We need a new Donkey Kong Game, and no Mario vs Donkey doesn't count

No one plays Donkey Kong… except all casuals, high level players when being casual and even some people who take DK seriously because he’s fun in general.

A character that's extremely common on elite, but not in high level tournaments.

If Donkey Kong had his Coconut Gun, like Diddy Kong has his Peanut Popgun, a lot of issues can be solved.

Donkey Kong’s ability: Gorilla Tactics 🦍

The urge to talk moveset changes, it calls to him.

Honestly I would argue DK might have one of the best advantage states in the game at the trade off of having one of the worst disadvantages. This volatility leads to inconsistency like no other character, so he is definitely not for everyone. But everyone agrees; he’s fun to play, play against (maybe not in tournament lol) and watch. Hopefully, I can go to a major soon and try and show why I think DK is underrated

Gotta say, in my region there is about 57,784,993 donkey kong players online, and twice on Sundays. The great ape is well liked and used in the north east

I know in the confines of ultimate Donkey Kong is considered a fairly mediocre character but this is easily my favorite iteration of the character. It’s the first time all of his special moves feel useful, his throw combos are good but not absurdly polarizing and his normals feel hefty and quick. Sure his disadvantage is still one of the worse in the game but you feel like such a boss when you nail your game plan. IMO he’s fairly underrated.

DK's weight is definitely also offset by his incredibly poor recovery. Grounded Spinning Kong is great, but as a recovery it's possibly the worst in terms of height and leaves him wide open from above and below. I think changing two of DK's specials would really help out to shore up his weaknesses. Up-B should be Barrel Cannon, where it forms around him and then he can fire out of it in the 8 ordinal and sub-ordinal directions like a cannonball. It would both be a better recovery and a risky kill option against opponents that recover high or make a predictable airdodge. Side-B should be replaced by him pulling out a barrel that he can then either roll along the ground, throw forward in an upwards arc, or throw down from mid-air or a platform which will then roll forward in the direction he's facing. Giving him a projectile will make it a lot harder to camp him out, and throwing barrels has always been a part of his identity from the original Donkey Kong to the DKC series.

He should be able to summon DK barrels to throw. Replace his forward B if you have to just give him that ability. He needs something like that in this day and age.

As a donkey Kong main by the way I feel sad that no one reallys plays him in high level despite him having some potential

11:03 "A snowball's chance in Hell" is a great phrase. I might start using that.

Ill never quit playing the funny monkey. He is bad but so damn fun

There should be videos talk about "why not enough people plays" the characters. If we start encouraging people to explore more of the roster, then we might start seeing way more variety at at top level

I feel like almost half the roster is in "why no one plays" with how often these vids pop up.

The way that I’ve played dk for years has been exactly to combat what you’re pointing out: dk doesn’t have the tools to apply safe pressure in neutral (with some notable exceptions). I usually play a lot campier and use his speed to maneuver around my opponents and play neutral slower and that seems to help for me

Donkey Kong really needs a moveset rework. Not having any way to get out of combos or be able for force interaction in his favor is a death sentence.

I love playing DK he’s a ton of fun. But bowser is a lot more fun imo

DK has always been my favorite heavy. Nothing is more satisfying than pounding someone into the ground or landing a giant punch.

One interesting series of videos you could do might be tweaks/buffs you would do to "fix" mid and lower tier characters, like you've mentioned the barrel throw for DK, item durability for Robin, etc.

DK is a beast in the right hands but he fat so he gets hit by quite literally everything. One of the most fun character to play but at the same time one of the least since if you're opponent is good you'll just end up in combos at 444%.

ridley spamming projectiles/ being able to force approaches? Maybe if he could cancel it or if it charged faster. by the time you can throw out one plasma ball, most opponents will be able to cover half the stage, and if you actually want to hit with it, you aren't using that more than half-stage distance away and charging at least 2-3. the plasma does beat out most projectiles, but it still can't be used out zone anyone who has at least one projectile. I could be wrong on that last point. I understand that you are trying to make your point about DK not having any range game, which is true, but I think you are giving Plasma too much credit.

I'm suprised you didnt put more emphasis on his poor recovery. Donkey Kong's limited recovery options significantly impact his overall viability and contribute to his relatively low playrate. Unlike some other characters with versatile and far-reaching recovery moves, Donkey Kong's Up Special, the Spinning Kong, lacks both horizontal and vertical distance. This vulnerability makes him susceptible to edge-guarding, leaving him with fewer chances to recover safely and return to the stage. Players often prioritize characters with better recovery options, as survivability is crucial in the competitive scene, and Donkey Kong's struggle in this aspect diminishes his appeal compared to other fighters.

I really wish Sakurai wasn't so insistent on never changing the veterans all that much... What's the fun in playing the same moveset for two decades? Imagine if he DID have that barrel throwing attack! That would be incredible!

Mario the mushroom hero: (Laughs). X) (Sees his his family and rivals as update fighters from rumors). Mario the mushroom hero: Oh no! 8(

1:24 I’m glad he included that clip. One of my favourites of all time

Idk about "No one", it's impossible to go an online session without seeing a few monkeys

Love the fact that dk summit is playing in the back ground 🤌🏼

It would be cool if DK could use bananas like Diddy.

if we talk about dingdong for a moment, it's the sheer amount of people i see main him in online mode, certainly one of the most common characters in online, but in tournament, you never see him

One thing I love with DK. Taking the pink skin, grab my bro and die with him

If it was Monday you would have titled this "Why EVERYONE Plays: Donkey Kong"

If DK had a better disadvantage he could be so much better, as in a lot of cases there isn’t much he can do except take the L

Thank you for keep this series. Please please do why know one plays Mega Man and why everyone plays Mr. Game & Watch.

As someone who plays DK regularly online I would say there are 2 big things that DK suffers from. 1. Recovering back on stage (esp online). Seriously, you can't even delay your up+B w/o dying. You can be 2 characters away from the platform and still die :( Being unable to mix up your recovery options offstage is a big deal. 2. His weight. Combo food for DAYS. Top tier characters especially have a field day with him lol. Other than that he is incredibly fun to play and has amazing on-stage options.

Good video! Another day of asking for a why no one plays Duck Hunt!!!

I have no idea how you came to this conclusion when I face a donkey Kong player every other round.

vars is the eternal king of game meta content, and i will always watch a video that comes out, no doubt!

wtf is a "Spinning Kong"? I think you meant The Donkey Copter

That venom mod goes crazy

Dk is really underrated imo, but I feel like there isn’t much depth with dk.

everyones got a pocket dk

Charging his Donkey Punch is really the only way to make opponents come to you. Watching this video I was thinking that swapping his headbutt to a barrel toss would be perfect, only to find you make the exact same conclusion.

DK would be such a cool character if he had a barrel he could throw to force approaches. (I'd replace Headbutt with a barrel throw and I think that'd be great) Wait you mentioned that later in the video anyway lmao

Ganon’s grab is…yeaah Why is he the only heavy with a bad grab game

That Tekken 8 Footage though, maybe you can start a Tekken 8 series of videos at some point if you’re into Tekken.

Brawl Minus actually carried out the fix you mentioned by allowing DK to pick up a barrel by holding grounded Down B. It was a blast to play, and felt very appropriate.

DK is just to saucy

I would love DK with a "roll barrel" special. I always like this series, Great video as always!

Except on Monday's...

Dk aerial up b oos is frame 7. It isnt that amazing but it is an option and it helps a ton in certain matchups.

imagine if DK had a barrel. that'd be amazing.

why no one plays donkey kong? no banana slamma

I main DK cuz imo he's the coolest character in the game, I don't care if he's bad, I'm actually glad, because he probably woulnd't be as fun if he was good

TLDW: He’s combo food

Huge return

I think a hood vid would be on kill confirms. If you look at the tier list, many in the lower regions have no easy or consistent kill confirms. The star of this vid was much better in the last game when he had a much better kill confirm and so was bowser. This doesn’t ring true for everyone but I feel as if it’s true for many.

Well to be fair the OG DK isn't the current DK it was actually who is now Cranky Kong.

Could you make a why no one plays video on Diddy kong? I wanna piss off my friend who mains him :)

I have always thought that if they gave him unique properties while holding the barrel that it makes absolutely no sense why side b isn't used to summon barrels. It just feels like the devs don't realize quite HOW underpowered some characters are particularly compared to the best of the best

Out of shield options. Jab is 5 frames Up tilt is 5 frames Grab is 8 frames Down tilt is 6 frames Not bad. But yeah.. not the greatest. Perfect Parry would help in defense alongside timing your attacks with theirs with armor moves (depends on what move and if you can land it as some attacks may be safe). Perfect Parry will give you extra frames to land some moves safely if that time has arrived to do so. Even a grab at Ding Dong percent. Or just wait your turn. Edit: He also has some strings that can go into 0 to deaths. Like dash attack, dash attack into bairs. Not sure if it is a true combo string or not. But people tend to get hit by that at times. He can take stocks easily if you read your opponents and follow them the whole time through tech chases and more. Probably straight into having enough damage to be in Ding Dong percent. Then poof, there goes a stock. Armor is still love and life. Second hit of air down special is untechable. Then there are tricks here and there. Probably if the opponent can watch out for them or know how to deal with them. It probably becomes more irrelevant. Then again I have not tested them. But even those are situational.

thank you so much!

"unsafe on hit"

Ive been playing DK since 64 mained him every game. Now I think he is very underrated in this game. His disadvantage is horrible I get it however is advantage is godlike, his grab game is top 5 giant punch kills really early if you can get downtilt to trip at 50 that’s pretty much a guaranteed stock if you have punch charged. Spinning kong oos is very underrated Chunky has a video on it beats moves like Fox’s dair and palus nair. I think DK is a solid mid tier middle of the pack but him being bottom 15 on every tier list is wack

Respect the DK summit music choice

What if he could roll a barrel that had the same frame data and melee range as his current side B, while also burrying, but it shot out a breakable projectile.

Donkey Kong is the greatest of all time and will beat anyone who is worse than you- Izaw

Everyone can zero to death DK yet hes not bottom teir. The wonders of ultimate. VILLAGER VID when?

dk's moveset needs more lore

People use the original donkey kong as reference to why he should throw barrels when the dk in the arcade game is the great grandfather of the dk in donkey kong country. the real reference is in donkey kong country where dk uses barrels of multiple kinds including standard barrels, buddy barrels, and explosive barrels. If he had a sora spell type of rotation in which ones were used would be cool. Standard barrels could be combo starters that have a set amount of hp, and explosive barrels could kill with 0.1 hp. Idk how the buddy barrel would work since diddy kong is his own character.

i miss being able to grab throw and upair consistently

He got lost in the sauce

Hi vars what do you think about waluigi joining smash. I think it was suprising to se a new character Being added to the game but he looks like pretty fun character to me.

12:13 I know I’m gonna be the real life equivalent of the nerd emoji with this, but this DK in smash is DK in donkey Kong country. The DK in the og donkey Kong is his great grandfather (I think?). Smash DK though should still have that neutral B of throwing barrels.

I love playing as DK, but I also agree that he has some of the worst defensive traits in the game. You really need to use your long monke arms to banana slam your opponent before they screw you up. Min Min is absolutely DK's biggest weakness. DK simply is too slow and big to avoid those literal noodle arms from the ground or air.

I always believed DK needed some type of barrel projectile move. Hopefully they reboot the series in the next game and redo character moves.

Maybe if there was a brand new Donkey Kong game the monkey power would push DK higher in the tier list, sad reality is all we got is ports or games where he is the villain and loses.

He is made to be funny, not to be good

DK Rap intensifies

Nurfing aggressive play always seems like a bad idea to me. Precision counter play should always be top tier but reserved for the highest skill levels. Well aggressive play should always be rewarding 90% of the time.

i just wish his arm had intangibility on giant punch

thoughts on the new smash bros tier list?

These Steve mains getting out of hand

Seems like everyone plays him when I go online though.

Donkey Kong is more than just big, he's intimidating, and I mean that literally. He's only intimidating if you let him bully you with his long range, good mobility, and decent boxing speed. But if you're not scared of him you'll take note of his short back air. His big, meaty, NON-DISJOINTED hitboxes are also his hurt boxes and you should either contest them with a REAL disjoint, a fireball which will clash (giving you frame advantage) or win, or make him regret it by trading with a smash attack. Also notice how he has no range in the air, force out the forward air and punish or keep poking him from the sky, he'll up smash eventually. The only thing left of note is his speed and that's hampered by being a big dumb gorilla

no one plays DK, except everyone does

Idk what this guy is talking about… monkey Monday Is literally right there

12:11 stating that throwing barrels is canonical is an insult to the community.

talk about paceman next

Idk about you folks, but DK is one of my main characters. You gotta make use of their pros to make up for their cons.

What about Chunky Kong? Is he not a pro Smash player who uses DK?

Can you do why nobody plays The Belmonts?

dk is super common what do you mean no one plays?

Why everyone play duck hunt.

Can you please do villager next I literally see no one play him besides myself

I love donkey kong.

Because he is combo food, the end

Easy, it isn’t Monkey Monday yet.

Try captain Falcon, i don't really know how he falls in usage ngl