Taking Kirby to the next level

[KiLoKirby]

As a Kirby main, it is very challenging to play high level characters. With his light weight and lack of speed I've had shortcomings with Kirby against really good players, but I feel like over time I have really gotten better with him. People complain of his lack of approach but I feel like people aren't giving themselves room for error. Literally all his moves that aren't "viable" have helped me completely blindside players. His down b is an amazing mind tool if you time it right, and is a great shield breaker. His side special is good for edge guarding unsuspecting opponents, and you can force specific get ups and punish accordingly. His up special can space as well, and can combo from fthrow. His fair is an amazing tool to use especially if you opponent likes to air dodge as it is a multi hit move, and his tilts are amazing and can lead to some insane combos. And let's not even mention his dair and dtilt which are amazing. I just really think mixing your game and staying unpredictable is key to playing as a Kirby, and sometimes it is hard to approach but to me he's the kind of character to bait opponent mistakes. Not every character is supposed to be aggressive. I just am hoping he gets buffed, and I'm really excited about how far I can go with him. Does anybody have any new play styles, combos, or strategies with him? I just think that he can be a huge threat to the so called top tiers

 

[FKA Kobra]

I personally like to play a more aggressive Kirby. While it doesn't work well against some characters I can usually adjust it to be less or more aggressive. I can usually rack up a lot of damage with combos and Kirby has plenty of KO power. Also one thing I think more Kirbys should do is more shield pressure. Kirby can force opponents in shield a lot and he has many good shield pressure options like all his tilts and some aerials, and down b and side b both can break shields. He has many mixups so its mostly about mind games and being unpredictable. I personally feel like if I can't beat someone its just because they are better than me and not because im playing Kirby.

 

[t!MmY]

His down b is an amazing mind tool if you time it right, and is a great shield breaker. His side special is good for edge guarding unsuspecting opponents,

Sure Stone can be used for mind games and shield breaking, and Hammer can hit unsuspecting opponents. How often can you pull these situations off each game? How often will it continue to work on smart players as they learn the match-up against Kirby? I personally wouldn't attach tropes like 'amazing' or even 'good' to these moves.

Kirby's special attacks are widely regarded across the community as difficult to use and don't really have as good of a reward for how much risk is put behind them. The buffs they've received up until now are helping address the issues with these moves, but even after all the patchwork, Kirby's special attacks are far from top notch or even notably good.

 

[Mega-Spider]

What Kirby needs is a kill throw. With an U-Throw being an explosive pile driver, you'd think that would be a kill move, but it's not. :/
Hopefully in a future update, they make U-Throw a kill throw. Besides, if they can buff Kirby's F-Throw into a combo throw, I don't see why they can't give him a kill throw.

 

[|RK|]

I play too aggressively. The best way to play Kirby is campy af. If you win neutral, go in, but don't overextend. Rinse and repeat.

One thing I don't see often is active use of copy abilities. Most projectiles help Kirby a lot. You can play significantly safer. Actually, I don't get why star shot is used so often... Kirby's issues lie in his approach, so why send your enemy away from you for less damage?

Use Copy Abilities to help you pick your moments and harass your enemies. Some abilities are obviously suboptimal (Sonic, Ganon, Falcon, Yoshi, etc.), but you have no excuse for not copying, say, Mario or Link.

 

[Altair357]

You can't play that campy or you'll just get zoned out. Kirby wants to stay close to his opponent since once he gets shut out, it's pretty hard to get back in. He's not that mobile either so staying at the edge sucks since you're just limiting your own options. Kirby likes playing the stalker game and breathing down his opponent's neck all the time, so he's very reaction based. Trust me I'm a doctor.

 

[PAC_CEO]

You can't play that campy or you'll just get zoned out. Kirby wants to stay close to his opponent since once he gets shut out, it's pretty hard to get back in. He's not that mobile either so staying at the edge sucks since you're just limiting your own options. Kirby likes playing the stalker game and breathing down his opponent's neck all the time, so he's very reaction based. Trust me I'm a doctor.

I concur. Kirby tends to be very reaction based at times. F-air can often work as a punish on the ground (By backing away immediately it can also punish back rolls sometimes), and so can f-tilt and d-tilt if spaced properly. I also notice players like MikeKirby and Poyo going in for a lot of grabs to punish ranged fighters, although this requires optimum spacing to account for Kirby's running speed. However, it'll still get them in the air or off the stage. His grab distance also allows him to catch the opponent if they roll backward, or even dash attack perhaps. In the air Kirby's multiple jumps act as an awesome baiting/punishing tool, although again his lack of mid-air speed makes this challenging. However, if you can correctly use the multiple jumps, Kirby can fast fall into any aerial upon reaction, even b-air for a possible kill.
It seems to me like most of Kirby's approaches require some sort of read, and that's actually something I like about Kirby. And reactionary doesn't necessarily mean you can't play aggressive, there are still ways to rush down an opponent if you're safe about it.

As for the specials, down-b had always been useful to me. Yes, you can go entire matches without using it, but it still has potential in some situations. For example, it is a misconception that Kirby can only use it straight above opponent. I often use it when an opponent jumps/air dodges toward the stage; if you're quick about it, you can catch them in the middle of their jump arc/air dodge and down-b right under them. The very top of the hitbox still connects and they fall right into it. The timing is very, very tricky, but it feels super satisfying when done successfully. If your opponent is getting worn down and super on edge, you can sometimes bait a smash attack by using it up high, then you just cancel and down-b again and punish the smash, although most players are smart enough to avoid this. As someone already said, u-tilt and down-b tend to be my main shield break tools, and Hammer Flip is probably the best punish for a shield break. It can kill at relatively low percents, making it a valuable tool to have. As for up-b, I mainly only use it for extended vertical recovery, and for punish For Glory Sonic players who only use spindash... I didn't know it can combo from f-throw though, thanks for the tip!

Anyway, sorry for the long reply, I'm new here and just thought I'd share some info. This sub-forum is a blessing.

 

[TimG57867]

The only way Kirby will get to the next level is if they give him a usable Final Cutter and Up Throw and actually quick aerials and smash attacks.

Seriously though, while we're speaking of underutilized techniques, I am wonder if we could find any significant value in Kirby's B-Reversed Inhale. We probably don't talk about it much because of Kirby's bad air speed but I imagine you could catch your foes off guard by looking like you want to space yourself away and then fooling them by B-Reversing an Inhale as they try to get you. I could especially see a lot of use out of it when you're cornered on the edge of the stage. We should also take note of which copied powers work well with a B-Reverse as well. Even with the poor air speed, I'd imagine and Sheik's B-Reverse powers could be quite useful.

One thing I don't see often is active use of copy abilities. Most projectiles help Kirby a lot. You can play significantly safer. Actually, I don't get why star shot is used so often... Kirby's issues lie in his approach, so why send your enemy away from you for less damage?

Use Copy Abilities to help you pick your moments and harass your enemies. Some abilities are obviously suboptimal (Sonic, Ganon, Falcon, Yoshi, etc.), but you have no excuse for not copying, say, Mario or Link.

I fully agree with this. Because of how busy I am with college, I am unable to perfect all those spectacular F-Throw combos Kirby can do against fast fallers like F-Throw -> Up Air > Pivot Up Tilt that can lead into Inhale. But for some reason, I find often the Kirby's who can do this, even the masterful ones like Triple R and Mike Kirby, often don't opt for Inhale. Even when against a character the ability would really help against like Sheik. Whenever I play Kirby, I always keep my opponents power in mind and if their power is really good, I always prioritize getting it over building a little extra damage if possible. Due to Kirby's poor approach, I feel he benefits more in the long run from getting a new long range option and than a little extra percent. Especially if it's someone like Pikachu, Greninja, or Sheik.

I concur. Kirby tends to be very reaction based at times. F-air can often work as a punish on the ground (By backing away immediately it can also punish back rolls sometimes), and so can f-tilt and d-tilt if spaced properly. I also notice players like MikeKirby and Poyo going in for a lot of grabs to punish ranged fighters, although this requires optimum spacing to account for Kirby's running speed. However, it'll still get them in the air or off the stage. His grab distance also allows him to catch the opponent if they roll backward, or even dash attack perhaps. In the air Kirby's multiple jumps act as an awesome baiting/punishing tool, although again his lack of mid-air speed makes this challenging. However, if you can correctly use the multiple jumps, Kirby can fast fall into any aerial upon reaction, even b-air for a possible kill.
It seems to me like most of Kirby's approaches require some sort of read, and that's actually something I like about Kirby. And reactionary doesn't necessarily mean you can't play aggressive, there are still ways to rush down an opponent if you're safe about it.

As for the specials, down-b had always been useful to me. Yes, you can go entire matches without using it, but it still has potential in some situations. For example, it is a misconception that Kirby can only use it straight above opponent. I often use it when an opponent jumps/air dodges toward the stage; if you're quick about it, you can catch them in the middle of their jump arc/air dodge and down-b right under them. The very top of the hitbox still connects and they fall right into it. The timing is very, very tricky, but it feels super satisfying when done successfully. If your opponent is getting worn down and super on edge, you can sometimes bait a smash attack by using it up high, then you just cancel and down-b again and punish the smash, although most players are smart enough to avoid this. As someone already said, u-tilt and down-b tend to be my main shield break tools, and Hammer Flip is probably the best punish for a shield break. It can kill at relatively low percents, making it a valuable tool to have. As for up-b, I mainly only use it for extended vertical recovery, and for punish For Glory Sonic players who only use spindash... I didn't know it can combo from f-throw though, thanks for the tip!

Anyway, sorry for the long reply, I'm new here and just thought I'd share some info. This sub-forum is a blessing.

Nice to have you!

 

[Purin a.k.a. José]

im so good i took kirby to the next level, i wrecked 20 people in a row in for fun with my secret strategy no one knows: i use my five jumps and bam stone above everyone
...
I don't know if I'm the only one, but something that many characters don't have and Kirby has is the fact Kirby can be unpredictable. A infamous example, Zero Suit Samus. She's a very good character, and you may have difficulty against her, but other than that she can get very predictable on strategy. Like, everyone has it's own playstyle. But, there is nobody who won't use her D-Throw -> Up-air -> Up-air -> Up-B setup at least once.
Kirby, despite not being nowhere as good as ZSS ( ;-; ), doesn't have this "defect", he has to use the little stuff he has in hand... "How is this good?!" you may ask. It's a good thing because it's up to the player on how you have to do your stuff... and it can get very unpredictable. That's one thing that makes Kirby a character easy to pick up, hard to actually win stuff. He's quick but not fast. He's hard to hit but not to kill. His recovery is good but exploitable. He doesn't kill early but hits hard. All this stuff makes him mostly to be a character on the middle, one in that the player can make up its own playstyle and do its own thing in order to play to win. A passive style is fine, as a more aggressive one is too. You can choose to edgeguard the heck out of the opponent, but you can also retreat and choose a read-heavy style. You just need to keep doing the less mistakes possible and keep the pace, because Kirby may not be able to keep up if he starts losing.

Edit: LOL I ended up not talking about taking Kirby to the next level. In my opinion taking Kirby to the next level is mostly about playing with your opponent, knowing when to use certain strategy and not being to passive, not too aggressive... Being patient is the key. Mastering Inhale is a must too as it brings another trick to the table, one that may give you the comeback. As I said before, it all comes to controlling the pace of the match, because it may be hard to get it back once the opponent finds a opening on you.

 

[|RK|]

You can't play that campy or you'll just get zoned out. Kirby wants to stay close to his opponent since once he gets shut out, it's pretty hard to get back in. He's not that mobile either so staying at the edge sucks since you're just limiting your own options. Kirby likes playing the stalker game and breathing down his opponent's neck all the time, so he's very reaction based. Trust me I'm a doctor.

That's true too. But for projectiles Kirby can abuse better than his opponent, the idea is forcing them to come for you in the first place. I think that's something that would work for Mario if he didn't have his cape and Nair. Among other things.

Either way, I feel like I used the wrong term. "Patient af" is probably better. I guess "campy af" implies a lack of constant pressure, which every character needs on defense, tbh. My bad.

 

[KenMeister]

I dunno, sometimes being too patient can backfire if an opponent has the MU down and is prepared to retreat and space out to the point of possibly timing you out, I know it's happened with me vs a Villager before (still won but eh). I'd like to say Kirby would probably thrive off of high risk/ high reward pressure, where he's constantly on top of his opponent going for reactional/ prediction punishes, where he can read movement with FF nair, jumps, pp utilt or pivot grab. Take the conversion opportunity from there and read stuff like jumps and airdodges and Kirby can easily turn a match around.

 

[Simperheve]

Being somewhat patient with Kirby can pay off big, as Kirby's got some decent combo potential when you find an appropriate punish window. Notably I find Dair - > X number of Utilts - > Uair and Fthrow - > Fair to be decent damage builders. Also, Kirby's Ftlit and Dtilt come out fairly quickly and so allow you to shift the momentum from your opponent. Kirby has some tools to play aggressively once you're in close, but his approach could really do with more work. What needs to be figured out is Kirby's optimum approach options, and I guess to see more people experiment with various matchups.

 

[PAC_CEO]

Being somewhat patient with Kirby can pay off big, as Kirby's got some decent combo potential when you find an appropriate punish window. Notably I find Dair - > X number of Utilts - > Uair and Fthrow - > Fair to be decent damage builders.

These make up a large part of my Kirby gameplay. D-air - > u-tilt juggle - > u-air(s) can rack up 40% real quick on heavy characters. Start it off with f-throw - > fastfall u-air and Kirby can potentially break 50% off of one string. D-air can sometimes be a pain to land, but the f-throw combos into f-air and u-air at certain percents really solidify Kirby's punish game.

Kirby has some tools to play aggressively once you're in close, but his approach could really do with more work. What needs to be figured out is Kirby's optimum approach options, and I guess to see more people experiment with various matchups.

Kirby's approach options are definitely a big concern. Kirby can get a lot of mileage out of punishes, but when forced to approach I think Kirby has some pretty solid mix-up options. The decent speed of Kirby's tilts, combined with other tools like HUP-cancelling and aerial spacing, give him a lot of ways to just be plain unpredictable in his approach, which is something I'd like to see looked into. I think there's still a lot to be explored. Other than that. the least creative approach option I can think of is probably fade away f-air, which can actually be quite difficult to punish when spaced correctly, and will combo into a second f-air at lower percents. Whenever I play distanced fighters like RosaLuma and Olimar I generally start off by spacing with f-air and n-air and looking for a window to land a f-air, or a grab.