Matchups #002: Donkey Kong

Summary

The Donkey Kong matchup is generally considered favourable, yet volatile for Duck Hunt.

While Duck Hunt's stage control and turtling is in peak form against the heavyweight gorilla, it takes very few openings for Donkey Kong to setup a reversal situation into his dominant advantage state and variety of kill confirms.

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External Resources

• Donkey Kong's SSBWiki Entry
• Donkey Kong's UltimateFrameData Page
• Donkey Kong's OOS options
• SmashTube Query for Duck Hunt vs. Donkey Kong
• Donkey Kong Character Discord

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Counterplay

Any State

• DK is a big body; he is vulnerable to projectile shield pokes, juggling and generous combo windows.
• DK has several armoured moves that can allow him to bypass neutral attacks.
• DK's Side B and grounded Down B have strong shield damage potential.
• DK can KO DH roughly around 55% off a grab or punish, especially in the presence of a platform.
• DK will typically live past 200% if not KO'd early; this means he will often be in rage states that can result in very early kills against us (e.g. light combo into Giant Punch sub 50%).

Neutral

• We can generally shut down DK's attempts to force his way into our zone provided we cover space effectively; if they don't respect our projectiles this can be an autopilot match.
• DK will need to prioritize movement over shielding to navigate into boxing range.
• DK can use pivoted FTilt attacks to swat Can (at tipper range) and create space.
• Respect DK's grounded Up Special (Spinning Kong) as it can bypass many of our grounded attacks with its Super Armour into early kills, but punish it if it is performed into our shield or is hit with Clay Pigeon.
• Bear in mind that if DK's grounded Up Special clanks with the undetonated Clay Pigeon, he can back off relatively safely.
• Clay Pigeon is very strong in the MU but don't throw it where it can be called out as it can quickly lead into a free punish for DK.
• DK's Dash Attack is a common attack to close space once DK is close enough for it to be safe. It is, however, very punishable on shield if called out or performed away from a corner situation.
• DK has a top 10 walk speed, slightly faster than ours.
• If DK can reach FTilt range, Dashing & Shielding can be a viable option for them to protect against Can detonations and close space.
• While DK can struggle to get in for a grab, once the grab happens he can lead into very advantageous stages or kills thanks to Cargo Throw.
• With enough shield pressure our smash attacks can also shield poke.

Advantage

Anti-Air

• UAir and Can are effective tools at covering airspace vs DK. Look out for falling airdodges.
• They may throw out a DAir (or even reverse-movement Down Specials) as a mixup, but otherwise UAir and Can should win most interactions.

Ledge Trapping

• DK should be vulnerable to most of our standard grounded ledgeguarding strategies and will probably prefer to jump if possible.
• DK's aerial Spinning Kong Up B can knock away Can safely.
• DK's ledge jump if performed straight up gives DK more height to mix up his landing.
• DK could use a Giant Punch Neutral Special as a last resort mixup due to its armor properties.

Edge Guarding

• Can go for deep attacks vs DK since contesting them puts DK at risk of not getting back to stage.
• DK is vulnerable to Canicide abuse as an edgeguard. [link]
• Recovering from high when coming from offstage may be preferable to DK's other options if they believe it is safer than risking being edgeguarded; think about where they might want to go after being hit.
• When DK is at higher percents, dropping Gunman at ledge can cover horizontal space and hitstun Spinning Kong Up B.
• Dair is somewhat risky for us from the side as DK can mixup the timing of his Up Special; you may want to consider covering the horizontal range with a projectile trap instead, which could place DK at a more punishable position.
• (That being said, if DK has already committed to the Up B or comes into contact with a dropped Gunman then the DAir should be free)
• Watch out for DK trying to deliberately land on a platform from offstage as it can be a gateway to mixup options (fallthrough BAir, grab?).

Disadvantage

Offstage

• Standard Can-aided recovery is very effective at covering our ledge approach and blocking out DK's several meteor attacks & Bair.
• Getting Cargo Thrown offstage puts us into a dangerous situation where our options for self-defensive recovery vs DK are reduced.
• Careful not to spawn can too late if DK is chasing offstage (e.g. Bair or Nair).
• DK has access to airborne Hand Slap ('aHS', Down Special), Dair, Side Special and Fair as potential meteor options, each with their own utility attributes.
• DK can use Dair on a ledgebound can to send it downwards. [example w/ Falcon Dair]

Overstage

• Donkey Kong is very strong at playing an anti-air game vs us; avoid this situation.
• Donkey Kong's Up Air beats our aerials cleanly; don't contest the move.
• We can use a descending can (e.g. via Dair Can) to help protect our descent.

On Ledge

• Airborne spinning kong, if we tech it, can be followed up from ledge by one of DK's meteors. [please confirm this]
• Donkey Kong's ledge covering attacks include DTilt, FTilt [more?]
• DK's Down Special and tilts can cover ground options, and Bair + UAir can cover jump. He can also convert grabs into dangerous advantage situations.

Stage Selection

• Donkey Kong prefers platforms and stage bases that allow him to maneuver around Duck Hunt's projectiles.
• The DK Discord considers Final Destination as the worst stage for the MU, as a total absence of platforms gives DK minimal options to move around projectiles.
• Battlefield and Smashville give us strong trapping coverage as the give us large swaths of projectile coverage with little space to circumnavigate them and vulnerability to our anti-airs.
• Wide stages generally give Donkey Kong more space to position against DHD's toolset. This includes T&C and Kalos, which boast side and moving platforms that DK can work around unlike FD.
• DK is a heavyweight that does not struggle to kill in varying blast zones; smaller blast zones to allows us to score kills earlier, meaning fewer opportunities for openings.

Combo Windows

Duck Hunt Combo Windows

• Easy to Dragdown UpAir -> UpTilt / UpSmash [link]
• DK is vulnerable to jablock CP combos in all states EXCEPT if you throw CP between his legs.
• You can peform Can Reticle ping pong combos and score high damage with good execution. [link]
• CP -> fullhop BAir ~170% [need more data]

Opponent Combo Windows

Notes from this section are largely verbatim from the DK discord.
pDKO and variants are also colliquially known as the 'Ding-Dong' combo.

• pDKO: [60] 62 - 69 (Cargo Throw -> Jump -> Toss above platform -> Jump x2 -> UpAir)
• gDKO: N/A (pDKO but Cargo Throw Up while grounded)
• aDKO: N/A (pDKO but without a platform)
• apDKO: [46] 47 - 57 (pDKO but already on the platform)
• d-tilt trip: 0 - 66.6
• d-tilt trip (max rage): 0 - 55.4
• Headbutt -> USmash: N/A
• aerial down special (aHS) -> USmash: 65 - 92 [82+ untechable]
• Dash Attack vs Ledge Hang: Yes, Spaced
• smash vs Ledge: Yes
• Dair through Platform: None

Other

Game Start and Angel Platform

• [no notes available]

Timeout Considerations

• [no notes available]

Sudden Death

• [no notes available]

Projectile Effectiveness

Trick Shot

• Donkey Kong's FTilt (particularly Pivoted and Tipper) is effective at safely protecting space vs Can and knocking it towards an adjacent DHD.
• Fairly good escape for some untrue early % DK combos, which can put DK into a convenient position for DHD.
• Generally great for protecting our recovery vs DK.
• KO's DK ~190% on Battlefield when fresh.
• Stationary can on platforms makes it very difficult for DK to jump.
• DK can DAir can from above when we are offstage, potentially hitting us if we're below.
• You can peform Can Reticle ping pong combos and score high damage with good execution. [link]

Clay Shooting

• Undetonated pigeon clanks vs gSK (Grounded Spinning Kong, DK's Up Special)
• Disrupts the super armour of gSK if detonated correctly.
• Takes very little shield damage to poke through Donkey Kong's shield.
• DK is in the CP pre-tumble chain short hop 45% group. The range is 45%-90%.
• DK is vulnerable to jablock CP combos in all states EXCEPT if you throw CP between his legs.
• As usual, careful about using CP liberally, since DK can shorthop or otherwise access DHD if called out and quickly capitalize into kill confirms.

Wild Gunman

• Donkey Kong's long reaching grounded moves such as FTilt and DTilt can quickly dismiss Gunman at a relatively safe distance.
• Donkey Kong will likely want to avoid shielding this since it will either lock him into getting grabbed or allow us to get a reliable clay pigeon poke; cover the space that isn't covered by Gunman to trap him.

Opponent Counterplay

Notes from this section are largely pulled from the DK discord.

• Respect Can and Clay Pigeon as frame 1 combo breakers; avoid untrue combos and instead secure your advantage state. The projectiles are only frame 1 if DHD is hit, otherwise they become active on f16 (Can) and f17 (CP).
• Use Ftilt (ideally pivoted and tipper) to protect space vs Can and knock away Gunmen. Possible to hit DHD at the same time either directly or with the can.
• Bair is also effective for knocking away Can if FTilt is not an option.
• Dash & Shield to protect yourself against a detonating or f1 spawning can.
• Short hop over Clay Pigeon; the move has 64 frames of endlag
• Movement is generally more effective than shielding; only shield if at about FTilt distance.
• Force DHD into corner situations to strip options as a priority over direct hits.
• Duck Hunt is vulnerable above the stage, so create opportunities for this via vertical launchers; their best options in the situation are airdodge and falling can, since DK's UAir cleanly beats all of DHD's aerials in advantage.
• Good options for corner pressure include Bair, Nair, Shield grab, Pivot FTilt, DTilt and grounded Down Special
• Edgeguarding DHD is difficult if they have the opportunity to spawn Can; consider setting up offstage situations with Cargo Throw or BAir them before they have time to spawn it. DK can also DAir the can.
• Beware landing and ledgerolling into DHD's disjointed smash attacks.
• DHD's earlier kill options are commonly high UAirs, ledge BAirs, and smash attacks. Otherwise, expect to live past 200%
• Because of DHD's low kill potential you can abuse max rage, likely taking stocks sub 50 with Giant Punch
• Provided the can is not primed inwards, being between DHD and the can means that DHD cannot protect himself with it (though it can still be used in combo chains)

Recommended VODs

• CaKe (Duck Hunt) vs ChunkyKong (Donkey Kong) - Get On My Level, Toronto CANADA, May 18th 2024
  • ChunkyKong is recognized not only as a top level Donkey Kong, but also for having extensively studied the matchup ahead of the set. CaKe demonstrates how Duck Hunt can absolutely seize control of neutral in the matchup with careful technical positioning, oppressive traps and anti airs but ChunkyKong keeps games close and ultimately claims the last game by immediately capitalizing on risky openings into strong advantage states, cornering situations and kill confirms.
• Raito (Duck Hunt) vs HIKARU (Donkey Kong) - RyoToKotu [lit. 'Dragon Rising Tiger Fight'], Japan, August 30th, 2020
  • [no notes available]

Move Frame Advantage Comparisons

• OOS: [...]
• [incomplete]

Effective Tech and Percentage Windows

• no media yet

Outstanding Questions

• [?]

Contributions

Written and compiled by Vultures
Not peer reviewed
Most information in this section was graciously collected from the thorough matchup document channel in the Donkey Kong discord as collected by iDK. Special thanks to Mr. Clean for support.

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