Editing King Dedede (SSB4)

Unsurprisingly, King Dedede's greatest strength is his impressive endurance, which is often considered to be the overall best in the game. His very fast falling speed gives him the best vertical endurance, while his weight and great [[recovery]] makes his horizontal endurance one of the best. In addition, he is notoriously difficult to [[edgeguard]] and [[gimp]]. Despite his very high falling speed and extremely slow air speed, he possesses four [[midair jump]]s. These help him stall his fall and cover long distances, as well as allowing him to edgeguard safely. His [[recovery]] does not end with his midair jumps. His up special, [[Super Dedede Jump]], grants a very large amount of vertical distance and a good amount of horizontal distance. It also has [[super armor]] and can [[meteor smash]], making it extremely dangerous to intercept, especially if the opponent uses an aerial attack.

His potent [[punishment]] game also supplements his great endurance. Most of his attacks deal high amounts of damage and can leave opponents vulnerable to more of his attacks. His most useful moves at that include, but are not limited to, down tilt, down smash and his grab game. The former is also very quick for a super heavyweight, and can help him fend off opponents and set up edgeguards. His [[pummel]] is highly damaging, making it good for adding up damage before throwing the opponent. His forward throw can reliably launch opponents off-stage, while his back throw deals very high damage. Lastly, his down throw can combo into up tilt, up smash and any aerial attack bar his down aerial, making it very reliable for damage racking and giving him combos that most fellow heavyweights do not have. He also has a plethora of very powerful moves, including his forward and down smashes, his up, back and down aerials, and [[Jet Hammer]], all of which are capable of KOing easily if they connect. Because of these advantages, he is also one of the characters to benefit the most from [[rage]], as it allows his powerful moves to put the opponent in a disadvantageous situation most of the time, and can allow him to initiate a comeback, which is further complemented by his endurance.

Another positive King Dedede possesses is his range. Unlike his fellow super heavyweights, his hammer grants a majority of his moves disjointed ranges and enables him to out-space opponents with poor range, such as {{SSB4|Mario}} and {{SSB4|Ness}}. Prominent examples of this are his forward tilt, all of his smash attacks, and all of his aerials except neutral aerial, but said move's poor reach is compensated for, courtesy of its decent KO potential when clean. It should be also noted that moves that do not utilize his hammer also have long duration, such as his up and down tilts, and the aforementioned neutral aerial, which can also make him difficult to punish if the opponent stands too close to him and mistimes its punish.

However, King Dedede has numerous weaknesses, to the point where they significantly outweigh his strengths. His most prominent one is his underwhelming frame data, which is among the worst in the game. This makes Dedede prone to punishment, and due to his vulnerability to combos and juggles, he will have to [[read]] his opponents more often than not to safely land a move. However, it should be noted that his moveset is among, if not the overall, weakest of the super heavyweights; very few of his moves are capable of reliably KOing before 80%, with such moves being nearly limited to back aerial, [[Jet Hammer]], and forward smash, all of which are easily telegraphed and highly punishable, despite back aerial being able to [[autocancel]] from a short hop. His fastest moves are incapable of KOing until very high percentages, and his slowest moves are among the most predictable and most punishable in the game, with notable examples being forward smash and up tilt. These factors make said moves being easy to punish before or after they connect. While the fastest of his moves, his down tilt and neutral aerial, come out on frame 6, repeated use of them can render him a predictable opponent.

Another flaw King Dedede faces is his [[approach]]. All of his attributes significantly hinder his ability to get close to characters safely, considering the aforementioned factors of the overwhelming start-up and ending lag on his attacks, fairly poor mobility regardless if grounded or in the air, and his noticeable nerfs from game updates, which have all decreased his already poor offensive game. Most notably, his grabs' drastically reduced ranges and the removal of [[chain grab]]bing are collectively considered to be his fatal flaw: they not only hinder his chances to rack up damage efficiently, but also almost completely remove his chances of reliably KOing his opponents or keeping his opponents at bay with his grabs.

His special moveset also faces some issues, as it is riddled with significant drawbacks. Gordo Throw is often considered his best special move, as it can be used for a KO option at high percents, can grant strong stage control if spaced and timed correctly, and can be used as a set-up into many other options if the opponent is sent toward Dedede. It can also aid his edgeguard attempts if the Gordo gets stuck on a wall or edge, allowing him to score a KO. Finally, it can be used to edge trap the opponent, giving them few options to retaliate and get back to safety. However, it has one major flaw, arguably enough to counterbalance all of the Gordo's benefits: it can be [[Reflection|reflected]] by any attack that deals at least 2%, which can limit its otherwise great utility and stage control potential and renders it a risky move, even when used from a safe distance. As a result of this, King Dedede's [[neutral game]] is risky due to being committal.

King Dedede benefits a fair bit from his [[Character customization|custom moves]]. Topspin Gordo has consistent power and moves much faster, which allows King Dedede to force the opponent to react with little risk of his Gordo being used against him, due to its high speed. However, it does not last as long, and it removes almost all combos with the Gordo itself, as it cannot be used for traps, and moving the control stick barely changes its trajectory. Bouncing Gordo is considerably weaker, but it lasts much longer, and enables King Dedede to apply stage control and gives him more time to use Gordo combos. The Gordo's trajectory changes greatly when the player tilts the control stick. Rising Dedede covers more vertical distance, maintains the default's super armor, and can even function as an (albeit risky) out of shield option due to its hitbox while ascending. However, it cannot meteor smash, as King Dedede becomes helpless at the apex of its jump, which also makes it less safe, especially if King Dedede tries to land on the stage. Dash Jet Hammer does far less damage, but King Dedede dashes forward when he attacks, enabling it to function as a mindgame tool. It can also function as a viable horizontal recovery option, which can ameliorate his glacial air speed.

All of his other custom moves have very situational advantages and are overshadowed by their disadvantages, with Dedede Storm, Taste Test, and Armored Jet Hammer being the most notorious examples. Dedede Storm has much slower start-up and ending lag than [[Inhale]], removes Dededecide, is a multi-hitting move that cannot connect after 100%, and lacks strong hitboxes, preventing it from KOing even well beyond 200%. Taste Test spits opponents out instantly, preventing Dedede from sending the opponent off-stage, which allows them to exploit his vulnerability. Armored Jet Hammer offers super armor on charge, but causes [[recoil damage]] faster, is drastically weaker to the point where a fully charged blow is weaker than an uncharged hit by the default, and has severe ending lag to the point where one can jump from the top of {{SSB4|Battlefield}} and use it and then be unable to move until Dedede lands on the main platform.

Overall, King Dedede's weaknesses heavily outweigh his strengths. Due to his very sluggish frame data, risky neutral game and poor approach, his optimal playstyle is a defensive combination of zoning as well as baiting and punishing.