Kirby (SSB)

Kirby in Super Smash Bros.
Kirby
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	in Melee in Brawl
Availability	Starter
Tier	A (2)

Kirby (Japansese: カービィ, Kābī) is a starter character in Super Smash Bros.. He is known for his great recovery, quick attacks, and surprisingly long-range aerials. His trademark move is Swallow, which allows him to suck in enemies and steal their neutral special attacks.

Kirby ranks 2nd due to having one of the greatest recoveries in the game, as well as a multitude of zero-death combos on the majority of the cast. However, he is a light weight, meaning that he could be KO'd easily.

Attributes

File:Kirbyending.jpg

Kirby's ending picture in Super Smash Bros.

Kirby is a small, floaty, and lightweight character. This means he is difficult to combo, but easy to KO (especially by a star KO). His signature move is Swallow, which allows him to use an opponent's neutral special attack. His down special move, Stone, makes Kirby difficult to juggle despite being light and floaty, but it leaves Kirby vulnerable when changing back to normal.

In generally, Kirby possesses quick, powerful moves. Some of his moves are infamous for possesing disjointed hitboxes (such as his u-tilt), making them difficult to counter and punish. These factors give Kirby incredible combo potential. Kirby's throws are also fairly powerful, and his quick grab speed allows him to use them efficiently. For KOing, he can utilize his very quick Smash attacks, as well as his quick, powerful dair spike for gimping. Kirby's main weaknesses are his above mentioned light weight, as well as possesing fairly low range (his semi-clone, Jigglypuff, possesses overall better range in its corresponding attacks).

Kirby is very famous for his incredible recovery, being one of the greatest in the game. His 5 fairly long midair jumps, floatiness, and good air speed make make him very difficult to gimp, even for another Kirby. In addition, his recovery move, Final Cutter, has spiking properties that allow him to Kirbycide as a last resort for recovering.

Moveset

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. Great gimping move. 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 and Pikachu's, but slower and 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.
  

  Kirby's aerial attacks

• 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 Moves

Kirby's special moves

Neutral special	Swallow		Inhale
Up special	Final Cutter
Down special	Stone

Taunt

• Turns to his right, stands on tiptoes, inflates, and says "Hi!" while waving his arms three times in the air.

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. (N64) Character Matchups

Avg.

In Single Player

In Single Player mode, the player must face eight Kirbys in succession with each Kirby wielding the power (and the hat) of the original characters beside Kirby and Kirby itself or a secret character's hat.

Defeating all of the Kirbys that appear in order rewards the player the Kirby Rank bonus, giving 25000 points.

Strategies

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 up tilt. 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.

Description

From the Game

The 8-inch high Kirby hails from a distant, peaceful star. Like his simplistic appearance, he is an easily-understood character. True to his instincts, Kirby eats when he gets hungry and sleeps as soon as he grows tired. Nevertheless, Kirby remains a formidable opponent. In addition to his distinct flying and swallowing skills, he also has the ability to copy enemy attacks for ever-changing action.

Works:

• Kirby's Dream Land (GB)
• Kirby's Pinball Land (GB)
• Kirby Super Star (SNES) (Kirby's Fun (mispelled as Fan) Pak in the PAL version)

From the Instruction Booklet

An 8-inch high creature from a distant star. He may look harmless, but using his Copy ability, Kirby becomes a formidable opponent.

Palette Swaps

File:Alt-kirby.jpg

Kirby's palette swaps in SSB

Trivia

• Kirby's SSB appearance is its only appearance where his down special move, Stone, turns him into one object. Later games had as many as five different objects.
• Kirby shares quite a few of his attack animations with Jigglypuff, such as the ducking animation and neutral aerial.
• Kirby's up aerial in SSB was, in later games, changed to his neutral aerial, while his neutral aerial from SSB was never used again.