King Dedede (SSBU)

King Dedede in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	in Brawl in SSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Dede-Rush

“	He's not very fast, but he's one of few heavyweight fighters with great recovery. Apparently, a defeat by Kirby inspired him to train hard to learn a move called Hovering, which allows him to float after taking a deep breath.	”
—Super Smash Blog, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Official Site

King Dedede (デデデ, Dedede) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. King Dedede is classified as fighter #39.

King Dedede’s voice clips from Smash 4 has been repurposed for Ultimate, of which he was voiced by the series creator, Masahiro Sakurai.

How to unlock

Complete one of the following:

• Play VS. matches, with King Dedede being the 30th character to be unlocked.
• Clear Classic Mode with Donkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the fourth character unlocked after Rosalina & Luma.
• Have King Dedede join the player's party in World of Light.

With the exception of the third method, King Dedede must then be defeated on Fountain of Dreams.

Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4

Given his notoriety as one of the worst characters in Super Smash Bros. 4, King Dedede has been significantly buffed in the transition from Smash 4 to Ultimate. King Dedede's previously abysmal horizontal mobility has been buffed (although it is still among the worst across the series), while the effectiveness of his aerial moveset has been buffed even further as the reduced landing lag on his aerial attacks gives him landing options, while their increased knockback makes them more effective KO options. Additionally, due to his Inhale gaining the ability to spit out inhaled projectiles, he has effectively gained a reflector, alleviating his vulnerability to projectile camping. The new reflecting abilities of his Inhale also gives him more safety when using Gordo Throw.

King Dedede's biggest buffs, however, were to the utility of his ground game. His already good neutral attack has been improved even further, his up and down tilts can now be reversed upon startup (with the former now regaining its Brawl strength), his already strong smash attacks are stronger overall, and his previously slow forward smash is much faster overall. Altogether, King Dedede is clearly much better than in the previous game, although his viability in tournaments is still unknown.

Aesthetics

• King Dedede's clothing and general design is more cartoonish, with higher contrast colors and simplified detailing on his clothing.
• Normal map changes to the star textures on his hammer give the illusion that they protrude slightly more, as depicted in his official artwork.
• King Dedede's clothes have been given more detail. The fur on his coat and hat appears fluffier and more detailed, and his obi has more depth.
• Like many other characters, King Dedede is more expressive, both with his face and especially his movements. For instance, he now squints during his crouching animation.
• Down taunt now has a more exaggerated animation.
• King Dedede's hammer spinning victory pose now finishes with his hammer transforming into the Jet Hammer.
• King Dedede's victory pose where he stands next to a Waddle Dee and pats his stomach now shows Waddle Dee walking up to him. The ending animation is now more exaggerated, with Dedede bouncing while laughing gloatingly.
• King Dedede's Star KO voice clip has been shortened: it no longer extends past the KO's animation.

Attributes

• Like all characters, King Dedede's jumpsquat animation now takes three frames to complete (down from 6).
• King Dedede dashes faster (1.36 → 1.496).
  • Initial dash is much faster (1.4 → 1.815), enabling foxtrotting for boosted ground mobility.
• King Dedede walks faster (0.98 → 1.029).
• King Dedede's air speed is much faster (0.63 → 0.735), now being nearly on par with Luigi's.
• King Dedede is much heavier (119 → 127), allowing him to survive even longer, but makes him more susceptible to combos.

Ground attacks

• Neutral attack:
  • Neutral infinite is faster and connects more reliably.
  • Neutral infinite's finisher deals significantly more knockback.
  • The first two hits of Neutral attack can jab reset.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack has significantly more knockback now being the strongest dash attack in the game. This is boosted further by the changes to the Sakurai angle on the ground.
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt's hits connect more reliably.
  • Forward tilt has an altered animation.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup (8 → 6), and endlag (FAF 44 → 39).
  • Up tilt deals more knockback.
  • Up tilt can be reversed upon startup.
  • Up tilt does less damage (12%/10% → 10%).
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt deals more damage (6%/10% → 10%) and knockback.
  • Down tilt's blind spot has been removed, meaning the attack will also hit opponents that are very close.
  • Down tilt can be reversed upon startup.
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has less startup lag.
  • Forward smash does more damage (24% → 25%), and higher knockback values, improving its already great KO potential.
  • Forward smash now hits shields twice, once before the hammer head hits the ground and once afterwards. This allows it to break full shields, even when uncharged.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash has a larger hitbox.
  • Up smash deals more knockback.

Aerial moves

• All aerials have less landing lag (15 → 10 (Neutral aerial), 30 → 19 (Forward aerial), 21 → 14 (Back aerial), 22 → 14 (Up aerial), 30 → 19 (Down aerial).
• Clean neutral aerial deals more knockback, improving its KO potential, while late neutral aerial remains unchanged, which combined with the reduced landing lag and jumpsquat improves its combo potential significantly.
• Neutral aerial now causes King Dedede's belly to wobble around during the move.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has a slightly altered animation.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial has an altered animation. It is now a horizontal hammer swing that better matches the move's hitboxes.
  • Back aerial has reduced endlag.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial has more range.
  • Up aerial deals more damage.
• Down aerial:
  • Down aerial deals much more knockback.
  • Down aerial has a slightly altered animation.

Throws/other attacks

• Back throw has somewhat higher knockback, increasing its KO potential.
• Up throw lets King Dedede act sooner, allowing him to set up combos with it, such as into up aerial.
• Down throw has an altered animation, with him slamming his opponent face-first onto the ground.

Special Moves

• Inhale:
  • Inhale now acts as a reflector, giving a 1.5x damage boost to any projectiles spat out. Once inhaled, the projectile is spat out almost immediately, and eliminates almost all of the move's ending lag.
    • Since Dedede can no longer swallow projectiles, characters like Mewtwo can reflect said projectiles back at Dedede for a KO.
    • Inhale can catch and spit his own Gordos. This gives Dedede an option to relaunch Gordos that are hit back at him, and manually allows him to launch Gordos forward much further and at a much faster speed compared to throwing one with Gordo Throw.
  • Inhale has a much bigger grabbox.
  • Inhale has an updated, more opaque visual effect.
• Gordo Throw:
  • Gordos have significantly larger hitboxes that cover the entire orb.
  • Gordos have increased knockback.
  • Gordos's pupils visually shrink when hit. Additionally, they now have animated spines.
  • Gordos stick to the ledge more consistently, significantly improving their edgeguarding potential.
  • Gordo Throw has less endlag (FAF 64 → 61).
• Super Dedede Jump:
  • Super Dedede Jump does more damage.
  • Super Dedede Jump will now snap to ledge when reversed.
  • Super Dedede Jump now has far less endlag when canceled.
  • Super Dedede Jump descends more quickly.
  • King Dedede now has blue trails form around him when using Super Dedede Jump, indicating armor.
• Jet Hammer:
  • Jet Hammer breaks shields when fully charged.
  • Jet Hammer does significantly more damage and knockback.
  • Jet Hammer now has armor during the swing.
  • The fire from Jet Hammer is now blue instead of red.
  • Fully charged Jet Hammer triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
• Final Smash:
  • King Dedede has a new Final Smash called Dede-Rush, which features King Dedede taking his "Masked Dedede" persona from Kirby Super Star Ultra before trapping opponents inside of a caged boxing ring, attacking them with a barrage of missiles, and launching them with his Jet Hammer.
  • Unlike Dedede Burst in Smash 4, it is not possible for opponents to escape once trapped.
  • Dede-Rush cannot trap more than one opponent at a time for extra damage.
  • This new Final Smash deals greater knockback, but deals less damage.

Update history

2.0.0

• Gordos' hitboxes on its spikes (4.8u → 3.8u) and body (4.5u → 4u) have been reduced.

Moveset

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

		Name	Damage	Description
Neutral attack			2.5%	A pair of hammer swings, followed by thrusting his hammer forward while twirling its head, followed by an upward swing. Unlike most neutral infinites, its finisher launches opponents at a nearly vertical trajectory and has KO potential, as it KOs around 150% without rage. Is much faster than it was in Smash 4, more reliably comboing into itself.
			2.2%
			0.5% (loop), 3% (last)
Forward tilt			2% (hits 1-4), 3% (hit 5)	Thrusts his hammer forward while twirling its head. Very good range, though its fourth hitbox can only connect if the move lands at the tip of the hammer. However, its rather long ending lag makes this move unsafe if it does not connect at its farthest range. Is very useful for Dedede's ledge traps as it's speed, range, and long lasting hitbox allows it to trap rolls and neutral get ups, but this is less rewarding than using his smash attacks. Also good for catching landings when reversed out of a run, and can stuff out punish attempts for landed back air.
Up tilt			10% (body), 8%(head)	An upward headbutt. King Dedede's head and upper body are intangible while its hitbox is active. Can combo into itself at low percents and has regained a lot of the power lost in Smash 4.
Down tilt		Rolling	10% (clean), 6% (late)	A cartwheeling tackle. Dedede's fastest move, coming out on frame 6. It is capable of being used after most defensive options and attacks, as a good out of shield option, or for disrupting opponents. Can also lead into itself and other attacks if the opponent doesn't tech.
Dash attack		Belly Flop	16% (clean), 13% (late)	His signature belly flopping tackle. A slow and powerful KOing option, it is the strongest dash attack in the game and is even stronger than some of the cast's smash attacks, KOing middleweights at around 55% near the edge due to its exceptionally high knockback. Can hit every character on the ledge after their ledge invincibility has ended. Originates from Kirby's Dream Land.
Forward smash			18.5% (handle), 25% (head), 11% (shockwave)	Rears his hammer back and slams it down. One of the most damaging forward smashes in the game, capable of KOing as early as 30% near the edge. It has a very slow startup but with deceptively short endlag and a far reaching quakebox. It can break shields point blank with only a little bit of charging due to it hitting twice. Originates from Kirby's Dream Land.
Up smash			16%	An upward hammer swing. A decent anti-air option with great vertical knockback, KOing at middleweights at 100%. Has good range in front and behind Dedede with consistent power throughout the duration, being able to hit short characters unlike in Smash 4. It also has transcendent priority.
Down smash			13%	A spinning hammer swing around himself. King Dedede's fastest kill move, sending foes at a low angle and can KO around 80% near edge. Best used for catching rolls as well as ledge attacks. It also has transcendent priority. Appears very similar to the Giant Dedede Swing from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
Neutral aerial			12% (clean), 7% (late)	A splash. Dedede's fastest aerial, coming out on frame 7. Functions like a sex kick, but unlike the majority of them, it has transcendent priority. When coupled with a fast fall, its late hit has follow-up potential, such as an up tilt at low percents, neutral, forward or back air at mid percents, and up air at higher percents.
Forward aerial			12%	Somersaults to perform a downward hammer swing. Has good range in front of Dedede, but can be unsafe on hit at lower percents if spaced poorly. This move does not auto cancel in a short-hop and has more landing/ending lag than his back aerial, but starts much earlier. Is capable of performing a pseudo wall of pain while edgeguarding. It can also lock and fend off edgeguard attempts while recovering, due to its long range reaching through ledges.
Back aerial			16%	An horizontal hammer swing behind himself. One of Dedede's best moves for spacing and KOing, doing so reliably below 120%. Can be auto canceled in a short-hop, and is also relatively safe on shield when spaced at max range.
Up aerial			1% (hits 1-7), 5% (hit 8)	Thrusts his hammer upward while twirling its head. Has tremendous reach above Dedede beating out many down airs. It is quite strong for a multiple hitting move, being able to KO below 130%. Like his Forward Air, it can hit edgeguarding opponents through ledges.
Down aerial			15% (hammer head), 8% (handle)	A downward hammer swing. The sweetspot is a very powerful meteor smash only on aerial opponents. On grounded opponents, it deals high horizontal knockback, KOing at around 100% near the edge.
Grab			—	Reaches out. Unlike in Brawl, where it was notoriously long ranged, King Dedede's overall grab range is roughly average.
Pummel			1.6%	A headbutt. Quicker but less damaging than it was in Smash 4, good for racking damage.
Forward throw			4% (hit 1), 6% (throw)	Strikes the opponent forward with his hammer. Can be used to set up an edgeguard or launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
Back throw			4% (hit 1), 9% (throw)	Strikes the opponent backward with his hammer. King Dedede's strongest throw, but due to the fact it launches at a very high angle, it does not KO until very high percentages, depending on the opponent's weight and DI. It is better at damage racking due to these factors. Like forward throw, it can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
Up throw			4% (hit 1), 5% (throw)	A jump set, a technique used in volleyball. Can lead into up aerial at low to medium percentages, but down throw is generally more rewarding and consistent. Like forward throw, can be used to launch the opponent into a previously thrown Gordo.
Down throw			6%	A one-handed body slam. King Dedede's best combo starter, it can initiate true combos into a neutral or forward air at very low percents and back air at low to mid percents. At medium percentages, down throw to up air is a KO combo if the opponent DI's incorrectly.
Forward roll Back roll Spot dodge Air dodge		—	—
Techs		—	—
Floor attack (front) Floor getups (front)			7%	Gets up and kicks in front of himself and then behind himself.
Floor attack (back) Floor getups (back)			7%
Floor attack (trip) Floor getups (trip)			5%	Swings his hammer in of himself and then behind himself while twirling the hammer's head.
Edge attack Edge getups			10%	Performs a kick while climbing up.
Neutral special		Inhale	12% (spit)	Inhales the opponent. While they have been Inhaled, King Dedede can then walk around and spit them out to inflict damage. Can also can also be used to swallow items and spit back projectiles, acting as a reflector. Can also be a good landing mix-up to catch sidesteps and shields.
Side special		Gordo Throw	10% (hammer), 14%/12.5%/11%/9.5% (Gordo)	Hits a bouncing Gordo with his hammer. Its trajectory can be angled upward, forward, or downward, which can be used for mindgames. By extension, his throws can be used to launch the opponent toward a previously thrown Gordo. The Gordos disappear after almost 3 seconds. An upward-angled gordo can be used to deny most options at the ledge or even all when combined with an attack. Gordo can also stick to any surface that allows wall jumping, and is much consistent than it was in Smash 4. They can also be reflected by any attack dealing at least 2%. Of further note is that Dedede can hit opponents with the hammer swing used to serve the Gordo, potentially leading into a hit by both the hammer and Gordo for a considerable amount of damage. Dedede can also inhale his own Gordo and spit it out at a considerable speed.
Up special		Super Dedede Jump	15% (drop), 12% (landing), 5% (stars)	His signature jump. It concludes with a diving double foot stomp that buries grounded opponents and meteor smashes aerial ones. Like Yoshi Bomb, it emits stars on both sides after the diving double foot stomp hits the ground, which can make it difficult to punish, especially against characters that lack a projectile. While it cannot grab edges during its descent, it can do so upon being canceled. However, if it is canceled too late before landing, Dedede will endure landing lag that lasts for more than a second.
Down special		Jet Hammer	12% (uncharged grounded), 11% (uncharged aerial), 38% (fully charged grounded), 32% (fully charged aerial)	Activates the afterburner in his hammer to charge up a very powerful swing, which is released when the special button is released. Dedede can walk around slowly and jump once while charging. It has super armor during the swing, and it can hit opponents hanging from the ledge after their invincibility wears off. Dedede can hold the hammer out indefinitely, but it slowly deals recoil damage if he holds it when fully charged up until 100%. A fully charged Jet Hammer can easily KO opponents below 50% near the edge, and is able to break shields with a full charge.
Final Smash		Dede-Rush	8% (hit 1), 1.8% (missiles), 20% (hammer hit), 10% (last hit)	Strikes the opponent with his hammer sending them into his trademark boxing ring with a cage set up. Adopting his Masked Dedede persona, he attacks his opponent with a barrage of missiles, followed by a powerful spinning hammer swing. Deals approximately 60% in total with considerable knockback, but can only trap one opponent at a time.

Victory poses

• Swings his hammer twice before turning to the camera and posing.
• Laughs and repeatedly slaps his belly while a Waddle Dee walks into the scene.
• Twirls his hammer with a grimace, then activates the Jet Hammer.

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: Royal Rumble

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

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

Role in World of Light

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

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

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

Spirits

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

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

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  325. King Dedede

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  353. Masked Dedede

Alternate costumes

Gallery

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  King Dedede's fighter card.

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  King Dedede taunting on Green Greens.

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  Performing his neutral aerial on Magicant.

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  With a Poké Ball after performing his forward smash on Pokémon Stadium.

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  Crouching with Kirby on Green Greens.

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  King Dedede attacking another fighter on Wrecking Crew.

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  Inhaling a Bob-omb on Town and City.

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  King Dedede and Villager during the Squid Sisters' concert on Mario Galaxy.

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  Taunting with Meta Knight and Kirby on Green Greens.

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  Hitting Link with a forward smash on The Great Cave Offensive.

Trivia

• During the segment of the Nintendo E3 Direct that focused on King Dedede's Final Smash, his eyes are normal colored while he is wearing his mask. In the final game, his eyes are yellow.
• King Dedede is one of four characters to have appeared since Brawl to have a different Final Smash across every installment; the other three are Pit, Zero Suit Samus, and R.O.B..
• King Dedede's pose in his official render resembles one of his idle poses.
• In the Korean version of the game, the Announcer calls him "King Dedede", despite having a different name in Korean, "Dedede Daewang", which translates to "Dedede King".