Fatalities
Smash Cadet
Diddy Kong: Character Playing Guide
* This thread will be continuously updated each time I learn something new about Diddy Kong
* Please ask any questions you have about Diddy Kong, and I will do my best to answer them.
* Credits to: Blue_sHell for character playing guide format
Index:
1. Personal thoughts about Diddy Kong
2. Short Biography
3. Best Match Ups
4. Worst Match Ups
5. Best stages
6. Worst Stages
7. Combos
8. Recovery
9. edge Hogging/guarding
10. Basic Killing approaches
11. Move Set
12. Conclusion
Personal Thoughts about Diddy Kong:
Diddy Kong was the first person I used coming into SSBB. To me, he looked the coolest, and I was just simply amazed with his peanut gun, and his bananas. The idea that you could pull out an item that does not dissipate once thrown was phenomenal. And to add on to that, the potential to make others slip once made contact with was just completely baffling. To add onto that, I love all the colors of his outfits, except for the pink one. I usually play with either purple or green. In My opinion, I believe Diddy Kong has potential to be either a low top tier, or the highest of the High tiers. Till this day, Diddy Kong has always been, and will always be my main, and secondary.
Short Biography:
During the development of Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong was originally meant to be an updated version of Donkey Kong Jr. Not liking the radical changes Rare had made to Donkey Kong Jr., Nintendo told them that they could either use Donkey Kong Jr.’s original appearance for Donkey Kong Country or rename their new version of him. Deciding to simply rename the character, who Rare felt was perfect for their updated version of Donkey Kong’s world, Rare at first decided on the name “Dinky Kong”, but due to unspecified legal issues settled on the name Diddy Kong. Diddy Kong’s hat originally had the “R” symbol from Rare, but when Microsoft bought the rights to the company, Nintendo put their own logo on the hat. In his first game appearance, Donkey Kong Country released for the SNES in 1994, Diddy idolized Donkey Kong and wished to become a big, strong video game hero just like him. To humor him, Donkey Kong put him in charge of guarding his banana hoard at night. Since then, Diddy Kong has been featured, and starred in many games, such as, Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong land II, Donkey Kong land III, Donkey Kong Country II: Diddy Kong’s Quest, Donkey Kong Country III: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble, and now Super Smash Brothers: Brawl. Diddy Kong will now be appearing in all Mario sports games Golf/Soccer/Baseball/Tennis
Best Match ups:
For the most part, Diddy Kong is able to play pretty good with most of the characters, but his best match ups are usually against characters with a slower speed relative to his own. Also he plays swell against characters that are large, and also characters without projectiles. Good examples of characters that fit those descriptions would be: Ike, Captain.Falcon, Ganondorf, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Jigglypuff, Yoshi, and in some cases the Mario brothers.
Worst Match ups:
Diddy Kong’s worst match ups would have to be against projectile spammers like The Tri Force (Toon Link, Link, Zelda, and Sheik). Also Against the spaces (Wolf, Fox, Falco) who like to spam their lasers. The best way to beat the spam is to run up as close as you can to them, predict, and dodge (Down R or L) the lasers, and then hit a down smash and send them flying off the stage. Against characters with spam projectiles, you want to take and control the fight within the air to keep them from reaching the ground, and spamming it up some more. He also does not play well against those with faster attack speeds, dash speeds, and fast combos. While playing characters with fast speeds like Marth, Sonic, Meta Knight, or even pikachu, you want to utilize, and keep near your bananas the most, so that if they try to charge in at you, they will slip, and leave you an opening for an attack.
Best Stages:
Diddy Kong plays well on almost every stage. He plays exceptionally well on flat neutral stages like Final Destination, where he can utilize his bananas the best. Due to his alright aerial game, Diddy Kong is also able to play well at stages with platforms. He can exploit these platforms to his advantage, by using them as a stepping stone to take control of the fight within the air. His air smashes are very strong, have good knock back, and very little lag, with the exception of his meteor smash.
Worst Stages:
Diddy Kong does not play well at stages with curves or interference. Due to the fact that Diddy Kong is easy to combo with, players tend to get into the game even more, and because of this, they do not pay attention as much to the interference that comes with some of the stages in SSBB. Examples of stages like these are: Corneria, Norfair, and in some cases Halberd. You want to keep a close eye for when interferences come along, like the lava in Norfair, so you do not get hit, and potentially die. Also most of Diddy Kong's attacks consist of multiple hits, and because of the different levels on these kinds of stage, not all the hits may connect. Other then that, Diddy Kong plays well on most stages.
Combos:
Diddy Kong is well known for his ability to combo, based on the simple fact that most of his moves come out fast, do not have much lag on them, and are strong with good good knock back. Here is a list of some of the combos that I came up with, and use.
Combo 1: Dash Attack – Short Hop - Bair
Combo 2: Dash Attack – Jab Combo – Side Smash
Combo 3: Dash Attack - Jab Combo - Down Smash
Combo 4: Dash Attack – Up Smash
Combo 5: Dash Attack – Up Smash – Up air
Combo 6: Dash Attack – Down Smash
Combo 7: Dash Attack - Short Hop - Down Air (if they are near the edge)
Combo 8: Dash Attack – Forward Smash (Depending on if opponent is in front of you)
Combo 9: Dash Attack – Forward Smash (Depending on if opponent is behind you)
Combo 10: Dash Attack – Up Tilt/Strong
Combo 11: Dash Attack – Forward Tilt/Strong (Depending on if opponent is in front of you)
Combo 12: Dash Attack –Forward Tilt/Strong Strong (Depending on if opponent is behind you)
Combo 13: Dash Attack – Down Tilt/Strong
Combo 14: Dash Attack – Down Tilt/Strong – Forward Smash
Combo 15: Dash Attack – Down Tilt/Strong – Forward Tilt/Strong (angled downwards)
Combo 16: Grab – Forward Throw – B (Tap B do not hold it)
Combo 17: Forward B - Short Hop - Down Air
Combo 18: Grab – Forward Throw – Side Step – Short Hop – Fair
Combo 19: (Fatalities Fake): Down B – Grab Banana – Dash – Up/down/Back throw – Down/Forward Smash
I designed Combo 19 (Fatalities’ Fake) to be used on Fox, Falco, Wolf, or anyone with a reflector. The first four steps of Combo 11 tell you to take out a banana, dash to your opponent; either send the banana down, up, or behind you, and then use your down or forward smash. This combo will fake your opponent into thinking you will throw the banana at them, and so they will most likely attempt to reflect it. Once you throw the banana into any direction, but theirs, you are to use either your down or forward smash. If the opponent is not one of those three characters, then they will most likely try to shield it, which leaves an opening for you to grab them. This combo is most effective one flat stages. It can also be used by any other characters, as long as weapons are around, or able to be taken out.
Recovery:
While off the stage, Diddy Kong can use his Monkey Flip, A.K.A the “Diddy Hump” in order to get back on the stage. When using the Monkey Flip, be cautious not to tap any buttons unless you are going to use your jump, or RocketBarrel Blast, because this will result in Diddy Kong lashing his foot out in a kick, which will disable you to use your RocketBarrel Blast. You will fall straight down, and possibly die if not near the edge of the stage. If this attack is still not enough, you can use your RocketBarrel Blast right after to complete the distance towards your destination. The longer you hold Up B, the farther you go. RocketBarrel Blast has the ability to either shift to the left or the right; depending on the direction you shift the Joystick. The RocketBarrel Blast can also spike. I will get into that more a little later in the guide. If you are hit while using the RocketBarrel Blast, your rocket barrels will fly off from you, and can potentially crash into your opponent. This will disrupt your recovery, but you will be able to perform another RocketBarrel Blast.
Monkey Flip = Forward B
RocketBarrel Blast = Up B
Edge Hogging/Guarding:
Due to the lag that taking out bananas has, when the opponent is off the stage, you want to take them out then. Plant one banana at the very tip of the edge, and the other a few steps behind, so that way they will slip on at least one of them if the manage to recover. Prepare to fair at your opponent for they most likely will try to jump back on the stage after grabbing the edge in an attempt to avoid hitting the set bananas. After the bananas are set, you either want to fire your peanuts, or jump off and perform a fair at your opponent. Depending on your skill level with Diddy Kong, you can try to perform a dair, and spike your opponent, or perform a Monkey Flip, and once latched onto your target, tap X, Y, or up Joystick which will also result in a spike.
Basic Killing Approaches:
Just like most other characters, the best approach to take when trying to kill an opponent would be to use Diddy’s forward or down smash, for they are one of the fastest, strongest, and longest of Diddy Kong’s attacks. Diddy Kong’s down smash can kill anywhere from 90% and above, all depending on how long you charge the attack up, and the location of the target relative to the edges of the stage. Diddy Kong’s Forward Smash can kill anywhere from 105% and above, yet again all depending on how long you charge the attack up, and the location of the target relative to the edges of the stage. You do not want to spam those attacks, due to the fact that it weakens every time it connects with a target. His Up and forward tilts are also one of his top kill moves due to its reach and strength. It can kill at around 140-50 %. His third major kill move is his up air. It can kill at around 115-125%, depending on how high off the platform your target is.
Move Set:
Diddy Kong’s Standard attacks:
Jab Combo:
Diddy Kong’s Jab combo consists of two slaps, and the whipping of his tail. The first slap causes up to 3% damage. The second slap also causes up 3% damage. And the final tail whip causes up to 19% damage. If kept fresh, the full jab combo can cause up to 25%, all depending on how long it takes them to D.I out of it. It works for a perfect follow up after a dash attack.
Dash Attack:
Diddy Kong’s dash attack is one of his most useful attacks. It appears to be a dash with a cartwheel kick at the end. It is the main start for the majority of Diddy Kong’s Combos.
Diddy Kong’s Smashes:
Up Smash:
Diddy Kong’s Up smash is the worst of all three of his smashes. His up smash appears to be an aerial cartwheel kick. It is rarely used, except for in a combo. There are many reasons why his up smash is so bad. One reason being, because of the incredibly small knock back that it gives when making contact with a target. Even if the move is fresh, and your opponent has 200% damage, Diddy Kong’s up smash will not kill. It takes around 215-20% to kill using that move. Diddy Kong’s up smash consist of three hits, which is another reason why it is so bad. In order for all three of the hits to connect, Diddy Kong must be practically touching the target. If he isn’t, then only two kicks will hit, maybe even one. If one kick connects, it causes about 5% damage. If two kicks connect, it causes about 11% damage. If all three kicks manage to connect, it does about 16%, if kept fresh. As stated above, Diddy Kong’s Up smash is not favorable to be used, unless in a combo.
Forward Smash:
Diddy Kong’s forward smash is the second best out of his three smashes. His forward smash appears to be a spinning double punch. It is one of his kill moves for the blatant reason being because of its outgoing speeds, range, and knock back. His forward smash can kill at a low percentage of 105-130% depending on how long you charge it up. The move consists of two punches, which for the most part usually connects. The first hit does not produce knock back, but the second hit sends them soaring off. It is easy to use in combos, and can send your target far away from you with ease. If only one of the hits connect, which rarely happens, the target will receive 5% damage. If both hits connect with your target, they can cause up to 18-25% damage depending on how long you hold it out, and how fresh it is.
Down Smash:
Although not as strong as his forward smash, Diddy Kong’s down smash is the best of his three smashes. His down smash appears to be a break dancing sweep kick, similar to Mario’s. It can kill at low damage percentage anywhere from 90% and above, depending on how long you hold it out, and how close to the edge your target is. It can cause from 16-22% of damage to your target. The reach, speed, and knock back on the move is phenomenal. It’s considered one of Diddy Kong’s kill moves.
Diddy Kong’s Tilts/Strongs:
Up Tilt/Strong:
Diddy Kong’s up tilt/strong is the faster, and strongest out of his three tilts. It appears to be a hopping vertical slap. Although it only causes around 7% damage, the knock back on the hit is what makes it one of his kill moves. If your opponent has a low damage percentage, Diddy Kong's Up tilt/strong can be performed twice in a row with almost no lag. its best to be used in combination after a cartwheel kick. It can kill anywhere from 130% and above, all depending on how fresh it is, and if your opponent is standing on a platform of some sort or not.
Forward Tilt/Strong:
Diddy Kong’s forward tilt/strong is the most commonly used of his three tilts/strongs. His forward tilt/strong appears to be a leaning twin punch. It has the longest reach relative to any other one of Diddy Kong’s attacks. With that, it too has very good knock back, and can come as a surprise to an opponent. Because of this, it makes for a stellar revenge kill. His forward tilt can be angled upwards, downwards, or forwards. When angled upwards, it can cause up to 11% damage if kept fresh. When angled downwards, it can cause up to 9% damage if kept fresh. And when kept forward, it can too, cause up to 9% if kept fresh.
Down Tilt/Strong:
Diddy Kong’s down tilt/strong is the weakest and worse of his three tilts/strongs. Although not as good as his other two tilts/strongs, his down tilt can make for a pretty good combo, if followed up by a forward smash. if your opponent has a low damagae percentage, Diddy Kong's Down Tilt/Strong can be performed twice with almost no lag. Without almost any lag, a downward angled forward tilt can be released right after a down tilt/strong, which yet again makes for a great combo. Similar to his forward tilt, if kept fresh it too can cause up to 7% damage. It is not used as a kill move, for it would take up to 300% to kill.
Diddy Kong’s Aerials
Neutral Air:
Diddy Kong’s Neutral air is the worst if his aerial attacks. It appears to be an aerial cartwheel kick, similar to Kirby’s. It has a small knock back relative to the other four of Diddy Kong’s aerial attacks. It can cause up to 6% damage if kept fresh. Similar to Diddy Kong’s down tilt/strong, it is not used to kill, just to combo with.
Up Air:
Diddy Kong’ up air is his third major kill move. It appears to be an aerial back flip kick. It causes 11% damage to your target if the hit connects. Although that may not be much for a kill move, it has impressive knock back. It can kill around 115-125% and above, all depending on how high off the ground your target is when the attack makes contact.
Forward Air:
Diddy Kong’s forward air is the best out of his five aerial attacks. It appears to be an aerial, vertical drop kick, similar to Mario’s Back air. It has incredible knock back, and can make for a good combo. It can cause up to 14% if kept fresh. Although it can kill at around 145% damage, it isn’t really considered one of his kill moves, compared to his down or forward smashes.
Back Air:
Diddy Kong’s back air is not the best of his aerial attacks, but has proven to be very useful. It appears to be a reverse spinning back roundhouse kick, similar to samus’s back air. It can cause up to 9% damage if kept fresh. Similar to his neutral air, Diddy Kong’s back air is not used to kill, but to combo with. If necessary, you can use it to kill, but only kills at around 215% damage if kept fresh. Diddy Kong has the ability to lash out three back airs if a double jump is used, increasing the probability of one of them hitting his target. If a short hop is used, Diddy Kong's back air can come out twice, making a dash attack to double bair great at low percents (and bad DI)
Down Air:
Along side his forward air; Diddy Kong’s down air is one of his best aerial attacks out of the five. It appears to be a descending aerial fist slam, which can result in a spike. For the most part, it can spike almost every character off the stage, except characters like R.O.B, who can just recover right away, and with ease afterwards. It has some lag at the beginning and at the end of the attack, so you want to practice getting the timing just right, especially if you plan to use it on Nintendo’s laggy Wi Fi connection.
Diddy Kong’s Special Moves
Peanut Popgun:
Diddy Kong’s Peanut Popgun has the ability to shoot out peanuts when the “B” button is tapped. Depending on how long you hold it, will decide how straight it goes, and how much damage it causes to your target once contact is made. If the “b” button is only tapped, and not held down, then the released peanut will arch towards your target in a rainbow like formation. It can cause up to 5% damage uncharged if kept fresh. If the Peanut Popgun is charged up for two seconds, it can cause up to 6% damage, if kept fresh. If it is charged up for three seconds, it can cause up to 10% damage if kept fresh. If it is charged up all the way, that being four seconds, then it can cause up to 15% damage, if kept fresh. The maximum amount of time that you can charge up the Peanut Popgun is about four seconds. If held out any longer then that, the Popgun will blow up, and you will be temporarily vulnerable to attack. If you do not wish to count to four seconds before releasing, then you have the option of watching Diddy Kong’s hand motion up towards the top of his hat. Once his palm makes contact with his hat that is when you want to release it. If not released, the Popgun will explode. charging the Peanut Popgun in the air will not take away from the four second limit you have when charging it up on the ground, making it even more usefull. Also, When Diddy Kong's popgun is used in the air, it gives gives him a good wave bounce. It can be used as a horizontal recovery if used in the opposite direction relative to the stage.
RocketBarrel Blast:
Diddy Kong’s RocketBarrel Blast is his primary means for recovery. When you simultaneously shifting the joystick upwards, and tapping “B”, Two Rocket Barrels will be strapped onto Diddy Kong’s back and he will shoot upwards. It has the ability to either shift to the left or the right; depending on the direction you shift the Joystick. This recovery can be used at anytime you wish to use it, unless you are descending from using it already, or if you have tapped an attack button after using a Monkey Flip. RocketBarrel blast can cause up to 10% damage if kept fresh. It can also spike your target if the exhaust/fire from the blast is directly above your target. This can be used as an edge guard to keep your opponents from getting back on the stage. If you are hit while using the RocketBarrel Blast, your rocket barrels will fly off from you, and can potentially crash into your opponent. This will disrupt your recovery, but you will be able to perform another RocketBarrel Blast
Monkey Flip:
Diddy Kong’s monkey flip is his secondary means for recovery. When you simultaneously shift the joystick either to the left or to the right, and tap the “B” button, Diddy Kong will perform a horizontal flip though the air. It can be used in a combination with Diddy Kong’s RocketBarrel Blast to recover back onto the stage, or to the edge. It can also be used as an attack. If an attack button is used “B” is tapped right after the Monkey Flip, then Diddy Kong’s foot lash out towards the direction in which he is flipping. If this kick makes contact with your target, it can cause up to 15% damage if kept fresh. The monkey flip also has the ability to latch onto a target if within range. Once latched, you can either press an attack button (A, B, C-stick, Z, etc.) or you can press a jump button (X, Y, Up-Joystick). If you press one of the attack buttons, Diddy Kong will slam both of his palms into the temple of your target. This can cause up to 15% damage if kept fresh. If you press one of the jump buttons, Diddy Kong will jump on the head of your target, and push off of him, resulting in Diddy Kong sky rocketing into the air. This can cause up to 10% damage if kept fresh. At that point where you are sky rocketed high within the air, it is a good time to pull a banana out because you're too high in the air to get hit, and with some practice you can find a way to catch the banana before you land. If you smash forward B (like how you do Samus' blue rockets), Diddy Kong goes further and at a lower trajectory with his monkey flip. If you initial dash in one direction and monkey flip in the other, its alot easier to get him to latch on
Banana Peel:
Diddy Kong’s Banana peel is very useful. It comes in handy against fast characters without projectiles like Marth, Meta Knight, Capt. Falcon, etc. It stops them from constantly charging at you and attacking. If you throw the banana using the “A” button, and it makes contact with your target, it can cause from 3-5% damage, depending on how close you are to your target, and how fresh it is. If you throw the banana using the C-Stick button, and it makes contact with your target, it can cause up to 5-7% damage, depending on how close you are to your target, and how fresh it is used. If your target slips on the banana, they will fall down and temporarily be open for an attack. It is best to use one of Diddy Kong’s smashes in this situation. Though, slipping on a banana does not cause damage to an opponent. Diddy Kong’s Banana Peels can also be used as a good edge guard. You can either plant them around the edged of the stage, or throw them at your target as they try to recover back to the stage. The Bananas can also be picked up off teh ground if his Dash Attack is used. Diddy Kong's Nair can also grab bananas. Diddy Kong is able to glide toss with the bananas. In order to Glide Toss all you have to do is Roll and C-stick in the direction in which you want the bananas to go. This allows you to move while throwing the bananas at the same time.
Conclusion:
Overall, Diddy Kong is one of the best players in SSBB, in my opinion at least. If not top tier, Diddy Kong should definitely be a high tier. His ability to combo, and rack up damage with ease is insane. He has almost everything someone could ask for in a good character. He has projectiles, speed, range, strength, combos, and good knock back on his moves. To top it all off, he has a cool outfit.
The more I play with Diddy Kong, the more I like him, and the better he seems to me as a character. I hope this guides encourages some of you guys to at least secondary Diddy Kong, if not maining him. And for those who think he isn’t a good character, I hope this guide has changed your minds. I look forward to cracking the top ten in the MLG ladder with my Diddy Kong, and one day becoming one of the best smash players with him.