“Don’t tell me the low tier story. I wrote the low tier story!”~KirbyKid
<p align="center"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/kirby__s_by_ro_sa.png" alt="Kirby Kolors" height="288" width="384" /></p>
Kirby is bad. But this is not the time to discuss how much Sakurai has back stabbed his own creation. This citizen of Dreamland needs an overhaul. Nearly everything about him needs to be upgraded, re-envisioned, re-imagined, and rethought. But, as is the custom, I’ll only focus on his Special moves.
<strong>Final Cutter</strong>: As Kirby’s only projectile and his only legitimate method of returning from below the stage, this move is very important to Kirby’s survival. (Remember, he is a light weight character). It’s hard to point out all the positives about this move. The hitboxes for the blade and projectile aren’t very big, and they don’t do a lot of damage or have a lot of knockback. Because the strike at the crest of the attack is a meteor hit, it can be canceled allowing enemies to jump away and attack Kirby while he’s still lagged out. The low knock back of the sword strikes was supposed to allow Kirby to combo this move, but a dash of DI greatly reduces the chance of this happening. What’s worse is there are times when there is no hitbox while the blade is extended leaving Kirby vulnerable to attack. Also, if Kirby is hit in just the right way, somehow, all of his jumps disappear. (A Kirby without jumps is as good as dead) For these reasons, using this move on the stage is risky, and while recovering, is risky. What can be done?
<ul>
<li>Fix the hit boxes. If you can see the blade, there should be a hitbox for it. As it is now, the hitboxes are four tiny dots that disappear and reappear instead of a long angular sword-hitbox like Marth’s.</li>
<li>Kirby shouldn’t lose his jumps if hit out of this attack. That’s just silly, though losing some jumps is still a possibility I’m willing to live with.</li>
<li>The move should be faster. So many other character’s Up Specials come out faster and are more dangerous. The added speed going up and down would help make this attack more effective offensively and defensively. It’s like that in Kirby’s other games (see video 2).</li>
<li>The meteor strike at the top should spike. If Kirby is going to go through all the work, timing, and spacing to hit enemies at the crest of the attack, then they shouldn’t be able to simply pop out of it and hit you back.</li>
<li>The projectile should sweep enemies away even if they’re shielding. If the projectile is going to be so short, and easily dodge-able, and give low amounts of damage, then there needs to be some benefit for taking the trouble (and lag) to use it. I’m not saying the attack should hurt enemies through their shields, but it should push them along.</li>
<li>If the move doesn’t increase in speed, the sword should increase in size. It’s pretty obvoius that Metaknight’s sword is small. To compensate, Sakurai make his up Special quick like Marth’s. Metaknight also has an air dash with his Triple Dash. These ideas should be applied to designing Kirby.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to slide forward or backwards while using this move, like he could in Smash64. This was one of the first disappointing differences I noticed when first playing Melee.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Hammer:</strong> I don’t understand what this move is supposed to be used for. It’s not incredibly strong. And when I say this, I mean it’s not strong enough to kill anyone paying attention. Just a little DI renders this move ineffectual. It doesn’t have any range. It’s about as long as Kirby’s tilts, except this has a sweet spot. The head of the hammer does the “killing” and the handle does… well… nothing. For a move with such a small range, this is inexcusable. I call it the “sour” spot.? And the lag! This move is only slightly faster than the falcon punch. You might think this is an exaggeration, but I don’t. Before you swing it, there’s lag. After you swing it, there’s lag. On the ground this move is practically useless. In the air, this move is… barely usable. Kirby swings the hammer in a circle really quickly. Actually, it looks like it’s spinning quickly, but if you look at the hit boxes, it’s actually spinning quite slowly. This creates a false impression of the move, and it leaves a big hole open in this attack. When this move does connect, it hits the enemies around a few times. It doesn’t have a lot of range, knockback, or damage (are you seeing a pattern yet?). But when you land on the ground, Kirby has lag. And because enemies can DI out of it, or just hit after the swinging as stopped, this move becomes an unwise move in most situations. What should they have done?
<ul>
<li>Fix the hit box in the air. If this move looks like it’s spinning fast, then the hit box should spin fast. Period.</li>
<li>This move should have 3 stages when used on the ground. First, the hammer should come out fast and strikes behind Kirby as he’s pulling back. Then, it should swing in front of Kirby. Finally it should finish by hooking around behind again. This way, the attack can be used forwards and backwards. This would make up for the lack of range. Actually, the move was originally programmed like this (and without the? “sour” spot), but for some reason they took it out. What a poor decision.</li>
<li>If Kirby is running and uses this move, it should act like a new dash attack. In this attack, Kirby spins around in circle holding the hammer out to strike enemies. This is taken directly from previous Kirby games. (See video 2)</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to run with the hammer out for a limited time. The hammer would act as a constant shield/hitbox like Peach’s parasol. (See video 2)</li>
<li>The lag from using the hammer in the air should be greatly reduced to increase it’s combo-ability. It’s not like Kirby’s other moves combo well anyway.</li>
<li>The hit box for the hammer in the air should hit enemies in the direction tangent to the arc of the swing. This is the technical way of saying that the enemies should fly in the direction the hammer is swinging, and not the direction they choose to DI. This is especially important because the move has little knockback.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Stone:</strong> Kirby hovers for a moment, and then comes crashing down in the form of a rock (or some other heavy object). Back in the day (Smash64 days) this move was the bane of casual players everywhere because of it’s high priority and killing power. I’ve heard of some people’s winning strategies consisted entirely of “jump up really high and then stone, over and over.” In Melee, the transformation is slower, the fall rate is slower, the damage is less, the knockback is less, the de-transformation is longer, and the rock form can take less hits before breaking. Now, I understand that Kirby was over powered back in the day, but this is not how a move should be balanced. Let’s see what we can do about this.
<ul>
<li>Keep the lag at during the de-transformation, and speed up the fall rate and the transformation.</li>
<li>Return the fearsome killing power of the stone or….</li>
<li>Instead of hitting enemies up and out, perhaps it makes more sense to squash and suppress enemies down. Remember how I described my version of the Falcon Kick? The same idea should be applied to Kirby’s stone. As an excellent edge guarding move, it would drag enemies down until Kirby de-transforms. If you think this is unbalanced because of Kirby’s high priority and speed (especially off the edge), consider this. The move is very predictable because it can only travel in one way at one speed. Straight down. If you happen to be on top of the rock (possibly landing on top of it) then Kirby’s body will act like a platform. And as Kirby is hovering there transforming back, you can always footstool him.</li>
<li>If they can give peach all sorts of random turnips to play with, then it’s not unreasonable to suggest that Kirby’s different rock forms should do different things. The spike ball should hurt those who try and grab it. The thwomp form should be able to slowly rise back up after crashing down to the ground. The Panel-de-pon block should be bigger than the other forms and have more squishing power.</li>
<li>If none of these options, then Kirby should be able to run around as a rock-kirby and do all of his normal moves. Perhaps with some super armor? (see video 1)</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/kirby_by_koanne.jpg" alt="Kirby Simply Kirby" height="425" width="318" /></p>
<strong>Swallow/Powers:</strong> I saved the best for last. If it weren’t for this ability, Kirby would be little more than a pink snot on the curbside. Sounds harsh, but you have to understand that Kirby is the embodiment of freedom jovial spirits that manifests itself in the ability to <em>see it-do it </em>with child like wonder and ease. This ability is the reason why I picked Kirby over Yoshi back in the day. Because of this ability, I’ve lost hundreds maybe thousands of dollars in prize money, and a little piece of my mind and life along the way.
Taking powers involves two steps. 1) swallowing up enemies. 2) Hitting down on the stick. Kirby’s swallow ability would be his most controversial move if Kirby were just a little bit better than he is now. The ability to swallow up enemies, leap off the edge, and survive no matter what they do could have set the smash world on fire. But Kirby is no good, so nobody cared. Before we move on, this is what I have to suggest about just the Swallow ability.
<ul>
<li>Kirby should be able to suck in all physical matter. This includes items, assist characters, and other players.</li>
<li>Kirby’s swallow range shouldn’t decrease when in the air. It’s hard enough to suck up a moving target that can attack you. Making the swallow hit box super small wasn’t necessary.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to suck up multiple things at once if the timing is correct. Whether this means combined powers (more on that later) or it means that Kirby will receive a random power (like in his previous games), it does matter. This ability is a must.</li>
</ul>
Once Kirby gets a power, Kirby’s character is supposed to come to life, spaming unbridled destruction as the world bends their knees to him (especially Captain Falcon). Ok, maybe not so much, but I’m serious about Kirby’s powers being the main attraction of Kirby. In Smash64 and Melee, Kirby’s copied abilities were mostly very disappointing. To keep things simple, Kirby simply takes the Standard Special move of his enemies. There are a hand full of powers that Kirby can take that Kirby can use better than his opponents. A lot are practically useless. And there are some that are risible at best.
The good powers come from these characters: Falco. Fox. Sheik. Samus. Doctor Mario. Jigglypuff. Mario. Bowser. Mewtwo. All the other powers are not very good to terrible. Why would Kirby’s Falcon Punch, Shield Breaker, Yoshi tongue, Monkey Punch, Roy charge blade, and Icicle projectile be reduced to smaller ranged gimped versions of the original attacks? Here’s what needs to change.
<ul>
<li>Kirby should be able to take more than just Standard Special moves (B moves). Kirby’s moves from his games are always dynamic. In Melee, by just coping and replacing the B move, Kirby’s move aren’t. The root of this problem is found in the construction of each individual character. Fixing the all characters relieves some of the pressure in this area. But why can’t Kirby take and replace other moves from his enemies? Bottom line. I want Fox’s shine.</li>
<li>Kirby should take on properties of his enemies when he takes their powers. This means everything from their taught, to their voice, to their weight and “floatyness” to some degree.</li>
<li>Kirby’s powers SHOULD NOT be expelled randomly when taking damage. Holding and using powers is what Kirby is. I don’t want to randomly lose all my hard work getting powers because Fox or Falco shot me with a laser. I can’t dodge them all! The only way this should stay in is if the swallow attack where easier to pull off. Maybe something as simple as a combo from a grab. Sounds dangerous.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to take powers from items and assist characters in addition to characters.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to combine powers. Now I understand that this sounds like a lot of work. But, it’s not as complicated as it seems. Not all combinations of powers need to yield a unique result. Ultimately, this would be icing on the cake.</li>
</ul>
Check these videos out if you need inspiration.
<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=1vdlEH0yFbg">Video 1</a>
<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=0TWaPdPgX9s">Video 2</a>
And now for some matches of me and some of my friends. You can see just how weak Kirby is. I use my B moves as best I can, but overall Kirby is just not good enough. The Sheik needle play in the beginning of match 2 is hilarious though.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkkxYKUt6A">Match 1</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkkxYKUt6A">Match 2</a>
<a href="http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtG3B-aO_E0">Match 3</a>
Too strong the first time. Too weak the second. Third times a charm? Come one Sakurai!
<p align="center"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/kirby__s_by_ro_sa.png" alt="Kirby Kolors" height="288" width="384" /></p>
Kirby is bad. But this is not the time to discuss how much Sakurai has back stabbed his own creation. This citizen of Dreamland needs an overhaul. Nearly everything about him needs to be upgraded, re-envisioned, re-imagined, and rethought. But, as is the custom, I’ll only focus on his Special moves.
<strong>Final Cutter</strong>: As Kirby’s only projectile and his only legitimate method of returning from below the stage, this move is very important to Kirby’s survival. (Remember, he is a light weight character). It’s hard to point out all the positives about this move. The hitboxes for the blade and projectile aren’t very big, and they don’t do a lot of damage or have a lot of knockback. Because the strike at the crest of the attack is a meteor hit, it can be canceled allowing enemies to jump away and attack Kirby while he’s still lagged out. The low knock back of the sword strikes was supposed to allow Kirby to combo this move, but a dash of DI greatly reduces the chance of this happening. What’s worse is there are times when there is no hitbox while the blade is extended leaving Kirby vulnerable to attack. Also, if Kirby is hit in just the right way, somehow, all of his jumps disappear. (A Kirby without jumps is as good as dead) For these reasons, using this move on the stage is risky, and while recovering, is risky. What can be done?
<ul>
<li>Fix the hit boxes. If you can see the blade, there should be a hitbox for it. As it is now, the hitboxes are four tiny dots that disappear and reappear instead of a long angular sword-hitbox like Marth’s.</li>
<li>Kirby shouldn’t lose his jumps if hit out of this attack. That’s just silly, though losing some jumps is still a possibility I’m willing to live with.</li>
<li>The move should be faster. So many other character’s Up Specials come out faster and are more dangerous. The added speed going up and down would help make this attack more effective offensively and defensively. It’s like that in Kirby’s other games (see video 2).</li>
<li>The meteor strike at the top should spike. If Kirby is going to go through all the work, timing, and spacing to hit enemies at the crest of the attack, then they shouldn’t be able to simply pop out of it and hit you back.</li>
<li>The projectile should sweep enemies away even if they’re shielding. If the projectile is going to be so short, and easily dodge-able, and give low amounts of damage, then there needs to be some benefit for taking the trouble (and lag) to use it. I’m not saying the attack should hurt enemies through their shields, but it should push them along.</li>
<li>If the move doesn’t increase in speed, the sword should increase in size. It’s pretty obvoius that Metaknight’s sword is small. To compensate, Sakurai make his up Special quick like Marth’s. Metaknight also has an air dash with his Triple Dash. These ideas should be applied to designing Kirby.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to slide forward or backwards while using this move, like he could in Smash64. This was one of the first disappointing differences I noticed when first playing Melee.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Hammer:</strong> I don’t understand what this move is supposed to be used for. It’s not incredibly strong. And when I say this, I mean it’s not strong enough to kill anyone paying attention. Just a little DI renders this move ineffectual. It doesn’t have any range. It’s about as long as Kirby’s tilts, except this has a sweet spot. The head of the hammer does the “killing” and the handle does… well… nothing. For a move with such a small range, this is inexcusable. I call it the “sour” spot.? And the lag! This move is only slightly faster than the falcon punch. You might think this is an exaggeration, but I don’t. Before you swing it, there’s lag. After you swing it, there’s lag. On the ground this move is practically useless. In the air, this move is… barely usable. Kirby swings the hammer in a circle really quickly. Actually, it looks like it’s spinning quickly, but if you look at the hit boxes, it’s actually spinning quite slowly. This creates a false impression of the move, and it leaves a big hole open in this attack. When this move does connect, it hits the enemies around a few times. It doesn’t have a lot of range, knockback, or damage (are you seeing a pattern yet?). But when you land on the ground, Kirby has lag. And because enemies can DI out of it, or just hit after the swinging as stopped, this move becomes an unwise move in most situations. What should they have done?
<ul>
<li>Fix the hit box in the air. If this move looks like it’s spinning fast, then the hit box should spin fast. Period.</li>
<li>This move should have 3 stages when used on the ground. First, the hammer should come out fast and strikes behind Kirby as he’s pulling back. Then, it should swing in front of Kirby. Finally it should finish by hooking around behind again. This way, the attack can be used forwards and backwards. This would make up for the lack of range. Actually, the move was originally programmed like this (and without the? “sour” spot), but for some reason they took it out. What a poor decision.</li>
<li>If Kirby is running and uses this move, it should act like a new dash attack. In this attack, Kirby spins around in circle holding the hammer out to strike enemies. This is taken directly from previous Kirby games. (See video 2)</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to run with the hammer out for a limited time. The hammer would act as a constant shield/hitbox like Peach’s parasol. (See video 2)</li>
<li>The lag from using the hammer in the air should be greatly reduced to increase it’s combo-ability. It’s not like Kirby’s other moves combo well anyway.</li>
<li>The hit box for the hammer in the air should hit enemies in the direction tangent to the arc of the swing. This is the technical way of saying that the enemies should fly in the direction the hammer is swinging, and not the direction they choose to DI. This is especially important because the move has little knockback.</li>
</ul>
<strong>Stone:</strong> Kirby hovers for a moment, and then comes crashing down in the form of a rock (or some other heavy object). Back in the day (Smash64 days) this move was the bane of casual players everywhere because of it’s high priority and killing power. I’ve heard of some people’s winning strategies consisted entirely of “jump up really high and then stone, over and over.” In Melee, the transformation is slower, the fall rate is slower, the damage is less, the knockback is less, the de-transformation is longer, and the rock form can take less hits before breaking. Now, I understand that Kirby was over powered back in the day, but this is not how a move should be balanced. Let’s see what we can do about this.
<ul>
<li>Keep the lag at during the de-transformation, and speed up the fall rate and the transformation.</li>
<li>Return the fearsome killing power of the stone or….</li>
<li>Instead of hitting enemies up and out, perhaps it makes more sense to squash and suppress enemies down. Remember how I described my version of the Falcon Kick? The same idea should be applied to Kirby’s stone. As an excellent edge guarding move, it would drag enemies down until Kirby de-transforms. If you think this is unbalanced because of Kirby’s high priority and speed (especially off the edge), consider this. The move is very predictable because it can only travel in one way at one speed. Straight down. If you happen to be on top of the rock (possibly landing on top of it) then Kirby’s body will act like a platform. And as Kirby is hovering there transforming back, you can always footstool him.</li>
<li>If they can give peach all sorts of random turnips to play with, then it’s not unreasonable to suggest that Kirby’s different rock forms should do different things. The spike ball should hurt those who try and grab it. The thwomp form should be able to slowly rise back up after crashing down to the ground. The Panel-de-pon block should be bigger than the other forms and have more squishing power.</li>
<li>If none of these options, then Kirby should be able to run around as a rock-kirby and do all of his normal moves. Perhaps with some super armor? (see video 1)</li>
</ul>
<p align="center"><img src="http://smashboards.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/kirby_by_koanne.jpg" alt="Kirby Simply Kirby" height="425" width="318" /></p>
<strong>Swallow/Powers:</strong> I saved the best for last. If it weren’t for this ability, Kirby would be little more than a pink snot on the curbside. Sounds harsh, but you have to understand that Kirby is the embodiment of freedom jovial spirits that manifests itself in the ability to <em>see it-do it </em>with child like wonder and ease. This ability is the reason why I picked Kirby over Yoshi back in the day. Because of this ability, I’ve lost hundreds maybe thousands of dollars in prize money, and a little piece of my mind and life along the way.
Taking powers involves two steps. 1) swallowing up enemies. 2) Hitting down on the stick. Kirby’s swallow ability would be his most controversial move if Kirby were just a little bit better than he is now. The ability to swallow up enemies, leap off the edge, and survive no matter what they do could have set the smash world on fire. But Kirby is no good, so nobody cared. Before we move on, this is what I have to suggest about just the Swallow ability.
<ul>
<li>Kirby should be able to suck in all physical matter. This includes items, assist characters, and other players.</li>
<li>Kirby’s swallow range shouldn’t decrease when in the air. It’s hard enough to suck up a moving target that can attack you. Making the swallow hit box super small wasn’t necessary.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to suck up multiple things at once if the timing is correct. Whether this means combined powers (more on that later) or it means that Kirby will receive a random power (like in his previous games), it does matter. This ability is a must.</li>
</ul>
Once Kirby gets a power, Kirby’s character is supposed to come to life, spaming unbridled destruction as the world bends their knees to him (especially Captain Falcon). Ok, maybe not so much, but I’m serious about Kirby’s powers being the main attraction of Kirby. In Smash64 and Melee, Kirby’s copied abilities were mostly very disappointing. To keep things simple, Kirby simply takes the Standard Special move of his enemies. There are a hand full of powers that Kirby can take that Kirby can use better than his opponents. A lot are practically useless. And there are some that are risible at best.
The good powers come from these characters: Falco. Fox. Sheik. Samus. Doctor Mario. Jigglypuff. Mario. Bowser. Mewtwo. All the other powers are not very good to terrible. Why would Kirby’s Falcon Punch, Shield Breaker, Yoshi tongue, Monkey Punch, Roy charge blade, and Icicle projectile be reduced to smaller ranged gimped versions of the original attacks? Here’s what needs to change.
<ul>
<li>Kirby should be able to take more than just Standard Special moves (B moves). Kirby’s moves from his games are always dynamic. In Melee, by just coping and replacing the B move, Kirby’s move aren’t. The root of this problem is found in the construction of each individual character. Fixing the all characters relieves some of the pressure in this area. But why can’t Kirby take and replace other moves from his enemies? Bottom line. I want Fox’s shine.</li>
<li>Kirby should take on properties of his enemies when he takes their powers. This means everything from their taught, to their voice, to their weight and “floatyness” to some degree.</li>
<li>Kirby’s powers SHOULD NOT be expelled randomly when taking damage. Holding and using powers is what Kirby is. I don’t want to randomly lose all my hard work getting powers because Fox or Falco shot me with a laser. I can’t dodge them all! The only way this should stay in is if the swallow attack where easier to pull off. Maybe something as simple as a combo from a grab. Sounds dangerous.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to take powers from items and assist characters in addition to characters.</li>
<li>Kirby should be able to combine powers. Now I understand that this sounds like a lot of work. But, it’s not as complicated as it seems. Not all combinations of powers need to yield a unique result. Ultimately, this would be icing on the cake.</li>
</ul>
Check these videos out if you need inspiration.
<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=1vdlEH0yFbg">Video 1</a>
<a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=0TWaPdPgX9s">Video 2</a>
And now for some matches of me and some of my friends. You can see just how weak Kirby is. I use my B moves as best I can, but overall Kirby is just not good enough. The Sheik needle play in the beginning of match 2 is hilarious though.
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkkxYKUt6A">Match 1</a>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhkkxYKUt6A">Match 2</a>
<a href="http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtG3B-aO_E0">Match 3</a>
Too strong the first time. Too weak the second. Third times a charm? Come one Sakurai!
