Figures from the Kirby series of games

This list describes key figures from the Kirby -Spielereihe by HAL Laboratories . It describes the appearance and role in the games, as well as appearance and typical features of the individual characters .

main characters

In the following, the most important main characters appearing in the Kirby games are described. New releases are not counted as individual games.

Kirby

Kirby (Japanese カ ー ビ ィ , Kābī ) represents a pink, ball-shaped resident of the dreamland on the planet Pop Star . He has short arms and feet clad in red shoes, which are right on the body and a little longer than the arms. He also has elliptical eyes. Kirby's conspecifics appear in only a few games and little is known about them. There is also no specific designation for Kirby's species frequently but of dream countries (or English. Dreamlanders ) talk, but this would actually also include all other residents of dreamland. The favorite activity of Kirby's species is to eat and sleep and then tell each other the dreams they have experienced. They do their work with the help of the glitter stars.

In some games, Kirby's counterparts of different colors appear, which serve in particular as pawns for other players. Only the yellow Kībī (Japanese キ ー ビ ィ , in English often referred to as Keeby ) was named in Kirby's Dream Course, and only in the Japanese version of the game. Its yellow color is probably an allusion to Shigeru Miyamoto's earlier desire to make Kirby yellow instead of pink.

Kirby's look has been tweaked a bit over the years. At first he had tapered arms that were rounded. This change was most evident in 1995/96. In addition, his face has become slightly larger in relation to the body.

Because of his looks and skills, Kirby is often given nicknames such as “ Marshmallow ”, “ Airbag ” or “Pillow” in the computer game press . A term that was used very often in German by the authorities is "Edelknödel". Since Nintendo's restructuring in Europe at the beginning of 2001, this name has practically not been used by Nintendo itself.

King Dedede

King Naperchen (English King Dedede , Japanese デ デ デ 大王 , Dedede Daiō ) is the self-proclaimed king of the dreamland and has appeared in all Kirby games since Kirby's Dream Land , with the exception of Kirby & the miraculous mirror world . Several times he "rules" in the games like a tyrant and lets "his" people steal from them. In the Kirby anime , he has an assistant named Escargoon . This is snail-like and almost always stands by Dedede's side, even though the King treats Escargoon unfairly. While some of the inhabitants of the dreamland became his subjects , the others simply ignore his pseudo-rule and live according to their own ideas. In a few game titles, however, Dedede fights on the side of the good guys, so in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards , after some hesitation, he joins Kirby and is at times controllable by the player. In Kirby Air Ride and Kirby: Power Paintbrush , he is also a freely playable character .

Outwardly, Dedede is vaguely reminiscent of a penguin and, depending on the game, is usually around two to three times the size of Kirby. It has a round, blue head with a short, broad beak. His body is quite stout, with long, broad feet right next to it. His four-fingered hands, on the other hand, are connected to his body with recognizable arms. Dedede's eyes are elliptical, but much wider than Kirby's. He wears a regal, red robe with his emblem, the Victory symbol , on the back of his cloak. He also always wears a flat knitted hat with a bobble. Another trademark is his large mallet, his preferred weapon.

Its appearance has been changed a bit in Kirby's Fun Pak . While his corpulent body, like his head, was originally blue, in this game he is beige to light yellow, and he also wears yellow to orange gloves. However, Sakurai was only involved in the development of Kirby: Shadows Threaten Dreamland as director of a Kirby game, so that Dedede's new appearance was not consistently used until this game. Another change was made in Kirby: Mouse Attack, Dedede's body is now blue again, but his stomach is still beige.

King Dedede is part of the Smash Bros. series and has so far been part of the character selection in the games Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and WiiU (2014).

Meta Knight

Meta-Knight (Japanese メ タ ナ イ ト , Meta Naito ) is a mysterious swordsman who wields a powerful gold-colored sword called Galaxia . He also has a cloak that can be transformed into a pair of wings. He is the leader of the Meta-Knights , a group of warriors who are devoted to their Lord faithfully and also all the word "Knight" (Engl. For " Knights wear") in the name. It's not clear whose side Meta-Knight is on. When he first appeared in Kirby's Adventure , he was a subject of King Dededes and the sixth final boss. He plays a more important role in Kirby's Fun Pak in the sub-game The Revenge of Meta Knight , in which he wants to conquer dreamland with his huge airship named Halberd and a large army of soldiers. In Kirby & the wondrous mirror world, however, he tries to save the mirror world and gives Kirby his sword in the final battle against Dark Mind . In Kirby: Mouse Attack , he wants to prevent Dark Nebula from being freed. In addition, Meta Knight is a playable character in several games.

Meta-Knight almost always hides his face behind a mask with a narrow viewing slit. If he does not wear a mask, it can be seen that, apart from his coloring, he is almost identical to Kirby on the outside. In contrast to Kirby, his body is blue, he also wears white gloves, shoulder straps and purple shoes. Its appearance has also changed somewhat over time, so it was initially black and did not wear epaulets. The latter were added in Kirby's Ghost Trap . In the anime, he doesn't speak like the other characters, but with a Spanish accent.

In the Kirby anime, Meta-Knight is Kirby's protector and tries to protect and educate him by all means possible.

Meta-Knight has been part of the Super Smash series since 2008 and has so far been part of the character selection in the games Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the 2014 Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and WiiU.

Since Meta-Knight always wears his mask in the anime, his feelings had to be shown differently. That is why his feelings are expressed through different eye colors. These eye colors are: pink, red, blue, green, white, orange, and dark yellow. If his eyes are pink, he is happy, if he is red he is angry. White and green are of similar importance when Meta-Knight is talking about something important. Blue corresponds to a cheerfulness about the development of Kirby. Meta-Knight's eyes are dark yellow when unconscious or asleep. The interpretation of the orange coloring is not certain, as it only occurred once in the first episode. One can take it as a surprise to Meta-Knights, since Kirby is only half his size.

Recurring minor characters

The following minor characters stand out from other minor characters in a certain way. Another criterion is whether they have already played a role in another game series.

Rick, Kine and Coo

Rick (Japanese リ ッ ク , Rikku ), the hamster, Kine (Japanese カ イ ン , Kain ), the fish, and Coo (Japanese ク ー , Kū ), the owl, are Kirby's animal friends, all of whom are about twice his size and stood by him for the first time in Kirby's Dream Land 2 . Like Kirby, Rick is the only one who has the ability to suck things in and copy opponents' abilities. With the other two, Kirby continues to suck in the opponents himself, but Kine and Coo also benefit in part from Kirby's abilities. Each of the three has advantages in a certain element of a level, the following are: Mainland - Rick, Water - Kine and Air - Coo.

They last appeared in 1998 in the SNES game Kirby no Kirakira Kids , in later games they only have cameo appearances, and in Kirby Star Allies they can also be played as downloadable characters.

Nago, Chuchu and Pitch

Nago (jap. ナ ゴ ,), the cat, Chuchu (jap. チ ュ チ ュ ,), the octopus, and Pitch (jap. ピ ッ チ , Pitchi ), the little bird, were added to Kirby's Dream Land 3 as three other animal friends of Kirby. However, it stayed with this game, in later games only a few cameo appearances are recorded. Chuchu is the only female character among Kirby's six animal friends. Nago is as tall as Rick while the other two are about the same as Kirby. Like Kine and Coo, none of the three can copy skills themselves, they all depend on Kirby.

Dark matter

Dark Matter (Japanese ダ ー ク マ タ ー , Dāku Matā ) is a malicious and versatile mass that appears for the first time in Kirby's Dream Land 2 . The name literally means " dark matter ". It can penetrate other living beings and bring them under their control. Dark Matter doesn't speak and her intentions are unclear, she just seems out to cover up as much of her darkness as possible. It can move itself easily through space and conceal entire planets under its mass.

In the three game titles in which Dark Matter is up to mischief, it can only be defeated if all key objects in the game (rainbow drops, heart stars or crystal splinters, depending on the game) have been collected. Although it can take many different shapes, the most common shape is a round mass with a single eye, which is similar in shape to a human eye.

Dark Matter and only once occurring main opponent nightmare (engl. Nightmare , Jap. ナイトメア , Naitomea ) Darkmind (Jap. ダークマインド , DAKU Maindo ), Malia (engl. Drawcia , Jap. ドロシア , Doroshia ) and Dark Nebula ( Japanese Dark Zero , ダ ー ク ゼ ロ , Dāku Zero ) have many similarities with each other. He also appears as a clone in Kirby: Planet Robobot as a secret boss opponent and the final form of the final boss Void Termina from Kirby Star Allies corresponds to the design of Dark Matter.

Gooey

Gooey (Japanese グ ー イ , Gūi ) consists of the same mass as Dark Matter, but is not malicious and therefore independent of Dark Matter. Instead, he's a friend of Kirby's and about his size. He appeared in Kirby's Dream Land 2 , but only had a supporting role there and was about twice as big. In Kirby's Dream Land 3, however, he is the second character that can be controlled by both a human player and a computer. Apart from the fact that Gooey catches things with his long tongue instead of sucking them in, there is little difference between his and Kirby's abilities. For the first time he is playable again in Kirby Star Allies , as a downloadable character

Gooey has a dark blue, slightly egg-shaped body and two circular eyes and a large, mostly grinning mouth. Otherwise he has no recognizable limbs.

Dyna Blade

Dyna Blade (Japanese ダ イ ナ ブ レ イ ド , Dainabureido ) is a relatively huge, female bird with metallic wings that are covered by rainbow-colored feathers. Dyna Blade plays the main role in the sub-game of the same name in Kirby's Fun Pak . There she destroys the entire harvest of the dreamland, so Kirby sets out to stop them. But it turns out that she just wanted to feed her young. Therefore, Kirby helps her raise them for a while. In return, Dyna Blade brings Kirby back to Sir Meta Knight's airship in the sub-game The Revenge of Meta Knight , from which he was previously promoted.

Dyna Blade has another appearance in the game Kirby Air Ride , in which it flies into the city from time to time in the so-called City Trail mode. If a driver hits her head, he receives items to upgrade his vehicle.

Waddle Dee

Waddle Dee (Japanese ワ ド ル デ ィ , Wadorudī ) is one of the most common and weakest types of opponents in most platformers. Waddle Dees appear in all Kirby games. Since they have no special skills themselves, many Waddle Dees use objects, in most cases umbrellas. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, on the other hand, a waddle dee befriends Kirby and provides him with various vehicles. Already in Kirby's Fun Pak , one of the creatable helpers is a waddle dee, and a waddle dee can be unlocked as a character in Kirby: Power paintbrush . In Kirby's Adventure Wii and Kirby Star Allies there is a special representative, Bandana Dee, a playable character, which also appears as a supporting character in Kirby Triple Trouble and Kirby Planet Robobot .

Outwardly, Waddle Dees are very similar to Kirby. Her body is mostly red, her shoes orange. The biggest visual difference to Kirby is her face - this is beige to light yellow and is outwardly pronounced in the lower area. In addition, they have no discernible mouth, but can still speak and ingest food. Visual changes made to Kirby also affected the Waddle Dees accordingly. Her shoes were also green, yellow or the color of the face, most recently in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble , which in the latter game is due to the more limited graphic possibilities of the Game Boy Color.

There is also Waddle Doo , an opponent very similar to a Waddle Dee, which is most likely where the almost identical names come from. Waddle Doos and Waddle Dee's only differences are that instead of a face, Waddle Doos have a single large eye and can fight back with a beam whip. If Kirby swallows a Waddle Doo and takes over its ability, it becomes Beam Kirby. Waddle Dees and Waddle Doos are probably Napping King's most loyal subjects. Waddle Doo was also unlockable in Kirby: Power Paintbrush.

Whispy Woods

Whispy Woods ( localized in the first games as stump stump, Japanese ウ ィ ス ピ ー ウ ッ ズ , Wisupī Uzzu ) represents a tree that has a face and facial expressions and gestures as well as language. It can also be found in most Kirby games, and there are several copies of its kind. In platformer, a stump stump is usually the first and at the same time weakest end boss, especially since he does not move in most games. Instead, it throws apples out of its treetop, fires breathing projectiles and knocks its long roots out of the earth. In the anime, he's nice and is the focus of Whispy Woods. There he is called King Whispy.

Lololo and Lalala

Lololo and Lalala (Japanese ロ ロ ロ , Rororo and ラ ラ ラ , Rarara ) are followers of King Nap, who have their own castle called Castle Lololo (English Castle Lololo , Japanese キ ャ ッ ス ル ロ ロ ロ , Kyassuru Rororo ). They only appear in Kirby's Dream Land and two other games, twice as final bosses, and don't really play a prominent role. The special thing about them is that they are based on Lolo and Lala , the heroes from the Adventures of Lolo game series, also developed by HAL Laboratory, or are even supposed to represent them. As in the series mentioned, the two figures are more ball-shaped, have a pointed tail, very large round eyes and wear white shoes and gloves. Lololo is blue, while Lalala is pink. In addition, in the games in which they represent final bosses, they push boxes in front of them, another allusion to the Adventures of Lolo series. In the anime they are called "Fololo" and "Falala". In the ninth episode it is announced that you were once a monster from NME (Nightmare Enterprises) called "FoFa". Shortly before King Snooze had them, they were split into two parts, a male (Fololo) and a female (Falala).

Kracko

Kracko ( ク ラ ッ コ , Kurakko ) is a common end boss of the series. It looks like a cloud but has a single large eye (its vulnerable point) and golden spikes. Kracko can generate lightning. The first time he appears in the game Kirby's Dream Land , in the later games more and more often. Even in Kirby Airride it is available as an item in the Top Ride game part . In Mouse Attack he also appears as the boss, but in a much more modern and no longer so simple version: The cloud was no longer white, but gray and he now had only four, but longer, spines. There it was only a replica of the original, probably made by the Squeak Doc . Kracko is basically the boss of a cloud world and is mostly one of the heavier of its kind.

Other characters

Nightmare

Nightmare is a sorcerer and the boss of the game Kirby's Adventure and its remake Kirby: Shadows Threaten Dreamland . In these games he tries to shower Dreamland with nightmares. The task is to defeat him with the star scepter.

Mr. Star

Mr. Star , as his name suggests, is a star-shaped being. For the first time Mr. Star was seen in the game Kirby's Star Stacker , but only played a small supporting role there as an animated background character. On the other hand, he got a leading role in the SNES successor Kirby no Kirakira Kids , where he is simply shot down by King Napping with a cannon, so that he bursts into many small pieces of stars. But Kirby, Rick, Kine and Coo help him to find his individual parts.

The Squeaks

The Squeaks are known from Kirby: Mouse Attack and are a gang of thieving mice, who are intergalactically famous for their thefts. They are led by Daroach, who is dressed like a magician and uses a magic wand called a three-star. Other members of the gang are the strong Storo, who wears an eye patch and a headscarf and fights with a hammer, the fast spinnie, dressed in sunglasses and a red coat, who attacks with throwing stars and long claws, and the cunning Doc who takes one to the sides has a curved mustache and spiral eyes that sits in a UFO and can thus suck in objects, among other things. This gang is helped by yellow, green and blue smaller mice, called squeakers, who throw bombs. Depending on the color, these bombs are larger and therefore stronger. They will never be seen again in Dreamland after the events of Mouse Attack .

Prince plush

Prince Plush is the prince of the fabric country and partner of Kirby in Kirby and the magic yarn . Grimmgarn is his archenemy. He appears to be of the same species as Kirby and explains to him how to operate in the Cloth Land. Plush is playable in two-player mode. He can merge with Kirby, so that they turn into a robot, for example. However, it consists only of threads.

Tip and tuff

Tip and her younger brother Tuff are siblings and Kirby's friends in the anime (see above). Tip and Tuff are always there for Kirby and support him in the fight against King Dedede and his monsters. Tip is always self-confident and slightly opinionated. She seems to be of legal age as she can be seen driving a car in a few episodes. Tuff, on the other hand, is very independent and often wants to pursue his hobbies (such as fishing). However, he seems to be quite disoriented without his sister. When Kirby is in trouble they throw objects (like torches) at him so he can transform. Tip is always worried about her brother and Kirby, it seems that she is in love with Kirby.

swell

1. ↑ Kirbypedia ( Memento of February 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ): Article on Keeby (dead)
2. ↑ classic-zone.de ( Memento of the original from December 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Interview with Claude M. Moyse, August 31, 2006