Hammer

"A giant hammer on loan from the king himself. Pound boulders into dust, or knock stakes flat into the ground. Send out a fiery burst with a special technique--the decisive Hammer Flip!"

- Hammer's Flavor Text

Hammer is one of Kirby's special Copy Abilities, first appearing in Kirby's Adventure.

General Information
Hammer is a very powerful weapon, and is the heaviest hitter among his normal abilities — most normal enemies are instantly KO'd in a single hit. When used on a mid-boss or regular boss, the moves simply do very heavy damage. Its high damage makes it very desirable in Boss Endurance events. The hammer Kirby wields looks similar to King Dedede's mallet, with a shorter handle.

Hammer is one of the few abilities that can not be found by inhaling a common enemy. It is most commonly obtained from Bonkers the mid-boss. Otherwise it can be obtained via Mix, the Copy Essence behind the golden door in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, or by finding the Copy Essence Deluxe in Kirby Super Star and its remake. Orange Dygclops from Heavy Mole also give Hammer.

Hammer did not have a hat like the rest of the abilities when they were introduced in Kirby Super Star. Its hat was first seen in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, in which it is shown to be a cord of twisted blue and white fabric. This design has been used in the games since Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

There are two instances where the design for Hammer Kirby is different; the first is Hammer Kirby's brief appearance in a trailer for the canceled Kirby GCN, where the ability features a hard hat, though this has not yet appeared in the series properly. The other instance is in Kirby: Planet Robobot, where custom Hammer Kirby appears to closely resemble King Dedede; Kirby's skin is blue and he has orange feet, and he dons King Dedede's red cap. This variation of the Hammer ability can only be accessed by scanning the Kirby series King Dedede amiibo.

In Kirby Air Ride, the Hammer Copy Ability is not present, but is referenced in the form of a power-up in Top Ride. When it is collected, it spins vigorously around the user's Air Machine, knocking anyone who comes in contact with it around.

It is also one of the few abilities that may be used in the water, along with Sword, Parasol, UFO, Master, Spear, and Bell.

Super Smash Bros. series


Kirby uses Hammer as his side special move in the Super Smash Bros. series, starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee. Rather than swinging it vertically like he does in most games, Kirby swings the hammer horizontally, similar to what he does with the Hammer Flip move (but without the fire). It's slower than Kirby's other attacks but can K.O. characters with an already high damage percentage. However, it has a notable sourspot that makes the move very difficult to land.

When used in the air, Kirby swings the hammer around him, like he does in most games. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, he spins vertically once, but in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he spins horizontally twice, similar to Hammer Swing. While the move in Super Smash Bros. Melee is closer to what he does in the games (which also provides good combo potential and damage racking), in Super Smash Bros. Brawl the move is a bit stronger and beneficial, having no need for a precise sweet spot to launch foes out of the arena.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl, King Dedede uses an attack called Jet Hammer, which is similar to the Hammer Flip attack, but instead of the hammer bursting into flames, it opens to reveal a jet engine within. This move does more damage depending on how long Dedede charges it up before releasing. If held down too long, though, it will rapidly damage the king.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, his side special can now be charged up and its fully charged version is referred to as Hammer Flip. Kirby can now not only charge up his hammer, but can also move around at a slower speed and jump mid-charge much like the aforementioned Jet Hammer.

Upon charging it enough, it will set fire. Charging too long will start damaging Kirby, similarly to King Dedede's Jet Hammer (but just like it, damage will also stop racking up when Kirby is at 100%). Unleashing it when Kirby has brought his hammer further behind himself will initiate the aforementioned Hammer Flip move (where it is instead an upwards swing, which even has enough power to nearly break shields and gives Kirby super armor/launch resistance just as he unleashes it).

If released at any other stage of the charging period, it will swing just like previous games (though this version is much weaker than in previous installments). While used in midair, the move works similar to Super Smash Bros. Brawl ' s version and he can still charge it like so, only the attack is weaker in midair if not fully charged. The midair version also no longer halts momentum, losing much of its effectiveness from Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Kirby can change his Hammer Flip using Custom Moves. Kirby can now also use Hammer Bash or Giant Hammer. Hammer Bash acts like it did in the previous games, but sends opponents skyward. Giant Hammer is simply a bigger and more powerful Hammer Flip move, but it's much slower. This move is similar to the one Kirby obtains with the Hammer Scroll.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Always obtained by inhaling King Dedede's signature mallet, Hammer Kirby in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! retains all of its game characteristics—most notably the ability to dish out a lot of damage very fast. The hammer's ends have a red star on a green background instead of yellow on pink as in the games, and the headband is completely white instead of alternating white and blue. Kirby has all the same attacks from Kirby Super Star including the most powerful, Hammer Throw, which also causes Kirby to lose the ability.

During the transformation sequence, Kirby first ties the band around his forehead, and then a variety of different old fashioned tools appear in his hands, including a cleaver, a decorated spear, an ax, a rake, a satsumata, and a yubi-bou. He cycles through them as he poses, before the hammer appears.

Appearances

 * Dedede's Pet Threat (First Use)
 * Goin' Bonkers
 * Shell-Shocked

Trivia

 * This is one of the only four abilities in Kirby: Triple Deluxe to be able to break ice blocks. The others are Fire, Fighter, and Circus.
 * The flavor text from Kirby: Triple Deluxe seems to imply the hammer that Kirby uses is from King Dedede.
 * According to director Shinya Kumazaki, the Hammer ability was inspired by King Dedede's own hammer from Kirby's Dream Land.
 * Hammer's alternate costume in Kirby Fighters Deluxe lets Kirby wear Moundo EX's headband. It also turns his hammer solid gray like Moundo EX's body.
 * The two versions of Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U have a different way of referring to Kirby's side special move. The North American version refers to the overall move as "Hammer Flip". While in the European version, the overall move in general is instead called "Hammer" like in previous Super Smash Bros. games, and only the fully charged version is known as "Hammer Flip".