Kirby (SSBM)/Neutral special

This article is about the hitbox visualization in Super Smash Bros. Melee. For the move itself, see Inhale (Kirby).

Overview[edit]

Kirby opens his mouth and begins to inhale. The attack comes out on frame 17, active on frames 17-60, and ends on frame 79. If successful, opponents will be dragged into his mouth. Kirby can either exhale them as a star to deal damage depending on the opponent’s weight, or copy their neutral special attack. Although the move is difficult to land on its own, Kirby has a number of ways to set up. up tilt followed by inhale is important against fastfallers, jab reset are alternative options to land against a wider portion of the cast, as well as techchasing with prediction. Kirby can also try using the move on shielded opponents, though his grab is usually better for the job and more reliable due to its shorter lag. Kirby does rather well at the ledge using the move, as ledgehopping forces opponents to tread more carefully when approaching him, as a mistimed advance can lead to Kirby successfully executing a Kirbycide. It should be noted that grounded version has a bigger hitbox than the aerial variation, though it is harder to pull off the former in practice due to the aerial version being more flexible.

Copy Abilities[edit]

A number of Kirby’s matchups generally favor Inhale over other copy abilities. For example, due to Marth’s moderate size, inhale is a more reliable way to tack on additional damage and opportunities for Kirbycides. Fox’s copy ability might appear to be necessary due to it giving Kirby an additional projectile; however, because it does not flinch opponents and Fox being easily able to close the gap between him and his opponent, Inhale is once again preferred. On the other hand, Falco’s Blaster is greatly appreciated due to its flinching properties, enabling Kirby to approach more easily on neutral stages such as Final Destination. Star Spit quite useful against the Ice Climbers, as this leaves them more vulnerable to being separated.

Techniques[edit]

SECRAH (Shorthop Edge Canceled Reverse Aerial Hammer) with Inhale[edit]

Shorthop Edge Canceled Reverse Aerial Hammer, or SHECRAH is one of Kirby’s fastest options for grabbing ledge from a dash, taking a total of 59 frames from the center of Final Destination to arrive there with optimal controls. However, Kirby can reach there even faster after he inhales one of the following characters:

From the ledge, if Kirby initiates a short hop with an ability in hand, he can quickly use his neutral special once if he has copied Fox, Falco, Yoshi, Young Link, DK, or Mewtwo’s ability. However, Kirby would typically wavedash repeatedly to arrive there, taking a mere total of 42 frames in contrast to SECRAH.