Donkey Kong (Super Smash Flash 2)

Donkey Kong is a playable veteran 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 13th on the tier list (The highest ranked Mario character if sub series are included or not); a small leap from his 15th place position last tier list. Donkey Kong has good reach in the majority of his attacks, good combo ability, an outstanding grab and throw game, good momentum canceling and solid finishers in all of his smash attacks: sour spotted forward aerial, back aerial, back throw and Giant Punch. His main recovery tool, Spinning Kong, covers good horizontal distance and gives him super armor in the move's initial frames. Donkey Kong has good air mobility and combined with his strong aerials gives him a strong air game.

However, his size, weight and falling speed makes him susceptible to combos and chain grabs. He has problems dealing with projectiles which leads to him having problems preventing opponents from camping. Spinning Kong covers little vertical distance and leaves him vulnerable to meteor smashes when the moves super armor frames are up.

Overall, Donkey Kong is powerful character who can go hold his own if used correctly, but his flaws prevent him from being a top tier character.

However, DK has a growing player base due to how easy it is to pick him up, his Super Armor moves, strong KO ability and great combo game. This has caused some players to dislike the character and people who use him due to the abuse of his moves. DK's representation in online tournaments is growing and taking high placements.

Attributes
Donkey Kong certainly has his slew of positive attributes; he has good reach in most of his attacks, decent combo potential and strong finishers in all of his smash attacks: a sour spotted forward aerial, Giant Punch 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 falling speed. His recovery, Spinning Kong, covers decent 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 chaingrab fast fallers. DK's down throw is especially notable for being able to perform a zero-to-death chaingrab on fastfallers such as ; using his range, even if the fastfaller DIs away, he can regrab and inch enemies near the ledge, where he can then finish them off.

However, Donkey Kong's size, weight and falling speed leave 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 (as said move has a great deal of starting and ending lag, making it very easy to punish DK out of it), 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.

Ground attacks

 * Standard attack: Swipe. 4%
 * Standard attack 2: Uppercut 6%
 * Down tilt: Low swipe across the ground with his arm. 10%
 * Down smash: Slams down his fists on either side of him. 17% uncharged, 24% fully charged.
 * Side tilt: Swipes his arm out in front of him. 10%
 * Forward smash: Slaps both hands together. Fast for a heavyweight. 20% uncharged, 28% fully charged.
 * Up tilt: Swats his hand over his head. 11%
 * Up smash: Claps his hands together above his head. 18% uncharged, 26% fully charged. Hard to hit on grounded opponents due to low horizontal range yet excellent vertical range.
 * Dash attack: His signature forward roll attack taken from Donkey Kong Country. It's also his dash attack in Project M and 3DS / Wii U; however, unlike Project M, this iteration does not allow DK to pass the ledge. 11%

Aerial attacks

 * Neutral aerial: Spins quickly, swinging his arms around himself. 12%
 * Forward aerial: Clenches his fists together and swings them forward in a meteor smash. Very risky to do. Meteor hit. 12% Non meteor 14%
 * Back aerial: Backwards kick. Good spacing and edgeguarding tool. 13%
 * Up aerial: Headbutt. Good finisher. 12%
 * Down aerial: Stomps downwards underneath himself. Meteor smash. 16%

Grabs and throws

 * Grab: Reaches out with both arms.
 * Pummel: Karate chops opponent. 3% for all hits.
 * Forward throw: Picks up and carries opponent. No damage, but Donkey Kong can walk forwards and perform certain actions.
 * Standard attack button: Throws the carried opponent forward. 8%
 * Back: Throws the carried opponent backwards. 8%
 * Back throw: Flings opponent backwards. Powerful horizontal knockback. 11%
 * Up throw: Throws opponent upwards. Can chain grab. 9%
 * Down throw: Slams opponent into ground. Can chain-grab most characters. It also provides very decent follow-ups. 7%

Other

 * Ledge attack: Body slam, back-first. 8%
 * 100% Ledge attack: None.
 * Floor attack: Swings up head first. 6%

Misc.

 * Entrance: 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.
 * Fanfare: 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 decresed 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.

Notable Players

 * Infamous
 * Sekanor
 * PPStyle

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.

Trivia

 * Donkey Kong, along with, are the only characters to have a different dash attack than in Brawl. However, his current dash attack is the one he has in 3DS / Wii U.
 * 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, along with, are the only characters so far to have a different Final Smash than the one they had in Brawl. However, before the roster change and before DK's redesign, his Final Smash was supposed to be Konga Beat (His Final Smash in Brawl).

External link

 * Donkey Kong's page at Smash Flash DOJO!!