Review: Tornado

Tornadoes are one of the most chaotic and destructive natural forces on Earth. They can scour entire towns, but suddenly leave other homes completely untouched. The intense winds can carry just about anything, and all of that anything can collide with itself while within. With such a huge potential for destruction, and an unpredictable outcome, it is truly a natural disaster like no other. It is no surprise, then, that Tornado is considered one of Kirby's best copy abilities.

Tornado was introduced in Kirby's Adventure and immediately became a favorite of many. Elemental powers are a classic, and this is, of course, a wind based ability, going perfectly alongside Fire, Stone, and much later Water. Tornado acted somewhat like a transformational ability such as Ball or Wheel, but Kirby's whirlwind form only lasted for a short time before he had to stop. This is because, unlike Ball or Wheel which would both have to slow down and become vulnerable at various intervals, Tornado never needs to slow down. You're constantly moving left or right, and during this period you're totally invulnerable. Slide through any enemy, any obstacle, nothing will be able to stop the terror that is Tornado. Even though Kirby did need to stop for a bit after spinning for so long, it isn't long until he can start right back up again.

The heavy invulnerability period Tornado provides makes it a strong contender for any Arena scenario. On top of the invulnerability, it also has high mobility. Tornado moves fast, and by repeatedly pressing the attack button, the player can gain altitude. During closed in segments this ability can be a little difficult to control. Squeezing it through one block wide holes is a difficult task, regardless of whether you're going up or down. It also doesn't break blocks, requiring a player to slide through them instead. With all this in mind, it really is a boss fighter power rather than a level power.

For a long time, Tornado remained in this state. Squeak Squad brought about some minor changes. Instead of repeatedly pressing the attack button to move up, a player would simply hold the button down. Tornado's copy ability scroll allowed it to pick up elements, running over fire, ice, or electricity would increase the size and strength of the tornado, and allow a player to burn, freeze, or electrify things respectively. This was especially helpful in the boss fights against Daroach and Bohboh, as Daroach's battlefield had ice over the ground and Bohboh had a pit of lava in the middle of his arena. Tornado in general was the best option for bosses in the game, as most of the other abilities that could hold a candle to it were either not present or lacked their usual power and versatility. On top of all this, Squeak Squad gave the power the ability to plow through blocks, making it better in stages too.

Tornado's next major appearance was in Return to Dream Land, where it got major changes. Before, Tornado had a single move, a single transformation, but the ability was finally given some new attacks to play with! One could attack upwards or downwards, and Kirby would launch a tornado in that direction, allowing a player to defeat enemies directly above or below. This was a minor change, but somewhat useful since the Tornado does tend to move more left and right than up and down. The ability was also given a dash attack where Kirby would lunge forward in a tornado form. This is generally more of a downgrade, as transforming into a tornado would typically do anything the dash attack would do while giving the player more control and time to get out of danger before invulnerability would wear off. As a whole, it made the power somewhat more inconvenient as transforming properly into Kirby's tornado form would now require the player to not be running. The final addition used the Wii's motion controls, while in tornado form the player could shake the wiimote, and once Kirby stopped spinning he would unleash powerful winds from his body during the period where he would normally be vulnerable. This would increase his overall attack radius as well as reduce the time he would be vulnerable between transformations! Overall, Return to Dream Land added one move that was annoying, two moves that were okay but mostly unnecessary, and one move that greatly increased Tornado's capabilities.

Tornado also appeared in five episodes of the anime. While Kirby would often obtain this ability from actual tornadoes, as one might expect, he also bizarrely copied the ability from a drill and helicopter blades in certain episodes. Kirby was equally likely to spin and become a tornado himself as he was to spit tornadoes out of his mouth, predating his ability to launch tornadoes at opponents from Return to Dream Land. The most memorable moment of this ability was during a cappy migration, where Kirby used his powerful winds to split a sea, referencing the Biblical parting of the Red Sea.

Tornado is a simple but powerful ability. Some changes have happened to it over time, but at the end of the day its greatest asset is its original one. Turning into a tornado and plowing through everything is a great time, even if it can be a little difficult to control. Lots of invincibility frames with a decent amount of power and a rapid rate of blows combines to bring everyone one of the most combat capable powers in the series. By the time you're done with the baddies, they'll be claiming "I don't think we're in Dream Land anymore!"

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