Kirby (SSB)/Forward smash

Overview

Hitbox of Kirby's f-smash.

Kirby does a jumping kick forwards. Its clean hit deals 17% damage while its late hit deals 12%. It is fast, has good range with a long hitbox, and is the strongest non-angled forward smash in NTSC versions of Smash 64 (although Link's forward smash is stronger in the European PAL version), with very high power and knockback scaling, being able to KO most characters at around 80-100% (KOing Mario at around 86% at the center of Dream Land). If the late hit connects, it can combo into a couple moves at lower percentages such as Kirby's forward aerial, down aerial, or another forward smash vs. floatier characters (such as Samus or Luigi) if it connects vs. an aerial opponent. It can also be comboed into by the same moves, though it is most common with a drop-down/edge cancel forward air or after an up tilt vs. Captain Falcon and Fox at mid-low percents. The move does have some ending lag however (though still not too much compared with other forward smashes), and hitting from too far away (with the tip of Kirby's foot) will cause lower damage and knockback. If the clean hit connects, the move is frame positive on shield and easily leads to a pivot up tilt, grab commonly resulting in a free shield break. It is unarguably Kirby's best KO move on the ground and can also be used as a surprise finisher due to its speed. Considered by one of the the better forward smash in the game along with Pikachu and Link, being usable for raw KOing, a surprise KO option or panic option due to its quick startup, or a way to intercept certain recoveries such as Falcon, Yoshi, and Pikachu.