Standard Attacks
Kirby's attacks tend to open quick, but many have comparatively disappointing after-lag. His power could be considered average. With the exception of Forward Smash, he lacks much range. Yes, marry his Forward Smash, because you'll love its range, power, and quick opening.
Multi-jumps enhance his aerials and make it easy to juggle (this aspect of Kirby is particularly effective against slow-fallers or enemies with weak aerial game). Up Throw and Up Tilt can open for juggling aerials.
Ground Attacks
- Basic Combo - (2,3,1,1,1,1...% Multi-Strike)
Quick, but its range is pitiful and you'd be safer grabbing at this range. It should be reserved for pinning your foe against a wall.
- Forward Tilt - (8%)
Roundhouse kick, a basic move with little knockback. It can be used defensively, but is otherwise useless.
- Up Tilt - (5-7%)
Kirby kicks behind and above him. Deals most damage and has most range in the back and above, but has a tiny bit of range in front as well. This is Kirby's quickest back-attack, so it can come in handy against opponents who like to roll behind you. It's a good quick way to get your opponent in the air.
- Down Tilt - (5-6%)
Kirby crouches and kicks low. This has a roughly 50% chance of tripping if it hits, which can be a perfect opening for a Forward Smash or the Hammer. Considering Kirby essentially becomes a pancake when he ducks, this can be used to counter certain attacks. Otherwise, it's basically a slightly weaker version of his Forward Tilt (a safety move).
- Forward Smash - (15% C-Stick / 21% Fully Charged)
A leaping kick; the range on this is ridiculous and vastly underrated, rivaling even Ike's or Marth's attacks. Thankfully it's also Kirby's second-strongest strike in terms of both damage and knockback, and is comparatively fast for a forward smash. This is overall Kirby's best attack, and you should be seeing use of it quite often.
- Up Smash - (11-15% C-Stick / 16-21% Fully Charged)
Kirby flips, unleashing the fury of his foot in the process, striking every side of him. More damage is dealt closer the beginning of the maneuver. It does the job most Up-Smashes are supposed to do, knock your opponent up with a decent amount of damage - could KO, but his Fsmash is better.
This is best reserved for three situations: (1) If you can only knock your opponent up for a KO, (2) when your opponent is temporarily vulnerable at a distance so you dash up for an Up Smash before they regain ground, or (3) to knock your foe into the air to trigger some of Kirby's aerial combos. If you're looking to cover both sides, his Down Smash is usually better suited, as more significant damage is dealt behind. If a fighter's dive bombing you, it's usually safer and more effective to roll out, then hit them with a Forward Smash as they land (or alternatively, to shield, then grab as they land).
- Down Smash - (14% C-Stick / 19% Fully Charged)
Kirby splits, kicking ob both sides simultaneously. It's his weakest and slowest of smashes, so its best reserved for Free-For-Alls, or enemies who roll too much.
- Dash - (2-2-2-2-2-4% / 14% if all hits connect)
Kirby spins on his head as his legs twirl through the air like helicopter blades. Getting all six hits is rather unusual, and the range on this isn't too great. This attack has a rather long duration, so you can be smashed easily if the enemy rolls behind you. But if your opponent is the type to instinctively sidestep or flash their shield when you dash near, you'll get in some hits. Still not very recommended.
- Ledge - (6%)
Compared to most characters, Kirby's ledge attack doesn't slow down as much after peaking 100% damage.
Aerials
Kirby's aerials offer up a decent variety, and the air is generally where he's best piling up damage for a KO, partially thanks to his multi-jump. Landing lag is practically nonexistent for any of these moves.
- Neutral Air - (6-12%, more damage at the beginning)
Kirby spins. Strikes on all sides, but has low damage, is moderately slow, and is equipped with pathetic range. Do not use unless your life depends on it.
- Forward Air - (4,3,5% / 12% if all hits connect)
Three successive kicks; it isn't too difficult to hit with all three, but is hard enough to make this move unfavorable. The last strike can potentially KO or at high damage, though his Back Air is preferred for that. You'll probably be finding yourself using this as a defensive recovery sooner or later... and it can sometimes keep an enemy at bay... sometimes.
- Back Air - (9-12%, more damage at the beginning)
A quick kick behind him with good range, knockback, and damage - all-around his best aerial, and has potential to KO at high percentages when you can't land a Smash or Hammer on them. However, the Hammer is better for KOs (though significantly slower).
- Up Air - (10%)
Flip-kick, hits above foes. Repeatedly knocking certain foes with this in combination with Kirby's multi-jump can be deadly, but most experienced fighters will be able to aerial dodge at the right moment or counter with a Down-Air (particularly Toon Link and Meta Knight)
- Down Air - (2,2,2,2,2,2 / 12% if all hits connect)
Drill-kick. The start-up lag is pretty bad, but the last hit can weakly spike the enemy, so it's worth it in the right situation.
Throws
Kirby's grab is short-ranged and quick. Each of his grab-hits only deal 1% each, but they're very fast to compensate.
- Forward Throw - (8%)
Suplex. Do not use this, use Up Throw.
- Back Throw - (8%)
Backdrop. Weak, doesn't hit very far, but the only move outside Inhale which can send your foe backwards. Only use if you're tossing your foe into a trap (such as the lava on Norfair or fire hazards in Pictochat).
- Up Throw - (10%)
"Ninja Throw". Knocks back more than any of his throws, but don't expect to get a KO out of it. Both Kirby and his foe are left in the air after this attack, so you could try to build up damage with aerial attacks. Final Cutter is surprisingly effective to chain out of this, but most opponents will catch on after one or two uses.
- Down Throw (1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-2 / 12%)
Kirby repeatedly stomps on a grounded foe, which eventually sends the target directly above Kirby. There's a little after-lag with this move, so you can't land a Up Smash or Up Tilt right out of this, or at least not very effectively. Most mildly-experienced foes will know this vulnerability and attempt to down-air you right after they're launched (especially at low damage when they aren't launched far). Against most foes, you'll be able to roll out of their coming attack and counter with a Forward Smash as they land. That fake-out won't work repeatedly, and not at all on some experts.
Special Attacks
Kirby's special attacks are definitely varied... but most of them are gimmicks, only useful if used correctly in the right situations.
Neutral Special - Inhale
- 6% if Copy
- 10% if Spit
- Anyone hit by spit star gets 9-18% (more damage if the bullet enemy is heavier)
Kirby sucks in air and objects as long as you hold the button down. This has two basic uses: consuming items and consuming opponents. Wario is the only other character who can consume items in this fashion.
The pink puffball can consume and destroy most items by 'eating' them via Inhaling them. This includes Diddy Kong's peanuts, Link's bombs, and other special-move produced items, but neither Smash Balls and Mr. Saturns. Large items like Springboards, Crates, and Party Balls take considerably longer to eat and can leave you very vulnerable in almost any situation. Explosives will deal a 5% damage to Kirby if he eats them, and will also leave him vulnerable for longer than usual. He can consume Dragoon Parts, food, and other healing items this way (including DDK's peanuts), but just tapping the attack button is faster.
The more important use of Inhale is eating enemies. This move has almost cripplingly low speed, but can definitely pay off when used correctly. After Kirby eats an opponent, he can still slowly walk around and jump - As with a throw, its easier for the foe to get out of this grapple if they have low damage and rapidly press buttons. Once an enemy has been entrapped in Kirby's mouth, you have three basic options: Copy their Neutral B ability by pressing the special attack button, spit them out for damage by pressing the standard attack button, or attempt a Kirbycide (see strategies for Kirbycide info).
Copy replaces Kirby's Inhale ability with the targeted foe's ability, until Kirby either taunts, or accumulates a certain amount of damage since the ability was copied. This can be useful on some foes, but all-together prevents Kirbycides. Most fighters know being copied will leave them directly above an exposed Kirby, so it's best to have a plan to counter or block their Down Air (especially if they're Marth or Lucas). Many copied moves will be weakened to fit Kirby's size and strength.
Spitting the foe is a useful way to launch your foe into any bomb-type items, as the star will ignite the explosives for you. Of course it's also effective to get them into stage-based traps like the lava on Norfair or Lion-tamers in Flat Zone 2. In a Free-For-All, the star resulting from a spit can be decently damaging, but there's still much better moves if you're looking to just pile on punishment.
Side Special - Hammer
- 23% Ground
- 17,15% Aerial
On the ground, this is for KOs and taking advantage of vulnerability, but that's it. It surpasses his Forward Smash in terms of both Damage and especially Knockback, but is dreadfully slow in both start-up and after-lag, and has significantly less range.
It's much faster in the air and deals two hits instead of one, but each of the hits is weaker. I's next to impossible to hit with both, as the first strike will always knock the foe out of range. The first swing deals a little more damage and knocks the for at a 45 degree angle, but the second strike shoots them at a 0 degree angle, which is much harder to recover from with most characters. The aerial Hammer's a solid attack and should be used when necessary, but too much will make it predictable and easy to counter.
Some Kirby-users use a dash, forward mini-hop, a single multi-hop, then the aerial Hammer to hit with the second strike. It can be used to fake out some players, but most experienced fighters will eat you alive if this strategy is attempted.
Up Special - Final Cutter
- 8,2,5% / 25% if all hits connect
- 6% from the projectile
In Melee, this move was renowned for being ridiculously effective against CPU players for how bad it actually was. Use it against a veteran Brawler and you'll die. The start-up lag is atrocious, and even if the first strike hits, the second and third strikes can be evaded with a quick airdodge. The projectile is easily predictable, but unless Kirby has copied, it's the only projectile he has (though it's one of the few if not the only projectiles that can neither be absorbed by PK Magnet nor reflected by Ness's or Lucas's Forward Smash).
It's attack value aside, this is actually an effective ledge-cleaner, but you won't need it much thanks to Kirby's floaty jumps. If for some reason you need to hit the ground ASAP, Final Cutter is a safer alternative to Stone.
Down Special - Stone
- 18% Direct Drop
- 14% from Close Drop or on Ground
Kirby will slide down slopes while in Stone form. He's impervious to regular attacks while in stone form, but is vulnerable to grabs.
Taunts
Note: If Kirby has a copied ability, using a taunt will remove it. The down taunt is most effective for this purpose, as it has the shortest duration and therefore leaves you less vulnerable.
| Wii Remote + Nunchuk | Wii Remote (sideways) | Wii Classic Controller | GameCube Controller | Taunt |
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He does a dance, a reference to part of the victory dance seen in several Kirby games. |
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He spins around. |
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He turns toward the camera, waves, and says "Hiiii!" This taunt was introduced as part of his victory dance in Kirby 64, and has since been used as his taunt in both SSB and Melee. |
Final Smash
- Cook Kirby - (34%)
Kirby tosses nearby enemies and items into a giant pot and cooks them, then launched them upwards when the meal's done. Items will replaced with new items, and an extra item will appear for each enemy cooked. The items are generally food, which Kirby can consume -- it's the real key advantage of this spell. Needless to say, this Final Smash isn't quite as valuable when most items are turned off, or if Kirby only has one opponent.
With a little practice, this Final Smash becomes easy to dodge by rolling at the right moment, which leaves Kirby and his items open to attack/stealing after the cooking scene ends. Not only that, but it has VERY little KO power for a Final Smash. Kirby can float to top edge of the stage before using this so enemies are launched closer to the edge, but that just makes it even more predictable and easier to dodge.
Strategies
Match-Ups
Jigglypuff
She's one of the few foes who can own Kirby's aerial game, so try to stick to the ground and whore Forward Smash and Throws. You can eat her with Inhale if she tries to flatten Kirby with Rollout, and copying it can give you another weapon in your ground-attacking belt. Getting sent in the air won't kill you, but you can drop down fast with Final Cutter or Stone.