How to beat Bowser Jr. as Donkey Kong in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
These are basic tips on how to beat Bowser Jr.. We don't have tips for how
Donkey Kong specifically should play. If you have advice for this matchup - consider adding them to help the community!
Neutral
Bowser Jr’s best attribute is his ability to mix up his options quickly to keep you guessing
He doesn’t have too much in the way of shield pressure, but his Side B (coupled with its super armor) can get him in close to you for grabs if you constantly shield
Often players will use Down B to launch a Mechakoopa to control your ground movement and make you jump
Focus on avoiding the projectile but not closing distance too much. A smart player will condition you into running towards his Nair or Forward Air
Advantage
The Koopaling’s main way of racking up damage on you will be juggling
Often the player will use Up Tilt (sometimes as an out of shield option) and then juggle you with Up Air’s
At low percents they’ll finish the combo by pushing you further out with Forward Air
At high/kill percent they usually go for an Up B followed up by the strong aerial attack they have access to when out of the clown car
Disadvantage
Frustration is a great way to exploit Bowser Jr players
Bait and condition them into using their Side B and/or grabbing as the Koopa Kid’s grab is slow and has poor range
Use this to punish him with your own characters strengths
Alternatively, a character with good projectiles like Link, Samus, or Ness can out-zone Bowser Jr effectively
Off Stage
When Bowser Jr has you off stage, they can use their Neutral B (Cannonball) and Down B (Mechakoopa) to intercept your recovery
They commonly use their Up B off stage to drop the clown car explosive hurt box in line with or below the ledge
Going high can be a safer option, but try to mix up recovery heights to avoid being predictable
He can also pressure at ledge with his Forward and Down Smash, so don’t continually use the same type of get-up option
His Forward Tilt can also be angled down to two-frame
When you have Bowser Jr off stage, try and get cut out his recovery early
Players often go low, use Side B to recovery horizontally, jump, then Up B
Taking away just one of these resource will make it very hard for Bowser Jr to make it back to stage
Stage Picks
-Bowser Jr doesn’t have any major strength stages but avoiding tri-plats will stop him from performing continuous ladder combos
It’s a good idea to ban Yoshi’s Story and Kalos as the small horizontal blast zones mean that he can kill you early if he catches your neutral get-up with an F-Smash or even a rapid jab
