Kirby (SSBU)

Kirby in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Ultra Sword

“	Kirby's ability to copy other fighters is totally unique! While he is light and can be launched easily, he can also jump up to five times in the air, so he has great recovery. Look for his new Stone transformation, too.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

Kirby (カービィ, Kirby) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Kirby is classified as fighter #06.

Makiko Ōmoto once again reprises her role as his voice actor, with most clips re-used from Super Smash Bros. 4.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Near the end of SSB4's metagame, Kirby had been considered a low-bottom tier, and was thus ranked as the 6th worst character in SSB4's most recent tier list (50th out of 55). As a result, Kirby has been heavily buffed in his transition to Ultimate.

A majority of Kirby's ground moves and aerial moves have increased utility: The first two hits of his jab can now jab lock, making them much useful for set-ups for downed characters, and the looping hits connect into the opponent much more reliably, albeit at the cost of reduced damage output. Forward tilt is a stronger neutral option, as its increased knockback and reduced endlag makes it a harder move to punish overall. Dash attack has been completely reworked, reverting back to its Melee iteration - however, the move is significantly stronger now, dealing much more damage and knock back, much less start-up compared to his previous dash attack in SSB4, can cross-up on shields, has increased range, and is more reliable for catching opponents thanks to only consisting of one, lasting hit. These changes make it a stronger punish tool and a much more viable move overall than his previous dash attack. His smash attacks serve as stronger punish options, with forward smash having an increase in range, up smash having reduced start-up, and down smash now sending at a desirable angle for edge-guard setups. Landing lag buffs aid him as well, making them not only safer, but can now lead into follow-ups, with forward air's first hit now being able to follow-up into forward smash. Lastly, his specials have been adjusted: Inhale has reduced endlag and Kirby's neutral special now receives a 1.2x multiplier compared to his opponent, giving him a greater incentive to Inhale opponents now. Final Cutter has a much stronger meteor spike and landing, has reduced landing, and the projectile it emits lasts a frame longer, now making it a reliable spiking tool and a stronger option for catching opponents in neutral. Lastly, Stone now has super armor during its start-up, making it harder to interrupt Kirby out of the attack, as in previous Smash games, he could be interrupted even when he fully transformed.

However, Kirby has received a few noteworthy nerfs. The biggest were to his grab game: The universal changes to the endlag of grabs makes Kirby's riskier to throw out, his dash grab's start-up was increased to match the rest of the cast, and his forward throw now has Kirby going up higher. This makes follow-ups off of the move easier at higher percents, but now runs the risk of Kirby possibly landing on top of a soft platform, negating all follow-ups when it happens. Stone no longer hits twice against shielded opponents, reducing its shield pressure considerably, and up tilt now has increased knockback. While this makes the move easier to combo into other attacks, it is now much less effective for chaining into itself multiple times on opponents, most notably fast-fallers such as Fox or Captain Falcon.

Overall, while Kirby has been notably improved from SSB4, he still retains many of the same issues that made him a poorly viewed character in SSB4. He generally still suffers from poor range, sluggish aerial mobility, noticeable start-up on aerials (with only back air coming out before frame 10), and a predictable recovery, with many of his buffs failing to address these issues. In addition, majority of characters which were ranked even lower than Kirby in SSB4 have received notably bigger improvements than Kirby, with characters such as Jigglypuff and King Dedede receiving mostly direct improvements with only minimal nerfs, unlike Kirby. During the early metagame of Ultimate, his representation has been almost entirely nonexistent. Because of this, many professionals, including Zero, ESAM, Leffen, and Tweek, view Kirby just as poorly as in SSB4 or even as one of the worst characters in the game, alongside Little Mac. However, some players such as Komota and Jesuischoc continue to represent him, and Captain L now uses him as a pocket character, so his true viability remains to be seen.

Aesthetics

• As with all veterans returning from Smash 4, Kirby's model features a more subdued color scheme.
• Like many other characters, Kirby is more expressive, both with his face and his movement.
• Some of Kirby's animations, particularly his dash and initial jump, have been tweaked to closer resemble his appearance from Kirby's Return to Dream Land onward.
• Kirby's voice line for taking medium damage has been changed to his alternate KO sound from Smash 4.
  • As a result, he gains a new KO sound, which sounds similar to one of his Melee knockback voice clips.
  • Kirby's light knockback sound effect that went unheard in Smash 4 is now used.
• Kirby's on-screen appearance has a more intense, fiery explosion than in previous games. The large, cartoony stars that appear have been removed, and while the sparkle effects are still present, they have been drastically toned down. All in all, it more closely resembles how it appeared in the original Super Smash Bros.
• Up taunt has been shortened, with Kirby striking the ending pose without dancing first. The pose itself has been tweaked; Kirby now raises one of his feet, resembling the pose he makes when gaining an ability in his games.
• Kirby's victory poses have been modified. Two new dances are used, one with Kirby waving his arms and breakdancing, and another with Kirby moonwalking and sliding, both based off of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land and ending in a unique pose. Kirby also splits into three separate Kirbys when not in team battles, referencing his home series. This is the first and only game to have Kirby's victory poses finish differently.
  • Kirby faces forward instead of away when "wiggling" in one of his victory poses.
• When Kirby gains a new Copy Ability, he briefly poses like he does in his home series. This animation can be canceled.
• Some Copy Ability hats have been changed.
  • His Samus helmet has a fully opaque visor, as it was in Super Smash Bros.
  • His Captain Falcon helmet has triangular eyes, and the visor is opaque as in Super Smash Bros.
  • His Zelda cap has been changed from the wimple she wore as a child in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to a hairstyle matching her new A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds-inspired look.
  • His Ganondorf cap is consistent with Ganondorf's Ocarina of Time appearance, effectively reverting to its design in Melee.
  • His Wolf cap matches Wolf's Star Fox Zero-based appearance.
  • His Jigglypuff cap matches his costume color, just like in previous games.

Attributes

• Like all characters, Kirby's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 4).
• Kirby runs faster (1.57 → 1.727).
  • Kirby's initial dash is noticeably faster (1.5 → 1.9).
• Kirby walks faster (0.93 → 0.977).
• Kirby's air speed is slightly faster (0.8 → 0.84).
• The introduction of taunt canceling benefits Kirby more than any other returning veteran as Kirby can act quicker after discarding a Copy Ability.
• Back roll has more startup lag, a shorter duration (frames 4-17 → 5-16) and ending lag when fresh (frame 31 → 36).
• Neutral air dodge has a longer duration when fresh (frames 3-27 → 3-29).
• Neutral air dodge has more ending lag (frame 34 → 61).

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • The first and second hit of neutral attack have the ability to jab lock.
  • The last hit of neutral attack has less startup (frame 5 → 3) and ending lag (frame 51 → 40), deals slightly more damage (2% → 3%), and has more knockback.
  • Neutral infinite connects more reliably, as it keeps opponents on the ground and thus can't be SDI'd out of.
  • Neutral attack deals less damage overall (2% → 1.8% (hit 1), 3% → 1.6% (hit 2), 1% → 0.2% (loop hits)).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt has increased base knockback and reduced ending lag (frame 28 → 24). This improves its safety as a spacing tool, and even allows it to KO at higher percents.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has slightly more range on its front hitbox.
  • The late hit has a longer duration (frames 6-9 → 6-10) which gives up tilt one extra frame of intangibility.
  • Up tilt has slightly more knockback.
    • This makes it easier to combo it into other moves and improves its KO potential.
    • This makes it harder to chain it into itself at higher percents.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt no longer sends opponents at a backwards momentum once tripped, improving its reliability for comboing.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has reverted to its Melee iteration, where Kirby does a tackle identical to the "Burning" copy ability, though unlike in Melee, dash attack doesn't go off ledges.
  • Dash attack has decreased startup lag (frame 12 → 9).
  • Clean dash attack deals more damage (9% → 12%).
  • Dash attack can cross up shields.
  • Since dash attack only consists of one hit, it can't be SDI'd out of improving its reliability.
  • Dash attack has increased knockback, to the point that it KOs at higher percents.
  • Dash attack maintains Kirby's speed and momentum much better.
  • Dash attack has slightly more ending lag (frame 54 → 60).
  • Dash attack no longer has multiple hitboxes, instead having weaker late hitboxes.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has a different start-up animation: Kirby pulls back before executing a thrust kick instead of performing a spin first, making it resemble Smash Kick, one of Smash Bros. Kirby's attacks in Kirby: Planet Robobot.
  • Forward smash has more range.
  • Forward smash deals consistent damage when angled. This makes it deal slightly more damage when angled downwards but slightly less damage when angled upwards.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has reduced startup lag (frame 14 → 12) and thus less ending lag (frame 48 → 46).
  • Up smash's late hitbox deals more damage (12% → 13%).
• Down smash:
  • Down smash has increased range.
  • Down smash acts similarly to the version in Brawl, but the whole move sends opponents at a horizontal angle, improving its KO potential as well as its edgeguarding potential when near a ledge.

Aerial attacks

• All aerials have less landing lag (10 frames → 6 (neutral), 13 frames → 8 (forward), 17 frames → 10 (back), 12 frames → 7 (up), 17 frames → 16 (down)).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial has much less ending lag (frame 73 → 63).
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial's lower landing lag makes it possible to combo with the first hit of the attack into other moves much easier and safer.
  • The third hit has a longer duration (frames 25-26 → 25-27).
  • The second hit strings into the third hit easier than in SSB4.
    • This allows for possibly more reliable Wall of Pain setups.
• Back aerial:
  • The clean hit of back aerial has a longer duration (frames 6-7 → 6-8) much like in previous Smash games.
    • It has less knockback.
  • The late hit has a shorter duration (frames 8-14 → 9-12).
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has less ending lag (frame 40 → 38).
• Down aerial:
  • The first five hits of down aerial deal slightly more damage (1% → 1.3%).

Throws/other attacks

• All grabs have increased ending lag (frame 28 → 34 (standing), 39 → 42 (dash), 33 → 37 (pivot)).
  • Dash grab has slightly more start up lag (frame 8 → 9) and pivot grab has a shorter duration (frames 10-12 → 10-11).
• Pummel:
  • Pummel deals slightly less damage (1.55% → 1%).
• Forward throw:
  • Forward throw has Kirby jump slightly higher and further backwards at the end of the animation, able to reach the height of Battlefield's lower platform.
  • This increases its combo potential at higher percents.
  • However, because of this, this can possibly interrupt many of his combos when under a soft platform.
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has slightly less knockback, hindering its KO potential.
  • Up throw's landing hitbox damages and launches other fighters, similar to Meta Knight's up throw.
• Edge attack:
  • Edge attack deals more damage (7% → 9%).

Special Moves

• Inhale:
  • Inhale has more range.
  • Inhale has reduced ending lag (frame 73 → 68).
  • Inhale can catch some projectiles like a fully charged Charge Shot. Kirby can then choose to spit it out as a star that deals damage or swallow it to heal himself.
  • Spitting out inhaled opponents as a star deals more damage.
  • When swallowing an opponent and gaining their Copy Ability, Kirby receives a 1.2x damage multiplier for his copied neutral special when compared to the copied opponent.
  • The distance an opponent travels in a star scales with damage, allowing Kirby to almost guarantee an offstage KO at higher percents.
  • Inhale has a more opaque visual effect.
• Hammer:
  • Hammer deals more knockback when fully charged.
  • Aerial Hammer deals more damage (15%-27% → 16%-28%).
  • Hammer deals slightly less shield damage, making it less safe when hitting shielded opponents.
  • Hammer has intangibility frames when used both in midair and on the ground.
  • Kirby may use his uncharged or fully-charged voice lines from Smash 4 when swinging an uncharged Hammer.
  • A fully charged Hammer triggers Special Zoom.
• Final Cutter:
  • Final Cutter has less landing lag (frame 35 → 31).
  • Final Cutter's projectile travels slightly further.
  • Final Cutter's landing hitbox deals more knockback.
  • Final Cutter's spike hitbox is much stronger and deals more knockback, heavily improving its reliability.
• Stone:
  • Stone only hits opponents once instead of twice when grounded, significantly decreasing its shield damage.
  • Stone can transform into a Treasure Chest found in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's shrines.
  • If Kirby is metal when using Stone, the transformation will also be metal.
  • The aerial version of Stone has super armor starting on frame 19, making it much harder to interrupt Kirby during the move.
  • Kirby doesn't change back to normal if he lands underwater.
• Ultra Sword:
  • It features a special background effect upon usage, in a similar fashion to the use of Super Abilities in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

Update History

1.1.0

• Up aerial has less ending lag (frame 40 → 38).
• Final Cutter has some animations updated.

1.2.0

• After copying Pac-Man's Bonus Fruit, Key will no longer be discarded when it is recycled.

2.0.0

• Dash attack has greater range and deals more damage (10%/7%/4% → 12%/9%/6%), with knockback partly compensated.
• Forward tilt has increased base knockback and reduced ending lag (frame 28 → 24). This improves its safety as a spacing tool, and even allows it to KO at higher percents.
• Stone has super armor starting on frame 19 when used in the air. This makes the move harder to intercept.

Moveset

• Kirby can perform five midair jumps.

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack		Vulcan Jab/Smash Punch	1.8%	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.
			1.6%
			0.2% (loop), 3% (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. It can KO middleweights starting at around 132% at the edge of Final Destination.
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		Squish Kick	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		Burning	12% (clean), 9% (mid), 6% (late)	The Burn attack from the Fire ability. It has decent start up with a lengthy hitbox that grows weaker over time. When struck cleanly, it can KO middleweights at around 98% from the edge of Final Destination.
Forward smash		Smash Kick	15% (clean), 11% (late)	The Spin Kick from the Fighter ability. It can be angled and moderately moves Kirby forward, giving it deceptive range. 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, it KOs middleweights at around 65%. However, its late hitbox lacks reliable KO potential.
Up smash			15%/14% (clean), 14%/12% (mid), 12% (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 around 100% from anywhere on Final Destination. Kirby's foot is also rendered intangible throughout its duration. 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 around 93% from the edge of Final Destination. 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, such as an up smash or forward smash at high percents. 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 around 105%. 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 decent juggling option, it can also be used for continuing a combo due to its low landing lag.
Down aerial			1.2% (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%	The punch version of the Arm Throw from the Fighter ability.
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. Using it below a Battlefield platform will have Kirby land on said platform, hindering followups at lower percents, but extending them at higher 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 around 137%.
Up throw		Air Drop	10% (throw), 7% (landing)	The attack of the same name from the Ninja ability. Like Meta Knight's up throw, it can damage and launch bystanders upon landing. It is weaker than his back throw when used at the edge, but it is consistently strong regardless of where it's used on the stage. It KOs middleweights at around 158% from anywhere on Final Destination, and the landing hit can KO at around 157%. 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. 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%	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			9%	Performs a cartwheeling kick while climbing up. It has surprisingly good range compared to many other characters' edge attacks.
Neutral special		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. When inhaling projectiles, Kirby will heal off a small amount of percentage, and when inhaling large projectiles, such as Samus's fully charged Charge Shot, it can be spat out as a star.
Side special		Hammer Flip	19% (grounded uncharged), 16% (aerial uncharged), 35% (grounded fully charged), 28% (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 grants 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 around 65%. Conversely, fully charged Hammer Flip KOs middleweights at around 6%. Although weaker, aerial Hammer Flip nevertheless possesses KO potential. While near the edge of Final Destination, it KOs middleweights at around 86%. Conversely, its fully charged version KOs them at around 33%.
Up special		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.
Down special		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 around 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 is slightly weaker, it is a 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.
Final Smash		Ultra Sword	3% (stun), 5% (hit 1), 2.5% (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 around 15%.

Victory poses

Note: Outside of team battles, Kirby's victory poses have three separate Kirbys, referencing the Kirby dances from his home series.

• Moonwalks to the left, twists, slides to the right, and jumps into a pose where he stands on one foot. Combines the moonwalk from Kirby's Return to Dream land with the slide attack, and ends with a pose similar to Kirby's render in Brawl.
• Cartwheels to the left twice, wiggles, and does a front flip before posing.
• Jumps twice, shuffles backwards, does a breakdance, and poses while facing away from the camera. Based off of the dances introduced in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

The victory theme of the Kirby universe is a cover of the short recurring theme that plays when Kirby completes a stage or defeats a boss, debuting in Kirby's Dream Land, though the shortened version that this track is based on debuted in Kirby's Adventure.

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Classic Mode: Gourmet Clash

Kirby's opponents are characters who, like Kirby, are known for their large appetites. For each battle, Kirby and his opponent each spawn with 35% damage and several food items appear on the stage as the match begins

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music
1	Pac-Man	Pac-Land	PAC-MAN
2	Giant Yoshi	Yoshi's Island	Ground Theme - Super Mario World
3	Donkey Kong	Jungle Japes	Jungle Hijinxs
4	Giant Wario	Gamer	WarioWare, Inc.
5	King K. Rool	Kongo Jungle	Mangrove Cove
6	King Dedede	Fountain of Dreams	Gourmet Race (64)
Bonus Stage
Final	Marx	?	Vs. Marx

Character unlock tree

Kirby's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:

• Ness
• Jigglypuff
• Pac-Man
• Zelda
• Robin
• Corrin
• Lucas
• Palutena

Each character can be unlocked by clearing Kirby's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to Mario's character unlock tree, starting with Sonic.

Role in World of Light

Kirby facing the World of Light, from the mode's opening cutscene.

Kirby was among the fighters summoned to the cliffside to assist in defeating an army of Master Hands.

After Galeem absorbed all of the Master Hands during the opening cutscene, he began to unleash beams of light that vaporized all of the fighters and later imprisoned all of them. Kirby was the sole survivor after escaping on his Warp Star, barely warping away from the beams before they could engulf him. Despite being the sole survivor, Kirby is still seen as a puppet in a few areas of the mode. It’s unknown why this is the case.

Kirby crash-lands in a canyon area, and begins his quest to save the other fighters as the initial starting protagonist.

He is later seen alongside several other fighters, as they make their final stand against Galeem and Dharkon.

Spirits

Kirby's Fighter Spirit can be obtained by completing Classic Mode. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 500 coins. Starting World of Light and play as Kirby allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a Fighter Spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. Each Fighter Spirit has an alternate version that replaces them with their artwork in Ultimate.

Additionally, Kirby makes an appearance in various Support Spirits.

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  323. Kirby

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  326. Warp Star

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  327. Star Rod

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  328. Ultra Sword

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  329. Robobot Armor

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  Kirby artwork, as posted by Kirby's official Twitter account.

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  Link, Kirby, Mario, and Cloud artwork, as posted by Tetsuya Nomura's official Twitter account.

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  Kirby's fighter card.

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  "Mario Kirby" tossing a Fireball on Battlefield.

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  "Jigglypuff Kirby" using Rollout with Jigglypuff on Onett.

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  Using his Hammer on Little Mac in the Boxing Ring.

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  "Fox Kirby" using a Blaster with Fox on Mario Galaxy.

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  Performing Final Cutter on Tomodachi Life.

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  Inhaling an Ice Shot on Summit with the Ice Kirby-inspired costume.

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  Getting kicked by Diddy Kong on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Inhaling Donkey Kong's grapes on Gaur Plain.

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  With King Dedede on Green Greens.

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  Kirby’s “unmasked Meta Knight” costume standing next to the real Meta Knight on Skyworld.

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  Kirby in his new Stone transformation below an aerial Mii Brawler on Skyworld.

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  Struck by Rosalina on Temple.

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  About to be eaten by Yoshi on Gaur Plain.

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  Kirby standing next to a Bomber on Green Greens.

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  Kirby struck by Knuckles's uppercut on The Great Cave Offensive.

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  Three Kirbys watching the Squid Sisters' concert on New Pork City.

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  With Meta Knight and King Dedede on Green Greens.

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  With Mario, Link, Inkling, Marth, Pit, Ridley and Villager on Battlefield.

Trivia

• Kirby's stock icon is one of four to show eyes (the others being Meta Knight, R.O.B., and Sonic), likely due to it being a simplistic pink circle otherwise.
  • It also greatly resembles his stock icon in the original Super Smash Bros.
• Kirby's pose resembles his character artwork in Kirby Super Star, but rotated to slightly face the screen. Coincidentally, this was also used for his character select artwork in the original Super Smash Bros.
• Kirby is the only Kirby series character to keep his Final Smash between Smash 4 and Ultimate.
• Since Kirby is the starter character of World of Light and part of the starter roster, it means he's the only character that isn't unlockable in the game for any mode.
  • This also makes Kirby the only character in the entire series that is never unlocked in any mode.
    • This means it is impossible to see the message saying that "Kirby joins the battle!"
• Kirby has the highest amount of voice clips for any character in the game, with 95 clips.
• Kirby is the only starter character in Ultimate whose universe has more than one character to not include any characters in their Classic Mode unlock table, as Meta Knight is in Link's, and King Dedede is in Donkey Kong's. Namely:
  • Mario's unlock table includes Luigi and Dr. Mario.
  • Donkey Kong's unlock table includes Diddy Kong.
  • Link's unlock table includes Young Link and Toon Link.
  • Samus's unlock table includes Dark Samus.
  • Fox's unlock table includes Falco and Wolf
  • Pikachu's unlock table includes Pichu.
• Unlike other characters, Kirby can actually taunt online when playing outside of arenas, but only to discard his copy ability.
• If Kirby in a part of a winning team in Team Battles, the landing effects of Kirby's doubles are still present, despite not appearing themselves.
• As a result of not being captured, Kirby is one of the few characters that doesn't has copies of him produced by Dharkon or Galeem during their boss fights.