About
I got the brains and the brawn!
From the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Donatello is the brains of the team and is known for his various inventions such as the Turtle Van and the Turtle Blimp. Armed with his various gadgets and his trademark bo staff, Donatello stands ready to kick some shell!
This version of Donatello is the 1987 TV Show incarnation.
Playstyle
Compared to his brothers, Donatello (Donnie for short) has the most unique playstyle of the 4 turtles in the NASB series so far. Armed with a variety of long range normals, a gameplay defining projectile, and a variety of other tricks up his sleeve, Donnie is able to control the pace of the match by controlling a large amount of space and keep his opponent stuck trying to navigate his options. In addition to his excellent space control, Donnie has access to some excellent combo tools with his Down Throw, Light Neutral Air, Light Up Air, Electro-Grenade, and various others, that allow him to deal massive damage and potentially take stocks off of winning a single neutral interaction. All of this alongside his versatile Smoke Bomb that allows him to teleport after setting up a lingering smoke effect, allows Donnie to play a tricky style of gameplay that can snowball really quickly.
If you’re fine sacrificing speed for long range normals and some of the most unique options in the game, Donatello is the character for you!
Metagame
Donatello is ranked 20th out of 29 on the current tier list, in the B tier.
Donnie is a character that excels in the range department. With his big bo staff, his strong projectile game in Neutral Special, and his crazy edgeguarding, Donnie works best when he has a lot of space to work with. His movement is also some of the most unorthodox and strange to counter in the game, being able to use Smoke Bomb essentially as a save state whenever he's knocked off the stage. Donnie also has a surprisingly good out-of-shield game with Up Special, making it easy to reset his opponent to neutral if they try to pressure him on shield.
However, Donnie does have some considerable flaws. His big range is at the expense of having rather sluggish stats and frame data. This can cause him to get overwhelmed a lot by faster and more aggressive characters in the game if they do get in his way. Donnie is also a big target, being a rather tall character, making him combo food. His opponent can also destroy his Smoke Bomb once he's planted it, limiting his recovery if he gets caught offstage without it. This overall makes Donnie a very cautious character, having to make the most of his kit lest he gets caught in a tough situation.
For these reasons, Donnie is generally considered a somewhat complex character, needing to make the most of his resources if he wants to get work done. In spite of his flaws, however, the few willing to put work into Donnie have achieved very strong results, particularly at offline tournaments.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
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Moveset
Ground Light Attacks
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3% | 5 | 5-8 | 25 | -10 | |
Donnie pokes with his staff.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3% | 6 | 6-8 | 28 | -12 | |
Donnie swings his staff forward to continue the poke strike.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1% | 3, 7, 11, 14, ... | 3, 7, 11, 14, ... | - | - | |
Donnie starts rapidly poking in front of him for as long as light is mashed. Repurposed from one of his specials from TMNT Tournament Fighters.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6% | 9 | 9-11 | 36 | -17 | |
Donnie ends the Light Combo with an overhead swing downwards.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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10% | 12 | 12-22 | 48 | -0 | |
Donnie spins his staff in front of him.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9% | 7 | 7-28 | 43 | -33 / -29 | |
Donnie spins his staff above his head. Taken straight from TMNT Tournament Fighters.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10% | 7 | 7-21 | 40 | -27 to -13 | |
Donnie slides along the ground while screaming "NINJA SLIDE!"
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5% | 7 | 7-9 | 32 | -19 | |
Donnie gets up from the slide with a kick upwards.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9% | 17 | 17-28 | 42 | -15 to -4 | |
Donnie uses his staff in order to vault himself forward with a kick.
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Air Light Attacks
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
9% | 9 | 9-22 | 52 | -5 | |
Donnie swings his staff around himself in a circle.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
12% | 11 | 11-15 | 48 | -3 | |
Donnie does an overhead swing with his staff.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
15% / 8% | 10 | 10-17 | 44 | -2 | |
Donnie swings his staff behind him.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10% / 6% | 7 | 7-25 | 45 | -2 | |
Donnie swipes his staff upwards.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10% / 7% | 10 | 10-14 | 40 | -4 | |
Donnie thrusts his staff downwards in order to spike opponents.
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Ground Strong Attacks
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14% / 20% | 18 / 22 | 18-20 / 22 | 58 | -30 / -28 | |
Donnie swings a giant hammer in front of him.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
10% | 14 | 14-15 | 55 | -35 | |
Donnie swings a giant hammer downwards.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
18% / 14% / 10% | 12 | 12-26 | 69 | -23 | |
Donnie launches himself upwards with a kick that leaves him airborne.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
13% | 9 | 9-24 | 44 | -23 | |
Donnie sweeps his leg around him to hit his opponent.
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Air Strong Attacks
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
16% | 16 | 16-19 | 48 | -6 | |
Donnie pulls out a Hyper Spectral Blaster in order to blast his opponents.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
14% | 16 | 16-22 | 63 | -4 | |
Donnie swings his staff upwards covering a large area above him.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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16% / 10% | 15 | 15-37 | 57 | --12 / -14 | |
Donnie does a dive kick.
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Special Attacks
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5% | 6 | 6-End | 32 | -3 | |
Donnie tosses up an Electro-Grenade. Typically called "Grenade" or "Ball" by the community.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
6% | 7 | 7-9 | 32 | -19 | |
Donnie gets into a batter stance and swings his staff.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
5% (Per grenade) | 6 | 6-End | 14 | -3 | |
Donnie spends a bar of slime in order to toss up 3 Electro-Grenades.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | 12 | 12-End | 41 | - | |
Donnie throws out a Smoke Bomb in front of him. Once it lands it will create a lingering smoke effect that Donnie can teleport to.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0% | - | - | 45 | - | |
Donnie teleports to where the Smoke Bomb he threw landed.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | 12 | 6-End | 41 | - | |
Donnie spends a bar to throw out a Smoke Bomb with different properties.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0% | 5 | 5-27 | 63 | - | |
Donnie gets ready for a counter attack.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
8% | 13 | 13-49 | 51 | - | |
Donnie gets hit while in his counter stance and teleports behind his opponent charging into them on a skateboard.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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13% / 9% | 5 | 5-6 / 5-11 | 39 | -104 | |
Donatello quickly launches himself upwards with his turtle glider, hitting opponents along the way.
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Grab/Throws
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | 7 | 7-8 | 34 | - | |
Donnie reaches forward attempting to grab his opponent.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | 10 | 10-11 | 42 | - | |
Donnie attempts to grab his opponent while running forward.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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1% | 9 | - | 17 | - | |
Donnie slams his opponent on the ground behind him. Reference to the TMNT beat-em-up arcade games.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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9% | 14, 23 | 23-34 | 50 | - | |
Donnie tosses his opponent up and hits them with his staff.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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8% | 16 | - | 28 | - | |
Donnie spins around and tosses his opponents forward. Another reference to the TMNT beat-em-up arcade games.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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8% | 23 | - | 47 | - | |
Donnie throws his opponent into the ground before body slamming them with his shell.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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9% | 18 | - | 44 | - | |
Donnie slams his opponent behind him.
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Super
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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40% | 26 | 26 | 119 | -93 | |
Donnie's Ultimate Attack which involves Donnie chasing his opponent with the Turtle Van and shooting them with cannons mounted on the van.
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Taunts
Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | - | - | 102 | - | |
Donnie looks around with a magnifying glass processing his surroundings.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | - | - | 117 | - | |
Donnie attempts to fix a device before hitting it with his hand and then declares it fixed.
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Damage | Startup | Active Frames | Total Frames | Safety | |
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0% | - | - | 163 | - | |
Donnie pulls out a handheld console and plays a game before getting upset and spiking the handheld into the ground.
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Strategy
Movement
With Donnie being a big turtle with disjointed attacks, it would only make sense that his movement speed on both the ground and in the air would be on the slower side. This is in conjunction with his floaty gravity and fall speed results in the ninja turtle that plays like an actual turtle. In a platform fighter like NASB2, movement is everything so just accepting that Donnie is a slow character isn’t going to get you far. Here are some techniques to help bring this turtle into a true ninja:
- Use wavedash in tandem with your regular movement options
- One perk of Donnie’s stats is it results in him having a decently long wavedash. This lets Donnie move around the stage in a similar fashion to Samus in Melee. By using wavedash to supplement your regular movement options, Donnie can appear to be a lot faster than his stats would imply.
- Donnie has a very lengthy turn around skid animation while running that leaves him in place. Thankfully this animation is jump cancelable meaning you can wavedash out of it. Using the wavedash to turn around allows for Donnie to avoid dealing with that animation entirely.
- Wavelanding on platforms is a faster way of landing on platforms than landing from a jump. Input the same way as you would complete a normal wavedash.
- B-Reverses allow Donnie to completely shift his air momentum
- B-Reversing is described as reversing your air momentum by using special moves. This can be seen most noticeably with Donnie’s Neutral Special, Electro Grenade. A B-Reserve is completed by inputting a special move such as Electro Grenade and inputting the opposite direction of where your momentum is taking you. I.e. Moving left would mean you would press right to shift your momentum. If done correctly, you should see Donnie turn around and completely reverse his momentum. Pressing the direction too early results in Donnie just turning around or you will get a Smoke Bomb. Pressing the direction too late will result in Donnie not shifting his momentum and he will not turn around.
Neutral
The game has started and you now have to attempt to win neutral. How does a big, slow turtle like Donnie play neutral versus other characters that outspeed him in both movement and frame data? The answer is by being a space control monster.
- Use Electro Grenade!
- It cannot be stressed how character defining Electro Grenade is as a tool for Donnie. This move is integral for controlling space as Donnie as it allows Donnie to do whatever he wants after 12 frames. This move can be used in a variety of ways from area denial, combo breaking if they don’t get out of the way or hit it away, or force someone into block.
- Space your large normals!
- Donnie’s a character with so many disjoints that can keep his opponents away. The idea is to place your moves in a way that results in your opponent running into them or scaring them enough to put them into a worse position that you can capitalize off of. It is important to keep in mind that those large normals are unsafe on block so you don’t want to over-extend and get punished for it. By spacing your moves, you give yourself a bit more breathing room which most characters can’t punish.
- Keep a Smoke Bomb active for as long as possible!
- Having a Smoke Bomb available that you can teleport to allows for a number of mixups, can assist you in both advantage and disadvantage, and can be a useful distraction. It is important to keep track of the time left on the Smoke Bomb before it disappears. Good rules of thumb to follow include always throwing Smoke Bomb in the air so you can land cancel the recovery and to throw a new Smoke Bomb on stage before chasing someone offstage.
Advantage
Congrats! You won neutral! Now what do you do from here? Thankfully, this is Nickelodeon All Star Brawl 2 and you’re playing a character with a strong combo game. Here’s what that combo game looks like:
- You got a stray hit with a move that doesn’t start combos
- Some moves that fit this description include strong hit of Light Back Air, Light Forward Air, the entire Jab combo, and Forward Light.
- Worst case, you gain stage control.
- Best case, you can follow up into a combo.
- In certain cases, you can use slime cancels to convert a stray hit into a full combo that would have otherwise been just to gain stage control.
- You got a meaty hit with a good combo starter
- Good combo starters in this case would be Down Light (both hits at earlier percents, first hit at higher percents), Up Light, Light Neutral Air, Light Up Air.
- With a good combo starter, this is where Donnie shines and can combo for massive damage that could potentially lead into taking a stock.
- You got a grab
- If you’re trying to combo someone after a grab, you will almost always go for Down Throw. The only times you won’t is when Electro Grenade is involved and you can setup for a potential regrab.
- You will typically follow Down Throw with either Down Light. Light Neutral Air, or Light Up Air. Keep in mind that if your opponent DIs behind Donnie you will have to use running momentum in order to chase them for the follow up. If they DI away offstage, you can still follow up for a combo or kill setup but you just want to be careful you don’t accidentally SD.
- You got your opponent offstage
- Thanks to the versatility of Smoke Bomb, you can follow your opponent deep offstage to gimp or finish off them off. You just want to make sure you have a Smoke Bomb active and it won’t despawn anytime soon when you go offstage. Good moves to use while far offstage are Light Forward Air, Light Back Air, Strong Forward Air, and Electro Grenade. You can also go for Light Down Air or Strong Down Air to spike your opponent offstage but both are hard to hit.
Disadvantage
Donnie is the second floatiest character in the game behind Ren & Stimpy. This makes Donnie’s disadvantage a bit unique.
- The perks of being a floaty during combos and juggles
- Certain combos and kill setups that work on most of the cast will not work on Donnie as a result of his floatiness sending him higher than normal. Donnie can usually jump or air dodge out of these.
- The pain of being a floaty during combos and juggles
- It can be hard to land during juggles as Donnie since his air speed is slow and his floatiness can push him into horrible juggle situations. It’s important to remember that your double jump and air dodge can help you get out of these situations.
- Slime Air Dash can be used to send yourself further into a specific direction with the ability to do an option afterwards much sooner. Keep in mind that you don’t have any invincibility during Slime Air Dash like you would with a regular air dodge.
- If there is a Smoke Bomb active and your opponent gives you enough breathing room, you can teleport to it as a way to get out of disadvantage and return to neutral. Just be careful that your opponent isn’t anticipating the teleport and is ready to punish you for it.
- Dive Kick can be used as a way to mix up your descent due to floating during the charge and it sending Donnie diagonally down in the direction he’s facing. If your opponent anticipates it, they can intercept you.
- Throwing an Electro Grenade while getting juggled can be helpful for breaking combos and controlling space as opponents will try to either avoid it or hit away, giving you enough breathing room to land.
- Getting back to stage with a Smoke Bomb active
- Recovering with a Smoke Bomb already on stage allows for a number of mixups that can make edgeguarding Donnie difficult. Smoke Bomb itself is a distraction that forces the opponent to make a choice to either destroy the Smoke Bomb or try and push Donnie offstage further. This results in the opponent destroying the Smoke Bomb and Donnie getting back to ledge or the opponent focused on trying to keep Donnie offstage and Donnie just teleports to the Smoke Bomb. This is the ideal situation you want to setup with Smoke Bomb but it isn’t how it will commonly go.
- Be careful with your teleports as the teleport animation is punishable without slime canceling. If you get too reckless, you could teleport into an opponent waiting with a strong move ready to take your stock. You can fake out a teleport by slime canceling within the first 14 frames.
- It's important to remember that Smoke Bomb supplements Donnie's recovery by giving him additional options. He still has access to all of his other recovery tools such as Sky Strike or Slime Air Dash.
- Getting back to stage without a Smoke Bomb on stage
- Without an active Smoke Bomb, Donnie is more limited in his recovery forcing him to rely on other tools.
- You can attempt to throw a Smoke Bomb on stage if you’re high enough but your opponent can intercept and destroy it before you can teleport.
- Slime Air Dash and air dodge help with giving Donnie additional height and mobility. However, you never want to do either option as a way to grab the ledge as you won’t get any ledge invincibility as a result.
- If sent high enough, you can use Dive Kick and hit an Electro Grenade into it as a way to cover yourself. Don’t overuse Dive Kick as the hitbox is only active during the beginning of the move and opponents can intercept you trying to recover.
- Sky Strike being his most vertical option to recover can give Donnie a decent amount of height quickly. This move will put Donnie into a helpless state unless slime canceled before the move ends. Due to Donnie’s floatiness, it’s very important to not be put into this state as you’re unable to defend yourself from being pushed back off stage.
- Getting off ledge
- Donnie has the universal four ledge options of regular getup, roll, jump, and drop.
- His getup attack is decently sized horizontally but small vertically. Try not to use it if your opponent is too far away or is in the air above the ledge waiting to hit you.
- Donnie is able to drop, jump, and wavedash on to stage but is slower at it than most characters meaning he won’t get as many invincibility frames.
- Donnie is able to drop from the ledge and throw an Electro Grenade through the stage which can catch opponents off guard due to how fast the move is. You’re also able to hit it with Sky Strike if your opponent is further from the ledge. Just be careful not to have your Sky Strike input eaten by the glitch with transitioning into the swing stance after throwing a Grenade.
- If there’s a Smoke Bomb active on stage, Donnie can just drop from ledge and teleport to it.
Slime Meter Management
Slime is an important and useful resource for every character in the game. What sets everyone apart is how they use their slime to supplement their game plan. Here is how Donnie uses it:
- Safety
- Slow moves that are punishable on block become less punishable when slime canceled. Keep in mind that the act of slime canceling near an opponent will not put your opponent into hitstun or blockstun so you could still be punished if you aren’t careful.
- Hit and kill confirms
- Slime canceling near an opponent that you put into hitstun while freeze them in place for a brief amount of time. This freeze can be enough for Donnie to setup into one of his combo starters or a kill move.
- For hit confirms, slime canceling from an awkward move into one of his combo starters can be the difference between doing a low amount of damage and taking a stock. For example, Donnie’s rapid jab into the finisher doesn’t allow for comboing afterwards, however if you slime cancel the rapid jab, you can go for a grab, Down Light, or Up Light to start a combo for massive damage.
- For kill confirms, Donnie’s stronger moves are usually slower and it can be hard to hit them in neutral. That’s why it’s important to use slime to help setup for taking stocks. The most common example is Sky Strike slime canceled into Strong Up Air on an opponent being juggled near the top of the screen.
- Slime Air Dash
- With the ability to do whatever you want out of Slime Air Dash, it’s a good burst option for getting back to the stage and chasing opponents in advantage.
- EX Special Moves
- More of a niche option than anything. Most of Donnie’s EX special moves aren’t worth using due to them not giving more utility than just using their regular version.
- EX Smoke Bomb can be used to teleport to mid-air or an extra distraction that requires more attention from your opponent to destroy.
- The main reason to use EX grenades over regular Electro Grenades is if you need more than one grenade active such as when edge guarding a character with a tether recovery like Gertie or Krabs.
- EX Sky Strike's only difference from the regular version is that it goes higher than normal so spending a bar of meter could be just enough to get you to the ledge.
- EX counter is useless and the extra damage is not worth it.
Techniques
- B-Reverse
- A technique carried over from the Super Smash Bros series. Performed by inputting a special move such as Electro Grenade and inputting the opposite direction of where your momentum is taking you. I.e. Moving left would mean you would press right to shift your momentum. If done correctly, you should see Donnie turn around and completely reverse his momentum. This sees the most use for Donnie with Electro Grenade but every character in the game can B-Reverse.
Combos
General Donnie combo flowchart is a combo starter into Light Neutral Air or Light Up Air into a combo finisher. The list below does not list every move and every percent for every character and is just a general idea of what moves flow into each other. A lot of Donnie's combo game is based on adaption in the moment due to DI. Minor variations will occur depending on the opponent's weight and floatiness.
- Up Light
- At early percents, Up Light combos into itself, Grab, Light Neutral Air, and Light Up Air for combo extensions.
- At middle and high percents, Up Light combos into Light Up Air.
- Down Light
- At early percents, Down Light will typically be both hits and can combo into Grab, Up Light, Light Neutral Air, and Light Up Air.
- At middle and high percents, use only the first hit of Down Light and can combo into Light Up Air for juggles and Strong Neutral Air, Strong Up Air, and Sky Strike for kill confirms.
- Light Neutral Air
- This move is one of the main reasons Donnie's combo game is as strong as it is. The main goal with most moves is to combo into this move.
- At early percents, this move combos into itself, Grab, Up Light, and Light Up Air.
- At middle percents, this move combos into itself and Light Up Air.
- At high percents, this move combos into Light Up Air and the weak hit of Sky Strike which can be slime canceled into Strong Up Air for a kill confirm.
- Light Up Air
- This move is another reason Donnie's combo game is as strong as it is. This move has as much hitstun as Light Neutral Air and can extend combos that Light Neutral Air wouldn't be able to continue.
- At early percents, this move combos into itself, Up Light, and Light Neutral Air.
- At middle percents, this move combos into itself, Strong Up Air, and Strong Neutral Air.
- At high percents, this move combos into itself and the weak hit of Sky Strike which can be slime canceled into Strong Up Air for a kill confirm.
- Down Throw
- At early percents, this throw combos into Down Light on fast fallers, Light Neutral Air, and Light Up Air. Opponents can DI behind Donnie to get sent farther away but you can react this DI and combo with running momentum.
- At middle percents, this throw combos into Light Neutral Air and Light Up Air.
- At high percents, this throw combos into the weak hit of Sky Strike which can be slime canceled into Strong Up Air for a kill confirm.
Matchups
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Other Resources
Videos
NASB2 Donatello Games and Tourney Matches
Costumes