Who's Kirby and What's he Smashing?

Nintendo's Kirby is a series of platforming games created by legendary game developer Masahiro Sakurai and starring the eponymous pink ball Kirby. First appearing on the Nintendo Game Boy in 1992 with Kirby's Dream Land, the series has become one of Ninendo's most popular, with 39 games currently released and selling over 40 million units worldwide. The character of Kirby has become a cultural icon, appearing in television, comic books, and even having his own restaurant in Tokyo. The character has also appeared in the Super Mario and Legend of Zelda series, and is most notably one of the original 12 fighters in Nintendo's iconic Super Smash Bros., returning for every subsequent game in the series.

Debuting in 1999 on the Nintendo 64, Super Smash Bros.,often referred to as just Smash, is Nintendo's iconic fighting game series, with 6 critically and commercially acclaimed entries as of 2025. Created and developed by Kirby's creator, Masahiro Sakurai, every Smash game allows players to control famous video game characters such as Mario, Donkey Kong, and even Steve from Minecraft. Smash gameplay differs from other, more traditional fighting games in that instead of damaging an opponent to get their health down from 100% to 0%, the goal is to raise an opponent's damage meter and attempt to knock them out of the stage; player health isn't a thing. Attacks are executed by pressing a button and holding a direction on the controller at the same time, giving each fighter at least 31 possible attack combinations.

This website provides a general overview of Kirby's moves, tier list rankings and trivia about his appearances in every Smash game.

Smash 64!!

It's his first Smash outing and Kirby's come out swinging. He's one of the smallest and lightest fighters in the game, giving him impressive speed and surprising range for his size. Kirby's primary special attacks are his swallow and copy abilities, giving him the ability to immobilize, damage, and steal the powers of his opponent all in one. Of the original 12 fighters in Smash 64, Kirby is ranked in second place due to his exceptional attack speed, powerful midair attacks, and high combo potential. However, Kirby isn't a without his flaws. His small size can be exploited with a well-timed throw or horozontal attack and once he's thrown off the stage it can be very difficult to recover. Kirby's strengths greatly outweigh his weaknesses, however, and he's a consistent top pick for competitive and casual Smash 64 players.

Unfortunately, Kirby's extreme viability wouldn't last into the next Smash titles, with 2nd being his highest tier placement throughout the series as a whole. While still remaining a solid choice in future games, his speed and versatility will be vastly outshined by other fighters. However, another character from the Kirby series would come to dominate the competitive scene by a wide margin just a few years down the line. Smash 64 offers the least amount of alternate appearances for its fighters and Kirby is no exception. His simple palette swaps include turning him blue, green or red, with no other cosmetic changes whatsoever.

Melee!!

Super Smash Bros. Melee is the second installment in the series, landing on the Gamecube in 2001. Still only Kirby represents his franchise, although starting with Brawl that will change. Kirby crashed down hard in this game, going from 2nd place in 64 to nearly dead last here, the exact opposite of his previous ranking. His high speed from 64 is completely absent here, along with awful air movement and attacks, poor ranged attacks, and nearly nonexistent throws and grabs. This makes Melee Kirby not only the most nerfed fighter in the game but the entire Smash franchise as a whole.

Brawl!!

Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the follow up to Melee, releasing on the Wii in 2008. This is the first game to include fighters from the Kirby series besides Kirby himself, featuring the main antagonist of the series, King Dedede, and the controverial Meta Knight. Kirby is ranked 20th out of the 38 fighters featured in Brawl, making him a decent pick and a vast improvement over his abysmal moveset in the previous game, with his grabs, recovery and finishers all being buffed. King Dedede is ranked 12th on the tier list due to his impressive grabs and throws, range, and his large size making him very difficult to KO. But neither of these fighters are capable of instilling fear in the hearts of any poor soul who crosses him like Meta Knight. First appearing in Kirby's Adventure on the NES in 1993, Meta Knight is ranked as the greatest fighter in >Brawl and is considered the strongest fighter in the Smash series, bar none. Boasting incredible mobility and speed, powerful attacks and insane recovery, it can be nearly impossible to beat a Meta Knight player in Brawl regardless of their skill. Meta Knight is so strong in this game he was outright banned for use in competitive Smash tournaments for years. Later installments would go on to drastically reduce Meta Knight's power, but in Brawl tournaments he is still nigh unbeatable.

Sm4sh and Ultimate!!

Super Smash Bros. For Wii U and 3DS are the combined fourth Smash titles, usually abbreviated to Sm4sh. All three representative from the Kirby series have nerfed heavily in these games, with most arguing Meta Knight and King Dedede needed some balance while Kirby absolutely did not. All three have dropped down in the tier list, with Meta Knight sitting in 16th place out of 58 fighters and Kirby and King Dedede landing with resounding thuds in 49th place and 51st places respectively. Kirby's mobility was yet again reduced and his reach has been shortened significantly from 64 and Brawl. Meta Knight is still competitively viable with his outstanding mobility remaining mostly the same but his range and recovery being brought down. Overall, he is still a good choice but is outshined by newer fighters. Dedede, however, fared the worst of the bunch, being turned into one of the slowest fighters in the game, with not only his movement speed being drastically reduced but his attack speed as well, leaving him extremely vulnerable to fast-moving fighters and combos. Overall, these three have all seen better days, but at least in the next game they'll all be strengthened like they deserve, right?

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the most recent entry in the Smash franchise, and the Kirby representatives haven't fared any better than before. Kirby himself is placed 75th out of 82 fighters, King Dedede is placed 79th, and Meta Knight is stuck in 50th. The same problems from Sm4sh are still present here, with Kirby still not being very mobile or having long range, Dedede still being nearly the slowest and heaviest fighter in the game, and poor Meta Knight having his range significantly reduced, his weight decreased, making him extremely easy to KO, and his grab range being one of the worst in the game. Ultimate is, however, the greatest these characters have ever looked, with their textures and modeling being extremely impressive. Regardless of their competitive status, these three characters are consistently fun to play and offer unique movesets, and as such remain incredibly popular picks for Smash players.

Who's Kirby and What's he Smashing?

Smash 64!!

Melee!!

Brawl!!

Sm4sh and Ultimate!!

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