In this Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kirby Guide, we will guide you on how to play if you choose Kirby as your character of choice in a fight. We will highlight all the moves that are specific to Kirby, plus his defending moves, special moves and his final smash. In addition, this guide will also give you a better understanding of his moves, for if you find yourself fighting against Kirby.

This guide will focus on Kirby’s attacks like neutral attacks, special attacks, and grounded attacks. We will also detailed the amount of damage each attack deals to an opponent. In the end, we will finish off with what his final smash looks like and what it does to your foe.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kirby Guide

Below we have listed all the attacks that are specific and special to Kirby. Refer to each attack for a better understanding of how Kirby combats in the stage.

Introduction

Kirby is a lightweight brawler with the unique ability to absorb attacks from opponents and use their own powers against them. He is the best beginners brawler in the game, especially considering his ability to get back on the stage after being pushed off. This helps with beginners who are not familiar with the tricks of getting back on the stage.

As a result, Kirby retains excellent aerial mobility and is one of the few fighters with five midair jumps that allow him to turn around in the air on demand. He also has superb overall speed when dashing.

Kirby also has a signature inhale where he can swallow incoming projectiles to absorb them to restore health.

Grounded Attacks

This section of the guide contains all the grounded attacks that Kirby can perform while on the stage.

Neutral Attacks

Kirby has 3 neutral attacks. The first attack deals 1.8 damage, the second deals 1.6 damage, while the third deals 0.2xN, 3 damage.

Kirby’s neutral attack is a lunge forward with left right two punch sequence, which then transitions into his rapid-fire Vulcan Jab into Smash Punch Combo, knocking the enemy away.

His jab starts up quickly and leaves him at an advantage when shielded, making it a safe effective defensive retaliation option that doesn’t require you to commit to grabbing animation.

The third neutral attack which is the Vulcan Jab, extends a much more pronounced hit effect, covering twice the range of the first two neutral attacks.

Dash Attack

Kirby’s Dash attack deals 10 damage. While dashing, Burning Kirby becomes a spiraling inferno torpedo that launches itself into the opponent, setting them ablaze and launching them away into the air.

While it is not a great move to throw haphazardly, you can use it to escape when being cornered.

Smashes

Kirby has three smash attacks.

Side Smash

This attack deals 15 damage, where Kirby winds up and springs forward with a horizontal flying kick that launches opponents up and away. It also deal a significant amount of damage at first, but has a lower damage lingering effect as Kirby moves forward.

Up Smash

This attack deals 15 damage, where Kirby delivers a somersault kick attack that extends in front of him and arcs behind, launching enemies sky-high. It is a best high risk, high reward attack if you can land it successfully, potentially even knocking out your opponent.

Down Smash

This attack deals 14 damage, where Kirby squashes down low and performs a cyclonic sweep attack that clears out opponents in front and behind him.

Defensive Attacks

Kirby has 2 defensive attacks. The first one is the Ledge Attack that deals 9 damage, while the second which is the Wake-up attack deals 7 damage.

Tilts

Kirby has three Tilt Attacks. All of which are detailed below.

Side Tilt

This attack deals 8 damage, where Kirby delivers a midrange side kick to enemy’s midsection, knocking them back slightly. This attack angled upward or downward for a flexibility.

Side Tilt is slower to start up but is relatively safe against shields and even more so when spaced out.

Up Tilt

This attack deals 4 damage, where Kirby performs a scorpion kick, lifting his leg from behind him and arching it over his head and then slightly in front of him. At higher percentages, it starts to launch much higher, and while you cant score a guaranteed attack, it puts your enemy at the risk of being knocked out.

Down Tilt

This attack deals 6 damage, where Kirby squashes himself into half the size and prods at the enemy’s legs with a low-profiling kick thrust.

Grabs

Kirby has 5 Grab attacks. The first Grab Attack deals 1 damage and is limited in range. The second is the Front Throw that dals 5 damage with a forward throw that knocks up for potential follow up. The third is the Back Throw that deals 8 damage. The next are the Up Throw and the Down throw that deal 10 and 10.2 damage respectively.

Aerial Attacks

This section of the guide will cover all the Aerial attacks that Kirby has.

Neutral Air Attack

This attack deals 10 damage, where Kirby spins around with his outstretched limbs while airborne, knocking nearby enemies. This attack ahs a long start up, but has a remarkable long window and low landing lag.

Neutral air attack greatly benefits from fast fall techniques, allowing you to full-hop and then react to an aggressive enemy beneath you with a neutral air attack canceled into fast fall, causing Kirby to smash down with his rounded hitbox.

You can also use the first hit of neutral air attack to go for advanced low-altitude combos. Short hop, neutral air attack canceled into fast fall for a one-hit neutral air attack pops up the enemy enough for you to combo into standing neutral attack combo, and against heavier fighters, you can even combo into your grab (at low percentages).

Forward Air Attack

This attack deals 4, 3, 5 damage, where while soaring, Kirby performs his Aerial Spin Kick Attack, which is a three hit horizontal kick combo. It is also a decent air to ground attack with low landing lag.

Back Air Attack

This attack deals 13 damage, where Kirby delivers a mighty double leg dropkick while midair, knocking enemies in range. It start up quickly, so use it to defend yourself as an out of shield short hop attack against enemies behind you.

Up Air Attack

This attack deals 9 damage, where Kirby does a backflip somersault, kicking out in front of him, then arcing the swing above and then behind.

While juggling with your repeated up tilt sequences, you can catch enemy double jumps with a short hop up air if you can predict it. Off of a low-altitude up air against low-percentage foes, you can continue to juggle with up tilt, repeatedly putting them in the same predicament (that is, until your up air attack and up tilt begin to launch at higher percentages).

You can attack with up air using short hop into fast fall up air, viable whether the enemy is behind or in front of you, thanks to the generous hitbox coverage. On hit, you can go into your up tilt loops.

Down Air Attack

This attack deals 1.3×5, 2, and land hit: 2, where Kirby performs a multi-hit corkscrew drilling attack that hits up to six times, with the final hit having a slight meteor smash effect. If he lands on the ground during the attack, he delivers a unique grounded double-sided attack that knocks foes away.

Special Moves

Kirby has 4 special moves. All of them are detailed below.

Neutral Special – Inhale

This attack deals 10 damage on Swallow, and 6 on Star Spit. In this attack, Kirby opens his maw and sucks in nearby foes and projectiles. Opponents within the range of the vortex and pulled in, then swallowed by the grab and left struggling inside his belly. Once inhaled, you can press the Special button or the down direction to absorb their powers, effectively replacing your neutral special with your victim’s.

Since there are 70 other characters, the inhale ability which allows Kirby to take the opponent’s neutral special attack gives him a crucial advantage over all the other characters. This also gives Kirby incredible potential based on who he is fighting. For instance if Kirby absorbs Ryu’s powers, he gains all three of Ryu’s Hadoken specials.

Side Special – Hammer Flip

This attack deals 19 to 35 ground damage, while 16 to 28 air damage. In this attack, Kirby pulls out a massive mallet, mustering up the strength to ignite it before unleashing a devastating swing that launches foes away. While Kirby is charging, you can move slowly and jump.

Hammer Flip is essentially an ultimate smash attack. It’s risky to use fishing for poking hits, and even riskier if you charge it up. It’s best used to threaten an anti-ledge-recovery attack against offstage foes and foes hanging on the ledge. You can hit some fighters as they ledge-hang, and with accurate timing, you can viciously punish ledge jumps.

If you can force an opponent to shield the attack, especially at max charge, it can decimate their shield health, leaving them vulnerable. If you break an opponent’s shield (such as with a low-altitude Stone Smash), you can land a charged Hammer Flip as the enemy is dazed.

Up Special – Final Cutter

This attack deals 5, 2, 5 damage, where Kirby whips out a sword and leaps high into the air with a rising slash before descending with a follow up diving attack that causes a small shockwave as he touches back down, launching opponents hit by it to go up and away. During the descend, Kirby’s trajectory can also be changed.

Final cutter is Kirby’s main recovery special, as its high velocity and large hitbox as he is launched make it a strong offstage recovery tool, allowing you to hit enemies near the edge as you go for a ledge grab.

Down Special – Stone

This attack deals 15 damage. While grounded, Kirby performs the Stone Change. As he transforms into a Stone, he launches nearby enemies up and away. While he transforms while airborne, Kirby performs his Stone Smash, slamming into the ground below him and spiking foes. Kirby also becomes resistant to attacks when in stone form, ignoring weaker attacks, while taking half damage from powerful ones.

Aerial Stone performed at a very low altitude can be difficult to punish against slower fighters, as Kirby can pop out of his Stone form while the opponent is still in shield-stun. At high altitudes, Kirby isn’t actionable until the entire move ends, unless the attack makes contact. In this case, Kirby is actionable much earlier, even if the attack is shielded. If spaced high enough, you can connect with Stone on top of an enemy’s head, bouncing off safely.

While recovering from a tumbling state near a ledge, you can use Stone to quickly dive directly down to grab on to a ledge, giving you a sort of recovery mix-up if the opponent isn’t expecting you to be able to descend so quickly.

Final Smash – Ultra Sword

In this attack, Kirby swings a sword a large sword, much bigger than he is. If you connect the first swing, it will release a combo attack that can potentially knock out opponents. If you miss, then nothing happens.

For other characters, check out our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Characters Guide.

Read more Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Guides.

This concludes our Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kirby Guide. If you want to add anything to this guide, feel free to use the comments section below.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kirby Guide – How to Play, Attack Moves

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Kirby Guide

Introduction