Introduction
Kirby ranks 3rd for his impressive recovery and comboing ability. However, he is lightweight, making himself easy to KO, and somewhat floaty. Kirby can combo opponents to very high damage with the use of only a few moves (although his forward aerial can be escaped with DI). Kirby's main weakness is a campy Fox or Mario, followed by a Pikachu or a well spacing Jigglypuff. Kirby is also one of the best characters in teams, due to Kirby's easy combos and quick edgeguards.
Normal Move Analysis
Ground attacks
Normal
- Neutral attack: Double Jab + Weak Punches 4%, 4%, then 1% per punch. the first two jabs have short range, though the later ones have better range then most neutral attacks.
- Forward tilt: Roundhouse kick. Rather short range, but fast. Can be angled. 10%
- Down tilt: Low kick. Kirby puts his foot out with a slightly longer duration compared to most down tilts in the game. 9%
- Up tilt: Vertical Kick. Extremely quick, filled with power and huge combo potential. 14%
- Dash attack: Slide Tackle. This move is fast, good for comboing use, though shielding proves otherwise. 10%
Smash attacks
- Side smash: Jump Kick 17%. fast, good range with long hitbox. Good power and knockback scaling as well, being able to KO most of the cast at around 80%-100%. The move launches opponents slightly into the air, so at low percentages it can be followed up with an up smash.
- Down smash: Spinning Splits 18%. Spins with his feet flat on the ground with decent duration, this move knocks the foe horizontally with power.
- Up smash: Flip kick. A fast flip kick that is very similar to Fox's, but with less knockback. 16%
Other attacks
- Ledge attack- Flips whilst getting back on stage. 5% damage.
- 100% ledge attack- Slowly picks himself up and slides forward, like his dash attack. 5% damage.
- Floor attack- Kicks on both sides and gets up. 6% damage.
Aerial attacks
- Neutral aerial: Extends body with feet out and arms out, making Kirby's whole body a hitbox. Sex kick properties. 15%
- Forward aerial: Forward Drill Kick. 8 hits, 2%/hit, 6% on the 8th. Has decent knockback, allowing use for edgeguarding.
- Back aerial: Back Kick. Kirby puts both of his feet behind him, making a viable move for edgeguarding. 16% damage.
- Down aerial: Drill Kick. 3% per hit, up to 10 hits. When used on a grounded foe, if the move doesn't finish when Kirby reaches the ground, Kirby will land on the foe with some knockback, making up tilt follow ups impossible unless the move finishes just before Kirby lands. The tips of Kirby's feet are a powerful meteor smash that can KO at medium percentages. With characters with poor recoveries such as Samus, Link, Ness, and Donkey Kong, it can KO at a mere 0-20%.
- Up aerial: Aerial Spin. Multi-hitting, around 10% when hits connect. This move would be his neutral aerial in later Smash Bros. games.
Throws
- Forward throw: Jumps high in the air, similar to a warpstar, and slams down. One of the few forward throw to launch foes upward. Has very high knockback, but low knockback scaling, meaning that it does not KO until 120% for most characters. Does 13%.
- Back throw: Performs a backwards suplex, slaming the opponent behind him. Sends the foe upwards and behind Kirby at an angle. Does 16%.
Special Move Analysis
Neutral Special
Kirby opens his mouth and begins to inhale, creating a vortex of wind. Kirby will not stop inhaling until the button is released. If a character comes near the vortex, they will automatically be sucked inside Kirby, who will bloat up with the person inside of him. He cannot move in SSB, while in Melee and Brawl, he will move at extremely slow speeds, although he can jump a short distance. Increased weight causes Kirby to fall faster as well. The goal of the attack is to swallow the victim (by pressing down or the special move button), which will make Kirby copy their powers, enabling him to perform that character's neutral special move (the character pops out after being swallowed and can still perform their neutral special attack). If Kirby traps the wrong character in his mouth, or simply doesn't want the character's move, Kirby can spit the character out by pressing the attack button and it has set knockback. Any player who is hit by character that was being spitted by Kirby, will take damage and decent vertical knockback.
Up Special
Final Cutter: Kirby draws a silver blade, similar to a scimitar, jumps into the air a bit less than the height of Falco's full jump, and falls quickly, releasing a blue "wave" projectile forward if he lands on a solid surface, travelling the distance of a Falco Phantasm. Generally hits best on the way up, and at the very end of the attack. It should also be noted that the move as a whole can be moved much further horizontally when used on the ground as opposed to in the air. The move has high hitstun, and can be used in numerous combos. Surprisingly, the move's projectile has more knockback than the slice itself. This move, as well as the ability to spit out enemies after using Kirby's Inhale, is Kirby's only projectile.
Down Special
Kirby transforms into a rock, becoming impervious to damage for a short time. Kirby can still be taken out of Stone form by grabs or grab-type moves. He can deal damage by using the move in mid air and falling on opponents. When this is done, Stone does excellent knockback, making it useful for avoiding juggling. Although he cannot be harmed while stone, he can still be grabbed, so it's best to end the transformation early by pressing the B button again.
Basics
Advanced Strategy
Down aerial up tilt
Kirby's down aerial is used extensively for edge guards. Its large knockback can destroy many characters (such as Captain Falcon, Mario, Luigi, and Donkey Kong). It can also be comboed easily into an uptilt. If the last hit of his down aerial misses, then chaining up tilts, and finishing with his powerful back aerial makes for a flashy combo.
Matchups
| Matchups | Pikachu | Fox | Kirby | C.Falcon | Mario | Yoshi | DK | Ness | Puff | Luigi | Link | Samus | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kirby | 4 | 5 | - | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 62 | Kirby |
| Pikachu | Fox | Kirby | C.Falcon | Mario | Yoshi | DK | Ness | Puff | Luigi | Link | Samus | Total |