Overview

Kirby returns as his usual self, a lightweight brawler with the unique ability to absorb attacks from foes and use their own powers against them. Kirby retains his excellent aerial mobility and is one of the few fighters with five midair jumps that allow him to turn around in the air on demand. He also has an improved dash speed, allowing him to utilize the superb overall speed of his ground-based attacks, as most of them are safe (some even leave him at a positive frame advantage).

When Kirby crouches, he squashes his body down to slightly less than half-size, making him remarkably difficult to hit; some attacks and grabs can whiff as he ducks under them (such as Captain Falcon’s Falcon Punch). While crouching under attacks, he can safely poke and punish with his extremely fast and safe low-profile down tilt attack. Against whiffed high-lag attacks, he can potentially punish with Inhale.

Kirby’s signature Inhale special has been improved. Not only can he swallow incoming projectiles, he automatically absorbs them to restore health. His down special, Stone, is one of his core attacks, and if you can set up ground-based mix-ups, you can insert short-hopping low-altitude Stone Smash as part of your offensive sequence to obliterate the enemy’s shields, potentially leading into a charged Hammer Flip.

Your overall goal with Kirby is to exploit his exceptional air mobility and defensive pokes in the neutral game, scoring big damage with his effective anti-air juggles. Play around your opponent’s offense with your fast ground attacks until you can land a clean launcher or grab. You can rack up damage off most shield grabs if you have a strong follow-up plan. For instance, punish an aggressive foe with a shield grab into down throw, then follow the opponent’s shuffling and react to their jump recovery accordingly. If you can land an anti-air up tilt or up air attack, you can aggressively combo the enemy.

Kirby Vitals

Movement Options

Movement Ranks