Donkey Kong (Super Smash Flash 2)

Donkey Kong is a playable veteran starter character in Super Smash Flash 2. He was the last newcomer announced in the original trailer, and could only be seen at the very end after the credits; here, he was seen with his sprites from DK: King of Swing. However, his appearance in the game has him using custom made sprites which is based on his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and uses voice clips from said game. He move set is similar to the one he has in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

Donkey Kong is currently ranked 6th on the tier list (The highest ranked Mario character if sub-series are included) in the A tier. Donkey Kong has amazing range on the majority of his attacks, highly damaging combos, an outstanding grab and throw game, good Momentum canceling, and very powerful finishers in all of his smash attacks, sourspot forward air, back air, back throw, and Giant Punch. His main recovery tool, Spinning Kong, covers great horizontal distance, has high priority, and gives him super armor in the move's initial frames. Donkey Kong has a strong air game due to his good air mobility and strong aerials overall.

However, his large size, heavy weight, and being a high faller make him arguably the most vulnerable character to combos and chain grabs in the game. He has difficulty dealing with projectiles due to a lack of his own, which limits his ability to approach campy characters. His recovery move covers the least vertical distance in the game, which leaves him completely and utterly incapable of recovering if meteor smashed offstage, even at 0%.

However, DK has a rather large player base due to how strong he is for a low amount of effort. This has caused some players to dislike the character, as well as the people who use him, due to how easy it is to exploit his strengths online. DK players have continually taken high placings in online tournaments, though he is not as prominent as he once was, due to the rise of characters such as Lloyd, Zero Suit Samus, and Sheik.

Attributes
Donkey Kong certainly has his slew of positive attributes; he has good reach in most of his attacks which are also fast, amazing combo ability and above average mobility. He posses strong finishers in all of his smash attacks, a sour spotted forward aerial, Giant Punch, back aerial, the initial hitbox of Spinning Kong and back throw.

Donkey Kong has great horizontal endurance due to his weight (being the heaviest character in the current demo) and good vertical endurance due to his high accelerated falling speed. His recovery, Spinning Kong, covers good horizontal distance and gives him knockback resistance in the move's initial frames.

Perhaps DK's biggest boon is his grab game; he possesses a large grab range and his throws serve a variety of purposes. Forward throw allows him to carry enemies off-stage, back throw serves as a high-percentage finisher near the ledge, up throw sets up juggling combos and can chain grab certain characters. DK's down throw is also a good combo starter and good for setting up chain grabs.

However, Donkey Kong's size, weight and being a high faller leaves him vulnerable to juggling, combos, chain grabs and zero-to-death combos himself, as his stature makes it highly difficult to avoid combo starters.

His recovery covers little vertical distance, giving him extreme vulnerability to meteor smashes in general, and if used at the wrong time can result in a fatal edgeguard, as the move offers no protection after the initial frames have passed.

Donkey Kong lacks a projectile and a reliable way to deal with them; although he can deflect those close to the ground with Hand Slap, it is only a situational maneuver at best, and he is still helpless against projectiles with more volatile trajectories; these attributes make it hard for Donkey Kong players to escape pressure.

Due to his aforementioned lack of a projectile and his lack of disjointed hitboxes, Donkey Kong also has trouble approaching; although his short hopped neutral aerial can out-prioritize weaker attacks thrown at him while he is moving towards the foe, he can still be shut down by characters with greater range in their attacks. Also, due to his great range not being disjointed, each range attack is also an extension of his hurtbox which can leave him vulnerable if not properly spaced.

Misc.

 * On-screen appearance: DK bursts out of a DK barrel.
 * Taunts:
 * Standard: Faces camera and shrugs shoulders.
 * Side: Holds out banana with mischievous look.
 * Down: Same as Side.
 * Victory theme: Bonus Clear fanfare from Donkey Kong Country Returns.
 * Wins: Does a backflip, then shows his muscles and smiles.
 * Loses: Claps slowly.

Changes from v0.9a
DK has receievd little changes from last demo. However, DK is one of a few characters who are not hindered by the low hitstun of this demo and is able to combo opponents like last demo. Another advantage is due to the decreased hitstun of this demo, DK is not as susceptible to chain grabs and zero-to-death combos that plagued him last demo. Due to this, DK is seen as a more effective character than last demo.

Active

 * 1smash18
 * PPStyles

Tier placement history
When first introduced in demo v0.8, DK was seen as character with great potential. He was ranked 10th of C tier for the list of demo v0.8b. He dropped to 24 of what could be considered C tier in demo v0.9a. However, he rose to 15th of what of A tier where he is seen as a high tier character. Changes in the metagame for v0.9b, has led to DK's position rising to 13th of A tier where he is still seen as a high tier character. However, after 1.0.3. DK has shown better results that ultimately ranked him 6th of A tier on the second Beta tier list.

Trivia

 * From demo v0.8a to v0.8b, Donkey Kong's portrait was taken from Mario Hoops 3-on-3.
 * Donkey Kong's third DOJO!! art is based off his artwork in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
 * In addition, his current artwork is taken directly from his artwork in Donkey Kong Country Returns.
 * Steven Borgers stated that Donkey Kong, and  were his hardest character projects. In DK's case it was due to his inexperience with spriting.
 * Donkey Kong and are currently the only characters so far to have a different Final Smash than the ones they have in the official Super Smash Bros. games. However, before the roster change and before DK's redesign, his Final Smash was intended to be Konga Beat (his Final Smash in the SSB games).