Guide [SSB4] Kirby's Epic Guide (ver. 2.1)

[Asdioh]

Kirby feels better on the WiiU, you can actually combo into smashes more easily thanks to the c-stick. Problem is, every other character feels better on the WiiU too. I personally still need to get used to the stick, I'm too gentle with it sometimes thanks to being used to the 3DS circle pad, and I often don't press up far enough to do an uptilt. And sometimes I press up too far so instead of doing a jump->upair, I do an upsmash! (I have tap jump on and don't plan on turning it off)

Stealing the ledge is good, you can either stand near the edge of the stage and run off -> instantly grab ledge once your opponent grabs it, or you can float above the ledge and fastfall onto it when they grab. This is tougher though, because Kirby can't fastfall mid-jump.

 

[Ansou]

Kirby feels better on the WiiU, you can actually combo into smashes more easily thanks to the c-stick.

I also had some trouble doing SH aerials consistently on the 3DS, but I feel that I have pretty much no problems with that on the Wii U, which helps me a lot.

 

[Rochette]

I train my Amiibo Kirby with all we know at this time. Really great sparing partner but he has some trouble to success some things (spiking with cutter or Bair on wall or Dair Footstool etc). I'll upload a video later.

The most important thing I noticed it's how a real Gamecube controller is good... I have to test all settings possible, I want to see if you can make "short-short hop" like Ganon in Brawl.

Other thing : Don't underestimate the tip of Dair. You can bait very well in edgegarding and you have to focus on the foot of your opponent when he shield.

 

[EMPEROR Eevee]

Sup guys. I don't normally post here, but I seriously need help with Kirby or I'll end up dropping this game because I only wanna use Kirby(maybe Zelda as well). The nerfs Kirby received REALLY hurt him. I've been playing for about 2 weeks now (so has everyone else) and I feel that Kirby isn't that great. Here's a few reasons why:

~No combos off of throws: Now I've seen many times throughout this thread of you guys saying you D-throw/F-throw into this or that. You can't. I've been punished multiple times by my training partners and players at tournaments(by punished, I mean they shield and then punish me with grab or their next fastest move.). After a certain percent, if they don't tech, they can be hit with a F-smash/Up-smash/D-smash(this is around 100-120%). Granted, certain characters have been hit with F-throw > F-air > Grab, but that's it and I still need to test which characters this officially works on. Out of D-Air, he gets a free grab, which you can't combo off of.

~Not so great of a recovery: His recovery is HIGHLY punishable. I can't recall how many time's I've been knocked out of it and died or was lucky enough to get knocked back onto the stage from being hit by my opponent.

~The redesign of his hammer: The charge with his hammer is just awful in my opinion. Doubles is the only time that hammer should ever be used. It's highly punishable if whiffed or blocked. Give Kirby back his Brawl hammer and this wouldn't be a problem honestly.

~Inhale is still not a command grab/has more ending lag: This is just my own opinion since I've felt that his inhale should go through shields for the longest. Getting certain abilities really do help Kirby in MU's, but being knocked out of it or being punished for using it cause of it's ending lag is bad for him.

~Up-throw kills but not early enough: Rosalina(in rage) can kill an opponent at 25% with Up-air, but Kirby(In rage) can't kill with Up-throw with an opponent at 90-125%(off of the top platform on Battlefield and the raising, middle platform on Town and Country City)

This is pretty much I've noticed and what has been pointed out by my training partners. I honestly feel that i'll end up dropping this game if I don't notice any improvement in both my self and/or Kirby(Meaning, Kirby needs buffs. And I hope they patch this game periodically). I placed 5th at my first tournament with Kirby and this is how it went.

Round 1: Kirby vs Sheik/Cpt. Falcon
Result: I win 3-0: Lucky win for me since I know the player very welcome and had no problem picking up and capitalizing off of his bad habits.

Round 2: Kirby vs Greninja/Sheik
Result: I win 3-0: Another young player who had obvious bad habits that I caught up on. However, this guy's Greninja did give me trouble since I knew nothing of the character.

Round 3: Kirby vs Marth
Result: Marth won 3-0: Just like in Brawl, Kirby still loses to Marth because of his range. My patience's didn't matter because of his defensive play-style with Marth once he obtained the lead. I also found it hard to gimp him, probably because I was getting frustrated.

Round 4: Kirby vs Link
Result: Link won 3-2: I had trouble in the beginning but, tried my best to bring it back. This match went down to last hit. If I had not tried D-air into F-smash and instead D-air > Grab > Back-throw and then attempt the gimp him, I could have won, but instead got punished and lost my last stock.

That's pretty much it with this post. I'll be posting/recording videos with my training partners as soon as I can so I get further feedback from you guys.

 

[EMPEROR Eevee]

Also, I almost forgot about this. Despite the downfalls listed in my previous post, Kirby seems to be an amazing Doubles Character. Being that D-air combos into grab's, this helps with setups and racking up damage. Here's some examples of combos that me and one of my training partners came up with Meta Knight and Kirby.

~D-throw
~D-air
~Grab>D-throw
^Kirby's D-air wastes enough for the opponent to be grabbed again allowing for another MK D-throw. Follow the D-throw with Kirby's D-air into the following setups:

Setup 1(Swag Combo):
~Grab>F-throw
~SH D-air (Knocking them towards Kirby)
~Up-B (Do this immediately after the F-throw. Might need to DI back so as not to hit your teammate with the last hit of it.)
~Grab (Kirby's Up-B send them down and towards MK to grab them. It's tech-able at certain percents to be watchful)
~Charge Hammer

Setup 2:
~Grab
~Charge Hammer

Setup 3:
~Grab>D-throw
~Down-B (You have to get into position for this one.)

Setup 4:
~Grab>F-throw
~Up-B (MK has to get in position for this. Basically, rolls so that your back is facing Kirby and Up-B once Kirby throws.)

Note*: For the Hammer Setups, excluding the first one, opponents may break out of the grab for obvious reasons. Do one of the following:

A. Hit them before the charge is full or before they break out: Either it kill or it won't. IF preformed right, they will have around 80-110% anyways.

B. Hit MK and your opponent before fully charging your hammer: If MK isn't in kill percent and your opponent doesn't die, this is a great option. With MK being launched as well, he gets a follow-up, which has a great chance of your launched opponent being killed with Up-Air, Up-B, N-air, etc. And with you on the ground, you can punish his landing.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

Welcome to Kirby, using him means you have to work hard for your victory, and some match ups can run circles around us all day and we can't do much about it. The best advice I can give it to try to bait and condition your opponent and try play mind games. Warning: It's still going to be an uphill battle. The character's flaws and lack of options really stick out and really hurt him.

Apparently, judging from the character competitive threads, he seems to be widely considered low tier or among the worst characters in the game. It sometimes feel like the only ones who don't see him as trash is us. He's better than he was in brawl, but unfortunately most every body else has better options. Like nearly half the cast having better recovery than Kirby.

Speaking of options, try using his customs, I like like the upper cutter, it greatly outclasses the other cutter selections, and has even netted me kills at around 100-130% in mid air. We can also use it to gimp people via stage spike, it's also a nice, quick recovery. We can also use it to finish off combo strings. I tend to use it whenever customs turned on, and I've grown to hate the default set.

Also try out jump inhale.

 

[Rochette]

Speaking of options, try using his customs, I like like the upper cutter, it greatly outclasses the other cutter selectialso use it to gimp people via stage spike, it's also a nice, quick recovery. We can also use it to finish off combo strings. I tend to use it whenever customs turned on, and I've grown to hate the default set.

Also try out jump inhale.

I disagree... That's not the solution. The most important tourney are custom off. I think all of us needs more training against the whole cast.

 

[GrnFzzTgr]

That's too bad then, because Kirby's normal specials are pretty poor, situational and punishable. While some of his customs help us out a bit in the options and pressure department.

Doesn't effect me since I don't go to tournaments, but that would still suck for tourney goers. Customs can make a seemingly non viable character, viable I feel. Upper cutter for instance, seems to assist Kirby's recovery off stage game, and mix-up game. While the normals leave him feeling more limited.

 

[Asdioh]

The most important tourney are custom off.

Says who though? Apex is going to have customs off, but that's just because it's so soon after the game's release and they're comfortable. I'd recommend getting in some customs practice because I believe they are the FUTURE. The amount of diversity and viability they bring to the game is too much to dismiss.

 

[gameplayzero]

Says who though? Apex is going to have customs off, but that's just because it's so soon after the game's release and they're comfortable. I'd recommend getting in some customs practice because I believe they are the FUTURE. The amount of diversity and viability they bring to the game is too much to dismiss.

its not set and stone, but the last few tourney's for wii u version didn't have them. Hell I don't even think any wii u tourney so far has allowed customs. Once the game is understood a bit more, there will be more custom tourneys. I agree with that last sentence though. It can make a nonviable character fairly viable against certain match ups which equals more variety.

 

[Asdioh]

Well of course... I've been grinding customs heavily and I still barely have over 200/376. This is outrageous and needs to be patched, but who knows where Nintendo's head is.
If they ever fix this nonsense, customs WILL be the standard, unless they're so horrifically broken that we need to ban specific ones, in which case that'll be a nightmare.

 

[EMPEROR Eevee]

Welcome to Kirby, using him means you have to work hard for your victory, and some match ups can run circles around us all day and we can't do much about it. The best advice I can give it to try to bait and condition your opponent and try play mind games. Warning: It's still going to be an uphill battle. The character's flaws and lack of options really stick out and really hurt him.

Apparently, judging from the character competitive threads, he seems to be widely considered low tier or among the worst characters in the game. It sometimes feel like the only ones who don't see him as trash is us. He's better than he was in brawl, but unfortunately most every body else has better options. Like nearly half the cast having better recovery than Kirby.

Speaking of options, try using his customs, I like like the upper cutter, it greatly outclasses the other cutter selections, and has even netted me kills at around 100-130% in mid air. We can also use it to gimp people via stage spike, it's also a nice, quick recovery. We can also use it to finish off combo strings. I tend to use it whenever customs turned on, and I've grown to hate the default set.

Also try out jump inhale.

He's not trash tier, but he is High Low Tier. He is most definitely not better in this game than in Brawl. Also, customs are banned in my area.

 

[gameplayzero]

He's not trash tier, but he is High Low Tier. He is most definitely not better in this game than in Brawl. Also, customs are banned in my area.

I think its too early to speculate that he is high low tier. Jigglypuff was bottom tier for the longest time in melee till later. I know the competitive scene has grown since then by a lot, but we really need to wait. Game has barely been out for Wii U and while 3Ds version has been out for a long time, its not really the most competitive platform.

 

[EMPEROR Eevee]

I think its too early to speculate that he is high low tier. Jigglypuff was bottom tier for the longest time in melee till later. I know the competitive scene has grown since then by a lot, but we really need to wait. Game has barely been out for Wii U and while 3Ds version has been out for a long time, its not really the most competitive platform.

I understand that, but Kirby really has nothing going from him. He is a pretty simple character and there's not much to find for him.

 

[gameplayzero]

I understand that, but Kirby really has nothing going from him. He is a pretty simple character and there's not much to find for him.

I agree with you, and in the past I often wondered why I couldn't do anything against ranged characters (given kirby's bad approach options). It can be frustrating too given how defensive this game is atm lol.

 

[EMPEROR Eevee]

I agree with you, and in the past I often wondered why I couldn't do anything against ranged characters (given kirby's bad approach options). It can be frustrating too given how defensive this game is atm lol.

Oh god is it frustrating. In my scene, we have the following characters:



I'm honestly surprised I even made 5th at the tournament.

 

[Unknownkid]

Look! We can sit here and whine about how much Kirby "suck" compared to other characters or we can pull Isai by figure the ins and out of our beloved character so that we can conquer the competitive scene. You make the decision! Very few make the right choice.

Oh god is it frustrating. In my scene, we have the following characters:



I'm honestly surprised I even made 5th at the tournament.

See look! Based on your MU chart, you should have done worst but you did not. Congratulation! Your hard work is paying off. I hope your strive will get to top 3 then eventually 1st place.

 

[gameplayzero]

Look! We can sit here and whine about how much Kirby "suck" compared to other characters or we can pull Isai by figure the ins and out of our beloved character so that we can conquer the competitive scene. You make the decision! Very few make the right choice.



See look! Based on your MU chart, you should have done worst but you did not. Congratulation! Your hard work is paying off. I hope your strive will get to top 3 then eventually 1st place.

forget that. I'm trying to pull a chudat.

 

[EMPEROR Eevee]

Look! We can sit here and whine about how much Kirby "suck" compared to other characters or we can pull Isai by figure the ins and out of our beloved character so that we can conquer the competitive scene. You make the decision! Very few make the right choice.



See look! Based on your MU chart, you should have done worst but you did not. Congratulation! Your hard work is paying off. I hope your strive will get to top 3 then eventually 1st place.

I'm not whining, just trying to get you guys to understand he's not a great as some of us may think. We pretty much know his Ins-and-outs so that's solved. Right now, we need to compile an MU chart that we can all agree on, along with detailed descriptions on what to do in said MU's.

 

[Aunt Jemima]

I'm not whining, just trying to get you guys to understand he's not a great as some of us may think. We pretty much know his Ins-and-outs so that's solved. Right now, we need to compile an MU chart that we can all agree on, along with detailed descriptions on what to do in said MU's.

Nobody here ever thought he was great in the first place.

 

[MyNameIsEd]

Hold B. Walk off edge. Best Kirby move.

 

[t!MmY]

Updates to the guide are underway!

I've collapsed all the sections so that the guide is easier to browse.
I've also added a chart for Star Shot damage done with all characters!

I'll continue to add here and there as I find the time.
Enjoy!

 

[MaximTomato]

Kirby's Final Cutter Spike Video Tutorial
-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdn0-0t4_mw&feature=youtu.be

I promised a tutorial and here it is! It goes through four different ways that you can get the spike. Hope you guys could get something out of it! I'll have a written version later because there is only so much info that you could fit into a video.

 

[gameplayzero]

Kirby's Final Cutter Spike Video Tutorial
-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sdn0-0t4_mw&feature=youtu.be

I promised a tutorial and here it is! It goes through four different ways that you can get the spike. Hope you guys could get something out of it! I'll have a written version later because there is only so much info that you could fit into a video.

I love the kirby super star music going along with this. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Rochette]

Thanks for sharing ! I looking for a video for that. Kirby have a lot of possibilities to gimp opponent.

D-Air + Footstool and D-Air again is pretty useful for me.

D-Air in diagonal could be surprising if initiate on the edge.
We also have N-Air and B-Air for the bounce on the wall.
The stone has some advantages too, like the hammer and inhale but they have to follow a good slide of the edge and great knowledge of the character's opponents.

The knockback of the star of inhale is funny. If a kirby manage to hop backward and inhale of the edge...

I also see a cuttercide done under an opponent grabbing the ledge by a kirby desperate who was under the stage.

Just some of my thoughts.

 

[MaximTomato]

@ gameplayzero : Thanks! I like the music too, it has a mellow feel to it

@ Rochette : Yeah, Kirby has a lot of options to choose from. D-Air is definitely one of my favorites though, pretty much anything that can spike either in the air or off the walls. I haven't really used inhale or hammer too much in kirby's ledge game yet. I'll try it out though!

 

[Ansou]

I'm sure many of you have seen this:
http://smashboards.com/threads/the-return-of-wavedashing-perfect-pivoting-might-be-just-that.383292/
Do you people think this is useful for Kirby? Apparently Kirby slides 3.5 squares on omega Windy Hills, which seems very average. I can imagine doing a perfect pivot into b-air could be useful and maybe even perfect pivot to u-tilt to start a juggle (doesn't sound very safe, though). It seems a little troublesome getting used to, but what do you all think?

 

[Aunt Jemima]

I'm sure many of you have seen this:
http://smashboards.com/threads/the-return-of-wavedashing-perfect-pivoting-might-be-just-that.383292/
Do you people think this is useful for Kirby? Apparently Kirby slides 3.5 squares on omega Windy Hills, which seems very average. I can imagine doing a perfect pivot into b-air could be useful and maybe even perfect pivot to u-tilt to start a juggle (doesn't sound very safe, though). It seems a little troublesome getting used to, but what do you all think?

I, personally, won't be spending time learning this. For such a short slide, it won't really help Kirby as much as some other characters.

Anyways, I'm finally going to start updating threads! Sorry for being so lazy.

 

[Ansou]

I, personally, won't be spending time learning this. For such a short slide, it won't really help Kirby as much as some other characters.

Anyways, I'm finally going to start updating threads! Sorry for being so lazy.

I kinda agree that it doesn't seem super useful for Kirby, but I'll probably practise it in the future just for the sake of it. Not right now, though, as I have other priorities.

Yay nice that you'll be updating threads! I guess that you've had other things to do as well.

 

[Aunt Jemima]

I kinda agree that it doesn't seem super useful for Kirby, but I'll probably practise it in the future just for the sake of it. Not right now, though, as I have other priorities.

Yay nice that you'll be updating threads! I guess that you've had other things to do as well.

Nah, I've just been a bit too lazy. Going to be keeping a better check on these boards and constantly update threads for now on, as nothing is really going on regarding Kirby, whereas other boards have tons of activity.

 

[Cryz]

Guys we really need a matchup section in this guide or maybe an official matchup thread

 

[Aunt Jemima]

Guys we really need a matchup section in this guide or maybe an official matchup thread

Going to create that in a bit. The current MU thread never gets updated, so... yeah.

 

[Ansou]

Going to create that in a bit. The current MU thread never gets updated, so... yeah.

Something I would kinda want is a sticky with links to one thread for each MU, but I guess that would just be a too massive part of the Kirby forum.

 

[t!MmY]

Do you people think this is useful for Kirby? Apparently Kirby slides 3.5 squares on omega Windy Hills, which seems very average. I can imagine doing a perfect pivot into b-air could be useful and maybe even perfect pivot to u-tilt to start a juggle (doesn't sound very safe, though). It seems a little troublesome getting used to, but what do you all think?

I've been using pivots since Brawl (they didn't call them 'perfect pivots back then, so I'm not giong to bother calling 'em that now). They seem to be about the same in SSB4, and with pratfalls gone they are technically more beneficial to integrate into movement.

As far as pivots with Kirby... they're still meh. I've been using them with various characters and they seem to be much more useful for faster characters, just as they were in Brawl. One technique I've been implementing is what you were talking about though: pivot into U-tilt. It's very nice to do, but the technical command required sort of makes going for a more guarenteed option more desirable right now (i.e. run up and grab or jump-cancel into aerial).

I really love doing pivots with Falcon, though.

 

[Asdioh]

Do you have any examples showing them in Brawl? I don't remember that.
...by pratfalls do you mean tripping? Why not just call it tripping ._.?

 

[Aunt Jemima]

Do you have any examples showing them in Brawl? I don't remember that.
...by pratfalls do you mean tripping? Why not just call it tripping ._.?

He's rather use those official names because it makes him sound more savvy.

 

[Triple R]

Yeah, pretty sure pivots have been in every smash game.

 

[Kirbymeister]

great job on this guide!
been studying the combo section, it's quite good!
once again, great job T!mmy!

 

[t!MmY]

Yeah, pretty sure pivots have been in every smash game.

Yeah, I remember way back when I was learning N64 Kirby tech (this was mid-Brawl era) and I started implementing pivots into my game. It was probably already known at the time, but I generally just find out stuff by going into training mode instead of looking things up. I was like... "I wonder if this works in Brawl" and lo and behold it did.

Do you have any examples showing them in Brawl? I don't remember that.
...by pratfalls do you mean tripping? Why not just call it tripping ._.?

I don't think I made any example videos of pivots in Brawl. Near the end of Brawl I was picking up Sheik because she had some of the most fun tech in the game (and I really like playing fast, technical characters). There might be a video randomly floating around on the internet with me using Sheik in friendlies when a stream was running, though.

In regards to SSB4 and pivots: I feel like all iterations of turning/sliding/dashing/running will be important movement options but they will benefit the faster characters more. I've been using them just because they were already present in my playstyle, but using them at a very 'precise' level of play will take a lot more practice. I think I might have foreshadowed my thoughts on this already back in the early release of SSB4 when I said that this game will get to be very impressive/hype/technical or something along those lines.

 

[Bacon1086]

So I made an account just because I really felt I had to give you all my information about Kirby, and hopefully make us all better.

I think the Stone move is the most overlooked move Kirby has. His ability to fly so far let's him get into position to drop down as a Stone very accurately. If you press B down again right after you hit your target you transform back so there is not a lot of lag time in and out of the move. I'm not saying only fight with the Stone attack, but I think it is a key aspect of playing with Kirby just because of the KO potential, and you can use it to bring Kirby down closer to the ground faster to decrease fall time. I may be totally crazy, but everything I read says that this move is so so bad and lists it's negatives, but I really think it's key to making Kirby a much much more powerful character to play with.

bkdunker~