Kirby (SSB4)

Kirby in Super Smash Bros. 4
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl
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, his 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 smash attacks, 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 survivability due to both his very light weight and his floatiness, alongside the addition of rage in SSB4. When this is 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. His 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 primary move for recovery 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. As mentioned, Kirby has poor mobility, giving him significant trouble approaching and pressuring opponents. It also gives him trouble against 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. His most prominent weakness, however, is his endurance. Being light and floaty, Kirby cannot survive strong hits at high percents. He is also very vulnerable to juggling, due to his aforementioned slow falling and air speeds. The introduction of 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 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 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 Brawl

Upon initial release of the game, Kirby had been nerfed very heavily from Brawl, however repeated buffs from balance patches have helped to mitigate this somewhat, although he is still considered to have been nerfed overall. He has retained most of the issues he had in Brawl, but he also suffers from new ones, such as having his range worsened due to his feet becoming slightly smaller, while his standing and dash grabs' ranges were decreased. However, some of his less reliable moves from Brawl, particularly Inhale and his down aerial, have been buffed and now possess much more utility. The changes to hitstun canceling also help Kirby, as they enable him to chain combos together much better. His improved combo game is further supplemented by his newly buffed forward throw, which now possesses combo potential past low percents. His approach was also slightly improved due to his dashing speed becoming significantly faster.

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 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 are based on his expression when an attack slams him against the screen in Triple Deluxe. Additionally Kirby now always faces the front.

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 faster (1.371 → 1.57).
• Kirby's air speed is slower (0.85 → 0.8).
• 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.
• Kirby's gravity is higher (0.061 → 0.06405). This improves his aerial mobility, and somewhat alleviates the drawbacks of his floatiness.
• Double jumps are lower.
• Rolls have decreased ending lag (frame 31 → 30).
• Rolls have decreased intangibility frames (frames 4-19 → 4-17).
• Sidestep has decreased intangibility frames (frames 2-20 → 2-17) and has increased ending lag (frame 25 → 26).
• Air dodge has decreased start-up (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (frame 49 → 32).
• Air dodge's duration is shorter (frames 4-29 → 3-27).
• Soft landing is faster (3 frames → 2).

Ground attacks

• Neutral infinite now deals consistent damage (2% (near)/1% (far) → 1%). 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 make it slightly harder to connect with the neutral infinite at high percents.
• Neutral attack's first hit's angle has been altered (361° → 55°).
• The changes to locks remove neutral attack's first hit's ability to lock.
• Neutral infinite has received a finisher, the Smash Punch from the Fighter ability.
• The weakening of SDI makes neutral infinite and dash attack significantly more difficult to escape from.
• Dash attack's loop hits deal 1% less damage (2% → 1%), which decreases its overall damage output by 5% (14% → 9%). Its last hit also has a smaller hitbox (8u → 3u).
• Dash attack's last hit has increased knockback (90/70 (base)/40 (set)/70/100 (growth) → 100 (base)/70 (growth)).
• Dash attack's last hit has increased hitlag (1× → 2×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Forward tilt has a smaller hitbox (5.4u → 3.3u).
• Up tilt deals less damage (7%/5% → 5%/4%) and has a smaller hitbox (5.5u (clean)/4.5u (late) → 4u).
• Up tilt has increased knockback growth (102 → 116 (clean)/110 (late)), improving its combo potential. It also now grants intangibility to Kirby's foot.
• Clean up tilt has an altered angle (92° → 100°).
• Down tilt now deals consistent damage (5%/6% → 6%).
• Down tilt has a smaller hitbox (4.5u → 3.7u).
• Forward smash has decreased ending lag.
• Late forward smash deals less damage (13% → 12%/11%/10%), hindering its KO potential. Forward smash also has increased start-up lag (frame 12 → 13) and smaller hitboxes (6u → 4.2u (clean)/3.5u (late)).
• 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)) They also have altered knockback on all angles (38 (base)/100/98/96 (growth) → 30 (base)/102 (growth) (clean), 25 (base)/96/94 (growth) → 90 (base)/69 (growth) (late)).
• Up smash has increased knockback (34/30 (base)/100 (growth) → 32/30 (base)/104/99 (growth) (early), 50 (growth) → 52 (late)), improving its KO potential. It also has decreased ending lag and now grants intangibility to Kirby's feet.
• Up smash's middle hit has decreased knockback growth (100 → 98).
• Down smash also now launches opponents vertically instead of semi-spiking them, removing its edge-guarding potential.
• Down smash has altered knockback (30 (base)/100 (growth) → 25/110), slightly improving its KO potential, which is strengthened further by the move's new launch angle. Additionally, it has decreased ending lag. Lastly, its clean hitbox now grants intangibility to his feet, and its late hitbox has a longer duration (frames 15-21 → 15-22).
• Late down smash deals consistent damage (11%/9% → 10%).

Aerial attacks

• Neutral, up, down, and late back aerials deal less damage (12%/10%/8%/6% → 10%/8%/6%/4% (neutral), 10% → 9% (up), 12% → 7% (down), 9% → 8% (back)), with only neutral and down aerials having their knockback compensated.
• Neutral, back, up, and down aerials have increased landing lag (9 frames → 10 (neutral), 9 frames → 17 (back), 9 frames → 12 (up), 15 frames → 17 (down)).
• Neutral aerial has increased knockback (10 (base)/80 (growth) → 30/90).
• 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'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. Additionally, forward aerial's last hit also has increased knockback growth (138 → 148), improving its spacing and edge-guarding potentials. Lastly, forward aerial has decreased ending (FAF 50 → 48) and landing lag (15 frames → 13).
• Forward aerial's first and second hits have smaller hitboxes (5u → 4.3u (hit 1), 5u → 4.5u (hit 2), 6.5u → 4.9u (hit 3)). It also autocancels later (40> → 41>) and no longer auto-cancels with a short hop. Altogether, these changes hinder its approach potential.
• Forward aerial's last hit has more hitlag (1× → 1.2×). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Clean back aerial deals 1% more damage (12% → 13%) and late back aerial has increased knockback growth (110 → 112), slightly improving their KO potentials.
• Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (7u → 4u (clean), 6u → 3.4u (late)) and its auto-cancels later (frames 1-4, 28> → 1-2, 32>). Clean back aerial also has decreased knockback growth (105 → 104), slightly hindering its KO potential.
• Up aerial has increased knockback growth (98 → 100), improving its juggling potential.
• Up aerial has a smaller hitbox (5.5u → 4.5u).
• Down aerial's hits connect together better, its landing hitbox has decreased set knockback (60 → 40) and its angle has been altered (30° → 60°). Altogether, these changes improve its set-up potential, now boasting several potential KO confirms. Its meteor smash hitbox also has increased knockback growth (107 → 110) and a larger hitbox (6u → 6.2u). When coupled with the removal of meteor canceling, these changes significantly improve its reliability.
• The weakening of SDI makes down aerial significantly more difficult to escape from.

Throws/other attacks

• Standing and pivot grabs have decreased ending lag.
• Dash grab has decreased start-up lag (frame 10 → 8).
• Standing and dash grabs have decreased ranges.
• Pummel deals 0.55% more damage (1% → 1.55%) and is faster, now being the third fastest pummel in the game. These changes significantly improve its damage racking potential.
• Forward throw deals 3% less damage (8% → 5%), although its knockback growth was compensated (100 → 125). Its 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 has altered knockback (80 (base)/50 (growth) → 30/120), improving its KO potential at high percents. 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 has increased knockback (70 (base)/70 (growth) → 75/74), improving its KO potential.
• Up throw's angle has been altered (85° → 78°).
• Down throw deals 1.8% less damage (12% → 10.2%), and its knockback was increased (40 (base)/140 (growth) → 60/180). Its angle has also been altered (90° → 63°). When coupled with the removal of chain grabbing, these changes hinder its damage racking and combo potential.

Special moves

• 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 utility, as trades will now result 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 is now chargeable and Kirby can move around while charging it. Fully charged Hammer Flip also grants armor during part of the swing and deals significantly more shield damage, to the point that it can nearly break a full shield.
• Uncharged grounded Hammer Flip deals 4% less damage (23% → 19%). Uncharged grounded and aerial Hammer Flip also have decreased knockback, hindering their KO potentials to the point that they now KO 44% later and 45%-52% later, respectively.
• Uncharged aerial Hammer Flip now deals consistent damage (17%/13%/15%/10% → 15%).
• Fully charged Hammer Flip now deals recoil damage when held, similarly to Jet Hammer. It has also lost its transcendent priority.
• Aerial Hammer Flip has increased start-up lag regardless of its charge. It also no longer halts Kirby's momentum, hindering its safety and recovery potential, and aerial second hit is also no longer a semi-spike, limiting its edgeguarding potential.
• The 19% damage increase to shields and the increase to shieldstun significantly improve Hammer Flip and Stone's shield pressuring potentials.
• Final Cutter's shockwave's range has decreased by half.
• Kirby now receives half the amount of damage if he gets hit by strong attacks and attacks that deal more damage while using Stone.
• Stone's visual effects have changed. The Thwomp now uses its design from New Super Mario Bros. Wii instead of Super Mario 64.
• 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 noticeably buffed via game updates, addressing many flaws that he had in the initial release. Update 1.0.6 saw his KO potential improved, with his up and down smash attacks dealing more knockback and the latter being more effective if his down aerial is used to combo into it. Hammer Flip had its ending lag decreased, thus making it slightly less punishable as well. Update 1.1.0 brought about further buffs: Inhale's start-up lag was decreased, neutral attack's second hit now connects into his neutral infinite better and his neutral infinite's finisher comes out quicker, while his forward throw became effective for punishes and had its combo potential improved, which is very useful for Kirby due to his previous lack of a throw that he could combo into. He also benefits from the new shield mechanics brought about by updates 1.1.0 and 1.1.1, as they let him break shields easier thanks to his down aerial's multiple hits and Stone's high damage output and hitlag.

Update 1.1.3 brought about even more buffs: Kirby now dashes faster, all of his smash attacks, his forward and back aerials and all variations of Hammer Flip became slightly stronger, while his up throw became much stronger to the point of becoming a viable KOing option. Update 1.1.4 brought out another minor buff, as hard tripping now grants him 5 frames of invincibility. Lastly, update 1.1.5, buffed all of his 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 has less ending lag.
• 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: FAF 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			2%	Two alternating punches followed by the Vulcan Jab from the Fighter ability. The finisher is the Smash Punch from the Fighter ability. It is very quick due to coming out on frame 3, which makes it an effective landing or 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	↗		16% (clean), 12% (late)	The Spin Kick from the Fighter ability. Its clean hitbox deals respectable damage and very high knockback growth, it slightly moves Kirby forward, and it can be angled. It KOs middleweights from center stage at 99% while angled upward, at 107% while not angled, and at 116% while angled downward.
	→		15% (clean), 11% (late)
	↘		14% (clean), 10% (late)
Up smash			15%/14% (clean), 14%/12% (mid), 12%/11% (late)	A bicycle kick. Its clean hitbox deals very high knockback growth, as it KOs middleweights at 101%. Kirby's feet are also rendered intangible throughout its duration.
Down smash			14% (clean), 10% (late)	A spinning split kick. Although it is Kirby's least damaging smash attack, it deals very high knockback growth like his forward and up smashes, as its clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 112%. Like up smash, it renders Kirby's feet intangible, though this only applies to its clean hitbox.
Neutral aerial			10% (clean), 8% (mid), 6% (mid-to-late), 4% (late)	The Twinkle Star 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.
Forward aerial			4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 5% (hit 3)	The Aerial Spin Kick from the Fighter ability. The first two hits deal 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 least amount of start-up lag out of Kirby's aerials, due to it coming out on frame 6, while its clean hitbox also deals the most damage out of his aerials. These traits make it viable for KOing, as its clean hitbox KOs middleweights at 128% while near the edge. 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. One of the best forward throws in the game due to its combo potential, it can combo into 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. It deals very high knockback growth, which allows it to KO middleweights at 162% while near the edge. However, it can also combo into a back aerial on certain characters at very low percents.
Up throw			10%	The Air Drop from the Ninja ability. Because Kirby jumps up to perform it, he can land onto platforms above him upon descending. It is Kirby's strongest throw as of update 1.1.3, as it KOs middleweights at 168% when landing on-stage, at 152% when landing on a mid-level platform, and at 135% when landing on a high-level platform.
Down throw			0.8% (hits 1-9), 1% (hit 10), 2% (throw)	The Fury Stomp from the Suplex ability. It is Kirby's most damaging throw, which 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%	Gets up and performs a spin kick.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%	Gets up, then kicks on one side, then the other.
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	The Break Spin from the Yo-yo ability.
Edge attack Edge getups			7%	Performs a flipping 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, 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. 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. Hits multiple times and can briefly freeze the opponent, which makes it very useful for edge-guarding. However, due to it involving Kirby exhaling, he 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, and using it to Kirbycide will always cause a Sudden Death.
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 gradually damage him. He can also slowly walk and jump while charging it, while a fully charged Hammer Flip grants armor during part of the swing. When it is used in midair, Kirby will swing his hammer twice. The uncharged grounded version KOs middleweights at 111% while near the edge, while the uncharged aerial version KOs them at 143% while near the edge. In comparison, the fully charged grounded version KOs middleweights at 52% while near the edge, and the fully charged aerial version KOs them at 71% while near the edge.
	Custom 1	Hammer Bash	21% (grounded head), 18% (grounded handle), 4% (aerial hit 1), 17% (aerial hit 2 head), 15% (aerial hit 2 handle)	Wields a hammer that deals slightly more damage, which allows its grounded version to KO middleweights at 108% while near the edge, and its aerial version to KO them at 122%. Using it in midair causes Kirby to slightly stall his descent, which improves his recovery. However, 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, it cannot be charged, which makes it function almost exactly like it did in Brawl or when grounded in Melee.
	Custom 2	Giant Hammer	22% (grounded uncharged), 20% (aerial uncharged), 40% (grounded fully charged), 32% (aerial fully charged)	Wields a massive hammer that is much stronger and grants super armor while charging, but has much higher start-up and ending lag. Its uncharged grounded version KOs middleweights at 98% while near the edge, while its uncharged aerial version KOs them at 110%. In comparison, its fully charged grounded version KOs middleweights at 47%, while its fully charged aerial version KOs them at 61%.
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, but 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, but it cannot hit anything upon descending, rendering 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. Stone Smash is a strong attack, as it KOs middleweights at 126% and deals considerable shield damage. It can also be canceled in midair by pressing the special button, which can be used for mindgames. While Stone Change is slightly weaker, it is a strong semi-spike. Kirby cannot be damaged while he is transformed, although his Stone forms have a set amount of durability, and he can 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.
	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. Its KOs middleweights at 167%.
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 and repeatedly slashes the opponent before enlarging the sword and then performing a final, powerful slash. It KOs middleweights at 71% while near the edge.

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!" This is 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

•  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 33rd at Frostbite 2017 and 25th at Midwest Mayhem 8: North American Tour. Ranked 11th on the Michigan Power Rankings. He has a win over Ally.
•  MikeKirby - One of the best Kirby players in the world. Placed 49th at Apex 2015, 9th at KTAR XI, 5th at KTAR XIV, and 13th at Glitch. Formerly ranked 10th on the New York City Power Rankings.
•  MrRyanNess - The best Kirby player in New England. Placed 9th at GUMS 12 and 65th at Shine 2017. Ranked 1st on the Maine Power Rankings.
•  Poyo - Placed 33rd at CEO Dreamland and The Big House 7, and 49th at Shine 2017. He has also 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.
•  Triple R - Placed 33rd at The Big House 5, 17th at Combo Breaker 2016, and 65th at The Big House 6. Formerly ranked 9th on the Minnesota Power Rankings.
•  Twomix - The best Kirby player in Germany. Formerly ranked 14th on the German Power Rankings.
•  Uto - The best Kirby player in Japan.

Inactive

•  SmashG0D - Placed 17th at Super Smash Con 2015, 25th at Glitch, 49th at Pound 2016, and 13th at Olympus 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. Formerly ranked 11th on the Quebec City Power Rankings.

Tier placement and history

Due to the heavy nerfs he received in his transition from Brawl, Kirby has always been considered a poor character within the SSB4 metagame, despite his popularity within his home series. Despite being considerably improved thanks to numerous buffs from game updates, Kirby's viability has been consistently perceived as low. This has been due to his only success occurring at local tournaments, whereas his results at regional and national tournaments have been very sparse. These aspects culminated with Kirby being placed at 33rd on the first 4BR tier list.

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 higher tiered characters such as Zero Suit Samus and Fox. After not achieving results after Frostbite 2017, however, Kirby has since then dropped to 50th in the fourth and current tier list, his lowest placing so far. Thus, Kirby remains as a poor character in the metagame due to how little impact he has made.

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!

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  Classic (3DS)

• KirbyAllStarTrophy3DS.png

  Alt. (3DS)

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  Classic (Wii U)

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  Alt. (Wii U)

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  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

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

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  Kirby's Amiibo.

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  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 taunting 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.