King Dedede inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate
Universe	Kirby
Other playable appearances	inBrawl inSSB4
Availability	Unlockable
Final Smash	Dede-Rush
Tier	D (77)

King Dedede (デデデ,Dedede) is a playable character inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate. He was confirmed as playable along withRosalina & Luma and the rest of the veterans on June 12th, 2018. King Dedede is classified asFighter #39.

Series creatorMasahiro Sakurai's portrayal of King Dedede fromSuper Smash Bros. 4 was repurposed forUltimate.

King Dedede is currently ranked 77th out of 82 on the currentUltimatetier list, placing him towards the center of the D tier as the lowest ranked veteran from Brawl. While Dedede was buffed overall, this is similar to his exceptionally low placement inSmash 4 at 51st out of 54. As a super heavyweight, King Dedede boasts incredible endurance, alongside a far-reaching,super armored recovery,Super Dedede Jump; this makes it very difficult to KO him outright. He is notably one of the most intimidating characters at theledge, due to his hammer's range,Jet Hammer, his varioustilts andsmash attacks, and most significantlyGordo Throw, all of which make for deadlyledge traps. Dedede also fittingly boasts the some of the strongest attacks inUltimate, notably with forward smash, dash attack and up tilt, while he has a decent counter to projectilecamping inInhale, which can also be used for his Gordos.

However, King Dedede has severe flaws that overshadow most of his positive attributes. Dedede's awful mobility is the source of many of his problems, notably having the slowestair speed, which makes it challenging toapproach or retreat. While his recovery is armored and long-distanced, Dedede is exceedingly vulnerable offstage due to his air speed and low midair jumps. His large hitbox and few escape options make him highly susceptible to combos andjuggling. His slow frame data makes the majority of his moveset highly committal, with his aerials outside of neutral aerial having high landing lag, and his fastest attacks being too weak to net KOs; his strongest attacks, while extremely powerful, are all too slow to avoidpunishment. Finally, Gordos can be reflected by any hitbox that deals at least 2%, making it abusable by opponents inneutral. Combined, Dedede disadvantage state is notoriously poor, and he has a surprisingly hard time takingstocks in neutral: he is reliant on being in advantage to create setups and ledge traps, which is difficult for him to establish.

King Dedede's sheer amount of problems have left him with negative competitive reception. While Dedede was initially viewed as an upper mid tier, his weaknesses only became more apparent as the metagame progressed. Dedede also received notable nerfs to his Gordo hitboxes andshield break set-ups in subsequentbalance patches, lowering his competitive standing even further. Though players such asAtomsk andZAKI have seen some success with the character, many of Dedede's early mains have either dropped him or relegated him to asecondary.

How to unlock[edit]

Complete one of the following:

• PlayVS. matches, with King Dedede being the 30th character to be unlocked.
• ClearClassic Mode withDonkey Kong or any character in his unlock tree, being the 4th character unlocked afterRosalina & Luma.
• Have King Dedede join the player's party inWorld of Light.

King Dedede must then be defeated onFountain of Dreams (theΩ form is used in World of Light).

Attributes[edit]

King Dedede is tied for the third heaviest character in the game alongsideDonkey Kong, making him asuper heavyweight. King Dedede shares some typical attributes with other heavyweights, such as a high damage output, high KO potential, incredible endurance, quickfalling andfast falling speeds (both tied for second and third fastest respectively), overall sluggish mobility, large size and a high susceptibility to combos. In addition to having an average initial dash and the thirtieth highestgravity, he has the twenty-eighth slowestwalking speed, eleventh slowestdashing speed, the worstair speed in the game, and the fourth slowestair acceleration. To counteract these flaws, however, King Dedede is gifted with fourmidair jumps.

As a super-heavyweight, King Dedede has immense endurance, both vertically and horizontally. His massive weight makes him difficult to launch, and his incredibly fast falling speed lets him return to the ground quickly. Despite having the worst air mobility, his four midair jumps andSuper Dedede Jump, the latter of which travels a very long vertical distance and hassuper armor during its ascent and descent, gives him great recovery for a heavyweight. Super Dedede Jump also has ameteor smash hitbox during its descent, making it risky to intercept if he recovers high. Histech rolls are unusually long-distanced for a character of his size, making him difficult totech-chase. Finally, King Dedede's trademark hammer grants him a long disjoint in many of his attacks, allowing him to safelyspace his opponents, especially if they are slow and have worse range than him.

True to a super heavyweight character, King Dedede is gifted with an abundance of finishers. King Dedede's dash attack is a notable example, as it deals huge damage, and reliably KOs under 100%, while being able to KO as low as below 60% near the ledge. King Dedede's smash attacks all possess great power, great disjointed range, and transcendent priority, while having their own unique perks: forward smash can reliably KO from 60% and below in most situations, has deceptively short ending lag for an attack of its power, while also being able to deal severe shield damage; up smash reliably KOs from anywhere on-stage around 100ish% without rage, while covering a large space all-around Dedede; lastly, down smash is his fastest smash attack in his arsenal and covers significant horizontal distance around both sides of Dedede, while easily KOing below 100% near the ledge and around 125% from center.

The rest of King Dedede's grounded moveset comes with merits: neutral attack can be useful for racking up damage, while the finisher's unique vertical knockback allows this move to KO at 150% underrage. King Dedede's forward tilt sports good range and startup lag, while its multiple hits are effective for dealing damage and starting combos, while also trapping rolling or floor-bound opponents; up tilt has quick startup lag and good range, allowing it to combo into itself while dealing good damage and leaving King Dedede's body and headintangible; lastly, down tilt deals good damage and has good range, being able to pursue opponents or retreat from them.

King Dedede's aerial game is also decent, thanks to his multiple midair jumps which allow him to stall and bait reactions from opponents. Neutral air is his fastest aerial due to coming out on frame 7, which can disrupt enemy combos, and its late hit can also set up combos for Dedede himself, such as up tilt or up air. Forward air has a lot of range in front of Dedede, which is good for spacing and edgeguarding with its decent startup speed, and canwall of pain at lower percents. Back air is a potent kill option with a good range behind Dedede, which is also a good option for spacing and landing. Up air can beat out a lot of down aerials thanks to its long-range, and it also has strong KO potential. Down air, when sweetspotted, is a powerful meteor smash offstage, but its use in general is limited due to its slow startup and small awkward hitbox.

King Dedede's grab game has perks of its own. Although his grab has merely average range, this problem can be mitigated bydash grabbing. His pummel is good for racking up on damage, due to its quick speed, which is especially deadly at high percentages; forward throw has goodedgeguarding potential, being able to follow up with Gordo Toss; back throw is Dedede's strongest throw, dealing the most damage and knockback while having limited degrees of damage racking and edgeguarding potential; up throw can also be used to launch opponents into previously thrown Gordos, and can follow up with an up aerial; lastly, down throw's low damage and knockback lend it great combo potential, easily stringing into itself, and initiating combos with Dedede's neutral, forward, and back aerials.

King Dedede's special moves have decent utility as well.Inhale acts as a strong command grab that can be B-Reversed for landing options against shielding opponents on the ground or on platforms above Dedede. The spit can force opponents into a recovery state by sending them offstage or even spit them under the stage, which is perhaps where Dedede is strongest. Inhale also doubles as areflector, allowing him to contest against projectile campers. The Gordos fromGordo Throw act as powerful stage control options with KO potential in their own right at 140% and above and can set up deadly ledge traps. Lastly,Jet Hammer is an effective punishing tool and great with heavy armor that does very high damage and knockback, which kills at relatively low percents. With a max charge, it can break full shields.

In spite of these strengths, King Dedede still has noteworthy drawbacks. King Dedede's biggest problem is hisapproach, which is among the worst in the game. His mobility is sluggish, especially in the air, giving King Dedede immense difficulty catching up to or retreating from his opponents. King Dedede's below-average dashing speed also makes him over-reliant onfox-trotting to cover grounded distances, which itself is somewhat predictable.

Although King Dedede's fast falling speed allows him to easily return to the ground, his slow air speed, large hurtbox, heavy weight and lack of fast-enough escape options renders him vulnerable to combos and juggling. King Dedede's recovery is further hampered by his aforementioned slow air speed and fast falling speed, often forcing him to use his Super Dedede Jump to return onstage. Super Dedede Jump itself, in spite of traveling high, also causes King Dedede to descend very quickly; this, coupled with its limited horizontal maneuverability, renders Super Dedede Jump unreliable for recovering at certain distances offstage.

King Dedede's other specials can work against him as well. Inhale has high ending lag, allowing other characters to easily punish him after he finishes the move. Gordo Toss's Gordos can be reflected back at King Dedede from any attack that does 2% or higher, dealing immense damage to him and potentially resulting in a self-induced KO, requiring him to exercise caution or utilize Inhale on his reflected Gordos. Jet Hammer also takes a long time to charge, leaving King Dedede susceptible to attack, and its high ending lag leaves him vulnerable to punishment from his opponents.

Overall, King Dedede's high weight, endurance, range, and power allow him to punish his opponents with relative ease and survive for a very long time, but his poor overall mobility makes King Dedede's approach somewhat abysmal and renders his recovery somewhat predictable and overly reliant on Super Dedede Jump. Dedede players should be careful to not make a mistake, or else they might potentially risk getting heavily punished.

Changes fromSuper Smash Bros. 4[edit]

King Dedede was infamous for being one of the worst characters inSSB4, owing to a large number of weaknesses such as notoriously poor frame data, his moveset's lack of power despite being a super heavyweight, and his special moveset's lack of utility outside ofGordo Throw. Even in game updates, he infamously received nerfs while not receiving a single buff in return. Possibly as a result of his poorly regarded status, King Dedede was buffed overall in the transition toUltimate.

Among King Dedede's biggest buffs are those to his ground game.Neutral attack's KO power was significantly improved, and it has undergone adjustments that make it harder for opponents to fall from the move as easily.Forward tilt connects much better overall, allowing it to deal its maximum damage more frequently, whereasup tilt has increased KO power (now having power comparable to itsBrawl incarnation, especially with rage) anddown tilt's angle was positively adjusted while its hitbox was fixed, which when combined with the changes tojostling allows it to connect much more frequently.Dash attack now deals significantly increased knockback and has had its hitbox fixed, now making it a usable (albeit still rather slow) punish option at theedge. His smash attacks are also more useful, with bothforward andup smash dealing more damage and knockback, and his forward smash is now slightly faster.

King Dedede's aerial game has been improved overall as well. The universal reductions to landing lag improve Dedede's limited combo and set-up ability, making hisneutral aerial a more potent combo starter, and giving hisup aerial's looping hits the capacity of starting drag-down followups. Particularly, his up aerial now deals significantly increased knockback, turning it once again into a reliable KOing option despite its angle rendering it more vulnerable toLSI.Forward aerial has also increased knockback, improving its ability to edgeguard. His grab game has been slightly buffed as well, thanks to his grabs lasting for one more frame and his standing and dash grabs reaching further, in spite of all his grabs receiving slightly increased startup and increased ending lag.

King Dedede's special moveset has also received several miscellaneous buffs, giving him options that either he previously lacked or were outclassed.Inhale has a much larger grabbox and has gained the ability to spit out inhaled projectiles with a one-time increase to their damage, effectively giving him areflector, which helps alleviate his vulnerability to projectile camping. Gordo Throw's hitboxes are larger and more accurate, and the move has less ending lag after a Gordo has been thrown. Additionally, Inhale's new ability to suck in projectiles to spit them out combines well with Gordo Throw, giving Dedede another way to throw or re-launch Gordos at a faster speed, which gives the projectile much more utility.Jet Hammer now deals more damage and knockback, hasshield breaking potential, and it now has heavyarmor before the move comes out that resists up to 14%, improving the move as a hard punish option.

Aside from direct changes, King Dedede also benefits from a few changes to universal gameplay mechanics. The universal increase to mobility has buffed his abysmal horizontal mobility (although it still remains among the worst across the series), while the streamlined jumpsquats and the new limitations toair dodge mechanics have increased the effectiveness of his aerial moveset, by giving him additional landing options when combined with the reduction on landing lag, and improving hisedgeguarding ability, now making the latter more formidable. The changes to air dodging also don't affect him as much as other characters, thanks to him still boasting multiple jumps and a long-distanced recovery move inSuper Dedede Jump, and he can potentially use a directional air dodge without having to resort to using his recovery move.

However, King Dedede is not without a few nerfs. Hisback aerial, despite having a visually more accurate animation, has smaller hitboxes, slightly decreasing its range. His neutral attack and up tilt deal less damage, making the former a less reliable option for racking up excess damage. He has also received some nerfs in game updates, such as his forward smash not breaking shields at once. Despite this, most of his nerfs have all been extremely minor in comparison to his more useful buffs.

Altogether, King Dedede's entire kit has been noticeably improved fromSSB4, and while this doesn't change his core playstyle significantly (aside from Inhale becoming a reflector), it allows him to play to his strengths better thanks to his moves gaining improved consistency and utility. However, it is important to note that, due to this, King Dedede still retains most of his core weaknesses from the previous game, such as slow mobility, a lackluster disadvantage state, mediocre out of shield options, a vulnerability to some forms of camping, and a high susceptibility to rushdown and combos, with many of his buffs failing to alleviate his weaknesses outside of Inhale becoming a pseudo-reflector. Combined with the vast majority of returning veterans also receiving buffs that have improved them, King Dedede has not significantly improved relative to the cast inUltimate, despite performing better compared toSSB4.

Aesthetics[edit]

• Due to the aesthetic used inUltimate, King Dedede's model features an altered color scheme. His clothing and general design are more cartoonish, with higher contrast colors and greater detail in his clothes; the fur on his coat and hat appears fluffier and more detailed, and his sash has more depth.
  • Normal map changes to the star textures on his hammer give the illusion that they protrude slightly more, as depicted in his official artwork.
• Like many other characters, King Dedede is more expressive. For instance, he now squints in a humorously seductive manner during his crouching animation. King Dedede generally has more furious expressions during attacks, his Screen KO, and his helpless animation.
• Downtaunt now has a more exaggerated animation, with the belly-drumming animated to be more obvious.
• Two of King Dedede'svictory poses were slightly altered:
  • His up-inputted victory pose now shows aWaddle Dee walking up to him. The ending animation is now more exaggerated, with Dedede bouncing while laughing gloatingly.
  • His right-inputted victory pose now finishes with him chargingJet Hammer.
• King Dedede'sstar KO voice clip has been shortened, as it no longer extends past the KO's animation.
• King Dedede'sBoxing Ring alias has been changed to "Self-Made King", a direct translation of the Japanese title, for consistency with its appearance inKirby Star Allies.

Attributes[edit]

• Like all characters, King Dedede'sjumpsquat animation takes three frames to complete (down from 6).
• King Dedederuns faster (1.36 → 1.496).
  • Initial dash is much faster (1.4 → 1.815), enablingfox-trotting for boosted ground mobility.
• King Dededewalks faster (0.98 → 1.029).
• King Dedede'sair speed is much faster (0.63 → 0.735), now being nearly on par withLuigi's.
• King Dedede'sgravity is higher (0.08788 → 0.097).
  • His short hop and jump are shorter as a result (38 frames → 36 frames (short hop), 55 frames → 48 frames (jump).
• King Dedede is much heavier (119 → 127), allowing him to survive even longer.
• Forwardroll has less ending lag (FAF 33 → 32).
• Forward roll grants lessintangibility (frames 4-19 → 4-16).
• Back roll has more startup with less intangibility (frames 4-19 → 5-17) and more ending lag (FAF 33 → 37).
• Spot dodge intangibility starts sooner but also ends sooner (frames 4-19 → 3-18).
• Air dodge grants more intangibility (frames 4-29 → 4-32).
• Air dodge has much more ending lag (34 → 43).

Ground attacks[edit]

• Neutral attack:
  • The first hit has less ending lag (FAF 38 → 33).
  • The first two hits of neutral attack can nowlock.
  • Neutral infinite has less startup lag (8 → 5), is faster, and connects more reliably.
  • Neutral infinite's finisher has less startup lag (6 → 4) and more knockback scaling (150 → 162).
  • Neutral infinite's finisher has 2 hitboxes rather than 1 (10u → 7u/7u), and the hitboxes extend farther vertically (Y offset: 10u-12u → 7.5u-13u (both)). The finisher has more range overall as a result.
  • The finisher has more ending lag (FAF 47 → 50).
  • Except for the finisher, each hit of neutral attack deals less damage (first hit: 4% → 2.5%, second hit: 4% → 2.2%, neutral infinite: 1% → 0.5%).
  • The infinite has gained ashieldstun multiplier of 5×. This allows it to lock opponents into their shields between each hit, and thus pressure them more effectively, but also allows them to cancel shieldstun and punish King Dedede more easily if they shield 10 hits or more.
• Dash attack:
  • Dash attack deals more knockback (40 base/100 scaling → 65/92 (clean), 35 base/100 scaling → 55/92 (late)), improving its already potent KO potential. This is boosted further by the changes to theSakurai angle on the ground.
  • The clean hit and first late hitbox extend further inwards (Z offset: 7.8u-11.8u → 5u-11.8u), improving their ability to hit opponents at the edge, and combined with the changes tojostleing remove its blind spot.
  • Dash attack hitbox duration lasts longer with 2 new sourspot hitboxes (Frame 26-36 → 26-42).
• Forward tilt:
  • Forward tilt's looping hits have altered angles (25°/96° → 22°/100°) and have altered knockback (20 base/24/80/90 set/100 scaling → 60/50/30/26 set/100 scaling), allowing the move to connect more reliably.
  • Forward tilt has an altered animation.
• Up tilt:
  • Up tilt has less startup (9 → 7) and ending lag (FAF 44 → 39).
  • Up tilt does slightly less damage (12%/10% → 11.5%/9.5%).
  • Up tilt deals more knockback (50 base/80 scaling → 65/94), making the move much stronger despite the damage reduction.
  • Up tilt's hitboxes are smaller (7u/8u → 6u/6.5u), reducing its range.
• Down tilt:
  • Down tilt's clean hitbox now extends inwards (Z offset: 12u → 12u-6u), which combined with the changes tojostle mechanics removes its blind spot.
  • Down tilt launches at a lower angle (45˚ → 35˚).
• Forward smash:
  • Forward smash has less startup (42 → 40) and ending lag (FAF 82 → 78).
  • Forward smash deals more damage (15%/24%/6% → 16%/18.5%/25%/11%), and all but the shockwave and early hitboxes deal more knockback (30 base/93 scaling → 50/70 base/85/74 scaling).
  • There is now a hitbox on the handle during the early hit which instead of launching opponents pushes them into the sourspot of the main hit (which is still stronger than the early hit), making it slightly easier to land the main hit.
  • Forward smash has a new sourspot on the hammer's handle that's much weaker (though is still powerful in its own right), and the early hit deals less knockback (30 base/93 scaling → 85/55), hindering its KO potential despite its increased damage.
• Up smash:
  • Up smash deals more damage (14%/9% → 16%/10%) with no compensation on knockback, improving its KO ability.
• Down smash starts charging earlier (frame 8 to 6).

Aerial attacks[edit]

• All aerials have less landing lag (15 frames → 9 (neutral), 30 → 18 (forward/down), 21 → 13 (back), 22 → 13 (up).
• Neutral aerial:
  • Neutral aerial possesses much greater combo potential due to its reduced landing lag and King Dedede's shorter jumpsquat, especially when hitting with the late hit.
  • Neutral aerial causes King Dedede's belly to wobble around during the move.
• Forward aerial:
  • Forward aerial has more knockback scaling (90 → 98).
  • Forward aerial has a snappier animation, with a significant delay on when King Dedede flips.
• Back aerial:
  • Back aerial is now a horizontal hammer swing, which better matches the move's hitboxes.
  • Back aerial now has 3 unextended hitboxes rather than 1 extended one (10u → 6.5u/6.5u/6.5u). Compared to the previous hitbox, the new hitboxes have both less vertical range (Y reach: 20u–0u → 16.5u–3.5u), and less horizontal range (Z reach: -25u–1u → 0.5u–-24.5u).
    • The hitboxes are now able to interpolate with King Dedede's movement.
  • Due to his reduced short hop duration, King Dedede can no longer jump out of a short hop back aerial before landing.
• Up aerial:
  • Up aerial's final hit deals more knockback (50 base/150 scaling → 55/167).
  • Up aerial launches at a lower angle (70°/80° → 60°), hindering its KO potential close to the upper blast zone, while also making it much more susceptible toDI andLSI.
• Down aerial:
  • The duration of the hitbox has been slightly increased (22-23 → 22-24).
  • It has an altered animation: King Dedede swings his hammer from his right instead of his left. It also has a more forceful animation.

Throws and other attacks[edit]

• Grabs:
  • All grabs have more startup (frame 7 (standing)/9 (dash)/10 (pivot) → 8/11/12) and ending lag (FAF 36 (standing)/45 (dash)/42 (pivot) → 40/48/43).
  • Standing grab's grabbox extends farther (Z2 offset: 11.5 → 12.5), improving its range.
  • Dash grab's grabbox extends slightly farther (Z2 offset: 14 → 14.4), slightly improving its range.
  • Pivot grab's grabbox does not extend as far outwards (Z2 offset: -19.5 → -19.3), which combined with the changes to jostling hinders its utility.
• Pummel
  • Pummel deals more hitlag (5 frames → 16), but has much less startup (frame 9 → 2) and ending lag (FAF 25 → 8), shortening its duration overall as well as making it harder to escape between each pummel.
  • Pummel deals less damage (3% → 1.6%).
• Up throw:
  • Up throw has improved combo potential due to King Dedede's faster jumpsquat and jump speed.
• Down throw:
  • Down throw has an altered animation, with King Dedede slamming his opponent face-first onto the ground.
  • Down throw now deals 8 frames of hitlag to King Dedede and the opponent before the throw occurs, rather than dealing 6 frames of hitlag to the opponent only. This makes down throw easier to DI and increases its ending lag, as its total duration was unchanged.

Special moves[edit]

• Inhale:
  • Inhale has less startup lag (frame 17 → 14).
  • Inhale acts as areflector, giving a 1.5x damage boost to anyprojectiles spat out. Once Inhaled, the projectile is spat out almost immediately, and eliminates almost all of the move's ending lag.
    • Inhale can catch and spit Dedede's ownGordos. This gives him an option to relaunch Gordos that are hit back at him, and manually allows him to launch Gordos forward much further and at a much faster velocity compared to throwing one withGordo Throw.
  • Inhale has a much larger grabbox.
  • Inhale's spit deals more damage (10% → 12%).
  • Spat out opponents deal more knockback to bystanders (70 base/70 scaling → 77/78).
  • Inhale has an updated, more opaque visual effect.
• Gordo Throw:
  • Gordos have significantly larger hitboxes on their bodies that don't shrink over time (3.1u/2.9u/2.6u/2.4u → 4u), and also have hitboxes that cover their spikes, considerably improving their area of attack, and doing a much better job at accurately representing the overall size and shape of the Gordos.
  • Gordos gain a surprised expression when deflected. Additionally, they have animated spines.
  • Gordos have a higher chance of sticking to walls (50% → 60%), improving their edgeguarding potential.
  • Gordo Throw has less ending lag (FAF 64 → 59).
• Super Dedede Jump:
  • Super Dedede Jump's landing hit deals more damage (11% → 12%).
    • It has altered knockback (80 (base)/100/80 (scaling) → 105/100 (base)/70/82 (scaling)).
  • Super Dedede Jump will snap to edge when reversed.
  • Super Dedede Jump descends more quickly.
  • King Dedede has blue trails form around him when using Super Dedede Jump, indicating armor.
• Jet Hammer:
  • Jet Hammer deals more damage (grounded: 11%-38% → 12%-40%, aerial: 10%-27% → 11%-32%).
    • Fully charged Jet Hammer deals more knockback (grounded: 5 (base)/66 (scaling) → 60/46, aerial: 10 (base)/70 (scaling) → 60/54).
  • Jet Hammer has heavyarmor during the swing (frames 1-14) when used on the ground.
  • Uncharged and fully charged Jet Hammer's hammer head hitbox is larger (7.5u → 9u).
  • The fire from Jet Hammer is blue instead of red.
  • Fully charged Jet Hammer triggers Special Zoom upon hitting an opponent.
• Final Smash:
  • King Dedede has a new Final Smash calledDede-Rush, which features King Dedede taking his "Masked Dedede" persona fromKirby Super Star Ultra before trapping opponents inside of a caged boxing ring, attacking them with a barrage of missiles, and launching them with his Jet Hammer.
  • It deals more damage (46% → 59.6%) and knockback.
  • UnlikeDedede Burst inSSB4, it is not possible for opponents to escape once trapped.
  • Dede-Rush cannot trap more than one opponent at a time for extra damage.

Update history[edit]

King Dedede received a mix of buffs, nerfs and glitch fixes via game updates, but was buffed slightly overall. The most notable nerfs were toGordo Throw: update 2.0.0 shrunk the Gordos' hitboxes, while update 3.0.0 both lowered their shield damage output and removed the Gordo-boostedSuper Dedede Jump. Moreover, this same update further toned down King Dedede's ability to pressure shields by removing forward smash's ability to hit grounded characters twice, which removed its ability to instantly break shields.

Following these nerfs, update 7.0.0 would mark the first time King Dedede was buffed inUltimate, as his shield was enlarged as part of a near-universal buff. Update 8.0.0 continued this trend by buffing some of King Dedede's moves, primarily in regard to KO potential. Up tilt's damage output was increased noticeably, and down tilt's launching angle was lowered. As a result, both moves now function as strong, yet reasonably fast KO options when they are sweetspotted, which King Dedede was sorely lacking up to that point. Forward aerial and especially up aerial gained higher knockback: in addition to improving their KO potentials, with down throw to up aerial now being a KO confirm, this also improved forward aerial's edge-guarding potential.

In addition to his improved offense, King Dedede's defense was improved slightly, thanks toInhale's decreased start-up lag and enlarged grabboxes making it more reliable at catching projectiles and approaches. Lastly, update 11.0.0 buffed Gordo Throw in a few ways: its decreased ending lag and Dedede's faster reflection timing have collectively made it safer, and its edge-guarding potential was improved thanks to the Gordos' increased chance of sticking to edges.

Overall, King Dedede fares slightly better than he did at the launch ofUltimate. Although Dedede retains a lot of his fundamental flaws and did not improve as much as other tepidly received characters that were also buffed via updates, his buffs have nevertheless improved his KO potential and, to a lesser degree, his defensive potential.

2.0.0

• Fixed King Dedede's knockback facial expression afterInhaling an opponent holding an explosive item.
• Gordos' hitboxes on their spikes (4.8u→3.8u) and body (4.5u→4u) have been reduced.

3.0.0

• Forward smash no longer hits grounded opponents twice. This significantly hinders its shield breaking potential.
• Fixed reflectedCharge Shot fromSamus that would launch the other way usingInhale.
• Opponents now properly gain intangibility when caught by Inhale; previously opponents would become stuck in hitstun during Inhale.
• Gordo Throw deals less shield damage.
• Gordo BoostedSuper Dedede Jump was removed.
• Aerial Gordo Throw's animation has been adjusted.

3.1.0

• Scenarios where the opponent would not escape from Inhale after King Dedede gets hitstunned at a specific frame has been fixed.

4.0.0

• Fixed an issue where Inhaling certain projectile would become stuck at the center of the stage.
• Fixed an issue where Gordo would become stuck under King Dedede after catching it back during invulnerabily.

7.0.0

• Overall shield size has been increased by 1.15×.

8.0.0

• Up tilt deals more damage (10%/8% → 11.5%/9.5%) with no compensation on knockback, drastically improving its KO potential, to the point it is only slightly weaker than his up tilt inBrawl without rage.
• Down tilt launches at a lower angle (45° → 35°), allowing it to set up tech-chases more effectively at low percents and improving its KO potential at high percents.
• Forward smash has had its jostling properties adjusted.
• Forward aerial has more knockback scaling (90 → 98).
• Up aerial's last hit has much more knockback scaling (147 → 167), greatly improving its KO potential, being able to KO under 150% from ground level withoutDI.
• Inhale:
  • The move has less startup (frame 17 → 14).
  • The grounded version's grabboxes are larger (Z offset: 4u → 4u—7u (initial), 5u—9u → 5u—12u (vacuum), greatly improving its range.

9.0.1

• Fixed an issue in which Dedede could fall though the stage when breakingSteve's blocks.

11.0.0

• Gordo Throw:
  • Has less ending lag (FAF 61 → 59).
  • Has an increased chance of the Gordos sticking on a wall (50% → 60%), improving its edge guarding ability.
  • Has increased the speed of Dedede reflecting a Gordo (FAF 61 → 55), with the timing of the reflection being shortened (FAF 29 → 25).

12.0.0

• Inhaling a small item/projectile while falling will make King Dedede fall slower, while inhaling a small item/projectile while rising will make him fall faster.

Moveset[edit]

• King Dedede can perform4 double jumps, known asHovering.

For a gallery of King Dedede's hitboxes, seehere.

Note: All numbers are listed as base damage, without the1v1 multiplier.

Stats[edit]

Announcer call[edit]

This article could use additional or higher-quality audio files. The editor who added this tag suggests:Needs announcer calls from other languages. If you have a good audio file for this article, upload ithere.

• English

• Japanese/Chinese

On-screen appearance[edit]

• Sits on a palanquin carried by 4Waddle Dees, then jumps off, scattering them.

• 

  King Dedede's on-screen appearance

Taunts[edit]

• Up taunt: Holds up his hammer in celebration, twirling it and hoisting it upwards three times.
• Side taunt: Twirls his hammer and laughs.
• Down taunt: Spins around in a circle, slapping his belly and chanting.

• 

  King Dedede's up taunt.

• 

  King Dedede's side taunt.

• 

  King Dedede's down taunt.

Idle poses[edit]

• Puts his hammer on his shoulder, briefly tapping against his shoulder twice.
• Smacks his belly twice.

• 

  King Dedede's first idle pose.

• 

  King Dedede's second idle pose.

Crowd cheer[edit]

	Cheer (English)	Cheer (Japanese/Chinese)	Cheer (Italian)	Cheer (Dutch)	Cheer (French)
Cheer
Description	De-De-De! De-De-De! Dedededededede!	Dedede! Dedede! Dedededededede!	Ki - ing Dedede!	Dedede!	Roi DaDiDou!

	Cheer (German)	Cheer (Spanish)	Cheer (Russian)	Cheer (Korean)
Cheer
Description	Köooooo - nig Dedede!	Rey Dedede! Reeeeey De - deeeee - de!	Ko - rol' Dedede!	De-De-De! De-De-De! Dedededededede!

Victory poses[edit]

• Left: Swings his hammer twice before turning to the camera and while smiling smugly.
• Up: Laughs and repeatedly slaps his belly while aWaddle Dee walks into the scene. The Waddle Dee doesn't appear in Team Battles.
• Right: Twirls his hammer with a grimace, then chargesJet Hammer.

Incompetitive play[edit]

Most historically significant players[edit]

See also:Category:King Dedede players (SSBU)

•  Atomsk - One of the best King Dedede players in the world in the game's first few years. Though he boasted the best North American results behind ZAKI in the early metagame, such as placing 25th atPound 2019, he is best known for his performances in the post-pandemic metagame, which includes placing 3rd atCROSSxUP defeatingQuidd, placing 4th atHold The Line defeatingLight, and defeatingDark Wizzy atSmash Ultimate Summit 3; these performances are considered some of King Dedede's best performances in the post-pandemic metagame and made him the first King Dedede player to rank globally, at 102nd on theOrionRank Ultimate: Eclipse. He retired from competition after mid-2022.
•  Castelia - A notable King Dedede player who gained notoriety as one of the best King Dedede players in the online metagame, placing 3rd atDabuz's Galaxy Sized Journey To EVO and 7th atUltimate Naifu Wars 5. In the post-pandemic era, she is considered the current best King Dedede player in the United States, placing 33rd at bothGlitch - Regen and supermajorGet On My Level 2023, and has defeated players such asJake,KirbyKid, andPkChris at other events.
•  Peli - One of the best King Dedede players in the early metagame, headlining the character in Europe by placing 9th atValhalla III and 25th atSyndicate 2019, in addition to defeating European talent such asiStudying,CurryGovernor, andMeru. Though he eventually dropped King Dedede for other characters, most notablySonic, he maintains King Dedede as a secondary character, such as at his victory atVCA 2021, where he used King Dedede to defeatSpace andLeon in his bracket, marking one of the best King Dedede performances inUltimate.
•  ZAKI - The greatest King Dedede player of all time. He has been the sole representative of the character throughout the game's entire lifespan and holds the highest King Dedede placements at the largest events of the year, including placing 25th atUmebura Japan Major 2019,Maesuma TOP 14, andSumabato SP 49, as well as 33rd atEVO 2019, the largestSmash tournament of all time. He is the only King Dedede player to top 8 a major, doing so atUmebura SP 2, and is the second King Dedede player to be ranked globally, placing 130th on theOrionRank 2022.

Tier placement and history[edit]

At the beginning ofUltimate's metagame, many players noticed how, despite retaining some of his weaknesses, King Dedede was overall buffed fromSSB4 thanks to improvements toGordo Throw and stronger KO options, as well as retaining his resilient endurance and disjointed range. This perception would further improve thanks to players such asZAKI andAtomsk, both of whom made notable impacts at major tournaments, with the former placing 2nd atSumabato SP 2 and the latter placing 25th atPound 2019. As a result, King Dedede became a more popular choice when compared to his appearance inSSB4, most notably in local and regional tournaments. By extension, the general perception casted him as an upper mid tier character, with potential to be a high tier character.

However, as the metagame progressed, game updates removing King Dedede's shield break combinations and shrinking the Gordos' hitboxes started to hurt his perception. Atomsk's results became less consistent while other players either dropped King Dedede in favor of others (Big D) or relegated him to a secondary (Peli). Though ZAKI remained successful with King Dedede, his attendance dropped in 2023, while his results since then were still less consistent than in the early metagame. In addition, King Dedede's glaring issues on his poor disadvantage state, inconsistent KO potential, and laggy frame data were only further highlighted in his struggle against nearly all top- and high-tier characters, which was only further exacerbated with the addition of DLC characters and no major breakthroughs to his metagame prospects, which hurt his already small representation in high-level tournaments. Despite King Dedede being widely considered to be better than inSSB4, he remains an unpopular pick and is once again considered to be one of the worst characters of the game, ranking 80th on the first tier list before rising one spot up to 79th on the second tier list. Top Dedede players share a similar opinion on the character, with Atomsk and Peli noting his numerous flaws that cause players great difficulty in achieving consistently results in tournaments. While King Dedede rose to 77th on the third tier list, this is also partially attributable to a specific ballot ranking King Dedede within the top 5.^[1] King Dedede's representation remained poor overall, only marginally improving in thesecond-half of 2024, though placing as a bottom-three character infirst half of 2024. As such, King Dedede's higher placement did not necessarily denote an improved perception of the character, as many players continue to consider him to be amongUltimate's worst fighters.

Classic Mode: Royal Rumble[edit]

King Dedede'scongratulations screen.

King Dedede faces off against characters with royal titles such as kings and princesses.

Round	Opponent	Stage	Music	Notes
1	King K. Rool	Pirate Ship	Gang-Plank Galleon	The stage represents King K. Rool's ship, Gangplank Galleon.
2	Marth andRoy	Castle Siege	Fire Emblem Theme
3	Zelda	Hyrule Castle	Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda (64)
4	Peach andDaisy	Princess Peach's Castle	Underwater Theme - Super Mario Bros.
5	Bowser andBowser Jr.	Find Mii (Battlefield form)	King Bowser - Super Mario Bros. 3	The stage represents Bowser's Castle.
6	Ganondorf	Bridge of Eldin	Calamity Ganon Battle - Second Form
Bonus Stage
Final	Master Hand	Final Destination	Master Hand(Less than 7.0 intensity) Master Hand / Crazy Hand(Intensity 7.0 or higher)	On intensity 7.0 and higher,Crazy Hand fights alongside Master Hand.

Credits roll after completing Classic Mode. Completing it as King Dedede hasKing Dedede's Theme (Brawl) accompany the credits.

Role inWorld of Light[edit]

Finding King Dedede in World of Light

King Dedede was among the fighters that were summoned to fight against the army ofMaster Hands.

During the opening cutscene, King Dedede was present on the cliffside whenGaleem unleashed its beams of light. He was vaporized offscreen and placed under Galeem's imprisonment along with the other fighters, excludingKirby.

Dedede can only be accessed in a sub-area themed after theGourmet Race minigame fromKirby Super Star, where the player must collect exactly 11 pieces of food for him to appear on the podium.

Fighter Battle[edit]

No.	Image	Name	Type	Power	Stage	Music
39		King Dedede	Attack	9,000	Fountain of Dreams (Ω form)	King Dedede's Theme (Brawl)

Spirits[edit]

King Dedede's fighter spirit can be obtained by completingClassic Mode as King Dedede. It is also available periodically for purchase in the shop for 300 Gold, but only after King Dedede has been unlocked. Unlocking King Dedede in World of Light 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 inUltimate.

Additionally, King Dedede makes an appearance as a primary spirit under his Masked Dedede alter ego.

In Spirit Battles[edit]

Conditions in italic aren't listed on the Spirit Battle preview screen.

As the main opponent[edit]

Spirit				Battle parameters
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music
180		Moblin	The Legend of Zelda Series	•King Dedede Team×4		1,900	Skyloft (Battlefield form)	•Move Speed ↓	•The enemy favors down specials •The enemy has reduced move speed	Overworld Theme - The Legend of Zelda
312		Raphael the Raven	Yoshi Series	•GiantKing Dedede		4,000	Mario Galaxy	N/A	•The enemy is giant	Yoshi's Island (for 3DS / Wii U)
314		Pak E. Derm	Yoshi Series	•King Dedede		3,900	Yoshi's Story	•Jump Power ↓	•You have reduced jump power •Timed battle (1:30) •Only certain Pokémon will emerge from Poké Balls (Alolan Exeggutor)	Yoshi's Story (Melee)
316		Don Bongo	Yoshi Series	•GiantKing Dedede		3,900	Yoshi's Story	•Move Speed ↑ •Move Speed ↓	•The enemy has increased move speed after a little while •The enemy is giant •The enemy has reduced move speed	Yoshi's Story (Melee)
340		Kracko	Kirby Series	•King Dedede •Pikachu×2		3,500	Skyworld (clouds only)	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win	Boss Theme Medley - Kirby Series
365		Gordo	Kirby Series	•ClearKing Dedede×3		3,800	Green Greens (hazards off)	N/A	•The enemy'sside special has increased power •The enemy favors side specials •The enemy is invisible	Kirby Retro Medley (Castle Lololo)
386		Peppy Hare	Star Fox Series	•BunnyKing Dedede •Fox •Falco		8,800	Venom	N/A	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Main Theme - Star Fox 64 (Melee)
727		Dyntos	Kid Icarus Series	•King Dedede		7,500	Palutena's Temple (Battlefield form)	N/A	•The enemy is easily distracted by items	Lightning Chariot Base
819		Yellow Wollywog	Pikmin Series	•King Dedede×3		3,800	Distant Planet	N/A	•The enemy favors up specials	Garden of Hope (Remix)
853		Lyle	Animal Crossing Series	•King Dedede		1,700	Smashville	•Defense ↑ •Attack Power ↑	•The enemy has increased attack power when the enemy's at high damage •The enemy has increased defense when the enemy's at high damage	Town Hall and Tom Nook's Store - Animal Crossing: Wild World
1,125		Fish	Balloon Fight Series	•King Dedede		3,900	Balloon Fight	N/A	•The enemy's neutral special has increased power •Timed battle (1:30) •The enemy favors neutral specials	Balloon Fight Medley
1,235		Chef (Personal Trainer: Cooking) Chef (Cooking Guide)	Personal Trainer: Cooking Series Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? Series	•King Dedede		3,500	PictoChat 2	•Item:Food	•The enemy becomes more powerful after eating •The enemy is easily distracted by items	Personal Trainer: Cooking
1,344		Gruntilda	Banjo-Kazooie Series	•GiantKing Dedede (250 HP) •GiantDr. Mario (40 HP) (45 HP) (50 HP)		13,900	Find Mii (Ω form)	•Hazard: Poison Floor	•Defeat the main fighter to win •The floor is poisonous •Stamina battle •The enemy starts the battle with a Star Rod •Reinforcements will appear during the battle	Vs. Klungo

As a minion[edit]

Spirit				Battle parameters							Inspiration
No.	Image	Name	Series	Enemy Fighter(s)	Type	Power	Stage	Rules	Conditions	Music	Character
343		Dark Matter	Kirby Series	•Meta Knight (120 HP) •King Dedede (80 HP)		13,500	Halberd (Ω form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Nightmare)	•The enemy's melee weapons have increased power •The enemy can unleash powerful critical hits at random •Stamina battle	02 Battle	PossessedKing Dedede (Kirby's Dream Land 2)
745		Captain Syrup	Wario Land Series	•Bayonetta •GiantKing Dedede		3,500	Pirate Ship	N/A	•Items will be pulled toward the enemy •The enemy is giant •The enemy is easily distracted by items	The Great Sea / Menu Select	Genie
1,312		Yusuke Kitagawa	Persona Series	•Chrom •GiantKing Dedede		2,500	Suzaku Castle (Battlefield form)	•Assist Trophy Enemies (Vince)	•Defeat the main fighter to win •Hostile assist trophies will appear after a little while	Last Surprise	Goemon
1,328		Hero's Comrades	DRAGON QUEST Series	•Ike (120 HP) •TinyKing Dedede (120 HP) •Zero Suit Samus (100 HP) •Sheik (130 HP) •TinyRobin (90 HP) •Zelda (110 HP) •Link (100 HP)		13,300	Yggdrasil's Altar	N/A	•The enemy has increased melee-weapon damage and move speed •The enemy's smash attacks have increased power •Stamina battle	The Hero Goes Forth with a Determination	Rab
1,359		Kim Kaphwan	Fatal Fury Series	•Ken •GiantKing Dedede •TinyRidley		1,800	King of Fighters Stadium	•Jump Power ↓	•The enemy's kicks and knee strikes have increased power •Reinforcements will appear after an enemy is KO'd •All fighters have reduced jump power	Let's Go to Seoul! - FATAL FURY 2	Chang Koehan

Alternate costumes[edit]

Gallery[edit]

• 

  King Dedede's fighter card.

• 

  King Dedede's unlock notice.

• 

  King Dededetaunting onGreen Greens.

• 

  Performing his neutral aerial onMagicant.

• 

  With aPoké Ball after performing his forward smash onPokémon Stadium.

• 

  Crouching withKirby on Green Greens.

• 

  King Dedede attacking another fighter onWrecking Crew.

• 

  Inhaling aBob-omb onTown and City.

• 

  King Dedede andVillager during theSquid Sisters' concert onMario Galaxy.

• 

  Taunting withMeta Knight and Kirby on Green Greens.

• 

  HittingLink with a forward smash onThe Great Cave Offensive.

Fighter Showcase Video[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• King Dedede's prank to the Kongs inKing K. Rool's reveal trailer is considered an in-joke within the fandom, as it is perceived as his voice actor, series directorMasahiro Sakurai, making a practical joke at the expense of the fans.
  • Ironically, both King Dedede and King K. Rool are opponents of each other's Classic Mode route.
• In the Korean version of the game, theAnnouncer calls him "King Dedede", despite having a slightly different name in Korean, "Dedede Daewang", which translates to "Dedede the Great". He shares this distinction withHero.
• In the Chinese version of the game, the Announcer calls him "King Dedede" in the Simplified version, while the Traditional version has the "Dedede" announcement from the Japanese version.
• In the French and European Spanish versions, the name tag and voice clip from the announcer on the victory screen is slightly different from the one used on the character select screen, instead featuring a noticeable translation of "the" (le Roi Dadidou andel Rey Dedede, respectively). This trait is shared withWii Fit Trainer,Pokémon Trainer,Villager,Ice Climbers,Inkling,Hero, and theMii Fighters. Additionally, he andDuck Hunt are the only two fighters having this trait in the European version, but not in the American version.
• King Dedede is one of the few characters in the entire roster to have different facial expressions when attempting different types of grabs and missing them, being his standing grab (a confused expression) vs. his dash and pivot grabs (a continuously happy expression).
  • Others includePikachu (standing vs. dash vs. pivot) andSquirtle (standing and dash vs. pivot)
• King Dedede is one of the five veterans fromSmash 4 to have theirBoxing Ring alias changed inUltimate, the others beingLink,Kirby,Mega Man, andRyu.
• Dedede has his owndamage effect known simply asDedede, which applies to all hammer-related moves with the exception of Jet Hammer. It is identical tonormal.
• Despite also having royal titles,Lucina,Chrom, andCorrin do not appear as opponents in King Dedede's Classic Mode route.
  • Additionally,Ganon does not appear as the boss in King Dedede's Classic Mode route despite also having a royal title.
• Despite Masahiro Sakurai not being credited as a character voice in the credits, his name is listed in the Japanese version of King Dedede's Sound Test. King Dedede shares this distinction withYoshi (Kazumi Totaka), thePikmin (Hajime Wakai), Winged Pikmin (Atsuko Asahi),Inkling (Yuki Tsuji), and theTekken 7 announcer (Josh Keller).

v • d • e Kirby universe
Fighters	Kirby (SSB ·SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·Meta Knight (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU) ·King Dedede (SSBB ·SSB4 ·SSBU)
Assist Trophies	Knuckle Joe ·Nightmare ·Chef Kawasaki
Bosses	Giant Kirby ·Marx
Stages	Dream Land ·Fountain of Dreams ·Green Greens ·Halberd ·Dream Land GB ·The Great Cave Offensive
Items	Maxim Tomato ·Star Rod ·Parasol ·Warp Star ·Apple ·Dragoon ·Superspicy Curry ·Bomber
Enemies	Bonkers ·Bronto Burt ·Gordo ·Parasol Waddle Dee ·Plasma Wisp ·Shotzo ·Tac ·Waddle Dee ·Waddle Doo
Other	Gourmet Race ·Whispy Woods
Trophies,Stickers andSpirits	Trophies (SSBM ·SSBB ·SSB4) ·Stickers ·Spirits
Music	Brawl ·SSB4 ·Ultimate
Masterpieces	Kirby's Dream Land ·Kirby's Adventure ·Kirby Super Star

• Characters (SSBU)
• Kirby universe
• King Dedede (SSBU)
• Spirits

• Articles in need of audio