Diddy Kong (SSBU)

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{{Infobox Character
Diddy Kong once again retains most of his realistic chimpanzee screeches that were used in both *Brawl* and *Smash 4*, though they are much less animalistic.

## How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

* Play VS. matches, with Diddy Kong being the 37th character to be unlocked.
* Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the seventh character unlocked after Greninja.
* Have Diddy Kong join the player's party in World of Light.

Diddy Kong must then be defeated on Kongo Falls for the first two methods or Template:SSB for the third method.

## Changes from *Super Smash Bros. 4*

Having been one of the most notorious top tier fighters in early *Super Smash Bros. 4* and remaining a dominant top-tier character throughout the game's lifespan, Diddy Kong was significantly nerfed from his *SSB4* iteration. His Monkey Flip most notably travels a shorter distance, which worsens his overall movement and neutral. The move also ultimately renders him helpless after some time when latching on his opponents in midair, making edge guard and stage spike KOs a much riskier option if the opponent is not pummeled quick enough. Rocketbarrel Boost travels a shorter distance, worsening his recovery. Banana Peel also has more startup lag, making it harder for him to instantly grab bananas after he pulls one out. Down tilt was also nerfed which prevents Diddy from being able to combo into up smash and combo off of the move reliably. His infamous up aerial has a smaller hitbox. His grab game was also toned down, with his grab having more startup and endlag, and his combo throws have either more endlag or more knockback, which significantly hinders their combo potential. Diddy Kong also suffers from having less weight, making him even easier to KO.

He did get some notable buffs, however. Diddy's already impressive mobility was improved as his initial dash, run speed, walk speed, and airspeed are significantly better. Diddy also slightly benefits from the game's mechanics as his aerials and up/down throw have less ending lag and knockback. This makes most of his aerials quicker to perform as before in early *Smash 4* metagame before they were noticeably nerfed.

Diddy Kong's nerfs seem to outweigh his buffs, making him worse than his iteration in *Smash 4*. His overall perception has been negative since notable Smash 4 Diddy Kong players such as Template:Sm, Template:Sm and Template:Sm have dropped him in favor of other characters. However, recent game updates (most notably version 3.1.0) have meaningfully buffed Diddy Kong to a slightly more substantial degree, and Template:Sm has come back to maining him again; furthermore, Diddy Kong has started to show signs of competitive success thanks to the efforts of Template:Sm, who recently placed 13th at Template:Trn. As a result, Diddy Kong’s viability in the competitive scene remains questionable.

### Aesthetics

* As with all veterans returning from *SSB4*, Diddy Kong's model features a more subdued color scheme. Like Donkey Kong, his fur is less detailed than the previous installment.
* Diddy Kong is more expressive. His hat also appears to be "looser" around his head, popping off slightly while performing many actions.
* Diddy Kong's chest now faces the screen, regardless of whether he is facing left or right. As a result, most of his moves are now mirrored.
* Up taunt has an altered ending animation. Diddy Kong now fixes his hat as it lands crooked on his head.

### Attributes

* Like all characters, Diddy Kong's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 4).
* Diddy Kong runs faster (1.824 → 2.006).
	+ Diddy Kong's initial dash is significantly faster (1.7 → 2.09).
* Diddy Kong walks faster (1.25 → 1.313).
* Diddy Kong's air speed is higher (0.88 → 0.924).
* Diddy Kong is lighter (93 → 90). This makes him less susceptible to combos at the expense of worse endurance.

### Ground attacks

* Neutral attack:
	+ Neutral attack no longer has a neutral infinite and instead finishes with a quick side kick. This makes the move much more consistent.
		- The loss of the neutral infinite hurts its overall damage potential.
	+ The first hit can be held for a consecutive jab.
	+ The third hit of neutral attack has less startup lag (frame 9 → 5).
		- However, its duration remains unchanged, giving it more ending lag.
	+ Jab's first hit consists of four much smaller hitboxes as opposed to three larger ones (3.5u/3u/3u → 1.8u/1.8u/2u/2u).
* Forward tilt:
	+ Forward tilt has altered knockback (10 (base)/100 (scaling) → 60/60), dealing less knockback overall and diminishing its KO potential.
		- However it is now safer on hit at low percentages.
	+ Forward tilt launches at a higher angle (361 → 45°).
* Up tilt:
	+ Up tilt has less ending lag (FAF 33 → 30).
* Down tilt:
	+ Down tilt's farthest hitbox is smaller (4.2u → 3.0u).
* Dash attack:
	+ Dash attack has less ending lag (FAF 46 → 41).
	+ All 3 hits of dash attack have a longer active window (1 frame → 2 frames).
	+ Since opponents can no longer run each other, dash attack can no longer accidentally whiff at extremely close ranges.
	+ Dash attack has two additional hitboxes on the first two hits.
	+ Dash attack's hitboxes have less startup (frame 9/18/24 → 8/16/22).
	+ Dash attack launches at a higher angle (78 → 83).
* Up smash:
	+ Up smash's final hit deals more knockback (50 (base)/126 (scaling) → 55/131).
* Down smash:
	+ Down smash has more startup lag (frame 6 → 9).
	+ Down smash has smaller hitboxes, with a hitbox removed on each hit (4u/4u/5u → 3.9u/3.3u (both hits)).
	+ The first hit deals more knockback (40 (base)/72 (scaling) → 46/77).

### Aerial Attacks

* All aerials have less landing lag (Neutral: 13 frames → 8, Forward: 26 → 16, Back: 12 → 7, Up: 21 → 9, Down: 30 → 17).
* Neutral aerial:
	+ Neutral aerial auto-cancels significantly earlier (frame 59 → 27), allowing it to autocancel in a short hop once again.
	+ All of neutral aerial's hitboxes are bigger (2u/2u/2u/2u → 3.5u/3.5u/3.5u/3.5u).
* Forward aerial:
	+ Forward aerial has an altered animation where Diddy Kong does not spin as much.
	+ Forward aerial's late hit has much smaller hitboxes (5u/5u → 2.7u/2.7u).
* Up aerial:
	+ Up aerial has less range in front of Diddy Kong.
	+ Up aerial deals 1% more damage with knockback somewhat compensated (64 (base)/89 (scaling) → 57/89).
	+ Up aerial has less ending lag (FAF 39 → 35), matching its ending lag from *Smash 4* prior to 1.0.8 update and making it slightly faster to combo into itself.

### Throws/other attacks

* Diddy Kong uses one hand to grab instead of both.
* Diddy Kong has a surprised/shocked expression if he misses his grab.
* Pummel has an altered animation. Diddy Kong no longer hops off the ground while pummeling.
* Pummel deals less damage (2% → 1%).
* All grabs have more startup (frame 6 → 7 (standing), 8 → 10 (dash), 9 → 11 (pivot)) and ending lag (FAF 32 → 37 (standing), 39 → 45 (dash), 37 → 40 (pivot)).
* All grabs have less range (Z2 offset: 8.3u → 7.8u (standing), 9.9u → 9.5u (dash), 13.9u → 13.6u (pivot)).
* Down throw:
	+ Down throw has less ending lag (FAF 35 → 32), improving its combo potential.

### Special Moves

* Peanut Popgun:
	+ Diddy Kong's animation for Peanut Popgun is mirrored and can fire with both his left and right hand.
	+ Peanut Popgun has less startup lag (frame 18 → 16).
	+ Peanuts will bounce once upon hitting the ground, and float upwards before exploding if it hits an opponent. These animations are aesthetic.
* Monkey Flip:
	+ Monkey Flip's grab "pummel" has him scratch his opponent quickly instead of simply latching on and doing damage. The scratches are faster while dealing the same damage.
	+ Monkey Flip has less startup lag (frame 20 → 18).
	+ Monkey Flip has more ending lag (FAF 44 → 48).
	+ Monkey Flip travels a shorter distance.
* Rocketbarrel Boost:
	+ Grounded Rocketbarrel Boost has weak heavy armor. It is only sufficient for tanking extremely weak hits, such as the first two hits of most neutral attacks.
	+ When knocked off of Diddy Kong, the Rocketbarrel Pack's trajectory can be somewhat controlled by the player. Depending on the held direction, the pack will move in that direction, though it is still very random and inconsistent.
	+ The effect of charging Rocketbarrel Boost for vertical distance has been significantly reduced, to the point where fully charging the move while falling results in gaining less height overall than using the move uncharged. Although, it still travels far horizontally.
	+ The 1v1 multiplier adds more recoil damage if Diddy Kong were to hit a surface.
* Banana Peel:
	+ Banana Peel has a snappier animation.
	+ Diddy Kong appears to throw the Banana Peel much higher than before.
	+ If the Banana Peel is thrown at an opponent once with the respective peel, it no longer disappears until thrown at again, allowing Diddy Kong to quickly pick it up again and reuse it. However, this also means his opponents can do the same when it is out.
		- This change indirectly allows Diddy Kong to setup infinite combos on most characters on platforms.
* Final Smash:
	+ Hyper Rocketbarrel, Diddy Kong's new Final Smash, functions differently from Rocketbarrel Barrage. Diddy Kong now flies through the stage in an erratic fashion to punch his trapped opponents. The final hit is where Diddy Kong does a delayed, aimed punch, dealing heavy knockback. Diddy Kong then lands and deactivates his Rocketbarrel Pack at the spot where he first used the move.

## Update history

Likely as a result to his negative perception as a lower tier character, Diddy Kong has been heavily buffed in game updates.

 **2.0.0**

* Neutral aerial auto-cancels earlier (frame 50 → 27). It is now early enough to buffer short hop and fastfall with no landing lag.
* Template:Bugfix

 **3.0.0**

* Dash attack has less startup lag (frame 9/18/24 → 8/16/22) with identical ending lag, shortening its duration (FAF 43 → 41).
* Forward tilt has a new late hit that deals less damage (10% → 7%) but increases its duration overall.
* Down smash deals more knockback.
* Neutral aerial has more range.
* Up aerial deals more damage (6% → 7%) with knockback compensated.

 **3.1.0**

* Neutral attack 2 has more range and connects more reliably from neutral attack 1 (ID 2 361° → 180°, Z Offset: 9.8 → 11.3).
* Dash attack's final hit sends at a slightly more vertical angle that allows it to combo better (78° → 83°).
* Up smash's hits connect more reliably.
* Up smash's final hit deals more knockback (50 (base)/129 (scaling) → 55/131).
* Up aerial has less ending (FAF 37 → 36) and landing lag (13 frames → 9).
* Down aerial has less startup lag (frame 17 → 15) with identical ending lag, shortening its duration (FAF 49 → 47).
* Peanut Popgun's peanut projectile deals more damage (while maintaining shield damage) (3.3%-15% → 4.3%-13.8%) and charges more quickly (max charge: frame 121 → 94, explosion startup: 123 → 97).
* Diddy Kong falls slower while charging Rocketbarrel Boost. This only applies for the first charge, Diddy will not stall using it repeatedly without landing.
* Rocketbarrel Boost travels more vertical distance when charged.
* Hyper Rocketbarrel's explosion and jet at the start deal more damage.
* Hyper Rocketbarrel's tackle deals less damage.
* Hyper Rocketbarrel's final tackle launches opponents at lower percentages less reliably.

## Moveset

* Diddy Kong can crawl, wall cling, and wall jump.

*Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.*

### On-screen appearance

Bursts out of a DK Barrel and claps his hands above his head.

### Taunts

* **Up taunt**: Tosses his cap in the air and has it land on his head. This is a reference to his victory pose in *Donkey Kong Country*, after he defeats a boss or wins in a Template:S.
* **Side taunt**: Does a playful fighter's stance, trying to assert his dominance.
* **Down taunt**: Claps his hands above his head four times, switching feet in the process..

SSBUDiddyKongTaunt1.gifDiddy Kong's up taunt.SSBUDiddyKongTaunt2.gifDiddy Kong's side taunt.SSBUDiddyKongTaunt3.gifDiddy Kong's down taunt.
### Idle poses

* Scratches his rump, gets down on all fours, and shakes his fur.
* Jumps in place twice.

SSBUDiddyKongIdle1.gifDiddy Kong's first idle poseSSBUDiddyKongIdle2.gifDiddy Kong's second idle pose
### Victory poses

* Shoots the air with his Peanut Popguns, rolls toward the camera and shoots near it.
* Spins with his Rocket Barrels then faces the screen, dancing with hands on his head and chin.
* Does a small dance, then holds still in a breakdance-like pose, clapping his feet together.

 File:DKUniverseTheme.ogg
DiddyKongVictoryPose1SSBU.gifDiddyKongVictoryPose2SSBU.gifDiddyKongVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
## In competitive play

### Notable players

* Template:Sm - One of the best Diddy Kong players in the world. Placed 13th at Template:Trn and 17th at Template:Trn.
* Template:Sm - The best Diddy Kong player in the world. Placed 3rd at Template:Trn, 13th at Template:Trn, 33rd at Template:Trn, and 49th at Template:Trn.
* Template:Sm - Placed 2nd at Template:Trn, 3rd at Template:Trn, and 25th at Template:Trn using Diddy Kong as one of his characters.

## Classic Mode: Hey, Little Buddy!

 File:SSBU Congratulations Diddy Kong.png
In Diddy Kong's path, he serves as the "little buddy" to the hero of various Nintendo franchises and fights the respective villains or final bosses. In the penultimate stage he finally teams up with his true partner, Donkey Kong, to defeat their nemesis King K. Rool. Donkey Kong is also Diddy Kong's partner for the final fight against Master Hand and Crazy Hand. The title originated from the manual of *Template:Iw* and was popularized by the *Template:Iw* TV series; Diddy Kong is also referred to as Donkey Kong's "little buddy" in games such as *Brawl* and *Template:S*.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Diddy Kong has *Template:SSBUMusicLink* accompany the credits.

## Role in World of Light

 File:WoL-36DiddyKong.jpg
Diddy Kong was among the fighters that were summoned to fight the army of Master Hands.

Diddy Kong was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed its beams of light. He attempted to fly away with Rosalina & Luma using his activated Rocketbarrel Pack, but a beam of light hit him and he was vaporized and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding Kirby.

To find Diddy Kong, the player must access the Kongo Jungle sub-area reminiscent of the first *Donkey Kong Country* game, where he's found right at the end.

## Spirits

Diddy Kong's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking Diddy Kong in World of Light allows the player to preview the spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in *Ultimate*.

Spirits diddy kong.png135. ***Diddy Kong***

## Gallery

SSBU Diddy Kong Number.pngDiddy Kong's fighter card.SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong1.jpgDiddy Kong taunting on Kongo Falls.SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong2.jpgStriking Kirby with Monkey Flip on The Great Cave Offensive.SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong3.jpgGrabbing towards Ness on Moray Towers.SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong4.jpgCharging his Peanut Popgun on Saffron City.SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong5.jpgThe Peanut Popgun exploding on Spear Pillar.SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong6.jpgTossing a Banana Peel on Great Bay.SSBUWebsite16.jpgTaunting with Donkey Kong on Distant Planet.SSBUWebsiteDonkeyKong3.jpgWith D.K. on Great Bay.SSBUWebsiteAlolanExeggutor1.jpgWall clinging onto Alolan Exeggutor with Bayonetta on Big Blue.SSBUWebsiteMarshadow1.jpgDiddy Kong and Lucas being attacked by Marshadow on the Bridge of Eldin.

## Trivia

* Diddy Kong's blog mentions his Final Smash utilizing his popguns. However, his new Final Smash, Hyper Rocketbarrel, no longer utilizes the popguns he wielded like in Rocketbarrel Barrage.
* Diddy Kong is the only character of the *Mario* sub-universes not to appear in Kirby's Classic Mode.
* Diddy Kong, Marth, and Lucina are tied as the lightest fighters who are not considered lightweights.
* Diddy Kong and Bayonetta are the only characters who face Ridley in an alternate costume in Classic Mode.

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