Funky Kong

"Funky Kong Rides The Tide!"

Funky Kong is a deuteragonist in the Donkey Kong franchise, debuting in 1994's Donkey Kong Country and making his first playable appearance in DK: King of Swing.

He is also playable in Nexed.

Real-World History
Not much is known about the creation of Funky Kong specifically. He was designed by Rare character designer Steve Mayles, with his initial design in the original Donkey Kong Country simply being Donkey Kong's model with the addition of a few accessories. His modern-day design would be developed over the course of a few games starting with Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! and being finalized by the release of DK: King of Swing.

After the release of Donkey Kong Country, Funky Kong would become a recurring supporting character, appearing in the rest of the original Country trilogy and Donkey Kong 64, where he provides services to the playable Kongs in the form of transportation or weapons. He would also appear in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze as a shopkeeper, but is also playable in the Nintendo Switch port of the game.

He also appears in various spinoff games such as DK: King of Swing, which marks his first playable appearance. Very rarely for a Donkey Kong character outside of Donkey and Diddy Kong, Funky also appears in a handful of Mario games, such as Mario Kart Wii and Mario Super Sluggers. Due to these appearances (as well as his high-tier status in Mario Kart Wii), he has become one of the Donkey Kong franchise's most recognizable characters.

Gameplay Information
"The laid-back relative of Donkey Kong, Funky Kong prefers to help his friends from the sidelines rather than joining in on their adventures. Despite this, Funky’s no slouch; He can hold his own just as much as his fellow Kongs, and is an expert pilot and mechanic - not to mention, a totally tubular surfer!

Funky Kong didn’t intend to join the Nexus Tournament - He had meant to sign up for a surfing tournament, and quickly bailed when he found out the true nature of the event. After some coaxing from Donkey Kong, though, Funky agreed to join the battle!"

Funky Kong is a hit-and-run fighter with above average mobility and quite a number of multi-hit moves. While the knockback on many of his multi-hits are low-damage, they can lead into combos. In addition, Funky has a number of reliable zoning options, as well as safe approaching tools. Overall, Funky's moveset is balanced with an emphasis on hit-and-run gameplay.

Despite his stature, though, Funky Kong is a middleweight fighter. Combined with his large build, this means he is easy to hit and KO. In addition, Funky has a weak grab game, and many of his attacks deal middling damage. In this respect, Funky needs to rely on combos in order to get easy KOs.

Grounded Attacks

 * Jab: Funky Kong throws a palm strike.
 * Dash Attack: Funky Kong rides his surfboard forwards as a small wave appears beneath it, dealing multiple hits of damage.
 * Forward Light: Funky Kong throws a shove with both arms.
 * Up Light: Funky Kong throws an uppercut.
 * Down Light: Funky Kong sweeps his arm across the ground.
 * Forward Strong: Funky Kong performs a flip kick with his surfboard.
 * Up Strong: Funky Kong claps his hands above himself.
 * Down Strong: Funky Kong spins on his board, dealing multiple hits of damage. This is his best kill move.
 * Counter: Funky Kong throws a slap.

Aerial Attacks

 * Neutral Air: Funky Kong spins around on his surfboard, dealing multiple hits of damage. This resembles his double jump animation from the Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
 * Forward Air: Funky Kong throws a hook punch.
 * Back Air: Funky Kong throws a dropkick behind himself.
 * Up Air: Funky Kong performs a handstand on his surfboard.
 * Down Air: Funky Kong flips around and performs a downwards battering ram with his surfboard, being able to deal multiple hits of damage and spike opponents with the final hit.

Grabs / Throws

 * Grab: Funky Kong grabs the opponent with one hand.
 * Pummel: Funky Kong jabs at the opponent’s gut.
 * Forward Throw: Funky Kong rears back before throwing the opponent. This is his best combo throw.
 * Back Throw: Funky Kong spins around before throwing the opponent behind himself.
 * Up Throw: Funky Kong tosses the opponent upwards.
 * Down Throw: Funky Kong drops the opponent before spinning on his surfboard, dealing multiple hits of damage before launching the opponent forward. This is his best kill throw.

Stage Intro
Funky Kong rides onto the stage in his biplane from the Donkey Kong Country animated series, landing and posing with his surfboard.

Taunts

 * Funky Kong folds his arms and cockily grins.
 * Funky Kong gives the camera a thumbs-up.
 * Funky Kong eats a banana before using the peel to polish his surfboard. This resembles his idle animation from the Nintendo Switch port of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
 * Funky Kong poses on his surfboard.

Victory Animations
Funky Kong's victory theme is a remixed excerpt of Funky, the Main Monkey from Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (0:00-0:10).
 * Funky performs a breakdance before jumping up and landing with his arm flexed, referencing a victory animation from Mario Super Sluggers.
 * Funky spins in with his surfboard before landing and posing.
 * Funky does a flip in the air before landing with a thumbs-up.

Colors / Costumes


Trivia

 * Funky Kong was originally planned to have two different Side Specials; One special would have Funky Kong slam his surfboard down to bury the opponent, ala Donkey Kong's Barrel Bash, while the second would have Funky charge forwards with his surfboard while having some super armor. Both moves were scrapped in favor of the Jumbo Barrel.