Kirby's Best Movement Options

[KingDaiGurren]

I don't think this topic has been discussed yet but if it has please link the thread.

Lately I feel like Kirby's movement options have become rather predictable. I mean obviously Kirby doesn't have the movement options of a Sonic or a Shiek but I feel like there are movement options that haven't been fully fleshed out and explored. personally I feel like MikeKirby moves really well and Izaw recently did a For Glory episode where he played a strong Kirby. But ultimately I'm proposing we fully discuss and explore Kirby's best movement options including AT such as Zaw dancing, perfect pivots and non corner dash pivots.

 

[Aunt Jemima]

HUP cancel dashing is fun. It isn't really that useful against faster characters, but against average/low movement speeds, it's cool.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

HUP cancel dashing is fun. It isn't really that useful against faster characters, but against average/low movement speeds, it's cool.

Can it be used practically though? I like hup canceling but would we be able to combine that with something like dash dancing or perfect pivoting for more of a mix up?

 

[Aunt Jemima]

Can it be used practically though? I like hup canceling but would we be able to combine that with something like dash dancing or perfect pivoting for more of a mix up?

If you're continuously short hopping while fast falling into HUP cancel while at the same time dashing, you'll sacrifice a bit of your speed by making yourself much harder to hit. Kirby is already a small target - he squishes down during the jump start animation, squishes his body during the HUP cancel, squishes his body when landing with the HUP cancel, and is continuously moving while this is going on. While it isn't practical on a general basis, using it a mix-up is great. If your opponent tries to hit you and whiffs an attack because movement, you can instead use D-Air without fast falling to start a combo. If your opponent doesn't approach as they don't want to get hit, then you're controlling the neutral game temporarily. If your opponent tries to jump and bait a D-Air to shield, HUP cancel into grab.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

If you're continuously short hopping while fast falling into HUP cancel while at the same time dashing, you'll sacrifice a bit of your speed by making yourself much harder to hit. Kirby is already a small target - he squishes down during the jump start animation, squishes his body during the HUP cancel, squishes his body when landing with the HUP cancel, and is continuously moving while this is going on. While it isn't practical on a general basis, using it a mix-up is great. If your opponent tries to hit you and whiffs an attack because movement, you can instead use D-Air without fast falling to start a combo. If your opponent doesn't approach as they don't want to get hit, then you're controlling the neutral game temporarily. If your opponent tries to jump and bait a D-Air to shield, HUP cancel into grab.

Hup into grab sounds good. HUP into a pivot grab seems like it'd be useful too considering his hurtbox changes the entire time he's crouche. and a whiffed grab from your opponent gives you a more guaranteed punish. I never thought that Kirby had much of a choice to gain control of the neutral that way. I always assumed baiting into control was his best option.
I think a HUP cancel into corner dash pivot down tilt/smash is a good idea. I did some testing and Kirby can corner dash pivot into crouch which allows him to slide a short distance. The slide is maintained during the dtilt which allows for a greater mix up. And considering how viable Kirby's crouch is I think this is the next best thing to a crouch dash cancel.

 

[young grasshopper]

Is it possible to do non corner dash pivots on a 3ds? I recently picked up kirby but I do not quite have the funds to buy a wiiU

 

[KingDaiGurren]

Is it possible to do non corner dash pivots on a 3ds? I recently picked up kirby but I do not quite have the funds to buy a wiiU

You should be able to but it might be difficult because you wouldn't have a c stick ( unless you got the new 3ds )

 

[raizur]

shield dashing could work if you're looking for a fast way to move, but I'd go with using nair, fair, and bair to approach. Hup cancel, as mentioned above, is somewhat of a way to move around the stage. good for a mix up. Kirby has plenty of options!

 

[KingDaiGurren]

shield dashing could work if you're looking for a fast way to move, but I'd go with using nair, fair, and bair to approach. Hup cancel, as mentioned above, is somewhat of a way to move around the stage. good for a mix up. Kirby has plenty of options!

Starting to realize how many options he has but now my question is what are yhe best ways to use his options in terms of movement to play an overall faster more fluid Kirby

 

[kirbyfan66]

Hup Cancels are really, really good, as Reserved mentioned. It's a shame that his Down Air is so unsafe, because if it wasn't, then the mindgames Kirby would have with it would be so ridiculous.

When I want to approach, something I do sometimes is Dash -> Shield -> Crouch. If the opponent approaches, I can either throw out a Down Tilt or, in some matchups, crouch under their better approach options. If they don't approach, then that means I have the advantage in neutral, something that's hard to get otherwise with Kirby. It isn't always the best choice, especially against characters like Sonic that destroy the neutral game anyway, but against most characters it's a good option to use once in a while.

Using his aerials to cover his movement is a great idea. Or, to stop the opponent from moving, using retreating aerials is great. I'm almost positive all of them except maybe Down Air are safe on shield, but only when retreating.

 

[RedNova]

While not exactly movement techniques, one thing that really works for me is actually baiting the approach. Using his multiple jumps, I can keep the opponent guessing when will I actually land. If they go for a dash grab or an attack, I punish with one of the dAir combos.

Some times I miss the dair, but I found that most of the time, Kirby's down tilt comes out faster than most attacks used to punish him, unless they perfect shield it.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

Hup Cancels are really, really good, as Reserved mentioned. It's a shame that his Down Air is so unsafe, because if it wasn't, then the mindgames Kirby would have with it would be so ridiculous.

When I want to approach, something I do sometimes is Dash -> Shield -> Crouch. If the opponent approaches, I can either throw out a Down Tilt or, in some matchups, crouch under their better approach options. If they don't approach, then that means I have the advantage in neutral, something that's hard to get otherwise with Kirby. It isn't always the best choice, especially against characters like Sonic that destroy the neutral game anyway, but against most characters it's a good option to use once in a while.

Using his aerials to cover his movement is a great idea. Or, to stop the opponent from moving, using retreating aerials is great. I'm almost positive all of them except maybe Down Air are safe on shield, but only when retreating.

Yeah I'm finding that approaching with reverse bairs and uairs work well as spacing tools. Personally I use a lot of dash ins and spot dodging and recently short hop uairs into up tilt strings

His dair is incredibly unsafe though. I feel like although its not the safest option reverse inhale is a good mix up for sonic players.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

While not exactly movement techniques, one thing that really works for me is actually baiting the approach. Using his multiple jumps, I can keep the opponent guessing when will I actually land. If they go for a dash grab or an attack, I punish with one of the dAir combos.

Some times I miss the dair, but I found that most of the time, Kirby's down tilt comes out faster than most attacks used to punish him, unless they perfect shield it.

Baiting an approach works but against opponents with strong uairs it becomes difficult to get back on the ground.

 

[RedNova]

Baiting an approach works but against opponents with strong uairs it becomes difficult to get back on the ground.

I don't mean with full jumps. Just short hoping in place, waiting for them to make a move, or just rushing in with a surprise attack. I've tried it against Diddy, and a friend's Megaman (which I swear he'sone of the best MM I've ever seen).

 

[Dee-SmashinBoss]

I don't think I have heard of HUP(does it involve his crouch because I think I MIGHT have seen a video on it or something, but didn't understand it.)
Anyways, If your opponent likes to SH a lot, you would be surprised how useful final cutter can be, just don't stand to close to the opponent.
I find myself using it a lot more then in brawl.
Other then that Bair, Fair, Nair, Dair(I actually even use the back part of Uair xD)
So yea his ariels are the best way mostly.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

I don't mean with full jumps. Just short hoping in place, waiting for them to make a move, or just rushing in with a surprise attack. I've tried it against Diddy, and a friend's Megaman (which I swear he'sone of the best MM I've ever seen).

Oh okay yeah SH is a much better option and when throwing in a hup cancel it can serve as a great mix up.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

I don't think I have heard of HUP(does it involve his crouch because I think I MIGHT have seen a video on it or something, but didn't understand it.)
Anyways, If your opponent likes to SH a lot, you would be surprised how useful final cutter can be, just don't stand to close to the opponent.
I find myself using it a lot more then in brawl.
Other then that Bair, Fair, Nair, Dair(I actually even use the back part of Uair xD)
So yea his ariels are the best way mostly.

There should be threads on it but basically it's using Kirby's dair or nair so close to the ground that he says hUp. if you do it while you fall to the stage you can then trigger any other action as technically Kirby hasn't actually performed the moves yet.

LaserLockon shows a variation of it in his video here http://smashboards.com/threads/possible-kirby-tech-ledge-hup-cancel-discussion.389605/

 

[raizur]

Yeah I'm finding that approaching with reverse bairs and uairs work well as spacing tools. Personally I use a lot of dash ins and spot dodging and recently short hop uairs into up tilt strings

His dair is incredibly unsafe though. I feel like although its not the safest option reverse inhale is a good mix up for sonic players.

Short hop> upair> uptilt strings is a very good option kirby has. Short hopping is really good for mind games too if you're looking for a way to move while trying to confuse your opponent at the same time. HUP cancel too. Kirby has movement for days, but if you're looking for something fast, HUP cancel or dashing could work. Though like what Reserved said, Kirby has a few options for movement, but some sacrifice the speed for him being harder it hit, which is a really good trade in my opinion.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

Short hop> upair> uptilt strings is a very good option kirby has. Short hopping is really good for mind games too if you're looking for a way to move while trying to confuse your opponent at the same time. HUP cancel too. Kirby has movement for days, but if you're looking for something fast, HUP cancel or dashing could work. Though like what Reserved said, Kirby has a few options for movement, but some sacrifice the speed for him being harder it hit, which is a really good trade in my opinion.

I feel like retreating reverse ftilt is also a decent option as a miX up. It's not nearly as punishable as an fsmash and you can crouch/spot dodge if your reaction time is good enough/the situation works in your favor.

 

[Shadó Chimera / シャドーキメラ]

I like to use multiple pivots. After the tilt/smash window ends you have have a new window before you're running where you can use almost anything (or go to standstill to do literally anything) I like to approach and space with sliding crouches.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

I like to use multiple pivots. After the tilt/smash window ends you have have a new window before you're running where you can use almost anything (or go to standstill to do literally anything) I like to approach and space with sliding crouches.

Multiple pivots back to back or pivot mix ups? it sounds cool but if it's not practical it doesn't seem like a great option.

 

[raizur]

Multiple pivots back to back or pivot mix ups? it sounds cool but if it's not practical it doesn't seem like a great option.

For better results, I'd say pivot mix ups. It's always a good option to have your opponent on their toes.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

For better results, I'd say pivot mix ups. It's always a good option to have your opponent on their toes.

Pivot mixups after a bait or mix ups out of a dash?

 

[Mazdamaxsti]

I usually SH into a retreating f-air to keep my space, I dash dance (cuz why not?), and I like to SHFF n-air too.

 

[raizur]

Pivot mixups after a bait or mix ups out of a dash?

I think you should go with bait, however, i feel like out of a dash could also work. this one's a bit tricky, I'd say, practice both, and see which ones feels more natural to you.

 

[Shadó Chimera / シャドーキメラ]

You can reasonably approach by doing Dash away > turn around and repeat that. It's tricky to get used to but it seems really useful since you have a lot of options at all times.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

I usually SH into a retreating f-air to keep my space, I dash dance (cuz why not?), and I like to SHFF n-air too.

Those are good options. I'm finding that being flashy and throwing out a bunch of SH fairs to create space and then allowing them to come to you works fairly well. Kirby isnt the kind of character in my opinion who can command a much as assertively as a cpt. Falcon at first which is why it's important to let your opponent basically hand control over to you when they make mistakes

 

[KingDaiGurren]

I think you should go with bait, however, i feel like out of a dash could also work. this one's a bit tricky, I'd say, practice both, and see which ones feels more natural to you.

The only viable way I can see this being applied strongly and working is complete control over movement as you don't want to accidentally dash attack and relinquish stage control on a fluke.

 

[KingDaiGurren]

You can reasonably approach by doing Dash away > turn around and repeat that. It's tricky to get used to but it seems really useful since you have a lot of options at all times.

From what I've seen most Kirby''s will dash back and forth into shield. Fancier foot work comes later after they have a strong lead.