In this Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Donkey Kong Guide, we will guide you on how you can play with Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Donkey Kong looks heavy and slow but he is a very agile fighter. Not as agile as other smaller fighters in the game but more agile than other heavyweight fighters. Most of his attacks cannot be interrupted.

We have curated this Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Donkey Kong Guide in which we will guide you on how you can play with Donkey Kong and also how to play against him. We will detail all his attacks including his neutral attacks, special attacks, grounded attacks and more. With this guide, you will get to know Donkey Kong’s strengths and weaknesses.

Donkey Kong Detailed Guide – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Donkey Kong Guide details everything that you need to know about Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Introduction

Donkey Kong relies on his brute strength to deal some serious damage to enemies but he is also a pretty agile fighter which means that his big figure does not hinder his movement by any means. He will rely on his strong arms and head-butts to deal damage to his enemies. His attacks range from grabbing to juggling and completely dominating his enemies.

Since Donkey Kong is strong enough, he can also lift up his enemies easily and throw them around easily. After launching them in the air, Donkey Kong can easily follow up with combos and attacks to dominate the enemies. The only problem Donkey Kong faces while he fights is that most of the fighters are too fast for him to grab. His recovery from attacks is also slow which is yet another downside.

Attacks

We have detailed Donkey Kong’s moves below.

Grounded Attacks

We have detailed all of Donkey Kong’s attacks below which can be performed while Donkey Kong is on the ground.

Neutral Attacks

Donkey Kong’s neutral attack combo is based on two hits and each hit packs quite a punch. The first hit will deal 4 damage while the second one will deal 6 damage. The first hit is a powerful hook punch while the second one is an equally powerful uppercut.

Dash Attack

Donkey Kong’s Dash Attack deals a solid 12 damage if you manage to hit your enemies with it. Donkey Kong will start rolling while running towards the enemies and hit them with a powerful impact. The damage output is highest during the early stages of the roll. Enemies hit early will also fly in the air. At later stages, they will be simply knocked back with moderate damage.

Defensive Attacks

Donkey Kong’s Ledge attack deals 10 damage while both of his wake-up attacks, faceup and facedown, deal 7 damage.

Tilts

Donkey Kong comes with three Tilt attacks and we have detailed them below.

Side Tilt

It deals 7 damage. Donkey Kong attacks the area in front of him with a powerful slap attack in a wide arch. The punching arm is also intangible so it cannot be hit. You can adjust the aim of the tilt angles by using the control stick.

Up Tilt

It deals 10 damage. Donkey Kong will swing his hand above himself in an arc starting from his front and ending the attack at the back. At the start of the attack, any enemies on the ground can also be damaged by the attack. Anyone in the air will be knocked up and could be followed with a juggle combo.

Down Tilt

It deals 6 damage. For this attack, Donkey Kong will crouch and use his left arm to attack the legs of the enemies in front of him. Enemies are sometimes turned around to face Donkey Kong if they are looking the other way and sometimes the enemies are also tripped making them fall to the ground and giving you a combo opportunity.

Smashes

Donkey Kong has three Smash attacks and we have detailed them below.

Side Smash

It deals 22-30.8 damage. Donkey Kong will stretch both his hands to the side and clap anything there including enemies inside his big hands. If you charge the attack, damage will keep increasing.

Up Smash

It deals 19-26.6 damage. Donkey Kong uses the same clap attack but above him. The only area that damages enemies here are his hands. If someone touches the arms, they are not damaged.

Down Smash

It deals 17.2-25.2 damage. Donkey Kong will slam the ground with his hands and the damage area starts as soon as Donkey Kong starts bringing his hands down. This is great for pushing enemies out of your area and gain some private space.

Grabs

Donkey Kong’s basic Grab attack deals 1.6 damage while the back throw deals 11 damage. Up throw deals 9 damage and Down throw will deal 7 damage. The front throw of Donkey Kong is a special throw and it is called Kong Karry. It comes with its own four throws. Front throw will deal 12 damage, Back throw 13, Up throw 12 and Down throw 11.

Donkey Kong’s grab speed is much faster than most heavyweight fighters. After grabbing enemies, you also have the option to pummel them a few times and then later throw them in any direction you want. Through them up for juggling them with combos later. His best grab move is called Kong Karry which acts like holding something over his shoulder and then throwing it away.

Simply grab your opponent, move around the map and when you are bored, throw them in any direction that you like. If you are lucky, you can grab them again and keep repeating the process to annoy them in the match. These are special throws and differ from Donkey Kong’s normal throws. They also inflict more damage to the enemies than normal throws.

Aerial Attacks

We have detailed all of Kong’s air supremacy attacks below.

Neutral Air Attack

It deals 11 damage. Donkey Kong will jump in the air and spin around in the area with his fists around himself. He will hit anything that comes close to him during this phase. Each enemy will only be hit one time with this attack.

Forward Air Attack

It deals 16 damage. For this attack, Donkey Kong will swing forward and join his hands together in the form of a big punch and swing it ahead in the form of an arc from top to bottom. The arc will cover the entire area in front of Donkey Kong. The attack starts with the hands at the top of Donkey Kong’s head and ends at his feet. Anyone hit during the swing is also damaged apart from the final impact.

Back Air Attack

It deals 13 damage. Donkey Kong will hit with leg at his back. Despite looking like a weird attack, this attack has good reach and decent damage output to anyone unlucky enough to receive the leg in his face at the back.

Up Air Attack

It deals 13 damage. This punch arch above Donkey Kong’s head will throw enemies straight up and will set them for a follow up combo. Donkey Kong can easily knock anyone out of the air with this attack but the attack is short and does not last for long.

Down Air Attack

It deals 16 damage. Donkey Kong will use his foot to stomp on the ground with a powerful smash. This is great for knocking people off the stage who are near the ledge or even holding on to the ledge. It also deals good damage to enemy shields.

Special Attacks

Donkey Kong features the following special attacks.

Neutral Special Attack – Giant Punch

It deals 10-28 damage. To land this attack, you will be required to charge it first. Press the correct button to start spinning his arm and charging the attack. Once the attack is fully charged, you can control him again normally as the charge will be stored. Donkey Kong’s face will have a very enraged expression during this time.

The charge stores in the body so you can easily charge the punch in small segments. Start charging and if you see someone coming, dodge and then later continue charging from the same point. Only unleash the attack once it is fully charged, you can fire a semi-charged attack as well but that is not super effective. Charge in pieces and then unleash in one mighty punch.

Side Special Attack – Headbutt

It deals 10 damage. Donkey Kong will land a powerful headbutt to the enemies in front. Before headbutting, Donkey Kong will bend backwards to get some momentum and then jump forward for increased headbutting momentum. He can interrupt incoming attacks as well with this move and will move straight throw the attacks to land his own.

This will sometimes pin enemies into the ground and they will be required to get free before they can attack again. You can also land this on airborne enemies who will plummet to the ground in a powerful smash. This could work well for throwing enemies off the stage.

Up Special Attack – Spinning Kong

This can be performed in the air or the ground. If performed on the ground, it will deal 5, 1.4×5 and 4 damage and if performed in the air it will deal 5, 1×11 and 2 damage to the enemies. Donkey Kong will start spinning and land some really powerful multi attacks to enemies around him. He can hit both side with this attack and the speed of the attack is fast as well. For this attack the first and last hit are the most possible ones.

While Donkey Kong is spinning in the air, hold the stick forward or backward to move him in a specific direction. On the ground he can only be moved in a forward direction. If performed in the air, Donkey Kong will spin back to the ground and cannot attack until he touches the ground which gives your enemies a chance to retaliate.

Down Special Attack – Hand Slap

This special attack can be performed in the air as well as on the ground. The damage for the grounded attack is 14 while if performed in the air, the attack will deal 5 and 6 damage for 2 hits. Donkey Kong will slap the ground two times and the damage will differ when performed in air or the ground.

On the ground, Donkey Kong will jump ahead and slap the ground with both of his hands while in the air, Donkey Kong will rush to the ground and then slap the ground with his two hands. Each slap will cause a small tremor. In addition, you can repeat this attack to keep slapping the ground as many time as you want in a row.

Final Smash – Jungle Rush

Once your Final Smash meter is full, you can trigger a mighty punch called Jungle Rush. This attack has low range so make sure that you are in punching range before triggering it. This hook punch with hit the enemies and make them fly in the air which will get trapped in a high damage rapid-fire combo. This even works if more than one enemy comes in range so make sure that you try to get in as many people in as possible.

For other characters, check out our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Characters Guide.

Read more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Guides.

This concludes our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Donkey Kong Guide. If you want to add anything to this guide, feel free to use the comments section below.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Donkey Kong Guide – How to Play, Attack Moves

Donkey Kong Detailed Guide – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Introduction