Kirby (SSBU)

Kirby (, Kirby) is a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Like all veterans, he was confirmed on June 12th, 2018. Kirby is classified as Fighter #06.
Kirby is voiced in all regions once again by Makiko Ōmoto, using a combination of new voice clips and ones recycled from Super Smash Bros. 4.
Kirby is currently ranked 65th out of 82 on the Ultimate tier list, placing him in towards the middle of the C- tier. This is a moderate improvement to his placement in the previous game, where he was ranked 49th out of 54. Kirby possesses fast tilts and low ending lag on his aerials, granting him access to quick and powerful combos, while his back air and dash attack grant him strong KO options. Kirby's relatively small size and low crouch also makes him hard to hit; his crouch especially allows him to avoid most grabs and some attacks. Finally, Kirby's Inhale grants him access to his opponent's neutral special move, which not only deals more damage than the opponent's, but can also be used to alleviate some of Kirby's weaknesses.
However, Kirby has poor endurance, as his light weight makes him susceptible to early KOs. His poor air speed and merely average ground mobility, as well as a lack of reliable projectiles and ranged attacks, presents a host of problems in neutral and offstage, as Kirby has trouble approaching and fighting those that can outrange him. He also has a poor set of special moves that fails to help with his weaknesses, as they are situational and suffer from high startup and/or ending lag and inconvenient attributes. Finally, Kirby's recovery, though far-reaching, is rather predictable. Final Cutter grants decent distance, but it can only snap to the ledge at either the start or peak of his ascent and lacks coverage directly above or behind him. To compound this, Kirby's poor air speed and floatiness make him very vulnerable to edgeguarding, juggling and other forms of pressure.
Overall, Kirby is a fighter with many good moves that can rack up impressive damage at close range, but struggles to make use of his strengths due to his unimpressive reach, slow air speed, and lightweight properties. As a result, Kirby is once again a rarity in the metagame. Nevertheless, he has still seen success from dedicated mains such as , , and .
==Attributes==
Kirby is known for being a small lightweight, being tied for the eighth-lightest character in the game. True to his franchise, Kirby is a slow, yet floaty character. He has a slightly below-average walk speed (31st slowest), average dashing and initial dash (42nd fastest and 43rd slowest). He also has the 5th slowest air speed, above-average air acceleration, 3rd lowest gravity, the 5th lowest falling and fast falling speeds, and above average traction. Due to these statistics, Kirby has difficulty approaching opponents. Kirby's recovery is versatile: despite his slow air speed and low jump height rendering him susceptible to edgeguarding, his five midair jumps, slow falling speed, long vertical airdodge, and Final Cutter's decent distance give him good stalling capabilities and decent safety.
Kirby's greatest strengths are his quick frame data, high combo potential, and the versatility of his moveset. The majority of Kirby's attacks are characterized by speed, with his tilts being among the fastest in the game, while his slowest moves instead boast high power as a trade-off, while still being quite fast for their power. Neutral attack and forward tilt are fast and have decent range, allowing Kirby to quickly distance opponents, with the latter being used for tech chase setups. Up tilt's low knockback and high speed allow it to combo into multiple moves, such as itself, an aerial attack, or an Inhale. Down tilt's low power is compensated by its very fast speed and it launching opponents at the Sakurai angle, which allows it to trip most opponents even over 80%. Should he trip his opponents with it, he can follow up with a variety of attacks, such as a dash attack, grab, or forward smash. Dash attack’s early hit is excellent for whiff punishing and scoring a KO, potentially KOing opponents starting at 90%, while the late hit can set up into an Inhale. His smash attacks have good range, high power, and great speed, making them excellent at scoring a KO. Kirby is also very small, making him hard to hit, and his very low [crouch]] allows him to avoid almost all grabs and several attacks. As a result, Kirby has an excellent ground and defensive game thanks to his quick frame data and evasive crouch, requiring opponents to be careful when approaching him in neutral.
The usefulness of Kirby's ground game also extends to his grab game. His grabs have short range but are among the fastest in Ultimate, while his pummel's meager damage output is counterbalanced by its very fast speed. His forward throw, unlike most other forward throws in the game, has combo potential, leading into aerial attacks from low to mid percentages. Back throw can be followed up by a back aerial at very low percentages on certain characters, can KO at high percents, and can send opponents offstage. Up throw is his strongest throw and is able to KO almost all characters around 170%, or even earlier if it lands on a platform. Lastly, while down throw has no combo potential, it is reliable for damage-racking when no other throw can yield better results.
Kirby's aerial game is also notable. Despite his poor air speed, his air acceleration is high and his aerial attacks also have great versatility. Neutral aerial has a long-lasting hitbox, the clean hit is disjointed and relatively strong, very low landing lag, and good coverage, making it a safe landing option. The weak hit of neutral air can combo into his tilts, grab, or even a smash attack, while the strong hit doubles as a combo finisher and a KO move at high percents. Due to the move lasting longer compared to his other aerials, it can safely pressure shields. Forward aerial is Kirby’s most reliable approaching tool. Despite its moderately slow startup, it has disjointed hitboxes on Kirby’s feet, has a long lasting hitbox that can lead to a wall of pain at low percents, the final hit can lead to a KO at high percents, and has very little landing lag, which makes it very safe on shield and hard to punish. Up aerial has good vertical knockback, low landing lag and a fairly quick auto-cancel window, allowing for several potential follow-ups and even opportunities to KO when near the upper blast line. Back aerial has decent range, high knockback on the clean hit, and is Kirby's fastest aerial, making it one of his strongest options overall. Lastly, down aerial has considerable startup, but has multiple hits that drag opponents downward before the final hit meteor smashes them and has low ending lag, making it a deceptively powerful edgeguarding tool as well as a reliable combo starter with follow-ups on grounded opponents.
Kirby's special moves can provide some unique strengths. is his most notable example; it allows him to either copy the neutral special move of any character he inhales, or spit them out as a weight-dependent projectile. Depending on what character he inhales, the copy ability can give Kirby a move that helps him in matchups to various degrees, such as useful projectiles to counter-camp his opponent (Needle Storm, Charge Shot, 's ), powerful punish options (Giant Punch, Homing Attack), a reflector (Nayru's Love), or other benefits (Monado Arts). In addition, Kirby's version of the opponent's neutral special has a 1.2× damage multiplier. Kirby can also inhale projectiles; smaller projectiles will be swallowed, allowing him to heal himself, while larger ones (such as a fully-charged Charge Shot) can be stored in his mouth and spat out, essentially giving Kirby a reflector. The spat projectiles can be used to punish opponents at mid-range and can launch them away with high knockback. Inhale can also be used to Kirbycide or spit the opponent out offstage, although the opponent can escape by mashing. Hammer Flip is very powerful, especially when fully charged, and Kirby can move and jump while charging. However, its high startup and endlag, along with its short range and Kirby's already-sluggish movement being further slowed when charging, makes it difficult to land outside of a shield break, covering ledge options, or after a jab lock. Outside his jumps, Final Cutter is his primary means of recovery, granting good vertical distance, as well as a disjoint in front of him during his ascent and descent. It also emits a shockwave projectile upon landing, making it difficult to punish if the opponent is not behind Kirby. Lastly, Stone causes Kirby to turn into an object and ignore up to 25% damage. It is also a strong attack, especially in the air, and can be canceled shortly after Kirby begins his descent, although these benefits are limited by its slow startup and ending lag, and Kirby is still vulnerable to grabs while transformed. It can also be used on the ground, where it has faster startup due to creating a shockwave and it launches at a semi-spike angle.
Kirby's most notable flaw, however, is his poor approach. Characters who have high mobility or who can camp with projectiles can wall out Kirby, such as and . Kirby's lack of reliable burst options makes his approach in these matchups problematic and sometimes predictable. In addition, characters with long disjointed hitboxes such as can outrange and wall out Kirby since his range is short relative to the cast. Final Cutter's projectile has decent range and moves quickly, but Kirby cannot use it until he falls back to the ground, and he lacks other projectiles outside of spitting inhaled projectiles/opponents, or from a copy ability. This requires conscientious use to avoid punishment. Kirby's great acceleration is undermined by his poor air speed, hindering his aerial approach and recovery despite possessing five midair jumps. While Kirby has several KO moves, some can be hard to land without a setup or correct reads due to their short range. 
In addition, Kirby also has poor endurance. While being light and floaty can help him escape combos from other characters, this also means he risks getting KOed earlier. Rage further compounds these issues, as Kirby will be launched even further by a high-damage opponent, and his low weight means he will sometimes not survive long enough to take advantage of his own rage. He is also vulnerable to juggling, due to his aforementioned slow falling and air speeds. This imposes as a risk in approaching opponents in the air, while also preventing Kirby's aerials from being used effectively when in a disadvantage state, often forcing him to rely on the timing of his jumps, Stone, or neutral aerial to escape and return to the ground or ledge. 
Kirby's weaknesses are also pronounced by his special moves, as their high start-up and ending lag and inconvenient combinations of attributes result in situational moves that have poor synergy with the rest of his moveset. Inhale gives Kirby access to his opponent's neutral special, but it has noticeable ending lag, the utility of the move he gains access to depends on the character, recovering health by eating small projectiles has extreme ending lag and gives him minimal healing, spitting out larger projectiles to reflect them is situational and Kirby has a random chance of losing his Copy Ability if he gets hit after the first 20 seconds after he obtained it, losing out on tools to take on opponents. Hammer Flip has poor range for a disjointed hitbox, stops Kirby's horizontal momentum in the air and is too laggy to use effectively. Stone protects Kirby from attacks below 25% and has good power, but it has noticeable start-up and ending lag, especially in the air, and grabs will force him out of the transformation as if he's shielding; and Final Cutter covers a decent distance but it's linear and predictable, as it only snaps to the ledge at the start and at the end and it suffers from slow start-up, which makes it a poor out-of-shield option.
Overall, Kirby tends to run hot and cold. He can inflict an impressive amount of damage if he gets close to his opponent thanks to his excellent frame data and potent combo game, but doing so is challenging for him due to his poor approach. As such, Kirby functions well with a bait-and-punish playstyle, although being unprepared for an opponent's approach can be hazardous due to his low survivability.
==Changes from Super Smash Bros. 4==
Near the end of SSB4s metagame, Kirby had been considered a low-tier character due to a combination of lackluster attributes and underwhelming moveset despite its power. Likely owing to this, Kirby has been granted a mix of buffs and nerfs in the transition to Ultimate, being overall buffed, though not enough to raise his standing on the tier list.
Kirby's buffs lie in the increased utility of his moveset as a whole, with overall improved frame data and KO power on many of his moves. The first two hits of his neutral attack can now jab lock and connect better into the looping hits (albeit at the cost of reduced damage output), while forward tilt is a stronger poke and KO option due to its reduced endlag and its increased knockback. His dash attack has been mostly reverted back to its Melee iteration, however, it is significantly faster, stronger, has less startup, far longer duration compared to his previous dash attack in SSB4, can cross-up on shields, covers more ground, and is more reliable for catching opponents thanks to only consisting of a single, long-lasting hitbox—these changes make it a stronger punish tool and a much more versatile move overall. His smash attacks are now stronger punish options, with forward smash having much more range, up smash having faster start-up, and down smash regaining its semi-spike angle, restoring its utility at edgeguarding. His smash attacks also have improved KO power, with forward and up smash dealing more knockback, and down smash's altered angle KOing earlier at the edge despite its reduced knockback. Several of Kirby's attacks, such as up tilt and all his aerials (except for up aerial) also have more range, partially alleviating one of his weaknesses from SSB4.
The universal reduction to landing lag has also greatly benefited his aerials, which already had among the lowest landing lag in SSB4; his aerials are not only safer, but now capable of leading into followups, with forward aerial's first two hits now being able to follow up into a grab or forward smash. His neutral aerial (being one of his most situational attacks) is now faster, has more range, has less endlag, and deals more knockback (the clean hit being one of the strongest neutral aerials in Ultimate). Up aerial received many of the same buffs as neutral aerial and both it and forward aerial deal more damage, regaining some of their lost KO power from Melee.
For Kirby's special moves, Inhale has been significantly buffed with faster startup, less ending lag, a much longer grace period in which Kirby cannot lose his Copy Ability, a lower probability of losing said ability after this period has ended, and a new 1.2× multiplier to his copied neutral special compared to his opponent (albeit without a corresponding increase to knockback), giving him a greater incentive and a higher reward from inhaling opponents. Furthermore, he can now eat the projectiles he swallows to heal himself (and store certain ones in his mouth as well, enabling him to spit them out as stars). Hammer Flip now renders Kirby nigh-impossible to stop for a longer time as long as he's grounded. Final Cutter is faster, snaps to the ledge slightly sooner, and its landing hit is much more powerful, which improves its utility. Stone's aerial variant now has super armor during its startup, making it more difficult to interrupt Kirby out of the attack, as in previous Smash games he could be interrupted even when he fully transformed.
However, Kirby has also received several noteworthy nerfs. The most notable were to his grab game: his already mediocre grab range has been worsened (most notably on his pivot grab), and forward throw has him jump up higher after the throw, which runs the risk of possibly landing on top of a soft platform, potentially negating follow-ups when executed incorrectly, while back throw has lost most of its combo setups due to changes to the animation. Altogether, this grants Kirby a less effective neutral game off of his grabs overall. Other nerfs include Stone no longer hitting shielding opponents twice, reducing its shield pressure considerably; back aerial deals less knockback (although it has more range and the clean hit now lasts for slightly longer to compensate); and down aerial, one of his most reliable combo starters in SSB4, has more range on the looping hits, but slightly less on the final hit and is less advantageous on landing due to the removal of frame canceling, reducing the effectiveness of its follow-ups since its landing lag was not reduced enough to compensate properly. Furthermore, Kirby still retains many of the same issues that plagued him in SSB4, with the aforementioned mediocre range, sluggish aerial mobility and a high susceptibility to being camped.
Universal changes to the game's mechanics both benefit and hinder Kirby. The revamped air dodging mechanics have significantly improved his innate ability to edgeguard opponents more effectively, and directional air dodges have also given him a secondary recovery option, but this also makes him more susceptible to juggling and edgeguarding as well, due to his short-ranged aerials, predictable landing options, and his air dodges being among the slowest in the game. The changes to downwards velocity KOing opponents faster from the bottom blast line now render Final Cutter as a significantly more deadly edgeguarding and sacrificial KO option, further improving its utility. The increased shieldstun and increased startup on shield grabbing notably benefits Kirby's safety on hit, due to his moveset's naturally high damage and low ending lag, making him harder to shrug off and punish accordingly. Conversely, the changes to grabs' ending lag make Kirby's own grab riskier to throw out, as their ending lag can prove more punishable. The increase in mobility is a mixed bag for Kirby, as while his mobility has improved overall relative to the cast (most notably his aerial mobility), his problems with camping from the previous incarnation remain, exhibited with the increased prevalence of zoners. Overall, his edgeguarding and defensive options have been improved at the cost of his range issues becoming even more prevalent than in SSB4.
In the end, Kirby's changes now render his punish game much more deadly, make him much harder to shake off once he gains the advantage, and allow him to seal stocks at much more varied percentages, but the universal changes to the game's engine have made it slightly easier for opponents to keep him away and have rendered said punish game slightly more inconsistent. Because of this, Kirby is agreed to have not significantly improved from his appearance in SSB4, which, combined with several veterans being buffed to varying degrees, has resulted in Kirby being in a similar position overall, despite several game updates handing Kirby a myriad of buffs.
==Update history==
Aside from glitch fixes, Kirby has been buffed significantly via game updates. Update 2.0.0 improved his ground game by reducing the ending lag of his forward tilt, along with granting it increased base knockback, giving it newfound KO potential at very high percentages, while also boosting its safety at low percents. Dash attack's clean hit was also given a larger hitbox, and its damage output was increased overall. Update 3.0.0 improved the duration of his up smash's clean hit, making it easier to land on aerial opponents, and reduced the ending lag on his neutral aerial. 's Copy Ability grace period was also extended, allowing Kirby to safely keep his abilities for longer, and the probability of him losing them when receiving damage was also reduced. Furthermore, his down throw's damage output was increased, and Final Cutter can grab ledges earlier, making it safer for recovery.
Update 6.0.0 granted Kirby some of his most significant improvements. Both neutral and up aerials had their startup reduced and their knockback increased, improving their combo and KO potential. Inhale had its startup reduced as well, and the grace period for Copy Ability was further increased, along with a further reduction to the probability of losing his abilities. Up smash's sourspot had its knockback increased, improving its consistency, and neutral attack's startup was reduced by 1 frame. Following this, update 7.0.0 enlarged Kirby's shield, making him much less susceptible to shield pokes.
Kirby has been buffed once more in update 8.0.0, strengthening a handful of his finishers such as down smash, back aerial, and Stone, with the former having decreased start-up, alleviating the nerfs they initially received in the transition to Ultimate. Dash attack had its clean hit's knockback increased and its previously high endlag reduced, with cross-ups now being much safer and as well as giving the late hit follow-up potential. Although forward aerial's increased damage output and knockback on the final hit makes it harder for him to follow up with his combos at low percents, it is an overall benefit since it renders his finishers to be more potent, while indirectly giving his other combo tools more flexibility. Update 13.0.1 added a minor buff/bug fix of Kirby's version of Lightning Buster less ending lag to match .
Overall, Kirby fares significantly better than he did at the launch of Ultimate, with his combo potential and mobility being greatly improved, as well as his combos doing more damage, which makes his neutral game more viable and leaves him less reliant on correct reads to consistently close stocks.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
==Moveset==
*Kirby can perform 5 double jumps, tied with and for most double jumps in the game.
For a gallery of Kirby's hitboxes, see here.
===Stats===
Kirby's gravity and falling speed are set to 0.068544 and 1.8, respectively, during hitstun when launched at angles between 70°-110°.
===Announcer call===
Kirby English Announcer SSB4-SSBU.wav|English/Japanese/Chinese
===On-screen appearance===
*Kirby rides in on his classic Warp Star, followed by a small explosion while flipping off of it.
KirbyOnScreenAppearanceSSBU.gif|Kirby's on-screen appearance
===Taunts===
All taunts remove Kirby's Copy Ability if he has one.
*Up taunt: Smiles and poses, producing a star.
*Side taunt: Spins around playfully, then says "Nyum!" while standing on one foot. Based on his "character chosen" animation in the original Super Smash Bros.
*Down taunt: Leans toward the screen and says "Hi!" while waving his arms.
SSBUKirbyTaunt1.gif|Kirby's up taunt.
SSBUKirbyTaunt2.gif|Kirby's side taunt.
SSBUKirbyTaunt3.gif|Kirby's down taunt.
===Idle poses===
*Dozes off, then shakes his head awake.
*Turns to face away from the screen, then turns back.
SSBUKirbyIdle1.gif|Kirby's first idle pose.
SSBUKirbyIdle2.gif|Kirby's second idle pose.
===Crowd cheer===
 	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch) 	Cheer (French)
Cheer 	 	 	 	 	
Description	Kir - by! 	Ka - a - bii! 	Kir - by! 	Kirby! Kirby! Kirby!	Kir - by!
 	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian) 	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer 	 	 	 	
Description	Kir - by! 	Kir - by! 	Kir - by! Kir - by!	Keo - bi!
===Victory poses===
Note: Outside of team battles, Kirby's victory poses have three separate Kirbys, referencing the from his home series.
*Left: Moonwalks to the left, twists, slides to the right, and jumps into a pose where he stands on one foot. Based on Kirby's dances in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and ends with a pose similar to his Brawl render and his character select animation in Super Smash Bros., albeit much more subtle.
*Up: Cartwheels to the left twice, wiggles, and does a front flip before posing. The ending pose originated from the Kirby Dance in Kirby's Adventure.
*Right: Jumps twice, shuffles backwards, performs a breakdance, and poses. Based on Kirby's dances in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, with the ending pose also appearing in said game.
KirbyVictoryPose1SSBU.gif
KirbyVictoryPose2SSBU.gif
KirbyVictoryPose3SSBU.gif
==In competitive play==
===Most historically significant players===
:See also: :Category:Kirby players (SSBU)
* - One of the two greatest Kirby players of all time and one of the best Mexican players in 2024. He was the first and only solo-Kirby player to rank in the top 100 on a global ranking, ranking 93rd on the LumiRank 2024.1. He was also the first Kirby player to win a superregional, doing so at . In addition, he notably placed 13th at , defeating , and has also defeated several of Mexico's greatest players, including double-eliminating at and at several events, such as at .
* - One of the two greatest Kirby players of all time. He is the second-highest ranking Kirby player, having ranked 115th on the LumiRank 2024.1. Though successful prior, his performances were first recognized in 2024, where he became the first Kirby player to win a ranked event, doing so at the C-tier . He has since been recognized for winning the superregional and for placing 9th at , where he also defeated , , and ; the latter event was the first and only time a Kirby player placed single-digits at a major.
* - The best Kirby player in the early metagame. He is best known for placing 2nd at defeating along the way, which was the best Kirby performance at a tournament for several years. In addition, he found success at several of Europe's largest events in the early metagame, including placing 13th at , 25th at , and 33rd at . He saw respectable performances in the post-pandemic metagame but was never able to achieve the same results he saw prior.
* - The best Kirby player in Japan in the post-pandemic metagame. He is best known for a series of notable performances at smaller events in the OrionRank 2022 season, including placing 3rd at defeating and 13th at defeating . Alongside his 17th-place finish at , these performances made him a contender for the best Kirby player in the early years of this metagame. Though incredibly inconsistent since then, he has achieved several other notable placements and wins, such as placing 9th at defeating and , placing 25th at defeating , and placing 49th at defeating .
===Tier placement and history===
Upon the release of Ultimate, several professionals immediately noticed Kirby's significant flaws from the previous installment had been retained, in spite of the buffs he received and the new mechanics suiting him better in comparison to SSB4. In addition, players notified his vulnerability to being camped, poor range, slow air speed, as well as platforms potentially negating all follow-ups should he start a combo with a forward throw. Some early performances received recognition, such as 's win over at and 's 17th-place finish at , which became the best placement for a Kirby player at a major for many years, but in spite of these moments of success, most of the community considered Kirby to be one of the worst characters in the game.
Kirby later received many significant buffs in balance patches, more than almost every other character, especially in patches 6.0.0 and 8.0.0. These patches greatly improved his overall frame data, KO power and versatility to many of his attacks, allowing him to be more consistent in closing stocks and starting combos. Though Kirby's representation remained rather small and was often in the bottom 10, he gradually began gathering several notable performances from dedicated mains such as , and . In spite of Kirby having little impact on the metagame at that time, these small positives were enough to slightly improve Kirby's viability among the community, and as such many no longer considered the character to be one of the worst in the game. This is reflected in Kirby's placement on the first two tier lists, where he was ranked 76th as a low-tier character and rose a spot to 75th on the second tier list.
Following the second tier list, Kirby's representation improved thanks to Guilheww and JeJaJeJa. This sudden improvement began with JeJaJeJa's win at , which was Kirby's first ranked tournament win, and since then both players have won a few other ranked events. In addition, both players made noticeable impacts at majors, starting with Guilheww, whose 13th-place finish at marked the first time a Kirby player outplaced Ferretkuma's placement at Umebura SP 7. Though it took several years to break this milestone, it only took half a year for someone else to surpass Guilheww, as JeJaJeJa placed 9th at . Finally, both Kirby players were ranked or mentioned on the two LumiRank rankings of 2024, with Guilheww notably becoming the first Kirby player to rank in the top 100. While Kirby's impact on the overall metagame weren't significant, his representation was nevertheless better than many characters ranked around him, and were especially good for a character ranked in the bottom ten. Thanks to these positive developments, Kirby rose by ten placements in the third tier list, ranking 65th in the C- tier, a notable improvement from the early metagame.
==: Gourmet Clash==
Kirby's opponents are characters who, like him, are known for their gluttonous appetites in their respective series. For each battle, Kirby and his opponent each spawn with 35% damage and several food items appear on the stage as the match begins.
Round 	Opponent 	Stage 	Music
1 	 	Pac-Land 	
2 	Giant 	 	
3 	 	Jungle Japes 	
4 	Giant 	Gamer 	
5 	 	Kongo Jungle 	
6 	Giant 	Fountain of Dreams 	
Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage	Bonus Stage 	Bonus Stage
Final 	Marx 	Mysterious Dimension	
Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as Kirby has accompany the credits.
===Character unlock tree===
Kirby's Classic Mode character unlock tree includes the following characters in order:
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
Each character can be unlocked by clearing Kirby's Classic Mode, or the Classic Mode of any preceding character, if all preceding characters have been unlocked. Once all the above characters are unlocked, clearing Classic Mode with any of them will default to 's character unlock tree, starting with .
==Role in World of Light==
Kirby was among the fighters summoned to the cliffside to assist in defeating an army of Master Hands.
After Galeem absorbed all of the Master Hands during the opening cutscene, he began to unleash beams of light that vaporized all of the fighters and later imprisoned all of them. Kirby was the sole survivor after escaping on his Warp Star, barely warping away from the beams before they could engulf him. Despite being the sole survivor, Kirby is still seen as a puppet in a few areas of the mode. It was later explained that Galeem had analyzed Kirby at some point during the story and was able to make puppet fighters in his image without needing Kirby himself.
Kirby crash-lands in a canyon area, and begins his quest to save the other fighters as the initial starting protagonist.
He is later seen alongside several other fighters, preparing their final stand against Galeem and Dharkon.
==Spirits==
Kirby's fighter spirit can be obtained by completing as Kirby. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold. Starting World of Light and playing as Kirby allows the player to preview the first spirit below in the Spirit List under the name "???". As a fighter spirit, it cannot be used in Spirit Battles and is purely aesthetic. His fighter spirit has an alternate version that replaces it with his artwork in Ultimate.
Additionally, Kirby makes an appearance in various support spirits.
SSBU spirit Kirby.png|323. Kirby
SSBU spirit Warp Star.png|326. Warp Star
SSBU spirit Star Rod.png|327. Star Rod
SSBU spirit Ultra Sword.png|328. Ultra Sword
SSBU spirit Robobot Armor.png|329. Robobot Armor
==In Spirit Battles==
===As the main opponent===
Spirit	Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
48 	 	Super Mario Series 	• 	 	1,800 	Mushroom Kingdom U (Slide Lift Tower) 	•Invisibility 	•The enemy is invisible•The enemy's shield has extra durability 	 	 	
50 	 	Super Mario Series 	• ×3 	 	3,500 	Mushroom Kingdom 	•Item: Bob-omb 	•The enemy's throwing-type items have increased power•The enemy has increased move speed 	 	 	
66 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Giant 	 	4,100 	Peach's Castle 	•Item: Bob-omb 	•The enemy is giant•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	 	
69 	 	Super Mario Series 	• Team ×2 ×2 ×2 ×2 	 	1,600 	Delfino Plaza 	•Item Tidal Wave•Item: Mushrooms 	•Certain items will appear in large numbers after a little while 	 	 	
71 	 	Super Mario Series 	• Team 	 	3,500 	Mario Galaxy 	•Item: Stars 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	 	
74 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Giant 	 	4,100 	Mario Galaxy 	•Hazard: Low Gravity•Item: Super Launch Star 	•Gravity is reduced•The enemy starts the battle with a Super Launch Star•The enemy is giant 	 	 	
116 	 	Dr. Mario Series 	• 	 	4,000 	Mario Bros. (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•Timed battle (1:30) 	 	Chill Virus (blue costume)Weird Virus (yellow costume)Fever Virus (red costume)	
285 	 	Metroid Series 	• Team ×10 	 	2,100 	Lylat Cruise 	N/A 	•The enemy favors neutral specials•Defeat an army of fighters 	 	 	
327 	 	Kirby Series 	• Team ×4 	 	9,200 	Fountain of Dreams 	N/A 	•The enemy starts the battle with a Star Rod 	 	/Star Rod's shards 	
329 	 	Kirby Series 	•Metal Team ×4 (40 HP) 	 	4,000 	Halberd 	•Item: Drill 	•Stamina battle•The enemy is metal 	 	 	
331 	 	Kirby Series 	• 	 	13,500 	Pilotwings 	•Item: Dragoon Parts 	•Items will be pulled toward the enemy•The enemy has increased move speed 	 	 	
335 	 	Kirby Series 	• 	 	4,200 	 	N/A 	•Timed battle (2:00)•The enemy favors neutral specials 	 	 	
339 	 	Kirby Series 	• Team ×5 	 	9,300 	Green Greens 	•Hazard: Heavy Wind 	•Dangerously high winds are in effect•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	Whispy Woods's apples 	
341 	 	Kirby Series 	•Giant 	 	4,000 	Fountain of Dreams 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Nightmare) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while•The enemy is giant•The enemy starts the battle with a Star Rod 	 	 	
360 	 	Kirby Series 	• Team ×4 	 	3,700 	Dream Land GB 	N/A 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	(Green Greens) 	 	
362 	 	Kirby Series 	• ×3 	 	2,500 	 	•Hazard: Zap Floor 	•The floor is electrified•The enemy starts the battle with a Super Scope 	 	 	
366 	 	Kirby Series 	• Team ×3 	 	1,400 	 	N/A 	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	Angry Scarfy (red Kirby) 	
368 	 	Kirby Series 	•Metal (120 HP) 	 	2,600 	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	N/A 	•Timed stamina battle (1:00)•The enemy favors down specials•The enemy is metal 	 	 	
370 	 	Kirby Series 	• 	 	3,500 	Dream Land GB 	•Item: Bomber 	•The enemy starts the battle with a Bomber 	 	 	
380 	 	Kirby's Epic Yarn 	• 	 	1,900 	Super Happy Tree 	N/A 	•The enemy's throws have increased power•The enemy favors grabs and throws 	 	 	
432 	 	Pokémon Series 	• ×3 	 	1,500 	Pokémon Stadium 2 (Ground type) 	•Earthquake 	•Periodic earthquakes will shake the stage after a little while 	 	 	
438 	 	Pokémon Series 	• Team ×4 	 	1,400 	Pokémon Stadium 2 (Ground type) 	N/A 	•The enemy favors down specials 	 	 	
458 	 	Pokémon Series 	• 	 	3,400 	Pokémon Stadium 	N/A 	•The enemy favors neutral specials•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Ditto) 	 	 	
470 	 	Pokémon Series 	• 	 	1,700 	Pokémon Stadium 2 	N/A 	•Water and ice attacks aren't as effective against the enemy 	 	 	
546 	 	Pokémon Series 	•Reflect ×2 	 	3,900 	Kalos Pokémon League (hazards off) 	N/A 	•The enemy reflects projectiles•The enemy favors down specials•The enemy takes less damage while in the air 	 	 	
553 	 	Pokémon Series 	•Tiny Team ×4 	 	1,600 	Wuhu Island (Frisbee Dog Park) 	N/A 	•Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Pyukumuku) 	 	 	
559 	 	Pokémon Series 	• ×3 	 	4,100 	The Great Cave Offensive (Ω form) 	•Hazard: Poison Floor 	•The floor is poisonous•The enemy loves to jump•The enemy falls slowly 	 	 	
623 	 	Fire Emblem Series 	• (30 HP) 	 	2,500 	Temple 	N/A 	•Timed stamina battle (1:30)•The enemy tends to avoid conflict•The enemy heals over time 	 	 	
806 	 	Pikmin Series 	•Tiny Team ×13 (10 HP) 	 	4,400 	Distant Planet (Battlefield form) 	•Item: POW Block•Hazard: Poison Floor 	•The floor is poisonous•Timed stamina battle (1:00)•The enemy favors dash attacks 	 	 	
809 	 	Pikmin Series 	•Tiny Team ×8 (10 HP) 	 	1,800 	Garden of Hope (hazards off) 	•Hazard: High Gravity 	•Stamina battle•Your jumping power decreases•The enemy favors down specials 	 	 	
948 	 	PAC-MAN Series 	• • • • 	 	3,500 	Pac-Land (Battlefield form) 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Ghosts) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	Blinky 	
1,122 	 	Clu Clu Land Series 	• Team ×4 	 	1,800 	75m 	•Item Tidal Wave•Item: Unira 	•Certain items will appear in large numbers•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	 	
1,155 	 	Sutte Hakkun 	• 	 	2,100 	 	•Invisibility 	•Timed battle (2:00)•You are invisible after a little while 	 	 	
1,180 	 	Tomato Adventure 	• 	 	1,600 	(Melee) (Battlefield form) 	•Item: Maxim Tomato 	•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	 	
1,186 	 	The Legendary Starfy Series	• 	 	1,800 	Delfino Plaza (Large Island) 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Starfy) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	 	
1,226 	 	Slide Adventure MAGKID 	• Team ×4 	 	1,800 	PictoChat 2 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Devil) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you•The enemy has increased move speed 	 	 	
1,278 	 	BOXBOY! Series 	• Team ×4 	 	9,300 	Wii Fit Studio 	•Item Tidal Wave 	•Certain items will appear in large numbers 	 	 	
1,330 	 	DRAGON QUEST Series 	• Team ×5 (50 HP)•Giant (150 HP) 	 	1,700 	Gaur Plain (Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•Stamina battle•The enemy favors neutral air attacks•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	King Slime (Giant Kirby) 	
1,336 	 	DRAGON QUEST Series 	•Metal (8 HP) 	 	5,700 	The Great Cave Offensive (Battlefield form)	•Move Speed ↑•Defense ↑•Attack Power ↓ 	•The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch•The enemy starts the battle with a Franklin Badge•Timed stamina battle (0:30)	 	 	
1,343 	 	Banjo-Kazooie Series 	•Gold ×5 (10 HP) 	 	2,000 	The Great Cave Offensive 	N/A 	•Timed stamina battle•The enemy falls slowly 	 	 	
1,355 	 	Tetris Series 	• 	 	2,000 	Mushroomy Kingdom 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Thwomp)•Item: POW Block 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear•The enemy favors down specials in the air 	 	 	
1,433 	 	Minecraft Series 	•Giant (120 HP)• Team ×3 (60 HP)•Tiny Team ×6 (30 HP)	 	3,300 	Minecraft World (Taiga) 	N/A 	•Stamina battle•The enemy favors neutral air attacks•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	 	
1,473 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Tail Team 	 	1,900 	Delfino Plaza (Large Island) 	•Item: Balls 	•The enemy has increased move speed and reduced weight•Defeat an army of fighters 	 	 	
1,490 	 	Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin 	• •Clear 	 	1,500 	Garden of Hope (Ω form) 	N/A 	•The enemy favors air attacks•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd•The enemy is invisible 	 	Holy Sword Tama (Clear Kirby) 	
1,517 	 	Pikmin Series 	•Giant •Alph 	 	8,800 	Distant Planet (Ω form) 	•Item: Hocotate Bomb 	•The enemy favors dash attacks•The enemy can deal damage by dashing into you 	 	 	
1,528 	 	Super Mario Series 	•Tiny •Tiny Team ×20 	 	1,900 	Mushroom Kingdom U 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Skull Kid)•Item: Fire Flower	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy has super armor and is hard to launch or make flinch•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	(Blue Kirby)s (Yellow Kirby) 	
===As a minion===
Spirit	Spirit 	Spirit 	Spirit 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters 	Battle parameters	Battle parameters 	Inspiration
No. 	Image 	Name 	Series 	Enemy Fighter(s) 	Type 	Power 	Stage 	Rules 	Conditions 	Music 	Character
67 	 	Super Mario Series 	• • Team 	 	13,100 	Delfino Plaza (roof) 	•Temporary Invincibility•Sudden Final Smash•Item: Stars	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy will suddenly have a Final Smash•The enemy will occasionally be invincible	 	s 	
72 	 	Super Mario Series 	• • 	 	1,900 	Mario Galaxy 	•Item: Super Launch Star 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	 	
104 	 	Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 	• • • • • 	 	13,700 	Mario Galaxy (Battlefield form)	N/A 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•Timed battle (2:30)•The enemy's FS Meter charges quickly 	 	 	
332 	 	Kirby Series 	• • 	 	4,100 	Green Greens 	•Hazard: Ice Floor 	•The floor is frozen•The enemy starts the battle with a Fire Flower•The enemy has increased move speed 	 	 	
333 	 	Kirby Series 	• • 	 	3,600 	Wuhu Island (Rocks at sea) 	•Buoyancy Reduced 	•You can't swim•The enemy starts the battle with a Freezie 	(Float Islands) 	 	
334 	 	Kirby Series 	• • 	 	4,100 	 	•Hazard: Heavy Wind 	•Dangerously high winds are in effect•The enemy loves to jump•The enemy falls slowly 	 	 	
690 	 	Game & Watch Series 	• • • • 	 	3,900 	Flat Zone X (hazards off) 	•Item: Balls 	•The enemy favors grabs and throws•The enemy's throwing-type items have increased power 	 	 	
723 	 	Kid Icarus Series 	• (Moveset 1232, Viridi Wig, Viridi Outfit, High Voice Type 6)•Giant	 	13,700 	Reset Bomb Forest 	N/A 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy's special moves have increased power•Timed battle (0:55) 	 	 	
1,107 	 	Super Smash Bros. Series 	• Team ×4• Team ×4• Team ×4• Team ×4 	 	3,300 	(Battlefield form) 	N/A 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle 	 	Green Alloy 	
1,119 	 	Devil World 	• • ×2 	 	3,900 	75m (Battlefield form) 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Devil) 	•Hostile assist trophies will appear 	 	Medaman 	
1,197 	 	Rhythm Heaven Series Rhythm Paradise Series	• •Tiny ×3 	 	1,500 	Spirit Train 	•Item: Food 	•Defeat the main fighter to win•The enemy favors up specials•The enemy is easily distracted by items 	 	Dumplings 	
1,216 	 	Big Brain Academy Series 	• • 	 	3,400 	PictoChat 2 	•Hazard: Low Gravity•Hazard: High Gravity 	•All fighters have reduced jump ability•Gravity is reduced after a little while 	 	Floating Objects (Shadow Shift)	
1,286 	 	Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! Series	• • 	 	3,600 	PictoChat 2 	N/A 	•The enemy starts the battle with a Killing Edge 	 	Snip 	
1,301 	 	Super Mario Series 	• • • • 	 	5,500 	Kongo Falls (Ω form) 	•Bob-omb Festival•Item Tidal Wave•Item: Food 	•Survive until the timer runs out (1:00)•Bob-ombs will rain from the sky after a little while 	 	 	
1,411 	 	Mana Series 	• • •Tiny Bunny ×2 	 	9,200 	Gaur Plain (Ω form) 	•Item: Ramblin' Evil Mushroom 	•Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd 	 	Rabites 	
1,450 	 	FINAL FANTASY Series 	• (Moveset 3122, Isaac Wig, Yellow Tracksuit)• 	 	1,600 	Garden of Hope 	•Item: Cucco 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle•The enemy starts the battle with a Bob-omb 	 	Moogle 	
1,450 	• (Moveset 3122, Chocobo Hat, Yellow Tracksuit)•	FINAL FANTASY Series 	 	 	1,600 	Garden of Hope 	•Item: Cucco 	•Take your strongest team into this no-frills battle•The enemy starts the battle with a Bob-omb 	 	Moogle 	
1,524 	 	Pokémon Series 	• • • 	 	3,700 	Delfino Plaza (Courtyard) 	N/A 	•The enemy favors side specials 	 	 	
1,525 	 	Super Mario Series 	• •Tiny 	 	12,800 	Luigi's Mansion 	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Lyn, Chef Kawasaki, Akira Yuki)	•Hostile assist trophies will appear•The enemy favors up smash attacks 	 	 	
This alternative occurs when the corresponding DLC has been purchased and downloaded.
==Alternate costumes==
							
							
==Gallery==
Kirby Artwork.jpg|Kirby artwork, as posted by Kirby's official Twitter account.
Link Kirby Mario and Cloud artwork.png|Link, Kirby, Mario, and Cloud artwork, as posted by Tetsuya Nomura's official Twitter account.
SSBU Kirby Number.png|Kirby's fighter card.
SSBUWebsiteKirby1.jpg|"Mario Kirby" tossing a Fireball on .
SSBUWebsiteKirby2.jpg|"Jigglypuff Kirby" using Rollout with on Onett.
SSBUWebsiteKirby3.jpg|Using his on in the Boxing Ring.
SSBUWebsiteKirby4.jpg|"Fox Kirby" using a with on Mario Galaxy.
SSBUWebsiteKirby5.jpg|Performing Final Cutter on Tomodachi Life.
SSBUWebsiteKirby6.jpg|Inhaling an Ice Shot on Summit with the Ice Kirby-inspired costume.
SSBUWebsiteDiddyKong2.jpg|Getting kicked by on The Great Cave Offensive.
SSBUWebsiteDonkeyKong4.jpg|Inhaling 's grapes on Gaur Plain.
SSBUWebsiteKingDedede4.jpg|With on Green Greens.
SSBUWebsiteMetaKnight4.jpg|Kirby's "unmasked Meta Knight" costume standing next to the real on Skyworld.
SSBUWebsiteMiiFighter5.jpg|Kirby in his new Stone transformation below an aerial on Skyworld.
SSBUWebsiteRosalina3.jpg|Struck by on Temple.
SSBUWebsiteYoshi3.jpg|About to be eaten by on Gaur Plain.
SSBUWebsiteBomber.jpg|Kirby standing next to a Bomber on Green Greens.
SSBUWebsiteKnuckles2.jpg|Kirby struck by Knuckles's uppercut on The Great Cave Offensive.
SSBUWebsiteSquidSisters5.jpg|Three Kirbys watching the Squid Sisters' concert on New Pork City.
SSBUKirbyJPTwitter1.jpg|Taunting alongside Meta Knight and King Dedede on Green Greens.
SSBUKirbyJPTwitter2.jpg|With , , , , , and on Battlefield.
SSBUSoraMonochrome.jpg|With , and on PictoChat 2.
===Fighter Showcase Video===
==Trivia==
*Kirby's stock icon is one of only six to show eyes (the others being , , , Zombie, and Enderman). The most likely reason is to actually tell that it is his stock icon, as it is otherwise a simplistic pink circle.
**It also greatly resembles his stock icon in the original Super Smash Bros.
**This is also not counting or Larry, as the eyes depicted for the former are not his actual eyes, and the latter lacks his irises.
*Kirby's pose resembles his character artwork in Kirby Super Star, but rotated to slightly face the screen. Coincidentally, this was also used for his character select artwork in the original Super Smash Bros.
**Coincidentally, his pose is also used for his Wrestler artwork in Kirby Fighters 2 (with the difference between the mask and the angry frown).
*Kirby is the only Kirby series character to keep his Final Smash between Smash 4 and Ultimate.
*Since Kirby is the starter character of World of Light and part of the starter roster, he is the only character that is not unlockable in the game for any mode.
**This also makes Kirby the only character in the entire series that is never unlocked in any mode.
***This means it is impossible to see the message saying that "Kirby Joins the Battle!". Modding the game to display this message (through setting Kirby's fighter spirit to rematchable) will reveal that Kirby does not have a text string for this instance, and the message will simply read "Joins the Battle!"
**Despite his status as the mode's starter character and the closest thing to the main character, Kirby's depiction in marketing or artwork for Ultimate is no more prominent than any of the other starter characters, apart from and who collectively serve as the game's mascots.
*Due to his various Copy Abilities, Kirby has the highest amount of voice clips for any character in the game, with 95 clips (121 if DLC is included).
*Because of the copy ability, Kirby has the most unique character models for any character in the game. There are 81 different models, with 648 models if alternate costumes are counted.
*Barring who is the only fighter of the series, Kirby is the only starter character in Ultimate whose universe has more than one character to not include any characters in their unlock table, as Meta Knight is in Link's, and is in 's.
*Unlike other characters, Kirby can actually taunt online when playing outside of arenas, but only to discard his copy ability.
*As a result of not being captured, Kirby is one of the few characters that doesn't have copies of him produced by Dharkon or Galeem during their boss fights.
*Kirby's neutral item swing when using battering items has 2 fewer frames of ending lag, with an FAF of 24 as opposed to 26 for the rest of the cast.
*Since Kirby was never possessed by Galeem like everyone else, his presence in many spirit battles went unclear for some time, until Masahiro Sakurai addressed this in an interview; stating that Galeem managed to analyze Kirby halfway through the story, making it possible to create puppets of him.https://twitter.com/PushDustIn/status/1098252915532165120
**Ironically, Kirby has the most spirit battle appearances of all characters, with 64 total.
*Kirby is one of the five veterans from Smash 4 to have their Boxing Ring alias changed in Ultimate, the others being Link, King Dedede, , and .
*If the spirits in the collection are in numerical order, Kirby is the last character to be in a spirit battle as the main opponent, which is Wonder Flower & Talking Flower.
**It is also the last character to be in a spirit battle as a minion, which is Peach & Stella.
*Masahiro Sakurai revealed in a YouTube video that Kirby's Sora copy ability initially had hair that clipped into his eyes, and this was adjusted before the final release.Odds and Ends of Supervising: Sora Edition [Graphics]
==References==
 
Category:Spirits
es:Kirby (SSBU)