The Official Melee Donkey Kong Matchup Chart

[@IGP]

that's it, I'm maining DK.

[@arJunebugSmash]

LETS GOOOOO

[@UTR465]

IGP??!?!??

[@kennythekid130]

would love to see you make a video about it

[@user-et3xn2jm1u]

DK versus Yoshi feels like one of those matchups you see on the back of the box, a fake matchup that's only there for the promo. Can't believe I'm seeing it in tournaments.

[@marquistf1996]

Perfect way to describe this lol

[@lucysnowe9974]

Lmao.

[@G8tr1522]

what a time to be a melee player

[@jestfullgremblim8002]

You see it a lot in casual games, you know, the ones played by people that don't have any kind of involvement with the competitive scene. The people that play with items and such surely see this a whole lot

[@SneeZSmash]

Giant punchin my shit and leading the bunch rn

[@arJunebugSmash]

im over here giant punching my shit got charges on my shit rn

[@Doopliss666]

@@arJunebugSmashI’m rooting for ya one handed

[@ziwuri]

who up firing they coconut gun rn

[@trevor384]

When he can fire in spurts 👀

[@HComfy]

@@arJunebugSmashI’m over here chargin’ my shit, got 9 winds on my shit rn

[@turndownforwalt]

hey guys its me junebug

[@gerbungis]

money match me

[@JustButton]

I wanted to make a matchup tier list based on my experiences with Donkey Kong in Super Smash Brothers Melee

[@arJunebugSmash]

hey guys we have to talk about this turndownforwalter guy

[@tymunster]

Hi junebug

[@Gammaurai]

⁠@@JustButtonthis is gonna be subjective and based on how me and other donkey kongs have played super smash bros melee

[@mattgach1779]

Okay real talk, as an old head melee fan I adore the positive take you have on your character. Growing up I remember people would always talk their character down so wins seemed more impressive and loses seemed more reasonable. I first noticed with aMSa and now also you, but when people talk about your character you actually advocate for them. Maybe also has to do with the fact that ur a big fan of big monkē but it still makes me happy to hear you talk your mans up :^)

[@baseballboytetris]

facts

[@kestrelynn]

honestly part of why i like cody and zain, they both think their character is #1 and they try their hardest to prove it

[@PringePie]

"nerves are so intrinsic to the human experience" - Monkey Kong

[@protocetid]

become monke and lose the human tendency to get nervous

[@SigSelect]

MONKEY KONG

[@G8tr1522]

​@@protocetid 🧠

[@RisenFreedom]

oh my gosh its junebug

[@anitabath8315]

Finally. The Kongmunist Bananifesto.

[@ramtheman8044]

Thank god he said it was him, Junebug. Otherwise how could I have known?

[@Ssethtzeentach_enjoyer]

You could always ask the comments section if you're unsure.

[@leaffinite2001]

As Reverend once said, "there are two fundamental truths in life. Melee donkey kong jigglypuff is a 50/50, and..."

[@FlamingPork]

donkey kong goes for the throat

[@minizimi3790]

You forgot an essential factor in your match up analysis. DK's taunt. Arguably the best in the game.

[@Underr4t3d]

*Kirby taunt has entered the chat...* But yeah, Dk's taunt is place 1 together with kirby's, atleast for me.

[@snared_]

Falco's is the best.. DK's is no good. Kirby's is great

[@joemkdd]

ness is at least top 3

[@dillansnow3760]

Mario and YL

[@Thierce]

@@snared_ Falco is basic, not rly that good

[@wettuna1769]

This is the most optimistic matchup chart I have ever seen in my life by far but gotta have faith in your character if you don’t plan on switching. Good luck on your future runs man always love watching you no matter what character you’re playing just a dope player.

[@TylerDonald-b2x]

Well junebug beats most players that play melee, period. And dk is increasingly being seen in top 100

[@pjdonovan5788]

"you can stuff the peach" -Junebug

[@GarbageSSBM]

bro log off the internet

[@seikluss89]

Best tier list video. Very informative and the editing is amazing. Ty for this video!

[@arJunebugSmash]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@soloconnell34]

Having a puff secondary to deal with sheik and ic’s would actually fit dk really well

[@Sunny92809]

Same jump squat and similar game plans too.

[@kestrelynn]

id want to see akir experiment with that, apparently they have incredible secondaries, dk once being one, while june staying with solo dk kimda as a control

[@Phorox]

Hey Junebug it’s me guys

[@hacksignify]

This used to be a joke in the fgc. Spooky always opens with "Hey guys, it's spooky" and the chat would flood with "Hey spooky, it's guys"

[@fuerteva6977]

I was waiting for this.

[@flyingbutterrr]

But what if it wasn’t you, junebug

[@haz9472]

i love how passionate you are about DK, makes me want to improve too. Thanks Junebug

[@saminateblake5538]

Thank you its me Junebug for making Melee interesting again :)

[@pekkanen_sr]

If all this turns out correct then DK is firmly a top 10 character in the game. Hbox sounded really optimistic about DK but he still put DK at 12th in his most recent tier list, below Samus and Pikachu

[@byrne1807]

Yeah if dk genuinely doesn’t lose a matchup worse than 6-4 then I think he’s pretty clearly in yoshi/ics/pika territory. Still kinda skeptical about spacies but June is right in that no matter how bad the matchup actually is nerves + execution mean you won’t lose to them forever

[@TheSignPainter500]

Waiting for the Junebug of Game&Watches

[@Kade503]

The thing I found the strangest as DK became more common in tournament was commentators talking about how slow Giant Punch was. Which is true if your comparing it to like your average aerial or something, but compare it to most smashes and it's close or slightly slower with the obvious upside of being huge and murdering characters harder than your average smash attack. Obviously having a cargo upthrow confirm on a lot of characters is the best part about it, but was mainly reffering to neutral use. I feel like if DK had the PAL change of retaining the punch when hit during upB that would actually be pretty huge for him.

[@Kade503]

@tengutribe Exactly, plus they would say it then the DK would hit with a Giant Punch in neutral read (with how easy it is to lose it, I get letting it rip) or a roll get up or similar punish like you were saying. I mean it was only like two different commentators total in pools I heard say it, but I still found it odd, almost like they were just associating it with a Falcon/Warlock Punch or something since this was still before a DK had placed really well.

[@Controllerhead]

Amazing video as always June, but as a Samus player i'm gonna have to step in for my two cents. Missles and Bombs can absolutely control space cornering DKs big body into wherever i want him; also in no sane world should a DK be able to recover against Samus with all of her tools. Bombs and homing missles can really ruin his day and ledge invincible backwards butt nair is just an absolute DK killer. The DK punish is brutal obviously but she can float out of most of it, so i'm gonna have to contend that the matchup is even AT BEST. Thank you for everything you do o7

[@Instafail]

June ain't buggin'. This is some solid stuff.

[@goon_369]

13:03 CONFIRMED! Classic spacey mix-ups exist!

[@MrSeraphant]

Loved this. glad youre making content. excited for more

[@bigheadedz1887]

Great vid, liked and subscribed, look forward to more of your stuff as well as you upsetting more tournaments, keep up the excellent work on both counts!

[@kokirikid817]

This was an excellent video. You have a real knack for explanation

[@CursedOutRS]

This is something I’ve always been curious of. Loving the runs June!

[@gianlucatartaro1335]

30:24 This. This is what all of us say internally when losing a losing matchup 😂

[@smallman9787]

mewtwo vs dk is an incredible matchup to play

[@SuperLemonfish]

I agree with the vibes and the analysis. But the *numbers* are just off. Make the losing MUs 3-7 and hard winning mu 7.5-2.5 and basically just spread out the list more and then it will be a reasonable MU chart! 3-7 is a fine MU. Definitely winnable. especially in a game like melee and especially when its 3-7 but the opponent has the more difficult character to play as, and is almost guaranteed to not have the same level of MU knowledge. Not everything has to be 6-4 or less. Like, theres no way falco DK is like close to 50/50 if both players have equal MU knowledge and skill. The falco is going to win significantly more games. Probably like 7-3. Falco punish on DK is legit comparable to what dk gets, and he wins neutral so much more easily. Idk i just feel like everyone doesn't use the MU numbers correctly idk. Anyway good video! Keep going!

[@Pleasantries]

One other thing that kinda puts the nail in the coffin for the Samus vs. DK matchup is just how safely DK can shield. Samus has to risk so much to get a grab and gets nothing guaranteed of off it (from my limited experience admittedly). She has to resort to shield pokes and really hard outplays like that which makes the matchup incredibly miserable imo 😅

[@The_Glitz_King]

You're awesome bro, mad respect for you

[@mrjohngalenhenry]

Great job with this and out there!

[@TwinGrimm]

Good one Junebug

[@_Majunior]

I remember watching Bing vs Daniel at gridiron gateway with Carroll and thinking "I don't know if this matchup has been played at this level on both sides before*

[@the_Dragg]

High quality vid. Nice job man

[@dropandy1453]

yo you got a great voice for narration. very smooth. i want to fall asleep to it but i also want to listen to what you have to say LMAO

[@TheWholePeter]

I'm gonna need a MewtwoMan vs Junebug money match because I want to see that matchup at a high level.

[@KRizmaTV]

"mmh monke" - Grand Master Oogway

[@juneguts]

this bug has guts

[@toolbar12423]

CG COCONUT GUN Give Melee DK his Coconut Gun

[@rickypachucho4313]

God I loved the DK vs Ganon crew battle. It was so hype

[@NeonMyloXyloto]

As a ganon player, I always felt DK beat ganon, now it's official

[@kingmeverse5861]

love the vid junebug

[@diegodankquixote-wry3242]

How does DK fair against male Wireframe? 🤔

[@wusstunes]

By holding forward in the air and pressing z or a, or by pressing c stick forward in the air

[@sareem8844]

By jumping and inputting a forward aerial

[@ehhorve857]

alright, so I just played a match against wireframe. now, bear in mind, I am not a professional player. in fact, I accidentally forgot to turn off items, but neither of us really grabbed any of 'em, which is surprising since I was playing against a 9 bot, again, not a pro, so take this with a grain of salt. I didnt die once.

[@protocetid]

EZPZ, anyone can see right through him

[@albireo2990]

taunt solos

[@cestandmuni3849]

Junebug has created some awesome melee hype

[@FloetryFox88]

I've been playing smash since 2000 and have been a big believer in DK's potential since 2002. It does my heart good to see people finally catching on to good DK actually is! 🦍🙏🏿🔥💯

[@KneeL4D2]

Epic!!

[@AltoEcho]

Junebug's Donkey Kong sold me fent

[@protocetid]

found Leffen’s account

[@theelectricant98]

This is incredible

[@manraylemons]

June I gave up on playing melee after realizing that in 21 years of playing smash I got into the habit of never fast falling my aerials so basically I’m really bad and learning to fast fall was miserable. Anyway I like it when u monkey

[@manraylemons]

Also my brain is smooth

[@Oberon123]

Love u junebug u gave me advice at smashcon for how to fight spacies since it was my first dk bracket then got to see you pop off in bracket

[@drstclair]

I've said the same thing about the Puff matchup! I say it's even and get lots of puzzled looks

[@theTennisAvatar1]

The junebug top 10 is coming

[@noobtuber10]

Thats a very very good matchup spread

[@bsbTheFluffyAsian]

good vid, pocket kong acquired

[@milk4you1200]

Great video

[@Breakingthebane]

holy shit it's you junebug

[@LordFartamor]

Very well thought out video 😊 I'm sure the DK character discord agrees with you 100%....

[@derekgad4927]

Pichu cooks DK ⚡🐀😤

[@owen_tl]

13:05 holy deja vu

[@matth8985]

fr i thought i was going crazy lmao

[@h3r01cviii5]

crazy that we are in a timeline where this is useful in a competitive setting

[@Underr4t3d]

"THE OFFICIAL MELEE DONKEY KONG MATCHUP CHART!" *secs into the vid* "This Chart is just mainly based on my and other top Dk's experiences, also I guess there is some recency bias.(or sth. in this direction)" -Junebug But dont worry Junebug im recency biased as well:)

[@hudberwafdog]

One morning I will wake, only to find that it is no longer Junebug.

[@wavyboi]

Game and Watch on the come up trust

[@resolutist]

Glad to see that as a Roy main, there's a reason DK is kicking my ass lol. CC is real

[@itsbmeGaming]

Hey Junebuds it’s me Junebug!

[@megapussi]

Hey junebug its me guy

[@jamiecal11]

That's a very decent matchup spread for a mid tier when you lay it all out like that. Although (and obviously you know more) Falco looks rough to me. Mango is Mango but how he smothers DK makes it look bad.

[@ssaunter9965]

Never played melee but lord knows I’m invested

[@gabrielmonzon3812]

Mewtwo is severely underrated here. The techchase is absolutely brain dead easy and it’s easier for M2 to kill off grab than it is for Sheik. I think not only does M2 win, it’s the third worst matchup

[@LinkMaster5555]

Damn DK is getting me back into melee 😊

[@falco642]

Ive always said sheik was DK worst match up but everyone said falco or falcon was the worst feel good to have somebody agreeing with me on this and it noneother than junebug !

[@GrissoAndShade]

Well made list! IMO, You could probably put Kirby in 6:4 good or annoying depending on certain factors, his edge guarding is pretty nasty against DK and with decent dair spikes off of him, it can be possible to do the work but damn if getting hit from this giant gorilla doesn't hurt like hell lol. Hope you're doing well dude

[@Figgy20000]

Guys it's me, Junebug

[@swellguitar46]

30:53 omg the dk plush 🥰

[@TheMistUser]

What do you think about DK's matchups in PAL? In that version, DK doesn't lose the charge of his punch.

[@ifarted8039]

as a g&w main i can confirm that this is an accurate matchup chart

[@BigDnotimpressed]

It would truly be a beautiful thing if your DK ever ran into a Bowser.

[@Latias38]

29:45 Damn, I never knew DK had a major losing matchup to both Roy and Bowser. 35:65 is rough. Worse than the hard matchups.

[@lukejones7164]

It's the other way around. DK owns Roy in Melee lol

[@abcdefzhij]

@@lukejones7164you didn’t get his comment

[@charlzthedrummer]

“We need more high level Mario bros” I’m trying 😭

[@Nikkerman]

Very supprised that fox and falco are the same tier, I thought falco was worse for DK even with laser counterplay being better now

[@CYellowan]

I wanna add more details to the Yoshi/DK MU. So how i keep on winning against a DK, is due to how Yoshi have inherent super-abilities over DK. Egglay force you into the air and force me decent start%, and it also remove you from any camping position you want to have. Eggs can and will diminish your shield. Also, with the coming of run-egging which i (i shit you not) pretty much invented, you cannot really deal with yoshi because we move in with the egg or leave as we leave behind an egg. aMSa is decent at doing it for long-range combo-finishers, but i actually use it in neutral as well. For example, if i run-egg in and land infront of you, there's a large chance i use it as grab-bait. The egg fall onto your head and release me as you grab me. If you don't, i still get to attack and make inputs due to how i threw the egg as i jumped. It's honestly pretty damn evil against DK's due to their size. And while a grab-release hurt Yoshi, the egg hitting you damage DK more than me. Thus, it's worth it. Beside other egg-related plays. I think it's a loosing matchup if Yoshi know what he is doing, but it demands some great plays to send it home. And run-egging is insanely hard to do for even great players, it's why i only know of 4 people on earth that can do it. Me, my buddy, one insane young yoshi main in europe, and aMSa.

[@myboy_]

13:02 I'm trapped in a time loop

[@classicjones1484]

I had stopped watching melee for a bit but all you DKs pulled me back in with these shenanigans! Thanks for breathing new life into melee! DK def loses to fox/falco at least 6/4 tho 😭

[@eddiestilll]

THE LEADER OF THE BUNCH HAS SPOKEN!! INSPIRING A NEW WAVE OF MONKE

[@ZipperLUL]

JunePOG

[@MetroAndroid]

27:15 Somebody call a janitor, sooooooo much dust/air puffs in this clip lmao

[@MorphBall1]

This looks absurdly optimistic, but I feel like being absurdly optimistic about your character is a trend amongst players who improve quickly.

[@CYellowan]

Playing the shiek matchup, like yoshi have to, might be a part of the solution of dk vs shiek. But not all of it if the shiek know what he is doing. You want to have space but at the same time, trick them and maybe navigate in a way that let you fight them more. Personally, I think that raw-giga punch might help the matchup due to the absurd range and the ability to spam it safely off of platforms if the shiek is on a platform as well. It's gimmicky, but the range is there. SURE, it's not charged. But anything that's busted and relatively safe will yield you a benefit when the M.U is doomed more or less. Fall-off gigapunch, slight driftback into pre-emptively using it, among other situations. People won't expect it and can't counter it even if they want to as well. Look into it, i've only seen 1 decent good DK use it so far and it was actually great on it's own despite his other flaws as a player.

[@aaronmorefield9573]

The year is 20DK

[@horizonleor09]

Holy shit it took me like 4 listens to understand you said out schmooves and not ouch moves

[@redwarrior118]

DK has definitely leap frogged over Luigi in the tier list at this point

[@anthonygillette]

Reject modernity. Return to monke

[@catandfishfc]

Donkey Kong wins every match-up

[@andrewfutrell3609]

Really good content 😮I fucking love melee

[@scrunkykat]

as a G&W player, i feel like DK is pretty decently favored, but not absurdly. g&w actually has good disjoints for dealing with dk and can go toe-to-toe with DK. not as bad of a matchup as bowser/roy but G&W can still persevere with nair+fair to space him out. that being said... g&w's absolutely terrible defensive options with the lack of a proper shield, inability to L-cancel most of his moves, and having a perfect weight for combos does make it even more hellish