The King of Swing is back and better than ever. Donkey Kong is one of the more balanced super heavyweights in the game. Despite being one of the heaviest characters, he has great mobility and fairly quick attacks that lets him go toe to toe with more nimble fighters. His ape arms also give him great range, and his strength gives him powerful attacks to rival other heavy hitters. He even has some nice combos with his throws and aerials, something few other heavyweights can boast. Donkey Kong's main weaknesses are his lack of projectiles, forcing him to remain at melee range with his foes, and his terrible vertical recovery. Despite these flaws, Donkey Kong's many strengths make him a simple and solid character.
Basic Attributes
Donkey Kong is the second heaviest character in the game, with Bowser being the only character that's heavier. His dash speed is above average, slightly outrunning Mario and Wii Fit Trainer. His has the fastest air speed of any fighter near his frame and weight, while his falling speed is intermediate.
One of Donkey Kong's special abilities is his Cargo Carry. Donkey Kong is the only character that can jump while carrying heavy objects like Crates and Barrels. The way he carries and throws these items resemble his Forward Throw, DK's signature Cargo Toss.
Moveset Analysis
Standard Attacks
| Control | Attack | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller | Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | ||
| Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Nintendo 3DS | ||
 (+)
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 (+)
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 (+)
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Kong Combo | Donkey Kong makes a downward hook, followed by an uppercut. |
 (+)
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 (+)
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 (+)
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( or  )+
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( or  )+
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( or  )+
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Palm Swipe | Donkey Kong swipes in front of him with his arm. This move can be angled by tilting the control stick up or down. |
( or  )+
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( or  )+
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( or  )+
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 +
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 +
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 +
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Overhead Swing | Donkey Kong swipes his arm over him. |
 +
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 +
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 +
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 +
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 +
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 +
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Low Smack | Donkey Kong swipes his arm low to the ground. |
 +
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 +
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 +
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| while dashing
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while dashing
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while dashing
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Tumble Roll | Donkey Kong rolls forward to ram into enemies. |
| while dashing
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while dashing
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while dashing
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| while hanging
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while hanging
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while hanging
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Donkey Kong climbs up and swipes. | |
| while hanging
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while hanging
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while hanging
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Smash Attacks
| Control | Attack | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller | Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | ||
| Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Nintendo 3DS | ||
| Smash ( or )+
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Smash ( or )+
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( or )+ +
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Ape Clap | Donkey Kong claps in front of him. |
| Smash ( or )+
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Smash ( or )+
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Smash ( or )+
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| Smash +
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Smash +
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++
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Thunder Clap | Donkey Kong claps above him. |
| Smash +
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Smash +
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Smash +
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| Smash +
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Smash +
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++
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Crushing Fist | Donkey Kong brings both hands down on either side of him. |
| Smash +
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Smash +
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Smash +
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Air Attacks
| Control | Attack | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller | Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | ||
| Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Nintendo 3DS | ||
|
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DK Spin | Donkey Kong spins around delivering hooks with both arms. |
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| +
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+
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+
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Fist Hammer | Donkey Kong clasps both hands and swings down with great force. |
| +
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+
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+
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| +
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+
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+
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Primate Kick | Donkey Kong kicks behind him. |
| +
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+
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+
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| +
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+
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+
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Kong Headbutt | Donkey Kong headbutts opponents above him. |
| +
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+
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+
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| +
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+
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+
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Kong Stomp | Donkey Kong kicks downward. |
| +
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+
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+
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Throws
| Control | Attack | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller | Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | ||
| Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Nintendo 3DS | ||
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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Ape Slap | Donkey Kong smacks the grabbed opponent. |
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
| ||
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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Cargo Toss | Donkey Kong carries the grabbed opponent on his back. He can move and jump, as well as choose to throw foes sideways, upward or downward, even while in the air. |
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
| ||
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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Ape Fling | Donkey Kong flings the grabbed opponent behind him. |
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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One-Handed Toss | Donkey Kong throws the grabbed opponent upward. |
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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DK Dunk | Donkey Kong slams the grabbed opponent into the ground. |
| after grab
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after grab
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after grab
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Special Attacks
| Control | Attack | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller | Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | ||
| Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Nintendo 3DS | ||
|
|
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Giant Punch | Donkey Kong winds up to charge power, and he can save the charge by pressing the shield button. Once fully-charged, DK's head will start emitting smoke. DK can press the button again to unleash a powerful punch depending on how many times he has wound up, gaining super armor when using a fully-charged punch. |
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| Lightning Punch | Donkey Kong winds up extremely quickly, but the resulting electric punch is weaker. | |||
| Storm Punch | Donkey Kong takes slightly less time to charge his punch fully, but while his punches are weaker, they emit strong winds that push foes away. | |||
| ( or )+
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( or )+
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( or )+
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Headbutt | Donkey Kong swings his head down like an axe, burying grounded foes and meteor smashing airborne ones. |
| ( or )+
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( or )+
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( or )+
| ||
| Jumping Headbutt | Donkey Kong jumps before quickly slamming his head down, hitting with less power. | |||
| Stubborn Headbutt | Donkey Kong takes a very long time to headbutt, but the attack is much stronger and he gets super armor for the duration of the move. | |||
| +
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+
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+
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Spinning Kong | Donkey Kong spins with his arms out to hover in the air. This recovery move has amazing horizontal distance, but poor vertical distance. |
| +
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+
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+
| ||
| Chopper Kong | Donkey Kong gains more height from spinning, but is unable to hit foes during the move. | |||
| Kong Cyclone | Donkey Kong ascends even less, but creates a whirlwind while spinning, drawing in nearby foes. | |||
| +
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+
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+
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Hand Slap | Donkey Kong slaps the ground. The grounded version has great range, but does not hit aerial foes. The aerial version has less range but can meteor smash. |
| +
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+
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+
| ||
| Focused Slap | Donkey Kong takes slower to slap and affects a smaller area, but a successful hit stuns foes briefly before launching them with increased knockback. | |||
| Hot Slap | Donkey Kong makes faster slaps that have less range, but throws out fire pillars that can hit aerial foes. | |||
Taunts
| Control | Info | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Wii U GamePad / Pro Controller | Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | |
| Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Nintendo 3DS | |
|
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+
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Donkey Kong beats his chest furiously. |
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( or  )
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+
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Donkey Kong shakes his whole body, as if drying his fur. |
( or  )
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( or  )
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( or  )
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+
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Donkey Kong looks toward the screen and shrugs. |
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Final Smash: Konga Beat
Donkey Kong pulls out two conga drums and begins banging away, hurting foes with sonic waves. A rhythm meter will appear over DK, and his percussive performance depends on how well you can match the rhythm. Hit any attack button as the circles on the meter reaches the center. A close hit results in a massive shockwave, but a miss manifests itself as a pathetically weak pulse.
Konga Beat is effectively the simplest rhythm game in existence; anyone can play to the beat with near perfection with just a little practice. The important part is where initiate the attack. Perfect hits result in very large shockwaves, but there's still space for opponents to avoid it even on fairly small stages like Battlefield. Ideally, you should use it near the ledge, forcing your foe away from the center of the stage. This position makes it very hard for them to get back on stage without getting hit by each shockwave, forcing them to take hits until they're inevitably KO'd from raw knockback or failed recovery.