Kirby (SSB4): Difference between revisions
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Kirby's greatest strength is the versatility of his moveset. Almost all of Kirby's moves are characterized by speed, and those that are not have very high power instead. Neutral attack and forward tilt are fast and have decent range, allowing Kirby to quickly fend off opponents. Up tilt is notorious for its combo capabilities, being very quick and having the ability to consistently combo into itself or an aerial attack. Down tilt is very fast, with its very low power being compensated by the [[Sakurai angle]], allowing it to [[trip]] opponents even at percents as high as 270%. His smash attacks have good range and high power while not being particularly slow, making them excellent at ending an opponent's stock. His aerial game is also powerful and all of his aerials have less than 18 frames of landing lag. Neutral aerial lasts for a long amount of time, and its very low landing lag grants Kirby a lot of protection and allows him to take full advantage of [[buffer]]ing. Forward aerial is powerful, chains fluidly and can allow additional follow-ups at low percents. Up aerial has vertical knockback, low landing lag and has a good amount of [[autocancel]]ing frames, allowing many potential follow-ups. Back aerial has decent range, lasts for a decent amount of time and is Kirby's fastest and strongest aerial, making it a very good all-purpose aerial attack. Lastly, down aerial, though it has slow start up, drags opponents downwards before [[meteor smash]]ing them, making it a deceptively powerful [[edgeguarding]] tool. In addition, it is an effective combo starter with guaranteed followups on grounded opponents. | Kirby's greatest strength is the versatility of his moveset. Almost all of Kirby's moves are characterized by speed, and those that are not have very high power instead. Neutral attack and forward tilt are fast and have decent range, allowing Kirby to quickly fend off opponents. Up tilt is notorious for its combo capabilities, being very quick and having the ability to consistently combo into itself or an aerial attack. Down tilt is very fast, with its very low power being compensated by the [[Sakurai angle]], allowing it to [[trip]] opponents even at percents as high as 270%. His smash attacks have good range and high power while not being particularly slow, making them excellent at ending an opponent's stock. His aerial game is also powerful and all of his aerials have less than 18 frames of landing lag. Neutral aerial lasts for a long amount of time, and its very low landing lag grants Kirby a lot of protection and allows him to take full advantage of [[buffer]]ing. Forward aerial is powerful, chains fluidly and can allow additional follow-ups at low percents. Up aerial has vertical knockback, low landing lag and has a good amount of [[autocancel]]ing frames, allowing many potential follow-ups. Back aerial has decent range, lasts for a decent amount of time and is Kirby's fastest and strongest aerial, making it a very good all-purpose aerial attack. Lastly, down aerial, though it has slow start up, drags opponents downwards before [[meteor smash]]ing them, making it a deceptively powerful [[edgeguarding]] tool. In addition, it is an effective combo starter with guaranteed followups on grounded opponents. | ||
Kirby's grab game is also useful. His grabs are either fast or have good range, making up for the lack of the other. Despite dealing little damage, his [[pummel]] is very fast, allowing Kirby to rack up damage quickly. His forward throw, notorious in ''[[Brawl]]'' for its highly damaging combo options at 0%, has been improved even further, now possessing follow-ups even at medium percents, including down aerial to re-grab. Back throw can be followed up by a back aerial at 0% on certain characters, [[tech-chase]] fast-fallers and KO at high percents. Up throw is his strongest throw and is able to KO almost all characters at 170%, or even earlier if it lands on a platform. Lastly, down throw is reliable for damage racking when no other throw can yield better results. | |||
Kirby's special moveset has some interesting options. {{B|Inhale|Kirby}} allows him to either copy the [[neutral special move]] of any character he Inhales, or spit them out as a weight-dependent [[projectile]]. The latter can be used to [[Kirbycide]] or put the opponent below the stage, almost eliminating their chances of recovering. The former, depending on what character he Inhales, can give Kirby a small help ([[Falcon Punch]] and [[Homing Attack]]) or massive benefits ([[Monado Arts]] and [[Needle Storm]]). {{B|Hammer|move}} is extremely powerful, especially when fully charged. Its low speed, however, makes it very difficult to use outside of edgeguarding or after a [[shield break]]. [[Final Cutter]] is Kirby's primary move for [[recovery]] and is decent at that, granting good vertical and horizontal distance, as well as decent protection on the way up and on the way down. It also releases a beam upon landing, making it difficult to [[punish]] if not at point-blank range. Lastly, [[Stone]] causes Kirby to plummet straight down and ignore damage by any move that deals less than 30%. It is also very strong and can be canceled at any time, making it useful for playing [[mindgames]]. | |||
However, Kirby has noticeable flaws. As mentioned, Kirby has poor mobility, giving him significant trouble [[approach]]ing and pressuring opponents. It also gives him trouble against fast characters (such as {{SSB4|Sonic}}) or those with [[disjointed hitbox]]es (like {{SSB4|Marth}}). In addition, despite being very long, his recovery is extremely slow, making aggressive edgeguarding and [[gimp]]-oriented moves (such as [[F.L.U.D.D.]] or meteor smashes) detrimental to him. Kirby's range is also mediocre at best, and his strongest moves happen to be his slowest, making it difficult for him to KO opponents outside of edgeguarding or without a set-up. His most prominent weakness, however, is his endurance. Being light and floaty, Kirby cannot survive strong hits at high | However, Kirby has noticeable flaws. As mentioned, Kirby has poor mobility, giving him significant trouble [[approach]]ing and pressuring opponents. It also gives him trouble against fast characters (such as {{SSB4|Sonic}}) or those with [[disjointed hitbox]]es (like {{SSB4|Marth}}). In addition, despite being very long, his recovery is extremely slow, making aggressive edgeguarding and [[gimp]]-oriented moves (such as [[F.L.U.D.D.]] or meteor smashes) detrimental to him. Kirby's range is also mediocre at best, and his strongest moves happen to be his slowest, making it difficult for him to KO opponents outside of edgeguarding or without a set-up. His most prominent weakness, however, is his endurance. Being light and floaty, Kirby cannot survive strong hits at high percents. He is also very vulnerable to [[juggling]], due to the aforementioned slow falling speed and slow air speed. The introduction of [[rage]] further compounds these issues, as Kirby will get sent flying even earlier, and will usually not last long enough to take advantage of it. | ||
Kirby benefits significantly from [[custom moves]]. Jumping Inhale is slower and lacks the [[Wind|vacuum]], but moves Kirby forward, often putting opponents at very bad positions. With Ice Breath, he | Kirby benefits significantly from his [[Character customization|custom moves]]. Jumping Inhale is slower and lacks the [[Wind|vacuum]], but moves Kirby forward, often putting opponents at very bad positions. With Ice Breath, he cannot copy abilities from opponents but he can [[Frozen|freeze]] opponents for a time and is great for edgeguarding, as most recoveries will run straight into Kirby's breath, freezing them. Hammer Bash is almost identical to Hammer in ''Brawl'', being much faster and, due its vertical knockback, almost as powerful, at the cost of the default's immense strength. Giant Hammer is slower than regular Hammer Flip but it is the most powerful custom move in the game without equipment and grants [[armor]]. Wave Cutter does not allow Kirby to hit when rising, but the move is overall faster, the descending hitbox is more powerful and the shockwave has more range and can pressure shields. Upper Cutter immediately cancels at the apex, removing the descending hitbox and the shockwave, but is faster, stronger and grants much more height and momentum, making it much better for recovering, as well as granting Kirby a reliable [[out of shield]] option. Grounding Stone is much weaker and has more start-up, but it [[Bury|buries]] grounded opponents and has much less ending lag, allowing for follow-ups, safer mindgames, and acts as a potential anti-juggling tool. Meteor Stone takes longer to end, but it [[meteor smash]]es the opponent and can even be used as a suicide move. | ||
Overall, Kirby, like {{SSB4|Luigi}}, tends to run hot-and-cold. He can inflict an impressive amount of damage if he gets close to his opponent, but doing so is difficult in the first place. | Overall, Kirby, like {{SSB4|Luigi}}, tends to run hot-and-cold. He can inflict an impressive amount of damage if he gets close to his opponent, but doing so is difficult in the first place. As such, Kirby functions well with a bait and punish playstyle, although being unprepared for an opponent's approach can be hazardous due to his mediocre survivability. Kirby has seen average tournament representation and has achieved some degree of success, with professionals such as {{Sm|Poyo}} and {{Sm|Triple R}} consistently placing very well at or winning regional tournaments, while {{Sm|MikeKirby}} and {{Sm|K.I.D. Goggles}} have attained a handful of notable results at top-level tournaments. | ||
==Changes from ''Brawl''== | ==Changes from ''Brawl''== | ||