KING HIPPO
I FEEL LIKE EATING. AFTER I WIN, LET'S GO TO LUNCH. HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo remains, along with head honcho villain Bald Bull, one of the most instantly recognizable Punch Out!! characters. This native of Hippo Island - and caricature of all tropical island nations - has been around since the beginning, always appearing around the middle point of the game.
He's probably the most unique fighter in Punch Out, and why? Well, his defense is impenetrable... unless you give him a good thwack in the mouth when he opens it to taunt you. If you do this, his trunks - too large even for him, I see - start falling down, and while he struggles to hold on to them, you can wail away at his one weak point; his bandaged belly. Unlike every other fighter, once King Hippo goes down, he doesn't get back up.
THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY PUNCH! HA! HA! HA!
In Brawl, now, King Hippo's apparent invulnerability carries over. He has constant super armor, which, of course, means that he takes no knockback, although damage still applies. The only time the super armor lets up is during his many laggy attacks. Quite a few of them have fatal wind-down during which King Hippo is indeed vulnerable, and as though that weren't enough, he takes doubled hitstun every time he's hit. This, combined with his weight and size, means that a good foe will land one hit on you and rack up a hell of a lot of damage.
I HAVE MY WEAKNESS. BUT I WON'T TELL YOU! HA! HA! HA!
And you can't just stand around, either. If King Hippo refrains from attacking for three seconds, his super armor begins to let up as he idles, so although he won't yet take full knockback, he will indeed take some, and the full hitstun, so you're in much the same situation.
So what is our poor unhappy King Hippo to do? Well, he could always do what he does best; fight. King Hippo is a heavyweight combo character with a ton of KO options, as you'll soon discover.
STATS
I AM THE STRONGEST AROUND! I EAT RAW FISH EVERY MORNING! HA! HA! HA!
- Weight - 10
- Power - 9
- Height - 9
- Fall Speed - 8
- Run - 6
- Traction - 6
- Jump - 4
- Attack Speed - 3
King Hippo is a heavyweight! He's heavy, and strong, and big, and falls like a boulder. He's also slow... but not as slow as they'd have you assume. Hmmm...
ATTACKS
♔ Special
---------------------------------------------------------NSpec---------------------------------------------------------
Inflate
I'M FULL OF HOT AIR! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo sucks in a small amount of air sharply, slightly puffing himself up and turning his body into a giant hitbox. Contact with his bouncy bulk deals 8% and slight knockback - pretty long hitstun, though, and surprising priority. He deflates after half a second. If this attack is used in the air, his fall speed will be more than halved for the duration of this attack. This has three functions: to get foes out of your personal space and back at a comfortable distance; to throw them off while they're comboing you; and to start off (or perpetuate) a combo of your own with a relatively quick attack.
----------------------------------------------------------FSpec---------------------------------------------------------
Hippo Combo
THIS IS WHAT I DO TO PREY BACK HOME, TOO! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo draws back a single fist in a fluid motion, bringing it by his cheek and poised to strike. After a moment's pause, he thrusts it forward in another smooth motion. This deals 12% and has only decent horizontal knockback, kills at 160%. The attack is quite laggy, but notably, has quite long hitstun, like many of King Hippo's devastating attacks. He has super armor on this attack until he throws the final punch.
While his fist is drawn and ready, you can press B a second time to switch moves mid-attack. If you press B, King Hippo will bring his fist up above his head and make a funny cry, then swing his fist on a fast downward arc. This one is equally laggy, but deals an improved 15% and ricochets the foe straight up off of the ground, like the very best DThrow. The knockback is also quite slight, and won't kill. However, unlike the first variant, this one sets you up perfectly to follow up, since the foe is stunned and in the air right in front of you.
Two different attack, different hitboxes, different effects and purposes. Alternate between the two and you'll find this is one of your most useful attacks.
---------------------------------------------------------USpec---------------------------------------------------------
Heave-Ho
I WEIGH MORE THAN MY ISLAND DOES! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo grabs himself, in essence. He can get a good grip by grabbing his flabby sides, of course. Although this has slight start-up, the execution is quite speedy. He can throw himself in any of the four cardinal directions, just like in a regular throw, and how far he goes depends directly on his damage %, again, like a regular throw. He won't KO himself until about 280%, though, so that should tell you quite a bit about how weak this throw - and by extension, this recovery - really is.
King Hippo can also pummel himself, pinching at his own flab and chuckling as it jiggles. Like in any throw, he deals himself damage - 3% per pummel, and the throw itself another 10%, although DThrow from here does 12%. This creates an interesting dynamic; do you want to just throw yourself and risk not making it, or is it safer to damage yourself a bit before throwing? King Hippo releases himself after three seconds if you're indecisive.
His flying body is, as per Smash law, a hitbox dealing no damage. This can actually be used as a combo starter, if you hit them and send them into a hitstun phase just as you're about to come out of it.
---------------------------------------------------------DSpec---------------------------------------------------------
Boxer's Stance
A MAN TOLD ME TO BECOME A BOXER. SO WE ATE HIM! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo's animation doesn't change; he remains still, holding his fists tightly in front of his belly bandage. However, until you press B again, you have manual control over them, and can move your massive gloves up or down at will by tilting the control stick. During the duration of this attack, King Hippo doesn't have super armor... but his fists not only do, they absorb the impact of an attack that hits them straight on with such force that they cancel the attack and cause the foe to go into a short moment of lag. Use this time, cancel the attack and punish!
Now, notably, King Hippo can't defend any farther down than just above his knees - have you ever tried stooping when you weigh "???"? - so low attacks can still penetrate his defense. And, of course, if you can't read the foe or if they read you too well, you're likely to be punished for trying this. But his gloves are pretty big and the stance is the same as before, so by bringing this out at an unexpected moment and blocking carefully, you can turn the tide of a battle.
♔ Standard
-----------------------------------------------------------Jab----------------------------------------------------------
"Give Them Zee Uppercut!"
YOU THINK YOU SMELL MORE THAN ME? I SMELL EVERYTHING, EVEN WEAKNESS! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo pulls a fist back slightly at his waist, then delivers a close-range uppercut before him, grunting as he does so. This has less lag than many of his attacks, although it can still be read and anticipated. It deals 10% and small knockback up and diagonal, so it's easy to follow up; this attack has fairly low end lag.
This, and quite a few of King Hippo's attacks, gets stronger once he smells weakness. If the foe is upwards of 70%, this attack is a full-on uppercut, dealing the same amount of damage but with more than doubled knockback and end lag. This can KO at about 100%.
----------------------------------------------------------Dash---------------------------------------------------------
Clumsy King, Graceful King
I NEVER TRIP. I LUNGE! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo trips - well, lunges - into a headlong dive that causes him to slide along a short distance on his belly. As he begins to falls, he extends a fist, perhaps hoping to catch himself. Although he doesn't, his fist remains extended as he slides, dealing 11% on contact and tossing foes a short distance into the air above him with long hitstun. A shame he can't punish splayed out on his belly... or can he?
Although King Hippo will get up on his own after a second lying there, you can display a hitherto unheard-of agility and actually jump straight up and out of this position. This makes this yet another handy combo piece, since its ending lag can be essentially cancelled altogether by simply jumping and continuing with an aerial.
This attack gains tripled knockback that can kill around 110% once the foe passes 85%, so be aware that you'll be hard-pressed to combo with it after that. It'll remain a good approach with a twist.
♔ Tilt
-----------------------------------------------------------FTilt----------------------------------------------------------
Gut Bump
HOW'S MY BELLY? I FEED IT NINE TIMES A DAY! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo brings both fists to his waist and grunts, puffing out his belly to its fullest. Since it extends quite quickly, it deals 12% and quite good horizontal knockback that can KO by 110% - and that's if you're at the middle of a stage. The kicker here is that the knockback catapults them forward quite slowly, although they're stunned for the expected long period. The result, of course, is that you can potentially pursue them and follow up.
But this attack is dangerous to flub; it has a duration of almost one second, during which his belly and its bandage are exposed. If his belly is struck by a higher-priority attack - quite likely - it'll jiggle mightily, he'll take the damage, and his eyes will roll about dizzily, stunning him for another half a second. Of course, the result is that the foe can beat away at your belly and continuously extend the duration of the attack, racking up tons of damage into the bargain. At least you won't take knockback, right?
Use this only when they're too close to predict it or to dodge it, as one of your fastest attacks. Don't overuse it, because it can potentially make you very vulnerable.
-----------------------------------------------------------UTilt---------------------------------------------------------
Dual Punch
BUGS LIKE TO FLY OVERHEAD, TOO. I SWAT BUGS! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo turns clumsily toward the screen if he's facing to the right, or away from it if he's facing left; then he puts both fists together and thrusts them up sharply in a two-handed punch with a short duration but low end lag. This deals 8% and has minor knockback that's particularly difficult to DI. Notably, however, you can basically neglect the significant start-up to this attack by using it repeatedly once King Hippo has already gotten into position. This is one of
those UTilts; it can rack up significant damage in a very annoying way when the foe is at low %s.
Once the foe passes 50%, this attack stops being a combo piece. It becomes laggier but deals much more important knockback, KOing effectively by 95%.
-----------------------------------------------------------DTilt---------------------------------------------------------
Tumbledown
ROLLING IS GOOD, AS LONG AS I'M THE ONE DOING IT! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo appears to start falling backwards, having lost his balance or perhaps simply had a heart attack - except as he lands on his back, he turns it into a backward somersault that covers more than a platform's distance, what with how big the King really
is. If he rolls over a foe who fails to properly dodge or shield, they'll be buried in the ground and dealt a nice 14%. King Hippo comes out of this rather clumsily, but with little enough ending lag that he can potentially follow up. If not against the buried foe, then maybe he'll hit them just as they burst out.
This has three primary functions: starting a combo; continuing a combo that's been interrupted by the foe rudely DIing behind you, where they believe you have a blind spot; and rolling away and putting some distance between you and a foe striving to combo you after a flubbed attack.
♔ Smash
--------------------------------------------------------FSmash-------------------------------------------------------
Megaton Punch
SOME BOW BEFORE THE KING. EVERYONE ELSE FALLS BEFORE HIM! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo raises both fists into the air as he charges, shaking with pent-up strength as he does so. Once you release, and with significant lag, he brings them both down before him, smashing foes from above, and not without lag. This attack deals 26% uncharged, 39% charged, and breaks shield on contact; when you see it coming, you
dodge, and this is far from impossible, since the attack is easy to see coming. Its knockback ricochets the foe off of the ground and thus shoots them straight up with some impressive knockback, although if you sweetspot on the very bottom of his fists, right up next to him, he'll bury the foe instead.
The only reason this is at all usable - remember, if the foe hits you while you're standing there lagging, they're likely to combo you into oblivion - is because it can be cancelled at any point in the attack simply by pressing a different button. Suddenly this attack is a constant threat, and you can use it without fear - or at least, with less fear - because you can at any moment snap out of it and go back into your idle state of constant and comfortable super armor.
This attack is likely to be a finisher.
--------------------------------------------------------USmash-------------------------------------------------------
Grounders
A SPIDER ONCE TRIED TO BITE ME. INSTEAD I SAT ON HIM! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo charges by crouching down, preparing for a jump. When you release, he lunges a short way up, his arms grasping above him. Charge time decides whether you jump up half a platform or a full platform, and it's quite a deceptively notable difference. This attack is laggy enough at start-up.
If his arms touch any foe as he goes up, he'll immediately dunk them toward the ground like a basketball player; this motion is more or less inevitable if he touches you. If he doesn't reach anyone on his way up, the attack is cancelled at the peak of the jump, and he can go from there directly into an aerial or his second jump.
If he DOES dunk a foe, he hits them as he comes back down, landing solidly on top of the fallen foe and dealing an impressive 21% with powerful knockback on a straight horizontal plane.
Versatile attack, can be used to dodge, to go into a jump in an unpredictable way, to jump up higher than he could otherwise, to pull down a foe camping above, to KO, or hell, to continue a combo begun with some UTilts. There's nothing quite like punching a foe into the air, then hurling them back onto the ground and sitting on them.
--------------------------------------------------------DSmash-------------------------------------------------------
Fisthammer
NOTHING CAN STAND IN MY WAY! HA! HA! HA!
While charging, King Hippo faces the screen and slowly lowers his fists to the ground on either side. When you release, he brings them both straight up with little lag, dealing 14% and flipping foes into the air with long hitstun. The main use of this, of course, is that it's surprisingly quick by the King's standards, although it does have a tiny bit of end lag. Charging this increases the hitstun.
This attack is quite different if the foe is over 75%. Now King Hippo charges by raising his fists instead of lowering them, and the attack has him bringing them down on either side mightily. This variant deals 22% and harsh horizontal knockback on contact. Charging THIS variant increases knockback, and now it's quite a useful KO move.
♔ Aerial
-----------------------------------------------------------NAir----------------------------------------------------------
T-Stance
STRETCHING IS GOOD FOR THE MUSCLES. AND THE HEART! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo makes his distinctive cry and extends both arms out, facing the screen - hence, T-Stance. His whole body is a hitbox for the duration of this attack, which is just under a second, albeit his priority is only middling. Contact with his body deals 10% and rather slight knockback, while contact with a fist deals 14% and better knockback that can KO around 135%.
Of course, this is quite restrictive in terms of aim, so you can tilt King Hippo slightly as he remains in this stance by tilting the control stick to either side. By tilting him, you can quite easily land a sweetspotted fist. Sometimes you WANT to hit with a different part of his body, as it's easier to follow up on. It's a versatile attack.
-----------------------------------------------------------FAir----------------------------------------------------------
Banzai Swing
MY STRONGEST PUNCH COMES FROM THE RIGHT! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo laggily brings one gloved arm around and into a windmill swing downward. His fist deals about 8% - so unimpressive damage output - but has quite good knockback on a diagonally upwards plane. Notable is that King Hippo's punch here has quite a bit of spin to it, so after the foe travels forward a ways, they'll curve back slightly and their momentum will change abruptly, bringing them towards you just a bit and making it easy to follow up.
If used again immediately after the first use, King Hippo will switch what arm he uses, making it less laggy if used in quick succession and actually a good damage mechanism at low %s.
-----------------------------------------------------------BAir----------------------------------------------------------
Reverse Banzai Swing
MY STRONGEST PUNCH COMES FROM THE LEFT! HA! HA! HA!
The animation of this attack is exactly the same; King Hippo windmills around one arm and brings it downwards. The only difference is that the hitbox, instead of being at the downward arc in front of him, is at the initial upwards swing behind him. For all intents and purposes, the start-up of this attack is the hitbox, and the rest is just lag/mindgame. This also deals 8% and has decent knockback with severe backspin.
Like FAir, this can be made less laggy by chaining it to have King Hippo alternate arms as he punches. Notably, FAir and BAir are interchangeable once you've used one of them, and can be chained together in any way, making the mindgame potential enormous. At lower %s, you can combo the two of them into one another repeatedly and juggle the foe back and forth, but more on that in the combo section.
-----------------------------------------------------------UAir----------------------------------------------------------
TKO Uppercut
BACK WHERE I COME FROM, THEY HAVE A SAYING. IT GOES, "AAAAAAH! IT'S A HIPPO!" HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo has a brief moment of lag as he pulls a fist down a bit in preparation, then jabs sharply up, extending his arm fully - although this still is not all that impressive in range. This attack deals 11% with unremarkable upwards knockback, although there's a small sweetspot - or sourspot, depending on what your intention was - at the very back of his glove. Contact with this makes the foe go into a helpless animation and plummet to the ground, too stunned to move. This is an utterly unreliable gimping move, but if you become practiced with it, you can use it in the midst of a combo to bring the foe back down to the ground, where you have more options.
Once the foe passes over 70%, this becomes KO Uppercut! The knockback becomes most impressive and can KO at 90% off the top of the screen, although it does become somewhat more laggy as King Hippo pulls his fist back further before launching the punch.
-----------------------------------------------------------DAir----------------------------------------------------------
Funnel Spin
MY CROWN IS MADE FROM THE BONES OF THE LAST MAN I FOUGHT! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo faces the screen, then pulls a clumsy somersault, his head a hitbox when it's at the bottom of its arc. This attack isn't all that quick - you could equate its duration with that of Wario's DAir, but with a shorter hitbox. His head here deals out a weak spike and does 8%. This attack has a bit of ending lag, but it's quite effective when shorthopped as an approach, usually.
Once the foe passes 60%, King Hippo does his flip slightly more quickly, and now his head does horizontal knockback that kills at 110% instead of a spike. No gimp KOs for you, I'm afraid.
♔ Throw
----------------------------------------------------------Grab----------------------------------------------------------
HA! HA! HA! NOTHING ESCAPES ME! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo's grab is quite basic. He reaches in front of him, trying to pull in foes with his arms and struggling with reaching over his jutting belly. When he catches you, he heaves you into the air, holding you in both arms, kicking and screaming. His pummel sees him swinging you against the ground, dealing an impressive - but laggy - 4%. It's unlikely that you'll pull it off more than twice at low %s.
---------------------------------------------------------FThrow--------------------------------------------------------
Javelin
I CAN LIFT A HUNDRED-POUND WEIGHT RIGHT OVER MY HEAD. WITH MY PINKY TOE! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo dashes forward - as quickly as he ever could - for about a platform, then tosses the foe through the air like a javelin. This is particularly humiliating for large foes like Bowser, Dedede, or Ganondorf. Wario, too. This attack deals 11% but has pretty good knockback that can KO at 125%. The tossed foe has a fairly long duration of hitstun, during which they remain in a javelin-like shape; if they hit anyone else on their trajectory, they'll deal them 11% in turn and soar on, so this is great - and again, humiliating - in doubles or FFA.
Notably, King Hippo can continue running straight out of this throw, so it's not impossible to chase and follow up at low percentages. Not impossible at all.
--------------------------------------------------------BThrow--------------------------------------------------------
Need a hug but you get none
I STILL WEIGH MORE THAN MY ISLAND DOES! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo delivers a bone-crushing punch to the foe's head, dealing 6% and knocking them insensate. He then sees fit to drop them behind him... but unfortunately, their suffering is not yet done, as King Hippo collapses into a sitting position right on top of them. This ricochets them out at a strong horizontal trajectory with an additional 6%, but has some pretty severe ending lag as he clambers back to his feet. Oh well hippo island what you gonna do.
As a fun extra, if this attack is used when the foe is shot out parallel and on the same level as a body of water - say, on Delfino Plaza - they'll skip along the water like a skipping stone. This is actually a tiny bit relevant, since it makes it much more possible to KO someone off the side of the screen even with water in the way.
--------------------------------------------------------UThrow--------------------------------------------------------
Simple Punch
I AM A BOXER! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo holds the foe in front of him with one hand, then punches them with the other. They go slightly into the air and are dealt 6%; this has no KO potential.
The only reason this attack is worth the time it takes to mention it is because this is fairly easy to follow up on with almost every single attack in your arsenal. This is one of your most reliable combo starters, and is the perfect first step to any string of aerials or any UTilt chain.
--------------------------------------------------------DThrow--------------------------------------------------------
XXX Large
DO YOU LIKE MY NEW TRUNKS? THEY ARE SIZE XXX LARGE! HA! HA! HA!
Oh no! King Hippo's trunks, too big even for him, begin to fall down, while his hands are busy dealing with the foe! How humiliating...
Of course, humiliation can on no account be accepted, so King Hippo immediately releases the captured foe and begins to frantically pull up his trousers. You can stay in this trunk stance for up to five seconds, or you can press any button to pull them up once and for all considerably earlier. Meanwhile, the dropped foe is dealt 7% from the mere impact of the fall from up on high, and can get up, with lag.
The main reason to use this is to take advantage of the trunk stance, since King Hippo faces the screen, protecting his belly bandage, and has super armor for the full five seconds, instead of it decaying as it usually would.
♔ Super
--------------------------------------------------------SAttack-------------------------------------------------------
Throwing Your Weight Around
WHEN THE HIPPO JUMPS, THE WORLD TREMBLES! HA! HA! HA!
King Hippo throws his weight around in this Super Attack. First, you have to catch your foes. As soon as you have contact with them, King Hippo begins to carry them, lugging them over his shoulder. After fifteen seconds, no matter how many he’s caught, he walks to the edge of the stage and throws them bodily off, KOing at higher percentages. The last part of the move is him sitting down with is back to the people returning. He’s impossible to budge for the next eight seconds or so, and he makes it impossible to grab the ledge or to recover without going over him. he has super armor for the whole duration of this attack.
PLAYSTYLE
♔ How To
King Hippo is certainly an odd combatant. His massive bulk belies the speed with which he can pull off his combos - but then, you should have expected them, since he is, after all, a boxer. His whole career is based on his ability to string together the punches and take some of his own - and he can do that, too, because he's invincible.
Well, invincible - that's a bit of a strong word. King Hippo is only invincible while he's not doing anything, and that only for a short time. He doesn't have any attacks lagless enough to safely refresh his super armor repeatedly, so he's forced to either fight or defend like a normal character. And things will be difficult enough for you if you try that, since King Hippo's rolls and dodges are pretty pathetic.
So all that's left is to fight.
King Hippo's fighting style is combo or be comboed. Make fullest use of nice pauses between attacks, when you can just stand there and absorb the damage dealt you, if the foe is foolish enough to attack you. But be very aware that if you whiff your combo starter - whatever it might be - you're likely to be dealt a whole lot of damage, very quickly. After all, hitstun dealt you is doubled, and you're heavy and large enough for even the smallest character to repeatedly prod you with quick attacks.
But if you land your first hit - well, the sky's the limit. You can follow up and chain together hit after hit after hit... for a while. Yes, after the foe's % starts skyrocketing, many of King Hippo's attacks lose their speedy comboability and become KO moves. This transition is surprisingly quick and abrupt; suddenly he smells blood, and it's time to land a big, heavy hit and end it. He has no shortage of ways to do this, and it's now, in the late game, that he becomes a real heavyweight, relying on heavyweight conventions.
King Hippo wins big, loses big. He either delivers a crushing blow or is knocked off his feet and just can't get back up. But you can count on him to be invulnerable unless the opponent's counterattacks are well timed.
♔ Combo
Note that I'm only listing a few of the combos King Hippo is capable of here, since the large hitstun on many of his attacks make his potential almost infinite. Sprinkling in Inflates here and there already make your combos too many to name, so this section is only a start.
---------------------------------------------------------Ground--------------------------------------------------------
Combo Starter: UThrow
The most obvious of all, Simple Punch is just that; your bread and butter. Many attacks can follow; these are just the most obvious options.
FAir: Banzai Swing
From a grab, Simple Punch hits them into the air. Shorthop and use Banzai Swing while they're suffering the hitstun. The knockback is ultimately backwards if they're at a low percentage, so it's possible to shorthop again and use UAir - TKO Uppercut. These can be chained together in quick succession, or you can time and aim a DAir spike - Funnel Spin. Agile aerial combo that starts from the ground. FAir is interchangeable with NAir: see Aerial Combos. Payoff: 14-47%
DSmash: Fisthammer
Only works at low %s, when Fisthammer hits from below. After the Simple Punch, use this to hit them further up into the air and get a goodly amount of damage in. Follow this with an aerial, preferably UAir, but again, only at lower %s when the knockback is relatively small. Payoff: 20-42%
NSpec: Inflate
A shorthopped Inflate is a good follow-up in its own right, and is likely to hit the foe solidly into the ground, where you can continue with a backwards DTilt (Tumbledown) or a nice DAir (Funnel Spin) to bounce them off of their prone position and back up into the air, where you can continue juggling with either FAir, BAir, or UAir. Inflates are generally good to throw in at any time, and this is one of your few second attacks that puts the foe back on the ground. Payoff: Variable
Combo Starter: DSpec
Never forget about the potential impact of a well-timed Boxer's Stance. It's hard to read, and if your predictions are any better than the foe's, it puts them into a moment of lag that you can punish with just about any faster ground attack. The main uses:
FSpec: Hippo Combo
You can potentially land either the first or second step of the Hippo Combo; the first is your choice if you're ready to go for the KO, while the second can lead into more attacks by getting the foe into the air, where you have myriad options. At lower %s, you can try for a few UTilts chained together. Payoff: KO or 15-39%
Jab: "Give Them Zee Uppercut!"
This is very bare-bones here, and you usually have better options, but if they're just about undamaged, this can get them a bit higher into the air and not too high to make following up impossible. If they DI the wrong way, you can pull off an USmash Grounders and get quite a bit of damage by pulling them out of the air and then crushing them; the last, of course, could KO a light foe near the side of the stage. Payoff: 10-31%, KO potential
Combo Starter: Dash
Tumbling into a Clumsy King, Graceful King may not be the likeliest combo starter, but since you're poised to go straight into a jump and the opponent is suffering hitstun, it's not hard to start an aerial combo of some sort.
UAir: TKO Uppercut
The obvious follow-up, of course, is a few of these, in a manner DK would be proud of. But if you sweetspot an UAir, you've got a much better position to punish from, since the foe is falling with you; perhaps a few quick Reverse Banzai Swings, mingled with Banzai Swings? This is quite an agile-looking combo, and you can read more on what to do once they're up there in the Aerial section. Payoff: 22%+
-----------------------------------------------------------Air----------------------------------------------------------
Combo Starter: USpec
Throwing yourself at the foe from a good angle puts them right up next to you and quite vulnerable to whatever aerial you bring out next.
NAir: T-Stance
This is a versatile attack to follow with, since you can tilt it to sweetspot it on your fist. But maybe you don't want to, because that would make it pretty hard to follow up on. Sourspotting it means you can follow with FAir, and we all know the ramifications of that at low %s; juggling the foe between Banzai Swing and Reverse Banzai Swing like some wonky juggler. This is a nice example of the kind of thing King Hippo can do in the air if he gets rolling. Payoff: 10-38%+
DAir: Funnel Spin
Or you could just put the foe right back on the ground with a well-aimed Funnel Spin spike. Once they go down, you're falling right above them and can try to chain a second one of these, bouncing them back up into the air and making it possible to follow up with an UAir. This is the rare combo that works better once the foe is at a decent %, since that's when the spike will be most noticable... but be aware that once they go higher still, your attacks will lose their combo potential. Payoff: 8-38%
♔ Match-Up
--------------------------------------------------King Hippo VS DK-------------------------------------------------
40/60
YOU DO NOT WANT TO KNOW WHAT WE DO TO MONKEYS BACK HOME! HA! HA! HA!
DK has range, and no projectiles - that's a good start toward countering King Hippo, since he can just sponge projectiles but characters with long reach are more likely to beat him to the punch when he decides to temporarily give up his super armor. Now, DK's main spacing mechanism - his Forward and Down Tilt - is less useful in this match-up, since it's meant to be chained together and King Hippo can just walk right through it and punish the lag. His greatest boon will be his grab; Donkey Kong has to flit about, using his agility and making heavy use of his shield, and choose a good moment when King Hippo is in a state of lag to grab him and go into a Cargo Throw.
Once King Hippo is on your back, his super armor is worth nothing. Most often, DK will want to throw him up after that and go directly into a brutal and debilitating chain of UAirs; they're potent enough against most characters, and with King Hippo's increased hitstun and rapid fall speed, DK can easily rack up upwards of 50% in a matter of moments.
This match-up isn't entirely one-sided, because DK is usually going to have to KO by chaining BAirs or by spiking, since King Hippo is altogether too heavy to be knocked out easily with a Smash and since his super armor usually protects him against DK's laggy Forward B Headbutt. Also remember that unless DK manages to get King Hippo into the air by punishing carefully, he's a big target and heavy and is likely to be comboed himself.
-------------------------------------------------King Hippo VS R.O.B.----------------------------------------------
35/65
THAT IS A NICE TOY. WHAT DOES IT DO? HA! HA! HA!
Rather unfortunately, King Hippo has trouble with R.O.B. Not because of his projectiles - that's his main boon in this match-up, because ROB can't camp and dodge and King Hippo can just bull his way through the occasional laser or Gyromite. No, the crucial attacks in this match-up are ROB's Up Tilt and Forward Air. Both can be strung together for massive amounts of damage on our unhappy King. FAir in particular is just brutal, and can be used to effectively WoP and shut King Hippo completely out of the game; there's no way to properly recover against that once ROB starts landing them and pushing him off the screen, and he can combo him right off the side and recover to boot.
Again, it's not totally one-sided; ROB is both lightweight and a big target, so yet again, it's much about who can get going first.
------------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Sloth------------------------------------------------
75/25
YOU THINK YOU ARE LAZIER THAN ME? I WAS ONCE MISTAKEN FOR A BOULDER! HA! HA! HA!
Finally, a match-up King Hippo likes! There are two things about Sloth that make him the perfect foe: he's a heavyweight, slow and laggy; and he relies on ranged attacks to keep the foe back. Ranged attacks, of course, don't work on spacing King Hippo, since he can walk right through them and bring the fight up close... and heavyweights are both perfect combo fodder and potentially even laggier than he is, making it quite difficult for them to punish King Hippo's own lag.
In fact, this whole match-up feels almost rigged. Sloth needs time to stand around and do nothing, which King Hippo is never going to give him; he's basically a pressure tank, dammit! He can try to anchor himself to his boulders, but King Hippo can just smash them with one of his stronger attacks and roll them away, and any halfway decent player is unlikely to give him the time to set up a hole in the ground to plant it in. And that beastly Side B? As impressive as it is against lighter foes, King Hippo's likely to take it on the chin and just bash the dozing Sloth with a fully charged FSmash.
Now, Sloth has one thing going for him - his grab game. Although FThrow is not all that wise a choice here - not even Sloth would dare chain himself to King Hippo - he can still deal out quite a bit of damage with careful choice of throw, and he can even make a pit into the bargain with DThrow, the only way he's likely to manage to do it. Still, landing a relatively laggy grab is going to be tough and is just another point against Sloth in this match-up.
---------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Adeleine----------------------------------------------
80/20
PAINT AND PAPER? HA! HA! HA! BOW BEFORE ME! HA! HA! HA!
This match-up is incredibly difficult for Adeleine, I'm afraid. King Hippo tends to neuter playstyles based entirely around traps or summons, since the only time he's vulnerable is when he's suffering wind-down lag - this automatically means that aggressive summons are practically useless unless your timing is so good that one hits him just as he's destroying another. No, in this match-up, the only hope Adeleine has is to rely mostly on her Self and Mystery Perspectives, and to swamp King Hippo with status effects and stage obstacles. You have to play with an incredible amount of foresight and tact to even stand a chance. Defensive summons will be vital here, to break up the onslaught King Hippo will doubtless try to pile onto you as soon as he reaches you; many of your Self summons can be used to navigate the stage with a dizzying speed, and that's completely vital, but you should always have a few buried here or running there, ready to attack King Hippo when he's not expecting it. Bait and switch is the name of the game for Adeleine here; you have to manually bring King Hippo into range and trick him into attacking.
This match-up is a true test of any Adeleine's mastering of her defensive game and a cakewalk for King Hippo against an Adeleine who makes mistakes.
---------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Khee'bler---------------------------------------------
80/20
IF YOU WANT TO STEAL FROM ME, YOU HAD BEST DO IT WHILE I'M EATING! HA! HA! HA!
Ah, another overwhelmingly positive match-up for King Hippo. As a general rule of thumb, characters with complex mechanics tend not to do well against his simple tank-like combo approach. Characters with fast attacks do.
Khee'bler has an obvious problem here: he
cannot combo. King Hippo whiffs an attack, the worst that's going to happen to him is he'll have to sign a contract (and even this is tricky, since Kheebler needs multiple grabs to fully get it and therefore you need him to whiff an attack multiple times), and he has no "vital" attacks and can make do even with some gone. And hell, even if he breaks the terms of the contract he's not scared of Kheebler's Smashes; he can just sponge them or pull a quick Boxer's Stance and turn it into a beneficial situation.
No, for Khee'bler to win in this match-up, he'll need to be very, very cautious and use his speed to the fullest. He'll also need to make extraordinary use of his more thief-like attacks; his Dash Attack is probably his most potent weapon, a way to bait King Hippo into attacking an illusion and opening him up to return fire. DAir is useful in a similar way, pulling down a King Hippo trying to combo you and punishing him with a signed contract.
But don't be fooled. King Hippo is a powerful Khee'bler counter.
---------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Little Mac---------------------------------------------
40/60
The problem for you here is that Mac's playstyle is far too similar to the ideal "playing against" style for King Hippo. Mac loves interrupting attacks and waiting for an opening, and King Hippo hates foes who do those two things. Tagging Punch alone breaks half of your game, since your laggy attacks are all too easily read and interrupted. Mac's recovery is way too solid for comfort and his aerials chain into one another beautifully against a heavy and laggy King Hippo.
But it's not all bad. Mac also relies on the equipment Doc brings to the battlefield, and King Hippo doesn't care about traps, as we've ascertained. He can just sponge the thrown projectiles and continue onwards to bring the battle up close; that'll teach that
MT Little Mac for relying on props and traps!
...But always be aware that, even if you're not taking knockback, you're still taking damage, and making it easier for Mac to pull off a KO - likely a gimp KO. King Hippo hates Little Mac just as much in Brawl as he does in Punch Out.
----------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Bald Bull---------------------------------------------
50/50
This match-up can really go either way. Bald Bull is big and slow, which is just the kind of foe big and slow King Hippo likes to fight... but Bald Bull has a surprisingly number of options that make actually comboing him a living hell. For a start, he has his FAir and BAir, which singlehandedly ruin many aerial combos. You think he's going to end up over there, but instead he ends up over here. His Down Special makes the lag on his moves negligible and makes it quite easy for him to punish King Hippo. His erratic attacks, many of which involve ducking down low, make him an uncertain entity and difficult to take aim at properly. Like all characters, grabbing King Hippo is tough for him, but once he does it, he's got the perfect start to a combo. Bald Bull can't really combo, but he is an offensive beast who can deal a lot of damage with one or two attacks alone. His recovery, so easily gimped, is much safer against King Hippo, a character who just can't gimp.
Oh, and his Side B is a great KO option, since a combo or two is bound to get his rage up to an extreme level and the super armor it affords him can clash head-on with King Hippo's super armor and live.
On the flip side, Up B is utterly useless on the ground, since King Hippo is bound to appoach anyway. And never forget that Bald Bull is quite easy to combo on the ground. King Hippo is also going to make liberal use of Boxer's Stance, since Bald Bull has few low attacks and what he does have is easy enough to read and block.
In this battle of the massive Punch Out villains, it's anyone's game, and truly an intriguing match-up.
--------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Von Kaiser--------------------------------------------
65/35
See, Von Kaiser's general game description mirrors King Hippo's. Both of them care deeply about Von Kaiser's %, and when he passes over into the higher %s and is ready to try to KO, King Hippo is likewise done with comboing and ready to KO. Therefore the game largely comes down to who does the better damage racking earlier in the game, and that's usually going to be King Hippo. Any character that's big and slow and not a super heavyweight is unlikely to reach high %s against him, so that's the over-100% desperation moves right out. Meanwhile both boxers are trying to KO the other, but King Hippo has the super armor and the weight advantage.
Von Kaiser has some quick attacks and others that are hard to see coming, so he can get the damage going fast enough... but the KO is going to cause problems for him. Meanwhile, trying to heal himself is fruitless; King Hippo will just use the opportunity to do even more damage with a simple combo. This is not a particularly beneficial match-up for him, and certainly not one he'll enjoy.
-------------------------------------------King Hippo VS Bear Hugger-------------------------------------------
45/55
You'd think this would be an easy match-up for King Hippo. After all, they don't come much bigger than Bear Hugger, or slower. He seems like the ideal combo target, a big heavy beast who's both laggy and a fastfaller. But no, because, of course, Bear Hugger is based around throws. Every single attack in his moveset is a grab, which completely cancels out the weakness of throws against King Hippo; it's difficult to grab him. Once he's grabbed, it's all too easy to throw him and follow up with at least one or two attacks, and that's already a significant damage swing.
And Bear Hugger is also adept at defending. By relying on his Side Special - his answer to King Hippo's Boxer's Stance - he can quite effectively suck up most of King Hippo's attacks, then counter with a simple Jab and do it all over again.
King Hippo here is going to be mostly relying on landing a grab before Bear Hugger lands a grab, then delivering a Simple Punch and starting a combo of some sort. KOing, however, is no easy matter, since Bear Hugger is just as big and heavy as you are. This is the battle of the super heavyweights, and it's largely about who can bash the hardest.
HA! HA! HA! I AM THE KING! HA! HA! HA!
. My final problem is with the final smash, which just isn’t clear on a few things. So the other characters are just kind of left without a stage for 3 seconds? Unless the gravity is decreased or something, characters without a good or long-lasting recovery would always die from this. Then again, this is a final smash… so I guess it’s forgivable.
