Diddy Kong

Smash Attacks

SIDE SMASH

Diddy Kong performs a spinning two-hit attack.

DOWN SMASH

A wide, circular sweep attack.

UP SMASH

Diddy Kong flips upward, hitting multiple times and ending with an uppercut that sends opponents upward.

Basic Attacks

Standing Attack

Diddy Kong performs two punches and a tail strike before going into rapid strikes with his tail.

Forward Tilt

Diddy Kong leans forward and strikes with both arms outstretched. Can be aimed up or down.

Up Tilt

Diddy Kong hops and swings his arm in an arc overhead. A hit sends opponents upward.

Down Tilt

A double-handed attack toward your opponent’s feet.

Dash Attack

A cartwheeling multi-hitting attack!

Edge Attack

Diddy Kong hops back to the stage while swinging his tail around to hit anyone nearby.

Air Attacks

Neutral Air Attack

A jumping flip attack that can hit both in front of and behind Diddy Kong.

Up Air Attack

Diddy Kong shows his flexibility by kicking over his head.

Down Air Attack

A huge double overhead strike that bounces opponents off the ground.

Forward Air Attack

A spinning dropkick attack that sends opponents away from Diddy Kong.

Back Air Attack

Diddy Kong kicks way behind him.

Special Attacks

Peanut Popgun (Neutral Special)

Diddy Kong’s primary projectile, his peanut shooter. Charging it up will shoot farther and cause more damage, but overcharge it and it can explode in your face! Watch for Diddy Kong grabbing his hat, as this is the sign the Popgun is about to backfire!

Monkey Flip (Side Special)

Diddy Kong leaps forward at your opponent. On a hit, he grabs the opponent, and you can either hit the Attack button to launch that opponent sideways or press Up to jump off the opponent’s head. If you grab an opponent in the air, that opponent will break free quicker than an opponent you grab on the ground. Alternatively, instead of going for the grab, you can hit the Special button again to have Diddy Kong kick while jumping.

Rocketbarrel Boost (Up Special)

Allows Diddy Kong to rocket through the air while you steer. Charging it allows you to travel farther. While charging, you can choose a direction to fly in.

Banana Peel (Down Special)

Toss a banana peel into the air behind you to slip up your enemies! Only one banana peel can be out at a time. You can also pick it up off the ground to throw it again, but it will vanish after being thrown twice, after hitting an opponent, or after being slipped on.

Final Smash

Rocketbarrel Barrage

Diddy Kong straps on his Rocketbarrel and takes flight! While this is active, he can fly continuously through the air for about 14 seconds before the Rocketbarrel explodes. Each peanut shot does about 5% damage while the explosion of the Rocketbarrel does about 20% but doesn’t harm Diddy Kong. You can also ram into opponents while flying for about 12% damage. One strategy might be to fly along the top of the stage, out of reach of opponents, while raining peanuts on them from above!

Strategy

With impressive speed, Diddy Kong is one of the lighter medium-weight characters in the game. His mobility is a notch above other characters as he can also crawl, wall cling, and wall jump. He has a strong projectile game with his Peanut Popgun, his Banana Peel, and good range on most of his attacks. Use his speed and projectiles to fight from a distance. When you have a Banana Peel out, try to stay nearby—if someone slips on it, or even goes to pick it up, you can use this as an opportunity to attack with your Dash attack or Monkey Flip. Or if you are closer, go for a Side or Down Smash! With his tilt attacks, Diddy’s Kong’s Side Tilt has great range and damage while his Up Tilt knocks opponents fairly high. Down Smash, Side Smash, and Forward Air are his strongest attacks for KOs.

In the air, Diddy Kong also has good options. His Forward Air has great range and does good damage. Down Air has a meteor effect, which can be very useful earlier in matches. And Back Air, while not particularly damaging, has great speed, range, and recovery, allowing you to use it multiple times in a single short hop. Aside from his average weight, one of Diddy Kong’s weaknesses is that all of his projectiles can be caught or picked up! Banana Peels can be picked up and thrown back at Diddy Kong, and peanuts he fires can be caught and thrown back, too! Note that if you attack a peanut shell, sometimes you’ll get a peanut you can eat to recover health. If an opponent is waiting for your peanut, consider charging it up all the way! This is risky because the backfire will leave Diddy Kong extremely vulnerable, but it does no damage to him, and if it hits an opponent, it delivers a whopping 23% damage! In general, though, be sure to mix up how long you charge it so it will be harder for opponents to catch.

Monkey Flip has a variety of uses, as it covers great distance and has a multitude of options. If you use the Up or Jump option after catching an opponent in the air, it actually gives you a small meteor effect. When using the jump kick out of Monkey Flip while you still have your double jump available, you can use double jump to follow up with a Forward Air as well! Rocketbarrel Boost gives much more control to you than ever before—now you can even use it go horizontally! If it’s fully charged, though, take care not to blast yourself off the stage!

Recovery

Diddy Kong has two good recovery tools. First, he has his Monkey Flip for horizontal recovery. This swings Diddy Kong forward a considerable distance. If you still have your double jump, use it; otherwise, you’ll be in a fall state. Second, Diddy Kong has his Rocketbarrel Boost, which allows him to steer while flying. Rocketbarrel Boost should be his main vertical recovery tool—he has Monkey Flip to cover horizontal ones, though charging Rocketbarrel Boost up in time is sometimes difficult. Note that if Diddy is attacked while using his Rocketbarrel Boost, the pack breaks free and flies off on its own. To cover a lot of distance, do one jump, Monkey Flip, double jump, charge Rocketbarrel Boost, and then take off!