Kirby (SSB4)

Kirby in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in Ultimate
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Ultra Sword
Tier	F (50)

Kirby (カービィ, Kirby) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. His return to the series was announced during the E3 Nintendo Direct on June 11th, 2013. He was also among the first wave of Amiibo that are compatible with SSB4. Makiko Ōmoto reprises her role as Kirby's voice actor, but instead of doing so via recycled voice clips, she provided new clips that changed Kirby's inflections somewhat compared to the clips from previous installments.

Kirby is currently ranked 50th out of 55 on the tier list, placing him in the F tier. This is a significant drop from his mid-tier placement in Brawl, where he was ranked 20th out of 38. Kirby possesses a great combo game: his up tilt, forward throw and down aerial are very good combo starters, with the latter also boasting guaranteed KO set-ups that are effective even against floaty characters. In addition to complimenting his combo game, Kirby's forward and up aerials are also useful for partaking in a wall of pain and juggling, respectively.

Despite his size, Kirby also has great KO potential, thanks to his clean smash attacks, clean back aerial, and up and back throws each boasting impressive power. The majority of his frame data is also respectably fast, while his crouch has become very useful, as it now allows him to avoid many moves from a variety of characters, such as projectiles that are not affected by gravity, or even grabs from taller characters.

However, Kirby retains many of his flaws from Brawl, the most notable of which is his poor endurance due to both his very light weight and his floatiness, alongside the addition of rage in SSB4. When coupled with his predictable recovery, Kirby is left prone to either getting KO'd early either while near the blast zones or due to being edge-guarded.

Kirby's mobility is also poor overall, which leaves him prone to being zoned out by many characters with better ranges or with projectiles that are affected by gravity. Lastly, Kirby's range has been shortened due to his feet becoming smaller.

While Kirby's flaws have resulted in him being viewed as a non-viable character in SSB4, his tournament representation is average and he has nevertheless achieved some level of success. This is most apparent at the local level, as Poyo and Triple R have each won several tournaments and place very well at them in both singles and doubles play, while Prince Kirby has won a number of doubles tournaments. Outside of this, Kirby has also seen some instances of success at the regional and national levels, owing to the efforts of Poyo, Triple R, MikeKirby, K.I.D.Goggles, Komota and MrRyanNess.

Attributes

As in previous installments, Kirby is a small lightweight, being tied for the fifth lightest character in the game. This is also reflected in his mobility, which is poor; he has slow walking speed, average dashing speed, the fourth slowest falling speed, the third lowest gravity, the fourth slowest air speed, below average traction and average air acceleration. Despite having the second lowest jumps, he has five double jumps, which counteract that flaw.

Kirby's greatest strength is the versatility of his moveset. The majority of Kirby's moveset is characterized by speed, while his slower moves instead boast very high power as a trade-off. Neutral attack and forward tilt are fast and have decent range, allowing Kirby to quickly fend off opponents. Up tilt is notorious for its combo potential, as its very quick speed allows it to consistently combo into itself or an aerial attack. Down tilt's very low power is compensated by its very fast speed and it launching opponents at the Sakurai angle, which allow it to trip opponents even up to 270%. His smash attacks have good range and high power, yet are not particularly slow, making them excellent at scoring a KO.

The usefulness of Kirby's ground game also extends to his grab game. His grabs are fast, while his pummel's meager damage output is counterbalanced by its very fast speed. His forward throw, notorious in Brawl for its highly damaging combo options at 0%, has been improved even further, as it now possesses follow-ups even up to medium percents, including a down aerial to re-grab. Back throw can be followed up by a back aerial at 0% on certain characters, tech-chase fast-fallers, and can now KO at high percents. Up throw is his strongest throw and is able to KO almost all characters around 170%, or even earlier if it lands on a platform. Lastly, down throw is reliable for damage racking when no other throw can yield better results.

Kirby's air game is also useful, due to his aerials boasting versatility and less than 18 frames of landing lag. Neutral aerial has a long duration, and its very low landing lag grants Kirby protection and allows him to take full advantage of buffering. Forward aerial is powerful, chains fluidly and can allow additional follow-ups at low percents. Up aerial has vertical knockback, low landing lag and has a good amount of auto-canceling frames, allowing for many potential follow-ups.

Back aerial has slightly disjointed range, a decently long duration, and is Kirby's fastest and strongest aerial, making it a very good all-purpose aerial attack. Lastly, down aerial has considerable start-up, but drags opponents downward before meteor smashing them, making it a deceptively powerful edge-guarding tool. In addition, it is an effective combo starter with guaranteed follow-ups on grounded opponents, even against floaty characters.

Kirby's special moveset has some interesting options. Inhale allows him to either copy the neutral special move of any character he Inhales, or spit them out as a weight-dependent projectile. The latter can be used to Kirbycide or put the opponent below the stage, almost eliminating their chances of recovering. The former, depending on what character he Inhales, can give Kirby a move that provides some assistance (Falcon Punch and Homing Attack) or massive benefits (Monado Arts and Needle Storm). Hammer Flip is very powerful, especially when fully charged. Its slow speed, however, makes it very difficult to use outside of edge-guarding or after a shield break.

Final Cutter is Kirby's recovery move and is decent at that, granting good vertical distance and decent horizontal distance, as well as decent protection during his ascent and descent. It also emits a shockwave upon landing, making it difficult to punish if not at point-blank range. Lastly, Stone causes Kirby to plummet straight down and ignore damage by any move that deals less than 30%. It is also very strong and can be canceled at any time, making it useful for playing mindgames.

However, Kirby has noticeable flaws. His most prominent weakness is his endurance. Being light and floaty, Kirby cannot endure strong hits at high percents. He is also very vulnerable to juggling, due to his aforementioned slow falling and air speeds. Rage further compounds these issues, as Kirby will be launched even earlier, while he will typically not endure long enough in order to take advantage of it.

Kirby's poor mobility not only makes it significantly difficult for him to approach and pressure opponents, but also makes him susceptible to fast characters like Sonic, or those with disjointed hitboxes like Marth and Cloud. In addition, his very long-distanced recovery is very slow, making aggressive edge-guarding and gimp-oriented moves, such as F.L.U.D.D. or meteor smashes, detrimental to him. Kirby's range is also mediocre at best, and his strongest moves happen to be his slowest, making it difficult for him to KO opponents outside of edge-guarding or without a set-up.

Kirby benefits significantly from his custom moves. Jumping Inhale propels Kirby forward, which often puts opponents in bad positions and can even allow it to function as a quick horizontal recovery option, though it is slower and lacks a vacuum. Ice Breath is a short-ranged projectile that can freeze opponents for a time and function as a great edge-guarding option, but removes all of Inhale's benefits. Hammer Bash is almost identical to Hammer in Brawl, as it is much faster and KOs earlier than the uncharged version of Hammer Flip. Giant Hammer is the most powerful custom move in the game without equipment and grants super armor, but is much slower than Hammer Flip.

Wave Cutter is overall faster, its descending hitbox is more powerful, and the shockwave has more range and can pressure shields, although it does not allow Kirby to hit opponents while ascending. Upper Cutter is faster, stronger and grants much more vertical recovery and momentum, but immediately cancels at its ascent's apex, and lacks both a descending hitbox and shockwave. Grounding Stone buries grounded opponents and has much less ending lag, allowing for follow-ups, safer mindgames, and acts as a potential anti-juggling tool. However, it is unable to KO grounded opponents and has more start-up lag. Meteor Stone meteor smashes the opponent and can even be used as a suicide move, but takes longer to end.

Overall, Kirby tends to run hot and cold, similarly to Luigi. He can inflict an impressive amount of damage if he gets close to his opponent thanks to his potent combo game, but doing so is difficult for him due to his poor mobility. As such, Kirby functions well with a bait and punish playstyle, although being unprepared for an opponent's approach can be hazardous due to his unimpressive survivability. Kirby has achieved average tournament representation and some degree of success: Poyo, Triple R and Prince Kirby have each won numerous local tournaments and continue to place very well at them in singles and doubles play, while MikeKirby and K.I.D.Goggles have collectively achieved a handful of notable results at regional and national tournaments.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Kirby has been nerfed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. Most of his issues in Brawl were not only retained but worsened and he also suffers from new weaknesses. Kirby's range has notably shortened as his feet became slightly smaller and many of his attack's hitboxes are smaller. A good example of this is his back aerial which has reduced range as well as significantly increased landing lag. This makes it easier for opponents to wall out Kirby especially with the cast having greater range overall. Kirby's air mobility as also taken a hit as his air acceleration is lower and unlike most returning veterans, his air speed has been decreased hindering both his recovery and ability to escape aerial pressure. As with his transition from each new Smash game as well as with most of the returning veterans, Kirby's damage output has been decreased which only further exacerbates his range issues. Some of Kirby's moves have also seen changes which greatly hinder their utility most notably down throw and aerial Hammer Flip with the former losing all of its followup potential while the latter is slower, weaker, and has lost its recovery and edgeguarding potential.

Kirby has seen both benefits and hindrances to the changes to Smash 4's mechanics. The changes to hitstun canceling help Kirby, as they enable him to chain combos together much better however, they also make him more susceptible to combos combined with his slightly higher weight, fall speed and gravity and they also remove his ability to momentum cancel which when combined with his higher gravity and the changes to DI, worsens his already poor endurance. The inclusion of rage further exacerbates this issue and while it improves Kirby's own KO potential, his poor endurance combined with his lack of an extremely deadly ladder combo or early kill confirm prevents him from making great use of the mechanic. The changes to aerial grab releases also benefit him as he is less vulnerable to them.

However, Kirby has seen a few improvements. His approach was slightly improved, due to his dashing speed becoming significantly faster even when relative to the cast. Some of Kirby's less reliable moves from Brawl, particularly Inhale and his down aerial, now possess much more utility. Some of Kirby's moves also have increased KO power with his back aerial and up throw being two good examples of this and the afforementioned removal of momentum canceling and introduction of rage supplement the buffs to their power.

Overall, while Kirby still retains most of the strengths he had in Brawl including his solid combo ability and KO potential for his character archetype, his weaknesses were amplified and he gained new weaknesses most notably, his reduced range and aerial mobility. While the changes to the game's mechanics benefit him overall, they do not aid him as much as some of the other returning veterans. As a result, Kirby is significantly worse than in Brawl.

Aesthetics

• Due to the aesthetic used in SSB4, Kirby's overall color scheme is more vibrant. His feet are also slightly smaller, and his skin appears to have significantly more diffused shading, with decreased difference in brightness between the lit and shaded sides of his body. Altogether, these changes make Kirby appear significantly more in line with his appearance as of Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
• Kirby has received two new alternate costumes, one of which is based on an unmasked Meta Knight.
• Kirby is significantly more expressive. He now sports a stern look when performing a number of moves, similarly to how he does in Return to Dream Land, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and Kirby: Triple Deluxe. His facial expressions when being attacked are also more exaggerated, such as his screen KOs depicting him as having teary eyes; his mouth closed; and the right side of his face pressed against the screen, or having wincing eyes; his mouth open; and his whole face pressed against the screen. Both of Kirby's screen KO expressions are based on his expression when an attack slams him against the screen in Triple Deluxe.
• Kirby's face now faces the screen, regardless of whether he is facing left or right.

Attributes

• Kirby is smaller. This makes his hurtbox slightly smaller, but hinders his range.
• Due to the general change in size between small and large characters, Kirby's smaller size significantly improves his crouch's defensive potential.
• Kirby is heavier (78 → 79).
• Kirby walks slower (0.95 → 0.93).
• Kirby dashes significantly faster (1.371 → 1.57) going from the 29th fastest out of 39 characters to the 31st fastest out of 58.
• Kirby's air speed is slower (0.85 → 0.8) going from the 11th worst out of 39 characters to the 4th worst out of 58.
• Kirby's air acceleration has decreased (0.11 → 0.095).
• Kirby falls faster (1.2 → 1.23). This slightly improves his vertical endurance, but makes him slightly more susceptible to combos.
• Kirby's fast falling speed is faster (1.9 → 1.968). This improves his air game, and makes him less susceptible to juggling however, it is much slower relative to the cast going from the 22nd fastest out of 39 characters to the 4th slowest out of 58 making him more susceptible to juggling relative to the cast.
• Kirby's gravity is higher (0.061 → 0.06405). This improves his aerial mobility, and somewhat alleviates the drawbacks of his floatiness however, it hinders his endurance and makes him more susceptible to combos as well as reducing the height of his jumps.
• Double jumps are lower.
• Rolls have decreased ending lag (FAF 32 → 31).
• Rolls have decreased intangibility frames (frames 4-19 → 4-17).
• Spotdodge has decreased intangibility frames (frames 2-20 → 2-17) and has increased ending lag (FAF 26 → 27).
• Air dodge has decreased start-up (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (FAF 50 → 33).
• Air dodge's duration is shorter (frames 4-29 → 3-27).
• Soft landing is faster (3 frames → 2).

Ground attacks

• The weakening of SDI makes neutral infinite and dash attack significantly more difficult to escape from.
• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral infinite now deals consistent damage (2% (near)/1% (far) → 1%).
  • Neutral attack's first hit's angle has been altered (361° → 55°). This allows it to connect better with the second hit, but removes it's ability to jab lock.
  • Neutral attack's second hit has increased base knockback (8 → 15), and its first and second hits have smaller hitboxes (3.3u → 3u). These changes slightly hinder its ability to connect with neutral infinite at high percents.
  • Neutral infinite has received a finisher, the Smash Punch from the Fighter ability.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has a smaller hitbox (5.4u → 3.3u).
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt deals less damage (7% (clean)/5% (late) → 5%/4%), without full compensation on its knockback scaling (102 (both) → 116 (clean)/110 (late)). These changes improve its combo potential but hinder its damage racking and KO potential.
  • Up tilt has a shorter duration (frames 4-10 → 4-9) and smaller hitboxes (5.5u (clean)/4.5u (late) → 4u (both)).
  • Clean up tilt's angle has been altered (92° → 100°).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt now deals consistent damage (5% (clean)/6% (late) → 6% (both)).
  • Down tilt has smaller hitboxes (4.5u → 3.7u).
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack's loop hits deal 1% less damage (2% → 1%), which decreases its overall damage output by 6% (14% → 9%). Its last hit also has smaller hitboxes (8u → 3u) and it has increased ending lag (FAF 50 → 54).
  • Dash attack's last hit has increased knockback (90/70 (base), 40 (set), 70/100 (scaling) → 100/0/70).
  • Dash attack's last hit has increased hitlag (1× → 2×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Forward smash:
  • Late forward smash deals less damage (13% → 12%/11%/10%), although its knockback was somewhat compensated (25 (base), 96/94 (scaling) → 90/69).
  • Clean forward smash has altered knockback (38 (base), 100/98/96 (scaling) → 30/102). This makes the angled down version slightly stronger but makes the angled up version slightly weaker.
  • Forward smash has increased start-up lag (frame 12 → 13) and smaller hitboxes (6u (clean/late) → 4.2u (clean)/3.5u (late)).
  • Forward smash has decreased ending lag (FAF 50 → 48).
  • Clean and late forward smash have altered angles (45° (up)/38° (non-angled)/31° (down) → 361° (clean), 82° (up)/73° (non-angled)/60° (down) → 60° (late)).
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has increased knockback (34/30 (base), 100 (scaling) → (32/30)/104/99 (early), 50 (scaling) → 52 (late)), improving its KO potential. It also has decreased ending lag (FAF 50 → 48).
  • Mid up smash has decreased knockback scaling (100 → 98).
• Down smash:
  • Late down smash now deals consistent damage (11%/9% → 10%), although its knockback was increased (30/20 (base), 100/85 (scaling) → 25/(110/108).
  • Down smash has decreased ending lag (FAF 56 → 54).
  • Late down smash has a longer duration (frames 15-21 → 15-22).
  • Due to its angle being altered (76°/28° → 69°), down smash is no longer a semi-spike. This significantly hinders its edge-guarding potential.

Aerial attacks

• Neutral, up, down and especially back aerial have increased landing lag (9 frames → 10 (neutral), 9 frames → 17 (back), 9 frames → 12 (up), 15 frames → 17 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial deals less damage (12% (clean)/10% (mid)/8% (mid-late)/6% (late) → 10%/8%/6%/4%).
  • Neutral aerial has increased knockback (10 (base) 80 (scaling) → 30/90) improving its KO potential despite its lower damage.
  • Neutral aerial's beginning auto-cancel frames end earlier (frames 1-8 → 1-4).
  • Neutral aerial's angle has been altered (361° → 46°).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's first and second hits' angles have been altered (45° → 45°/80° (hit 1), 80° → 366° (hit 2). This enables them to connect together better with the last hit. Forward aerial's last hit also has increased knockback scaling (138 → 148), improving its spacing and edge-guarding potential.
  • Forward aerial's first and second hits have smaller hitboxes (5u (hits 1-2)/6.5u (hit 3) → 4.3u (hit 1)/4.5u (hit 2)/4.9u (hit 3)). It also has increased ending lag (FAF 44 → 48), and no longer auto-cancels in a short hop due to Kirby's lower short hop. Altogether, these changes hinder its approach potential.
  • Forward aerial has decreased landing lag (15 frames → 13).
  • Forward aerial's last hit has increased hitlag (1× → 1.2×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Back aerial:
  • Clean back aerial deals 1% more damage (12% → 13%), without full compensation on its knockback scaling (105 → 104) improving its KO potential. Late back aerial also has a longer duration (frames 9-13 → 8-14).
  • Late back aerial deals 1% less damage (9% → 8%), without full compensation on its knockback scaling (110 → 112).
  • Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (7u (clean)/6u (late) → 4u/3.4u) and auto-cancels later (frames 1-4, 28 → 1-2, 32). The clean hit also has a shorter duration (frames 6-8 → 6-7). Altogether, these changes combined with back aerial's higher landing lag and Kirby's worse aerial mobility hinder its spacing potential.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial deals 1% less damage (10% → 9%), without full compensation on its knockback scaling (98 → 100).
  • Up aerial has smaller hitboxes (5.5u → 4.5u).
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial's loop hits deal 1% less damage (2% → 1%), which decreases its damage output by 5% (12% → 7%).
  • Down aerial's loop hits now utilize the auto-link angle (270° → 366°). When coupled with their lower damage and the weakening of SDI, this significantly improves its reliability but hinders their edgeguarding potential.
  • Down aerial's last hit has increased knockback scaling (107 → 110) and larger hitboxes (6u → 6.2u). When coupled with the removal of meteor canceling, these changes significantly improve its reliability.
  • Down aerial's landing hit has decreased set knockback (60 → 40) and its angle has been altered (30° → 60°), improving its combo potential.

Throws/other attacks

• Grabs have decreased ending lag (FAF 30 → 28 (standing), FAF 40 → 39 (dash), FAF 36 → 33 (pivot)).
• Dash grab has decreased start-up lag (frame 10 → 8).
• Standing and dash grabs have decreased ranges.
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals 0.55% more damage (1% → 1.55%) and has decreased hitlag, now being the third fastest pummel in the game. These changes significantly improve its damage racking potential.
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw deals 3% less damage (8% → 5%), with its knockback scaling compensated (100 → 125).
  • Forward throw's angle has also been altered (65° → 75°). When coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling, these changes grant it combo potential past low percents.
• Back throw:
  • Back throw has altered knockback (80 (base), 50 (scaling) → 30/120), improving its combo and KO potential. It also has decreased ending lag, improving its mix-up and combo potential at low percents.
  • Back throw's angle has been altered (120° → 130°).
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has increased knockback (70 (base), 70 (scaling) → 75/74), improving its KO potential despite its less favourable angle (85° → 78°).
• Down throw:
  • Down throw deals 1.8% less damage (1% (hits 1-10) → 0.8% (hits 1-9), 1% (hit 10), 12% → 10.2% (total)), and the throw has significantly increased knockback (40 (base), 140 (scaling) → 60/180). Its angle has also been altered (90° → 63°). When coupled with the removal of chain grabbing, these changes hinder its damage racking potential, and remove its combo potential while still lacking KO potential.

Special moves

• Inhale:
  • Inhale's damage outputs have been reversed (6% (swallow)/10% (spit) → 10%/6%).
  • Inhale has decreased start-up and ending lag. Inhaling non-explosive items also now heals 1%.
  • The removal of grab armor hinders Inhale's safety, as it now results in Kirby getting hit instead of Inhaling the opponent.
  • Kirbycide now KOs Kirby first and the opponent is released from Inhale when this occurs, significantly hindering its utility. However, there are certain characters that, when Kirbycided from a certain angle, will be KO'd as well and thus lead to a Sudden Death.
• Hammer Flip:
  • Hammer Flip is now chargeable and Kirby can also move around while using it, regardless of its charge. However, fully charged Hammer Flip now deals recoil damage when held. Altogether, these changes make it function almost identically to Jet Hammer.
  • Due to consisting of a consistent hitbox instead of a sweetspot and a sourspot, uncharged Hammer Flip now deals consistent damage (23% (grounded sweetspot)/18% (grounded sourspot) → 19%, 17% (aerial hit 1 sweetspot)/13% (aerial hit 2 sweetspot)/15% (aerial hit 1 sourspot)/10% (aerial hit 2 sourspot) → 15% (both)).
  • Hammer Flip has slightly increased knockback (65 (base), 72 (scaling) (grounded sweetspot), 50/70 (grounded/aerial hit 1 sourspot), 65/75 (aerial hit 1 sweetspot), 60/70 (aerial hit 2) → 60/78 (all)). This makes the previous sourspots and the second aerial hit stronger however, they do not compensate for the grounded and first aerial hit's sweetspots reduced damage hindering their KO potential.
  • Fully charged Hammer Flip deals more damage (23% (grounded sweetspot)/18% (grounded sourspot)/ → 35%/27%, 17% (aerial hit 1 sweetspot)/13% (aerial hit 2 sweetspot)/15% (aerial hit 1 sourspot)/10% (aerial hit 2 sourspot) → 27% (both)) significantly improving its KO potential. Hammer Flip also has larger hitboxes and no longer has sourspots.
  • Due to its angle being altered (20° → 55°), aerial Hammer Flip's second hit is no longer a semi-spike, significantly hindering its edge-guarding potential. Aerial Hammer Flip also has increased start-up lag regardless of its charge (frame 17 → 28), and can no longer be used for recovery as it now halts Kirby's horizontal momentum rather than his vertical momentum.
  • Hammer Flip no longer has transcendent priority.
  • Fully charged Hammer Flip now grants armor during part of the swing.
  • Fully charged Hammer Flip deals significantly more shield damage due to its higher damage combined with the 19% damage increase to shields and the increase to shieldstun, significantly improving its shield pressuring potential.
• Final Cutter:
  • Final Cutter's shockwave's range has decreased by half. The rising hit also deals less damage (8% → 5%).
• Stone:
  • If Kirby takes 25% or more total damage while using Stone, the deciding move will launch him out of his stone form, taking half the attack’s normal damage in the process.
  • Grounded Stone has less knockback scaling (45 → 40).
  • The 19% damage increase to shields and the increase to shieldstun significantly improve Stone's shield pressuring potential.
  • Stone's visual effects have changed. The Thwomp now uses its design from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, instead of Super Mario 64.
  • The earthquake glitch has been removed.
• Ultra Sword:
  • Kirby has a new Final Smash, Ultra Sword. Kirby uses the Super Ability of the same name in order to repeatedly slash the opponent before launching them with a final slash. Like Cook Kirby, Ultra Sword is a trapping Final Smash. Compared to Cook Kirby, it is purely offensive, instead of being both offensive and supplemental. Ultra Sword also deals 6% more damage (34% → 40%), has significantly more knockback, and is more reliable at trapping opponents, making it significantly more effective for KOing.
  • Unlike Cook Kirby, Ultra Sword does not provide healing items. However, this is largely negligible, as Cook Kirby's items were consumable by characters other than Kirby, and would not be generated if item spawning was disabled via Item Switch.

Update history

Kirby has been buffed via game updates. Update 1.0.6 improved up and down smashes' KO potentials; re-purposed down throw into a viable damage racking option; and decreased Inhale and Hammer Flip's ending lag. Update 1.1.0 brought about further buffs: neutral attack's second hit connects into neutral infinite better; neutral infinite's finisher had its start-up lag decreased; forward throw was re-purposed into a useful combo starter like in Brawl; and Inhale's start-up and ending lag were decreased. Kirby also slightly benefits from the new shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, as they make down aerial's multiple hits and Stone's high damage output and hitlag much more reliable at pressuring shields.

Update 1.1.3 brought about even more buffs for Kirby: his dashing speed increased; his smash attacks, forward and back aerials, and all variations of Hammer Flip became slightly stronger; and up throw gained KO potential. Update 1.1.4 brought out another minor buff, as hard tripping now grants Kirby 5 frames of invincibility. Lastly, update 1.1.5, buffed Kirby's smash attacks and all variations of Hammer Flip by slightly increasing their knockback. As a result, Kirby is noticeably better than he was during SSB4's initial release.

1.0.4

• Copy abilities whose base character's neutral special was altered by the patch have been altered in the same way.
• Many behaviors, such as Stone and its custom variants and Final Cutter, have been adjusted.

1.0.5

• Fixed a glitch where Kirby could hover after using Silver Bow.

1.0.6

• Sourspotted upward angled forward smash also deals 1% less damage: 13% → 12%.
• Upward angled forward smash's knockback decreased, hindering its KO potential.
• Up smash's knockback increased, improving its KO potential.
• Down smash's knockback increased, improving its KO potential.
• Down throw deals 3.6% more damage: 6.6% → 10.2%.
• Inhale's ending lag decreased.
• Inhale's visual effects slightly changed. Fiery effects now emit from Kirby after he Inhales explosive items.
• Hammer Flip's ending lag decreased.
• Kirby moves faster on the ground while charging Hammer Flip.
• Final Cutter has improved visual effects.

1.1.0

• Neutral attack's second hit connects together better with neutral infinite. Neutral infinite's finisher's start-up lag also decreased.
• Forward throw deals 2% less damage: 7% → 5%; its ending lag decreased; and its angle altered: 65° → 75°. Altogether, these changes significantly improve its combo potential.
• Inhale's start-up: frame 18 → 14 and ending lag decreased: frame 78 → 73.

1.1.1

• Ice Breath's hitboxes moved forward; its farthest hitbox's size increased: 7u → 7.5u; and its angle altered: 40° → 30°. Altogether, these changes improve its range and spacing potential.
• Aerial Hammer Bash's weight-based knockback increased: 20 → 50.
• Hammer Bash's sourspot now takes priority over the sweetspot.

1.1.3

• Kirby dash speed: 1.50 → 1.57.
• Forward smash clean hit knockback growth: 99 → 100.
• Forward smash late hit knockback growth: 66 → 67.
• Up smash clean hit knockback growth: 102 → 103.
• Up smash mid hit knockback growth: 96 → 97.
• Up smash late hit knockback growth: 50 → 51.
• Down smash knockback growth: 108 → 109.
• Forward aerial knockback growth: 145 → 148.
• Forward aerial hitlag modifier increased: 1.0x → 1.2x, making it safer on shield but easier to DI on the final hit.
• Back aerial clean hit knockback growth: 102 → 104.
• Back aerial late hit knockback growth: 110 → 112.
• Up throw knockback growth: 63 → 74.
• Various knockback growth, hitbox size, and duration increases for Hammer Flip and all of its variants.
• Kirby is slightly heavier: 77 → 79.

1.1.4

• Hard tripping now grants 5 frames of invincibility.
• Fixed the glowing eyes glitch.

1.1.5

• Forward smash knockback growth: 100 → 102 (clean), 67 → 69 (late).
• Up smash knockback growth: 103/103/97 → 104/104/99 (early), 97 → 98, 51 → 52 (late).
• Down smash knockback growth: 109 → 110 (early).
• All variations of Hammer Flip knockback growth: 76 → 78.

Moveset

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Vulcan Jab/Smash Punch	2%	A one-two combo. When button mashed, Kirby performs the Vulcan Jab from the Fighter ability before concluding with the Smash Punch, also from the Fighter ability. It is very quick due to coming out on frame 3, and its first two hits have very minimal ending lag. These traits make it effective for jab canceling or as an out of shield option.
			3%
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt	↗		8% (base), 7% (tip)	A spinning roundhouse kick. It is quick, due to coming out on frame 5, and can be angled.
	→		8% (base), 7% (tip)
	↘		8% (base), 7% (tip)
Up tilt			5% (clean), 4% (late)	A scorpion kick. Although its damage output is low, it is a very useful combo starter at low percents, especially on fast-fallers, due to it coming out on frame 4 and having both minimal ending lag and disjointed range which slightly reaches behind him. It also renders Kirby's foot intangible throughout its duration.
Down tilt			6%	A crouching shin kick. It is fairly spammable due to coming out on frame 4 and having minimal ending lag. When coupled with its tripping potential, it can be a very useful set-up option.
Dash attack			1% (hits 1-5), 4% (hit 6)	The Break Spin from the Yo-yo ability. It is difficult to SDI out of, while its last hit can easily ward off opponents due to it dealing very high base knockback. However, it is punishable due to it coming out on frame 12 and having noticeable ending lag.
Forward smash	↗	Smash Kick	16% (clean), 12% (late)	The Spin Kick from the Fighter ability. It slightly moves Kirby forward and can be angled. Its clean hitbox also deals respectable damage and has very high knockback growth, which makes it a potent KOing option. While near the edge of Final Destination in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, it KOs middleweights at 86% and 77%, respectively, while angled upward; at 93% and 83%, respectively, while not angled; and at 100% and 91%, respectively, while angled downward. However, its late hitbox lacks KO potential.
	→		15% (clean), 11% (late)
	↘		14% (clean), 10% (late)
Up smash			15%/14% (clean), 14%/12% (mid), 12%/11% (late)	A bicycle kick. It can hit behind Kirby, while its clean hitbox deals respectable damage and has very high knockback growth like forward smash. It clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 102% from anywhere on Final Destination in the 3DS version, and at 96% in the Wii U version. Kirby's feet are also rendered intangible throughout its duration, albeit only during its clean hitbox. However, its mid and late hitboxes lack KO potential.
Down smash			14% (clean), 10% (late)	A spinning split kick. It hits in front of and behind Kirby, and its clean hitbox deals respectable damage and has very high knockback growth like his forward and up smashes. Its clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 113% from anywhere on Final Destination in the 3DS version and at 106% in the Wii U version. It also renders Kirby's feet intangible albeit only during its clean hitbox. However, its late hitbox has significantly lower KO potential.
Neutral aerial		Twinkle Star	10% (clean), 8% (mid), 6% (mid-to-late), 4% (late)	The attack of the same name from the Smash ability. Its very low landing lag makes it a decent set-up option at low percents when short hopped, while its high knockback growth makes it a decent anti-pressure and out of shield option. However, it has the highest amount of ending lag out of Kirby's aerials. Despite having sex kick properties, it also has high startup lag.
Forward aerial			4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 5% (hit 3)	The Aerial Spin Kick from the Fighter ability. The first two hits have low knockback, which allows them to connect reliably with the third hit. Its low landing lag also allows the first or second hit to be used as set-up options into other moves. Can connect into itself for a Wall of Pain in certain instances.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	A double-footed back kick. It functions as a sex kick, but also has the lowest amount of start-up lag out of Kirby's aerials, due to it coming out on frame 6. Its clean hitbox also deals the most damage out of his aerials, and possesses very high knockback growth, which make it a viable KOing option. While near the edge of Final Destination, its clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 115% in the 3DS version, and at 105% in the Wii U version. It also boasts good range due to its slightly disjointed hitbox, which makes it a viable edge-guarding option, and allows it to partake in a wall of pain.
Up aerial			9%	The Moon Somersault Kick from the Fighter ability. A very useful juggling option, it can also be used for continuing a combo due to its low landing lag.
Down aerial			1% (hits 1-5), 2% (hit 6), 2% (landing)	A diagonal corkscrew dropkick. An effective combo starter on grounded opponents and, due to the last hit being a weak meteor smash, it is a useful edge-guarding option, especially since its low ending lag makes it relatively safe to use off-stage. It can even lead into a footstool jump on fast-fallers and heavyweights. While it has the highest amount of start-up lag out of Kirby's aerials due to coming out on frame 18, it can be auto-canceled on landing, giving Kirby a very large window to safely land while tumbling.
Grab			—	The Foe Grab from the Fighter ability. Kirby's throws are based on attacks used by the Suplex and Ninja abilities.
Pummel			1.55%	The punch version of the Arm Throw from the Fighter ability. While its damage output is unimpressive, this is offset by its excellent speed, as it is tied with Lucas, Ness, and Fox's pummels for the third fastest in the game.
Forward throw			5%	The Pile Driver from the Suplex ability. Unlike the majority of forward throws, it possesses combo potential. Its most reliable follow-ups are neutral, forward and down aerials at low percents, and up aerial and Final Cutter at medium percents.
Back throw			8%	The Big Suplex from the Suplex ability. Despite having an average damage output and very low base knockback, it has very high knockback growth. As a result, it has KO potential, yet can also combo into back aerial on certain characters at very low percents. While near the edge of Final Destination, it KOs middleweights at 160% in the 3DS version, and at 150% in the Wii U version.
Up throw		Air Drop	10%	The attack of the same name from the Ninja ability. As of update 1.1.3, it is Kirby's strongest throw, and thus his most reliable one for KOing. It KOs middleweights at 158% from anywhere on Final Destination in the 3DS version, and at 150% in the Wii U version. Because Kirby jumps up to perform it, he can land onto platforms above him upon descending, which enables it to KO even earlier.
Down throw			0.8% (hits 1-9), 1% (hit 10), 2% (throw)	The Fury Stomp from the Suplex ability. Its high damage and low knockback makes it useful for damage racking. It can also damage nearby opponents.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Performs a spin kick before getting up.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Kicks on one side and then the other before getting up.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	The Break Spin from the Yo-yo ability.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a cartwheeling kick while climbing up. It has surprisingly good range compared to many other characters' edge attacks.
Neutral special	Default	Inhale	10% (swallow), 6% (spit)	Inhales the opponent. It has a grabbox and can be held indefinitely. Upon Inhaling an opponent, Kirby can spit them out as a star to deal damage to them and any nearby opponents (star damage varies based on the inhaled character’s weight), copy their neutral special move, or walk around slowly and/or perform a short hop. However, the opponent can escape from Kirby's mouth via button mashing. Kirby must wait roughly a second before he can inhale the same person again. Some characters will give Kirby a slight variation of their neutral special due to mechanics that would not work properly when copied, such as Luma Shot and Pikmin Pluck.
	Custom 1	Ice Breath	2.4% (nearest), 1.2% (near), 2.4% (far), 6% (farthest)	The attack of the same name from the Ice ability. It hits multiple times and can briefly freeze the opponent, which makes it very useful spacing and edge-guarding. However, Kirby cannot Inhale anything.
	Custom 2	Jumping Inhale	8% (swallow), 13% (spit)	Jumps forward before Inhaling the opponent, which can allow it to function as a horizontal recovery option, similarly to Lick. Its spit also deals more damage. However, its swallow deals less damage, the spit will not deal damage to nearby opponents (but will knock them away), and using it to Kirbycide will always cause a Sudden Death. It also lacks the vacuum hitboxes outside of Kirby's mouth.
Side special	Default	Hammer Flip	19% (grounded uncharged), 15% (aerial uncharged), 35% (grounded fully charged), 27% (aerial fully charged)	The attack of the same name from the Hammer ability. It is chargeable and, when fully charged, Kirby's hammer will ignite and deal recoil damage. He can also slowly walk and jump while charging it, while a fully charged Hammer Flip briefly grants him 6% armor during part of the swing. When it is used in midair, Kirby will swing his hammer twice. While near the edge of Final Destination, uncharged Hammer Flip KOs middleweights at 92% and 82% in the 3DS and Wii U versions, respectively. Conversely, fully charged Hammer Flip KOs middleweights at 17% and 10% in the 3DS and Wii U versions, respectively. Although weaker, aerial Hammer Flip nevertheless possesses KO potential. While near the edge of Final Destination, it KOs middleweights at 128% and 115% in the 3DS and Wii U versions, respectively. Conversely, its fully charged version KOs them at 44% and 36% in the 3DS and Wii U versions, respectively.
	Custom 1	Hammer Bash	21% (grounded head), 18% (grounded handle), 4% (aerial hit 1), 17% (aerial hit 2 head), 15% (aerial hit 2 handle)	The hammer deals slightly more damage, launching foes at somewhat lower percents and at a more vertical angle, but it cannot be charged, which makes it function almost exactly like it did in Brawl or when grounded in Melee. The first aerial swing is much weaker, but can combo into the second swing easier. While near the edge of Final Destination in the 3DS version, grounded Hammer Bash's head hitbox KOs middleweights at 87%, whereas its aerial version's head hitbox KOs them at 105%. Using it in midair also causes Kirby to slightly stall his descent, which improves his recovery. This quirk can also allow Kirby to reach the top of Palutena's Temple from its bottom platform after copying Monado Arts and activating Jump. However, the hammer has a sweetspot and a sourspot, which makes its KO potential slightly less consistent.
	Custom 2	Giant Hammer	22% (grounded uncharged), 20% (aerial uncharged), 40% (grounded fully charged), 32% (aerial fully charged)	Wields a massive hammer that is slightly stronger and grants unbreakable armor while charging once the hammer starts to glow, but has much higher start-up and ending lag. While near the edge of Final Destination in the 3DS version, uncharged grounded Giant Hammer KOs middleweights at 76%, whereas its uncharged aerial version KOs them at 90%. Conversely, fully charged grounded Giant Hammer KOs middleweights at 7%, whereas its fully charged aerial version KOs them at 29%.
Up special	Default	Final Cutter	5% (ascent), 2% (descent), 5% (landing), 6% (shockwave)	The attack of the same name from the Cutter ability. It can meteor smash any opponents he comes into contact with upon descending. The sword also emits a shockwave upon hitting a solid surface, which is Kirby's only projectile aside from spitting out an Inhaled opponent. A good vertical recovery move and has decent horizontal distance when angled. However, it is extremely predictable due to its high start-up. Kirby cannot sweetspot the edge until he starts to descend, and if the platform beneath him disappears or if he is pushed off while he is still in the landing animation, he will be rendered helpless.
	Custom 1	Wave Cutter	15% (blade), 10% (projectile), 5% (Kirby)	Deals more damage overall and its shockwave sends rocks flying outward. However, it only deals damage when Kirby lands on the ground.
	Custom 2	Upper Cutter	10%	The ascending slash is stronger, and the move in general grants Kirby greater vertical recovery. However, it cannot hit anything upon descending, and instead renders him helpless with most of his momentum.
Down special	Default	Stone	18% (impact), 14% (shockwave)	The Stone Change (while Kirby is on the ground) and the Stone Smash (while Kirby is in the air) from the Stone ability. Thanks to its high damage output, Stone Smash KOs middleweights at 108% and deals considerable shield damage. It can also be canceled in midair by pressing the special button, which can be used for mindgames. Although Stone Change only emits the shockwave and is thus slightly weaker, it is a semi-spike. Kirby cannot be damaged while he is transformed, although should he absorb ~25% total damage (slightly more in mid-air), the deciding hit will launch him out of his Stone form, inflicting half its normal damage. He can also be grabbed while transformed.
	Custom 1	Grounding Stone	10% (impact on grounded opponents), 12% (impact on aerial opponents), 6% (shockwave)	Takes less time to revert to normal and buries grounded opponents on contact. However, it deals less damage, takes longer to transform, Stone Smash cannot KO grounded opponents, and Stone Change's semi-spike is much weaker. Can absorb ~14% damage.
	Custom 2	Meteor Stone	12% (clean), 10% (mid), 8% (late)	Takes less time to transform and meteor smashes opponents. However, it deals less damage and takes longer to revert to normal, which makes it much riskier to use off-stage. If used on the ground, Kirby will be popped upward a small distance. Can absorb ~18%.
Final Smash		Ultra Sword	3% (stun), 5% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-9), 16% (hit 10)	The Super Ability of the same name. Kirby wields a gigantic sword to repeatedly slash the opponent before enlarging the sword and then concluding with a powerful downward slash. While near the edge of Final Destination, it KOs middleweights at 31% in the 3DS version.

On-screen appearance

• Rides on a Warp Star and crashes it onto the stage.

Taunts

• Up taunt: Shuffles to one side, then shuffles to the opposite side before spinning and then holding his arm up. It is almost identical to one of his victory dances in his home series.
• Side taunt: Spins repeatedly, then stops to balance on one leg and extend one arm and say "Eeu!" It is almost identical to his "character selection" animation in SSB.
• Down taunt: Leans inward to face the screen and wave his arms while saying "Hi!"

Up taunt	Side taunt	Down taunt

Idle poses

• Hops to look off-screen, then hops back into his default position.
• Briefly nods off, then shakes his head and wakes up.

Crowd cheer

	English	Japanese
Cheer
Description	Kir-by!	Kir-by!
Pitch	Group chant	Female

Victory poses

A flourished remix of the short, recurring theme that debuted in Kirby's Dream Land and which plays when Kirby completes a stage or defeats a boss.

• Spins to turn his back to the screen and then briefly wiggles, does a front flip to face the screen, and then holds his arm up.
• Skids to the right, spins and then holds his arm up.
• Brings his arms down twice, does a cartwheel, and then holds his arm up.

In competitive play

Official Custom Moveset Project

Character	Custom sets available
Kirby	3231	3232	3233	1231	1131
	3133	3131	2231	3221	3331

Notable players

Active

•  EvilGoku - Placed 49th in singles, and 7th in doubles with Rival at CEO 2018. Has wins on notable players like Dath, Charlie, and Saiki. Ranked 5th on the Southwest Florida Fall 2017 Power Rankings.
•  K.I.D.Goggles - Placed 9th at Pound 2016 and Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, and 25th at Get On My Level 2016 and UGC Smash Open. Ranked 3rd on the Upstate New York Power Rankings.
•  Komota - Placed 25th at Midwest Mayhem 8: North American Tour and 33rd at Frostbite 2017. Ranked 11th on the Michigan Power Rankings. Has wins over Ally and Darkshad.
•  MikeKirby - Placed 5th at KTAR XIV; 9th at KTAR XI; 13th at Glitch; and 49th at Apex 2015. Formerly ranked 10th on the New York City Power Rankings.
•  MrRyanNess - Placed 9th at GUMS 12 and TMPR: Frostbite Invitational, and 33rd at Overclocked. Ranked 1st on the Maine Power Rankings.
•  Poyo - Placed 33rd at CEO Dreamland and The Big House 7; 49th at Shine 2017; and consistently achieved high placings at Smash @ Xanadu tournaments. Formerly ranked 7th on the Kansas Power Rankings.
•  Prince Kirby - Ranked 9th on the Minnesota Power Rankings.
•  Uto - The best Kirby player in Japan.

Inactive

•  SmashG0D - Placed 13th at Olympus; 17th at Super Smash Con 2015; 25th at Glitch; and 49th at Pound 2016 before switching to Corrin.
•  SuperGirlKels - Placed 3rd at Montreal ComicCup and 17th at KTAR XVI before dropping Kirby.
•  Picsou - Placed 49th at Get On My Level 2016 before switching to Diddy Kong. Formerly ranked 11th on the Quebec City Power Rankings.
•  Triple R - Placed 17th at Combo Breaker 2016; 33rd at The Big House 5; and 65th at The Big House 6.
•  Twomix - Was the best Kirby player in Germany. Formerly ranked 14th on the German Power Rankings.

Tier placement and history

Due to the considerable nerfs Kirby received in his transition from Brawl, he has always been considered a non-viable character within the SSB4 metagame, even in spite of game updates noticeably buffing him. This has been due to his only success occurring at local tournaments, whereas his results at regional and national tournaments have been very sparse. Many smashers also took note of Kirby's overall poor matchup spread as characters like with large disjoints, and strong good kill power (Cloud being a primary example) as well as zoning characters with effective projectiles (Pac-Man, Mega Man, Toon Link and Villager being good examples) do very well against him. These aspects culminated with Kirby being placed at 33rd on the first tier list as the 2nd highest low tier character.

Kirby did not fare well after the next updates as characters like Marth, Lucina, Duck Hunt, Shulk, Link and Mewtwo who were initially considered to be worse than Kirby proved to not only become better than him, but proved to be very troublesome matchups as well due to them having excellent tools to prevent Kirby from approaching. The release of Bayonetta and Corrin also hurt him since they too proved to be tough matchups for Kirby. This resulted in Kirby's already scarce results to become even worse than before.

Kirby would then drop to 41st on the second tier list, and eventually to 47th on the third tier list, with the latter drop being tied with Pit and Yoshi's for the second largest between the second and third tier lists. However, Komota later scored an upset by defeating Ally at Frostbite 2017 and placing 33rd at said tournament. Due to this, his tier placement has been widely debated, with some players believing he should be placed slightly higher due to niche matchups against much higher tiered characters, such as Zero Suit Samus and Fox. However, due to his continually sparse results after Frostbite 2017, Kirby has since dropped to 50th on the fourth and current tier list.

Since then, Kirby has failed to make a significant impact at tournaments as he hardly has any tournament representation outside of Komota who never places high at supermajors. Meanwhile, characters lower than Kirby have all performed much higher with ZAKI getting 17th at Smash 'N' Splash 4 and 2GG: Hyrule Saga while defeating MKLeo and Rags; Onpu and Rizeasu performing very well in Japan with the former taking WaDi to game 3 as Zelda; Pon, Gungnir and Rickles doing work with Ganondorf in their regions with Pon beating Ally, Gungnir getting 17th at Umebura Japan Major 2017 while defeating Taiheita and Earth; and Captain L using Jigglypuff as an effective secondary taking sets off of Larry Lurr, BestNess, John Numbers Blank, Strike, Pandarian and even took ESAM to game 5 with the character.

Due to Kirby's meager tournament results and his glaring weaknesses some smashers claim that he should be even lower due to his overwhelming weaknesses with ESAM ranking him as the 3rd worst character in the game, putting him below King Dedede, Wii Fit Trainer, Zelda and even below Jigglypuff, who is widely considered to be the worst character in the game, as well as Raito and Dabuz claiming that he's the absolute worst character in the game. Others, however, think that he is underrated and that he should be ranked relatively higher due to his excellent combo game, good kill power and great edgeguarding.

Trophies

Kirby

Round little Kirby lives on the peaceful Planet Popstar, in Dream Land. He can inhale things with his big mouth, either copying their abilities or spitting them out again. In Smash Bros., Kirby can inhale opponents and copy their standard specials. He gets launched easily but recovers well.

A roly-poly little fella from Dream Land on Planet Popstar. He can inhale pretty much anyone or anything with that big gob of his, then spit them out or copy their abilities. He can copy opponents' standard specials in this game, too! His light weight means he gets launched easily, but with a series of mid-air jumps, recovering's not too tricky.

: Kirby's Dream Land (08/1992)

: Kirby Super Star (08/1996)

Kirby (Alt.)

Holding the special button and left or right will charge up Kirby's Hammer Flip attack. Charging too long hurts Kirby! The hammer strikes twice in the air, but landing the single blow on the ground is more powerful. Kirby's up special Final Cutter slices up and down, firing a shock wave upon landing.

Charge up Kirby's Hammer side special to unleash Hammer Flip, a move with serious launch power. Charge it too much, though, and you'll get hurt! The move hits twice in mid-air, but does more damage on the ground. Final Cutter slices up and down before sending out an energy wave. Move Kirby mid-jump to change where he lands.

: Kirby's Dream Land (08/1992)

: Kirby Super Star (08/1996)

Ultra Sword

For Kirby's Final Smash, he swings a sword that's waaay bigger than he is. If the first swing hits, he'll keep going with a combo of lightning-fast slices, dealing tons of damage. For the last swing, the sword grows even larger and launches any victims. Make sure that first swing hits, though, or nothing else will happen!

For Kirby's Final Smash, he swings around a sword that's waaay bigger than he is. If the first swing hits, he'll keep going with a combo of lightning-fast slices, dealing tons of damage. For the last swing, the sword grows even larger and launches its target. It's great, so make sure that first swing hits, or none of the rest will happen!

• 

  Classic (3DS)

• 

  Alt. (3DS)

• 

  Classic (Wii U)

• 

  Alt. (Wii U)

• 

  Ultra Sword

In Event Matches

Solo Events

• All-Star Battle: Regulars: Kirby is among the opponents fought in this event. All of the opponents are the eight starter characters of the "perfect-attendance crew" from SSB.
• Kirby's Crazy Appetite: Kirby must heal by eating food on the stage while three King Dededes try to hinder his progress. After some time, two more King Dededes will appear. Kirby will be at 100% on Easy, 125% on Normal and 140% on Hard, while the King Dededes will be at 50% on Easy/Normal and 0% on Hard.

Co-op Events

• A Fairy Nice Trip: Link and Pac-Man must survive against four Kirbys until reaching Fairy Land.
• Food Fight: A damaged Kirby and King Dedede must defeat Wario, Yoshi, and Pac-Man.
• Getting Healthy: Wii Fit Trainer and Little Mac must defeat Kirby and Pac-Man.
• The Ultimate Battle: Two players select a character and must defeat the entire roster.
• Viral Visitors: Dr. Mario and Peach must defeat four Kirbys.
• Visiting Onett: Ness and Villager must defeat Kirby, Meta Knight, Fox, Falco, Olimar and Rosalina & Luma. All opponents are outer space-based characters.

Alternate costumes

Gallery

• 

  Kirby in the Nintendo Direct from April 8th, 2014.

• 

  Kirby's Amiibo.

• 

  Kirby's appearance during E3 2013.

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  Kirby teetering in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Using Final Cutter.

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  Using Hammer Flip on Bowser.

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  Using his down aerial on Fox in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Using Final Cutter on Mario.

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  Using his neutral infinite on Mario.

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  Using Hammer Flip while in midair.

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  Kirby getting meteor smashed by Mario's forward aerial.

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  Kirby taunting alongside Toon Link and Pikachu.

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  Crouching while Sonic uses his neutral attack on Fox.

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  Kirby fighting Mario, Samus and Toon Link.

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  Taunting alongside Mario and Luigi.

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  Alongside Pikachu.

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  Crouching under Samus' Missile alongside Mario.

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  Kirby being hit by Villager's down aerial.

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  With King Dedede on Boxing Ring.

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  Using his side taunt alongside Wii Fit Trainer's forward tilt.

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  Jumping above Luigi's Green Missile while near a Smash Ball.

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  Kirby wearing an Ability Hat he copied from Charizard.

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  Charging Hammer Flip.

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  Riding Dragoon.

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  One of Kirby's new alternate costumes alongside Charizard and Meta Knight.

Trivia

• Kirby cannot copy custom moves. However, his side custom move affects his Olimar Copy Ability, as the attack changes to match the variant of Pikmin Throw.
• Due to unused animations discovered via hacking, the ability to charge Kirby's Hammer was originally intended for Brawl.
• Kirby has unused voice clips for all of Palutena's neutral specials, suggesting that at one point in development he was planned to be able to copy Palutena's custom moves, or that Palutena's default neutral special move was undecided.
• SSB4 is the first game in the series where Kirby's dash attack has not changed, as he retains his dash attack from Brawl.
• At a total of 80, Kirby has the most sound clips of any character, with his amount of clips being rivaled only by the Announcer.
• Kirby's alt. trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS has his gray alternate costume with blue eyes instead of gray eyes.
• Kirby's blue alternate costume depicts the interior of mouth as retaining its normal coloration on the character selection screen and during his normal expressions. However, it appears blue while Inhaling.
• Kirby's screen KO resembles his screen KO in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. His pose in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS more closely resembles his face's position in that game, whereas his facial expression in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U more closely resembles his expression in that game.
• A glitch existed where if Kirby copied either Mr. Game & Watch, Donkey Kong, Falco, or Wii Fit Trainer, broke the Smash Ball, and performed a down taunt while in standby, his eyes would no longer glow. Interestingly, if Kirby copied the ability again after using the Final Smash or self-destructing (excluding Mr. Game & Watch), his eyes would be glowing. This was fixed in update 1.1.4.
• During the development of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Kirby did not emote in any way.
• One of Kirby's official artwork poses in Kirby: Planet Robobot is almost identical to his official artwork pose from SSB4, with the only differences being his Robobot Armor helmet and a closed smile.
• When Kirby uses any of his side special moves off-screen and is shown in the magnifying glass, his normal motion will be seen, but his hammer will not.