The Beginner’s Guide to Training the Donkey Kong amiibo in Smash Ultimate

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By Riparo, Guest Contributor

Imagine training a Donkey Kong amiibo in a joke-like way, and it somehow starts winning tournaments. Go figure.

Evenin’ folks, Riparo here. Apparently, my Donkey Kong has been well-recieved by the scene, and has 3 tourney wins under his belt, one of which being a Major, AND I keep getting asked for Donkey Kong advice, so… here ya go. XD

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AI Issues

Uh… I don’t think Donkey Kong has any big issues. I guess… don’t use Down Special on the ground? It sucks.

Otherwise, Donkey Kong’s a pretty straightforward and simple AI.

Overall Playstyle

Donkey Kong is a pretty versatile character, in terms of playstyles. But the one that seems to work best is an on-stage focused style, slightly jumpy for aerial punishes, and extreme use of his very spammable tilts and long range Smash Attacks. He can be used offstage, but he tends to get gimped in response, so it’s not recommended.

How to Train the Donkey Kong amiibo

As with training any amiibo, it’s best to ditto the character. I personally use 5 minute Time matches, but you can use whatever you’re comfortable with.

You’re going to want to walk most of the time, as walking helps Donkey Kong with spacing his attacks better, and helps him out on the defensive side.

Donkey Kong’s neutral is going to consist of:
~ Down Tilt – This move is incredibly spammable, trips opponents, and ends up doing a ton of damage. Use this often.
~ Up Tilt – Again, very spammable, and can combo into Up Air juggling. Use this often.
~ Cargo (Forward Throw) into Up Throw – Donkey Kong’s AI knows how to do the Ding Dong combo all the way up to kill percent, so use this throw A LOT.
~ Up Smash – Your secondary anti-air option, and one of Doneky Kong’s best moves. Use this only when the amiibo is above you, and make sure the amiibo KOs you with this move a few times.
~ Up Air – This is Donkey Kong’s best move, in my personal opinion. Fast, combos into itself, does lots of damage, and kills. Spam this move whenever the amiibo is high in the air, and try to get as many kills with it as possible.
~ Forward Smash – Your primary kill option on the ground. The range on this move is incredible, and the AI takes full advantage of it. Use this for most of your grounded KOs.

Other notable options include:
~ Using Back Air and Neutral Air as landing options
~ Using Forward Air and Down Special while recovering (This is hard, but can be taught, as long as you hit the amiibo while they’re standing on ledge.)
~ Using Neutral Special at ledge (Giant Punch’s windup can actually catch airdodges at times. Makes for a fun kill option.)

Why It Works

Donkey Kong’s massive range on most of his moves leads to him being a near-perfect chasing character. He has one of the best movesets for juggling, if not the best for a heavy character. The moment the opponent is above Donkey Kong, he is in full advantage state, and the AI knows it.

Pushing DK Amiibo Farther

One move that has always piqued interest in DK’s kit has been the aerial version of his Down Special, Hand Slap. The move reliably combos into some of his kill moves, and the amiibo has been shown to be capable of learning it, but only offstage. If there was a way to reliably teach DK amiibo to perform Aerial Down Special as a landing option, it would open up a whole new avenue for DK’s place in the metagame.

Optimal Spirits Loadout

While the Trade-Off spirits look super tempting and obvious for a heavyweight like DK, it’s nice to look at an alternative option that also helps his mediocre defensive game out. Physical Attack & Hyper Smash Attacks already do a crazy amount for his attack power, while adding in Easier Dodging both gives his recovery a helpful boost with the extended air dodge, and makes any random rolls on-stage safe enough to dodge a few of those attacks that would end some sets otherwise.