Overview
Perhaps one of the most unusual characters in a Super Smash Bros. game, King Dedede is a slow but powerful heavyweight with some very interesting abilities. He has arguably the best recovery of any heavyweight in the game, his knockback is incredible, and the range of his melee manuevers is very impressive. He's also got a great projectile move, although the range is limited, and his aerial combat is actually nice for a heavyweight, which is definitely a rarity. Couple that with the fact that very few people seriously play as him, and your opponents won't be able to predict your playing style as well as they could against some other frequently played heavyweight characters, like Ike.
Now, even though he's a powerhouse of a character, he suffers from the curse of all heavyweights: terrible, terrible speed. If you want to use someone that can knock out other players with relative ease, you've got to sacrifice something, and Dedede's no exception. His running speed is just awful, a lot of his moves have atrocious ending or start-up lag, plenty of his moves are predictable, and he's a huge target. If someone's throwing an item at him, unless you're really quick with your air dodges or lucky with Inhale, it's going to hit him.
Ground Moves (Neutral and Tilts):
Neutral A: 6% damage on the first hit, 5% damage on the second hit, potentially 14% damage for subsequent hits.
This combo only targets the area directly in front of Dedede. The range of the first hit is minor, the second hit reaches further, and the third and consecutive hits go even further. This is a great, low-lag move that Dedede players should use frequently when fighting up-close. The damage for a completed combo is roughly 25%, and all you need to do is connect with an "A, A, A..." combo. This alone should provide proof of how powerful Dedede is in the hands of a competent player. There's virtually no lag when performing the first two hits, but the drill effect of the third hit has about a second's worth of lag if you miss with it. Use this move wisely, and it'll help you with racking up damage like crazy.
Forward A (Tilt): 4%-6% damage.
This is your "poke" move. The damage might not be amazing, but the sheer range of this move is insane. It extends only directly in front of Dedede, but it's perfect for outranging just about every other character's moves, including Ike's monstrous forward smash! When you need something to create some distance or interrupt your opponent's move while adding on damage, this is the move to rely on. It's probably the safest move that Dedede has at his disposal (except for his forward-B) since it keeps you at a safe range while picking away at your opponent's health.
Down A (Tilt): Roughly 10% damage.
This is, by far, one of Dedede's quickest moves and a really great way to start a combo. It comes out very quickly, has next to no lag, and can even be used as a knockout move against opponents whose damage percentages are in the mid-100s. In addition to being one of his quickest and safest moves, it also has a chance to trip an enemy while dealing damage instead of knocking them away, similarly to what a banana peel does to a character. That means that you shouldn't always rely on this move for your knockouts...not that you'd need to when he's got so many other powerful moves, anyway.
Up A (Tilt): Roughly 12% damage.
Dedede's Upward A move is, plain and simple, a headbutt straight upward. It's difficult to land this move against anyone on the ground, but for repelling characters attacking from above, it's just brutal. It comes out quick, has almost no ending lag at all, and actually has tremendous knockout potential. It has two flaws, though: one, the range on it is seriously lacking and the move comes out lightning quick. That means that you need to really gauge how your opponent is coming down and get your timing right, otherwise you'll attack too early and miss or attack too late, and get hit by their Downward A Aerial. The second flaw is that, for a ground move, it isn't very useful to use on characters that are on the ground. It's like a SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile Launcher). Very potent when used against flying enemies, but virtually worthless when they're standing right in front of you.
Aerial Moves:
Aerial Neutral A: Roughly 7 % damage.
Dedede's neutral aerial is a fast, relatively weak attack with fair knockout potential. It's not one of his greatest moves, but can be useful for clearing the area quickly if you're in a panic. The range of the move is pretty pathetic, though, so it's probably not something you're going to rely on too much. Plus, even though it's a body splash, it's a terrible move to use on grounded opponents. Tell me how that makes sense!
Aeriel Forward A: Roughly 15% damage.
This is your aerial knockout move. It's fast, has great knockback, has really good range. The attack doesn't exactly extend really far in front of Dedede, but it covers beneath him, in front of him, and even slightly above him. Couple that with the fact that almost all the rest of his aerial moves focus on racking up damage, not scoring knockouts, and you've got one of the best situational moves in his repertoire.
Aerial Backward A: Roughly 9% damage.
This move just isn't that great. Sure, the knockback can be pretty good if your opponent has already taken quite a lot of damage, but the range is just terrible. He throws a kick directly behind him, but it won't hit characters slightly above or below him. It's fast and a quick way to repel characters that are sneaking up behind you if you can't face them in time, but nothing you'll want to rely on too heavily.
Aerial Down A: 3%-12% damage.
When Dedede is coming back down to the stage, he's a massive target. Unless you're really, REALLY good with your air dodges, you're probably going to be up-smashed or up-tilted if you're landing right where an opponent is. Therefore, you want to give your opponent a reason to run, rather than try to dodge what they're throwing. Dedede's down aerial does just that. He extends his hammer beneath him, a bit outside of his hit box, and spins it like a drill for roughly 12% damage if all of the hits connect. If using it, though, get your timing down. You don't want to initiate it too early, have your opponent dodge, then land on the ground a little lagged out and begging for a forward smash. The wisest thing to do would be to land away from waiting opponents, like all characters should. But if that's not an option, use this instead.
Aerial Up A: 3%-19% damage.
Dedede's up A aerial is very similar to his down A aerial. While not able to cause much knockback at all unless you get a lot of hits from it, the amount of damage you can deal from a full combo of it is just ridiculous. 19% damage from a single aerial move that doesn't require a sweetspot is incredible, so make sure to use this move whenever you can. Remember, too, that Dedede can jump in the air four times. That means that you can jump up to meet an enemy, use this move, jump again, use this move, and repeatedly do so to keep comboing them before they even reach the ground! Dedede's ground game might be somewhat slow (though powerful), but his air game is where you can easily rack up excessive amounts of damage.
Smash Attacks:
Here's the part you've all been waiting for...
Forward Smash: 24%-33% damage if you land a good shot.
Holy... Look at that damage. This is the single most powerful move at Dedede's disposal. Yes, even more powerful than a fully charged Jet Hammer. The damage is just insane, the knockback's enough to kill light characters on a small stage in one hit even if they have 0% damage if the smash is fully charged, and the range is way out in front of him. The drawback, of course, is speed. While very, very powerful, everyone will know when you're going to use it. In a two-player match, you'll be lucky to ever connect with it, but where it really shines is in multiplayer. Anticipate when your opponents are going to come near you or be knocked toward you, and send them rocketing in the other direction. His forward smash is very effective in certain kinds of matches and you'll score a lot of knockouts with it, but you need to remember this always: No matter how tempting it is...DO NOT ABUSE IT. If your strategy only consists of using his forward smash and Jet Hammer, you're going to be very predictable and easy to beat. It's the people who use every skill at a character's disposal that are the most challenging, since their opponents can't anticipate what they'll use next. I can't stress this enough: Yes, it's a strong move, but don't get hooked on it.
Down Smash: 15% base damage -21% fully charged.
Dedede's down smash is lacking the power of his forward smash, but remains a very useful tool for Dedede players. The real benefit of this move is how quickly it comes out. It's difficult to dodge it at close range because there's almost no indication that it's coming. However, as nice as the damage, knockback, and speed of it is, it's got some pretty bad ending lag. At least it hits both to the left and right of Dedede. Technically it can be used to score some knockouts at fairly high percentages, but it works much better as a setup move for an aerial knockout or a way to clear the area of opponents quickly.
Up Smash: 14% base damage - 19% fully charged.
The damage is the lowest of all of his smash attacks. If you miss with it, it has a terrible ending delay. The knockback is okay, but nowhere near as great as his forward smash's. And yet, despite all of this, Dedede's up smash is arguably his best and most useful smash attack. The range of the move is INCREDIBLE, it comes out quickly when it isn't charged, sets opponents up perfectly for aerial juggling, and can strike people through low platforms! This is an all-around great move, but make sure not to whiff with it. If there's one thing that murders heavyweight characters, it's missed moves, because it's so easy to punish them when they're helpless...
Special Moves
Neutral B: Inhale - 10% damage when spit out, 16% damage if struck by a spit-out opponent.
If you need a move that will create some distance between you and your opponent, a well-timed Inhale will do just the trick. Inhale has a range that extends only directly in front of Dedede, and sucks a single enemy or item into his mouth. Pressing the B button again makes him spit out the enemy a fair distance, which deals 10% damage. If they collide with another enemy, though, the struck enemy takes 16% damage and the knockback can actually be pretty impressive if their damage was already fairly high. The move is also very useful for item control. Say a home run bat pops up on the stage when you're so close to knocking out some lightweight. Why bother picking it up and throwing it, when they could catch it and toss it back at you faster than you can react? Inhale it, and it's no longer a problem for anyone! I'm not going to talk about Dedede-cide, though. It's just too cheap for words.
Forward B: Waddle Dee Toss - Damage varies! Let me break it down for you...
Thrown Waddle Dee: 5% damage.
Waddle Dee, jumping or rolling and hitting someone: 8% damage.
Thrown Waddle Doo: 5% damage.
Waddle Doo's beam attack: Anywhere from 3%-31% damage if hit up close!
Thrown Gordo: 22% damage!
This move is the bane of every Super Smash Bros. Brawl player. It's so easily spammed, gives a heavyweight character a ranged move with potentially deadly knockback, and makes the battlefield hazardous. Truly, there are few more annoying moves than Diddy's Banana Peel, but this one manages to frustrate players with ease. The range on it isn't great, but it's perfect for stunning enemies that you don't want to close the gap. Remember, Dedede works best at mid-range, so use Waddle Dee Toss to get into that position.
Good opportunities to use this move include:
- When you're playing a Super Smash Bros. Brawl match as King Dedede.
- ANYTIME.
- ANYTIME.
I can't really say anything bad about this move, either. It's useful for dealing damage, getting extra range on your attacks, stunning already attacking enemies, and just littering the whole area with little aggravations, plus giving you a chance to produce a capsule that could contain items instead. And get this, if a Waddle Dee or Doo is reflected by a move or badge, that Waddle Dee or Doo can't hurt you! Gordos, however, can be reflected back at you for an insane amount of damage... However, few other projectiles can make that claim...
Even in Sudden Death, a thrown minion is capable of knockouts from a single hit. They're perfect shields, too, able to absorb even spamming blaster attacks from Fox. Truly, there is no more useful a move in Dedede's repetoire than this, so use it and use it OFTEN.
Down B: Jet Hammer - 11-31% damage and extreme knockback.
The Jet Hammer is very similar to his Forward Smash, except a bit more versatile and time-consuming. Charging it for too long will cause you to take damage, everyone can see it (and hear it) coming a mile away, and it has a rather tiny hitbox. The perk of using this move, though, is the sheer power that's behind it... Fully charged, the knockback and damage of this single move is nightmarish. If you land with it, you're guaranteed to deal an insane amount of damage and potentially a knockout if your opponent was already fairly damaged.
Even though this move can be interrupted easily by any kind of attack, ESPECIALLY ranged attacks, it excels at creating a gap between you and your opponent. No one wants to get near a Dedede with a fully-charged Jet Hammer, because it's practically suicidal. The move comes out incredibly quick after a long charging period, making it that much more difficult to dodge. Also, unlike many other very powerful potentially OHKO (One-Hit Knock Out) moves, Dedede can move around while charging it, even jumping to hit characters that are coming back down to the stage! Use this move whenever you see an opportunity to, but if there's any distance between you and your opponent and they use ranged moves, don't bother...
Up B: Super Dedede Jump - 11-15% if near or under Dedede when he lands, 5% if hit by a star.
Besides his floating "jumps", this will be your main method of recovery as Dedede. It doubles as an offensive move, but I just don't think it's quite as useful as some claim it to be. The damage is fair for a somewhat easy-to-land Up B move, but it leaves you far too open to reprisal if you miss with it, plus long-ranged up smashes can destroy you when you're getting ready to land.
Now, I've seen a lot of people get killed while trying to recover with this move, so here are a few need-to-know facts about the Super Dedede Jump:
- While rising up or coming down from the Super Dedede Jump, you cannot grab onto ledges. You need to cancel out of the move with the down button before you can grab them again.
- When you initiate the Super Dedede Jump, you can't change the direction that you'll jump in. If you aim it straight up, you'll only go straight up, no matter what you press after that. To avoid this, make sure that you're moving in the direction you want to land BEFORE activating your Up B.
Hopefully that'll help all of you Dedede players recover a bit better. Just remember that you've GOT to press down on the control pad to cancel out of your Super Dedede Jump if you're trying to grab a ledge!
Final Smash - Waddle Dee Army
This final smash is, by far, one of the absolute best ones in the game. You can use it anywhere, at any time, even if you're almost completely falling off the screen. Dedede will literally stop in mid-air just to dance around and call forth his minions. Dedede is invincible when using this move, he summons Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, and Gordos. Even if the Dees and Doos don't deal very much damage, they fly past the screen so fast that people are often swept off the screen with them. Naturally, this move is most useful on small stages where it's harder to escape all the enemies, but its ability to rack up damage quickly on larger stages without knockouts is very nice in stock matches.
Conclusion
Dedede is a powerful character when used correctly, but works best when he's used at a middle range. Get too close and you'll just constantly be juggled by smaller, faster character. Keep too much of a distance, and you won't be able to land your powerhouse blows and projectiles will come flying your way faster than you can throw Waddle Dees at them. Get in close enough to land your strong attacks, but not enough to be hit back frequently. Take advantage of their lag and the sheer reach of your moves, but try not to use moves that leave yourself too open.
I hope this guide's been helpful to you, and good luck dominating the competition with an oversized penguin.
