Editing King Dedede (SSB4)

|availability = [[Starter character|Starter]]

|tier = G

}}

'''King Dedede''' ({{ja|デデデ|Dedede}}, ''Dedede'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''. His return to the series was announced in a [[List of Director's Room Miiverse posts|Director's Room Miiverse post]] on January 10th, 2014, which also commemorated ''{{s|wikirby|Kirby: Triple Deluxe}}'' being released in Japan on the same day. [[Masahiro Sakurai]] reprises his role as King Dedede's voice actor, albeit via a filter being applied to his ''Brawl'' voice clips.

==Attributes==

Unsurprisingly, King Dedede's greatest strength is his impressive endurance, which is often considered to be the overall best in the game. His very fast falling speed gives him the best vertical endurance, while his weight and great [[recovery]] makes his horizontal endurance one of the best. In addition, he is notoriously difficult to [[edgeguard]] and [[gimp]]. Despite his very high falling speed and extremely slow air speed, he possesses four [[midair jump]]s. These help him stall his fall and cover long distances, as well as allowing him to edgeguard safely. His [[recovery]] does not end with his midair jumps. His up special, [[Super Dedede Jump]], grants a very large amount of vertical distance and a good amount of horizontal distance. It also has [[super armor]] and can [[meteor smash]], making it extremely dangerous to intercept, especially if the opponent uses an aerial attack.

Another one of King Dedede's most prominent weaknesses is his polarized mobility. All of his attributes work against him, as they give him very slow horizontal movement, hindering his ability to [[approach]] and combat [[spacing]] and [[camping]]. The latter problem is more serious, as he has no useful counters against [[projectiles]], with Dedede's projectile being ineffective and overall unreliable to combat [[camp]]ing altogether. His slow horizontal mobility leaves him vulnerable to getting juggled horizontally, while his very quick vertical mobility also leaves him vulnerable to combos, and he has a hard time escaping from them once he enters enough knockback, with a move that grants super armor, [[Super Dedede Jump]], coming out way too slowly to render him invulnerable to heavy damage once an opponent gets a combo in. In turn, this makes it very simple for other characters with reliable combo games, such as {{SSB4|Luigi}} and {{SSB4|Bayonetta}}, to easily rack up damage on him.

Another flaw King Dedede faces is his [[approach]]. All of his attributes significantly hinder his ability to get close to characters safely, considering the aforementioned factors of the overwhelming start-up and ending lag on his attacks, fairly poor mobility regardless if grounded or in the air, and his noticeable nerfs from game updates, which have all decreased his already poor offensive game. Most notably, his grabs' drastically reduced ranges and the removal of [[chain grab]]bing are collectively considered to be his fatal flaw: they not only hinder his chances to rack up damage efficiently, but also almost completely remove his chances of reliably KOing his opponents or keeping his opponents at bay with his grabs.

King Dedede benefits a fair bit from his [[Character customization|custom moves]]. Topspin Gordo has consistent power and moves much faster, which allows King Dedede to force the opponent to react with little risk of his Gordo being used against him, due to its high speed. However, it does not last as long, and it removes almost all combos with the Gordo itself, as it cannot be used for traps, and moving the control stick barely changes its trajectory. Bouncing Gordo is considerably weaker, but it lasts much longer, and enables King Dedede to apply stage control and gives him more time to use Gordo combos. The Gordo's trajectory changes greatly when the player tilts the control stick. Rising Dedede covers more vertical distance, maintains the default's super armor, and can even function as an (albeit risky) out of shield option due to its hitbox while ascending. However, it cannot meteor smash, as King Dedede becomes helpless at the apex of its jump, which also makes it less safe, especially if King Dedede tries to land on the stage. Dash Jet Hammer does far less damage, but King Dedede dashes forward when he attacks, enabling it to function as a mindgame tool. It can also function as a viable horizontal recovery option, which can ameliorate his glacial air speed.

==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]''==

The most notable positives that these changes bring are his new [[down tilt]], new side special [[Gordo Throw]], and his down special, [[Jet Hammer]]. Dedede's new down tilt has faster start-up and travels a long distance, making it one of his best defensive moves (out of shield, after a smash attack, etc) at the cost of its spacing potential. Unlike [[Waddle Dee Toss]], Gordo Throw deals a consistent amount of damage, fairly high knockback, and can even be used to "pinball" opponents by using their tumbling momentum to Dedede's advantage by trapping them between a Gordo and Dedede due to the ability to angle a Gordo's trajectory, which improves his neutral game. Lastly, Jet Hammer has been noticeably buffed in terms of range and the recoil damage, and due to the addition of [[rage]] combined with his high endurance and weight, it is a much better move both onstage and for edge-guarding. As a result, these moves are more versatile than their previous iterations in ''Brawl''. Some of the gameplay changes brought about by ''SSB4'' have also helped Dedede. He is now less susceptible to projectile camping due to the universal nerf to projectile camping (although he still arguably has the hardest time against camping), and he can utilize the rage mechanic very effectively due to his considerable weight, which supplements his high power.

===Aesthetics===

**{{nerf|King Dedede now holds his hammer from the middle of the handle, instead of the end of it, decreasing its range and making it less disjointed.}}

**{{buff|Forward tilt deals more damage (6%/4% → 11%) due to consisting of five hits instead of one. Additionally, it has a much larger hitbox (4.5u → 8u) and a slightly longer duration (frames 12-22 → 12-23). Lastly, its last hit has increased knockback (20 (base)/80/100 (scaling) → 30/190), granting it KO potential at high percentages.}}

**{{change|Forward tilt's final hit has an altered angle (65° → 50°).}}

*[[Up tilt]]:

**{{buff|Up tilt has noticeably increased horizontal range (6u → 8u) and considerably more combo potential due to its altered knockback combined with the changes to hitstun canceling/DI. Its intangibility also has a longer duration (frames 7-8 → 9-15).}}

*[[Down tilt]]:

**{{change|King Dedede has a new down tilt, a cartwheeling tackle. Compared to the previous down tilt, it deals different knockback (20/10 (base)/100 (scaling) → 60/75).}}

**{{change|New down tilt moves Dedede forwards, significantly increasing its range and allowing Dedede to pseudo-[[crawl]] but hindering its spacing potential and making it much easier to punish.}}

**{{nerf|Down tilt launches opponents at a higher angle (361° → 45°), making it less effective at KOing at very high percentages compared to the previous down tilt. It also has a shorter duration (frames 7-18 → 6-13), has more ending lag (FAF 36 → 38), and can whiff if used too close to the opponent.}}

**{{buff|The 19% damage increase to [[shield]]s and the increase to [[shieldstun]] significantly improve dash attack's shield pressuring potential.}}

**{{nerf|Dash attack has received a late hitbox that deals slightly less damage (14% → 13%) compared to the previous body hitbox although its knockback scaling was compensated (95 → 100). Dash attack can now also whiff if used too close to the opponent as the body hitbox was removed, hindering its safety.}}

*[[Forward smash]]:

**{{buff|Sourspotted forward smash deals slightly more damage (13% → 15% (early), 5% → 6% (late)) and the early hit has increased knockback scaling (90 → 93), though they are still drastically weaker than the sweetspot. Sweetspotted forward smash also has a slightly larger hitbox (5.7u → 6u).}}

**{{buff|Forward aerial has less startup lag (frame 16 → 13) and increased range (7.5u/4u → 8u/5u) making it easier to land.}}

*[[Back aerial]]:

**{{nerf|Back aerial has significantly more startup lag with a shorter duration (frames 6-8 (clean), 9-25 (late) → 17-19), ending lag (FAF 33 → 38), and auto-cancels later (frame 26 → 33). It also cannot trip opponents due to its increased strength and it has lost its 30% extra trip chance. This makes it much less versatile compared to the previous back aerial. Additionally, it has much less horizontal range and far less disjointed hitboxes, hindering its spacing potential.}}

*[[Up aerial]]:

**{{nerf|Up aerial's loop hits deal 1% less damage (2% → 1%), which decreases its overall damage output by 7% (19% → 12%).}}

**{{nerf|King Dedede has a new down aerial, a downward hammer swing. Compared to the previous down aerial, it deals 2% less damage (17% → 15%) due to consisting of one hit instead of seven, has significantly increased startup lag, a shorter duration (frame 9-27 → 22-23), and has a sourspot at the hammer's handle that deals 9% less damage (17% → 8%). Altogether, these changes make it much worse at pressuring and anti-juggling compared to the previous down aerial.}}

**{{buff|Down aerial [[meteor smash]]es aerial opponents if the hammer's whole head lands (70°/80° → 270°) and launches opponents at the [[Sakurai angle]] otherwise. As it only has one powerful hit, this makes it a very powerful edgeguarding option and a strong, albeit situational, on-stage KOing option compared to the previous down aerial. It also has larger hitboxes (4u/5u/6.5u → 5.5u/6u/8.5u).}}

===Throws/other attacks===

**{{buff|King Dedede has a new side special, Gordo Throw. Compared to [[Waddle Dee Toss]], Gordo Throw is much more consistent both as a projectile and in regard to power.<ref name="Direct"/> Additionally, Gordo Throw's ability to bounce the Gordos in different trajectories also make it better at trapping. The hammer swing used to perform the move also produces a hitbox on the hammer that deals 12%, which can also hit opponents into the subsequently tossed Gordo. Lastly, Gordo Throw can hit twice, depending on the opponent's position.}}

**{{nerf|Gordo Throw deals less damage (22% → 14% (clean)/12.5% (mid early)/11% (mid late)/9.5% (late)), less knockback (65 (base)/70 (scaling) → 70/66) and launches opponents at a less favorable angle (70° → 60°) significantly hindering their KO potential compared to Waddle Dee Toss' Gordos. Unlike Waddle Dee Toss, Gordo Throw lacks anti-camping potential, due to its Gordos being reflected by any hitbox that deals at least 2%.<ref name="Direct"/>}}

**{{buff|The 19% damage increase to shields and the increase to shieldstun make Gordo Throw significantly better at breaking shields compared to Waddle Dee Toss.}}

*[[Super Dedede Jump]]:

**{{buff|Jet Hammer has a larger hitbox (7u → 7.5u). Uncharged Jet Hammer has increased base knockback (20 → 30) and decreased start-up lag (frame 29 → 27).}}

**{{buff|Fully charged grounded Jet Hammer deals 8% more damage (30%/20% → 38%/28%), although its knockback was compensated (30 (base)/80 (scaling) → 5/66).}}

**{{buff|The changes to edge mechanics improve [[Jet Hammer]]'s edgeguarding potential.}}

**{{buff|Fully charged Jet Hammer's [[recoil damage]] caps earlier (150% → 100%). When coupled with the introduction of [[rage]], its recoil damage is now a double-edged sword, instead of solely being a hindrance.}}

==Update history==

Lastly, King Dedede was nerfed once again in update [[1.1.4]], with his air speed having been reduced to the point that it is now slower than [[Monado Arts|Shield]]-boosted {{SSB4|Shulk}}. As a result, King Dedede is noticeably worse than at the game's release, due to the large majority of the cast receiving major beneficial changes, while King Dedede has not received any similar changes.

==Moveset==

{{MovesetTable

|game=SSB4

|dashname=&nbsp;

|dashdmg=16% (clean), 13% (late)

|fsmashname=&nbsp;

|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|15}} (early), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|24}} (clean), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSB4|6}} (late)

|nairname=&nbsp;

|nairdmg=12% (clean), 7% (late)

|fairname=&nbsp;

|fairdmg=12%

|fairdesc=Somersaults to perform a downward hammer swing. Is unsafe on hit at lower percents. This move does not auto cancel in a short-hop and has more landing/ending lag than his back aerial, but starts much earlier. Is capable of performing a pseudo [[wall of pain]] while edgeguarding. It can also [[lock]].

|bairdmg=16%

|bairdesc=An upward hammer swing behind himself. One of Dedede's best moves for spacing and KOing, doing so reliably below 130%. Can be auto canceled in a short-hop, and, if [[Buffer|buffered]], can be double jumped out of before Dedede lands, which can be used for tricky mix-ups. Is also relatively safe on shield when spaced at max range.

|nspage=Inhale (King Dedede)

|nsdefdmg=5% (release), 10% (spit)

|nsc1name=Dedede Storm

|nsc1dmg=2% (loop), 3% (outer hit)

|nsc2name=Taste Test

|nsc2dmg=5% (release), 12% (spit)

|fsdesc=Inhales the opponent into place, strikes them three times with his hammer aflame, then fires a bomb out of it, launching the opponent diagonally in a spray of fireworks. It can KO at 47%, however, this Final Smash can be escaped with an [[air dodge]] halfway through, making it unreliable to use on low-damage opponents.

}}

===[[On-screen appearance]]===

|victory-theme=KirbyUniverseTheme.ogg

|victory-desc=A flourished remix of the short, recurring theme that debuted in ''{{s|wikirby|Kirby's Dream Land}}'' and which plays when [[Kirby]] completes a stage or defeats a boss.

|desc-2=Slams his hammer down on both sides of him, then smiles while looking towards the screen.

|desc-3=Spins his hammer into the air while sporting a strained expression and then strikes a pose while sporting {{GameIcon|ssb4-3ds}}an angry expression that quickly adjusts to a tense expression, or {{GameIcon|ssb4-u}}an angry expression.

|set10=2312

}}

===Tier placement and history===

*'''[[All-Star Battle: Brawl]]''': King Dedede is one of the opponents fought in this event. All opponents debuted in ''Brawl''.

*'''[[Kirby's Crazy Appetite]]''': As {{SSB4|Kirby}}, the player must heal by eating [[food]] on the stage while three King Dededes try to hinder his progress.

*'''{{SSB4|The Final Battle}}''': The player must defeat King Dedede, {{SSB4|Bowser}} and {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}.

*'''[[The King Strikes Back]]''': King Dedede must defeat Kirby in a [[Stamina Mode|Stamina Battle]].

*'''[[Final Battle Team-Up]]''': King Dedede appears as an opponent to be defeated.

*'''[[Food Fight]]''': A damaged King Dedede and Kirby must defeat {{SSB4|Wario}}, {{SSB4|Yoshi}}, and {{SSB4|Pac-Man}}.

*'''[[The Ultimate Battle]]''': Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.

*'''[[Wrecking Bros.]]''': {{SSB4|Mario}} and {{SSB4|Luigi}} must destroy the entirety of [[Wrecking Crew]] while King Dedede and Wario try to interfere.

==[[Alternate costume (SSB4)#King Dedede|Alternate costumes]]==

SSB4 - King Dedede Screen-5.jpg|Using [[Super Dedede Jump]].

SSB4 - King Dedede Screen-6.jpg|Charging Jet Hammer while approaching {{SSB4|Fox}} using [[Fire Fox]].

SSB4 - King Dedede Screen-7.jpg|King Dedede while [[stun]]ned.

SSB4 - King Dedede Screen-8.jpg|King Dedede crouching in front of {{SSB4|Wii Fit Trainer}}...

*King Dedede has the longest [[star KO]] voice clip in the game. Its duration is so long that it can still be heard briefly even after the star KO. He and {{SSB4|Cloud}} are the only two characters with this quirk.

*If King Dedede is [[footstool]]ed while performing his side taunt on the ''3DS'' version, the taunt will be cancelled, but Dedede's mouth will stay open for the same duration as the taunt usually lasts.

==References==