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Donkey Kong is TOO DAMN BIG!

Ben Holt

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I realized while playing Donkey Kong's Classic Mode that DK compared to K. Rool is way too damn big, especially when you count his width.
Look in this video! DK is almost as tall as K. Rool and Bowser, but look at this Mario height chart:
940.jpg


Donkey Kong on all fours should be about Peach's height, but obviously much wider.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one that notices this, but to me, it's so jarring to see DK fight K. Rool due to the insanely bad scaling.
I'm not saying that K. Rool needs to be twice DK's size like he was in Donkey Kong Country, but DK could use a decent size nerf.

Anyone agree with me?

EDIT: Also, Wario needs to be Luigi's height, but this is a DK subforum, so Wario only gets a footnote for being slightly off scale.
 
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Big O

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If he were smaller, his attacks would also have less range so it wouldn't be a universal buff. I do agree DK is too big and his infamous tie hurtbox doesn't make sense anymore since they changed his idle stance.
 

whitesnake

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Size - and by extension a big hurt box - drags down all of the heavyweights

I do wish they would trim the hurt boxes slightly and put more emphasis on what should be a positive aspect of size: bigger hitboxes / more reach
 

Ben Holt

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Yea. Size is such a mixed trade-off with bigger hitboxes, but bigger hurtboxes as well, that it's basically a wash.
Before Ultimate, it didn't seem as weird since we didn't have K. Rool to compare to DK size wise, but the first time I played Classic Mode with DK, I legit thought that K. Rool was scaled down.
DK easily should be 25% smaller to be in proper scale. He's DONKEY Kong, not KING Kong.
 

whitesnake

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Yea. Size is such a mixed trade-off with bigger hitboxes, but bigger hurtboxes as well, that it's basically a wash.
Before Ultimate, it didn't seem as weird since we didn't have K. Rool to compare to DK size wise, but the first time I played Classic Mode with DK, I legit thought that K. Rool was scaled down.
DK easily should be 25% smaller to be in proper scale. He's DONKEY Kong, not KING Kong.
I agree mostly but don’t think the trade off at present is fair. Ex: is pikachu’s fsmash longer than k rool’s? Do all of the swordsmen outrange most heavies?
 

Oz o:

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DK easily should be 25% smaller to be in proper scale. He's DONKEY Kong, not KING Kong.
jajajajjaa wtf he's not that big. He's as big as he's always been, which looks normal next to Bowser and K.Rool.
 

RetrogamerMax

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I realized while playing Donkey Kong's Classic Mode that DK compared to K. Rool is way too damn big, especially when you count his width.
Look in this video! DK is almost as tall as K. Rool and Bowser, but look at this Mario height chart:
View attachment 243185

Donkey Kong on all fours should be about Peach's height, but obviously much wider.

I'm not sure if I'm the only one that notices this, but to me, it's so jarring to see DK fight K. Rool due to the insanely bad scaling.
I'm not saying that K. Rool needs to be twice DK's size like he was in Donkey Kong Country, but DK could use a decent size nerf.

Anyone agree with me?

EDIT: Also, Wario needs to be Luigi's height, but this is a DK subforum, so Wario only gets a footnote for being slightly off scale.
Actually, DK's body isn't bigger than K. Rool, it's just DK's head that makes DK appear bigger. DK isn't too big, his head is too big lol!
 

Ryu Myuutsu

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Nope. DK' size is fine as it is. Making him almost as big as Bowser and K. Rool gives him a more powerful presence that just wouldn't feel as effective if he was smaller.

And I wouldn't use the Mario chart for reference. The source material can't even agree on one consistent size for its characters:









Old DK and Diddy looked disproportionate next to each other, and King K. Rool in DK64 is a giant instead of simply being larger than DK.

The chart also depicts Petey Piranha whose size differs depending on the game. In Smash, he is massive; in Mario Kart, he is just taller than Bowser.

Capture.PNG


Smash Bros. size is where is at.
 
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Ben Holt

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View attachment 243696

Smash Bros. size is where is at.
I would LOVE this size. DK right now ingame is almost as tall as, and even WIDER THAN K. Rool.
I'm not asking to make DK a middle size character, but a 25% overall size nerf would make him look so much more in scale with K. Rool.
 

Diddy Kong

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A size need would likely result in a range nerf as well honestly....
 

mynameisBlade

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This has been on my mind since release... Idk what they were thinking when they decided to make Donkey Kong EVEN BIGGER than he already was in the previous Smash games, but damn he looks so out of place from a size perspective now. Especially when he is standing next to King K. Rool, Charizard, and Bowser. They literally made him way too broad and his head is way too big. I keep coming back to this thought.

The only character I don't mind being bigger is Olimar for obvious reasons, but fiddling with DKs size was an idiotic decision. Charizard is the only one that needed a size buff. He looks ridiculously small. These are def nitpicks at the end of the day, but for me, I couldn't release something that looked like that. Its so jarring that its dumb to say the least.

Its dumb for DK because it should've been left alone, whereas a character like Olimar if you didn't make him bigger, he couldn't be playable at all. DK would still be in the game and all, but why they felt the need to make him a true KING KONG sized ape is anyone's guess. More than likely it was that, "Don't know when to stop changing things mindset". Less is always more.
 
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Swamp Sensei

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This complaint seems... odd?

DK's design is a super heavy weight. He's supposed to be big by design.

This really just seems like "Why isn't Smash 100% accurate to canon?" argument when the simple answer is easily...

100% accurate to canon doesn't always make something that's fun to play.

DK's always been a big character and he's always shown to be the biggest of the Kongs (barring maybe Chunky). They captured his spirits perfectly.

He's fine.
 

Diddy Kong

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It's not really odd, it's also a hindering factor in his competitive performances. DK is just... Too easy to hit. His hurtbox is by far the biggest of the cast, and he can't really take that weakness. There's no way for DK to escape a combo once it's started basically. A decrease in size would help with this, as well as something to help him escape combos.
 

Swamp Sensei

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It's not really odd, it's also a hindering factor in his competitive performances. DK is just... Too easy to hit. His hurtbox is by far the biggest of the cast, and he can't really take that weakness. There's no way for DK to escape a combo once it's started basically. A decrease in size would help with this, as well as something to help him escape combos.
On a gameplay level, I understand it.

But look at the arguments, almost none of them are related to gameplay.
 

Lioncache

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i think DK is just the right size

if it weren't for nintendo's very good compression techniques, the size of dk's data would have resulted in him being bigger than he currently is.
 
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Yashichi

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i think DK is just the right size

if it weren't for nintendo's very good compression techniques, the size of dk's data would have resulted in him being bigger than he currently is.
Imagine if there was a bug in the code that made DK get HUGE! GIGA DK!
 

Diddy Kong

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i think DK is just the right size

if it weren't for nintendo's very good compression techniques, the size of dk's data would have resulted in him being bigger than he currently is.
I don't think he's the right size honestly. He's bigger and wider than Bowser and K.Rool, and he's got the worst disadvantage state in Ultimate. Easiest to hit, easiest to combo, and doesn't have the armor systems of Bowser and K.Rool to make up for it, or awesome recovery as King Dedede.

If DK where to be smaller, and have better recovery, this would help his weaknesses a lot. His overall moveset is fine, he just need some faster pokes, better ways to escape combos, and he's fine. Just make him hunch over more in proportion as he is in the Retro made DKC games and he should be fine. Keep his limbs as long as they are now however.
 
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