Ask Guru Gobbo #148

You know, the big ugly device that King Dedede uses in the animated series to get the monsters. For the sake of consistency, I was just repeating the poor terminology used by the questioner. Of course, "generator" is the worst possible word to describe it since it doesn't make anything but just receives it. I think it's actually called the Demon Beast Download System. It's just that internet/transport system used to get beasts from the Nightmare Enterprises.

0) No one's in more agreement with you than me about the painters being the same.

1) Does it even seem slightly plausible that they'd reveal anything as in depth as place of origin? Well, regardless, since Ado is actually based upon Kirby series game artist Mizumori Ado who worked on, no surprise, the two titles with this character. That being the case, I'm sure the appearance and most of the identity are based upon this woman. So, yeah, probably Japanese.

2) You also have to remember that, in this same game, there is Samus Aran, R.O.B. and Professor Hector, and a slew of other cameos. None of them are explained. None of them make any sense. None of them having any real meaning. Like I always say, it's a Kirby game. I don't think the game makers sat down and said, "Okay, we have to make this fully make sense and be unquestionable in every respect." More likely was the utterance of "Hey, Ado's awesome. Let's make her a boss." "What's a human doing on Pop Star?" "Studying... art?" "Good enough!"

1) In the games, the eyes appear to be yellow but then are shown white when unmasked. Brawl helped to further explain this by showing that, when Kirby wears the mask upon copying Meta Knight, his eyes turn green. This is explained by the mask housing a yellow tinted visor in the eye slot. Wraps up everything rather nicely.

2) No, they aren't. In that clip, maybe, yes, but, normally, they are yellow as -

3) - Meta Knight's eyes change color, yes, but only in the animated series. Never in the games.

1) I think that this "idea" needs to be put in a triangle choke so it can rest... in... peace!

2) It didn't take him seven levels to reach. That's not linear progression. The levels are Kirby getting the Star Rod pieces from the six friends of the king who were entrusted with them. This is not explicitly an A to B pathway, just his route.

Moreover, Kirby just strolled over to the Dream Spring at the start of the tale since no one was standing in his way. Once he got there, he told King Dedede flat out, "I'ma gonna cause trouble". This had the crown put out notice to stop the misguided ruckus rouser. That's why he has trouble getting through the Rainbow Resort and to the fountain this second time. Without the guards, baddies, and bosses standing in your way, things tend to be a cakewalk.

1) Why would you give an obscure abbreviation if you're gonna just type out the unorthodox name anyways? Anyhoo, he takes up an appearance like Dark Matter since, oh, I dunno, he is made of Dark Matter. There's only one Lovelove Stick to be wielded in the final battle, so, much like the infamous "Helper" in Super Star for the Star Chariot NOVA battle, something had to be thought up for player two. Since they had a blobby what of darkness who needed to be given the ability of permanent flight while fighting Dark Matter, they thought, "Hey, why not just use Dark Matter's shape?" It's a sorta Luke/Vader moment. Who knows? Maybe the proximity to Gooey's progenitor instigated some sort of reaction that modified his appearance. And now, that'll appear at the Kirby Wikia.

2) Keke is just there for aesthetic value. Kirby, especially back then, (at a decade passed, it can be referred to as "back then"), cared about these charming, no-function includes to add whimsy.

3) And why would they? Those items were pretty much the prelude to copy abilities. He'd eat something and get a related result. While they were mostly your video game power-ups. Mostly, only the Candy stuck around since having that for more time than a few seconds would kinda be ultimate. Note: Stone and Metal impose limitations to invincibility and do not count for sake of this statement.

But, really, the Mike did come back, and I don't just mean off Paint Roller's canvas. In Tilt 'n' Tumble, a title devoid of copy abilities, there was the good ol' microphone to blast away the baddies on the screen. It also had a Balloon which operated identically to the Mint Leaf. So, coming around full circle, ability items carry more merit when you're not getting abilities from your enemies. You pick one system and stick with it. Why have Spicy Food when there's Fire? Mike with other Mike? Mint Leaf with, uh, Jet, why not? It's redundant and thus avoided.

If you gotta ask, then you probably shouldn't be making one. Just saying. If its not just inherently understood that you take sprites and arrange them in the semblance of activity, then making them probably isn't for you. However, for a more in depth pointers to making them, I've recently set up a How To Make Kirby Fan Comics, really more as a way to set a bar against getting garbage then as actual instruction. Still applicable.

1) I would be entirely indifferent. So what? They had plenty of characters, enemies, and bosses from the games appear in the animated series. The problem was in that the main character was not accurately or acceptably utilized for me to care about any of the supporting cast.

2) It's reminiscent to the blank themes? Well, how am I supposed to know which themes from the animated series you are saying they are related to. That's like saying, "Hey, that sounds like that one song. You know, that one song? Yeah, totally." Half a comparison might as well be no comparison since squat can be done with it.

0) While that could be the case, I recall checkered patterns being pretty stylish back in the '80s or early '90s, or maybe I just think that because of a particular cap my brother owned. Anyhoo, I think you're forgetting that Ness was mostly about the baseball bat, not the yo-yo. You can find similarities between anything and meaning out of nothing. Just look at the Da Vinci code. It may work in the Bible, but it'd probably also work in Moby Dick! Just because it is there doesn't mean it has any significance.

1) My favorite non-platforming title is forsooth Dream Course, mostly due to the two player mode. Competition and crazy deadly abilities make for hours of not sinking the hole fun.

2) Can you even really call the "newer" style Sakurai's? I actually see the games cut into three divisions, and Sakurai inhabits only Dream Land 1 and Adventure. Those two stand out from the rest of the platformers as they, to me, seem to have a greater attention to finer details and aren't all smash-smash, grab-grab. Dream Land is definitely at the snail's pace, and even with the addition of abilities into the mix, Adventure still pulls out Wheel courses, Laser shooting galleries, and the ever lovely turning Butter Buildings. It's sorta a gray area between what I call the hatted age and the Dark Matter Trilogy.

I know that Sakurai did work on Super Star and wasn't completely disinterested until Crystal Shards, but Shimomura, in my opinion, carries on the true spirit of those first titles in his works. There were a lot of people working on that blitz of sub-games, and I question if this wasn't the start of burdening the camel since it was such a radical departure from that seen previously. If you had to pick only two factions, then, yes, I would arrange it that way, but I think Sakurai, when he still had his whole heart in the matter, stands out from the rest and deserves unique addressing.

Anyhoo, I've also probably blathered over my preference 'twixt the styles from constantly stating my adoration for bald headed Kirby, Animal Friends, and Dream Land 2 being my favorite. So, yes, that's a good assumption. Anyhoo x2, my take on the whole "who he is now" isn't exactly pleasant as I view it more as a commerical coop instigated in lack of innovation or concern for the puff. It relates less to how the games are played, of course, than it does the half-thought ushering of re-hashed ideas. That, to me, is the crux of the matter. Whether Shimmy or Sakky, either are fine as both fulfull different roles. The real matter is someone genuinely caring about the loveable marshmallow, which I don't think we've had this decade. Hey, it's been long enough for someone who grew up on Kirby to start making his games now, so here's hoping for that!

3) That's good, 'cuz I'm not the "gamer" type. Much like the term "random", I hack, gag, and wet my spikely ball at the use of the retched phrase. I'm not a gamer, and never was. I was, and really if not more so still am, a geek, a loser, a nerd, a social recluse. I loved video games back then, but not so much nowadays. And, no, that doesn't make me a "retro gamer". That just means I'm intolerant to change. Anyhoo, Kirby is one of those games that stays truer to its roots, not to mention has tons of replay value since you get a whole different experience by just swallowing a different enemy at a different part. Didn't I cover most of this before?

1) Pretty much, the dubbers are stupid and just like the change things. It could be to distance it from the triple syllablage that was common in the first game's early development. However, since Dream Land is just called Dream Land, this really just leaves the king and the, uh, "twins" with the tripling. To make Dedede's identity stand out more, pretty much by not having anyone's name be anything like his, they could felt distancing the pair with a breaking of the repetition was a good thing to do. That, or just 'cuz the dubbers are royal cheek holes. Hey! I didn't type that! They're even changing what I'm saying, their power is so great. You dang skippy dubbers, I'll hug you with a rusty pipe, hug you good!

2) That doesn't really seem to even challenge what I said. He's on a cliff, by himself. Is there anyone else there to really see his face? Who is he hiding it from? Open space? Strange things may have faces in Dream Land, but I don't think it goes that far. Besides, the mask has gotta come off some time. It's probably hard to breath under that thing, not to mention gets pretty warm.