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 (41)

Kirby (カービィ, Kirby) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. 4. He was confirmed on June 11th, 2013 during the E3 2013 Nintendo Direct. He was also among the first wave of amiibo figures that are compatible with SSB4. Kirby is again voiced by Makiko Ōmoto, who provided new voice clips that changed Kirby's inflections somewhat compared to the previous games in the series.

Kirby ranks 41st out of 58 on the tier list, placing him in the F tier. This is a vast downturn for Kirby, as he was a mid-tier character in Brawl where he ranked 20th out of 38. Kirby possesses a great combo game, courtesy of his up tilt and his up aerial's excellent juggling potentials, as well as good frame data throughout most of his moveset. Despite his size, Kirby also has great KO potential due to his powerful up throw and guaranteed KO set-ups off of his down aerial on floatier characters. His crouch is also very useful, allowing him to avoid many moves from a variety of characters, along with a number of grabs from taller characters.

However, Kirby retains many of his flaws from Brawl, the most notable of which is his poor survivability as a result of his floatiness and extremely light weight. When this is coupled with his predictable recovery, Kirby is left prone to either getting KO'd off of the blast zones early or being edgeguarded early. His mobility is also poor, leaving him prone to being zoned out by many characters, though his crouch can help alleviate some pressure against projectiles that are not affected by gravity. Lastly, Kirby's range has also been nerfed, due to his feet becoming smaller. Because of these flaws, Kirby is seen by some as a below average character in SSB4, although his tournament representation is average and he has even achieved a few results at top-level tournaments courtesy of MikeKirby and K.I.D. Goggles.

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 a slow walking speed, average dashing speed, the fourth slowest falling speed, the third lowest gravity, the fourth lowest air speed, below average traction and average air acceleration. Despite having the second lowest jumps, he can jump a total of six times, making up for that flaw.

Kirby's greatest strength is the versatility of his moveset. Almost all of Kirby's moves are characterized by speed, and those that are not have very high power instead. 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 capabilities, being very quick and having the ability to consistently combo into itself or an aerial attack. Down tilt is very fast, with its very low power being compensated by the Sakurai angle, allowing it to trip opponents even at percents as high as 270%. His smash attacks have good range and high power while not being particularly slow, making them excellent at ending an opponent's stock. His aerial game is also powerful and all of his aerials have less than 18 frames of landing lag. Neutral aerial lasts for a long amount of time, and its very low landing lag grants Kirby a lot of 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 autocanceling frames, allowing many potential follow-ups. Back aerial has decent range, lasts for a decent amount of time and is Kirby's fastest and strongest aerial, making it a very good all-purpose aerial attack. Lastly, down aerial, has slow start-up, but drags opponents downward before meteor smashing them, making it a deceptively powerful edgeguarding tool. In addition, it is an effective combo starter with guaranteed follow-ups on grounded opponents.

Kirby's grab game is also useful. His grabs are either fast or have good range, making up for the lack of the other. Despite dealing little damage, his pummel is very fast, allowing Kirby to rack up damage quickly. His forward throw, notorious in Brawl for its highly damaging combo options at 0%, has been improved even further, now possessing follow-ups even at medium percents, including 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 KO at high percents. Up throw is his strongest throw and is able to KO almost all characters at 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 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 is extremely powerful, especially when fully charged. Its low speed, however, makes it very difficult to use outside of edgeguarding or after a shield break. Final Cutter is Kirby's primary move for recovery and is decent at that, granting good vertical and horizontal distance, as well as decent protection on the way up and on the way down. It also releases 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 (such as Sonic) or those with disjointed hitboxes (like Marth). In addition, despite being very long, his recovery is extremely slow, making aggressive edgeguarding 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 edgeguarding 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 the aforementioned slow falling speed and slow air speed. The introduction of rage further compounds these issues, as Kirby will get sent flying even earlier, and will usually not last long enough to take advantage of it.

Kirby benefits significantly from his custom moves. Jumping Inhale is slower and lacks the vacuum, but moves Kirby forward, often putting opponents at very bad positions. With Ice Breath, he cannot copy abilities from opponents but he can freeze opponents for a time and is great for edgeguarding, as most recoveries will run straight into Kirby's breath, freezing them. Hammer Bash is almost identical to Hammer in Brawl, being much faster and, due its vertical knockback, almost as powerful, at the cost of the default's immense strength. Giant Hammer is slower than regular Hammer Flip but it is the most powerful custom move in the game without equipment and grants armor. Wave Cutter does not allow Kirby to hit when rising, but the move is overall faster, the descending hitbox is more powerful and the shockwave has more range and can pressure shields. Upper Cutter immediately cancels at the apex, removing the descending hitbox and the shockwave, but is faster, stronger and grants much more height and momentum, making it much better for recovering, as well as granting Kirby a reliable out of shield option. Grounding Stone is much weaker and has more start-up, but it buries grounded opponents and has much less ending lag, allowing for follow-ups, safer mindgames, and acts as a potential anti-juggling tool. Meteor Stone takes longer to end, but it meteor smashes the opponent and can even be used as a suicide move.

Overall, Kirby, like Luigi, tends to run hot-and-cold. He can inflict an impressive amount of damage if he gets close to his opponent, but doing so is difficult in the first place. 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 mediocre survivability. Kirby has seen average tournament representation and has achieved some degree of success, with professionals such as Poyo and Triple R consistently placing very well at or winning regional tournaments, while MikeKirby and K.I.D. Goggles have attained a handful of notable results at top-level tournaments.

Changes from Brawl

Kirby has been nerfed in the transition from Brawl to SSB4. He has retained most of the issues he had in Brawl, but he also suffers from new issues, such as having his range worsened in SSB4 due to his feet becoming smaller and size relative to the cast becoming smaller, and his standing and dash grabs' ranges getting 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 much more than harm him, as they enable him to chain combos together much better. His improved combo game is further supplemented by his newly buffed forward throw, which lets him rack up damage very easily. His approach was also slightly improved due to his dashing speed becoming significantly faster.

Aesthetics

• Due to the generally brighter aesthetic used in SSB4, Kirby's overall coloration is now brighter. His skin appears to have much more diffuse shading, with reduced difference in brightness between the lit and shaded sides of his body, while his feet are now slightly smaller to match his design as of Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
• Kirby is 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 have 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.

Attributes

• Kirby is smaller. This makes his hurtbox slightly smaller, but hinders his range, especially due to his feet being slightly smaller.
• Kirby's smaller size, when combined with the general change in size between smaller and larger characters, 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), going from being tied with Ike for the tenth slowest in Brawl to average in SSB4.
• Kirby's air speed is slower (0.85 → 0.8).
• Kirby falls faster (1.2 → 1.23).
• Kirby's fast falling speed is faster (1.9 → 1.968), making him less susceptible to vertical juggling.
• Kirby's gravity is higher (0.061 → 0.06405). This allows him to reach his falling speed faster, but hinders his endurance and makes him more susceptible to combos.
• Midair jumps are lower.
• Rolls have decreased ending lag (IASA 31 → 30).
• Rolls grant less intangibility frames (frames 4-19 → 4-17).
• Sidestep grants less intangibility frames (frames 2-20 → 2-17) and has increased ending lag (IASA 25 → 26).
• Sidestep's animation has changed. It is now based on Kirby's sidestep animation in Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
• Air dodge has decreased start-up (frame 4 → 3) and ending lag (IASA 49 → 32).
• Air dodge's duration is 1 frame shorter (25 frames → 24).
• Soft landing is 1 frame faster (3 frames → 2).

Ground attacks

• Neutral infinite now deals consistent damage (2%/1% → 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 has an altered angle (361° → 55°), removing it's ability to lock.
• Neutral infinite now has a finisher, the Smash Punch from the Fighter ability.
• Dash attack's loop hits deal less damage (2%/3% → 1%), resulting in it dealing 5% less damage overall (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 (1x → 2x). 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 set-up potential. It also now renders Kirby's foot intangible.
• 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%). 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)), and decreased ending lag, improving its KO potential. It also renders Kirby's feet intangible.
• The middle hit of up smash has less knockback growth (100 → 98).
• Late down smash deals 4% less damage (14% → 10%). 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) and decreased ending lag, slightly improving its KO potential. Its lingering hit also lasts 1 frame longer and renders Kirby's feet intangible for 10 frames.

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% → 9% (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 autocancel 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. Forward aerial's last hit has increased knockback growth (138 → 148), improving its spacing and edgeguarding potential. Forward aerial also has decreased ending (50 frames → 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 (last)). It also autocancels later (40 frames → 41) and no longer autocancels from a short hop. Altogether, these changes hinder its approach potential.
• Forward aerial's last hit has more hitlag (1x → 1.2x). This makes it safer on shield, but easier to DI.
• Clean back aerial deals 1% more damage (12% → 13%). Late back aerial has increased knockback growth (110 → 112), slightly improving its KO potential.}
• Back aerial has smaller hitboxes (7u → 4u (clean), 6u → 3.4u (late)) and its autocancel frames are worse (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), slightly improving its juggling potential.
• Up aerial has a smaller hitbox (5.5u → 4.5u).
• Down aerial's hits connect together better. Its landing hitbox also has decreased set knockback (60 → 40) and its angle has been altered (30° → 60°). Altogether, these changes improve its set-up potential. Its meteor smash hitbox also has increased knockback growth (107 → 110) and a larger hitbox (6u → 6.2u).

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%).
• Forward throw has increased knockback growth (100 → 125) and its angle has been altered (65° → 75°). When coupled with the changes to hitstun canceling, it has significantly improved combo potential.
• 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 follow-up potentials at low percents and granting it tech-chasing potential on certain characters.
• 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%), more knockback (40 (base)/140 (growth) → 60/180) and has an altered angled (90° → 63°). Altogether, these changes hinder its follow-up potential and remove its utility outside of damage racking and hitting nearby opponents.

Special moves

• Inhale has decreased start-up and ending lag. Additionally, Inhaling non-explosive items 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, meaning he will lose instead of winning or tying if he performs it when he and his opponent are on their last stocks. This also releases the opponent and allows them to potentially recover back to the stage. 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.
• Inhale's damage outputs have been reversed (6% (swallow)/10% (spit) → 10%/6%).
• 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 full shields.
• 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 deals recoil damage when held, similarly to King Dedede's Jet Hammer. It also no longer has 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.
• 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 when using Stone.
• Stone's visual aesthetics have changed. The Thwomp now uses its design from New Super Mario Bros. Wii, rather than Super Mario 64.
• Kirby has a new Final Smash, Ultra Sword. Compared to Cook Kirby, it is purely offensive, rather than being both offensive and supplemental. It deals 6% more damage (34% → 40%) and significantly more knockback, making it much better for KOing. Unlike Cook Kirby, Ultra Sword does not provide restorative items, although this trait was flawed due to the items being consumable by characters other than Kirby or not even being generated if items were 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 further 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 five 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, he is effectively much 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

• Down throw deals 3.6% more damage: 6.6% → 10.2%.
• Sourspotted upward angled forward smash deals 1% less damage: 13% → 12%.
• Upward angled forward smash KOs 11% later.
• Up smash KOs 7% earlier.
• Down smash KOs 4% earlier.
• Inhale can be canceled earlier.
• Inhale's animation slightly changed. Fiery effects 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

• Forward throw deals 2% less damage: 7% → 5%.
• Forward throw's angle altered: 65° → 75° and its ending lag decreased by 3 frames, improving its combo potential.
• Forward throw KOs 24% earlier.
• Inhale's start-up and ending lag decreased by 4 and 5 frames, respectively.
• Neutral attack has been improved. Its second hit connects together better with the neutral infinite and the neutral infinite's finisher comes out faster.

1.1.1

• Ice Breath's hitboxes moved forward, increasing its range.
• Ice Breath's farthest hitbox's size increased: 7u → 7.5u.
• Ice Breath's angle altered: 40° → 30°.
• Aerial Hammer Bash's weight-based knockback increased: 20 → 50.
• Hammer Bash's sourspot hitbox now takes priority over the sweetspot, effectively making the sweetspot smaller.

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 quick punches followed by the Vulcan Jab from the Fighter ability. The finisher is the Smash Punch from the Fighter ability. Like most neutral attacks, it is an effective landing or out of shield option thanks to hitting on frame 3.
			3%
			1% (loop), 2% (last)
Forward tilt	↗		8% (base), 7% (tip)	A spinning roundhouse kick. Can be angled and is quick, as it hits on frame 5.
	→		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 useful due to its ability to combo into itself for long strings at low percents, especially on fast-fallers, its disjointed range and having intangibility so long as its hitbox remains active. It is also quick, as it hits on frame 4.
Down tilt			6%	A crouching shin kick. It hits on frame 4, which makes it fairly spammable. When coupled with its tripping potential, it can be a 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 the move and the last hit deals high knockback. Hits on frame 12.
Forward smash	↗		16% (clean), 12% (late)	A thrust kick. It deals impressive knockback, as it can KO uncharged from center-stage at 107% (no angle), 99% (up angle), 116% (down angle) when clean. It can also be angled and slightly moves Kirby forward. Hits on frame 13.
	→		15% (clean), 11% (late)
	↘		14% (clean), 10% (late)
Up smash			15%/14% (clean), 14%/12% (mid), 12%/11% (late)	A backflip kick. Deals impressive knockback, as it KOs uncharged at 101% when clean. Kirby's foot is also intangible as long as the hitbox remains active. Hits from frames 14-19.
Down smash			14% (clean), 10% (late)	A spinning split kick. It launches opponents upward and while it is Kirby's weakest smash attack, it deals respectable knockback and KOs uncharged at 112% when clean. Kirby's feet are also intangible during start-up and the clean hitbox of the attack. Hits from frames 10-22.
Neutral aerial			10% (clean), 8% (mid), 6% (mid-late), 4% (late)	The Twinkle Star from the Smash ability. A decent anti-pressure and out of shield option due to its very low landing lag, as well as a good combo starter at low percents. Hits on frame 10.
Forward aerial			4% (hit 1), 3% (hit 2), 5% (hit 3)	The Spin Kick from the Fighter ability. The first two hits deal low knockback, which makes it connect reliably with the third hit. Its low landing lag also allows the first or second hit to be used as a set-up into other moves. Can connect into itself for a pseudo-Wall of Pain in certain instances. Hits on frame 10.
Back aerial			13% (clean), 8% (late)	A double footed back kick. Functions as a sex kick, has very low start-up lag and good range due to its slightly disjointed hitbox. One of Kirby's most useful aerial attacks, as it is very good at edge-guarding and can perform a Wall of Pain. KOs at 131% when clean. Hits from frames 6-14.
Up aerial			9%	The Moon Somersault Kick from the Fighter ability. Mainly used for juggling or continuing a combo due to its low landing lag. Hits from frames 10-15.
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 dangerous 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. Hits on frame 18, and the start-up frames 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. It is the third fastest pummel in the game and one of the best pummels overall.
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 lead into highly damaging combos, such as into a down aerial into another grab, depending on the opponent's DI.
Back throw			8%	The Big Suplex from the Suplex ability. Can lead into back aerial at low percents on certain characters. Its decent knockback also enables it to KO most heavyweights around 170% while near the edge.
Up throw			10%	The Air Drop from the Ninja ability. Because Kirby jumps up to perform it, he can land onto platforms above him after descending. This is his strongest throw as of update 1.1.3, as it KOs Bowser at 165%, depending on DI.
Down throw			0.8% (hits 1-9), 1% (hit 10), 2% (throw)	The Fury Stomp from the Suplex ability. In addition to damaging the thrown opponent, it can damage nearby opponents. Good for racking up damage and is Kirby's most damaging throw.
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, which has a grab hitbox and can be held indefinitely. Kirby can walk around slowly or short hop once a character has been Inhaled (although it can be button mashed out of) and can either spit them out as a star to deal damage or copy their neutral special attack. Some characters will give him an slight variation of their neutral special move due to mechanics that would not work properly when copied over, such as with Olimar's 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. As Kirby must exhale to perform this move, he cannot Inhale anything.
	Custom 2	Jumping Inhale	8% (swallow), 5% (spit)	Jumps forward before Inhaling the opponent. If Kirby spits them, the star will not deal damage to passersby. When used to Kirbycide, it causes 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 it a fully charged Hammer Flip grants armor during part of the swing. When it is used in midair, Kirby will swing his hammer twice. When uncharged, it KOs at 127% while grounded and 162% in the air. When fully charged, it KOs at 37% when grounded and 71% when in midair.
	Custom 1	Hammer Bash	21% (grounded head), 18% (grounded handle), 4% (aerial hit 1), 17% (aerial hit 2 head), 15% (aerial hit 2 handle)	Does not charge, making it function almost exactly like it did in Brawl or when grounded in Melee. Using this move in midair causes Kirby to slightly ascend, which makes it possible to reach the top of Palutena's Temple from the bottom platform after copying Shulk's Monado Arts and activating Jump.
	Custom 2	Giant Hammer	22% (grounded uncharged), 20% (aerial uncharged), 40% (grounded fully charged), 32% (aerial fully charged)	A massive hammer that is much slower, but much stronger than the normal one, as it can KO middleweights at 10% when fully charged. Kirby also gains super armor while charging the hammer.
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 the 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 has is rather strong, as it KOs at 108% and deals considerable shield damage, whereas Stone Change is slightly weaker. It can also be canceled in midair by pressing the special button, which can be used for mindgames. Kirby also cannot be damaged while he is transformed, although the form has 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 longer to transform, but takes less time transforming back, and grounded opponents are buried on contact.
	Custom 2	Meteor Stone	12% (clean), 10% (mid), 8% (late)	Takes longer to transform back, but any aerial opponents hit will be meteor smashed.
Final Smash		Ultra Sword	3% (stun), 5% (hit 1), 2% (hits 2-9), 16% (hit 10)	The Ultra Sword Super Ability. Kirby takes out a gigantic sword and repeatedly slashes the opponent. If the move connects, he will rapidly move around them while slashing at them multiple times with a giant sword before finishing with a powerful slash from an even larger sword.

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 the Kirby series.
• Side taunt: Spins repeatedly, then stops to balance on one leg and extend one arm and say "Eeu!" It is almost identical to the "preview" animation shown when he is chosen in Super Smash Bros.
• 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.
  • All of Kirby's victory poses are variations of the victory dances he performs upon completing a level or defeating a boss.

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 - 9th at Pound 2016.
•  Ken109
•  Komota - He has a win over Ally.
•  Markus
•  MikeKirby - Best Kirby main in SSB4.
•  Poyo
•  SmashG0D - Was ranked 11th on the MD/VA Smash 4 Power Rankings when he played Kirby.
•  Spanky
•  SuperGirlKels - Occasionally plays Kirby as a secondary in high-level matches.
•  Triple R - 33rd at The Big House 5, 3rd on Minnesota Power Rankings.
•  Picsou - 49th at Get On My Level 2016.
•  Twomix

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 Super Smash Bros.
• 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 Kirbies 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 Kirbies.
• 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. His mouth opens wider for his down taunt in the final release.

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  Kirby's balancing animation in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Using Final Cutter in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS.

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  Using Hammer Flip in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS with Bowser on Battlefield, Note the lack of faceial expressions.

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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 in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U on Town and City.

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  Using his neutral attack in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Using Hammer Flip while airborne in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

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  Kirby getting meteor smashed by Mario's forward aerial.

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  Kirby with Toon Link and Pikachu.

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  Sonic using his Neutral attack against Kirby and Fox on Spirit Train.

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  Kirby fighting Mario, Samus and Toon Link.

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  Taunting with Mario and Luigi.

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  On Spirit Train with Pikachu.

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  Crouching under Samus' Missile with 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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  Taunting with Wii Fit Trainer on Wii Fit Studio.

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  With Luigi and a Smash Ball on Pyrosphere.

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  Kirby wearing an Ability Hat he copied from Charizard.

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  Charging Hammer Flip.

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  Kirby riding Dragoon.

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  One of Kirby's new alternate costumes with Charizard and Meta Knight on Halberd.

Trivia

• Kirby cannot copy custom special moves, though his side custom affects his Olimar Copy Ability, as the attack changes to match the variant of Pikmin Throw.
• The ability to charge Kirby's Hammer was intended for Super Smash Bros. Brawl as shown through unused animations found via hacking.
• 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 customs, or that Palutena's default neutral special move was undecided.
• Super Smash Bros. 4 is the first game in the series where Kirby's dash attack has not changed, as he retains his dash attack from Super Smash Bros. 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 alternate trophy in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS shows his gray alternate costume as having blue eyes instead of gray eyes.
• Kirby's blue palette swap depicts him as having a red mouth on the character selection screen and during his normal expressions, but 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 in that game, but his facial expression on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U more closely resembles his face 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 development of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, Kirby did not show any facial features or emotions.
• One of Kirby's official artwork poses in Kirby: Planet Robobot is almost identical to his official artwork pose from Super Smash Bros. 4, with the only differences being his Robobot Armor helmet and a closed mouth smile.
• When Kirby uses any of his side specials off-screen and is shown in a magnifying hoop, Kirby's normal motion will be seen, but the hammer will not.