darkness, imprisoning me, all that i see, absolute poyo

Dark Matter

Dark Matter is a mysterious antagonist from the Kirby franchise. Originally appearing in Kirby’s Dreamland 2 for the Gameboy, Dark Matter took on the form of a cloaked swordsman at the end of the game, once he was exorcised from King Dedede’s body. Normally, the game will end after Dark Matter’s defeat, but upon 100% completion, Dark Matter will reveal its true form. Only after this is defeated will the game truly be over.

After Dreamland 2, Dark Matter acted as a main antagonist in the direct sequel, Kirby’s Dreamland 3. Here, its true form instead acted as a fake final boss, with the true leader, Zero, acting as the real final boss upon 100% completion. Dark Matter would be degraded even more in its next appearance, Kirby 64, where it didn’t appear in gameplay and only in cutscenes and acted as the henchmen of 02. By this point in the series, Dark Matter was instead a species of dark beings, rather than a singular character.

Despite this, Dark Matter, the original one, might be the most influential Final Boss in the franchise’s history. The fight with the possessed Dedede counts as the first truly disturbing moment of the franchise, and Dark Matter himself went on to influence nearly every final boss afterwards, from Zero to Dark Nebula, to even… well, that’s a bit too early to say. The original Dark Matter, or at least a clone, got to appear as a bonus boss in Planet Robobot, and it even got to appear in everyone’s favorite Kirby game, Mass Attack.

In Smash, Dark Matter is once again a singular character, and takes on his Swordsman form the entire time, barring a few animations.

Dark Stats
Weight – 80
Walk Speed – 1
Run Speed – 1.7
Air Speed – 1.25
Fall Speed – 1
Dark Matter, fittingly enough, weighs the same amount as Meta Knight. The rest of his ground stats are a bit odd, fitting far more into a standard swordsman-based character rather than a Kirby character, even compared to Meta Knight. His aerial stats are strange as well, paralleling Jigglypuff and Mewtwo. Dark Matter mostly floats, so it would make sense that his air movement is a bit floaty as well. This even extends into his jumps, which are both excellent on the same level as Mewtwo, and function practically similar.

Model wise, Dark Matter is larger than Kirby or Meta Knight, but not as big as Dedede. He is nearly as wide, but not as tall, as Dedede as well. His height is slightly increased by him hovering above the ground slightly for every grounded animation. This doesn’t change his hurtbox that much, however.

Dark Specials
Down Special – Circle of Darkness
Dark Matter starts gathering energy, causing his robe to flutter upwards as the attack is held, revealing his black orb body underneath a bit more. As he charges, every half second an orange ball will materialize from his body and begin floating around behind him. Dark Matter can have a total of four of these orbs out at a time, keeping them floating behind him indefinitely. Getting all four out is a lengthy process, however, with the aforementioned half second of charge being needed for each one. The best way to do this is during neutral periods where its safe to wait for that long.

The orange orbs are nearly the size of a Smash Ball, but slightly smaller. Once they are out, they will float behind Dark Matter in a circular motion towards the background, taking up very little space. There’s not much space between the orbs and Matter’s backside, nearly making them a part of his model, but they are still completely separate hitboxes. Yes, this gives Dark Matter a passive hitbox behind him, blocking off his main blind spot for most of his attacks.

The orbs will deal 2% damage and light flinching knockback to whoever they hit. While the opponent will usually only be hit by one, having multiple orbs out at the same time will potentially cause opponents to be combed directly into more of the orbs, dealing up more damage but still causing the same flinching knockback. This can be insanely helpful with, well, most of Dark Matter’s moves, as we’ll get to. This can also help with approach, specifically through backwards jumping.

There is a downside to this, as the orbs can be destroyed through a very easy method. Simply hitting them with an attack that deals more damage (read: most attacks in Smash) will cause them to be destroyed. Now, each attack will still only destroy one orb at a time, and Dark Matter can protect them for a long while, but when fighting against multiple opponents, it can become a real pain to keep your orbs in tact.

Now, Dark Matter can only summon the orbs by holding the special button down. As mentioned, this takes around a half second to summon one, but the input changes completely when tapped with at least one orb in stock. Dark Matter will gesture with his sword, causing the orbs to fly off of him and instantly home in on an opponent. On contact with an opponent, they will explode into cosmetic orange goop. The orbs will get a damage boost at this time, dealing 6% damage on contact with an opponent, along with buffed knockback. A single orb is still very weak, only being able to KO well after 150% damage.

However, with all four orbs, they will combine together, dealing 24% damage and being able to KO at just above 100%. This makes it a great KO move, but only in a 1v1 match. During fights with multiple opponents, the orbs will each home in on a different player/minion, making it harder to KO with, but adding the benefit of being able to hit multiple foes easily. The actual homing is fairly decent, much harder to avoid than Samus’ homing missiles as they don’t have a lot less momentum when turning, but a dodge roll can very easily make short notice of them.

While the projectile is decent, the orbs will find their use more as a defensive measure rather than as an attack. Their passive hitbox can be helpful in most situations and can give Dark Matter plenty of good opportunities in 1v1 matches. Use can mostly come down to what state the opponent is in, with it general being better to be defensive during disadvantage, and more aggressive during advantage.

Neutral Special – Darkness Beam
With a tap of the button, Dark Matter’s eye disappears from his visor, and then appears on his true body as his robe flutters upward briefly. During this brief period, Dark Matter will fire off a beam of darkness, resembling a lightning bolt. The beam has good range to it, reaching forward 2 Battlefield Platforms, and is impressively quick, lasting for only a scant few frames during its existence. The overall attack is incredibly fast in general, with little start or end lag.

To compensate for this, the beam in this state will only deal a rater paltry 5% damage and only stunning the opponent briefly. Despite there being little lag once the move ends, Dark matter must wait a few frames for it to be used again, leaving him open and without the option to spam it, though it does let him easily follow into other moves. If the opponent somehow remains stunned when Dark Matter regains the ability to use the beam again, it will simply cause low knockback instead.

During this time, however, Dark Matter can charge the move. Charging the beam takes around as long as it takes to charge a Charge Shot, but it has the added benefit of letting Matter move around. However, it also doesn’t let him use any of his attacks. At full charge, the beam will deal 20% damage with high knockback that can KO at 90%, but this is incredibly hard to pull off. The more realistic option is to go for the half charge, which will deal 14% and is able to kill at 120%, making it far easier to use as a kill move.

As a final note, using the attack in midair will cause Dark Matter to lose all momentum he previously had. Both the charged and uncharged versions of the attacks have their own uses, with the charged version most obviously being a useful kill move with lots of range. The uncharged version is great for potential combos, even if it has low damage and can’t be spammed at all. Due to the attack’s high speed, this will most likely be Dark Matter’s most used projectile in a match.

Side Special – Dark Energy
Dark Matter holds his sword upward, dark energy gathering at its tip and forming into an orb in an animation that’s quicker than it sounds. Once the dark orb is complete, Dark Matter will swing his sword, causing the orb to bounce off the ground and then into the air at a diagonal angle. This is a rather standard projectile, the orb is roughly the size of Dark Matter’s lower section, his own orb part, but a bit smaller.

The orb will travel at a decent speed and will bounce off of any surface in order to change its direction. It can do this a total of three times before it explodes into dark particles. Yes, this is a fairly basic bouncy type projectile, and matter can only have one out at a time, unlike his fight in Robobot where he can have three out. The orbs deal a decent 10% damage, and average knockback, but not enough to make them great at killing.

What this move is good at is toying with opponents, as Dark Matter can bounce the orb around using his normal attacks, in directions you would mostly expect from the attacks. These don’t count as bounces against the ground, so Dark Matter can easily manipulate them in order to get a lot out of one. Opponents are also capable of bouncing the orbs around, however, and they will turn a more pinkish color when that happens. While they are pink, they can deal damage to Dark Matter as well as his foes and can only be changed with an attack of his own.

This attack can be great for distracting foes while you set up your Circle of Darkness, or you can use it to set up combos on either side of the opponent. The orange orb hitbox can bounce the dark orbs around as well, meaning that Dark Matter can potentially use this to deal with multiple foes at once or more easily position the orb as well.

Up Special – True Darkness
In a quick animation, Dark Matter dashes upwards, phasing through his cloak and mask as he turns into his true dark orb form, leaving the cloak to drop off below him. This little dash has a short reach to it but acts as a hitbox around a third the total size of Matter himself, which deals 12% and causes light upwards knockback. This would be a good juggling tool, except for the fact that Dark Matter is locked from most of his moveset while in this form, meaning any combo potential is out the window.

Speaking of, the orb form acts as a timed freeflight recovery for Dark Matter, with him being able to stay in it for the next 7 seconds before returning back to his swordsman form. Dark Matter has better air control while in this state, and has high movement speed, making it potentially very easy to recover from any bad knockback. He’s also slightly smaller thanks to losing the cloak and hair parts of his hurtbox. Unfortunately, if he is hit while in this state, he will return to his swordsman form and enter special fall.

As mentioned, Dark Matter has very few defensive options during this time. In fact, he only has two, those being his NSpec and his DSpec. NSpec acts the exact same as it does while he’s in his swordsman form, though obviously charge can’t be carried over from swordsman form into his orb form. This is a great way to defend himself while in his state, except for the fact that he can’t spam the beam, making it a “use if necessary” attack rather than a main one.

His DSpec can only be used if Dark Matter already previously had any orange orbs out, attempting to summon any while in orb form will result in nothing, and you’d be wasting the precious little time you have recovering on it. It also acts the same if used while any orbs are in stock, but this can be a much more effective tool to keep opponents off of you, even if it requires more set-up than the NSpec. Its higher knockback can lead to keeping opponents off you for longer, and the constant back hitbox can be used as well.
This is a very good recovery barred by having no offensive applications. Its best to play smart with the attacks you do have available and try to steer well away from any potential threats. Even a single projectile can knock Dark Matter out of this state.

Dark Standards
Jab – Dark Blade
Dark Matter quickly jabs his blade forward, causing it to pulse with dark energy. This is a single hit jab, consisting entirely of the thrust, with very little ground combo potential. It’s a fast attack, but not as fast as Pikachu’s, meaning it isn’t as spammable of a move either. It makes up for this by not only having better range, reaching even slightly farther than Meta Knight’s jab, but by also being very powerful. The jab deals a good 8% damage on hit, and deals upwards diagonal knockback, leaving opponents open in the air. While the lag is bad enough to prevent easy spamming, it is just short enough to make sure that Dark Matter can leap into the air and continue with an aerial combo. Dark Matter excels in the air, and this is one of the easiest ways in his set to do that.

Forward Tilt – Dark Slash
Dark Matter winds up, pulling his sword behind him, and then performs a heavy vertical slash in front of him, the blade leaving a trail of dark energy behind it. The force of the swing is even enough to move Matter forwards a bit every time he uses it, making it potentially good for short range approaches. The attack has some good range to it, around the same as Meta Knight’s jab in Brawl, but it also has a fairly ridiculous amount of starting lag, quite a bit for a tilt… though still not as bad as any of Ganondorf’s.

The attack, as you can tell by the lag, deals some good damage. 12% damage on hit, with knockback that can KO at 180%. This makes it a potentially good KO tool, as any high damage attack tends to be. The slow speed hinders its potential… but its low ending lag boosts it. The slash has very little endlag to it, making it easy to throw out and then follow up with something else, like another hit, or shield if you whiffed it.

Up Tilt – Dark Rise
Dark Matter faces towards the screen, sword pointing upwards, and then quickly stabs upwards. Alongside this, a wave of dark energy at the sides rises up at the same time, increasing the attack’s overall range. The start of the attack is rather slow, but the actual hitbox hits fast, dealing 10% damage to whoever the sword manages to hit. It has decent range to it, about as much as Link’s Uair, and it has low endlag, unlike that move.

The dark waves appear at both ends, and have a decent range to them, existing mainly to help Dark Matter knock foes that are next to him into the air. They act as a separate hitbox, dealing a weaker 8% damage. Both the dark waves and the sword deal upwards knockback, making it good to help get enemies into the air. Both have similar KO potential as well, being able to KO around the 200-210% range depending on the hitbox.

Down Tilt – Dark Flash
Dark matter flicks up his cloak as his eye slides from his visor to his body, all in one fast motion. The eye shines for a moment, before a quick burst of dark energy flashes all around him. This move is very fast, though not the fastest on both ends of the lag, it is more balanced on that front than any of Dark Matter’s other standards. The attack has decent reach to it, not as far as Jab or FTilt, but enough to make it an excellent “get off me” attack. It hits on bot sides, too.

The attack will deal 8% damage, and knockback that, again, makes it good for keeping opponents off of you briefly. The angle of the knockback is more horizontal and vertical, making it hard to combo into aerial game from it, but it isn’t impossible. An easier way would be to combo from the DTilt to the Jab, and then follow into the air. This is easier to do at certain percents, but it is a true combo.

Dash Attack – Rainbow Rush
As he dashes, Dark Matter quickly swings his sword three times in a figure eight pattern. His sword lights up with rainbow colors while this is happening, channelling the Rainbow Sword that Kirby used to defeat him the first time. This is actually a very long attack, at least compared to other Dash Attacks. making it fairly painful if you whiff with it. Its still relatively fast, obviously being shorter than most of the longest attacks in the game.

The difference here is that there is very little start and end lag, though there is enough to be noticeable, with the length taking place entirely in the actual attack. The hitbox is very large and is situated directly in front of Dark Matter, being nearly as tall as he is and covering the same distance as his Jab. The rush will deal three hits of 5%, totalling to 15% damage if the opponent is caught in it from the start. The last hit also deals knockback that can KO at 150%, making it a decent KO move as well.

This move is good as a rushdown move, but as mentioned previously, whiffing it can be hazardous as Matter’s backside is left completely open during it. Its length comes with benefits as well, as it can be used to trap careless foes, and can even help with combos.

Dark Smashes
Forward Smash – Dark Wave
Dark Matter rears back, pulling his sword behind him as it flows with dark energy during the charging animation. When released, Dark Matter will slash his blade in an animation similar to his FTilt, but more forceful. As he slashes, Matter will fire out a wave of dark energy from his blade, which will fly forward a short distance before disappearing. The slash has the same vertical range as the FTilt but reaches a bit farther. This distance is also reflected in the dark wave, as both it and the sword slash are separate hitboxes.

The sword hitbox is rather standard and is what the opponent will be hit by initially, dealing 12-18% damage depending on the charge. It has good knockback, with it being able to KO at 110%. The dark wave it sends flying out, however, will deal 14-20% damage, and can KO at 90%. The wave acts as a pseudo-projectile, as Dark Matter will be able to move a few frames after it is sent out, but it cannot be reflected. It will also only travel a short distance, less than half a Battlefield Platform in total, before it vanishes.

This technically gives it good range, but it can be very hard to hit with due to it happen very late in the attack, which gives it a bit of endlag as well. On that note, starting lag is fine. Anyway, there isn’t a reliable way to hit with the dark slash, the easiest being to fake opponents out with the slash and then have the wave strike them after they dodge. As said, this isn’t reliable, but taking the risk of whiffing it is worth it for its damage.

Up Smash – Dark Circle
Dark Matter turns to face the screen, with his eye moving to his body in the process. During the charging animation, his eye will start to spin around rapidly, before it unleashes a laser beam, like that of the NSpec, that covers a full 360 degrees around it. The beam will always start going upwards, and it reaches out about half a Battlefield Platform away from Matter’s body the entire time its out. There is some ending lag once the beam hits the ground on the opposite side it was started, where it is unable to actively do damage until it finishes the rotation completely.

The starting lag is fairly bad, with Dark Matter always rotating his eye around a few times before firing, no matter what the charge is. The beam is very powerful, however, dealing 15-23% damage based on charge, with knockback that can KO at 80%. The beam can technically deal multiple hits to the same opponent, but it moves too fast for that to be possible under normal circumstances. It is completely capable of dealing with multiple threats at the same time due to this speed, of course.

The beam, if angled right, is capable of even edge guarding, though this is a fairly impractical application. Impracticality doesn’t make it any less awesome when it happens. This is Dark Matter’s de facto KO move, its speed, range, and damage make it invaluable to his set. The only downsides are bad lag on both ends, but clever usage can easily get over this hump.