You know ‘em. We love ‘em. He’s big, and hairy, and he’s a force to be reckoned with… among the other low tiers. Maybe we can help. If we update, heck even evolve his B moves just a bit, then this two bit/8-bit ape just might have a chance.
There’s an inherent problem built into DK. The way he is in Melee, he’s just a monkey. When I say this I mean, he can’t flip out a peanut gun, or a jet pack to give him the edge or at least some variety. After all, DK’s B moves could almost pass for A moves. Most of them are just punches, arm swings, and head smashes. This is the design challenge. In order to make DK’s B moves better we have to add some uniqueness to them that separates them from A moves and exemplifies what it means to be a monkey from a simpler time when your fists and strength are all you need.
<p align="center"> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg" title="don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg" alt="don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg" height="291" width="389" /></a></p>
<p align="center">He needs to evolve a bit from this. He needs “color” and a new 3D flavor!</p>
<!--more--><strong>Giant Punch: </strong>(Monkey Punch) Like the Captain’s Falcon PUNCH, this attack is DK’s signature move. This punch isn’t terribly strong, I’m afraid. And even when it’s all charged up, it’s not as strong as it should be. What can be done to bring savage terror back to this move?
<ol>
<li>When winding up this attack, DK’s arm should have a hit box. If Mewtwo’s Shadow Ball can do it, then so can DK. This hit box should smack enemies and other small physical items up, out, and away from DK. This fist should also be able to stop small energy projectiles too. Just think of it like a revolving tilt attack. Because DK doesn’t swing his arm too fast, this upgrade isn’t over powering.</li>
<li>DK’s punch (the actual extending arm) should be able to stop just about anything if it’s fully charged. Explosions, grabs, electricity, you name it. For that small window of time, DK’s fist should be unstoppable. Don’t worry guys. DK’s body would still be vulnerable. Also, opponents would be able to reduce or even stop the strength of the attack by throwing attacks against it. The difference in strength will be subtracted accordingly. This way, if Shiek throws a fist full of needles at this punch, you’ll actually be able to see each needle slowing down the massive fist, until the resulting strike is little more than a forward tilt’s strength. Melee already tried to do something along these lines, but it isn’t clear enough.</li>
<li>If opponents get hit by this punch, they shouldn’t be able to tech when landing on the ground or walls. Let’s say this move is so brutal that it puts enemies in a daze that prevents them from teching. This would give this move a bit of terror as opponents won’t be able to recover as quickly from being hit. Of course, DK should be slowed down a bit so this ability isn’t too overwhelming.</li>
<li>If DK is slowed down from his Melee speed, then perhaps while holding a fully charged punch DK could move faster on the ground and in the air. Smoking hot DK would be a terrifying force.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Headbutt: </strong>This move doesn’t have a lot of range. So what is it good for? Spiking? Not really. It’s a meteor hit, and it’s very hard to time and execute. In the air, DK has even less of a chance of making a strong play. On the ground, this move does something quite unique. It shoves people into the ground. Once enemies are in the ground, they’re vulnerable to all sorts of abuse. Grounded individuals are virtually turned into punching bags until they can manage to wiggle out. The problem with this is, like Jigglypuff’s Sing, and Mewtwo’s Disable, the opponents have enough time to wiggle out before the lag from the attack is over and the ensuing attacks can begin. This happens even when the opponents are are high damage. So what can we do for this move?
<ol>
<li>Make it spike. B moves can’t be L-canceled, so they’re naturally harder to time. This move is no exception. If I’m going to do all the work of spacing it and timing it, then let the reward be something that can’t countered so easily.</li>
<li>Make DK unflinching when he rears back his head. This way, he can take some hits in order to land the move. To balance this effect, if DK is hit while rearing back he should take the damage and slide back a little giving the opponents an opportunity to push DK away at the last moment. Another way to balance it is to have this move unflinching only when DK has a fully charged Giant Punch. If he hits his target, they’ll be stuck in the ground for much longer.</li>
<li>DK could also smash opponents into the ground even if they are shielding. It would be like a grab and auto throw except into the ground. Depending on how versatile this move is, the lag of the animation and how easily opponents can wiggle out of the ground can be varied.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Ground Pound: </strong>This is yet another one of DK’s moves that doens”t have a lot of range despite the fact that he’s a large monkey. Sure it covers forward and backwards, but it’s less back than forward. Also, this move doesn’t come too high off the ground. Even when it hits it can be hard for DK to follow it up with anything. What can be done?
<ol>
<li>If this move is going to be contained within the ground, then it should extend further out on both sides of DK (especially his back).</li>
<li>Perhaps DK could increase the range/stun/knock back of this attack by using (once again) the charge from a fully charged Giant Punch. After all, both of these moves use DK’s arms.</li>
<li>This move should have more environmental effects. DK should be able to knock platforms of kilter for a limited time by smashing them. DK should also be able to temporarily disable edges by smashing them with this move. Perhaps a little mound of dirt would appear over the edge. Opponents could then strike the mound to free up the edge again to keep things fair.</li>
<li>Perhaps this move could cause opponents to run and jump slower for a limited time because their legs are shaken up from the impact. This would allow DK to overcome speedsters by slowing them down.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Spinning Kong: </strong>DK needs this move to recover. He doesn’t have very many options. This isn’t such a bad thing when you consider that because he’s so heavy, a limited recovery is a part of his balance. This move has a pretty vicious strike at the beginning that has high priority hit box. When DK starts spinning, his arms have quite a lot of priority as well, making it difficult to land a spike or meteor strike on this monkey. When he lands, there’s little lag to slow him down. It’s a great move. There’s not much to say here. This is the only thing I could think of….
<ol>
<li>Like many spinning attacks in Melee, the opponents are often sent flying in the opposite direction. Peach’s down smash does this as well as Samus’ down smash. If DK could do this, it would allow him to easily turn the tables on those who try to edge guard him. Perhaps this would be too powerful. Perhaps….</li>
</ol>
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/donkey_kong.gif" title="donkey_kong.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/donkey_kong.gif" alt="donkey_kong.gif" /></a></p>
<p align="center">This isn’t quite what I had in mind. But it’ll do.</p>
And that’s it for this monkey. He follows the formula of “keep it simple.” I guess if Sakurai made him too diversified he just wouldn’t be DK. Oh well, Sakurai is still<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=w-LJ7KAEy-k&mode=related&search=" target="_blank"> a Bum</a>.
There’s an inherent problem built into DK. The way he is in Melee, he’s just a monkey. When I say this I mean, he can’t flip out a peanut gun, or a jet pack to give him the edge or at least some variety. After all, DK’s B moves could almost pass for A moves. Most of them are just punches, arm swings, and head smashes. This is the design challenge. In order to make DK’s B moves better we have to add some uniqueness to them that separates them from A moves and exemplifies what it means to be a monkey from a simpler time when your fists and strength are all you need.
<p align="center"> <a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg" title="don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg" alt="don_king_kong_by_gloriouskyle.jpg" height="291" width="389" /></a></p>
<p align="center">He needs to evolve a bit from this. He needs “color” and a new 3D flavor!</p>
<!--more--><strong>Giant Punch: </strong>(Monkey Punch) Like the Captain’s Falcon PUNCH, this attack is DK’s signature move. This punch isn’t terribly strong, I’m afraid. And even when it’s all charged up, it’s not as strong as it should be. What can be done to bring savage terror back to this move?
<ol>
<li>When winding up this attack, DK’s arm should have a hit box. If Mewtwo’s Shadow Ball can do it, then so can DK. This hit box should smack enemies and other small physical items up, out, and away from DK. This fist should also be able to stop small energy projectiles too. Just think of it like a revolving tilt attack. Because DK doesn’t swing his arm too fast, this upgrade isn’t over powering.</li>
<li>DK’s punch (the actual extending arm) should be able to stop just about anything if it’s fully charged. Explosions, grabs, electricity, you name it. For that small window of time, DK’s fist should be unstoppable. Don’t worry guys. DK’s body would still be vulnerable. Also, opponents would be able to reduce or even stop the strength of the attack by throwing attacks against it. The difference in strength will be subtracted accordingly. This way, if Shiek throws a fist full of needles at this punch, you’ll actually be able to see each needle slowing down the massive fist, until the resulting strike is little more than a forward tilt’s strength. Melee already tried to do something along these lines, but it isn’t clear enough.</li>
<li>If opponents get hit by this punch, they shouldn’t be able to tech when landing on the ground or walls. Let’s say this move is so brutal that it puts enemies in a daze that prevents them from teching. This would give this move a bit of terror as opponents won’t be able to recover as quickly from being hit. Of course, DK should be slowed down a bit so this ability isn’t too overwhelming.</li>
<li>If DK is slowed down from his Melee speed, then perhaps while holding a fully charged punch DK could move faster on the ground and in the air. Smoking hot DK would be a terrifying force.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Headbutt: </strong>This move doesn’t have a lot of range. So what is it good for? Spiking? Not really. It’s a meteor hit, and it’s very hard to time and execute. In the air, DK has even less of a chance of making a strong play. On the ground, this move does something quite unique. It shoves people into the ground. Once enemies are in the ground, they’re vulnerable to all sorts of abuse. Grounded individuals are virtually turned into punching bags until they can manage to wiggle out. The problem with this is, like Jigglypuff’s Sing, and Mewtwo’s Disable, the opponents have enough time to wiggle out before the lag from the attack is over and the ensuing attacks can begin. This happens even when the opponents are are high damage. So what can we do for this move?
<ol>
<li>Make it spike. B moves can’t be L-canceled, so they’re naturally harder to time. This move is no exception. If I’m going to do all the work of spacing it and timing it, then let the reward be something that can’t countered so easily.</li>
<li>Make DK unflinching when he rears back his head. This way, he can take some hits in order to land the move. To balance this effect, if DK is hit while rearing back he should take the damage and slide back a little giving the opponents an opportunity to push DK away at the last moment. Another way to balance it is to have this move unflinching only when DK has a fully charged Giant Punch. If he hits his target, they’ll be stuck in the ground for much longer.</li>
<li>DK could also smash opponents into the ground even if they are shielding. It would be like a grab and auto throw except into the ground. Depending on how versatile this move is, the lag of the animation and how easily opponents can wiggle out of the ground can be varied.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Ground Pound: </strong>This is yet another one of DK’s moves that doens”t have a lot of range despite the fact that he’s a large monkey. Sure it covers forward and backwards, but it’s less back than forward. Also, this move doesn’t come too high off the ground. Even when it hits it can be hard for DK to follow it up with anything. What can be done?
<ol>
<li>If this move is going to be contained within the ground, then it should extend further out on both sides of DK (especially his back).</li>
<li>Perhaps DK could increase the range/stun/knock back of this attack by using (once again) the charge from a fully charged Giant Punch. After all, both of these moves use DK’s arms.</li>
<li>This move should have more environmental effects. DK should be able to knock platforms of kilter for a limited time by smashing them. DK should also be able to temporarily disable edges by smashing them with this move. Perhaps a little mound of dirt would appear over the edge. Opponents could then strike the mound to free up the edge again to keep things fair.</li>
<li>Perhaps this move could cause opponents to run and jump slower for a limited time because their legs are shaken up from the impact. This would allow DK to overcome speedsters by slowing them down.</li>
</ol>
<strong>Spinning Kong: </strong>DK needs this move to recover. He doesn’t have very many options. This isn’t such a bad thing when you consider that because he’s so heavy, a limited recovery is a part of his balance. This move has a pretty vicious strike at the beginning that has high priority hit box. When DK starts spinning, his arms have quite a lot of priority as well, making it difficult to land a spike or meteor strike on this monkey. When he lands, there’s little lag to slow him down. It’s a great move. There’s not much to say here. This is the only thing I could think of….
<ol>
<li>Like many spinning attacks in Melee, the opponents are often sent flying in the opposite direction. Peach’s down smash does this as well as Samus’ down smash. If DK could do this, it would allow him to easily turn the tables on those who try to edge guard him. Perhaps this would be too powerful. Perhaps….</li>
</ol>
<p align="center"><a href="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/donkey_kong.gif" title="donkey_kong.gif"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/donkey_kong.gif" alt="donkey_kong.gif" /></a></p>
<p align="center">This isn’t quite what I had in mind. But it’ll do.</p>
And that’s it for this monkey. He follows the formula of “keep it simple.” I guess if Sakurai made him too diversified he just wouldn’t be DK. Oh well, Sakurai is still<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=w-LJ7KAEy-k&mode=related&search=" target="_blank"> a Bum</a>.
