Kirby (SSBB)

Kirby in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	in SSB in Melee
Availability	Starter
Final Smash	Cook Kirby
Tier	E (20)

Kirby (カービィ, Kābī) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Kirby was confirmed for Brawl in the first preview shown at May 2006's E3 show. In the movie revealed at E3, just before Meta Knight appears, Kirby is seen using his side special move, Hammer, in the air, but the animation is for the Super Smash Bros. Melee version of Hammer, not the Brawl version. Of all the characters shown, Kirby appears to be almost completely unchanged graphically. Kirby makes a squeaky noise when he goes in and out of a crouch. When Kirby hits a wall, lands on the ground, or does certain moves, small stars are emitted, similar to how they look in the Kirby games, thus giving authenticity to his origin.

Kirby ranks 20th on the current tier list in middle tier, which is a drastic improvement over his rank tied for last with Pichu in the bottom tier in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Kirby has one of the strongest combo abilities in Brawl, as he has many great setup moves, and attacks that string together well. Additionally, Kirby possesses a strong grab and throw game, with an above average grab range, two great setup throws, and a throw that can even KO (which is rare among characters in Brawl). Kirby also has a far reaching and generally safe recovery, disproportionately far disjointed reach in his attacks, fast and solid tilts, an all use attack in his back aerial, solid edge guarding capabilities, and very powerful finishers (with his forward smash being especially effective). However, Kirby suffers from slow movement speed, which when combined with his lack of a solid projectile, creates difficulty dealing with opposing camping. Additionally, with his very light weight and poor momentum cancelling abilities, Kirby has one of the worst endurances. Kirby also has his power taper off greatly outside his finishers (giving opponents very high survival potential if Kirby can't land his finishers), poor to mediocre aerials outside his back aerial, and generally poor matchups against top/high tier characters (most notably, being countered by three of the four best characters). Overall, Kirby has above average matchups, with average tournament results.

Attributes

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Kirby is a small, light character with quick, sometimes unpredictable attacks, and a swift recovery. Most of Kirby's moves have both disjointed and sex kick hitboxes giving him deceptive range. Kirby's Hammer and Stone moves can easily KO at relatively low percentages and can be useful as a surprise. Kirby has an excellent offensive ground game, as all of his tilts and smashes come out quickly (excluding his up smash), space well, and follow up nicely. His throws can all be used for setups or, in the case of his forward throw, inescapable low-percentage combos. His defensive ground game, on the other hand, is weakened by his slow dash speed and Floor Recovery rolls. Kirby's most versatile move is his back aerial, which is a viable KO move when fresh and can be an effective edgeguard when stale. Given its speed and range, the aerial makes for effective spacing tool and makes for the bulk of his aerial game. While he had edgeguarding options in his forward aerial and his meteor smash down aerial, both are have significant flaws hindering their reliability. The former is too weak can be be easily SDI'ed out of and the latter is too slow to be effective.

Kirby's special moves have varying levels of usefulness. His signature ability is Inhale, which allows him to copy the Standard Special Move of an opponent. While gaining the copy ability can be an advantage to him, the inhale itself can be used to Kirbycide, although this is hard to pull off in most cases. His Hammer, as noted, is very strong but also slow. If used immediately after short-hopping, it can surprise an opponent due to its slight amount of start-up lag, and although it can be used as a passable edgeguard, his back aerial is considered universally because of its KO potential as well as properties. His Final Cutter contains his only unique projectile, and can meteor smash the opponents upon the falling segment of the move. However, it has punishable ending lag, making it an optimal move to use at the edges of a stage or to bait the opponent.

With five midair jumps and Final Cutter, combined with his floatiness, Kirby's recovery is one of the longest in the game; however, his below-average air speed makes his recovery slow and predictable. Kirby also has an extremely low crouch (although he cannot crawl), which can allow him to duck below many projectiles, as well as some attacks. Being light, small, and floaty, Kirby is not very vulnerable to chain grabbing. His low weight also means that he can be KO'd at relatively low damages (although his aforementioned excellent recovery helps him survive), and his floatiness can make it even harder to survive vertical knockback.

Changes from Melee to Brawl

Kirby has been significantly buffed. Overall, he is faster, stronger, and has greater range. For example, his smash attacks and neutral aerial are stronger, while the rest of his aerials and tilts have slightly less power, giving him more juggling abilities. Kirby's recovery has been improved; his air speed has been slightly increased, allowing longer midair jumps. In addition, Kirby's grounded hammer has no sourspot, being very strong wherever it connects. In the air, Kirby now swings it twice horizontally, at the second swing, it is a powerful semi-spike. Although the hammer halts his fall for a brief period, it does not move Kirby extra distance compared to moving forward doing nothing, making it useless as a recovery move. His Final Cutter is also faster, giving less of a window for edgeguarding. It also travels farther horizontally. His up and down tilts now have IASA frames. His dash attack has changed (again), this time to the Break Spin move from Kirby Super Star. His throws are extremely improved and are now impossible to escape. His down throw now has less ending lag and can combo into his up tilt. His forward throw can combo into multiple attacks at low percentages, and he no longer loses all of his jumps after his forward or up throws. On the other hand, his Kirbycide ability has decreased. His forward and back throws can no longer Kirbycide, and every character is now a "Zero Framer". In addition, he no longer regains all of his jumps after a Kirbycide. His Inhale can now suck up items.

In cosmetic terms, his voice has a slightly lower pitch, despite having the same voice actress. Besides this, his physical appearance has not significantly changed, sans new animations.

Moveset

Normal

• Neutral attack: Vulcan Jab - Two punches, followed by a rapid flurry of punches that release shock waves. Similar to Vulcan Jab from his Fighter Ability. Does (2%, 3%, 1%, 1%, 1%...). Has great comboing potential if used into a wall. Hitbox out on frame 3.
• Dash attack: Break Spin - Spins on his hands, while kicking with his feet. Multiple hits. Break Spin from his Yo-yo Ability from Kirby Super Star. Five hits of 2% damage with little, set knockback that traps the opponent in the attack, then another final hit that has more knockback to it and has disjointed reach; little KO potential, does 4%. A total of 14% damage. Start-up of 12 frames.
• Forward tilt - A quick long ranged roundhouse kick. Can be angled upward or downward. Does 8% damage, 7% when tipped. Hits on frame 5-8.
• Up tilt - Quickly raises one leg vertically from behind. A good juggling move. The damage depends on the opponent's position from Kirby. Does 5% if near Kirby, 7% if above or side-by-side from Kirby. Hits on frame 4-9.
• Down tilt - Crouches low and delivers a long ranged low kick. Good chance that it will trip opponents. Usually does 5-6%. Hits on frame 4-6.

Smash Attacks

• Forward smash: Spin Kick - Lunges forward and delivers a very long range jump kick that moves Kirby forward. Can be angled. High knockback and executes quickly. This is clearly derived from Kirby Super Star, where a nearly identical move called "Spin Kick" can be used by Kirby with the Fighter copy ability. It also looks exactly like an uncharged dash with Jet Kirby in Kirby Super Star. Inflicts 15%-21%. Does weaker damage if hit at the end of the attack (11%-18%). Hits on frame 12-20.
• Up smash - Does a backflip while doing an upward kick very similar to Fox's. Decent range, and high knockback. Does 15%-21% damage. Weaker damage if the opponent is hit as Kirby puts his feet on the ground (12%-17%). Hits from frame 14 to 25.
• Down smash - Splits his legs apart and spins around rapidly. A simultaneous down smash. Usually vertical knockback, if the opponent is close to Kirby and has good range. The hitboxes on the tips of his feet push opponents away as a semi-spike, which is very useful for edgeguarding. Does 14%-19% damage. Hits on frame 10-21.

Other Attacks

• Ledge attack - Flips over the edge and kicks. 6%.
• 100% Ledge attack - Gets up and then uses a move similar to his down smash. 6%.
• Floor attack - Gets up, then kicks on one side, then the other. 5-6%.
• Trip attack - Gets up then spins around, kicking. 6%

Aerial Attacks

• Neutral aerial - Spins in place, dealing damage with his arms and legs. Has a long duration with multiple separate hits. One hit (per foe): 6%-12% damage, depending on when it lands, with little knockback. Usually to put some space between the opponent. Start-up 10 frames.
• Forward aerial: Triple Kick - Does three spin kicks, with good knockback on the last kick. Kirby could do this move with the Fighter ability in his series. Three hits: the first hit does 4% damage and has very little knockback. The second hit does 3% damage and has even less upward knockback than the first; it has the least knockback, damage, and range of the three. The last hit does 5% damage and has the most knockback, though still little. First hit on frame 10-11, second hit on 17-18 frames and final hit on frame 27-28.
• Back aerial: Fence Of Pain - Quickly crouches in midair then kicks his legs behind him. High knockback and has Sex Kick properties. The move has very low start-up lag (6 frames). Slight disjointed hitbox. It is an effective Fence of Pain move. 12% in the first frames, 9% for later frames.
• Up aerial: Does a flip kick in midair, similar to his Up smash. Can KO at high-percentage opponents. Does 10% damage. Hits on frame 10-15.
• Down aerial: Drill Kick - Kirby's famous Drill Kick. The tip has a weak meteor smash. Alone, the meteor smash is useless against all but characters with very weak recoveries (such as Ganondorf or Link). However, when done multiple times, or used with a footstool jump, it can be a deadly edgeguarding tool. Does 2% per hit, 12% total. Hitbox out on frame 18 and it ends on frame 33.

Grabs and Throws

Note: When Kirby misses a dash grab, he enters an animation similar to when he misses an enemy with the "suplex" ability in Kirby Super Star.

• Pummel - A quick punch, although slow for a pummel of 1%. Does 1% damage per hit.
• Forward throw - "Pile Driver" from Kirby's Suplex ability in Kirby Super Star and Backdrop from "Adventure". Kirby rises slowly in the air, while flipping, then slams the opponent down. Incredible combo potential. This move can lead into combos dealing up to 45% or higher depending on the character's weight and falling speed. Can chaingrab some characters. Does 8% damage.
• Back throw - "Big Suplex" from Kirby's Suplex ability in Kirby Super Star. Quickly flips backwards and slams opponent head-first into the ground. Does 8% damage.
• Down throw - "Fury Stomp" from Kirby's Suplex ability in Kirby Super Star. Kirby throws his victim into the ground, and then stomps on them several times quickly. Meta Knight has the same throw, but with more horizontal knockback, less damage, and slower stomping. Can chain grab fast fallers like Sheik or Fox at low damages. Does 12% damage.
• Up throw - "Air Drop" from Kirby's Ninja ability in Kirby Super Star and his Backdrop from "Adventure". Kirby flies off the top of the screen, and comes back down violently in an explosion, like a Warp Star item. Somewhat average knockback. Meta Knight shares this move as well except without the explosion and inflicts more damage but less knockback. Does 10% damage.

Special Moves

Kirby's special moves

Neutral special	Swallow		Inhale
Side special	—	Hammer		Hammer Flip
Up special	Final Cutter
Down special	Stone
Final Smash	—		Cook Kirby	Ultra Sword

Taunts

• Up Taunt: A "Kirby Dance" similar to his victory dances.
• Side Taunt: Spins around, then stops, sticking out his left leg and saying "Eeu!". Almost identical to the "preview" animation shown when he is chosen in the original Super Smash Bros..
• Down Taunt: Faces the viewer and says his signature elongated "Hi", but in a lower tone than in Melee. This is the shortest duration taunt in the game.

Victory poses

• Spins, holds his hand up.
• Does some flips, holds his hand up.
• Skids to each side, holds his hand up.
  • All of Kirby's animations are variations of the Kirby dance.

Idle poses

• Sleeps for a while, then shake his head and wakes up again
• Hop a bit to look back, then hop again returning to normal position

Cheer

Kir-by!

On-Screen Appearance

Rides in on a Warp Star and crashes down.

Brawl instruction booklet description

A flying resident of Dream Land who can copy the moves and appearances of foes.

In Competitive play

Matchups

Super Smash Bros. Brawl Character Matchups

Avg.

Role in the Subspace Emissary

In the beginning, a trophy of Mario and Kirby are thrown into an arena, come to life, and have a friendly match. The player chooses the one they want to play as. After the battle between the two, the victor revives the fallen loser, and the two fighters celebrate and wave to the crowd when suddenly, the Subspace Army attacks Peach and Zelda, who were watching their match, and both come to their aid. After the brief battle, the Ancient Minister shows up with a giant Subspace Bomb that is quickly armed by two R.O.B.s. When Mario attempts to stop the bomb, he is ambushed by a giant cannonball and is blasted away from the stadium. Meanwhile, the two princesses are captured by Petey Piranha, and are thrown into separate cages. Kirby then faces off against Petey, but only one princess can be freed. After defeating Petey, Wario appears carrying a giant gun called the Dark Cannon, turns the princess Kirby didn't save into a trophy, and runs off with her. As Kirby and the remaining princess begin to leave, Kirby, seeing that the Subspace Bomb is about to explode, flees the Midair Stadium via Warp Star. However, they are soon chased by the Halberd and are forced to land on it. Soon after, an Arwing gets shot down, blowing both Kirby and the princess off the Halberd and onto a series of ridges.

Kirby in the SSE

After climbing down from the ridges, Kirby sees/hears something and runs ahead, leaving Peach/Zelda behind. She is then turned into a trophy from behind by Bowser's Dark Cannon, and is copied by a Shadowbug clone of Bowser. After a fight, Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi are turned into trophies, and are captured by an arm from a cargo drove by King Dedede, which also has Zelda/Peach, Luigi, and Ness's trophies. Suddenly, Kirby appears from behind and uses Final Cutter to sever the arm, and revives the pair's trophies in the process. When Dedede attempts to escape, Pit/Link fires an arrow at his cargo, slowing it down a little, and the five pursue Dedede to save their friends.

Eventually, they find a cave that Dedede's cargo is parked by, and after getting through, they find Dedede's hideout. Upon exploring his hideout they see a hole in the wall, and decide to enter it. They then see Bowser, who escapes to the Halberd after avoiding Mario and Pit's attacks. After the scuffle however, Kirby finds a mysterious badge that fell off Zelda/Peach's trophy.

Some time after that, Kirby and the others pursue the Ancient Minister in a desert, trying to stop him from detonating another Subspace Bomb. Despite their best efforts, the bomb still explodes, and they barely managed to escape it. Kirby and the others then aided Marth, Ike, Lucas, the Ice Climbers, and the Pokémon Trainer in warding off the Subspace Army troops that had come to face them.

After defeating them, the Falcon Flyer, and the Halberd (now under Meta Knight's control) land in front of them, and they all join forces to defeat the Subspace Army. The Subspace Gunship, commanded by Bowser and Ganondorf, appears out of a large sphere of Subspace, and after destroying the Halberd, tries to attack 4 smaller ships emerging from its wreckage. Fortunately, Kirby manages to save them by destroying the Gunship with Dragoon, and follows the others into Subspace.

When they confront Tabuu, Tabuu unleashes his Off Waves that turn everyone, including Kirby, into trophies. However, Kirby is miraculously revived thanks to the badge he found at Dedede's hideout earlier, which he had swallowed prior to Tabuu's attack (when Bowser escapes with the Peach/Zelda trophy in his Clown Car). After going through Subspace alone and reviving some of the fighters along the way, Kirby finds Ganondorf's trophy. Before he can do anything Bowser appears and attacks Ganondorf's trophy in revenge for turning him into a trophy earlier, before throwing it aside. King Dedede then runs over to Kirby and hugs him before pointing the staircase to Kirby, and dragging Kirby up it. Kirby then helps the others fight Tabuu.

Costumes

Kirby's alternate costumes in SSBB

Trophy description

A round, pink ball of cuteness from a distant, peaceful star. He can swallow anything with his gigantic mouth, then spit it out as ammo. He has the handy ability to copy powers and use them as his own. His hovering ability lets him fly through the air with ease. He's so round, he's sometimes treated like a ball.

• Kirby's Dream Land
• Kirby Super Star

Trivia

• Kirby's shield stance is similar to his block stance in Kirby Super Star. When it is done with Mirror Kirby, he uses the orb shield just like the shields in Smash.
• All of Kirby's victory poses in Brawl are based on victory dances he performs when he completes a level in the Kirby games.
• Kirby is the only character to have his dash attack change in every Smash Bros. game. In SSB, he slammed head first into the opponent, in SSBM, he used his Burning attack (from fire or burning ability), and in SSBB, he does the Break Spin (from yo-yo ability).
• Kirby and Yoshi are the only characters that fully change their body color on their palette swap.
• Kirby's Wii remote selection voice clip is from his Melee taunt, instead of an original, new clip used in Brawl. A similar error happens with Samus, Peach and Ganondorf.

External links

• Kirby's page at Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
• Kirby Character Guide at SWF
• Kirby's hitbox size of each of his moves
• Kirby's Moves - History Behind Super Smash Bros. Brawl, by CrappyCaptureDevice (main video) (Kirby's hats) (addendum)