Super Smash Bros. Fighters – Donkey Kong series – 02 Diddy Kong 

Debut

In the Donkey Kong series: Donkey Kong Country (1994)
In the Super Smash Bros. series: Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008)

Boxing Ring Title: The Acrobat

Theme Song: The Map Page/Bonus Level

Diddy Kong is a major character in the Donkey Kong series. He serves as Donkey Kong's sidekick, helping him protect the Banana Hoard and Donkey Kong Island from King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew, as well as various other threats. When he's not doing that, he's either hanging out with his girlfriend Dixie, or participating in the various events being held in the Mushroom Kingdom with Donkey Kong.

Diddy Kong debuted in Donkey Kong Counry, where DK asked him to guard the Banana Hoard as part of his "Hero Training" until midnight, which Diddy eagerly accepted. During his watch, the Kremlings arrive to steal the Banana Hoard! Diddy managed to fend of a few of them, only to get defeated by a Krusha, who proceeded to trap him in a barrel. The next day, Donkey Kong finds out what happened, and frees Diddy from the barrel. After that, the two head off to reclaim the Banana Hoard!

In comparison to Donkey Kong, Diddy is much faster, allowing him to jump to areas DK couldn't reach. However, his cartwheel attack was unable to defeat certain enemies, and he couldn't perform the hand slap maneuver Donkey Kong could.

Their adventure takes them all over Donkey Kong Island until they arrive at King K. Rool's Gangplank Galleon. There they do battle against King K. Rool and defeat him, reclaiming the Banana Hoard!

Diddy Kong would then get a starring role in the sequel, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest. When DK doesn't return from his vacation at the beach, Diddy and his girlfriend Dixie grow worried about the big ape and decide to go check on him with the other Kongs. Once they arrive, they find a note from King K. Rool - who's now going under the alias "Kaptain K. Rool" - telling them that he and his Kremlings have captured DK! If they want to see him again, they would have to surrender the Banana Hoard to him! While Cranky is all set to give K. Rool the bananas, Diddy isn't, and so he and Dixie decide to head to Crocodile Island - home of the Kremlings - to try and rescue DK.

Their adventure would be fraught with peril, but eventually they manage to make it to The Flying Krock, where Diddy and Dixie witness in horror as Kaptain K. Rool blasts DK with his blunderbuss at point blank range before turning his attention to them. The battle was long, but Diddy and Dixie would manage to emerge victorious, with DK breaking free from his ropes and sending K. Rool flying off the airship and towards the sea below.

Diddy and Dixie would continue their adventure, eventually arriving at Crocodile Island's Lost World after collecting all 75 Kremkoins. As they explored this unknown land, they would find K. Rool near the Krockodile Kore, which powers Crocodile Island. Diddy and Dixie easily defeat him, sending K. Rool into the Kore itself. Diddy and Dixie quickly escape back to Donkey Kong Island, where they climb to the top of a mountain to watch Crocodile Island sink into the sea with DK.

In Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie's Double Trouble, Diddy Kong plays the role of monkey-in-distress alongside Donkey Kong. Here, Diddy and DK decide to go fishing at the Northern Kremisphere, with Diddy leaving Dixie a note telling her they'd be back by tomorrow. However, during their trip, they end up getting captured by King K. Rool - now going under the alias "Baron K. Roolenstein" - again. K. Roolenstein puts the two inside of his new robot, KAOS, in order to power it up.

Diddy and DK are first "encountered" at "Kaos Karnage," which is the first level where Dixie and her cousin Kiddy fight against KAOS. Later, they're encountered at "Kastle Kaos,"  where Diddy and DK are eventually freed from the robot once Dixie and Kiddy defeat Baron K. Roolenstein. Diddy then expresses his gratitude at being saved.

Diddy Kong would return as a playable character in Donkey Kong 64, the series first - and so far, only - 3D platformer outing. King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew have built a massive doomsday weapon, the Blast-O-Matic, and K. Rool intends to use it to destroy Donkey Kong Island entirely! However, due to the incompetence of his minions, they crash the doomsday weapon into a rock, damaging it. To buy them some time to fix it, the Kremlings steal Donkey Kong's Golden Bananas, as well as kidnap his friends: Lanky, Tiny, Chunky, and Diddy! At Jungle Japes, Diddy is eventually saved by Donkey Kong, and joins him on his quest to reclaim the Golden Bananas, save their friends, and stop King K. Rool!

Out of the five playable characters, Diddy Kong is somewhat weak compared to DK, Lanky, and Chunky, but makes up for it by being pretty fast and agile. His personal weapon are the Peanut Popguns, which he obtains from Funky Kong. His personal instrument is an electric guitar he receives from Candy Kong. On the Kong Pad, Diddy can perform the Simian Spring on a Kong Pad, which allows him to jump really high! He can also perform the Chimpy Charge to break open walls, and use his Rocketbarrel Pack to fly through the air for a bit! Diddy Kong is also the only one who can collect red-colored Bananas, Banana Bunch Coins, and Blueprints.

The Donkey Kong Country series wouldn't see another entry until Donkey Kong Country Returns, released 11 years later. An evil group called the Tiki Tribe emerges fromt he Volcano on Donkey Kong Island, and the Tikis that inhabit it head off to hypnotize the animals of the island to help them steal Donkey Kong's Banana Hoard. Diddy, who was hanging out with Donkey Kong at the big ape's house, is the first to notice this and quickly heads off to stop them, only to get imprisoned in a barrel for his efforts. Luckily, Donkey Kong finds him, busts him out of there, and they begin their new adventure!

In single player mode, Diddy rides atop DK's back upon being rescued, and serves as extra health for him. He can also use his Rocketbarrel Pack to keep them aloft in the air for a few seconds. In multiplayer mode, Diddy controls much like he did in the first game, being faster than DK. He can also use his Peanut Popgun to stun enemies in front of him. The second player can also have Diddy ride on top of DK's back whenever they want to as well, which can be useful in tricky platforming sections.

In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, Diddy Kong is celebrating Donkey Kong's birthday alongside Dixie and Cranky. However, the celebration is cut short when the mysterious Snowmad Tribe appears. An Ice Dragon, summoned by the tribe's leader, Lord Fredrik, blows Diddy and his friends off the island, allowing the Snowmads to conquer the island and send it into a deep freeze! Now the Kongs must traverse the various islands to get back home and kick the Snowmad Tribe off the island!

Diddy controls much like he did in the first game. New to this is that, while underwater, Diddy Kong can use his Rocketbarrel Pack to help fling himself and DK forward for a few seconds.

Diddy also shows up in the Donkey Kong Land trilogy. Donkey Kong Land serves as a direct sequel to Donkey Kong Country, with Cranky challenging Diddy and DK to reclaim the Banana Hoard from King K. Rool on the less-powerful Game Boy game. Donkey Kong Land 2 is simply a retelling of Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, though Diddy and Dixie collect fewer Kremkoins this time. Diddy doesn't even show up in Donkey Kong Land III, but the manual mentions that he and DK entered a contest to find the Lost World, which is what inspires Dixie and Kiddy to go off on their adventure.

During the absence of the Donkey Kong Country series, Diddy would show up in some of the side-games, such as the DK series! In DK: King of Swing, the Kongs are about to celebrate the annual Jungle Jam Tournament! Just before the festival can begin, King K. Rool arrives and steals all of the medals for himself. Since they need the medals to hold their festivities, Diddy and Donkey Kong head off to reclaim them!

Once the player beats the game, as well as collects all 24 medals, they unlock Diddy Mode, which allows the player to play through the story as Diddy Kong! Diddy Kong can fling himself much farther than Donkey Kong can. A few thing are changed for this mode: Diddy doesn't go through the tutorial level, he can't access the Bonus Barrels (and thus obtain the Crystal Coconuts), and some collectible bananas are removed.

In DK: Jungle Climber, Diddy Kong is on vacation at Sun Sun Island alongside his friends, Donkey Kong, Dixie, Cranky, Wrinkly, Funky, and Candy. Eventually, Diddy spots a giant banana on top of a mountain, and informs DK and Cranky about it. The two were getting hungry, so they decide to go and obtain the banana so everyone can have something to chow on. At the top of the mountain, they briefly spot King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew before they escape via a portal.

After that, they find the giant banana, only for it to begin to attack them! Diddy and DK defeat it, and find out it's a spaceship that's being piloted by an alien named Xananab. He tells them that the Kremlings have stolen his Crystal Bananas to try and use them to conquer the universe, and now that his spaceship is destroyed, he won't be able to get them back. DK agrees to help him reclaim the bananas, thus he and Diddyu begin their adevnture!

In this game, Diddy has been changed to be a powerup for DK. When collected, DK can throw him to collect items that are out of reach. Diddy can also explore areas DK can't get to if he's thrown to them. Additionally, he allows DK to use the Hammer, Wings, and Torch powerups.

Diddy Kong also shows up in the Donkey Konga series, which are rhythm spin-offs. In the first game Donkey Konga, Diddy and Donkey Kong find a mysterious pair of barrels lying at a beach. Fearing it may be a trap set up by King K. Rool, they take them to Cranky, who reveals they are bongos. After a bit of practice, Diddy and DK begin imagining becoming world famous for bongo playing, and begin their musical tour.

The game would also get two sequels, though the third one was never released outside of Japan. In the second game, Diddy's girlfriend Dixie joins them as well.

Perhaps the most notable spin-off is Diddy Kong Racing, which stars the young monkey as the lead character! Diddy Kong serves as an all-around character, making him perfect for beginners! In the game's Adventure Mode, Diddy Kong was relaxing at home when he received a note from his friend, Timber the Tiger, which reveals that an evil sorcerer named Wizpig is trying to conquer Timber's Island while Timber's parents are away! He and his friends are trying to fight back, but are losing. Diddy decides to head off to help, but not before calling in two of his friends to help: Banjo the Bear and Conker the Squirrel! Together, they team up with Timber and his friends to stop Wizpig before Timber's parents return!

The game would later receive an enhanced remake titled Diddy Kong Racing DS. The Adventure Mode remains the same, though Diddy calls in Dixie Kong and Tiny Kong to help him instead of Banjo and Conker.

Diddy Kong also shows up in Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast. Diddy and the rest of the Kongs race against King K. Rool and his Kremling Krew in the Jungle Grand Prix, where the racers use jet-powered barrels to zip and fly around the courses. Diddy isn't fast, but he has good handing and boost. His rival is Kip.

As previously said, Diddy also shows up in the Super Mario series to compete in the spin-offs. His first appearance in one is Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour, where he is one of the game's default playable characters. While he can't hit the ball as far as DK can, he has better control than him. Notably, this game would mark the beginning of Diddy having five fingers instead of four. Diddy also playable in Mario Golf: World Tour.

He's also showed up in the Mario Tennis, debuting in Mario Power Tennis. In these games, he's classified as a Speed character, meaning he can easily run around the court to get to the ball, but can't hit it very hard, and also lacks reach with his tennis racket. In all of the games, he serves as Donkey Kong's default doubles partner.

Since he starred in his own racing game, you'd better believe Diddy Kong also shows up to race on the tracks in the Mario Kart series, though he doesn't appear as often as you'd think. He makes his debut in Mario Kart: Double Dash, where he's classified as a lightweight character. That means he can quickly accelerate to top speed, but isn't very fast, and can get easily pushed around by everyone. Mario Kart Wii would change him to a middleweight, making him an all-around character who can push lighter racers, but gets pushed around by heavier ones.

Diddy Kong also shows up in the Mario Party series now and then. In his debut title, Mario Party DS, Diddy heads off with DK to Bowser's Castle to enjoy the feast that Bowser was promisign to give to everyone to "apologize" for being mean. In the game's third stage, Diddy finds the Mario Crew, and asks them to help him save DK, who got turned into a stone statue by Dry Bones. Once they succeed with that, they continue to Bowser's Castle, where they begin to help themselves to the food Bowser prepared. Diddy was finally made playable in Mario Party: Star Rush as an unlockable character! Super Mario Party also has him as an unlockable playable character.

While he doesn't show up personally, Diddy makes cameos in the microgames in the WarioWare series. His first appearance was in WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase in 18-Volt's "DK Country" microgame, where the player had to help Diddy collect 2 bananas while ignoring the Zinger nearby. Diddy also cameos in WarioWare: Get it Together in the microgame, "Donkey Kong Country Returns." If the player was successful at destroying the Tikis, Diddy Kong - or Donkey Kong - would show up to cheer for them.

Personality-wise, Diddy Kong is a friendly and energetic adventurer, who is always willing to help his friends out. He also looks up to Donkey Kong and wants to be as heroic as him someday. In contrast to DK's usual aggression towards enemies, Diddy acts more as a peace seeker. Diddy also tends to get easily disappointed or frustrated if he loses.

In Super Smash Bros., Diddy Kong isn’t as strong as Donkey Kong, but he’s pretty quick and nimble. Maybe he’ll make a monkey out of his opponent during the battle? Fighters beware, cause he's after you!

Special Moves 

Neutral Special: Peanut Popgun 

Diddy brings out his Peanut Popgun that fires - and you'll never guess this - peanuts. You can also charge the move. The longer you charge it, the faster the peanut flies, and the less of an upward arc the peanut has! Just don’t charge it for TOO long, or…

KABOOM!

Diddy won’t take any damage, but he WILL be stunned for a few seconds. Any nearby opponents will also take damage, but considering how long Diddy will be stunned, this might not be worth attempting.

Crafty opponents can manage to snag the peanut and toss it back at Diddy, so be careful of that possibility!

Inspired by Diddy’s weapon-of-choice in “Donkey Kong 64.” In that game, Diddy dual-wielded two Peanut Popguns instead of one.

Side Special: Monkey Flip

Diddy does a somersault leap forward. If he hits anyone, he’ll grab them and begin scratching away at the opponents face!

While latched on, pressing either the Attack or Special Button will have Diddy karate chop the opponent’s shoulders before kicking them away.

Pressing the Jump Button will have Diddy jump upwards off of the opponent's head. If both of them are up in the air, Diddy's little stomp will send the opponent downwards.

If you press either the Attack or Special Button while Diddy’s still somersaulting in the air, he’ll perform a kick that can launch people further away! Diddy can’t latch on to anyone while using this, though. 

This move is original to Super Smash Bros., though Donkey Kong uses something akin to this in “Donkey Kong Jungle Beat.” Diddy himself would later use a move similar to this called “Acrobatics” in “Mario Tennis Aces” as one of his Trick Shots.

Up Special: Rocketbarrel Boost

Diddy slips on his Rocketbarrel Pack and gets into a crouching position. Once the Rocketbarrel Pack is fully charged - or if you release the Special Button - Diddy will then fling himself into the air, damaging anyone he hits. How far he goes depends on how long you charge it. You can also control the direction Diddy is flying.

If Diddy bumps into a surface during flight, his Rocketbarrel Pack will explode and he’ll take 5% damage.

If Diddy gets attacked at any point while using the Rocketbarrel Boost, he’ll get detached from it, which is bad news if you’re over a pit. You can still briefly control the Rocketbarrel’s path of flight though. Maybe try and send it over to whoever attacked you?

Inspired by one of Diddy Kong's unlockable moves in “Donkey Kong 64.” Upon buying the Rocketbarrel Pack from Cranky, he can fly around a level for a short period of time.

Down Special: Banana Peel

Diddy disregards the littering rules and nonchalantly tosses a Banana Peel on the ground. Anyone who steps on it trips, which leaves them vulnerable for a second!

Diddy can also pick up his tossed Banana Peel and throw it at the opponent, which not only slightly damages the opponent, but also trips them up if they're on the ground. A crafty opponent can also snatch/pick up the Banana Peel and use it against Diddy, so be careful!

Inspired by the Banana Peel items in “Super Mario Kart,” where using them would cause a racer to slow down and spin-out if they drive into it.

Banana Peels themselves show up in “Donkey Kong 64,” where Lanky Kong uses them in his phase of the fight against King K. Rool.

Final Smash: Hyper Rocketbarrel

Diddy slips on his Rocketbarrel Pack, and goes flying every-which-way!

Anyone Diddy hits takes damage and gets slightly tossed around.

After a few seconds, Diddy heads to the top-center of the stage and stops for a few seconds. Diddy then takes aim at the nearest opponent and charges into them at full-force, sending the opponent - and anyone unfortunate to be nearby - flying away!

Inspired by one of Diddy’s unlockable moves in “Donkey Kong 64.” Upon buying the Rocketbarrel Pack from Cranky, he can fly around a level for a short period of time.

Additional Notes

Back during development for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Diddy Kong was intended to be a tag-team fighter, with his partner being Dixie Kong. However, the plan fell through, and it was decided to make Diddy a solo fighter. Maybe someday, Dixie will join him and DK in the fight?

During development for Donkey Kong Country, Diddy Kong was intended to be a modern redesign of Donkey Kong Jr., but Nintendo didn't like the drastic changes Rare made. Nintendo ordered them to either revert back to Junior's original design, or make the redesign a new character. You can probably guess which one they went with.

In the early days of the Donkey Kong series, Diddy was sometimes referred to as DK’s nephew, but nowadays they are considered unrelated.

In certain parts of the UK, “Diddy” is a slang word that means “small.”