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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

King Dedede (SSBU): Difference between revisions

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|ssbgame2 = SSB4
|ssbgame2 = SSB4
|availability = [[Unlockable character|Unlockable]]
|availability = [[Unlockable character|Unlockable]]
|tier = E+
|ranking = 79
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{{cquote|''He's not very fast, but he's one of few heavyweight fighters with great recovery.  Apparently, a defeat by Kirby inspired him to train hard to learn a move called Hovering, which allows him to float after taking a deep breath.''|cite=[https://www.smashbros.com/en_US/blog/ Super Smash Blog]|source=[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site]]}}
'''King Dedede''' ({{ja|デデデ|Dedede}}, ''Dedede'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. King Dedede is classified as fighter #39.


King Dedede’s voice clips from ''[[Smash 4]]'', where he was voiced by series creator [[Masahiro Sakurai]], have been repurposed for ''Ultimate''.
'''King Dedede''' ({{ja|デデデ|Dedede}}, ''Dedede'') is a playable character in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''. He was confirmed as playable along with {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}} and the rest of the veterans on June 12th, 2018. King Dedede is classified as [[Fighter number|Fighter #39]].
 
Series creator [[Masahiro Sakurai]]'s portrayal of King Dedede from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]'' was repurposed for ''Ultimate''.
 
King Dedede is currently ranked 79th out of 82 on the current ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]], placing him at the top of E+ tier, and the lowest ranked veteran from Brawl. While Dedede was significantly buffed, this is similar to his exceptionally low placement in ''Smash 4'' at 51st out of 54.
 
King Dedede has some of the best endurance out of any fighter on the roster. Dedede is tied with {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}} as the third [[weight|heaviest]] character in the game and has one of the best vertical recoveries due to [[Super Dedede Jump]], allowing him to survive to extremely high percents. Dedede's primary strengths lie in his hammer and deadly [[ledge trap]]s. King Dedede's hammer provides him with large, disjointed [[hitbox]]es on many of his moves, making him one of the few super-heavyweights that can reliably [[space]] his opponent. Dedede's hammer can also be quite powerful, as he boasts some of the strongest [[smash attack]]s and [[aerial]]s in ''Ultimate''. Furthermore, Dedede's [[Gordo Throw]] combined with his various [[tilt]]s and smash attacks can make Dedede one of the most intimidating characters on the [[ledge]]. King Dedede's moves were largely buffed in power, frame data, and [[combo]] ability in their transition to ''Ultimate''. The most significant buff to Dedede's overall moveset is that {{B|Inhale|Dedede}} now serves as a reflector, allowing Dedede to better fight against [[projectile]] [[camping]]. Inhale can also be used in conjunction with his [[Gordo]]s, giving him another way to use his sole projectile against his opponent. 
 
Changes made to the engine in the transition from ''Smash 4'' to ''Ultimate'' have benefited Dedede's limited combo potential and linear [[recovery]]. Universal reductions to [[landing lag]] made [[neutral aerial]] and [[up aerial]] better combo tools than in ''Smash 4''. Changes made to [[jumpsquat]]s and [[air dodging]] enhance Dedede's [[edgeguarding]] and his poor horizontal recovery options. While air dodging was severely nerfed in ''Ultimate'', Dedede is relatively unaffected by these changes due to his multiple jumps and high vertical recovery.
 
However, King Dedede has severe flaws that overshadow most of his positive attributes, especially when in disadvantage. Dedede's awful mobility is the source of many of his problems, with him especially struggling in the air thanks to having the slowest [[air speed]] in the game. While Dedede's overall speed is better than in ''Smash 4'', it's still a challenge for him to [[approach]] or retreat from his opponent. Like many super-heavyweights, King Dedede has a large hitbox and few escape options, making him highly susceptible to combos and [[juggling]]. While this can be somewhat dealt with through Dedede's incredibly fast [[falling speed]], his super-heavyweight attributes only compound the issues his sluggishness presents. Dedede's atrocious air speed in combination with his fast fall speed leave him exceedingly vulnerable offstage, making it troublesome for Dedede to get back to [[stage]] safely. Despite the universal decrease in lag, the slow frame data associated with Dedede's moves make a majority of his moveset highly committal. Dedede's [[special]]s all leave him open to punishment. Inhale and [[Jet Hammer]], despite their newfound uses, still have slow ending lag. Dedede has to be careful when using Gordo Throw, as Gordos can be reflected back by the opponent with any move that does 2% or higher, causing significant damage. Super Dedede Jump is best used if Dedede can connect with the ledge, as the move has exceptionally high ending lag on stage. All of this leads to Dedede having a surprisingly hard time taking off [[stock]]s, as his powerful finishers are unsafe, and his deadly set-ups are difficult to establish in [[Neutral game|neutral]].
 
King Dedede's sheer amount of problems have left him with negative competitive reception. While Dedede was initially viewed as an upper mid tier, his weaknesses only became more apparent as the metagame progressed. Dedede also received notable nerfs to his Gordo hitboxes and [[shield break]] set-ups in subsequent [[List of updates (SSBU)|balance patches]], lowering his competitive standing even further. Though players such as {{Sm|Atomsk}} and {{Sm|ZAKI}} have seen some success with the character, many of Dedede's early mains have either dropped him or relegated him to a [[secondary]].


==How to unlock==
==How to unlock==
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*Clear {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} with {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}} or any character in his unlock tree, being the 4th character unlocked after {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}}.
*Clear {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} with {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}} or any character in his unlock tree, being the 4th character unlocked after {{SSBU|Rosalina & Luma}}.
*Have King Dedede join the player's party in [[World of Light]].
*Have King Dedede join the player's party in [[World of Light]].
With the exception of the third method, King Dedede must then be defeated on [[Fountain of Dreams]].
King Dedede must then be defeated on [[Fountain of Dreams]] (the [[Ω form]] is used in World of Light).


==Attributes==
==Attributes==
King Dedede is tied for the third heaviest character in the game with {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, making him a [[Weight|super heavyweight]]. King Dedede shares some typical attributes with other heavyweights, such as: a high damage output, high KO potential, great endurance, quick [[Falling speed|falling]] and third fastest [[Fast fall|fast falling]] speeds (both tied for second and third fastest respectively), overall sluggish mobility, and a high susceptibility to combos. In spite of having an average initial dash and the thirtieth highest [[gravity]], King Dedede has the twenty-eighth slowest [[Walk|walking speed]], eleventh slowest [[Dash|dashing speed]], the worst [[air speed]] in the game, and the fourth slowest [[air acceleration]]. To counteract these flaws, however, King Dedede is gifted with four [[Double jump|midair jump]]s.
King Dedede is tied for the third heaviest character in the game alongside {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}, making him a [[Weight|super heavyweight]]. King Dedede shares some typical attributes with other heavyweights, such as a high damage output, high KO potential, great endurance, quick [[Falling speed|falling]] and [[fast fall]]ing speeds (both tied for second and third fastest respectively), overall sluggish mobility, large size and a high susceptibility to combos. In addition to having an average initial dash and the thirtieth highest [[gravity]], he has the twenty-eighth slowest [[Walk|walking speed]], eleventh slowest [[Dash|dashing speed]], the worst [[air speed]] in the game, and the fourth slowest [[air acceleration]]. To counteract these flaws, however, King Dedede is gifted with four [[midair jump]]s.


As a super-heavyweight, King Dedede has immense endurance, both vertically and horizontally. His massive weight makes him difficult to launch, and his incredibly fast falling speed lets him return to the ground quickly. Despite having the worst air mobility, his four midair jumps and [[Super Dedede Jump]], the latter of which travels a very long vertical distance and has [[super armor]] during its ascent and descent, gives him great recovery for a heavyweight. Super Dedede Jump also has a [[meteor smash]] hitbox during its descent, making it risky to intercept if he recovers high. His [[tech]] rolls are unusually long-distanced for a character of his size, making him difficult to [[tech-chase]]. Finally, King Dedede's trademark hammer grants him a long disjoint in many of his attacks, allowing him to safely [[space]] his opponents.
As a super-heavyweight, King Dedede has immense endurance, both vertically and horizontally. His massive weight makes him difficult to launch, and his incredibly fast falling speed lets him return to the ground quickly. Despite having the worst air mobility, his four midair jumps and [[Super Dedede Jump]], the latter of which travels a very long vertical distance and has [[super armor]] during its ascent and descent, gives him great recovery for a heavyweight. Super Dedede Jump also has a [[meteor smash]] hitbox during its descent, making it risky to intercept if he recovers high. His [[tech]] rolls are unusually long-distanced for a character of his size, making him difficult to [[tech-chase]]. Finally, King Dedede's trademark hammer grants him a long disjoint in many of his attacks, allowing him to safely [[space]] his opponents, especially if they are slow and have worse range than him.


True to a heavyweight character, King Dedede is gifted with an abundance of KO options and finishers. King Dedede's dash attack is a notable example, dealing huge damage, easily killing shields, and being able to KO at a mere 55% on middleweight opponents. King Dedede's smash attacks all possess good damage and knockback, while having their own perks: forward smash can KO at 30%, has deceptively short ending lag, allowing King Dedede to quickly react, while also being able to destroy full shields with only a slight charge; up smash KOs at 100% and sports transcendent priority, while coming with good range and speed, easily being able to hit even the smallest of opponents, while dealing great vertical knockback; lastly, down smash is the fastest smash attack in Dedede's arsenal, KOing at 80%, having transcendent priority, and easily [[Punishment|punish]]ing rolling opponents.
True to a super heavyweight character, King Dedede is gifted with an abundance of finishers. King Dedede's dash attack is a notable example, as it deals huge damage, and reliably KOs under 100%, while being able to KO as low as below 60% near the ledge. King Dedede's smash attacks all possess great power, great disjointed range, and transcendent priority, while having their own perks: forward smash can reliably KO from 60% and below in most situations, has deceptively short ending lag for an attack of its power, while also being able to deal severe shield damage; up smash reliably KOs from anywhere on-stage around 100ish% without rage, while covering a large space all-around Dedede; lastly, down smash is his fastest smash attack in his arsenal and covers significant horizontal distance around both sides of Dedede, while easily KOing below 100% near the ledge and around 125% from center.


The rest of King Dedede's grounded moveset comes with merits: neutral attack is very quick and deals multiple hits, being able to combo into itself, while the finisher's unique vertical knockback allows this move to KO at 150% under [[rage]]. King Dedede's forward tilt sports good range and startup lag, while its multiple hits are effective for dealing damage and starting combos, while also trapping rolling or floor-bound opponents; up tilt has quick startup lag and good range, allowing it to combo into itself, while dealing good damage and leaving King Dedede's body and head [[intangible]]; lastly, down tilt deals good damage and has good range, being able to pursue opponents, or retreat from them.
The rest of King Dedede's grounded moveset comes with merits: neutral attack can be useful for racking up damage, while the finisher's unique vertical knockback allows this move to KO at 150% under [[rage]]. King Dedede's forward tilt sports good range and startup lag, while its multiple hits are effective for dealing damage and starting combos, while also trapping rolling or floor-bound opponents; up tilt has quick startup lag and good range, allowing it to combo into itself while dealing good damage and leaving King Dedede's body and head [[intangible]]; lastly, down tilt deals good damage and has good range, being able to pursue opponents or retreat from them.


King Dedede's aerial game is also decent, thanks to his multiple midair jumps which allow him to stall and bait reactions from opponents. Neutral air is his fastest aerial due to coming out on frame 7, which can help disrupt enemy combos, and its late hit can also set up combos for Dedede himself, such as up tilt or up air. Forward air has a lot of range in front of Dedede, which is good for spacing with its decent start up speed, and can [[wall of pain]] at lower percents. Back air is a potent kill option with good range behind Dedede, which is also a good option for spacing and landing. Up air can beat out a lot of down aerials thanks to its long range, and it also has strong KO potential. Down air, when sweetspotted, is a powerful meteor smash offstage, but its use onstage is somewhat limited due to its slow startup.  
King Dedede's aerial game is also decent, thanks to his multiple midair jumps which allow him to stall and bait reactions from opponents. Neutral air is his fastest aerial due to coming out on frame 7, which can disrupt enemy combos, and its late hit can also set up combos for Dedede himself, such as up tilt or up air. Forward air has a lot of range in front of Dedede, which is good for spacing with its decent startup speed, and can [[wall of pain]] at lower percents. Back air is a potent kill option with a good range behind Dedede, which is also a good option for spacing and landing. Up air can beat out a lot of down aerials thanks to its long-range, and it also has strong KO potential. Down air, when sweetspotted, is a powerful meteor smash offstage, but its use in general is limited due to its slow startup and small awkward hitbox.


King Dedede's grab game is less overwhelming than his grounded and aerial attacks, but it is still sufficient. King Dedede's grab only has average range, but this problem can be mitigated by simply [[Dash grab|dash grabbing]]. King Dedede's pummel is good for racking up on damage, due to its quick speed, which is especially deadly at high percentages; forward throw has good [[Edgeguard|edgeguarding]] potential, due to sending opponents forward, easily being able to follow up with Gordo Toss; back throw is Dedede's strongest throw, dealing the most damage and knockback, while having limited degrees of damage racking and edgeguarding potential; up throw can also be used to launch opponents into previously thrown Gordos, and can follow up with an up aerial; lastly, down throw's low damage and knockback lend it great combo potential, easily stringing into itself, and initiating combos with Dedede's neutral, forward, and back aerials.  
King Dedede's grab game has perks of its own. Although his grab has merely average range, this problem can be mitigated by [[dash grab]]bing. His pummel is good for racking up on damage, due to its quick speed, which is especially deadly at high percentages; forward throw has good [[edgeguard]]ing potential, being able to follow up with Gordo Toss; back throw is Dedede's strongest throw, dealing the most damage and knockback while having limited degrees of damage racking and edgeguarding potential; up throw can also be used to launch opponents into previously thrown Gordos, and can follow up with an up aerial; lastly, down throw's low damage and knockback lend it great combo potential, easily stringing into itself, and initiating combos with Dedede's neutral, forward, and back aerials.


King Dedede's special moves have decent utility as well. [[Inhale]] acts as a strong command grab that can be B-Reversed for landing options against shielding opponents on the ground or on platforms above Dedede. The spit can force opponents into a recovery state by sending them offstage, or even spit them under the stage, which is perhaps where Dedede is strongest. Inhale also doubles as a [[reflector]], allowing him to contest against projectile campers. The Gordos from [[Gordo Throw]] act as powerful stage control options with KO potential in their own right at 140% and above, and can set up deadly ledge traps. Lastly, [[Jet Hammer]] is an effective punishing tool with heavy armor that deals very high damage and knockback, and with a max charge it can break full shields.
King Dedede's special moves have decent utility as well. [[Inhale]] acts as a strong command grab that can be B-Reversed for landing options against shielding opponents on the ground or on platforms above Dedede. The spit can force opponents into a recovery state by sending them offstage or even spit them under the stage, which is perhaps where Dedede is strongest. Inhale also doubles as a [[reflection|reflector]], allowing him to contest against projectile campers. The Gordos from [[Gordo Throw]] act as powerful stage control options with KO potential in their own right at 140% and above and can set up deadly ledge traps. Lastly, [[Jet Hammer]] is an effective punishing tool with heavy armor that does very high damage and knockback, and with a max charge, it can break full shields.


In spite of these strengths, King Dedede still has a few noteworthy drawbacks. King Dedede's biggest problem is his [[approach]], which is among the worst in the game. His mobility is sluggish, especially in the air, giving King Dedede immense difficulty catching up to or retreating from his opponents. King Dedede's below-average dashing speed also makes him over-reliant on [[fox-trotting]] to cover grounded distances, which itself is somewhat predictable.
In spite of these strengths, King Dedede still has noteworthy drawbacks. King Dedede's biggest problem is his [[approach]], which is among the worst in the game. His mobility is sluggish, especially in the air, giving King Dedede immense difficulty catching up to or retreating from his opponents. King Dedede's below-average dashing speed also makes him over-reliant on [[fox-trotting]] to cover grounded distances, which itself is somewhat predictable.


Although King Dedede's high weight and falling speeds allow him to easily return to the ground, they also render him vulnerable to combos, juggling, and chain throws, while hindering his recovery. King Dedede's recovery is further hampered by his low air speed and jump height, often forcing him to use his Super Dedede Jump to return onstage. Super Dedede Jump itself, in spite of traveling high, also causes King Dedede to descend very quickly; this, coupled with its limited horizontal maneuverability, renders Super Dedede Jump unreliable for recovering at certain distances offstage.  
Although King Dedede's fast falling speed allows him to easily return to the ground, his slow air speed, large hurtbox, heavy weight and lack of fast-enough escape options renders him vulnerable to combos and juggling. King Dedede's recovery is further hampered by his aforementioned slow air speed and fast falling speed, often forcing him to use his Super Dedede Jump to return onstage. Super Dedede Jump itself, in spite of traveling high, also causes King Dedede to descend very quickly; this, coupled with its limited horizontal maneuverability, renders Super Dedede Jump unreliable for recovering at certain distances offstage.


King Dedede's other specials can work against him, as well. Inhale has high ending lag, allowing other characters to easily punish him. Gordo Toss' Gordos can be reflected back at King Dedede from any attack that deals 2% or higher, dealing immense damage to him and potentially resulting in a self-induced KO, requiring him to exercise caution or utilize Inhale on his reflected Gordos. Jet Hammer also takes a long time to charge, leaving King Dedede susceptible to attack, and its high ending lag leaves him vulnerable to punishment from his opponents.
King Dedede's other specials can work against him as well. Inhale has high ending lag, allowing other characters to easily punish him after he finishes the move. Gordo Toss's Gordos can be reflected back at King Dedede from any attack that does 2% or higher, dealing immense damage to him and potentially resulting in a self-induced KO, requiring him to exercise caution or utilize Inhale on his reflected Gordos. Jet Hammer also takes a long time to charge, leaving King Dedede susceptible to attack, and its high ending lag leaves him vulnerable to punishment from his opponents.


Overall, King Dedede's high weight, endurance, range, and power allow him to punish his opponents with relative ease from distances, but his poor overall mobility makes King Dedede's approach somewhat abysmal, and renders his recovery somewhat predictable and overly reliant on Super Dedede Jump.
Overall, King Dedede's high weight, endurance, range, and power allow him to punish his opponents with relative ease and survive for a very long time, but his poor overall mobility makes King Dedede's approach somewhat abysmal and renders his recovery somewhat predictable and overly reliant on Super Dedede Jump. Dedede players should be careful to not make a mistake, or else they might potentially risk getting heavily punished.


==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''==
==Changes from ''[[Super Smash Bros. 4]]''==
King Dedede was quite infamous for being a bottom tier character in ''Super Smash Bros. 4''. This was made even worse when he received multiple nerfs from game updates but not a single buff in return. Possibly as a result of his notoriety, King Dedede has been significantly buffed in the transition from ''SSB4'' to ''Ultimate''.
King Dedede was infamous for being one of the worst characters in ''SSB4'', owing to a large number of weaknesses such as notoriously poor frame data, his moveset's lack of power despite being a super heavyweight, and his special moveset's lack of utility outside of [[Gordo Throw]]. Even in game updates, he infamously received nerfs while not receiving a single buff in return. Possibly as a result of his poorly regarded status, King Dedede has been buffed overall in the transition to ''Ultimate''.


King Dedede's previously abysmal horizontal mobility has been buffed (although it is still among the worst across the series), while the effectiveness of his aerial moveset has been buffed even further as the reduced landing lag on his aerial attacks gives him landing options, with his neutral aerial in particular being a more potent combo starter. Additionally, due to his {{b|Inhale|King Dedede}} gaining the ability to spit out inhaled projectiles, he has effectively gained a [[reflection|reflector]], helping to alleviate his vulnerability to projectile camping. The new reflecting abilities of his Inhale also gives him more safety when using [[Gordo Throw]].
Among King Dedede's biggest buffs are those to his ground game. [[Neutral attack]]'s KO power was significantly improved, and it has undergone adjustments that make it harder for opponents to fall from the move as easily. [[Forward tilt]] connects much better overall, allowing it to deal its maximum damage more frequently, whereas [[up tilt]] has increased KO power (now having power comparable to its ''Brawl'' incarnation, especially with rage) and [[down tilt]]'s angle was positively adjusted while its hitbox was fixed, which when combined with the changes to [[jostling]] allows it to connect much more frequently. [[Dash attack]] now deals significantly increased knockback and has had its hitbox fixed, now making it a usable (albeit still rather slow) punish option at the [[edge]]. His smash attacks are also more useful, with both [[forward smash|forward]] and [[up smash]] dealing more damage and knockback, and his forward smash is now slightly faster.


King Dedede's biggest buffs, however, were to the utility of his ground game. His already good neutral attack has been improved even further, his already strong smash attacks are stronger overall, and his previously slow forward smash is much faster overall.
King Dedede's aerial game has been improved overall as well. The universal reductions to landing lag improve King Dedede's limited combo and set-up ability, making his [[neutral aerial]] a more potent combo starter, and giving his [[up aerial]]'s looping hits the capacity of starting drag-down followups. Particularly, his up aerial now deals significantly increased knockback, turning it once again into a reliable KOing option despite its angle rendering it more vulnerable to [[LSI]]. [[Forward aerial]] has also increased knockback, improving its ability to edgeguard. His grab game has been slightly buffed as well, thanks to his grabs lasting for one more frame and his standing and dash grabs reaching further, in spite of all his grabs receiving slightly increased startup and increased ending lag.


Altogether, King Dedede is clearly much better than in the previous installment. Thanks to solid results from smashers like {{Sm|ZAKI}}, {{Sm|Big D}}, {{Sm|Atomsk}} and {{Sm|Peli}}, his viability has drastically increased. In fact, most top players consider King Dedede to be one of the best super-heavyweights in the game. General consensus is that King Dedede is a solid mid-tier or high mid-tier. As such, he is a popular pick amongst all levels of play, more prominently in the local and regional areas of tournaments.
King Dedede's special moveset has also received several miscellaneous buffs, giving him options that either he previously lacked or were outclassed. {{b|Inhale|King Dedede}} has a much larger grabbox and has gained the ability to spit out inhaled projectiles with a one-time increase to their damage, effectively giving him a [[reflection|reflector]], which helps alleviate his vulnerability to projectile camping. Gordo Throw's hitboxes are larger and more accurate, and the move has less ending lag after a Gordo has been thrown. Additionally, Inhale's new ability to suck in projectiles to spit them out combines well with Gordo Throw, giving King Dedede another way to throw or re-launch Gordos at a faster speed, which gives the projectile much more utility. [[Jet Hammer]] now deals more damage and knockback, has [[shield break]]ing potential, and it now has heavy [[armor]] before the move comes out that resists up to 14%, improving the move as a hard punish option.


===Aesthetics===
Aside from direct changes, King Dedede also benefits from a few changes to universal gameplay mechanics. The universal increase to mobility has buffed his abysmal horizontal mobility (although it still remains among the worst across the series), while the streamlined jumpsquats and the new limitations to [[air dodge]] mechanics have increased the effectiveness of his aerial moveset, by giving him additional landing options when combined with the reduction on landing lag, and improving his [[edgeguarding]] ability, now making the latter more formidable. The changes to air dodging also don't affect him as much as other characters, thanks to him still boasting multiple jumps and a long-distanced recovery move in [[Super Dedede Jump]], and he can potentially use a directional air dodge without having to resort to using his recovery move.
*{{change|King Dedede's clothing and general design is more cartoonish, with higher contrast colors and greater detail in his clothes; the fur on his coat and hat appears fluffier and more detailed, and his obi has more depth.}}
*{{change|Normal map changes to the star textures on his hammer give the illusion that they protrude slightly more, as depicted in his official artwork.}}
*{{change|Like many other characters, King Dedede is more expressive, both with his face and especially his movements. For instance, he now squints during his crouching animation. He also appears furious when charging Jet Hammer.}}
*{{change|Down [[taunt]] now has a more exaggerated animation.}}
*{{change|Two of King Dedede's [[victory pose]]s were slightly altered:}}
**{{change|His hammer spinning [[victory pose]] now finishes with his hammer transforming into the [[Jet Hammer]].}}
**{{change|His victory pose where he stands next to a [[Waddle Dee]] and pats his stomach now shows Waddle Dee walking up to him. The ending animation is now more exaggerated, with Dedede bouncing while laughing gloatingly.}}
*{{change|King Dedede's [[Star KO]] voice clip has been shortened: it no longer extends past the KO's animation.}}
*{{change|King Dedede's [[Boxing Ring]] alias has been changed to "Self-Made King", making consistent with the Japanese release.}}


===Attributes===
However, King Dedede is not without a few nerfs. His [[back aerial]], despite having a visually more accurate animation, has smaller hitboxes, slightly decreasing its range. His neutral attack and up tilt deal less damage, making the former a less reliable option for racking up excess damage. He has also received some nerfs in game updates, such as his forward smash not breaking shields at once. Despite this, most of his nerfs have all been extremely minor in comparison to his more useful buffs.
*{{buff|Like all characters, King Dedede's [[jumpsquat]] animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 6).}}
*{{buff|King Dedede [[run]]s faster (1.36 → 1.496).}}
**{{buff|Initial dash is much faster (1.4 → 1.815), enabling [[foxtrotting]] for boosted ground mobility.}}
*{{buff|King Dedede [[walk]]s faster (0.98 → 1.029).}}
*{{buff|King Dedede's [[air speed]] is much faster (0.63 → 0.735), now being nearly on par with {{SSBU|Luigi}}'s.}}
*{{change|King Dedede's [[gravity]] is higher (0.08788 → 0.097).}}
**{{change|His short and full hops are shorter as a result (38 frames → 36 frames (short hop), 55 frames → 48 frames (full hop).}}
*{{change|King Dedede is much heavier (119 → 127), allowing him to survive even longer, but makes him more susceptible to combos.}}


===Ground attacks===
Altogether, King Dedede's entire kit has been noticeably improved from ''SSB4'', and while this doesn't change his core playstyle significantly (aside from Inhale becoming a reflector), it allows him to play to his strengths better thanks his moves gaining improved consistency and utility, allowing King Dedede to utilize his strengths better. However, it is important to note that, due to this, King Dedede still retains most of his core weaknesses from the previous game, such as slow movement speed, a lackluster disadvantage state, a vulnerability to some forms of camping, and a high susceptibility to rushdown and combos, with many of these changes failing to alleviate his weaknesses outside of Inhale becoming a pseudo-reflector. Combined with the vast majority of returning veterans also receiving buffs that have improved them, King Dedede has not significantly improved to raise his standing relative to the cast, despite performing much better than in ''SSB4''.
*[[Neutral attack]]:
**{{buff|The first hit has less endlag (FAF 38 → 33).}}
**{{buff|The first two hits of neutral attack can now [[lock]].}}
**{{buff|Neutral infinite has less startup lag (8 → 5), is faster and connects more reliably.}}
**{{buff|Neutral infinite's finisher has less startup lag (6 → 4) and deals significantly more knockback (scaling 150 → 162).}}
**{{buff|Neutral infinite's finisher has 2 medium-large hitboxes rather than 1 large one (10u → 7u/7u), and the hitboxes extend further vertically (Y offset: 10u-12u → 7.5u-13u (both)). The finisher has more range overall as a result.}}
**{{nerf|The finisher has more endlag (FAF 47 → 50).}}
**{{nerf|Except for the finisher, each hit of neutral attack deals less damage (first hit: 4% → 2.5%, second hit: 4% → 2.2%, neutral infinite: 1% → 0.5%).}}
*[[Dash attack]]:
**{{buff|Dash attack deals more knockback (40 base/100 scaling → 65/92 (clean), 35 base/100 scaling → 55/92 (late)), improving its already potent KO potential. This is boosted further by the changes to the [[Sakurai angle]] on the ground.}}
**{{buff|The clean hit and first late hitbox extend further inwards (Z offset: 7.8u-11.8u → 5u-11.8u), improving their ability to hit opponents at the ledge, and combined with the changes to [[jostle]]ing remove its blindspot.}}
**{{buff|Dash attack hitbox duration lasts longer with 2 new sourspot hitboxes (Frame 26-36 → 26-42).}}
*[[Forward tilt]]:
**{{buff|Forward tilt's looping hits have altered angles (25°/96° → 22°/100°) and have altered knockback (20 base/24/80/90 set/100 scaling → 60/50/30/26 set/100 scaling), allowing the move to connect more reliably.}}
**{{change|Forward tilt has an altered animation.}}
*[[Up tilt]]:
**{{buff|Up tilt has less startup (9 → 7) and endlag (FAF 44 → 39).}}
**{{nerf|Up tilt does less damage (12%/10% → 10%/8%).}}
**{{buff|Up tilt deals more knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 65/94), making the move much stronger despite the damage reduction.}}
**{{nerf|Up tilt's hitboxes are smaller (7u/8u → 6u/6.5u), reducing its range.}}
*[[Down tilt]]:
**{{buff|Down tilt's clean hitbox now extends inwards (Z offset: 12u → 12u-6u), removing its blindspot.}}
*[[Forward smash]]:
**{{buff|Forward smash has less startup (42 → 40) and endlag (FAF 82 → 78).}}
**{{buff|Forward smash deals more damage (15%/24%/6% → 16%/18.5%/25%/11%), and all but the shockwave and early hitboxes deal more knockback (30 base/93 scaling → 50/70 base/85/74 scaling).}}
**{{buff|There is now a hitbox on the handle during the early hit which instead of launching opponents pushes them into the sourspot of the main hit (which is still stronger than the early hit), making it slightly easier to land the main hit.}}
**{{nerf|Forward smash has a new sourspot on the hammer's handle that's much weaker (though is still powerful in its own right), and the early hit deals less knockback (30 base/93 scaling → 85/55), hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.}}
*[[Up smash]]:
**{{buff|Up smash deals more damage (14%/9% → 16%/10%) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO ability.}}


===Aerial moves===
{{SSB4 to SSBU changelist|char=King Dedede}}
*{{buff|All aerials have less landing lag (15 frames → 10 (neutral), 30 → 19 (forward), 21 → 14 (back), 22 → 14 (up), 30 → 19 (down).}}
*[[Neutral aerial]]:
**{{buff|Neutral aerial possesses much greater combo potential due to its reduced landing lag and King Dedede's shorter jumpsquat, especially when hitting with the late hit.}}
**{{change|Neutral aerial causes King Dedede's belly to wobble around during the move.}}
*[[Forward aerial]]:
**{{change|Forward aerial has a snappier animation, with a significant delay on when King Dedede flips.}}
*[[Back aerial]]:
**{{change|Back aerial is now a horizontal hammer swing, which better matches the move's hitboxes.}}
**{{nerf|Back aerial now has 3 medium-sized unextended hitboxes rather than 1 large extended one (10u → 6.5u/6.5u/6.5u). Compared to the previous hitbox, the new hitboxes have both less vertical range (Y reach: 20u–0u → 16.5u–3.5u), and less horizontal range (Z reach: -25u–1u → 0.5u–-24.5u).}}
**{{nerf|Due to his reduced short hop duration, King Dedede can no longer jump out of a short hop back aerial before landing.}}
*[[Up aerial]]:
**{{change|Up aerial has altered knockback (50 base/150 scaling → 55/147).}}
**{{nerf|Up aerial launches at a lower angle (70°/80° → 60°), greatly hindering its KO potential close to the upper blast zone, while also making it much more susceptible to [[DI]] and [[LSI]].}}
*[[Down aerial]]:
**{{change|Down aerial has a more forceful animation.}}


===Throws/other attacks===
==Update history==
*{{nerf|All [[grab]]s have more startup (standing/dash/pivot: 7/9/10 → 8/11/12) and endlag (standing/dash/pivot: FAF 36/45/42 → 40/48/43).}}
King Dedede received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. The most notable nerfs were to [[Gordo Throw]]: update 2.0.0 shrunk the Gordos' hitboxes, while update 3.0.0 both lowered their shield damage output and removed the Gordo-boosted [[Super Dedede Jump]]. Moreover, this same update further toned down King Dedede's ability to pressure shields by removing forward smash's ability to hit grounded characters twice, which removed its ability to instantly break shields.
*{{change|[[Pummel]] is faster but deals less damage (3% → 1.6%).}}
*{{buff|Standing grab's grabbox extends further (Z offset: 4u-11.5u → 4u-12.5u), improving its range, making it more similar to how it was in ''Brawl''.}}
*{{buff|Dash grab's grabbox extends slightly further (Z offset: 4u-14u → 4u-14.4u), slightly improving its range.}}
*{{nerf|Pivot grab's grabbox extends a slightly shorter distance (Z offset: 4u-19.5u → 4u-19.3u), which combined with the changes to jostling hinders its utility.}}
*{{buff|Due to King Dedede's faster jumpsquat, [[Up throw]] possesses combo potential into moves such as [[up aerial]].}}
*{{change|[[Down throw]] has an altered animation, with him slamming his opponent face-first onto the ground.}}


===Special moves===
Following these nerfs, update 7.0.0 would mark the first time King Dedede was buffed in ''Ultimate'', as his shield was enlarged as part of a near-universal buff. Update 8.0.0 continued this trend by buffing some of King Dedede's moves, primarily in regard to KO potential.<!--Down throw became less susceptible to DI via update 1.0.4 in SSB4--> Up tilt's damage output was increased noticeably, and down tilt's launching angle was lowered. As a result, both moves now function as strong, yet reasonably fast KO options when they are sweetspotted, which King Dedede was sorely lacking up to that point. Forward aerial and especially up aerial gained higher knockback: in addition to improving their KO potentials, with down throw to up aerial now being a KO confirm, this also improved forward aerial's edge-guarding potential.
*{{b|Inhale|King Dedede}}:
**{{buff|Inhale acts as a [[reflection|reflector]], giving a 1.5x damage boost to any [[projectiles]] spat out. Once inhaled, the projectile is spat out almost immediately, and eliminates almost all of the move's ending lag.}}
***{{buff|Inhale can catch and spit Dedede's own [[Gordo]]s. This gives him an option to relaunch Gordos that are hit back at him, and manually allows him to launch Gordos forward much further and at a much faster velocity compared to throwing one with [[Gordo Throw]].}}
**{{buff|Inhale has a much larger grabbox.}}
**{{buff|Inhale's spit deals more damage (10% → 12%).}}
**{{change|Inhale has an updated, more opaque visual effect.}}
*[[Gordo Throw]]:
**{{buff|Gordos have significantly larger hitboxes that cover the orb as well as the actual spikes.}} 
**{{change|Gordos gain a surprised expression when deflected. Additionally, they have animated spines.}}
**{{buff|Gordos stick to the ledge more consistently, significantly improving their edgeguarding potential.}}
**{{buff|Gordo Throw has less endlag (FAF 64 → 61).}}
*[[Super Dedede Jump]]:
**{{buff|Super Dedede Jump's landing hit deals more damage (11% → 12%).}}
**{{buff|Super Dedede Jump deals more knockback.}}
**{{buff|Super Dedede Jump will snap to ledge when reversed.}}
**{{buff|Super Dedede Jump has far less endlag when canceled.}}
**{{change|Super Dedede Jump descends more quickly.}}
**{{change|King Dedede has blue trails form around him when using Super Dedede Jump, indicating armor.}}
*[[Jet Hammer]]:
**{{buff|Jet Hammer breaks shields when fully charged.}}
**{{buff|Jet Hammer deals more damage (grounded: 11%-38% → 12%-40% ; aerial: 10%-27% → 11%-32%) and knockback.}}
**{{buff|Jet Hammer has heavy [[armor]] during the swing (frames 1-14) when used on the ground.}}
**{{buff|Uncharged and fully charged Jet Hammer's hammer head hitbox is larger (7.5u → 9u).}}
**{{change|The fire from Jet Hammer is blue instead of red.}}
**{{change|Fully charged Jet Hammer triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.}}
*[[Final Smash]]:
**{{change|King Dedede has a new Final Smash called [[Dede-Rush]], which features King Dedede taking his "Masked Dedede" persona from ''Kirby Super Star Ultra'' before trapping opponents inside of a caged boxing ring, attacking them with a barrage of missiles, and launching them with his Jet Hammer.}}
**{{buff|It deals more damage (46% → 59.6%) and knockback.}}
**{{buff|Unlike [[Dedede Burst]] in ''SSB4'', it is not possible for opponents to escape once trapped.}}
**{{nerf|Dede-Rush cannot trap more than one opponent at a time for extra damage.}}


==Update history==
In addition to his improved offense, King Dedede's defense was improved slightly, thanks to [[Inhale (King Dedede)|Inhale]]'s decreased start-up lag and enlarged grabboxes making it more reliable at catching projectiles and approaches. Lastly, update 11.0.0 buffed Gordo Throw in a few ways: its decreased ending lag and Dedede's faster reflection timing have collectively made it safer, and its edge-guarding potential was improved thanks to the Gordos' increased chance of sticking to edges.
King Dedede has been slightly nerfed via game updates. The most notable nerfs were to Gordo Throw, as Gordos have smaller hitboxes and deal less shield damage, removing some shield break set-ups. Additionally, the Gordo-boosted Super Dedede Jump was removed altogether. Moreover, King Dedede's shield pressure was further toned down by removing forward smash's ability to hit grounded characters twice, which removed its ability to instantly break shields.
 
Overall, King Dedede fares slightly better than he did at the launch of ''Ultimate''. Although Dedede retains a lot of his fundamental flaws and did not improve as much as other tepidly received characters that were also buffed via updates, his buffs have nevertheless improved his KO potential and, to a lesser degree, his defensive potential.


'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|2.0.0}}'''
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|2.0.0}}'''
*{{bugfix|Fixed King Dedede's knockback facial expression after [[Inhale (King Dedede)|Inhaling]] an opponent holding an explosive item.}}
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/2.0.0|char=King Dedede}}
*{{nerf|Gordo has smaller hitboxes (4.8u → 3.8u (spikes), 4.5u → 4u (body)).}}


'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|3.0.0}}'''
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|3.0.0}}'''
*{{nerf|Forward smash no longer hits grounded opponents twice. This significantly hinders its shield breaking potential.}}
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/3.0.0|char=King Dedede}}
*{{bugfix|Fixed a glitch where using Inhale to [[reflect]] [[Charge Shot]] would launch the opposite way using Inhale.}}
*{{bugfix|Opponents now properly gain intangibility when caught by Inhale; previously opponents would become stuck in a hitstun during Inhale.}}
*{{nerf|[[Gordo Throw]] deals less shield damage.}}
*{{change|Aerial Gordo Throw's animation has been adjusted.}}
*{{nerf|Gordo-boosted [[Super Dedede Jump]] has been removed.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOF_GjolcUo</ref>}}


'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|3.1.0}}'''
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|3.1.0}}'''
*{{bugfix|Fixed scenarios where the opponent would not escape from Inhale after King Dedede received hitstun at a specific frame.}}
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/3.1.0|char=King Dedede}}


'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|4.0.0}}'''
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|4.0.0}}'''
*{{bugfix|Fixed a glitch where certain projectiles would become stuck at the center of the stage after they were Inhaled.}}
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/4.0.0|char=King Dedede}}
*{{bugfix|Fixed a glitch where Gordo would become stuck under King Dedede after he caught it back during invulnerability.}}
 
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|7.0.0}}'''
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/7.0.0|char=King Dedede}}
 
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|8.0.0}}'''
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/8.0.0|char=King Dedede}}
 
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|9.0.1}}'''
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/9.0.1|char=King Dedede}}
 
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|11.0.0}}'''
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/11.0.0|char=King Dedede}}
 
'''{{GameIcon|ssbu}} {{SSBU|12.0.0}}'''
{{UpdateList (SSBU)/12.0.0|char=King Dedede}}


==Moveset==
==Moveset==
*King Dedede can perform 4 [[midair jump]]s.
*King Dedede can perform [[Double jump#Multiple double jumps|4 double jumps]], known as {{iw|wikirby|Hover}}ing.
''For a gallery of King Dedede's hitboxes, see [[King Dedede (SSBU)/Hitboxes|here]].''
''For a gallery of King Dedede's hitboxes, see [[King Dedede (SSBU)/Hitboxes|here]].''


Line 193: Line 117:
|neutralcount=2
|neutralcount=2
|neutralinf=y
|neutralinf=y
|neutralname=&nbsp;
|neutralname=Quick Swing ({{ja|ふり抜き|Furinuki}}) / Swing Up ({{ja|ふり上げ|Furi Age}}) / Spinning Hammerhead ({{ja|回転ハンマーヘッド|Kaiten Hanmāheddo}}) / Battering Strike ({{ja|ぶちかまし|Buchikamashi}})
|neutral1dmg=2.5%
|neutral1dmg=2.5%
|neutral2dmg=2.2%
|neutral2dmg=2.2%
|neutralinfdmg=0.5% (loop), 3% (last)
|neutralinfdmg=0.5% (loop), 3% (last)
|neutraldesc=A pair of hammer swings, followed by thrusting his hammer forward while twirling its head, followed by an upward swing. Unlike most neutral infinites, its finisher launches opponents at a nearly vertical trajectory and has KO potential, as it KOs around 150% without rage. It is much faster than it was in ''SSB4'', and connects more reliably.
|neutraldesc=A pair of hammer swings, followed by thrusting his hammer forward while twirling its head, followed by an upward swing. Unlike most neutral infinites, its finisher launches opponents at a nearly vertical trajectory and has KO potential, as it KOs around 150% without rage. However, it is the slowest jab in the game, with the first hit coming out at frame 10, and opponents can fall out of the neutral infinite if they are near the edge of the spinning hammer.
|ftiltname=&nbsp;
|ftiltname=Extending Hammer ({{ja|のび~るハンマー|Nobiru Hanmā}})
|ftiltdmg=2% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5)
|ftiltdmg=2% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5)
|ftiltdesc=Thrusts his hammer forward while twirling its head. Very good range, though its fourth hitbox can only connect if the move lands at the tip of the hammer. However, its rather long ending lag makes this move unsafe if it does not connect at its farthest range. It is very useful for Dedede's ledge traps as its speed, range, and long lasting hitbox allows it to trap rolls and neutral get ups, but this is less rewarding than using his smash attacks. Also good for catching landings when reversed out of a run, and can stuff out punish attempts for a landed back aerial.
|ftiltdesc=Thrusts his hammer forward while twirling its head. Very good range, though its fourth hitbox can only connect if the move lands at the hammer's head. However, its rather long ending lag makes this move unsafe if it does not connect at its farthest range. It is very useful for Dedede's edge traps, as its speed, range, and long-lasting hitbox allows it to trap rolls and neutral get-ups, but this is less rewarding than using his smash attacks. Also good for catching landings when reversed out of a run, and can beat out punish attempts for a landed back aerial.
|utiltname=&nbsp;
|utiltname=Great King Headbutt ({{ja|大王ずつき|Daiō Zutsuki}})
|utiltdmg=10% (head & neck), 8% (tip of head)
|utiltdmg=11.5% (head and neck), 9.5% (head's tip)
|utiltdesc=An upward headbutt. King Dedede's head and upper body are [[Intangibility|intangible]] while its hitbox is active. Can combo into itself at low percents, and has limited KO potential at very high percents.
|utiltdesc=An upward arcing headbutt. King Dedede's head and upper body are [[Intangibility|intangible]] while its hitbox is active. It has fast start-up lag with low ending lag. This move can combo into itself at low percentages, and has KO potential at high percentages. Its high knockback makes it the 5th strongest up tilt in the game, being able to KO middleweights below at 120% on Final Destination.
|dtiltname=Rolling
|dtiltname=Rolling ({{ja|ころがり|Korogari}})
|dtiltdmg=10% (early), 6% (late)
|dtiltdmg=10% (early), 6% (late)
|dtiltdesc=A cartwheeling tackle. Dedede's fastest move, coming out on frame 6. It is capable of being used after most defensive options and attacks, as a good out of shield option, or for disrupting opponents. Can also lead into itself and other attacks if the opponent does not tech.
|dtiltdesc=A cartwheeling tackle. Dedede's fastest move, coming out on frame 6. It is capable of being used after most defensive options and attacks, as a good out of shield option, or for disrupting opponents. It can also lead to itself and other attacks if the opponent does not tech.
|dashname=Belly Flop
|dashname=Belly Flop ({{ja|ずっこけ|Zukkoke}})
|dashdmg=16% (clean), 13% (late)
|dashdmg=16% (clean), 13% (late)
|dashdesc=His signature belly flopping tackle. A slow and powerful KOing option, it is the strongest dash attack in the game and is even stronger than some of the cast's smash attacks, KOing middleweights at around 55% near the edge due to its exceptionally high knockback. The attack can be used for a hard read or setting up tech-chases. Can hit every character on the ledge after their [[Edge|ledge invincibility]] has ended. However, its high ending lag causes the attack to be very punishable when missed. Originates from ''Kirby's Dream Land''.
|dashdesc=His signature [[wikirby:Head Slide|running splash]], first seen in ''Kirby's Dream Land''. A slow and powerful KOing option, it is the strongest dash attack in the game, and is even stronger than some of the cast's smash attacks, KOing some super heavyweights at around 55% near the edge due to its exceptionally high knockback. It also deals a good chunk of shield damage, which can apply shield pressure with Gordo setups. However, it's also the slowest dash attack in the game in both startup and ending lag, making it incredibly punishable; it is thus best used for a hard read or setting up tech-chases. Due to its low-reaching sweetspot and lingering hitboxes, it can hit every character on the edge after their [[edge]] invincibility has ended, making it a potent [[2 frame punish]] tool.
|fsmashname=&nbsp;
|fsmashname=Megaton Hammer ({{ja|メガトンハンマー|Megaton Hanmā}})
|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|16}} (head, early), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|25}} (head, late), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|18.5}} (handle),  {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|11}} (shockwave)
|fsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|16}} (early hammerhead), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|25}} (late hammerhead), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|18.5}} (handle),  {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|11}} (shockwave)
|fsmashdesc=Rears his hammer back and slams it down. The most damaging and strongest forward smash in the game. It can KO as early as 30% near the edge, even when uncharged, and when fully charged, it is even capable of OHKOing some lighter characters like {{SSBU|Pichu}} near the edge of Final Destination. It has very slow startup, but deceptively short endlag and a long-ranged quakebox. It can break shields point blank with only a little bit of charging. Originates from ''Kirby's Dream Land''.
|fsmashdesc=Rears his hammer back and swings it downward. It can KO as early as 30% near the edge, even when uncharged (which even {{SSBU|Bowser}} and {{SSBU|Ganondorf}} cannot do until 39% and 38%, respectively). When fully charged, it is even capable of OHKOing some lighter characters (such as {{SSBU|Pichu}}) near the edge of Final Destination, and even the heaviest fighters at less than 10%. It is the strongest forward smash in the game by default; when factoring in {{SSBU|Lucario}}'s forward smash at maximum [[Aura]] and {{SSBU|Hero}}'s forward smash with a critical hit, it is the 3rd strongest. Overall, it is the 4th strongest attack of any kind in the entire game by default, being surpassed only by [[Judge]] 9, aerial reverse [[Warlock Punch]], and [[Flare Blade]] when fully charged. It has very slow startup (frame 40), but deceptively short ending lag for its power. It also deals additional shield damage, to the point that its clean hit can break a full shield when fresh, and possesses both transcendent priority and a long-ranged quake hitbox. Originates from ''Kirby's Dream Land''.
|usmashname=&nbsp;
|usmashname=Sweeping Hammer ({{ja|なぎ払いハンマー|Nagiharai Hanmā}})
|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|16}} (hammer), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|10}} (body)
|usmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|16}} (hammer), {{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|10}} (body)
|usmashdesc=An upward hammer swing. A decent anti-air option with great vertical knockback, KOing at middleweights at 100%. Has good range in front and behind Dedede with consistent power throughout the duration, being able to hit short characters unlike in ''SSB4''. It also has transcendent priority.
|usmashdesc=An overhead arcing hammer swing. A decent anti-air option with great vertical knockback, KOing middleweights at 100%. Has good range in front and behind Dedede with consistent power throughout the duration, being able to hit short characters unlike in ''SSB4''. It also has transcendent priority.
|dsmashname=&nbsp;
|dsmashname=Turning Hammer ({{ja|ぶんまわしハンマー|Bunmawashi Hanmā}})
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|13}}
|dsmashdmg={{ChargedSmashDmgSSBU|13}}
|dsmashdesc=A spinning hammer swing around himself. King Dedede's fastest kill move, sending foes at a low angle and can KO around 80% near the edge. Best used for catching rolls as well as ledge attacks. It also has transcendent priority. Appears very similar to the Giant Dedede Swing from ''Kirby's Return to Dream Land''.
|dsmashdesc=Spins 360° to perform a horizontal hammer swing around himself. King Dedede's fastest smash attack, it sends foes at a low angle and can KO middleweights around 80% near the edge. Best used for catching rolls as well as edge attacks. It also has transcendent priority. Appears very similar to the Hammer Swing attack from the {{iw|wikirby|Hammer}} ability.
|nairname=&nbsp;
|nairname=Belly Drum ({{ja|たいこばら|Taiko Bara}})
|nairdmg=12% (clean), 7% (late)
|nairdmg=12% (clean), 7% (late)
|nairdesc=A [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Splash|splash]]. Dedede's fastest aerial, coming out on frame 7. Functions like a [[sex kick]], but unlike the majority of them, it has transcendent priority, meaning that it cannot cancel out projectiles. When coupled with a fast fall, its late hit has follow-up potential, such as an up tilt at low percents, neutral, forward or back air at mid percents, and up air at higher percents.
|nairdesc=A [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Splash|splash]]. Dedede's fastest aerial, coming out on frame 7. Functions like a [[sex kick]], but unlike the majority of them, it sends at a much more vertical angle. When coupled with a fast fall, its late hit has followup potential, such as an up tilt at low percentages, neutral, forward or back aerial at mid percentages, and up aerial at higher percentages.
|fairname=&nbsp;
|fairname=Ice Crusher ({{ja|かちわり|Kachiwari}})
|fairdmg=12%
|fairdmg=12%
|fairdesc=Somersaults to perform a downward hammer swing. Has good range in front of Dedede, but can be unsafe on hit at lower percents if spaced poorly. This move does not autocancel in a short hop and has more landing and 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]] and fend off edgeguard attempts while recovering, due to its long range reaching through ledges.
|fairdesc=A downward hammer swing. Has good range in front of Dedede, but is unsafe on hit at lower percentages if spaced poorly (though due to this, it can also [[lock]] at lower percentages). This move does not autocancel in a short hop and has more ending and landing lag than his back aerial, but starts much earlier. It is capable of performing a pseudo-[[wall of pain]] while edgeguarding, and can be used to edgeguard attempts while recovering, due to its good range reaching through edges. It KOs middleweights at 157%.
|bairname=&nbsp;
|bairname=Shake Off ({{ja|ふりはらい|Furiharai}})
|bairdmg=16%
|bairdmg=16%
|bairdesc=A horizontal hammer swing behind himself. One of Dedede's best moves for spacing and KOing, doing so reliably below 120%. Can be autocanceled in a short hop, and is also relatively safe on shield when spaced at max range.
|bairdesc=Turns around to perform a horizontal hammer swing. One of Dedede's best moves for spacing and KOing, doing so reliably below 120%. Can be autocanceled in a short hop, and is also relatively safe on shield when spaced at maximum range.
|uairname=&nbsp;
|uairname=Stirring Up ({{ja|上かき回し|Jō Kakimawashi}})
|uairdmg=1% (hits 1-7), 5% (hit 8)
|uairdmg=1% (hits 1-7), 5% (hit 8)
|uairdesc=Thrusts his hammer upward while twirling its head. Has tremendous reach above Dedede, and can beat out numerous down aerials. It is quite strong for a multi-hit move, being able to KO below 130%. Like his forward aerial, it can hit edgeguarding opponents through ledges.
|uairdesc=Thrusts his hammer upward while twirling its head. It has very good range above Dedede and can beat out numerous anti-juggling attempts. It is quite strong for a multi-hit move, being able to KO below 115% near the upper blast line. Like his forward aerial, it can hit edgeguarding opponents through edges.
|dairname=&nbsp;
|dairname=Meteor Hammer ({{ja|メテオハンマー|Meteo Hanmā}})
|dairdmg=15% (middle of head), 8% (edge of head)
|dairdmg=15% (middle of hammerhead), 8% (hammerhead's edge)
|dairdesc=A downward hammer swing. The sweetspot is a very powerful aerial-only [[meteor smash]]. The meteor smash only activates at 28% or higher. On grounded opponents, it deals high horizontal knockback, KOing at around 100% near the edge. However, its usage is very limited due to its high startup, causing it to be Dedede's slowest aerial.
|dairdesc=Rears back and swings his hammer below himself. The sweetspot is a very powerful aerial-only [[meteor smash]]. On grounded opponents, it deals high horizontal knockback, KOing at around 100% near the edge. However, its usage is limited due to its high startup making it Dedede's slowest aerial.
|grabname=&nbsp;
|grabname=Grab ({{ja|つかみ|Tsukami}})
|grabdesc=Reaches out. King Dedede's grab range is average.
|grabdesc=Reaches out. Despite his size, King Dedede's grab range is average.
|pummelname=&nbsp;
|pummelname=Grab Headbutt ({{ja|つかみヘッドバット|Tsukami Heddobatto}})
|pummeldmg=1.6%
|pummeldmg=1.6%
|pummeldesc=A headbutt. Quicker but less damaging than it was in ''Smash 4''. Good for racking damage.
|pummeldesc=A headbutt. Slow but strong.
|fthrowname=&nbsp;
|fthrowname=Golf Swing ({{ja|ゴルフスイング|Gorufu Suingu}})
|fthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 6% (throw)
|fthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 6% (throw)
|fthrowdesc=Strikes the opponent forward with his hammer. Can be used to set up an edgeguard or launch the opponent into a [[Gordo Throw|previously thrown Gordo]].
|fthrowdesc=An upward hammer swing. It can be used to set up an edgeguard or launch the opponent into a [[Gordo Throw|previously thrown Gordo]]. King Dedede's second strongest throw, KOing middleweights at around 160% at the edge of Final Destination.
|bthrowname=&nbsp;
|bthrowname=Reverse Golf Swing ({{ja|反転ゴルフスイング|Hanten Gorufu Suingu}})
|bthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 9% (throw)
|bthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 9% (throw)
|bthrowdesc=Strikes the opponent backward with his hammer. King Dedede's strongest throw, but due to the fact that it launches at a very high angle, it does not KO until very high percentages, depending on the opponent's weight and DI. It is better at damage racking due to these factors. Like forward throw, it can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
|bthrowdesc=Tosses the opponent behind himself and then performs an upward hammer swing. King Dedede's strongest throw, but due to the fact that it launches at a very high angle, it does not KO until very high percentages; it can KO middleweights at around 148% at the edge of Final Destination with no DI, but around 30% later with good DI. It is better at damage racking due to these factors. Like forward throw, it can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
|uthrowname=&nbsp;
|uthrowname=Receive ({{ja|レシーブ|Recību}})
|uthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 5% (throw)
|uthrowdmg=4% (hit 1), 5% (throw)
|uthrowdesc=A jump set, a technique used in volleyball. Can lead into up aerial at low to medium percentages, but down throw is generally more rewarding and consistent. Like forward throw, can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
|uthrowdesc=A jump set, a technique used in volleyball. It can lead to up aerial at low to medium percentages, but down throw is generally more rewarding and consistent. Like forward throw, can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo. It is King Dedede's weakest throw, as it only starts KOing middleweights at around 261% on Final Destination.
|dthrowname=&nbsp;
|dthrowname=Beatdown ({{ja|たたき落とし|Tataki Otoshi}})
|dthrowdmg=6%
|dthrowdmg=6%
|dthrowdesc=A one-handed [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling throws#Body slam|body slam]]. King Dedede's best combo starter, it can initiate true combos into a neutral or forward aerial at very low percents and back air at low to mid percents. At medium percentages, down throw to up aerial is a KO combo if the opponent DIs incorrectly.
|dthrowdesc=A one-handed [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling throws#Body slam|body slam]]. King Dedede's best combo starter, it can initiate true combos into a neutral or forward aerial at very low percentages, and back aerial at low to mid percentages. At medium percentages, down throw to up aerial is a KO combo if the opponent DIs incorrectly. It also has slight KO potential at very high percentages, as it can KO middleweights at around 235% on Final Destination.
|floorfname=&nbsp;
|floorfname=&nbsp;
|floorfdmg=7%
|floorfdmg=7%
Line 256: Line 180:
|floorbname=&nbsp;
|floorbname=&nbsp;
|floorbdmg=7%
|floorbdmg=7%
|floorbdesc=
|floorbdesc=Performs an inverted leg sweep, striking both sides as he gets up.
|floortname=&nbsp;
|floortname=&nbsp;
|floortdmg=5%
|floortdmg=5%
Line 262: Line 186:
|edgename=&nbsp;
|edgename=&nbsp;
|edgedmg=10%
|edgedmg=10%
|edgedesc=Performs a kick while climbing up.
|edgedesc=Performs a kick while climbing up. Reassembles the Slide Kick from the [[Kirby]] series.
|nspage=Inhale_(King_Dedede)
|nspage=Inhale_(King_Dedede)
|nsname=Inhale
|nsname=Inhale
|nsdmg=12% (spit)
|nsdmg=12% (spit), 1.5× damage (reflected projectiles)
|nsdesc={{s|wikirby|Inhale}}s the opponent. While they have been Inhaled, King Dedede can then walk around and spit them out to inflict damage. He will also receive a 0.25x Received Knockback Multiplier, making it almost impossible to KO him while someone is inhaled. Inhale can also be used to [[Item-swallowing|swallow]] items and spit back projectiles, acting as a reflector. The reflector property is quite notable as unlike the rest of the cast, it has no reflect limit. Inhale is also a good landing mix-up to catch [[Sidestep|sidesteps]] and shields.
|nsdesc={{iw|wikirby|Inhale}}s the opponent. While they have been Inhaled within his stomach, King Dedede can then walk around and spit them out to inflict damage. He will also receive a 0.25× received knockback multiplier, making it almost impossible to KO him while someone is inhaled. Inhale can also be used to [[Item-swallowing|swallow]] items and spit back projectiles, acting as a reflector. The reflector property is quite notable, as unlike the rest of the cast, it has no reflection limit. Another quirk of its reflector is that it doesn't have priority over his hurtbox. As a result, it can't reflect projectiles that travel their full distance in 1 frame, such as a fully charged [[Failnaught]] or a [[Staff]] shot. Inhale is also a good landing mixup to catch [[sidestep]]s and shields.
|ssname=Gordo Throw
|ssname=Gordo Throw
|ssdmg=10% (hammer), 14%/12.5%/11%/9.5% (Gordo)
|ssdmg=10% (hammer), 14%/12.5%/11%/9.5% (Gordo)
|ssdesc=Hits a bouncing {{s|wikirby|Gordo}} with his hammer. Its trajectory can be angled upward, forward, or downward, which can be used for [[mindgames]]. By extension, his throws can be used to launch the opponent toward a previously thrown Gordo. The Gordos disappear after almost 3 seconds. An upward-angled gordo can be used to deny most options at the ledge or even all when combined with an attack. Gordo can also stick to any surface that allows [[wall jump]]ing, and is much consistent than it was in ''SSB4''. They can also be reflected by any attack dealing at least 2%. Of further note is that Dedede can hit opponents with the hammer swing used to serve the Gordo, potentially leading into a hit by both the hammer and Gordo for a considerable amount of damage. Dedede can also inhale his own Gordo and spit it out at a considerable speed.
|ssdesc=Hits a bouncing {{iw|wikirby|Gordo}} with his hammer. The move can be angled upward, forward, or downward, which causes the Gordo's trajectory to behave differently and can be used for [[mindgames]]. By extension, his throws can be used to launch the opponent toward a previously thrown Gordo. The Gordos disappear after almost 3 seconds. An upward-angled Gordo can be used to deny most options at the ledge or even all when combined with an attack. Gordo can also stick to any surface that allows [[wall jump]]ing, and is much more consistent than it was in ''SSB4''. They can also be reflected by any attack dealing at least 2%. Of note is that Dedede can hit opponents with the hammer swing used to serve the Gordo, potentially leading into a hit by both the hammer and Gordo for a considerable amount of damage. Dedede can also Inhale his own Gordo and spit it out at a considerable speed, or re-catch the Gordo and throw it back, though unless it has been Inhaled before hand, this can be done only up to three times.
|usname=Super Dedede Jump
|usname=Super Dedede Jump
|usdmg=15% (drop), 12% (landing), 5% (stars)
|usdmg=15% (drop), 12% (landing), 5% (stars)
|usdesc=His signature jump. It concludes with a [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving double foot stomp|diving double foot stomp]] that buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial ones. Like [[Yoshi Bomb]], it emits stars on both sides after the diving double foot stomp hits the ground, which can make it difficult to punish, especially against characters that lack a projectile. While it cannot grab edges during its descent, it can do so upon being canceled. However, if it is canceled too late before landing, Dedede will endure landing lag that lasts for more than a second.
|usdesc=His [[wikirby:Super Dedede Jump|signature jump]], which concludes with a [[wikipedia:Professional wrestling aerial techniques#Diving double foot stomp|diving double foot stomp]]. The stomp buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial ones. Like [[Yoshi Bomb]], it emits stars on both sides after Dedede stomps the ground, which can make it difficult to punish, especially against characters that lack a projectile. Although Dedede cannot grab edges during his descent, he can do so upon canceling Super Dedede Jump (by pressing the special button or tilting the control stick up). However, if it is canceled too late before landing, Dedede will endure landing lag that lasts for more than a second.
|dsname=Jet Hammer
|dsname=Jet Hammer
|dsdmg=12% (uncharged grounded), 11% (uncharged aerial), 40% (fully charged grounded), 32% (fully charged aerial)
|dsdmg=12% (uncharged grounded), 11 (uncharged aerial), 40% (fully charged grounded), 32% (fully charged aerial)
|dsdesc=Activates the afterburner in his hammer to charge up a very powerful swing, which is released when the special button is released. Dedede can walk around slowly and jump once while charging. It has heavy armor during the swing, and it can hit opponents hanging from the ledge after their invincibility wears off. The jet hammer will inflict the most amount of knock back if released just before the full charge. Dedede can hold the hammer out indefinitely, but it slowly deals recoil damage if he holds it when fully charged up until 100%. A fully charged Jet Hammer can easily KO opponents below 50% near the edge, and is able to break shields with a full charge.
|dsdesc=Activates the afterburner in his hammer to charge up a very powerful horizontal swing, which is released when the special button is released. Dedede can walk around slowly and jump once while charging. It has heavy armor during the swing (resisting up to 14%), and it can hit opponents hanging from the ledge after their invincibility wears off. The hammer will inflict the most amount of knockback if released just before the full charge. Dedede can hold the hammer out indefinitely, but it slowly does recoil damage if he holds it when fully charged up until 100%. A barely fully charged Jet Hammer can KO middleweights around 40% from center stage, whereas a fully charged Jet Hammer can KO opponents around 55% from center stage, as well as break shields.
|fsname=Dede-Rush
|fsname=Dede-Rush
|fsdmg=8% (hit 1), 1.8% (missiles), 20% (hammer hit), 10% (last hit)
|fsdmg=8% (hit 1), 1.8% (missiles), 20% (hammer hit), 10% (last hit)
|fsdesc=Strikes the opponent with his hammer sending them into his trademark boxing ring with a cage set up. Adopting his Masked Dedede persona, he attacks his opponent with a barrage of missiles, followed by a powerful spinning hammer swing. Deals approximately 60% in total with considerable knockback, but can only trap one opponent at a time.
|fsdesc=Strikes the opponent with his hammer, sending them into his trademark boxing ring with a cage set up. He then assumes his {{iw|wikirby|Masked Dedede}} persona and wields his New Dedede Hammer in order to attack his opponent with a barrage of missiles, followed by a powerful spinning hammer swing. Deals 59.6% in total with considerable knockback, but can only trap 1 opponent at a time.
}}
 
===Stats===
 
{{Attributes
| cast=89
| weight=127 | rweight=3-4
| dash=1.815 | rdash=63-69
| run=1.496 | rrun=77
| walk=1.029 | rwalk=55
| trac=0.085 | rtrac=79-82
| airfric=0.006 | rairfric=77-78
| air=0.735 | rair=89
| baseaccel=0.01 | rbaseaccel=15-87
| addaccel=0.04 | raddaccel=69-78
| gravity=0.097 | rgravity=37
| fall=1.95 | rfall=2-4
| ff=3.12 | rff=2-3
| jumpsquat=3 | rjumpsquat=1-88
| jumpheight=32.85 | rjumpheight=43
| shorthop=16.02 | rshorthop=44-45
| djump=32.85 | rdjump=49
| ellag=6 | rellag=87-89
}}
}}
===[[Announcer]] call===
{{audio|Needs announcer calls from other languages.}}
<gallery>
King Dedede English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English
King Dedede Japanese Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|Japanese/Chinese
</gallery>''
===[[On-screen appearance]]===
===[[On-screen appearance]]===
[[File:KingDededeUltimateEntrance.jpg|thumb|King Dedede's on-screen appearance.]]
*Sits on a palanquin carried by 4 [[Waddle Dee]]s, then jumps off, scattering them.
*Is carried in on a palanquin by four [[Waddle Dee]]s, then jumps off, scattering them.
{{clrl}}
 
===[[Idle pose]]s===
*Puts his hammer on his shoulder.
*Smacks his belly.
<gallery>
<gallery>
SSBUKingDededeIdle1.gif|King Dedede's first idle pose
KingDededeOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|King Dedede's on-screen appearance
SSBUKingDededeIdle2.gif|King Dedede's second idle pose
</gallery>
</gallery>


===[[Taunts]]===
===[[Taunt]]s===
*'''Up taunt''': Holds up his hammer in celebration.
*'''Up taunt''': Holds up his hammer in celebration, twirling it and hoisting it upwards three times.
*'''Side taunt''': Twirls his hammer and laughs.
*'''Side taunt''': Twirls his hammer and laughs.
*'''Down taunt''': Spins around in a circle, chanting.
*'''Down taunt''': Spins around in a circle, slapping his belly and chanting.
<gallery>
<gallery>
SSBUKingDededeTaunt1.gif|King Dedede's up taunt.
SSBUKingDededeTaunt1.gif|King Dedede's up taunt.
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SSBUKingDededeTaunt3.gif|King Dedede's down taunt.
SSBUKingDededeTaunt3.gif|King Dedede's down taunt.
</gallery>
</gallery>
===[[Idle pose]]s===
*Puts his hammer on his shoulder, briefly tapping against his shoulder twice.
*Smacks his belly twice.
<gallery>
SSBUKingDededeIdle1.gif|King Dedede's first idle pose.
SSBUKingDededeIdle2.gif|King Dedede's second idle pose.
</gallery>
===[[Crowd cheer]]===
<div class="tabber">
<div class="tabbertab" title="English, Japanese/Chinese, Italian, Dutch, French">
{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1"
|-
!{{{name|}}}
!Cheer (English)
!Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)
!Cheer (Italian)
!Cheer (Dutch)
!Cheer (French)
|-
! scope="row"|Cheer
|[[File:King Dedede Cheer English SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:King Dedede Cheer Japanese SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:King Dedede Cheer Italian SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:King Dedede Cheer Dutch SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:King Dedede Cheer French NTSC SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:King Dedede Cheer French PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]
|-
! scope="row"|Description
|De-De-De! De-De-De! Dedededededede! || Dedede! Dedede! Dedededededede! || Ki - ing Dedede! || Dedede! || Roi DaDiDou!
|}
</div>
<div class="tabbertab" title="German, Spanish, Russian, Korean">
{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1"
|-
!{{{name|}}}
!Cheer (German)
!Cheer (Spanish)
!Cheer (Russian)
!Cheer (Korean)
|-
! scope="row"|Cheer
|[[File:King Dedede Cheer German SSBU.ogg|center]]||{{NTSC}} [[File:King Dedede Cheer Spanish NTSC SSB4 SSBU.ogg|center]] <br> {{PAL}} [[File:King Dedede Cheer Spanish PAL SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:King Dedede Cheer Russian SSBU.ogg|center]]||[[File:King Dedede Cheer Korean SSBU.ogg|center]]
|-
! scope="row"|Description
|Köooooo - nig Dedede! || Rey Dedede! {{NTSC}}<br>Reeeeey De - deeeee - de! {{PAL}} ||Ko - rol' Dedede! || De-De-De! De-De-De! Dedededededede!
|}
</div>
</div>


===[[Victory pose]]s===
===[[Victory pose]]s===
*'''Left:''' Swings his hammer twice before turning to the camera and posing.
*'''Left:''' Swings his hammer twice before turning to the camera and while smiling smugly.
*'''Up:''' Laughs and repeatedly slaps his belly while a [[Waddle Dee]] walks into the scene. The Waddle Dee doesn't appear in Team Battles.
*'''Up:''' Laughs and repeatedly slaps his belly while a [[Waddle Dee]] walks into the scene. The Waddle Dee doesn't appear in Team Battles.
*'''Right:''' Twirls his hammer with a grimace, then activates the [[Jet Hammer]].
*'''Right:''' Twirls his hammer with a grimace, then charges [[Jet Hammer]].
[[File:KirbyUniverseTheme.ogg|thumb|The victory theme of the ''Kirby'' universe is a cover of the short recurring theme that plays when [[Kirby]] completes a stage or defeats a boss, debuting in ''[[Kirby's Dream Land]]'', though the shortened version that this track is based on debuted in ''[[Kirby's Adventure]]''.]]
[[File:KirbyUniverseTheme.ogg|thumb|The victory theme of the ''Kirby'' universe is a cover of the short recurring theme that plays when [[Kirby]] completes a stage or defeats a boss, debuting in ''[[Kirby's Dream Land]]'', though the shortened version that this track is based on debuted in ''[[Kirby's Adventure]]''.]]
<gallery>
<gallery>
Line 314: Line 307:
</gallery>
</gallery>


==In competitive play==
==In [[competitive play]]==
At the beginning of ''Ultimate'''s metagame, many professionals noticed Dedede's improvements from the previous installment, albeit still retaining some of his weaknesses there. This led to most of the community considering him as a low-mid or even low tier character. However, as professionals such as {{Sm|ZAKI}} and {{Sm|Atomsk}} began making notable impacts in major tournaments, most players' perception changed, citing his positive qualities such as his great ledgetrapping with Gordos, resilient endurance, long disjoints, as well as stronger KO power in comparison to ''Smash 4''. This led to Dedede becoming a popular choice among all levels of play in comparison to his release, most notably in local and regional tournaments, with the general perception casting him as a upper-mid or even high tier character.
===Most historically significant players===
<!--This character has a ten player limit for this section. Before adding and/or removing a player, read these guidelines: https://www.ssbwiki.com/SmashWiki:Notability#%22Most_historically_significant_players%22_guidelines -->


However, updates removing Dedede's shield break combinations as well as Gordos having the hitboxes reduced hurt Dedede's success, with ZAKI not reaching the success prior, along with {{Sm|Peli}} and Atomsk even dropping him in favor of other characters. While the latter two restored him as a secondary, Dedede's representation has been toned down, with some players going back to considering him a mid or even low tier character. In addition, his struggling disadvantage state, inconsistency in scoring KOs, and moves that have high lag have caused Dedede to struggle against most top/high-tier matchups, such as {{SSBU|Palutena}}, {{SSBU|Mega Man}}, and {{SSBU|Fox}}. While Dedede is much better compared to his ''Smash 4'' incarnation, his degree of success remains to be seen.
''See also: [[:Category:King Dedede players (SSBU)]]''
===Notable players===
====Active====
*{{Sm|Addy|Mexico}} - Uses Dedede as a co-main/secondary alongside with {{SSBU|Wario}} and is considered the best Dedede player in Mexico. Placed 4th in {{Trn|BIT MASTER MTY 5}}, 9th at {{Trn|BIT MASTER MTY 7}}, and 33rd in {{Trn|Smash Factor 8}}.
*{{Sm|Atomsk|USA}} - The best King Dedede player in the United States and North America since Big D's inactivity with the character. Placed 25th at {{Trn|Pound 2019}} and 65th at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}, beating players such as {{Sm|Gen}}. At some point, he dropped the character in favor of {{SSBU|Banjo & Kazooie}}<ref>[https://twitter.com/Atomsk92/status/1174126737803943936]</ref> but now uses both as co-main<ref>[https://twitter.com/Atomsk92/status/1182259634029170693]</ref>. Formerly ranked 7th at the [[New Jersey Power Rankings|New Jersey Smash Ultimate Power Rankings]].
*{{Sm|Bryce|USA}} - Placed 25th at {{Trn|Collision 2019}} and has wins over {{Sm|Rivers}}, {{Sm|6WX}}, {{Sm|Jakal}} and {{Sm|Dill}}.
*{{Sm|El_Bardo|Spain}} - Placed 7th at {{Trn|Codec Call 3}} and 33rd at {{Trn|Syndicate 2019}}. Currently ranked 29th in the [[Spanish Power Rankings|Spanish Smash Ultimate Power Rankings]].
*{{Sm|Peli|England}} - The best King Dedede player in Europe. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Schism 3}}, 5th at {{Trn|Regen 2019}}, 25th at {{Trn|Syndicate 2019}}, and 65th at {{Trn|Frostbite 2019}}. Has wins over {{Sm|Larry Lurr}}, {{Sm|Meru}}, {{Sm|Antheia}}, and {{Sm|T}}.
*{{Sm|ZAKI|Japan}} - The best King Dedede player in the world. Placed 2nd at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 2}}, 5th at {{Trn|Umebura SP 2}}, 25th at {{Trn|2GG: Prime Saga}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|EVO 2019}}. Ranked 11th in the [[Japan Player Rankings]].


====Inactive====
*{{Sm|Atomsk|USA}} - One of the best King Dedede players in the world in the game's first few years. At the beginning of the game's lifespan, he boast the best North American results behind ZAKI, placing 25th at {{Trn|Pound 2019}} and after the pandemic, marked a multitude of great regional results such as 3rd at {{Trn|CROSSxUP}} defeating {{Sm|Quidd}} and 4th at {{Trn|Hold The Line}} defeating {{Sm|Light}}, which are some of King Dedede's best wins in the current meta. He retired from competition after mid-2022.
*{{Sm|Big D|Canada}} - The best King Dedede player in North America and one of the best ones in the world. Placed 4th at both {{Trn|Battle of BC 3}} and {{Trn|Don't Park on the Grass 2018}}, 25th at {{Trn|Get On My Level 2019}}, and 33rd at {{Trn|GENESIS 6}}. Has wins over players like {{Sm| Captain L}}, {{Sm|MuteAce}}, {{Sm|dyr}}, and {{Sm|Pandarian}}. While he did not officially drop the character, he only now uses {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}} in bracket and rarely ever uses King Dedede or any of his other characters anymore.
*{{Sm|Castelia|USA}} - A notable King Dedede player who gained notoriety as one of the best King Dedede players in the online metagame, placing 3rd at {{Trn|Dabuz's Galaxy Sized Journey To EVO}} and 7th at {{Trn|Ultimate Naifu Wars 5}}. In the post-pandemic era, she is considered the current best King Dedede player in the United States, placing 33rd at both {{Trn|Glitch - Regen}} and supermajor {{Trn|Get On My Level 2023}}, and has defeated players such as {{Sm|Jake}}, {{Sm|KirbyKid}}, and {{Sm|PkChris}} at other events.
*{{Sm|DiZ|USA}} - Played King Dedede early in ''Ultimate'' and placed second at {{Trn|GatorLAN Spring 2019}}. Has dropped the character in favor of {{SSBU|Piranha Plant}} but still plays it rarely as a secondary. Currently ranked 8th on Central Florida Ultimate Power Rankings and was 6th while maining solo Dedede.
*{{Sm|Peli|UK}} - One of the best King Dedede players in the world before switching mains to {{SSBU|Sonic}}. As a solo-main, he headlined the character in Europe, placing 9th at {{Trn|Valhalla III}} and 25th at {{Trn|Syndicate 2019}}, beating European talent such as {{Sm|iStudying}}, {{Sm|CurryGovernor}}, and {{Sm|Meru}}. He also won {{Trn|VCA 2021}} and while he primarily played Sonic, it marked one of the best runs for a King Dedede player, as Peli used the character to defeat {{Sm|Space}} and {{Sm|Leon}} in his bracket. Currently, he has entered less tournaments and rarely uses King Dedede in bracket.
*{{Sm|ZAKI|Japan}} - The best King Dedede player of all-time. He has been the sole representative of the character throughout the game's entire lifespan and holds the highest King Dedede placements at supermajors such as 25th at multiple Japanese tournaments including {{Trn|Umebura Japan Major 2019}}, {{Trn|Maesuma TOP 14}}, and {{Trn|Sumabato SP 49}}, as well as 33rd at {{Trn|EVO 2019}}, the largest ''Smash'' tournament of all-time. He is the only King Dedede player to be ranked globally, placing 130th on the [[OrionRank 2022]].
 
===Tier placement and history===
At the beginning of ''Ultimate''{{'}}s metagame, many players noticed how, despite retaining some of his weaknesses, King Dedede was overall buffed from ''SSB4'' thanks to improvements to [[Gordo Throw]] and stronger KO options, as well as retaining his resilient endurance and disjointed range. This perception would further improve thanks to players such as {{Sm|ZAKI}} and {{Sm|Atomsk}}, both of whom made notable impacts at major tournaments, with the former placing 2nd at {{Trn|Sumabato SP 2}} and the latter placing 25th at {{Trn|Pound 2019}}. As a result, King Dedede became a more popular choice when compared to his appearance in ''SSB4'', most notably in local and regional tournaments. By extension, the general perception casted him as an upper mid tier character, with potential to be a high tier character.
 
However, as the metagame progressed, game updates removing King Dedede's shield break combinations and shrinking the Gordos' hitboxes started to hurt his perception. Both ZAKI and Atomsk saw a decline in results while other players either dropped King Dedede in favor of others ({{Sm|Big D}}) or relegated him to a secondary ({{Sm|Peli}}). In addition, the combination of King Dedede's poor disadvantage state, inconsistent KO potential, and laggy frame data has caused him to struggle against most top tier and high tier characters, including {{SSBU|Palutena}}, {{SSBU|Mega Man}}, and {{SSBU|Fox}}. Although King Dedede is widely considered to be better than in ''SSB4'', he still remains a pretty unpopular pick and is ranked 79th on the current tier list. Top Dedede players share a similar opinion on the character with Atomsk and Peli considering him a low tier character and one that is hard to use to get consistent results in tournaments.


=={{SSBU|Classic Mode}}: Royal Rumble==
=={{SSBU|Classic Mode}}: Royal Rumble==
Line 335: Line 327:
King Dedede faces off against characters with royal titles such as kings and princesses.
King Dedede faces off against characters with royal titles such as kings and princesses.


{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Round!!Opponent!!Stage!!Music!!Notes
!Round!!Opponent!!Stage!!Music!!Notes
|-
|-
|1||{{SSBU|King K. Rool}} {{Head|King K. Rool|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Pirate Ship]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Gang-Plank Galleon}}''||
|1||{{CharHead|King K. Rool|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Pirate Ship]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Donkey Kong|Gang-Plank Galleon}}''||The stage represents King K. Rool's ship, Gangplank Galleon.
|-
|-
|2||{{SSBU|Marth}} {{Head|Marth|g=SSBU|s=20px}} and {{SSBU|Roy}} {{Head|Roy|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Castle Siege]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Fire Emblem|Fire Emblem Theme}}''||
|2||{{CharHead|Marth|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Roy|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Castle Siege]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Fire Emblem|Fire Emblem Theme}}''||
|-
|-
|3||{{SSBU|Zelda}} {{Head|Zelda|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Hyrule Castle]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (64)}}''||
|3||{{CharHead|Zelda|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Hyrule Castle]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (64)}}''||
|-
|-
|4||{{SSBU|Peach}} {{Head|Peach|g=SSBU|s=20px}} and {{SSBU|Daisy}} {{Head|Daisy|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Princess Peach's Castle]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Super Mario Bros.|Underwater Theme - Super Mario Bros.}}''||
|4||{{CharHead|Peach|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Daisy|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Princess Peach's Castle]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Super Mario Bros.|Underwater Theme - Super Mario Bros.}}''||
|-
|-
|5||{{SSBU|Bowser}} {{Head|Bowser|g=SSBU|s=20px}} and {{SSBU|Bowser Jr.}} {{Head|Bowser Jr.|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Find Mii]] ([[Battlefield form]])||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Super Mario Bros.|King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3}}''||
|5||{{CharHead|Bowser|SSBU|hsize=20px}} and {{CharHead|Bowser Jr.|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Find Mii]] ([[Battlefield form]])||''{{SSBUMusicLink|Super Mario Bros.|King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3}}''||The stage represents Bowser's Castle.
|-
|-
|6||{{SSBU|Ganondorf}} {{Head|Ganondorf|g=SSBU|s=20px}}||[[Bridge of Eldin]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form}}''||
|6||{{CharHead|Ganondorf|SSBU|hsize=20px}}||[[Bridge of Eldin]]||''{{SSBUMusicLink|The Legend of Zelda|Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form}}''||
|-
|-
|colspan="5"|[[Bonus Stage]]
|colspan="5"|[[Bonus Stage]]
Line 368: Line 360:


===Fighter Battle===
===Fighter Battle===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
{|class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
|-
|-
! style="width:5%;"|No.
!style="width:5%;"|No.
! style="width:5%;"|Image
!style="width:5%;"|Image
! Name
!Name
! Type
!Type
! Power
!Power
! Stage
!Stage
! Music
!Music
|-
|-
| 39
|39
| [[File:King Dedede SSBU.png|center|108x108px]]
|[[File:King Dedede SSBU.png|center|108x108px]]
| {{SSBU|King Dedede}}
|King Dedede
| {{color|#dc1029|Attack}}
|{{SpiritType|Attack}} <center>{{color|#dc1029|Attack}}</center>
| 9,000
|9,000
| [[Fountain of Dreams]] ([[Ω form]])
|[[Fountain of Dreams]] ([[Ω form]])
| ''{{SSBUMusicLink|Kirby|King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)}}''
|''{{SSBUMusicLink|Kirby|King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)}}''
|}
|}
{{-}}
{{clr}}


==[[Spirit]]s==
==[[Spirit]]s==
King Dedede's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing [[Classic Mode]]. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Unlocking King Dedede in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in ''Ultimate''.
King Dedede's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing {{SSBU|Classic Mode}} as King Dedede. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after King Dedede has been unlocked. Unlocking King Dedede in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in ''Ultimate''.


Additionally, King Dedede makes an appearance as a Primary Spirit under his Masked Dedede alter ego.
Additionally, King Dedede makes an appearance as a primary spirit under his Masked Dedede alter ego.


<center>
<center>
<gallery>
<gallery>
King Dedede Spirit.png|325. '''''King Dedede'''''
SSBU spirit King Dedede.png|325. '''''King Dedede'''''
Masked Dedede Spirit.png|353. Masked Dedede
SSBU spirit Masked Dedede.png|353. Masked Dedede
</gallery>
</gallery>
</center>
</center>


==In Spirit battles==
==In Spirit Battles==
''Conditions in italic aren't listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.''
===As the main opponent===
===As the main opponent===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! colspan=4|Spirit
! colspan=4|Spirit
! colspan=7|Battle parameters
! colspan=7|Battle parameters
Line 420: Line 412:
|-
|-
|180
|180
|[[File:Moblin.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Moblin|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Moblin}}Moblin
|''The Legend of Zelda'' Series
|''The Legend of Zelda series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} Team {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}×4
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} Team {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}} (×4)
|{{SpiritType|Neutral}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]
|1,900
|1,900
|[[Skyloft]] ([[Battlefield form]])
|[[Skyloft]] ([[Battlefield form]])
Line 432: Line 423:
|-
|-
|312
|312
|[[File:Raven spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Raphael the Raven|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Raphael the Raven}}Raphael the Raven
|''Yoshi'' Series
|''Yoshi series''
|•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}
|•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|4,000
|4,000
|[[Mario Galaxy]]
|[[Mario Galaxy]]
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|-
|-
|314
|314
|[[File:Pak E Derm Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Pak E. Derm|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Pak E. Derm}}Pak E. Derm
|''Yoshi'' Series
|''Yoshi series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|3,900
|3,900
|[[Yoshi's Story]]
|[[Yoshi's Story]]
|•Jump Power ↓
|•Jump Power ↓
|•You have reduced jump power<br>•Timed battle<br>•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls ([[Alolan Exeggutor]])
|•You have reduced jump power<br>•Timed battle (1:30)<br>•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls ([[Alolan Exeggutor]])
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Yoshi|Yoshi's Story (Melee)}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Yoshi|Yoshi's Story (Melee)}}
|-
|-
|316
|316
|[[File:Don Bongo.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Don Bongo|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Don Bongo}}Don Bongo
|''Yoshi'' Series
|''Yoshi series''
|•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}
|•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|3,900
|3,900
|[[Yoshi's Story]]  
|[[Yoshi's Story]]
|•Move Speed ↑<br>•Move Speed ↓
|•Move Speed ↑<br>•Move Speed ↓
|•The enemy has increased move speed after a while<br>•The enemy is giant<br>•The enemy has reduced move speed
|•The enemy has increased move speed after a little while<br>•The enemy is giant<br>•The enemy has reduced move speed
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Yoshi|Yoshi's Story (Melee)}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Yoshi|Yoshi's Story (Melee)}}
|-
|-
|340
|340
|[[File:Kracko.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Kracko|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Kracko}}Kracko
|''Kirby'' Series
|''Kirby series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}<br>•{{SSBU|Pikachu}} {{Head|Pikachu|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}×2
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}<br>•{{SSBU|Pikachu}} {{Head|Pikachu|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}} (×2)
|{{SpiritType|Grab}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]
|3,500
|3,500
|[[Skyworld]] (clouds only)
|[[Skyworld]] (clouds only)
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|-
|-
|365
|365
|[[File:Gordo.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Gordo|link=y|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Gordo}}[[Gordo]]
|''Kirby'' Series
|''Kirby series''
|•Clear {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}}×3
|•Clear {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}} (×3)
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|3,800
|3,800
|[[Green Greens]]
|[[Green Greens]] (hazards off)
|N/A
|N/A
|•The enemy's [[side special]] has increased power<br>•The enemy favors side specials<br>•The enemy is invisible
|•The enemy's [[side special]] has increased power<br>•The enemy favors side specials<br>•The enemy is invisible
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Kirby|Kirby Retro Medley}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Kirby|Kirby Retro Medley}} (Castle Lololo)
|-
|-
|386
|386
|[[File:Peppy Hare Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Peppy Hare|link=y|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Peppy Hare}}[[Peppy Hare]]
|''Star Fox'' Series
|''Star Fox series''
|•Bunny {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}<br>•{{SSBU|Fox}} {{Head|Fox|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}<br>•{{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}
|•Bunny {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}<br>•{{SSBU|Fox}} {{Head|Fox|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}<br>•{{SSBU|Falco}} {{Head|Falco|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]
|{{SpiritType|Neutral}}
|8,800
|8,800
|[[Venom]]
|[[Venom]]
Line 504: Line 489:
|-
|-
|727
|727
|[[File:Dyntos Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Dyntos|size=64}}
|Dyntos
|''Kid Icarus'' Series
|''Kid Icarus series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeNeutral.png|20px|center|Neutral]]
|{{SpiritType|Neutral}}
|7,500
|7,500
|[[Palutena's Temple]] ([[Battlefield form]])
|[[Palutena's Temple]] ([[Battlefield form]])
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|-
|-
|819
|819
|[[File:Yellow Wollywog Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Yellow Wollywog|link=y|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Yellow Wollywog}}[[Yellow Wollywog]]
|''Pikmin'' Series
|''Pikmin series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}×3
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (x3)
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|3,800
|3,800
|[[Distant Planet]]
|[[Distant Planet]]
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|-
|-
|853
|853
|[[File:Lyle Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Lyle|size=64}}
|Lyle
|''Animal Crossing'' Series
|''Animal Crossing series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Blue}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]
|{{SpiritType|Attack}}
|1,700
|1,700
|[[Smashville]]
|[[Smashville]]
Line 540: Line 522:
|-
|-
|1,125
|1,125
|{{anchor|Fish}}[[File:Fish Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Fish|link=y|size=64}}
|[[Fish]]
|''Balloon Fight'' Series
|''Ballon Fight Series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}}
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]
|{{SpiritType|Grab}}
|3,900
|3,900
|[[Balloon Fight]]
|[[Balloon Fight]]
|N/A
|N/A
|•The enemy's neutral special has increased power<br>•Timed Battle<br>•The enemy favors neutral specials
|•The enemy's neutral special has increased power<br>•Timed battle (1:30)<br>•The enemy favors neutral specials
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Nintendo|Balloon Fight Medley}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Other|Balloon Fight Medley}}
|-
|-
|1,235
|1,235
|{{anchor|Chef}}[[File:Chef.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Chef (Personal Trainer: Cooking)|size=64}} {{Flag|North America}}<br>Chef (Cooking Guide) {{Flag|PAL}}
|Chef (Personal Trainer: Cooking)
|''Personal Trainer: Cooking'' Series {{Flag|North America}}<br>''Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat?'' Series {{Flag|PAL}}
|''Personal Trainer: Cooking series''
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|3,500
|3,500
|[[PictoChat 2]]
|[[PictoChat 2]]
|•Item: [[Food]]
|•Item: [[Food]]
|•The enemy becomes more powerful after eating<br>•The enemy is easily distracted by items
|•The enemy becomes more powerful after eating<br>•The enemy is easily distracted by items
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Nintendo|Personal Trainer: Cooking}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Other|Personal Trainer: Cooking}}
|-
|-
|1,344
|1,344
|{{anchor|Gruntilda}}[[File:Gruntilda Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Gruntilda|size=64}}
|Gruntilda
|''Banjo-Kazooie'' Series
|''Banjo-Kazooie series''
|•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (250 HP)<br>•Giant {{SSBU|Dr. Mario}} {{Head|Dr. Mario|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (40 HP) {{Head|Dr. Mario|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (45 HP) {{Head|Dr. Mario|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (50 HP)
|{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}<br>{{SSBU|Dr. Mario}} {{Head|Dr. Mario|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (x3)
|{{SpiritType|Attack}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]
|13,900
|13,900
|[[Find Mii]] ([[Ω form]])
|[[Find Mii]] ([[Ω form]])
|•Hazard: Poison Floor
|•Hazard: Poison Floor
|•Defeat the main fighter to win<br>•The floor is poisonous<br>•Stamina battle
|•Defeat the main fighter to win<br>•The floor is poisonous<br>•[[Stamina battle]]<br>''•The enemy starts the battle with a Star Rod''<br>''•Reinforcements will appear during the battle''
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Banjo-Kazooie|Vs. Klungo}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Banjo-Kazooie|Vs. Klungo}}
|}
|}
Line 578: Line 557:
===As a minion===
===As a minion===
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! colspan=4|Spirit
! colspan=4|Spirit
! colspan=7|Battle parameters
! colspan=7|Battle parameters
! colspan=1|Reference
! colspan=1|Inspiration
|-
|-
! style="width:5%;"|No.
! style="width:5%;"|No.
Line 597: Line 575:
|-
|-
|343
|343
|[[File:DarkMatterSpirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Dark Matter|size=64}}
|{{anchor|Dark Matter}}Dark Matter
|''Kirby'' Series
|''Kirby series''
|•{{SSBU|Meta Knight}} {{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Navy}} (120 HP)<br>•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}} (80 HP)
|•{{SSBU|Meta Knight}} {{Head|Meta Knight|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Navy}}<br>•{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|{{SpiritType|Attack}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]
|13,500
|13,500
|[[Halberd]] ([[Ω form]])
|[[Halberd]] ([[Ω form]])
Line 610: Line 587:
|-
|-
|745
|745
|[[File:Captain Syrup.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Captain Syrup|iw=mariowiki|size=64}}
|Captain Syrup
|''Wario Land'' Series
|''Wario Land series''
|•{{SSBU|Bayonetta}} {{Head|Bayonetta|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Pink}}<br>•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|•{{SSBU|Bayonetta}} {{Head|Bayonetta|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Pink}}<br>•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Grey}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]
|{{SpiritType|Grab}}
|3,500
|3,500
|[[Pirate Ship]]
|[[Pirate Ship]]
Line 623: Line 599:
|-
|-
|1,312
|1,312
|[[File:Yusuke Persona 5.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Yusuke Kitagawa|link=y|size=64}}
|[[Yusuke Kitagawa]]
|''Persona'' Series
|''Persona series''
|•{{SSBU|Chrom}} {{Head|Chrom|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}<br>•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}}
|•{{SSBU|Chrom}} {{Head|Chrom|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}<br>{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Cyan}}
|{{SpiritType|Grab}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeGrab.png|20px|center|Grab]]
|2,500
|2,500
|[[Suzaku Castle]] ([[Battlefield form]])
|[[Suzaku Castle]] ([[Battlefield form]])
Line 636: Line 611:
|-
|-
|1,328
|1,328
|[[File:Hero's Comrades Spirit.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Hero's Comrades|size=64}}
|Hero's Comrades
|''DRAGON QUEST'' Series
|''DRAGON QUEST series''
|•{{SSBU|Ike}} {{Head|Ike|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}} (120 HP)<br>•Tiny {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Pink}} (120 HP)<br>•{{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}} {{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=ShortsBlue}} (100 HP)<br>•{{SSBU|Sheik}} {{Head|Sheik|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}} (130 HP)<br>•Tiny {{SSBU|Robin}} {{Head|Robin|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}} (90 HP)<br>•{{SSBU|Zelda}} {{Head|Zelda|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}} (110 HP)<br>•{{SSBU|Link}} {{Head|Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Teal}} (100 HP)
|•{{SSBU|Ike}} {{Head|Ike|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}<br>{{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Pink}}<br>•{{SSBU|Zero Suit Samus}} {{Head|Zero Suit Samus|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=ShortsBlue}}<br>•{{SSBU|Sheik}} {{Head|Sheik|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}<br>{{SSBU|Robin}} {{Head|Robin|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Red}}<br>•{{SSBU|Zelda}} {{Head|Zelda|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}<br>•{{SSBU|Link}} {{Head|Link|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Teal}}
|{{SpiritType|Shield}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeShield.png|20px|center|Shield]]
|13,300
|13,300
|[[Yggdrasil's Altar]]
|[[Yggdrasil's Altar]]
|N/A
|N/A
|•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed<br>•The enemy's smash attacks have increased power<br>•Stamina battle
|•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed<br>•The enemy's smash attacks have increased power<br>•[[Stamina battle]]
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Dragon Quest|The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Dragon Quest|The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination}}
|[[dragonquestwiki:Rab|Rab]]
|Rab
|-
|-
|1,359
|1,359
|[[File:Kim Kaphwan.png|center|64x64px]]
|{{SpiritTableName|Kim Kaphwan|size=64}}
|Kim Kaphwan
|''Fatal Fury'' Series
|''Fatal Fury'' series
|•{{SSBU|Ken}} {{Head|Ken|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}<br>•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}<br>•Tiny {{SSBU|Ridley}} {{Head|Ridley|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}
|•{{SSBU|Ken}} {{Head|Ken|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=White}}<br>•Giant {{SSBU|King Dedede}} {{Head|King Dedede|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Black}}<br>•Tiny {{SSBU|Ridley}} {{Head|Ridley|g=SSBU|s=20px|cl=Green}}
|[[File:SpiritTypeAttack.png|20px|center|Attack]]
|{{SpiritType|Attack}}
|1,800
|1,800
|[[King of Fighters Stadium]]
|[[King of Fighters Stadium]]
|Jump Power ↓
|•Jump Power ↓
|•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power<br>•Reinforcement will appear after an enemy is KO'd<br>•All fighters have reduced jump power  
|•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power<br>•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd<br>•All fighters have reduced jump power
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Fatal Fury|Let's Go to Seoul! - FATAL FURY 2}}
|{{SSBUMusicLink|Fatal Fury|Let's Go to Seoul! - FATAL FURY 2}}
|[http://snk.fandom.com/wiki/Chang_Koehan Chang Koehan]
|[http://snk.fandom.com/wiki/Chang_Koehan Chang Koehan]
Line 680: Line 653:
<gallery>
<gallery>
SSBU King Dedede Number.png|King Dedede's fighter card.
SSBU King Dedede Number.png|King Dedede's fighter card.
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede1.jpg|King Dedede [[taunting]] on [[Green Greens]].
King Dedede unlock notice SSBU.jpg|King Dedede's unlock notice.
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede1.jpg|King Dedede [[taunt]]ing on [[Green Greens]].
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede2.jpg|Performing his neutral aerial on [[Magicant]].
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede2.jpg|Performing his neutral aerial on [[Magicant]].
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede3.jpg|With a [[Poké Ball]] after performing his forward smash on [[Pokémon Stadium]].
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede3.jpg|With a [[Poké Ball]] after performing his forward smash on [[Pokémon Stadium]].
Line 691: Line 665:
</gallery>
</gallery>


===Character Showcase Video===
===Fighter Showcase Video===
{{#widget:YouTube|id=bikxqlRPN64}}
{{#widget:YouTube|id=bikxqlRPN64}}


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*During the segment of the Nintendo E3 Direct that focused on King Dedede's Final Smash, his eyes are normal colored while he is wearing his mask. In the final game, his eyes are yellow.
*King Dedede's prank to the Kongs in {{SSBU|King K. Rool}}'s reveal trailer is considered an in-joke within the fandom, as it is perceived as his voice actor, series director [[Masahiro Sakurai]], making a practical joke at the expense of the fans.
*King Dedede is one of four characters to have appeared since ''Brawl'' to have a different Final Smash across every installment; the other three are [[Pit]], [[Zero Suit Samus]], and [[R.O.B.]].
**Ironically, both King Dedede and King K. Rool are opponents of each other's Classic Mode route.
*King Dedede's pose in his official render resembles one of his [[idle pose]]s.
*In the Korean version of the game, the [[Announcer]] calls him "King Dedede", despite having a slightly different name in Korean, "Dedede Daewang", which translates to "Dedede the Great". He shares this distinction with {{SSBU|Hero}}.
*King Dedede's prank to the Kongs in {{SSBU|King K. Rool}}'s reveal trailer has gained somewhat of a meme status in the fandom, as it is perceived as his voice actor, series director [[Masahiro Sakurai]], making a practical joke at the expense of the fans.
*In the Chinese version of the game, the Announcer calls him "King Dedede" in the Simplified version, while the Traditional version has the "Dedede" announcement from the Japanese version.
**Ironically, both King Dedede and King K. Rool are opponents for each other's Classic Mode route.
*In the French and European Spanish versions, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" ('''le''' Roi Dadidou and '''el''' Rey Dedede, respectively). This trait is shared with {{SSBU|Wii Fit Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Villager}}, {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBU|Inkling}}, {{SSBU|Hero}}, and the {{SSBU|Mii Fighter}}s. Additionally, he and {{SSBU|Duck Hunt}} are the only two fighters having this trait in the European version, but not in the American version.
*In the Korean version of the game, the [[Announcer]] calls him "King Dedede", despite having a slightly different name in Korean, "Dedede Daewang", which translates to "Dedede King".
*King Dedede is one of the few characters in the entire roster to have different facial expressions when attempting different types of grabs and missing them, being his standing grab (a confused expression) vs. his dash and pivot grabs (a continuously happy expression).  
*In the Chinese version of the game, the Announcer calls him "King Dedede" in the Simplified version, while the Traditional version has the "Dedede!" announcement from the Japanese version.
**Others include {{SSBU|Pikachu}} (standing vs. dash vs. pivot) and {{SSBU|Squirtle}} (standing and dash vs. pivot)
*In the European Spanish version, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" ('''el''' Rey Dedede). This trait is shared with {{SSBU|Wii Fit Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Pokémon Trainer}}, {{SSBU|Villager}}, {{SSBU|Ice Climbers}}, {{SSBU|Inkling}}, {{SSBU|Hero}}, and the {{SSBU|Mii Fighter}}s. Additionally, he and {{SSBU|Duck Hunt}} are only two fighters having this trait in the European version, but not in the Latin American version.
*King Dedede is the one of the only two antagonists that can be unlocked in the Light Realm, the other being {{SSBU|Bowser}}.
*King Dedede is unlocked in {{SSBU|Donkey Kong}}'s Classic Mode unlock column, referencing the fact they're tied as the third heaviest fighters in ''Ultimate'', whereas only King K. Rool & Bowser (the latter of which is unlocked in Donkey Kong's unlock column as well) are each heavier than them.
**On the other hand, both characters have large gluttonous appetites, thus making them two of six opponents to be fought in {{SSBU|Kirby}}'s Classic Mode route; ''Gourmet Clash''
***Interestingly, King Dedede can also be unlocked by Bowser as they appear in Brawl's event [[Two Trouble Kings]].
***Not to mention, all three characters appear in King K. Rool's route alongside Charizard (another fighter unlocked in Donkey Kong's unlock column via Pokemon Trainer).
*Prior to 3.0.0, if King Dedede threw a Smart Bomb at his opponent and tried to Inhale them, the Inhale would not affect anyone until the bomb explosion was over. This glitch may likely have be caused by opponents stuck during the hitstun. When this happened, anyone caught in the Inhale from before will teleport into King Dedede's mouth once the explosion ended. Kirby could do this too. This was patched, where characters can now no longer be put into hitstun during Inhale.
*King Dedede is one of the five veterans from ''Smash 4'' to have their [[Boxing Ring]] alias changed in ''Ultimate'', the others being {{SSBU|Link}}, {{SSBU|Kirby}}, {{SSBU|Mega Man}}, and {{SSBU|Ryu}}.
*King Dedede is one of the five veterans from ''Smash 4'' to have their [[Boxing Ring]] alias changed in ''Ultimate'', the others being {{SSBU|Link}}, {{SSBU|Kirby}}, {{SSBU|Mega Man}}, and {{SSBU|Ryu}}.
*King Dedede is one of three characters whose Classic Mode route centers around princesses, or in his case, any characters with royal titles for adversaries. The other two who share this trait with King Dedede are {{SSBU|Daisy}} and {{SSBU|Bowser Jr.}}, both of which appear as King Dedede's opponents and thus makes him the only fighter of the three to face more than just humans for opponents.
*Dedede has his own [[effect|damage effect]] known simply as {{b|Dedede|effect}}, which applies to all hammer-related moves with the exception of Jet Hammer. It is identical to [[normal]].
**Although King Dedede's Classic Mode mostly contains royalties, {{SSBU|Lucina}} and {{SSBU|Chrom}} do not appear as his opponents.
*Despite also having royal titles, {{SSBU|Lucina}}, {{SSBU|Chrom}}, and {{SSBU|Corrin}} do not appear as opponents in King Dedede's Classic Mode route.
**Furthermore, considering said boss doesn’t face characters outside his own series, [[Ganon]] does not appear as King Dedede's boss despite being Ganondorf’s more powerful form with the title of “Demon King”.
**Additionally, [[Ganon]] does not appear as the boss in King Dedede's Classic Mode route despite also having a royal title.
*As of Challenger Pack 4, King Dedede is the only character to appear in every single DLC Spirit Board, appearing in the Yusuke Kitagawa, Hero's Comrades, Gruntilda and Kim Kaphwan spirit battles.
*Despite Masahiro Sakurai not being credited as a character voice in the credits, his name is listed in the Japanese version of King Dedede's Sound Test. King Dedede shares this distinction with {{SSBU|Yoshi}} (Kazumi Totaka), the [[Pikmin]] (Hajime Wakai), Winged Pikmin (Atsuko Asahi), [[Inkling]] (Yuki Tsuji), and the ''Tekken 7'' announcer (Josh Keller).
 
==References==
{{reflist}}


{{SSBUCharacters}}
{{SSBUCharacters}}

Latest revision as of 23:15, December 18, 2024

This article is about King Dedede's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the character in other contexts, see King Dedede.
King Dedede
in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
King Dedede SSBU.png
KirbySymbol.svg
Universe Kirby
Other playable appearances in Brawl
in SSB4

Availability Unlockable
Final Smash Dede-Rush
Tier E+ (79)
King Dedede (SSBU)

King Dedede (デデデ, Dedede) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed as playable along with Rosalina & Luma and the rest of the veterans on June 12th, 2018. King Dedede is classified as Fighter #39.

Series creator Masahiro Sakurai's portrayal of King Dedede from Super Smash Bros. 4 was repurposed for Ultimate.

King Dedede is currently ranked 79th out of 82 on the current Ultimate tier list, placing him at the top of E+ tier, and the lowest ranked veteran from Brawl. While Dedede was significantly buffed, this is similar to his exceptionally low placement in Smash 4 at 51st out of 54.

King Dedede has some of the best endurance out of any fighter on the roster. Dedede is tied with Donkey Kong as the third heaviest character in the game and has one of the best vertical recoveries due to Super Dedede Jump, allowing him to survive to extremely high percents. Dedede's primary strengths lie in his hammer and deadly ledge traps. King Dedede's hammer provides him with large, disjointed hitboxes on many of his moves, making him one of the few super-heavyweights that can reliably space his opponent. Dedede's hammer can also be quite powerful, as he boasts some of the strongest smash attacks and aerials in Ultimate. Furthermore, Dedede's Gordo Throw combined with his various tilts and smash attacks can make Dedede one of the most intimidating characters on the ledge. King Dedede's moves were largely buffed in power, frame data, and combo ability in their transition to Ultimate. The most significant buff to Dedede's overall moveset is that Inhale now serves as a reflector, allowing Dedede to better fight against projectile camping. Inhale can also be used in conjunction with his Gordos, giving him another way to use his sole projectile against his opponent.

Changes made to the engine in the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate have benefited Dedede's limited combo potential and linear recovery. Universal reductions to landing lag made neutral aerial and up aerial better combo tools than in Smash 4. Changes made to jumpsquats and air dodging enhance Dedede's edgeguarding and his poor horizontal recovery options. While air dodging was severely nerfed in Ultimate, Dedede is relatively unaffected by these changes due to his multiple jumps and high vertical recovery.

However, King Dedede has severe flaws that overshadow most of his positive attributes, especially when in disadvantage. Dedede's awful mobility is the source of many of his problems, with him especially struggling in the air thanks to having the slowest air speed in the game. While Dedede's overall speed is better than in Smash 4, it's still a challenge for him to approach or retreat from his opponent. Like many super-heavyweights, King Dedede has a large hitbox and few escape options, making him highly susceptible to combos and juggling. While this can be somewhat dealt with through Dedede's incredibly fast falling speed, his super-heavyweight attributes only compound the issues his sluggishness presents. Dedede's atrocious air speed in combination with his fast fall speed leave him exceedingly vulnerable offstage, making it troublesome for Dedede to get back to stage safely. Despite the universal decrease in lag, the slow frame data associated with Dedede's moves make a majority of his moveset highly committal. Dedede's specials all leave him open to punishment. Inhale and Jet Hammer, despite their newfound uses, still have slow ending lag. Dedede has to be careful when using Gordo Throw, as Gordos can be reflected back by the opponent with any move that does 2% or higher, causing significant damage. Super Dedede Jump is best used if Dedede can connect with the ledge, as the move has exceptionally high ending lag on stage. All of this leads to Dedede having a surprisingly hard time taking off stocks, as his powerful finishers are unsafe, and his deadly set-ups are difficult to establish in neutral.

King Dedede's sheer amount of problems have left him with negative competitive reception. While Dedede was initially viewed as an upper mid tier, his weaknesses only became more apparent as the metagame progressed. Dedede also received notable nerfs to his Gordo hitboxes and shield break set-ups in subsequent balance patches, lowering his competitive standing even further. Though players such as Atomsk and ZAKI have seen some success with the character, many of Dedede's early mains have either dropped him or relegated him to a secondary.

How to unlock[edit]

Complete one of the following:

King Dedede must then be defeated on Fountain of Dreams (the Ω form is used in World of Light).

Attributes[edit]

King Dedede is tied for the third heaviest character in the game alongside Donkey Kong, making him a super heavyweight. King Dedede shares some typical attributes with other heavyweights, such as a high damage output, high KO potential, great endurance, quick falling and fast falling speeds (both tied for second and third fastest respectively), overall sluggish mobility, large size and a high susceptibility to combos. In addition to having an average initial dash and the thirtieth highest gravity, he has the twenty-eighth slowest walking speed, eleventh slowest dashing speed, the worst air speed in the game, and the fourth slowest air acceleration. To counteract these flaws, however, King Dedede is gifted with four midair jumps.

As a super-heavyweight, King Dedede has immense endurance, both vertically and horizontally. His massive weight makes him difficult to launch, and his incredibly fast falling speed lets him return to the ground quickly. Despite having the worst air mobility, his four midair jumps and Super Dedede Jump, the latter of which travels a very long vertical distance and has super armor during its ascent and descent, gives him great recovery for a heavyweight. Super Dedede Jump also has a meteor smash hitbox during its descent, making it risky to intercept if he recovers high. His tech rolls are unusually long-distanced for a character of his size, making him difficult to tech-chase. Finally, King Dedede's trademark hammer grants him a long disjoint in many of his attacks, allowing him to safely space his opponents, especially if they are slow and have worse range than him.

True to a super heavyweight character, King Dedede is gifted with an abundance of finishers. King Dedede's dash attack is a notable example, as it deals huge damage, and reliably KOs under 100%, while being able to KO as low as below 60% near the ledge. King Dedede's smash attacks all possess great power, great disjointed range, and transcendent priority, while having their own perks: forward smash can reliably KO from 60% and below in most situations, has deceptively short ending lag for an attack of its power, while also being able to deal severe shield damage; up smash reliably KOs from anywhere on-stage around 100ish% without rage, while covering a large space all-around Dedede; lastly, down smash is his fastest smash attack in his arsenal and covers significant horizontal distance around both sides of Dedede, while easily KOing below 100% near the ledge and around 125% from center.

The rest of King Dedede's grounded moveset comes with merits: neutral attack can be useful for racking up damage, while the finisher's unique vertical knockback allows this move to KO at 150% under rage. King Dedede's forward tilt sports good range and startup lag, while its multiple hits are effective for dealing damage and starting combos, while also trapping rolling or floor-bound opponents; up tilt has quick startup lag and good range, allowing it to combo into itself while dealing good damage and leaving King Dedede's body and head intangible; lastly, down tilt deals good damage and has good range, being able to pursue opponents or retreat from them.

King Dedede's aerial game is also decent, thanks to his multiple midair jumps which allow him to stall and bait reactions from opponents. Neutral air is his fastest aerial due to coming out on frame 7, which can disrupt enemy combos, and its late hit can also set up combos for Dedede himself, such as up tilt or up air. Forward air has a lot of range in front of Dedede, which is good for spacing with its decent startup speed, and can wall of pain at lower percents. Back air is a potent kill option with a good range behind Dedede, which is also a good option for spacing and landing. Up air can beat out a lot of down aerials thanks to its long-range, and it also has strong KO potential. Down air, when sweetspotted, is a powerful meteor smash offstage, but its use in general is limited due to its slow startup and small awkward hitbox.

King Dedede's grab game has perks of its own. Although his grab has merely average range, this problem can be mitigated by dash grabbing. His pummel is good for racking up on damage, due to its quick speed, which is especially deadly at high percentages; forward throw has good edgeguarding potential, being able to follow up with Gordo Toss; back throw is Dedede's strongest throw, dealing the most damage and knockback while having limited degrees of damage racking and edgeguarding potential; up throw can also be used to launch opponents into previously thrown Gordos, and can follow up with an up aerial; lastly, down throw's low damage and knockback lend it great combo potential, easily stringing into itself, and initiating combos with Dedede's neutral, forward, and back aerials.

King Dedede's special moves have decent utility as well. Inhale acts as a strong command grab that can be B-Reversed for landing options against shielding opponents on the ground or on platforms above Dedede. The spit can force opponents into a recovery state by sending them offstage or even spit them under the stage, which is perhaps where Dedede is strongest. Inhale also doubles as a reflector, allowing him to contest against projectile campers. The Gordos from Gordo Throw act as powerful stage control options with KO potential in their own right at 140% and above and can set up deadly ledge traps. Lastly, Jet Hammer is an effective punishing tool with heavy armor that does very high damage and knockback, and with a max charge, it can break full shields.

In spite of these strengths, King Dedede still has noteworthy drawbacks. King Dedede's biggest problem is his approach, which is among the worst in the game. His mobility is sluggish, especially in the air, giving King Dedede immense difficulty catching up to or retreating from his opponents. King Dedede's below-average dashing speed also makes him over-reliant on fox-trotting to cover grounded distances, which itself is somewhat predictable.

Although King Dedede's fast falling speed allows him to easily return to the ground, his slow air speed, large hurtbox, heavy weight and lack of fast-enough escape options renders him vulnerable to combos and juggling. King Dedede's recovery is further hampered by his aforementioned slow air speed and fast falling speed, often forcing him to use his Super Dedede Jump to return onstage. Super Dedede Jump itself, in spite of traveling high, also causes King Dedede to descend very quickly; this, coupled with its limited horizontal maneuverability, renders Super Dedede Jump unreliable for recovering at certain distances offstage.

King Dedede's other specials can work against him as well. Inhale has high ending lag, allowing other characters to easily punish him after he finishes the move. Gordo Toss's Gordos can be reflected back at King Dedede from any attack that does 2% or higher, dealing immense damage to him and potentially resulting in a self-induced KO, requiring him to exercise caution or utilize Inhale on his reflected Gordos. Jet Hammer also takes a long time to charge, leaving King Dedede susceptible to attack, and its high ending lag leaves him vulnerable to punishment from his opponents.

Overall, King Dedede's high weight, endurance, range, and power allow him to punish his opponents with relative ease and survive for a very long time, but his poor overall mobility makes King Dedede's approach somewhat abysmal and renders his recovery somewhat predictable and overly reliant on Super Dedede Jump. Dedede players should be careful to not make a mistake, or else they might potentially risk getting heavily punished.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]

King Dedede was infamous for being one of the worst characters in SSB4, owing to a large number of weaknesses such as notoriously poor frame data, his moveset's lack of power despite being a super heavyweight, and his special moveset's lack of utility outside of Gordo Throw. Even in game updates, he infamously received nerfs while not receiving a single buff in return. Possibly as a result of his poorly regarded status, King Dedede has been buffed overall in the transition to Ultimate.

Among King Dedede's biggest buffs are those to his ground game. Neutral attack's KO power was significantly improved, and it has undergone adjustments that make it harder for opponents to fall from the move as easily. Forward tilt connects much better overall, allowing it to deal its maximum damage more frequently, whereas up tilt has increased KO power (now having power comparable to its Brawl incarnation, especially with rage) and down tilt's angle was positively adjusted while its hitbox was fixed, which when combined with the changes to jostling allows it to connect much more frequently. Dash attack now deals significantly increased knockback and has had its hitbox fixed, now making it a usable (albeit still rather slow) punish option at the edge. His smash attacks are also more useful, with both forward and up smash dealing more damage and knockback, and his forward smash is now slightly faster.

King Dedede's aerial game has been improved overall as well. The universal reductions to landing lag improve King Dedede's limited combo and set-up ability, making his neutral aerial a more potent combo starter, and giving his up aerial's looping hits the capacity of starting drag-down followups. Particularly, his up aerial now deals significantly increased knockback, turning it once again into a reliable KOing option despite its angle rendering it more vulnerable to LSI. Forward aerial has also increased knockback, improving its ability to edgeguard. His grab game has been slightly buffed as well, thanks to his grabs lasting for one more frame and his standing and dash grabs reaching further, in spite of all his grabs receiving slightly increased startup and increased ending lag.

King Dedede's special moveset has also received several miscellaneous buffs, giving him options that either he previously lacked or were outclassed. Inhale has a much larger grabbox and has gained the ability to spit out inhaled projectiles with a one-time increase to their damage, effectively giving him a reflector, which helps alleviate his vulnerability to projectile camping. Gordo Throw's hitboxes are larger and more accurate, and the move has less ending lag after a Gordo has been thrown. Additionally, Inhale's new ability to suck in projectiles to spit them out combines well with Gordo Throw, giving King Dedede another way to throw or re-launch Gordos at a faster speed, which gives the projectile much more utility. Jet Hammer now deals more damage and knockback, has shield breaking potential, and it now has heavy armor before the move comes out that resists up to 14%, improving the move as a hard punish option.

Aside from direct changes, King Dedede also benefits from a few changes to universal gameplay mechanics. The universal increase to mobility has buffed his abysmal horizontal mobility (although it still remains among the worst across the series), while the streamlined jumpsquats and the new limitations to air dodge mechanics have increased the effectiveness of his aerial moveset, by giving him additional landing options when combined with the reduction on landing lag, and improving his edgeguarding ability, now making the latter more formidable. The changes to air dodging also don't affect him as much as other characters, thanks to him still boasting multiple jumps and a long-distanced recovery move in Super Dedede Jump, and he can potentially use a directional air dodge without having to resort to using his recovery move.

However, King Dedede is not without a few nerfs. His back aerial, despite having a visually more accurate animation, has smaller hitboxes, slightly decreasing its range. His neutral attack and up tilt deal less damage, making the former a less reliable option for racking up excess damage. He has also received some nerfs in game updates, such as his forward smash not breaking shields at once. Despite this, most of his nerfs have all been extremely minor in comparison to his more useful buffs.

Altogether, King Dedede's entire kit has been noticeably improved from SSB4, and while this doesn't change his core playstyle significantly (aside from Inhale becoming a reflector), it allows him to play to his strengths better thanks his moves gaining improved consistency and utility, allowing King Dedede to utilize his strengths better. However, it is important to note that, due to this, King Dedede still retains most of his core weaknesses from the previous game, such as slow movement speed, a lackluster disadvantage state, a vulnerability to some forms of camping, and a high susceptibility to rushdown and combos, with many of these changes failing to alleviate his weaknesses outside of Inhale becoming a pseudo-reflector. Combined with the vast majority of returning veterans also receiving buffs that have improved them, King Dedede has not significantly improved to raise his standing relative to the cast, despite performing much better than in SSB4.

Aesthetics[edit]

  • Change Due to the aesthetic used in Ultimate, King Dedede's model features an altered color scheme. His clothing and general design are more cartoonish, with higher contrast colors and greater detail in his clothes; the fur on his coat and hat appears fluffier and more detailed, and his sash has more depth.
    • Change Normal map changes to the star textures on his hammer give the illusion that they protrude slightly more, as depicted in his official artwork.
  • Change Like many other characters, King Dedede is more expressive. For instance, he now squints in a humorously seductive manner during his crouching animation. King Dedede generally has more furious expressions during attacks, his Screen KO, and his helpless animation.
  • Change Down taunt now has a more exaggerated animation, with the belly-drumming animated to be more obvious.
  • Change Two of King Dedede's victory poses were slightly altered:
    • His up-inputted victory pose now shows a Waddle Dee walking up to him. The ending animation is now more exaggerated, with Dedede bouncing while laughing gloatingly.
    • His right-inputted victory pose now finishes with him charging Jet Hammer.
  • Change King Dedede's star KO voice clip has been shortened, as it no longer extends past the KO's animation.
  • Change King Dedede's Boxing Ring alias has been changed to "Self-Made King", a direct translation of the Japanese title, for consistency with its appearance in Kirby Star Allies.

Attributes[edit]

  • Buff Like all characters, King Dedede's jumpsquat animation takes three frames to complete (down from 6).
  • Buff King Dedede runs faster (1.36 → 1.496).
    • Buff Initial dash is much faster (1.4 → 1.815), enabling fox-trotting for boosted ground mobility.
  • Buff King Dedede walks faster (0.98 → 1.029).
  • Buff King Dedede's air speed is much faster (0.63 → 0.735), now being nearly on par with Luigi's.
  • Change King Dedede's gravity is higher (0.08788 → 0.097).
    • Change His short hop and jump are shorter as a result (38 frames → 36 frames (short hop), 55 frames → 48 frames (jump).
  • Buff King Dedede is much heavier (119 → 127), allowing him to survive even longer.
  • Buff Forward roll has less ending lag (FAF 33 → 32).
  • Nerf Forward roll grants less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
  • Nerf Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 5-17) and more ending lag (FAF 33 → 37).
  • Change Spot dodge intangibility starts sooner but also ends sooner (frames 4-19 → 3-18).
  • Buff Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 4-29 → 4-32).
  • Nerf Air dodge has much more ending lag (34 → 43).

Ground attacks[edit]

  • Neutral attack:
    • Buff The first hit has less ending lag (FAF 38 → 33).
    • Buff The first two hits of neutral attack can now lock.
    • Buff Neutral infinite has less startup lag (8 → 5), is faster, and connects more reliably.
    • Buff Neutral infinite's finisher has less startup lag (6 → 4) and more knockback scaling (150 → 162).
    • Buff Neutral infinite's finisher has 2 hitboxes rather than 1 (10u → 7u/7u), and the hitboxes extend farther vertically (Y offset: 10u-12u → 7.5u-13u (both)). The finisher has more range overall as a result.
    • Nerf The finisher has more ending lag (FAF 47 → 50).
    • Nerf Except for the finisher, each hit of neutral attack deals less damage (first hit: 4% → 2.5%, second hit: 4% → 2.2%, neutral infinite: 1% → 0.5%).
    • Change The infinite has gained a shieldstun multiplier of 5×. This allows it to lock opponents into their shields between each hit, and thus pressure them more effectively, but also allows them to cancel shieldstun and punish King Dedede more easily if they shield 10 hits or more.
  • Dash attack:
    • Buff Dash attack deals more knockback (40 base/100 scaling → 65/92 (clean), 35 base/100 scaling → 55/92 (late)), improving its already potent KO potential. This is boosted further by the changes to the Sakurai angle on the ground.
    • Buff The clean hit and first late hitbox extend further inwards (Z offset: 7.8u-11.8u → 5u-11.8u), improving their ability to hit opponents at the edge, and combined with the changes to jostleing remove its blind spot.
    • Buff Dash attack hitbox duration lasts longer with 2 new sourspot hitboxes (Frame 26-36 → 26-42).
  • Forward tilt:
    • Buff Forward tilt's looping hits have altered angles (25°/96° → 22°/100°) and have altered knockback (20 base/24/80/90 set/100 scaling → 60/50/30/26 set/100 scaling), allowing the move to connect more reliably.
    • Change Forward tilt has an altered animation.
  • Up tilt:
    • Buff Up tilt has less startup (9 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 44 → 39).
    • Nerf Up tilt does slightly less damage (12%/10% → 11.5%/9.5%).
    • Buff Up tilt deals more knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 65/94), making the move much stronger despite the damage reduction.
    • Nerf Up tilt's hitboxes are smaller (7u/8u → 6u/6.5u), reducing its range.
  • Down tilt:
    • Buff Down tilt's clean hitbox now extends inwards (Z offset: 12u → 12u-6u), which combined with the changes to jostle mechanics removes its blind spot.
    • Buff Down tilt launches at a lower angle (45˚ → 35˚).
  • Forward smash:
    • Buff Forward smash has less startup (42 → 40) and ending lag (FAF 82 → 78).
    • Buff Forward smash deals more damage (15%/24%/6% → 16%/18.5%/25%/11%), and all but the shockwave and early hitboxes deal more knockback (30 base/93 scaling → 50/70 base/85/74 scaling).
    • Buff There is now a hitbox on the handle during the early hit which instead of launching opponents pushes them into the sourspot of the main hit (which is still stronger than the early hit), making it slightly easier to land the main hit.
    • Nerf Forward smash has a new sourspot on the hammer's handle that's much weaker (though is still powerful in its own right), and the early hit deals less knockback (30 base/93 scaling → 85/55), hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
  • Up smash:
    • Buff Up smash deals more damage (14%/9% → 16%/10%) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO ability.

Aerial attacks[edit]

  • Buff All aerials have less landing lag (15 frames → 9 (neutral), 30 → 18 (forward/down), 21 → 13 (back), 22 → 13 (up).
  • Neutral aerial:
    • Buff Neutral aerial possesses much greater combo potential due to its reduced landing lag and King Dedede's shorter jumpsquat, especially when hitting with the late hit.
    • Change Neutral aerial causes King Dedede's belly to wobble around during the move.
  • Forward aerial:
    • Buff Forward aerial has more knockback scaling (90 → 98).
    • Change Forward aerial has a snappier animation, with a significant delay on when King Dedede flips.
  • Back aerial:
    • Change Back aerial is now a horizontal hammer swing, which better matches the move's hitboxes.
    • Nerf Back aerial now has 3 unextended hitboxes rather than 1 extended one (10u → 6.5u/6.5u/6.5u). Compared to the previous hitbox, the new hitboxes have both less vertical range (Y reach: 20u–0u → 16.5u–3.5u), and less horizontal range (Z reach: -25u–1u → 0.5u–-24.5u).
      • Buff The hitboxes are now able to interpolate with King Dedede's movement.
    • Nerf Due to his reduced short hop duration, King Dedede can no longer jump out of a short hop back aerial before landing.
  • Up aerial:
    • Buff Up aerial's final hit deals more knockback (50 base/150 scaling → 55/167).
    • Nerf Up aerial launches at a lower angle (70°/80° → 60°), hindering its KO potential close to the upper blast zone, while also making it much more susceptible to DI and LSI.
  • Down aerial:
    • Buff The duration of the hitbox has been slightly increased (22-23 → 22-24).
    • Change It has an altered animation: King Dedede swings his hammer from his right instead of his left. It also has a more forceful animation.

Throws and other attacks[edit]

  • Grabs:
    • Nerf All grabs have more startup (frame 7 (standing)/9 (dash)/10 (pivot) → 8/11/12) and ending lag (FAF 36 (standing)/45 (dash)/42 (pivot) → 40/48/43).
    • Buff Standing grab's grabbox extends farther (Z2 offset: 11.5 → 12.5), improving its range.
    • Buff Dash grab's grabbox extends slightly farther (Z2 offset: 14 → 14.4), slightly improving its range.
    • Nerf Pivot grab's grabbox does not extend as far outwards (Z2 offset: -19.5 → -19.3), which combined with the changes to jostling hinders its utility.
  • Pummel
    • Buff Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 16), but has much less startup (frame 9 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 25 → 8), shortening its duration overall as well as making it harder to escape between each pummel.
    • Nerf Pummel deals less damage (3% → 1.6%).
  • Up throw:
    • Buff Up throw has improved combo potential due to King Dedede's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
  • Down throw:
    • Change Down throw has an altered animation, with King Dedede slamming his opponent face-first onto the ground.
    • Nerf Down throw now deals 8 frames of hitlag to King Dedede and the opponent before the throw occurs, rather than dealing 6 frames of hitlag to the opponent only. This makes down throw easier to DI and increases its ending lag, as its total duration was unchanged.

Special moves[edit]

  • Inhale:
    • Buff Inhale has less startup lag (frame 17 → 14).
    • Buff Inhale acts as a reflector, giving a 1.5x damage boost to any projectiles spat out. Once Inhaled, the projectile is spat out almost immediately, and eliminates almost all of the move's ending lag.
      • Buff Inhale can catch and spit Dedede's own Gordos. This gives him an option to relaunch Gordos that are hit back at him, and manually allows him to launch Gordos forward much further and at a much faster velocity compared to throwing one with Gordo Throw.
    • Buff Inhale has a much larger grabbox.
    • Buff Inhale's spit deals more damage (10% → 12%).
    • Buff Spat out opponents deal more knockback to bystanders (70 base/70 scaling → 77/78).
    • Change Inhale has an updated, more opaque visual effect.
  • Gordo Throw:
    • Buff Gordos have significantly larger hitboxes on their bodies that don't shrink over time (3.1u/2.9u/2.6u/2.4u → 4u), and also have hitboxes that cover their spikes, considerably improving their area of attack, and doing a much better job at accurately representing the overall size and shape of the Gordos.
    • Change Gordos gain a surprised expression when deflected. Additionally, they have animated spines.
    • Buff Gordos have a higher chance of sticking to walls (50% → 60%), improving their edgeguarding potential.
    • Buff Gordo Throw has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 59).
  • Super Dedede Jump:
    • Buff Super Dedede Jump's landing hit deals more damage (11% → 12%).
      • Change It has altered knockback (80 (base)/100/80 (scaling) → 105/100 (base)/70/82 (scaling)).
    • Buff Super Dedede Jump will snap to edge when reversed.
    • Change Super Dedede Jump descends more quickly.
    • Change King Dedede has blue trails form around him when using Super Dedede Jump, indicating armor.
  • Jet Hammer:
    • Buff Jet Hammer deals more damage (grounded: 11%-38% → 12%-40%, aerial: 10%-27% → 11%-32%).
      • Buff Fully charged Jet Hammer deals more knockback (grounded: 5 (base)/66 (scaling) → 60/46, aerial: 10 (base)/70 (scaling) → 60/54).
    • Buff Jet Hammer has heavy armor during the swing (frames 1-14) when used on the ground.
    • Buff Uncharged and fully charged Jet Hammer's hammer head hitbox is larger (7.5u → 9u).
    • Change The fire from Jet Hammer is blue instead of red.
    • Change Fully charged Jet Hammer triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
  • Final Smash:
    • Change King Dedede has a new Final Smash called Dede-Rush, which features King Dedede taking his "Masked Dedede" persona from Kirby Super Star Ultra before trapping opponents inside of a caged boxing ring, attacking them with a barrage of missiles, and launching them with his Jet Hammer.
    • Buff It deals more damage (46% → 59.6%) and knockback.
    • Buff Unlike Dedede Burst in SSB4, it is not possible for opponents to escape once trapped.
    • Nerf Dede-Rush cannot trap more than one opponent at a time for extra damage.

Update history[edit]

King Dedede received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. The most notable nerfs were to Gordo Throw: update 2.0.0 shrunk the Gordos' hitboxes, while update 3.0.0 both lowered their shield damage output and removed the Gordo-boosted Super Dedede Jump. Moreover, this same update further toned down King Dedede's ability to pressure shields by removing forward smash's ability to hit grounded characters twice, which removed its ability to instantly break shields.

Following these nerfs, update 7.0.0 would mark the first time King Dedede was buffed in Ultimate, as his shield was enlarged as part of a near-universal buff. Update 8.0.0 continued this trend by buffing some of King Dedede's moves, primarily in regard to KO potential. Up tilt's damage output was increased noticeably, and down tilt's launching angle was lowered. As a result, both moves now function as strong, yet reasonably fast KO options when they are sweetspotted, which King Dedede was sorely lacking up to that point. Forward aerial and especially up aerial gained higher knockback: in addition to improving their KO potentials, with down throw to up aerial now being a KO confirm, this also improved forward aerial's edge-guarding potential.

In addition to his improved offense, King Dedede's defense was improved slightly, thanks to Inhale's decreased start-up lag and enlarged grabboxes making it more reliable at catching projectiles and approaches. Lastly, update 11.0.0 buffed Gordo Throw in a few ways: its decreased ending lag and Dedede's faster reflection timing have collectively made it safer, and its edge-guarding potential was improved thanks to the Gordos' increased chance of sticking to edges.

Overall, King Dedede fares slightly better than he did at the launch of Ultimate. Although Dedede retains a lot of his fundamental flaws and did not improve as much as other tepidly received characters that were also buffed via updates, his buffs have nevertheless improved his KO potential and, to a lesser degree, his defensive potential.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 2.0.0

  • Bug fix Fixed King Dedede's knockback facial expression after Inhaling an opponent holding an explosive item.
  • Nerf Gordos' hitboxes on their spikes (4.8u→3.8u) and body (4.5u→4u) have been reduced.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.0.0

  • Nerf Forward smash no longer hits grounded opponents twice. This significantly hinders its shield breaking potential.
  • Bug fix Fixed reflected Charge Shot from Samus that would launch the other way using Inhale.
  • Bug fix Opponents now properly gain intangibility when caught by Inhale; previously opponents would become stuck in hitstun during Inhale.
  • Nerf Gordo Throw deals less shield damage.
  • Nerf Gordo Boosted Super Dedede Jump was removed.
  • Change Aerial Gordo Throw's animation has been adjusted.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 3.1.0

  • Bug fix Scenarios where the opponent would not escape from Inhale after King Dedede gets hitstunned at a specific frame has been fixed.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 4.0.0

  • Bug fix Fixed an issue where Inhaling certain projectile would become stuck at the center of the stage.
  • Bug fix Fixed an issue where Gordo would become stuck under King Dedede after catching it back during invulnerabily.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 7.0.0

  • Buff Overall shield size has been increased by 1.15×.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 8.0.0

  • Buff Up tilt deals more damage (10%/8% → 11.5%/9.5%) with no compensation on knockback, drastically improving its KO potential, to the point it is only slightly weaker than his up tilt in Brawl without rage.
  • Buff Down tilt launches at a lower angle (45° → 35°), allowing it to set up tech-chases more effectively at low percents and improving its KO potential at high percents.
  • Change Forward smash has had its jostling properties adjusted.
  • Buff Forward aerial has more knockback scaling (90 → 98).
  • Buff Up aerial's last hit has much more knockback scaling (147 → 167), greatly improving its KO potential, being able to KO under 150% from ground level without DI.
  • Inhale:
    • Buff The move has less startup (frame 17 → 14).
    • Buff The grounded version's grabboxes are larger (Z offset: 4u → 4u—7u (initial), 5u—9u → 5u—12u (vacuum), greatly improving its range.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 9.0.1

  • Bug fix Fixed an issue in which Dedede could fall though the stage when breaking Steve's blocks.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 11.0.0

  • Gordo Throw:
    • Buff Has less ending lag (FAF 61 → 59).
    • Buff Has an increased chance of the Gordos sticking on a wall (50% → 60%), improving its edge guarding ability.
    • Buff Has increased the speed of Dedede reflecting a Gordo (FAF 61 → 55), with the timing of the reflection being shortened (FAF 29 → 25).

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 12.0.0

  • Change Inhaling a small item/projectile while falling will make King Dedede fall slower, while inhaling a small item/projectile while rising will make him fall faster.

Moveset[edit]

For a gallery of King Dedede's hitboxes, see here.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the 1v1 multiplier.

  Name Damage Description
Neutral attack Quick Swing (ふり抜き) / Swing Up (ふり上げ) / Spinning Hammerhead (回転ハンマーヘッド) / Battering Strike (ぶちかまし) 2.5% A pair of hammer swings, followed by thrusting his hammer forward while twirling its head, followed by an upward swing. Unlike most neutral infinites, its finisher launches opponents at a nearly vertical trajectory and has KO potential, as it KOs around 150% without rage. However, it is the slowest jab in the game, with the first hit coming out at frame 10, and opponents can fall out of the neutral infinite if they are near the edge of the spinning hammer.
2.2%
0.5% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt Extending Hammer (のび~るハンマー) 2% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5) Thrusts his hammer forward while twirling its head. Very good range, though its fourth hitbox can only connect if the move lands at the hammer's head. However, its rather long ending lag makes this move unsafe if it does not connect at its farthest range. It is very useful for Dedede's edge traps, as its speed, range, and long-lasting hitbox allows it to trap rolls and neutral get-ups, but this is less rewarding than using his smash attacks. Also good for catching landings when reversed out of a run, and can beat out punish attempts for a landed back aerial.
Up tilt Great King Headbutt (大王ずつき) 11.5% (head and neck), 9.5% (head's tip) An upward arcing headbutt. King Dedede's head and upper body are intangible while its hitbox is active. It has fast start-up lag with low ending lag. This move can combo into itself at low percentages, and has KO potential at high percentages. Its high knockback makes it the 5th strongest up tilt in the game, being able to KO middleweights below at 120% on Final Destination.
Down tilt Rolling (ころがり) 10% (early), 6% (late) A cartwheeling tackle. Dedede's fastest move, coming out on frame 6. It is capable of being used after most defensive options and attacks, as a good out of shield option, or for disrupting opponents. It can also lead to itself and other attacks if the opponent does not tech.
Dash attack Belly Flop (ずっこけ) 16% (clean), 13% (late) His signature running splash, first seen in Kirby's Dream Land. A slow and powerful KOing option, it is the strongest dash attack in the game, and is even stronger than some of the cast's smash attacks, KOing some super heavyweights at around 55% near the edge due to its exceptionally high knockback. It also deals a good chunk of shield damage, which can apply shield pressure with Gordo setups. However, it's also the slowest dash attack in the game in both startup and ending lag, making it incredibly punishable; it is thus best used for a hard read or setting up tech-chases. Due to its low-reaching sweetspot and lingering hitboxes, it can hit every character on the edge after their edge invincibility has ended, making it a potent 2 frame punish tool.
Forward smash Megaton Hammer (メガトンハンマー) 16% (early hammerhead), 25% (late hammerhead), 18.5% (handle), 11% (shockwave) Rears his hammer back and swings it downward. It can KO as early as 30% near the edge, even when uncharged (which even Bowser and Ganondorf cannot do until 39% and 38%, respectively). When fully charged, it is even capable of OHKOing some lighter characters (such as Pichu) near the edge of Final Destination, and even the heaviest fighters at less than 10%. It is the strongest forward smash in the game by default; when factoring in Lucario's forward smash at maximum Aura and Hero's forward smash with a critical hit, it is the 3rd strongest. Overall, it is the 4th strongest attack of any kind in the entire game by default, being surpassed only by Judge 9, aerial reverse Warlock Punch, and Flare Blade when fully charged. It has very slow startup (frame 40), but deceptively short ending lag for its power. It also deals additional shield damage, to the point that its clean hit can break a full shield when fresh, and possesses both transcendent priority and a long-ranged quake hitbox. Originates from Kirby's Dream Land.
Up smash Sweeping Hammer (なぎ払いハンマー) 16% (hammer), 10% (body) An overhead arcing hammer swing. A decent anti-air option with great vertical knockback, KOing middleweights at 100%. Has good range in front and behind Dedede with consistent power throughout the duration, being able to hit short characters unlike in SSB4. It also has transcendent priority.
Down smash Turning Hammer (ぶんまわしハンマー) 13% Spins 360° to perform a horizontal hammer swing around himself. King Dedede's fastest smash attack, it sends foes at a low angle and can KO middleweights around 80% near the edge. Best used for catching rolls as well as edge attacks. It also has transcendent priority. Appears very similar to the Hammer Swing attack from the Hammer ability.
Neutral aerial Belly Drum (たいこばら) 12% (clean), 7% (late) A splash. Dedede's fastest aerial, coming out on frame 7. Functions like a sex kick, but unlike the majority of them, it sends at a much more vertical angle. When coupled with a fast fall, its late hit has followup potential, such as an up tilt at low percentages, neutral, forward or back aerial at mid percentages, and up aerial at higher percentages.
Forward aerial Ice Crusher (かちわり) 12% A downward hammer swing. Has good range in front of Dedede, but is unsafe on hit at lower percentages if spaced poorly (though due to this, it can also lock at lower percentages). This move does not autocancel in a short hop and has more ending and landing lag than his back aerial, but starts much earlier. It is capable of performing a pseudo-wall of pain while edgeguarding, and can be used to edgeguard attempts while recovering, due to its good range reaching through edges. It KOs middleweights at 157%.
Back aerial Shake Off (ふりはらい) 16% Turns around to perform a horizontal hammer swing. One of Dedede's best moves for spacing and KOing, doing so reliably below 120%. Can be autocanceled in a short hop, and is also relatively safe on shield when spaced at maximum range.
Up aerial Stirring Up (上かき回し) 1% (hits 1-7), 5% (hit 8) Thrusts his hammer upward while twirling its head. It has very good range above Dedede and can beat out numerous anti-juggling attempts. It is quite strong for a multi-hit move, being able to KO below 115% near the upper blast line. Like his forward aerial, it can hit edgeguarding opponents through edges.
Down aerial Meteor Hammer (メテオハンマー) 15% (middle of hammerhead), 8% (hammerhead's edge) Rears back and swings his hammer below himself. The sweetspot is a very powerful aerial-only meteor smash. On grounded opponents, it deals high horizontal knockback, KOing at around 100% near the edge. However, its usage is limited due to its high startup making it Dedede's slowest aerial.
Grab Grab (つかみ) Reaches out. Despite his size, King Dedede's grab range is average.
Pummel Grab Headbutt (つかみヘッドバット) 1.6% A headbutt. Slow but strong.
Forward throw Golf Swing (ゴルフスイング) 4% (hit 1), 6% (throw) An upward hammer swing. It can be used to set up an edgeguard or launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo. King Dedede's second strongest throw, KOing middleweights at around 160% at the edge of Final Destination.
Back throw Reverse Golf Swing (反転ゴルフスイング) 4% (hit 1), 9% (throw) Tosses the opponent behind himself and then performs an upward hammer swing. King Dedede's strongest throw, but due to the fact that it launches at a very high angle, it does not KO until very high percentages; it can KO middleweights at around 148% at the edge of Final Destination with no DI, but around 30% later with good DI. It is better at damage racking due to these factors. Like forward throw, it can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
Up throw Receive (レシーブ) 4% (hit 1), 5% (throw) A jump set, a technique used in volleyball. It can lead to up aerial at low to medium percentages, but down throw is generally more rewarding and consistent. Like forward throw, can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo. It is King Dedede's weakest throw, as it only starts KOing middleweights at around 261% on Final Destination.
Down throw Beatdown (たたき落とし) 6% A one-handed body slam. King Dedede's best combo starter, it can initiate true combos into a neutral or forward aerial at very low percentages, and back aerial at low to mid percentages. At medium percentages, down throw to up aerial is a KO combo if the opponent DIs incorrectly. It also has slight KO potential at very high percentages, as it can KO middleweights at around 235% on Final Destination.
Forward roll
Back roll
Spot dodge
Air dodge
Techs
Floor attack (front)
Floor getups (front)
  7% Gets up and kicks in front of himself and then behind himself.
Floor attack (back)
Floor getups (back)
  7% Performs an inverted leg sweep, striking both sides as he gets up.
Floor attack (trip)
Floor getups (trip)
  5% Swings his hammer in of himself and then behind himself while twirling the hammer's head.
Edge attack
Edge getups
  10% Performs a kick while climbing up. Reassembles the Slide Kick from the Kirby series.
Neutral special Inhale 12% (spit), 1.5× damage (reflected projectiles) Inhales the opponent. While they have been Inhaled within his stomach, King Dedede can then walk around and spit them out to inflict damage. He will also receive a 0.25× received knockback multiplier, making it almost impossible to KO him while someone is inhaled. Inhale can also be used to swallow items and spit back projectiles, acting as a reflector. The reflector property is quite notable, as unlike the rest of the cast, it has no reflection limit. Another quirk of its reflector is that it doesn't have priority over his hurtbox. As a result, it can't reflect projectiles that travel their full distance in 1 frame, such as a fully charged Failnaught or a Staff shot. Inhale is also a good landing mixup to catch sidesteps and shields.
Side special Gordo Throw 10% (hammer), 14%/12.5%/11%/9.5% (Gordo) Hits a bouncing Gordo with his hammer. The move can be angled upward, forward, or downward, which causes the Gordo's trajectory to behave differently and can be used for mindgames. By extension, his throws can be used to launch the opponent toward a previously thrown Gordo. The Gordos disappear after almost 3 seconds. An upward-angled Gordo can be used to deny most options at the ledge or even all when combined with an attack. Gordo can also stick to any surface that allows wall jumping, and is much more consistent than it was in SSB4. They can also be reflected by any attack dealing at least 2%. Of note is that Dedede can hit opponents with the hammer swing used to serve the Gordo, potentially leading into a hit by both the hammer and Gordo for a considerable amount of damage. Dedede can also Inhale his own Gordo and spit it out at a considerable speed, or re-catch the Gordo and throw it back, though unless it has been Inhaled before hand, this can be done only up to three times.
Up special Super Dedede Jump 15% (drop), 12% (landing), 5% (stars) His signature jump, which concludes with a diving double foot stomp. The stomp buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial ones. Like Yoshi Bomb, it emits stars on both sides after Dedede stomps the ground, which can make it difficult to punish, especially against characters that lack a projectile. Although Dedede cannot grab edges during his descent, he can do so upon canceling Super Dedede Jump (by pressing the special button or tilting the control stick up). However, if it is canceled too late before landing, Dedede will endure landing lag that lasts for more than a second.
Down special Jet Hammer 12% (uncharged grounded), 11 (uncharged aerial), 40% (fully charged grounded), 32% (fully charged aerial) Activates the afterburner in his hammer to charge up a very powerful horizontal swing, which is released when the special button is released. Dedede can walk around slowly and jump once while charging. It has heavy armor during the swing (resisting up to 14%), and it can hit opponents hanging from the ledge after their invincibility wears off. The hammer will inflict the most amount of knockback if released just before the full charge. Dedede can hold the hammer out indefinitely, but it slowly does recoil damage if he holds it when fully charged up until 100%. A barely fully charged Jet Hammer can KO middleweights around 40% from center stage, whereas a fully charged Jet Hammer can KO opponents around 55% from center stage, as well as break shields.
Final Smash Dede-Rush 8% (hit 1), 1.8% (missiles), 20% (hammer hit), 10% (last hit) Strikes the opponent with his hammer, sending them into his trademark boxing ring with a cage set up. He then assumes his Masked Dedede persona and wields his New Dedede Hammer in order to attack his opponent with a barrage of missiles, followed by a powerful spinning hammer swing. Deals 59.6% in total with considerable knockback, but can only trap 1 opponent at a time.

Stats[edit]

Stats Weight Dash speed Walk speed Traction Air friction Air speed Air acceleration Gravity Falling speed Jumpsquat Jump height Double jump height Empty landing Lag
Value 127 1.815 – Initial dash
1.496 – Run
1.029 0.085 0.006 0.735 0.01 – Base
0.04 – Additional
0.097 1.95 – Base
3.12Fast-fall
3 32.85 - Base
16.02 - Short hop
32.85 6

Announcer call[edit]

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The editor who added this tag suggests: Needs announcer calls from other languages.
If you have a good audio file for this article, upload it here.

On-screen appearance[edit]

  • Sits on a palanquin carried by 4 Waddle Dees, then jumps off, scattering them.

Taunts[edit]

  • Up taunt: Holds up his hammer in celebration, twirling it and hoisting it upwards three times.
  • Side taunt: Twirls his hammer and laughs.
  • Down taunt: Spins around in a circle, slapping his belly and chanting.

Idle poses[edit]

  • Puts his hammer on his shoulder, briefly tapping against his shoulder twice.
  • Smacks his belly twice.

Crowd cheer[edit]

Cheer (English) Cheer (Japanese/Chinese) Cheer (Italian) Cheer (Dutch) Cheer (French)
Cheer
0:05
0:04
0:03
0:02
NTSC
0:02

PAL
0:02
Description De-De-De! De-De-De! Dedededededede! Dedede! Dedede! Dedededededede! Ki - ing Dedede! Dedede! Roi DaDiDou!

Victory poses[edit]

  • Left: Swings his hammer twice before turning to the camera and while smiling smugly.
  • Up: Laughs and repeatedly slaps his belly while a Waddle Dee walks into the scene. The Waddle Dee doesn't appear in Team Battles.
  • Right: Twirls his hammer with a grimace, then charges Jet Hammer.
0:05
The victory theme of the Kirby universe is a cover of the short recurring theme that plays when Kirby completes a stage or defeats a boss, debuting in Kirby's Dream Land, though the shortened version that this track is based on debuted in Kirby's Adventure.

In competitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also: Category:King Dedede players (SSBU)

  • USA Atomsk - One of the best King Dedede players in the world in the game's first few years. At the beginning of the game's lifespan, he boast the best North American results behind ZAKI, placing 25th at Pound 2019 and after the pandemic, marked a multitude of great regional results such as 3rd at CROSSxUP defeating Quidd and 4th at Hold The Line defeating Light, which are some of King Dedede's best wins in the current meta. He retired from competition after mid-2022.
  • USA Castelia - A notable King Dedede player who gained notoriety as one of the best King Dedede players in the online metagame, placing 3rd at Dabuz's Galaxy Sized Journey To EVO and 7th at Ultimate Naifu Wars 5. In the post-pandemic era, she is considered the current best King Dedede player in the United States, placing 33rd at both Glitch - Regen and supermajor Get On My Level 2023, and has defeated players such as Jake, KirbyKid, and PkChris at other events.
  • UK Peli - One of the best King Dedede players in the world before switching mains to Sonic. As a solo-main, he headlined the character in Europe, placing 9th at Valhalla III and 25th at Syndicate 2019, beating European talent such as iStudying, CurryGovernor, and Meru. He also won VCA 2021 and while he primarily played Sonic, it marked one of the best runs for a King Dedede player, as Peli used the character to defeat Space and Leon in his bracket. Currently, he has entered less tournaments and rarely uses King Dedede in bracket.
  • Japan ZAKI - The best King Dedede player of all-time. He has been the sole representative of the character throughout the game's entire lifespan and holds the highest King Dedede placements at supermajors such as 25th at multiple Japanese tournaments including Umebura Japan Major 2019, Maesuma TOP 14, and Sumabato SP 49, as well as 33rd at EVO 2019, the largest Smash tournament of all-time. He is the only King Dedede player to be ranked globally, placing 130th on the OrionRank 2022.

Tier placement and history[edit]

At the beginning of Ultimate's metagame, many players noticed how, despite retaining some of his weaknesses, King Dedede was overall buffed from SSB4 thanks to improvements to Gordo Throw and stronger KO options, as well as retaining his resilient endurance and disjointed range. This perception would further improve thanks to players such as ZAKI and Atomsk, both of whom made notable impacts at major tournaments, with the former placing 2nd at Sumabato SP 2 and the latter placing 25th at Pound 2019. As a result, King Dedede became a more popular choice when compared to his appearance in SSB4, most notably in local and regional tournaments. By extension, the general perception casted him as an upper mid tier character, with potential to be a high tier character.

However, as the metagame progressed, game updates removing King Dedede's shield break combinations and shrinking the Gordos' hitboxes started to hurt his perception. Both ZAKI and Atomsk saw a decline in results while other players either dropped King Dedede in favor of others (Big D) or relegated him to a secondary (Peli). In addition, the combination of King Dedede's poor disadvantage state, inconsistent KO potential, and laggy frame data has caused him to struggle against most top tier and high tier characters, including Palutena, Mega Man, and Fox. Although King Dedede is widely considered to be better than in SSB4, he still remains a pretty unpopular pick and is ranked 79th on the current tier list. Top Dedede players share a similar opinion on the character with Atomsk and Peli considering him a low tier character and one that is hard to use to get consistent results in tournaments.

Classic Mode: Royal Rumble[edit]

King Dedede's congratulations screen.

King Dedede faces off against characters with royal titles such as kings and princesses.

Round Opponent Stage Music Notes
1 King K. Rool (SSBU) King K. Rool Pirate Ship Gang-Plank Galleon The stage represents King K. Rool's ship, Gangplank Galleon.
2 Marth (SSBU) Marth and Roy (SSBU) Roy Castle Siege Fire Emblem Theme
3 Zelda (SSBU) Zelda Hyrule Castle Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (64)
4 Peach (SSBU) Peach and Daisy (SSBU) Daisy Princess Peach's Castle Underwater Theme - Super Mario Bros.
5 Bowser (SSBU) Bowser and Bowser Jr. (SSBU) Bowser Jr. Find Mii (Battlefield form) King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3 The stage represents Bowser's Castle.
6 Ganondorf (SSBU) Ganondorf Bridge of Eldin Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form
Bonus Stage
Final Master Hand Final Destination Master Hand (Less than 7.0 intensity)
Master Hand / Crazy Hand (Intensity 7.0 or higher)
On intensity 7.0 and higher, Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as King Dedede has King Dedede's Theme (Brawl) accompany the credits.

Role in World of Light[edit]

Finding King Dedede in World of Light

King Dedede was among the fighters that were summoned to fight against the army of Master Hands.

During the opening cutscene, King Dedede was present on the cliffside when Galeem unleashed its beams of light. He was vaporized offscreen and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excluding Kirby.

Dedede can only be accessed in a sub-area themed after the Gourmet Race minigame from Kirby Super Star, where the player must collect exactly 11 pieces of food for him to appear on the podium.

Fighter Battle[edit]

No. Image Name Type Power Stage Music
39
King Dedede SSBU.png
King Dedede
Attack
Attack
9,000 Fountain of Dreams (Ω form) King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)

Spirits[edit]

King Dedede's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode as King Dedede. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after King Dedede has been unlocked. Unlocking King Dedede in World of Light allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, King Dedede makes an appearance as a primary spirit under his Masked Dedede alter ego.

In Spirit Battles[edit]

Conditions in italic aren't listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.

As the main opponent[edit]

Spirit Battle parameters
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music
180
SSBU spirit Moblin.png
Moblin The Legend of Zelda Series King Dedede Team King Dedede (SSBU)×4
Neutral
1,900 Skyloft (Battlefield form) •Move Speed ↓ •The enemy favors down specials
•The enemy has reduced move speed
Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda
312
Raven spirit
Raphael the Raven Yoshi Series •Giant King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Shield
4,000 Mario Galaxy N/A •The enemy is giant Yoshi's Island (for 3DS / Wii U)
314
from the game's files
Pak E. Derm Yoshi Series King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Shield
3,900 Yoshi's Story •Jump Power ↓ •You have reduced jump power
•Timed battle (1:30)
•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Alolan Exeggutor)
Yoshi's Story (Melee)
316
SSBU spirit Don Bongo.png
Don Bongo Yoshi Series •Giant King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Shield
3,900 Yoshi's Story •Move Speed ↑
•Move Speed ↓
•The enemy has increased move speed after a little while
•The enemy is giant
•The enemy has reduced move speed
Yoshi's Story (Melee)
340
SSBU spirit Kracko.png
Kracko Kirby Series King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Pikachu Pikachu (SSBU)×2
Grab
3,500 Skyworld (clouds only) N/A •Defeat the main fighter to win Boss Theme Medley - Kirby Series
365
SSBU spirit Gordo.png
Gordo Kirby Series •Clear King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)×3
Shield
3,800 Green Greens (hazards off) N/A •The enemy's side special has increased power
•The enemy favors side specials
•The enemy is invisible
Kirby Retro Medley (Castle Lololo)
386
SSBU spirit Peppy Hare.png
Peppy Hare Star Fox Series •Bunny King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Fox Fox (SSBU)
Falco Falco (SSBU)
Neutral
8,800 Venom N/A •Defeat the main fighter to win
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Melee)
727
SSBU spirit Dyntos.png
Dyntos Kid Icarus Series King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Neutral
7,500 Palutena's Temple (Battlefield form) N/A •The enemy is easily distracted by items Lightning Chariot Base
819
SSBU spirit Yellow Wollywog.png
Yellow Wollywog Pikmin Series King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)×3
Shield
3,800 Distant Planet N/A •The enemy favors up specials Garden of Hope (Remix)
853
SSBU spirit Lyle.png
Lyle Animal Crossing Series King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Attack
1,700 Smashville •Defense ↑
•Attack Power ↑
•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage
•The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage
Town Hall and Tom Nook's Store - Animal Crossing: Wild World
1,125
Founded in a Youtube Video
Fish Balloon Fight Series King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Grab
3,900 Balloon Fight N/A •The enemy's neutral special has increased power
•Timed battle (1:30)
•The enemy favors neutral specials
Balloon Fight Medley
1,235
chef
Chef (Personal Trainer: Cooking) North America
Chef (Cooking Guide) PAL
Personal Trainer: Cooking Series North America
Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? Series PAL
King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Shield
3,500 PictoChat 2 •Item: Food •The enemy becomes more powerful after eating
•The enemy is easily distracted by items
Personal Trainer: Cooking
1,344
SSBU spirit Gruntilda.png
Gruntilda Banjo-Kazooie Series •Giant King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU) (250 HP)
•Giant Dr. Mario Dr. Mario (SSBU) (40 HP) Dr. Mario (SSBU) (45 HP) Dr. Mario (SSBU) (50 HP)
Attack
13,900 Find Mii (Ω form) •Hazard: Poison Floor •Defeat the main fighter to win
•The floor is poisonous
Stamina battle
•The enemy starts the battle with a Star Rod
•Reinforcements will appear during the battle
Vs. Klungo

As a minion[edit]

Spirit Battle parameters Inspiration
No. Image Name Series Enemy Fighter(s) Type Power Stage Rules Conditions Music Character
343
SSBU spirit Dark Matter.png
Dark Matter Kirby Series Meta Knight Meta Knight (SSBU) (120 HP)
King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU) (80 HP)
Attack
13,500 Halberd (Ω form) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Nightmare) •The enemy's melee weapons have increased power
•The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random
Stamina battle
02 Battle Possessed King Dedede (Kirby's Dream Land 2)
745
SSBU spirit Captain Syrup.png
Captain Syrup Wario Land Series Bayonetta Bayonetta (SSBU)
•Giant King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Grab
3,500 Pirate Ship N/A •Items will be pulled toward the enemy
•The enemy is giant
•The enemy is easily distracted by items
The Great Sea / Menu Select Genie
1,312
SSBU spirit Yusuke Kitagawa.png
Yusuke Kitagawa Persona Series Chrom Chrom (SSBU)
•Giant King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
Grab
2,500 Suzaku Castle (Battlefield form) •Assist Trophy Enemies (Vince) •Defeat the main fighter to win
•Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while
Last Surprise Goemon
1,328
SSBU spirit Hero's Comrades.png
Hero's Comrades DRAGON QUEST Series Ike Ike (SSBU) (120 HP)
•Tiny King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU) (120 HP)
Zero Suit Samus Zero Suit Samus (SSBU) (100 HP)
Sheik Sheik (SSBU) (130 HP)
•Tiny Robin Robin (SSBU) (90 HP)
Zelda Zelda (SSBU) (110 HP)
Link Link (SSBU) (100 HP)
Shield
13,300 Yggdrasil's Altar N/A •The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed
•The enemy's smash attacks have increased power
Stamina battle
The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination Rab
1,359
SSBU spirit Kim Kaphwan.png
Kim Kaphwan Fatal Fury Series Ken Ken (SSBU)
•Giant King Dedede King Dedede (SSBU)
•Tiny Ridley Ridley (SSBU)
Attack
1,800 King of Fighters Stadium •Jump Power ↓ •The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power
•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd
•All fighters have reduced jump power
Let's Go to Seoul! - FATAL FURY 2 Chang Koehan

Alternate costumes[edit]

Alternate costume (SSBU)
King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU) King Dedede (SSBU)

Gallery[edit]

Fighter Showcase Video[edit]

Trivia[edit]

  • King Dedede's prank to the Kongs in King K. Rool's reveal trailer is considered an in-joke within the fandom, as it is perceived as his voice actor, series director Masahiro Sakurai, making a practical joke at the expense of the fans.
    • Ironically, both King Dedede and King K. Rool are opponents of each other's Classic Mode route.
  • In the Korean version of the game, the Announcer calls him "King Dedede", despite having a slightly different name in Korean, "Dedede Daewang", which translates to "Dedede the Great". He shares this distinction with Hero.
  • In the Chinese version of the game, the Announcer calls him "King Dedede" in the Simplified version, while the Traditional version has the "Dedede" announcement from the Japanese version.
  • In the French and European Spanish versions, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" (le Roi Dadidou and el Rey Dedede, respectively). This trait is shared with Wii Fit Trainer, Pokémon Trainer, Villager, Ice Climbers, Inkling, Hero, and the Mii Fighters. Additionally, he and Duck Hunt are the only two fighters having this trait in the European version, but not in the American version.
  • King Dedede is one of the few characters in the entire roster to have different facial expressions when attempting different types of grabs and missing them, being his standing grab (a confused expression) vs. his dash and pivot grabs (a continuously happy expression).
    • Others include Pikachu (standing vs. dash vs. pivot) and Squirtle (standing and dash vs. pivot)
  • King Dedede is one of the five veterans from Smash 4 to have their Boxing Ring alias changed in Ultimate, the others being Link, Kirby, Mega Man, and Ryu.
  • Dedede has his own damage effect known simply as Dedede, which applies to all hammer-related moves with the exception of Jet Hammer. It is identical to normal.
  • Despite also having royal titles, Lucina, Chrom, and Corrin do not appear as opponents in King Dedede's Classic Mode route.
    • Additionally, Ganon does not appear as the boss in King Dedede's Classic Mode route despite also having a royal title.
  • Despite Masahiro Sakurai not being credited as a character voice in the credits, his name is listed in the Japanese version of King Dedede's Sound Test. King Dedede shares this distinction with Yoshi (Kazumi Totaka), the Pikmin (Hajime Wakai), Winged Pikmin (Atsuko Asahi), Inkling (Yuki Tsuji), and the Tekken 7 announcer (Josh Keller).