up and down, giving DK more options to combo or KO.}}

*{{nerf|Donkey Kong will take 10% damage if the opponent escapes from his forward throw.}}

*{{change|Forward throw no longer deals damage when lifting the opponent, but the opponent will take 4% more damage if they break free from Donkey Kong's forward throw (6% → 10%).}}

*{{buff|Cargo forward and back throw deal more damage (6% → 8% for (Cargo forward throw), 7% → 8% for (Cargo back throw).}}

*{{nerf|Back throw does 8% less damage (18% → 10%).}}

*{{buff|Edge attack when below 100% deals 2% more damage (6% → 8%) and can now hit opponents that are standing directly near the ledge.}}

*{{nerf|Edge attack when below 100% has slightly less range.}}

*{{buff|Edge attack when above 100% has slightly faster startup, more range and deals 4% more damage (6% → 10%).}}

*{{buff|[[Giant Punch]] charges faster and has less startup and ending lag.}}

*{{nerf|Giant Punch has less reach, deals 6% less damage (36% → 30%), and lower knockback. It now also leaves him [[helpless]] when used in the air, which, combined with his poor vertical recovery and the move's lower power, weakens its offstage utility.}}

*{{change|Giant Punch now has a new animation: Donkey Kong winds up his fist back instead of merely behind himself, and now performs the attack with his left arm.}}

*{{buff|Donkey Kong now has a side special: [[Headbutt]]. It can [[bury]] grounded opponents, meteor smash aerial opponents and also does very high amounts of [[shield damage]].}}

*{{buff|[[Spinning Kong]] now goes a slightly longer distance and can now KO due to no longer having set knockback. It also has less ending lag. When Donkey Kong is spinning during the move in midair, he can also grab ledges from behind, which he could not do in ''Smash 64'' which significantly improves his recovery. The move also does 10% more damage when used in the air (23% → 33%).}}

*{{buff|[[Hand Slap]] deals 1% more damage (10% → 11%), has slightly more power, slightly higher range and less start-up.}}  

*{{nerf|Hand Slap has 20 frames of ending lag as opposed to being lagless in ''Smash 64''.}}

*{{change|Hand Slap has a new animation: Donkey Kong now alternates slapping the ground with each hand without hopping, instead of slightly hopping and successively slapping both hands onto the ground as he did in ''SSB''.}}

|neutralname= 

|ftiltname= 

|utiltname= 

|dtiltname= 

|dashname= 

|fsmashname= 

|usmashname= 

|usmashdmg= {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBM|18}}

|dsmashname= 

|nairname= 

|fairname= 

|fairdesc=Puts his fists together above his head, then does a powerful ax-handle swing downwards. This move can [[meteor smash]] opponents the moment Donkey Kong swings his hands in front of his face. Resembles his midair attack from ''Donkey Kong 64''.  

|bairname= 

|uairname= 

|dairname= 

|dairdesc=Performs a downward [[stomp (archetype)|stomp]] whilst holding his arms up in a macho pose. A [[meteor smash]].

|grabname=

|pummelname= 

|fthrowname= 

|fthrowdmg=10% (breakout), 8% (forward/backward), 7% (up), 6% (down)  

|bthrowname= 

|uthrowname= 

|dthrowname= 

|usdesc=Donkey Kong twirls around like a helicopter, hitting multiple times. Has great horizontal coverage, lacking vertical distance. DK's arms are intangible during the first half of the move when used in the air.  

==In [[Competitive play]]==

===[[Character matchups (SSBM)|Matchups]]===

Donkey Kong has an above average matchup spread for his tier. He is countered by 5 characters, soft countered by 5 (including Mewtwo who is ranked lower than DK), has 4 even matchups, counters 6, and soft counters 5. DK does rather well against characters who can be comboed with ease, such as {{SSBM|Bowser}},or {{SSBM|Samus}}, or characters who have poor range/survivability, like {{SSBM|Zelda}} or {{SSBM|Pichu}}. However, DK struggles against characters with powerful comboing tools, edgeguarding options,  and characters who have access to chaingrabs against him({{SSBM|Sheik}} is very notorious in all 3 categories). Pretty much every character in the top/high tier have tools to compete with DK efficiently, which is a problem. Characters like Fox and Falco can easily combo and edgeguard DK into an almost guaranteed death, and others like Sheik and Ganondorf can chaingrab him to very high percents into a KO(sometimes Zero-to-death). In the end, DK has some decent advantages, but also notable disadvantages to mitigate the positives, which results in DK being an overall situational character with low tournament representation and results (despite his above average matchups).

*{{Sm|Iori|USA}} - Took a set off of {{Sm|Overtriforce}} using Donkey Kong.

*{{Sm|Chandy|USA}}

*{{Sm|Green Ranger|USA}} - Often considered the best Donkey Kong in the world alongside {{Sm|Phish-It}}.

*{{Sm|K-12|Spain}}

*{{Sm|Moe|Denmark}} - Top 5 player in Denmark, took a game off The Moon at beast 6

*{{Sm|NJzFinest|USA}}

*{{Sm|Phish-It|USA}} - Often considered the best Donkey Kong in the world alongside {{Sm|Green Ranger}}.

*{{Sm|Westballz|USA}}

====Inactive====

Donkey Kong is currently ranked as 17th on the tier list in the E tier, making him a situational character in high-level tournament play. This tier placing, however, is significantly better than his initial tier placings; Donkey Kong was initially viewed as a low-to-bottom tiered character in the early ''Melee'' metagame, placing at 20th/21st with Roy on the first tier list. In future tier lists, Donkey Kong would frequently appear at this rank, with his lowest ranking being 22nd on the sixth tier list. Much like Bowser, Donkey Kong was often derided for his large hitbox and high falling speed, making him an easy target for combos and attacks in general, and despite his slightly better base speed than Bowser, he was regarded as too slow to keep up with many characters that were higher-tiered than him.

Devoted Donkey Kong mains, however, began to immediately improve Donkey Kong's metagame, notably by demonstrating that Donkey Kong's supposed speed issues were incorrect; it was demonstrated that Donkey Kong had a surprisingly fast and powerful aerial game, and that his dash-dance was also effective, especially when compounded with his throwing game. As a result of these improvements, Donkey Kong immediately jumped to the 16th place on the seventh tier list, and he ultimately peaked at the 13th position on the ninth tier list. His tier ranking, however, slightly fell following this, leading to his current tier placing. Donkey Kong's few active mains, namely {{Sm|Phish-It}} and {{Sm|Green Ranger}}, perform excellently at local tournaments, but suffer lower placements in majors.

==In [[Solo#1-P_Mode|1-P Mode]]==

DonkeyKongClassicMode.jpg|Classic Mode  

DonkeyKongAdventureMode.jpg|Adventure Mode  

==Trophy descriptions==

:'''Donkey Kong'''

:''While he now prefers the laid-back jungle lifestyle to construction site mischief, DK is often forced back into action by the Kremling Krew. The great ape is quite fast despite his burly physique, and he keeps his strength up with a steady diet of his favorite food: bananas. His one extravagance (and only piece of clothing) is a monogrammed necktie.''

:*Donkey Kong Arcade 1981

:'''Donkey Kong''' [<span style="color:#FF0000">Smash</span>]

:''Donkey Kong is a huge target in a fight, so he hates crowds. When he's in the fray, his Giant Punch deals serious damage to multiple opponents. The big ape's Headbutt hits so hard that it temporarily buries opponent's in the ground. DK is a lot faster than he looks, and he's lethal in the hands of a master.''

:*B: Giant Punch

:*Smash B: Headbutt

:'''Donkey Kong''' [<span style="color:#0000FF">Smash</span>]

:''Being the strongest simian around, DK has the upper hand once he grabs an opponent. He can even lift his foe up and make him or her an unwilling traveling companion; if DK grabs you, shake your Control Stick as fast as you can to break his grip. His Spinning Kong covers more lateral distance than vertical, so use it quickly to recover.''

:*Up & B: Spinning Kong

:*Down & B: Hand Slap

 

Donkey Kong Trophy (Smash).png|[<span style="color:#FF0000">Smash</span>]

SSBMWebsiteDonkeyKong1.jpg|Donkey Kong jumping on [[Jungle Japes]].

SSBMWebsiteDonkeyKong2.jpg|Donkey Kong attacking {{SSBM|Fox}} on [[Temple]] with [[Spinning Kong]].

SSBMWebsiteDonkeyKong3.jpg|Donkey Kong attacking {{SSBM|Link}} on [[Brinstar]] with [[Giant Punch]].

SSBMWebsiteDonkeyKong4.jpg|Donkey Kong carrying [[Ice Climbers (SSBM)|Nana]] off the stage on [[Temple]].

SSBMWebsiteDonkeyKong5.jpg|Donkey Kong burying {{SSBM|Samus}} on [[Temple]] with his [[Headbutt]].

SSBMWebsiteDonkeyKong6.jpg|Donkey Kong taunting alongside {{SSBM|Bowser}} and {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}} on [[Yoshi's Story]].

LinkClassicMode.jpg|Crouching on [[Peach's Castle]]

LuigiAdventureMode.jpg|Performing an [[up smash]] on [[Great Bay]]

YoshiAllStarMode.jpg|Battling a giant {{SSBM|Yoshi}} on [[Fourside]]

KirbyAllStarMode.jpg|Posing with {{SSBM|Kirby}} on {{SSBM|Kongo Jungle}}

JigglypuffAllStarMode.jpg|[[Asleep|Sleeping]] with {{SSBM|Jigglypuff}} on Great Bay

[[File:DK grab glitch.gif|thumbnail|Donkey Kong abusing {{SSBM|Pikachu}}'s [[AI]].]]

*Donkey Kong's side special, [[Headbutt]] and [[Togepi]]'s Magnitude are the only moves in ''Melee'' that can [[Buried|bury]] opponents.  

*Donkey Kong has 3 meteor smashes, more than any other character in ''Melee''.

*Donkey Kong, {{SSBM|Captain Falcon}} and {{SSBM|Ganondorf}} are the only characters in ''Melee'' who can grab ledges when not facing them when using their up special moves.

 

[[Category:Donkey Kong (SSBM)]]