Smash Ultimate needs its fair share of powerful primates. Sorry, but those are the rules. This time, we’ve got both Donkey Kong and his diminutive sidekick, Diddy. He is, as you can probably guess, not nearly as powerful as his… friend? Relative? But this DK does have his own pack of tricks up his sleeve (or somewhere in his trademark shirt, anyway). Diddy Kong will need every one of them, too, since this game is packed full of fighters looking to dethrone these kings of the jungle.
Smash Ultimate sports 74 different playable characters at launch — including every single previous character from the super-franchise and a bunch of fresh faces. That’s not even including the glut of DLC fighters, assist trophies, and more. There’s so much that no one person could possibly keep track of everything. That’s why we’ve compiled a guide to every single character.
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Diddy is a surprisingly early member of the Kong family. He first appeared in Donkey Kong Country and has shown up in basically every game in the series since. He even got his own racing spin-off (which some would argue is better than Mario Kart). This third generation ape lacks the stopping power of his mentor, but makes up for it with some ranged abilities.
According to Nintendo description of Diddy Kong in Smash Ultimate…
Donkey Kong’s trusty partner Diddy Kong uses his light weight and agility to get around quickly! For his Final Smash, Diddy takes to the air with his Rocketbarrel while firing his popguns. The final hit is seriously powerful!
Diddy Kong Moves
Peanut Popgun (B) – Fires peanuts, shell and all. If charged for too long, it’ll blow up in his face!
Monkey Flip (Side + B) – Leaps forward and grabs whomever he contacts. A second button press causes him to kick.
Rocketbarrel Boost (Up + B) – Rockets through the air and tackles opponents. Can be charged for extra distance.
Banana Peel (Down + B) – Throws a banana peel behind himself to trip foes. Only one peel can exist at a time.
Hyper Rocketbarrel (Final Smash) – Diddy Kong multiplies himself and flies around the stage. He sometimes targets an opponent and charges at them. At the end of the attack, Diddy Kong charges at the opponent he damages the most to launch them.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
The younger Kong isn’t quite as devastating as he was in the Wii U Smash, which is nice. Diddy still excels at combo attacks and neutral play, controlling his foe and waiting for them to make a mistake. He trades his dad’s (?) power for a little mobility and range, but if you like playing footsies, Diddy can still do that pretty well.
Weaknesses
Where Diddy lacks is his air game and a predictable recovery. His aerial combos aren’t quite what his ground ones are and it’s easy to see Diddy’s up-B attack coming. So you can interrupt it with a spike. When you go off-stage as Diddy, try to bait your opponent into acting before using recovery, so you can safely get back to the ledge and back to business.
Diddy Kong Outfits
Being the happy boy that he is, Diddy Kong has lots of colorful outfits.
There you have it, folks. Diddy Kong brings a whole other style of animalistic action to Smash Ultimate. He may not be as refined as Donkey Kong (what’s with that sleeveless T-shirt instead of a proper tie?), but he does bring a certain level of youthful vigor to the flow of battle. We hope this guide helps you master his springy style!
All of our Smash Ultimate guides created with the help of Eric Van Allen.
