Kirby (SSBU): Difference between revisions

Kirby is currently ranked 75th out of 82 on the ''Ultimate'' [[tier list]], placing him in the D- tier. This is roughly similar to his placement in the previous game, where he was ranked 49th out of 54. Kirby is characterized by excellent frame-data, granting him access to quick and powerful [[combos]]. He also possesses high damage output on the majority of his moveset, with his back aerial and dash attack granting him access to strong KO options in his kit. Kirby's relatively small size and low crouch also makes him hard to hit; his crouch especially allows him to avoid most grabs and some attacks. Finally, Kirby's [[Inhale]] grants him his opponent's [[neutral special move]], which not only deals more damage than the opponent's, but can also be useful for alleviating some of Kirby's weaknesses and turning the tides of various matchups.

However, Kirby's strengths come at a cost of his poor endurance, as his light [[weight]] makes him susceptible to early KOs. His poor mobility, as well as a lack of projectiles and ranged attacks, presents a host of problems in [[Neutral game|neutral]] and offstage, as Kirby has trouble approaching and fighting those that can outrange him. Finally, Kirby's recovery, though far-reaching, is rather predictable, and his poor air speed and [[floatiness]] make Kirby very vulnerable to edgeguarding.  

Overall, Kirby's weaknesses undermine some of his strengths. As a result, he has consistently placed near the bottom in terms of competitive representation. Nevertheless, Kirby has still seen some success from dedicated mains such as {{Sm|Guilheww}}, {{Sm|JeJaJeJa}}, and {{Sm|Konokururu}}.

Near the end of ''SSB4''{{'}}s metagame, Kirby had been considered a low-tier character due to a combination of lackluster attributes and underwhelming moveset despite its power. Likely owing to this, Kirby has been granted a mixture of buffs and nerfs in the transition to ''Ultimate'', being overall buffed, though not enough to raise his standing on the tier list.

Kirby's buffs lie in the increased utility of his moveset as a whole, with overall improved frame-data and KO power on his finishers. The first two hits of his [[neutral attack]] can now [[jab lock]] and connect better into the looping hits (albeit at the cost of reduced damage output), while [[forward tilt]] is a stronger poke and KO option due to its reduced ending lag and its increased knockback. His [[dash attack]] has been mostly reverted back to its ''Melee'' iteration — however, it is significantly faster and stronger, has less startup and a far longer duration compared to his previous dash attack in ''SSB4'', can cross-up on shields, covers more distance, and is more reliable for catching opponents thanks to only consisting of a single, long-lasting hitbox; these changes make it a stronger punishing tool and a much more versatile move overall. His [[smash attack]]s are now stronger punishing options, with [[forward smash]] having much more range, [[up smash]] having faster start-up, and [[down smash]]'s regained its semi-spike angle, restoring its utility at edgeguarding; all three also have improved KO power, with forward and up smash dealing more knockback, and down smash's altered angle KOing earlier at the edge despite its reduced knockback). Several of Kirby's attacks, such as up tilt and all his aerials excluding for up aerial also have more range, partially alleviating one of his weaknesses from ''SSB4''.

The universal reduction to [[landing lag]] has also exponentially benefitted his aerials, despite possessing among the lowest landing lag in ''SSB4''; his aerials are not only safer, but now capable of leading into followups, with [[forward aerial]]'s first two hits now being able to follow up into a grab or forward smash. His neutral and up aerials —the former being one of his most situational attacks— are now faster, deal more knockback (with the former's clean hit being one of the strongest neutral aerials in ''Ultimate'', and the latter had some of its lost KO power restored from ''Melee'') and have less ending lag; neutral aerial also has more range, and up aerial deals higher damage.

For Kirby's special moves, [[Inhale]] has been significantly buffed with faster startup, less ending lag, a much longer grace period in which Kirby cannot lose his Copy Ability, a lower probability of losing said ability after this period has ended, and a new 1.2× multiplier to his copied [[neutral special]] compared to his opponent (albeit without a corresponding increase to knockback), giving him a greater incentive and a higher reward from inhaling opponents. Furthermore, he can now eat the projectiles he swallows to heal himself (and store certain ones in his mouth as well, enabling him to spit them out as stars). [[Hammer Flip]] now renders Kirby nigh-impossible to stop for a longer time as long as he's grounded; [[Final Cutter]] is faster and its landing hit is much more powerful, which improves its utility; and [[Stone]]'s aerial variant now has super armor during its startup, making it more difficult to interrupt Kirby out of the attack, as in previous ''Smash'' games he could be interrupted even when he fully transformed.

However, Kirby has also received several noteworthy nerfs. The most notable were to his sub-par [[grab]] game, which has been made even worse: his grab has had its mediocre range further worsened (especially on his pivot grab), and [[forward throw]] depicts him jumping up higher after the throw, which runs the risk of potentially landing on top of a soft platform, negating all follow-ups when it happens too early (although following up neutral air or up aerial can allow more follow-ups), while [[back throw]] has lost most of its combo setups due to changes to the animation. Altogether, this grants Kirby a less effective combo game off of his grabs overall. His other received nerfs include Stone no longer hitting shielding opponents twice, reducing its shield pressure considerably; [[back aerial]] deals less knockback (although the clean hit now lasts for slightly longer to compensate); and [[down aerial]], one of his most reliable combo starters in ''SSB4'', has more range on the looping hits, but slightly less on the final hit and is less advantageous on landing due to the removal of [[frame cancel]]ing, reducing the effectiveness of its follow-ups since its landing lag was not reduced enough to compensate properly. Furthermore, Kirby still retains many of the same issues that plagued him in ''SSB4'', with mediocre range, sluggish aerial mobility and a high susceptibility to being camped.

Universal changes to the game's mechanics both benefit and hinder Kirby. The revamped [[air dodging]] mechanics have significantly improved his innate ability to [[edgeguard]] opponents more effectively, and directional air dodges have also given him a secondary recovering option, but this also makes him more susceptible to juggling and edgeguarding as well, due to his short-ranged aerials and predictable landing options. The changes to downwards velocity KOing opponents faster from the bottom blast line now render Final Cutter as a significantly more deadly edgeguarding and [[sacrificial KO]] option, further improving its utility. The increased [[shieldstun]] and increased startup on shield grabbing notably benefits Kirby's safety on hit, due to his moveset's naturally high damage and low ending lag, making him harder to shrug off and punish accordingly. Conversely, the changes to grabs' ending lag make Kirby's own grab riskier to throw out, as their ending lag can prove more punishable. The increase in mobility is a mixed bag for Kirby, as while his mobility has improved overall relative to the cast (most notably his aerial mobility), his problems with camping from the previous incarnation remain, exhibited with the increased prevalence of zoners. Overall, his edgeguarding and defensive options have been improved at the cost of his range issues becoming even more prevalent than in ''SSB4''.

|floorfdesc=Performs a spinning kick before getting up.

*{{Sm|JeJaJeJa|USA}} - One of the two best Kirby players in the post-online metagame, having placed well at many events including 33rd at the supermajors {{Trn|Super Smash Con 2022}} and {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2023}}. In addition, his 17th-place finish at {{Trn|Port Priority 7}} is tied for the highest placement for a Kirby player at a major.  

*{{Sm|Jesuischoq|France}} - One of the best Kirby players in the world in the early metagame who regularly placed highly at European events, including 2nd at the regional {{Trn|Smash4Glory - Ultimate Edition}} upsetting {{Sm|Glutonny}} and 13th at the superregional {{Trn|VCA 2019}}.

Since the release of ''Ultimate'', several professionals immediately noticed Kirby's significant flaws from the previous installment had been retained, in spite of the mechanics suiting him better in comparison to ''SSB4''. In addition, players notified his vulnerability to being camped, poor range, slow air speed, as well as platforms potentially negating all follow-ups should he start a combo with a forward throw. Despite some representation from players such as {{Sm|Jesuischoq}} and {{Sm|Ferretkuma}}, most of the community considered Kirby to be a low or bottom-tier in the early metagame, with some going as far as to consider Kirby could be one of the worst characters in the game.

Patches 6.0.0 and 8.0.0 gave Kirby some major improvements, including more KO power and versatility to his aerial attacks, partially restoring his ability to follow-up on platforms, and gaining additional options for KO confirms. In addition, although Kirby's representation remained rather small and was often in the bottom 10, he began seeing more success from players such as {{Sm|Guilheww}} and {{Sm|JeJaJeJa}} both online and offline. These small positives were enough to raise opinions on the character slightly. As such, although Kirby continues to have little impact on the metagame, he is no longer considered a candidate for the worst character in the game. This is reflected in Kirby's placement on the first tier list, where he is ranked 76th as a low-tier character, and he rose just one position in the second and current tier list, although gradually improving results from dedicated players have led a few players to believe Kirby should be ranked higher.

**Ironically, Kirby has the most spirit battle appearances of all characters, with 62 total.