Kirby (Games)
From Kirbypedia
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| English Name: | Kirby |
| Japanese Name: | カービィ (Kaabii) |
| English Voice: | Same |
| Japanese Voice: | Makiko Ohmoto |
| First Game: | Kirby's Dream Land |
| Species: | Kirby's species |
| Gender: | Male |
| Alignment: | Good |
| Category: | Hero |
This page is about the video game version of Kirby. For the version in the anime, see Kirby (Anime).
Contents |
Intro
Kirby is a video game character created by Masahiro Sakurai of the company HAL Labs, which is currently half owned by Nintendo. Kirby has starred in over 20 different games and his own anime series.
Kirby is a round, pink creature that lives on a distant star called Pop Star. Most of his adventures take place in the country of Dream Land, but he also travels to other places and even other planets in his journeys. Kirby is cute and friendly, but has a lot of hidden strength.
His signature trait is his massive appetite. He can open his mouth wide and inhale enemies, food, or other things, and swallow them whole- even things much larger than himself. He can spit them back out as a star-shaped projectile, or as in later games, copy their powers to get new attacks, allowing him to tackle any situation.
Kirby's home is often threatened by evils great and small, from the tyrannical King Dedede (who's usually more of a nuisance than a real threat) to the mysterious and dangerous Dark Matter. Kirby bravely faces them all, however, but usually with the help of friends.
While many of Kirby's games are classic platformer style, his round shape has allowed him to break the mold and literally become the ball in golf and pinball games, among others. Kirby's adaptability and cuteness are what have made him such a popular and long-standing character.
Creation
See also: [Who is Kirby?]
At first they called him Popopo, and the game was to be called Twinkle Popo. But somewhere along the line his name was changed to Kirby, and the name of the series to Hoshi no Kaabii, or Kirby of the Stars. Though there are various rumors about the origins of the name, it seems that he really was named after the Nintendo attorney Jack Kirby, who won a major case where Nintendo was sued by Universal Studios. (This is what Mr. Kirby says, anyway!)
Games
Naturally, Kirby is the star of every game in the series, but he's also made cameos and appeared as a playable character in several others.
See Games for a complete list.
Appearance
In earlier designs, Kirby's facial features were much smaller, and he didn't gain the rosy cheeks until later games. He's gone from round to pear-shaped and then round again, but now it seems they've settled on his current design.
Personality and Background
Kirby is described as being cheerful, naive and innocent. His favorite things to do are eat, take his daily afternoon nap, and eat some more. He's rather soft spoken, but he can be impulsive and stubborn at times. His favorite food is tomatoes and he loves to sing, even if no one likes to hear him!
Kirby's past is never touched upon in the games, unlike in the anime series. We don't know his family, where he's from- anything! It leaves things open for interpretation, but also arguments. Whatever his past may be, he considers Dream Land his home.
Abilities
Kirby has several basic moves that appear in all of his action/platformer style games.
Basic Moves
- Walk - Kirby will happily stroll along.
- Dash - Double-tapping left or right and Kirby will run as fast as his little feet can move him.
- Jump - Kirby will hop into the air.
- Duck - Kirby will squish himself to half his normal height.
- Slide - Hitting the attack button while ducking will cause Kirby to slide along foot-first to damage things.
- Inhale - Kirby's signature move. His mouth opens wide and he'll draw in enemies, items and other things.
- Exhale - If Kirby inhales something, he can spit it back out as a star-shaped projectile. Or...
- Swallow - He can gulp it down. If the enemy has a power, in later games he can get a Copy Ability.
- Float - Kirby will breathe in and inflate his body, flapping his arms to gain altitude.
- Air Puff - Kirby will exhale all that air in a solid blast of air which can destroy enemies.
- Swim - Underwater, Kirby can swim in any direction.
- Water Spout - Kirby can't inhale underwater, so instead he spits a blast of air or water at enemies in any direction.
Detail
In Kirby's first game, Kirby's Dream Land he had fewer powers than he does today. He could walk, run, jump, float, and inhale his enemies. He could then either swallow them, or spit them back out as a shooting star that damaged other enemies. Kirby's Adventure was where he first gained the ability to duck, and to perform a sliding kick.
Kirby floats by inhaling air and expanding his body, and flying up by flapping his arms. He can exhale the air in a puff that damages enemies. Kirby can float for an unlimited length of time, except in the game Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.
In Kirby's Adventure, he gained his signature Copy Abilities. Now when Kirby swallowed special enemies, he could copy their powers, such Fire, Sword, Wing, or Ninja. In that game, Kirby's color would change to show he had an ability. It wasn't until Kirby Super Star that he started getting special hats with each ability. This feature remains in use today.
In the Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 2 games, Kirby has a smaller number of abilities and no hats- instead he can combine his powers with a variety of animal friends for new effects. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards he also has no hats, but can combine two abilities to make a new one.
New Copy Abilities are always being added, though Kirby's basic moves remain the same. In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, his inhale was reduced. Instead of being able to inhale for as long as the button was pressed, he would first cycle between two strengths of inhaling and then be forced to stop for a moment.
Relationships
Kirby's first friends appeared in Kirby's Dream Land 2, where he was joined by Rick the hamster, Coo the owl, and Kine the sunfish. They would help him get around, and Kirby could combine his copy abilities with them for special effects.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 introduced Gooey, Nago the cat, Chuchu the octopus and Pitch the bird. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Kirby travels with Ribbon, Adeleine, a friendly Waddle Dee, and even teams up with his old nemesis King Dedede.
Kirby has a sort if odd rivalry with Dedede. Because of the king always causing trouble, Kirby is always suspicious of him, but he doesn't seem to dislike him. They will often go against each other in various sub-games. Dedede is jealous of Kirby, but he seems to like having someone to battle.
His relationship with Meta Knight is more vague. They're certainly meant to be the same species, though it's highly unlikely that they're related by blood. (Not to mention cliche!) But Meta Knight is also a rival to Kirby, though there have been times they have worked toward the same goal- or where Kirby has actually saved Meta Knight.
 | This article is unfinished. It needs more. Add more! Fix stuff! DO IT. | |
| Kirby Game Characters: | |
| Main: Kirby - King Dedede - Meta Knight - Waddle Dee | |
| Allies: Animal Friends - Gooey - Ribbon - Adeleine - Helpers - Other Friends | |
| Enemies: Regular enemies - Mini-bosses - Bosses The Meta Knights - The Squeaks | |
| Final Bosses: Nightmare - Dark Matter - Miracle Matter - 0 (Zero) - 0² (Zero Two) Marx - Dark Mind - Drawcia - Grill - Dark Nebula | |
