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 possesses fast frame data overall in his moveset, with few moves that come out after frame 9, granting him access to quick and powerful [[combos]]. His relatively small size and low crouch also makes him hard to hit; his crouch especially allows him to avoid most grabs and some attacks, giving it good synergy with his down tilt, which is very fast and can cause opponents to [[trip]], leading to KO confirms at high percents if it successfully trips his opponent. He also possesses high damage output on the majority of his moveset, and despite his short size and low weight, he also possesses strong KO options in moves like his back aerial and dash attack, and his finishers are generally fast for their power, giving him a solid punish ability. While his air speed is slow, his aerial moveset is generally solid: Kirby's aerials have among the lowest overall landing lag in the roster, neutral aerial covers his entire body and is one of the strongest of its type, forward aerial is one of his most versatile moves, back aerial is fast, powerful and has good range and all except for down aerial are safe on shield when used close to the ground and have KO potential, granting him decent shield pressure in the air and giving him a good edgeguarding ability alongside his six total jumps. 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 air mobility is one of the slowest of the roster, and this, as well as a lack of projectiles and the limited range in most of his attacks, presents a host of problems in [[Neutral game|neutral]] and offstage, as Kirby has trouble approaching and fighting those that can outrange him. His slow air speed, [[floatiness]] and lack of projectiles outside of [[Final Cutter]]'s shockwave make him vulnerable to pressure and juggles, and he has a poor disadvantage state: his options have their own issues defensively, as [[Stone]] and down aerial are too slow to protect him effectively from below, neutral aerial has poor range on both sides of Kirby and is not as fast as other aerials of its type, and his midair jumps and Final Cutter may leave him in a worse position when they are used at the wrong time. In the end, while his aerial attacks are versatile and powerful when he has the advantage, they are less effective when he's disadvantaged, as they're not as fast or long-reaching as those of other characters, with his low air mobility and lack of conventional projectiles worsening this issue. Also, when Kirby has a Copy Ability, he may lose it if he gets hit after the first 20 seconds since he obtained it, and the chance of it happening depends on the damage of the hit he took, so he has to swallow his opponent again to get back his Copy Ability if he loses it. While he has several KO options, most of them suffer from poor range and can be difficult to land without a combo or setup into them, and while his smash attacks are powerful without sacrificing too much in speed, they are punishable on shield and have a late hit that is much weaker and often lacks KO potential altogether, such as his up smash, which has several sourspots. Finally, Kirby's recovery, though far-reaching, is rather predictable, making him very vulnerable to edgeguarding despite possessing five midair jumps.  

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 success from dedicated mains such as {{Sm|Guilheww}}, {{Sm|JeJaJeJa}}, and {{Sm|Konokururu}}.

*{{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}}, {{Trn|Let's Make Big Moves 2023}} and {{Trn|Collision 2024}}. In addition, his 17th-place finish at {{Trn|Port Priority 7}} is tied for the highest placement for a Kirby player at a major, and he won the regional {{Trn|Afterburner 2024}}.  

*{{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 and decent results 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.

However, Kirby would receive significant buffs in balance patches, more than almost every other character, especially in patches 6.0.0 and 8.0.0. These patches would give him major improvements, improving his overall frame data and KO power and the versatility to his aerial attacks, partially restoring his ability to follow-up on platforms, and gaining additional options for KO confirms, as seen with his neutral, forward and up aerials, dash attack, down smash and Inhale, which received faster start-up or ending lag and became stronger. In addition, although Kirby's representation remained rather small and was often in the bottom 10, he began seeing more success both online and offline from players such as {{Sm|Guilheww}} and {{Sm|JeJaJeJa}}, who were able to achieve strong results with him in national tournaments and in majors. 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 64 total.