Mario Strikers Charged - Former Champion a Contender? - Diddy Kong Crystal Cup (Extreme)

Diddy is a play maker captain, which means he has max speed and passing but terrible defense and shooting. These are the same stats as Boo who is undoubtedly the best side-kick in the game, so why is Diddy a B rank captain? Well, offense is not exatcly the ideal location for a play maker, and the captain spot is an offensive one. This means Diddy's AI will keep him for the most part in offensive positions. The main difference is that he does not have Boo' deke and without that he is nowhere near the same level. Due to his lack of defense it is really hard to apply pressure to your opponent. He does, however, have max speed which means you can constantly be on top of your opponent. As long as a character has max speed they will not be terrible on defense and Diddy can provide ample pressure where needed.

If you have ever used Diddy as a captain you will notice that he feels very smooth. Diddy is extremely well polished in this regard and it is a shame that other players in the game do not have this. This smoothness allows him to turn on a dime with very little lag when changing directions. Most characters have a lot of lag if you try to change direction 180 degrees instantly. Diddy's lag is minimal when performing this technique. What this mean is that Diddy is the best captain to dance circles around your opponent. He can easily out maneuver them if used correctly and his smoothness also allows for very easy execution of tricks. Being a play maker in the captain spots does have some advantages, although they do not come close to making up for the lack of defense, but they are there. First of all you can pass off the start very fast which can lead into very dangerous start plays. Diddy's presence on offense will also make quick picks more viable as he will often be in the position to pass the ball after the shot is taken. Since you will more than likely be attempting SOME tricks with Diddy it should be noted that he can easily abort a failed trick set up by simply passing the ball off and maintaining possession. Diddy's positioning on the field will also make it easier to set up shots with high percentages via passes at specific angles.

One of Diddy's greatest offensive tools is his deke. Although not on par with Boos, it can still cause some major damage on offense. Diddy simply jumps forward and covers respectable distance with the jump. It is a high jump so defenders will slide or tackle right under him if timed properly. Diddy can also pass the ball mid-air while using the deke. This deke can gain you some breakaways but it is limited in this regard. At most use it to dodge one opponent since using this deke rapidly in succession will almost always lead to the ball getting stolen. The deke does NOT move the ball down the field fast, in fact it slows Diddy down. This deke does however create a very strong mind game when you are close to Kritter. Diddy can hop over Kritter if done correctly but this is not your goal with the deke. Instead you want to deke into Kritter and pass the ball off mid-jump to a shooter who can then score a goal while Kritter is out of position from hitting Diddy. This is very strong because there is a myriad of other moves that Diddy can do when in range for this trick. For example he could go for a Bug spray, serve it in, or Titan's chip. Usually the opponent could be able to defend all three of those tricks relatively well by spamming the block combination. However they cannot also defend the shooter that you would pass too after the deke trick at the same time. This forces the defense to either defend the possibility of the trick or of the deke goal since they cannot easily defend both at the same time.

Always think twice before tackling Diddy Kong. His movement is amazing and often the only way to stop is advances on your field is a well timed hit. His deke does not move him very far so wait for him to hit the ground and steal. Air on the side of caution when defending him with Boo because he can easily get a breakaway off of Boo with a well timed Deke. However there is little hope of his deke stopping the likes of Waluigi or DryBones. Your greatest challenge will be preventing the deke/trick mind game that Diddy has while close to the goal. Your best bet is to try and read your opponent. Never allow them too much room to execute a simple trick but be mindful of their positioning as that is the biggest give away of what move they are going to attempt. A good rule of thumb for Diddy's special is too just never go fucking near it. It's larger radius is deceiving and it is always a good idea to keep a generous distance between it and yourself. If any of your characters do managed to get sucked up then your best option is to camp with the ball until they come back. Especially on 6-6 it is not worth playing the game with only half of your players, so just simply wait it out.