It's been more than a year since Smash 4 came out, and many things have happened since then. The early 3DS days, the rise and fall of Diddy Kong, low tier buffs, new stages and most importantly, new characters. Since the release of the game, a lot of advanced techniques have been discovered that have revolutionized the fundamental gameplay. Some carried over from Brawl and some were brand new, but all of them changed the game we play.
This will be the first of a series of articles that analyzes what some characters can do with all the discovered ATs, both general techniques and character-specific.This week, we'll be analyzing a smash veteran: the Star Warrior Kirby!
Ever since 64, Kirby has had a special ability that allows him to steal the abilities of all the other fighters, using them against their owners. That very same ability allows Kirby to utilize almost all the character-specific ATs that involve the use of neutral special moves, which really comes in handy in certain matchups.
We got Vinylic and Phantom from the Kirby discord chat, as well as Mike Kirby, the top Kirby player, to help us understand what this character can do with all his tools.
General ATs
There are a couple of advanced techniques that are available to every character. Kirby can use them all, but only a few are useful to him. Phantom shared his opinions on Rapid Jab Cancelling: "If Kirby has his back to the ledge, he can cancel his rapid jab animation after the 7th rapid jab hit. Follow-ups can include immediate double jump Dair, but isn't guaranteed." That's because every character with a rapid jab gets pushed back after a certain amount of time. This can be used in some interesting ways. This also happens when he's facing a ledge: "If Kirby is facing the ledge and is in his teetering animation he can cancel his rapid jab animation between the 7th and 8th hits. Follow-ups include immediate Dair to footstool, but isn't guaranteed."
With perfect pivots, Kirby gets a much needed mobility upgrade, which is very useful because his up tilt, one of his best moves and combo starters, starts from behind. "Nair also combos into PP Ftilt at mid %s (around 45%). It's notable because the Ftilt knocks the opponent out of tumble and can catch them off guard" Phantom adds.
Character-specific?
Now, we address one of the most useful techs in Kirby's arsenal: B-reverse.
Why, you ask? Because the pink puffball has access to all the neutral-B moves in the game! You can B-reverse a variety of different moves in unexpected ways. B-reverse Villager's pocket to safely land on stage. Or use Lucario's Aura Sphere to trap the opponent in his shield. Kirby also has access to Diddy Kong's b-reverse popgun, which can be used to mix up the landing.
Of course, B-reversing is not the only thing Kirby can do with the stolen moves. He also gets more combo options and kill confirms as well. With Pac-man's Bonus Fruit and Villager's Pocket, he gets more damage out of his throws and can even kill if he pocketed something heavy beforehand. "DK/Samus/Pacman give you some meaty throw combo that can kill if you're close enough to the ledge. It can definitely clutch out matches." adds MikeKirby.
However, there's a special technique that only Kirby gets access to when he gets Olimar's copy ability, caled Pluck Dashing.
This has been a lot of information, but there's still much more than what we got here. If you still want to learn more about this character, you can head over to the character boards! Also, be sure to give a follow to Vinyl, Phantom and Mike, who helped a lot with the article. And of course, a big shoutout to MySmashCorner. He has a lot of informative videos, and he's covered most of the general techs that we described in this article, including a video about Kirby's copy abilities. You can head over to his channel if you like.
Did you like the article? Want to see more articles like this? Let us know in the comments! Also, you can choose which character gets an article next, so cast your votes!
Last edited:
