How do you approach with Kirby?

[Unknownkid]

And yet ZSS is still top tier. Curse you, Sakurai! Bring back Kirby's grab combo.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

I think you're putting too much into the boxing ring. Other characters like rob can kill easier with their vertical throws.

 

[Unknownkid]

Rob wasn't in the First Smash 4 Tournament E3

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

How does that even matter? My point is, there's other characters who are still able to kill at reasonable percents with their throws, while Kirby has trouble. Also I don't think one stage was the reason behind the throw's nerf. I also don't see characters and stages being balanced around each other. It's silly to think that they are, considering Guar Plain's upper blast zone is close to the main portion of the stage, and just how ridiculous Pictochat 2, Game and watch 2, and the Balloon Fight stages can be, Also Magicant, a stage that would be great if they flying man wasn't there... It's my favorite stage, but because he ruins it for me, my friends, and other people, It only ever gets played in omega form by us.

 

[Unknownkid]

Because Sakurai didn't see it in action by a competitive player compared to HungryBox's Kirby killing in Boxing Ring (which I doubt the reason it got nerf) and Battlefield in the final round.

All jokes asides, it did get nerf hard from the "Demo" to the Final project. But you knows, maybe it is different in the Wii U version.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

Why would it be different in the wii U version? It's already been stated that the characters will have the exact same properties as they do in the 3DS version.

 

[Unknownkid]

...

I guess that one went over your head too, huh? Nevermind, GrnFzzTgr. It was me wishing a change to happen as well as making Ridley Playable. Anyways, we are getting off topic.

How do you guys approach DDD and Rosy?

 

[oGr33n]

Kirby's neutral air is a lot better in this game. It has stronger knockback and comes out faster now. I use this as a mix up against those who like to try roling when you approach them in the air(the neutral air stays out and will hit the opponent if you do it correctly).

Okay, this only applies if you want to be kirby main 4 life: learn all moves kirby can dodge by crouching. There are a lot of moves that kirby can crouch and punish. Never worry about Lucina players charging up that B while they are in the air (which I find pretty common) because you can just crouch to avoid it.

If you find someone shielding a lot, staying grounded, and playing defensively, then kirby's aerials won't be of help. This requires patience, your best option is to try and catch you opponent with a grab.

Experiment with Kirby's B. Usually it's some projectile from the opponent, this is a really good tool to use. It feels insanely fun to throw the opponent off with smart uses of their own projectiles. Don't spam it though, play it smart!

I've probably played 400 FG matches with Kirby out of around 700 and I'm proud to say that I'm about 72% in win rate!

 

[ryuu seika]

I think you're putting too much into the boxing ring. Other characters like rob can kill easier with their vertical throws.

Rob would have to grab on the lights though. AFAIK only Kirby and Charizard have Uthrows that drop down from above and both have fixed knockback just shy of what would kill on Boxing Ring. If that's not stage based rebalancing then it's a mighty big coincidence.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

I don't see how the execution of the Up Throw matters, plenty of character have upthrows that look like they should automatically kill you on the stadium, but they don't. Jigglypuff for example doesn't kill Lucario until 120% on that stage. Instead of thinking they balanced the stage around the character, you could simply conclude something more logical. They extended the upper blast zone. The blast zones in most stages are much further out than they were in brawl and melee IIRC.

 

[SapphSabre777]

Kirby's neutral air is a lot better in this game. It has stronger knockback and comes out faster now. I use this as a mix up against those who like to try roling when you approach them in the air(the neutral air stays out and will hit the opponent if you do it correctly).

Okay, this only applies if you want to be kirby main 4 life: learn all moves kirby can dodge by crouching. There are a lot of moves that kirby can crouch and punish. Never worry about Lucina players charging up that B while they are in the air (which I find pretty common) because you can just crouch to avoid it.

If you find someone shielding a lot, staying grounded, and playing defensively, then kirby's aerials won't be of help. This requires patience, your best option is to try and catch your opponent with a grab.

Experiment with Kirby's B. Usually it's some projectile from the opponent, this is a really good tool to use. It feels insanely fun to throw the opponent off with smart uses of their own projectiles. Don't spam it though, play it smart!

I've probably played 400 FG matches with Kirby out of around 700 and I'm proud to say that I'm about 72% in win rate!

I've been training in better ways to get close with Kirby, and this is what I've been implementing. Exactly here above, and then some.

N-Air isn't just a lot better, it is one of the better N-Airs in the game. Not only does Kirby unleash this attack quickly and it hits pretty hard, but this move has small landing lag and downright ridiculous priority to moves (when you beat out Raptor Boost of all things, that is pretty darn good in my opinion).

Kirby's duck cannot be overlooked here. His duck is the best in the entire roster, bar none. Since a good amount of projectiles can whiff above a ducking Kirby or can be dodged by a jumping Kirby, it can force projectile users to stop with the projectiles and get close, thus allowing Kirby his damage opportunities. And let's not forget his duck allows him to make characters whiff on all sorts of moves (I'm looking at you, Zero Suit and Falcon). As Gr33n has stated, knowing what can be ducked will allow Kirbys to be a bit more up close with the opportunity to bait out a duckable attack, and effectively punish.

Inhale is great in some matchups, the key is using it as a punish option if one is planning on using the opponent's Neutral B. In some cases, his copied ability supersedes the original (Kirby's Luma Shot, for instance). In other cases, just spitting them out works (which makes Sonic have to choose other options other than his Spin Dashes). As you said Gr33n, play smart with Inhale and it becomes a great utility tool.

In some cases, Kirby must approach the opponent; however, there are matchups where the opponent must approach Kirby because he can take away so many strategies with his properties. I think knowing those cases will help out the Kirby mains a lot.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

I feel like dedede is one of those you have to bait to go after Kirby. He tends to be played very defensively and his attack and grab range is silly. Duck under, shield or send back his gordos with a Nair/fair/bair. And punish his dash grabs. Don't try to approach dedede aggressively, you'll just end up getting grabbed or nailed with a hammer. Punish him with grabs and comboes when he comes at you. Because of his size and weight our comboes can eat him up. He's also one of the few characters we can combo a fair into from an up throw. A dedede main actually gave me that idea.
Kirby unfortunately isn't great when it come to approaching. We don't have great tools for it. It's a shame we can't crawl. Admittedly even my friends poor dedede is an uphill battle for me because of his defensive abilities and attack power/range

 

[Unknownkid]

I believe JigglyPuff's duck and her options are better than Kirby.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

I believe JigglyPuff's duck and her options are better than Kirby.

I see it everywhere, people saying jiggly can do everything Kirby can do in the air, but better. I kind of have to agree. More kill power, more range, more priority, better air speed, great juggling ability, good shield punishing.

 

[SyncNatsyu]

I see it everywhere, people saying jiggly can do everything Kirby can do in the air, but better. I kind of have to agree. More kill power, more range, more priority, better air speed, great juggling ability, good shield punishing.

I wouldn't say Jiggs has more range or juggling ability than kirby. As Jiggs our juggling ability is mainly just very well spaced and good reads. almost anything we can do can be dodged in the air(as in we can't get there in time) and our corner to corner ground carries rely on the opponent not teching at higher percents.
As for shield punishing for jiggs we have pound I guess, since no one can take 2 consecutive pounds to their shield without at least one perfect shield. But its easy to punish on whiff. Our SH aerials if mispaced leads to easy grabs for you or anyone else. And last I checked kirby has some scary mix ups after a good throw.

 

[Unknownkid]

I see it everywhere, people saying jiggly can do everything Kirby can do in the air, but better. I kind of have to agree. More kill power, more range, more priority, better air speed, great juggling ability, good shield punishing.

Well, I won't say Jiggly is better at EVERYTHING than Kirby. Kirby is better on the ground, our shield don't instantly kills us, and we have a Up B that is a Projectile, Meteor Smash and Life Saver. And I believe our Dair beats their Uair and Our Uair beats their Dair (this requires more testing). But yeah, Jiggly is overall better for air combat, pokes, wall of pain and killing. He/She still a glass cannon no less.

Wait, we have better juggling?

 

[Salad Bowl]

I've been getting some success approaching with fair and nair.

Also since they expect a grab. You can run, then jump and do In aerial since they'll be in ending lag from the grab

 

[Nova The Silly One]

Bair approaches work the best for me, it always catches my opponents off guard especially if you limit it

 

[Nerdicon]

From my experience, you just have to catch them off guard, do something that they're not prepared for, like if they know you're going to go for a grab and sidestep when you would have the perfect opportunity, surprise them with a smash or an aerial.

 

[C.O.M.M]

I've found that approaching with Kirby is a lot faster with perfect pivoting, I find it easy to seamlessly to quickly follow up with a bair or fair, it can be used as a spacing tool to position yourself at a good distance to quickly strike at your opponent with a short-hop fair, bair or dair. I feel it opens up more options at least.

Anybody else have any experience with Perfect Pivoting with Kirby?

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

I can't help but feel like this perfect pivoting stuff is being overhyped.

 

[C.O.M.M]

I can't help but feel like this perfect pivoting stuff is being overhyped.

It's situational at best, spamming it will make it less effective since you'll begging to be read. But personally, I found it very useful for mind games, short-hopping and quick turning to throw out fast bairs with considerable success. I also find it useful as a spacing tool, especially for positioning yourself for edge guarding.

THat's just my experience with it through.

 

[Bacon1086]

Honestly I don't think Kirby is that bad. Yes, he's flawed, but I still use him because I loved him in 64, and coming here I found him still fairly useable.

Now I'm an average player at best. My win rate for 400 odd matches is around 55% in For Glory, pretty much only using Kirby. Now I don't set much store by that statistic, (how do you know your mate with a 10% win rate hasn't only fought world-class players?), but it still shows me that even in my solidly mediocre hands he can still be a force to be reckoned with.

I think Kirby's best weapon his his potential for unpredictability. When I see a Little Mac, I know he's going to dash right at me 90% of the time. Mario will fireball and then go for a D-throw to U-tilt combo, Link will shoot arrows or boomerang, DHD will use that bloody can and Jiggly will float above me and try to pull aerials on me. Ness is going to pk fire, d-throw and spam his f-air and Pacman will throw an apple or something at me.
On the rare occasion I see a Kirby, I have not the slightest inkling of what he's gonna do. They never do the same thing. This, I reckon, is our advantage.

Kirby's matchups are often uphill battles, true, but I think his advantage is in his relative flexibility. Yeah, approaching can be hard and his moves really are very punishable, but I find it fairly easy to mix it up enough that those flaws can be covered somewhat.
(Eg. I love to psych people out by floating above them and making them dodge an attack that never comes. True, it gets me nowhere, but it's nice to screw with people and it sometimes sets me up for later when they think I won't attack like all the other times, but I do).

Also, I find using his jumps (or just his crouch!) will often circumvent other character's projectile games and frustrate them into being less dependent on them. I really need to practice my spot-dodging more, but when I do get one in on a Charge Shot it feels pretty good.

No character or tactic is impossible to get around.

I think playing with Kirby, we need to all start to incorporate the Stone attack. If you catch them with it you can deal around 15% and it's pretty easy to set up your attack so it will land and you won't be grabbed. I think it will help you a lot for sure!

 

[Jotunn]

I approach with a cross-up D-Air, since the F-Tilt or D-Tilt are often guaranteed upon striking the typically shielding opponent. The cross-up is only because D-Air tends to be relatively unsafe but fast at the same time.

Sometimes I will also try the F-Air if I'm also on the offensive, but I make it retreat moderately at the apex of the 2nd hit to the beginning of the 3rd hit and then proceed to bait out bad options by punishing with the above moves I mentioned earlier.

D-Throw also sets me up in a good position to continue while Smash attacks cover distance. I kinda wait for my kills as Kirby, but not as much as I would with Palutena.