Kirby (character)

Kirby
'Kirby series character
File:Kirbysqsq.png Kirby, as he appears in Kirby: Squeak Squad
First game	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Created by	Masahiro Sakurai

Kirby (カービィ, Kābii) has been the star of a number of namesake games developed by HAL Laboratory, and has also become a popular anime character in recent years.

Kirby has appeared in over twenty games since 1992 and has starred in his own animated series. The Kirby series has sold over 30 million units worldwide. The core games of the series are platformers that follow a loose timeline matching the release order. They typically begin with an evil force threatening his home of Dream Land (Pupupuland プププランド) on the planet Popstar, most often the greedy King Dedede or mysterious Dark Matter. No matter the odds, Kirby sets off to defeat it. The main games always have Kirby with the same basic abilities- he can walk, run, jump, float, and inhale and spit out or devour his enemies. Following Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby was able to gain the abilities of the enemies he swallowed, such as Fire, Sword or Fighter.

In the various side games, Kirby sometimes diverges from his platforming style, his round shape allowing him to be the ball in Kirby's Pinball Land, or rolling around in Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. He retains his signature Copy Abilities, which can often be used for special effects.

Most of Kirby's games adhere to the same basic idea behind Kirby's creation - that his is a series for beginners, not only children. As such his games can be beaten by a player of nearly any age, but offer deeper challenges for more experienced gamers.

Concept and creation

File:Popopo.jpg

An early magazine scan of 'Popopo'.

Kirby was originally named Popopo, and his model was created as a blob placeholder sprite during the development of what would be the first Kirby game. (Which was originally to be titled 'Twinkle Popopo' instead of the current 'Hoshi no Kaabii' or Kirby of the Stars.) After working with it for a while, creator Masahiro Sakurai started to prefer the placeholder's design over the one they originally had in mind. He was later quoted with saying how he envisioned Kirby as a 'game for beginners'.

Sakurai intended Kirby to be pink. However, Shigeru Miyamoto had envisioned him as yellow. Because of this ambiguity, Nintendo of America was left with a bit of confusion when the game was ported to the West. As a result, the American box art, cartridge label, and instruction booklet for Kirby's Dream Land features Kirby entirely white in color. The Japanese box art, however, correctly depicts Kirby as pink.

There is a good deal of debate on the origins of Kirby's name. A widespread myth is that Kirby adopted his Western name from the Kirby Corporation, which is a vacuum cleaner company and would suit Kirby and his appetite. The other explanation is that Kirby was named in honor of Nintendo's legal counsel, John Kirby of Latham & Watkins LLP, after John Kirby saved Nintendo during a copyright infringement lawsuit over Donkey Kong filed by Universal Studios. Mr. Kirby himself has confirmed this- however, Masahiro Sakurai has been quoted as saying he doesn't remember how Kirby got his name, leaving the issue vague.

Actor portrayal

Kirby is voiced by female seiyū Makiko Ōmoto in the Super Smash Bros. series, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and in the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (Kirby of the Stars). She considered the time doing Kirby's voice and working with others on the show and games as being a great experience.

However, in a 1994 educational video starring himself and Mario, he was voiced by Mayumi Tanaka.

Characteristics

File:Earlykirby.jpg

Kirby as he appears in the artwork for Kirby's Dream Land. His design has changed in various ways since then.

Kirby is a small, pink, spherical creature with large red feet, stubby arms and trademark pink cheek-blushes. His body is soft and flexible, allowing him to be flattened. He is roughly 8 inches tall and his weight is unknown, although several parts of the anime and Super Smash Bros games suggest that he is light enough to be carried. He hails from the planet Popstar, where he lives in a dome-shaped house in Dream Land. His appearance has changed subtly over the years, becoming more rounded and defined, mainly in his face and larger eyes. The new design has been used in all subsequent games.

Personality

Kirby has a positive attitude, and helps to save Dream Land through the use of his unique powers. His age is never stated, although in the manual for Kirby's Dream Land he is called a 'little boy' and in the show he is called a 'baby'. This, along with his high-pitched voice, suggest that he is young. He is referred to as male in the animated series.

Kirby is cheerful and innocent. He loves to eat and sleep, especially during the day. His favorite food is tomatoes. He is said to dislike caterpillars. His other hobbies include singing, although he is tone-deaf. He can be impulsive, such as how he accuses Dedede of interfering with the Fountain of Dreams in Kirby's Adventure, without even letting the king explain himself.

Kirby is a character of few words, mainly only saying 'Hi!' cheerfully in such games as Super Smash Bros. and speaking in the stories written in some games' English instruction manuals, but he never speaks in-game. The only exception is in Kirby's Avalanche, where he is depicted as rude and smart-alecky. However, as this is an American-made spin-off of the Puyo Puyo games (similar to the Sonic title Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine) and never released in Japan, it is not considered canon. The concept of Kirby being mostly mute is supported by Masahiro Sakurai's insistence that Kirby not speak in the anime series. (See: Kirby Anime Development)

Kirby is given little in the way of background in his video game series. Nothing about his origins or family is known.

Abilities

File:InhalingKirby.jpg

Kirby must swallow his enemies before he can acquire their abilities.

Kirby's main attack is inhaling enemies (both his mouth and body expand to allow him to inhale things much larger than himself) and swallowing them. He can also spit enemies out as stars to attack others. Certain enemies, when swallowed, give Kirby new powers called Copy Abilities.

In most early games, an ability does not change Kirby's appearance drastically, aside from his color changing to orange or cyan in Kirby's Adventure, or wielding a weapon for abilities like Sword or Hammer. However, beginning with Kirby Super Star, Kirby would gain a unique hat for each ability, such as a burning headdress for Fire, a frozen crown for Ice, or a backwards baseball cap for Yoyo or Wheel. The hats have become a staple of the series.

In Kirby Super Star Kirby could use an ability to create a 'Helper', a good version of the enemy he had devoured, that would be controlled by the game or a second player.

Kirby also uses his powers to attain food items to heal himself, or other special items like lollipops that grant him temporary invinciblity. (Kirby Super Star and recent games have a feature where Kirby can share his food with the second player, a motion that resembles kissing. It became a very popular topic to parody in the Japanese manga series.)

Kirby can suck in air and make himself lighter, flying slowly by flapping his arms. He can attack enemies by quickly exhaling a puff of air. Other games have developed his powers even further, such as allowing him to block attacks in Kirby Super Star, but on a whole his basic moves have stayed the same with new Copy Abilities being added in each new game. In a future game announced for the Wii, Kirby is again given the ability to release his absorbed enemy as an ally.

Kirby is also known as a skilled dancer. After defeating bosses or some levels, Kirby will twirl, jump and slide, often accompanied by others of his kind or helpers. The complexity of his dances sometimes depends on how well he does in a bonus game at the end of a level - getting the highest result will get the longest dance.

Appearances

Main Game Series

Main article: List of Kirby Games

Kirby set off on his first adventure in Kirby's Dream Land when the self-made ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede stole everyone's food. Since then, more dangerous enemies have threatened Kirby's home. His journies have become more daunting as creatures like Dark Matter possess and control his friends against their will. Kirby maintains a brave and cheerful persona despite it all, gaining new powers and allies to aid him.

Super Smash Bros. Series

File:Ssbbrawl3.jpg

Kirby (bottom right) and various other characters, including Meta Knight (top right) in a Super Smash Bros. Brawl trailer screenshot.

In 1999, Nintendo and HAL Laboratory released a 4-player fighting game called Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64 video game system.

In it, Kirby retains his ability to float (in the form of a five-use multi-jump) and the ability to inhale and swallow other players, allowing him to copy their normal B-button special moves to use. He also has a number of strong combo attacks. In addition to his special ability to inhale and copy his opponents, Kirby also has his Final Cutter and Stone abilities from the previous Kirby games. Kirby's ability from his own games to create a force field shield was given to all characters. For a character of his size, Kirby is quite agile and powerful, however his major drawback was his lack of weight, making him relatively easy to knock off the stage with more powerful techniques, such as Smash attacks and charge moves.

In Super Smash Bros. Melee, Kirby gained the new ability to swing a Hammer, in addition to his previous abilities. His throws still inflict decent damage, especially when he teleports with the opponent and crashes him/her down. However, he is now much lighter and has noticably less attack power. Kirby is voiced by Makiko Ohmoto in Super Smash Bros., and again in Super Smash Bros. Melee. As seen in the trailer for Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kirby will be making a return appearance. His rival Meta Knight will also be a playable character. In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Kirby can use his moves from Super Smash Bros. Melee by defeating and swallowing a scaled-down version of Master Hand, the final boss from both Super Smash Bros. games.

In Anime, Manga, and Comics

File:Kirbymanga.jpg

An issue of the Kirby manga - Kirby of the Stars Volume 21

Kirby stars in an anime titled Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (Hoshi no Kābī (Kirby of the Stars) in Japanese after the original game title). It is currently licensed in North America by 4Kids Entertainment and the Canadian company Nelvana, and was produced by Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, Inc.. It aired on 4Kids TV, formerly the Fox Box (since 2002, now currently airing in reruns), via Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (since 2001 which has done 100 episodes).

Unlike the games and manga, the anime contained darker themes such as war and death, though it still maintained most of the cheerful and surreal themes from the games. Kirby's creator, Masahiro Sakurai, was greatly involved in its creation, so it did not stray far from his vision of how Kirby should be.

Kirby also starred in several manga series, none of which have been released outside Japan. The longest running series is also titled Kirby of the Stars, and was written by Hirokazu Hikawa (ひかわ 博一 Hikawa Hirokazu).

The other manga are typically one-shot comedy 4koma based on the games, and have multiple artists. They usually have recurring themes and running gags despite having different creators.

Kirby was also in a short, still-animated educational video that was only released in Japan, designed to teach kanji to young children. In it, he helps a lost puppy find its mother.

Kirby also appeared in a few German comics, which featured him as a detective and King Dedede as his friend. His other friend is one of a few blue fish who works at a bar known as the Blue Fish Bar and is also one of Kirby's informants. His animal friends also appear in the German comics as pets of a female Kirby look-alike with red glass slippers, ostensibly one of Kirby's girlfriends. In one comic, he meets Lolo, Lala, and Lulu, the stars of the Adventures of Lolo series. The German comics were meant to let German Kirby fans know of Kirby games that would be released there.

Other Information

Kirby in the Anime

Kirby's image in the animated series is similar to his in-game image. He has the same light-hearted persona and huge appetite; the two main differences are his age and origins, and his preference for watermelon over tomatoes. Design-wise, his feet are a deeper shade of red than in the games. (However, on most anime-related merchandise, his feet are the same shade of red as they typically are in the games.)

Only in his anime series is his background given any significance. On the show, Kirby is a legendary Star Warrior who according to legend is fated to save Popstar from destruction. No such legends are ever referred to in the games. He is also revealed early in the series to be a creation of an ancient evil entity called Nightmare.

It was also said in the anime that Kirby was meant to sleep for 200 years but was awoken too early by mistake, which is why he is only a baby. Because of his age, he depends even more on the help of his friends to pull through tough situations.

Though Sakurai said Kirby wasn't to speak, he allowed him to use a small vocabulary. Kirby will often shout his ability and attack names, or say a few favorite words like 'suika' (Japanese for watermelon.) While Kirby is fully capable of speaking, he is simply too young to know very much. However, nearly all of his lines are removed in the 4Kids dub.

Kirby is described as kind-hearted, sometimes to the point that it is considered a weakness. He often shows a strong, almost maternal caring side for younger and weaker people. He is also fearless - though other characters comment that it is only because he is cheerfully oblivious.

Relationships

Starting in Kirby's Dream Land 2 on the Game Boy, Kirby was assisted in his quest by several animal friends , with new ones appearing later in Kirby's Dream Land 3. He can be seen in cutscenes interacting with them before each level.

In Kirby's Dream Land 3 he is joined by a goofy looking blob called Gooey. According to the game's instruction manual, he is made out of the same substance as Dark Matter, but is not evil. Gooey can float and swallow enemies like Kirby does, but with a long sticky tongue.

A variety of 'Helpers' were introduced in Kirby Super Star. They are 'good' versions of the enemies Kirby meets in the games. If Kirby inhales one to obtain its ability, he can give up his power to create a Helper to aid him. (The Helper is then either controlled by the game or by a second player.) In more recent games he is aided by multicolored copies of himself.

Meta Knight has appeared as both Kirby's ally and enemy. While Kirby often faces him as the boss of a level, Meta Knight has also aided Kirby and tried to help save Dream Land from evil forces. The surprise twist is that when the player defeats him, his mask breaks off to reveal he is identical to Kirby except in color. In the anime series, Meta Knight is on Kirby's side and helps to train him- though he acts rather cold towards him.

In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards he travelled with a wide variety of friends.Throughout the game, he meets the fairy Ribbon from Ripple Star, the painter girl Adeleine, King Dedede and a Waddle Dee. They all help Kirby in his quest to find the pieces of the broken crystal and defeat Dark Matter. The game marks one of the few times in which Dedede actually helps Kirby. At the end of the game, Ribbon kisses Kirby on the cheek in thanks for saving her home world, causing him to become dizzy in embarrassment and fall over. She is the only character shown to have any sort of romantic affection for Kirby.

In the anime series, Kirby's two best friends are the siblings Tiff and Tuff. Tiff acts as a protective, almost maternal figure to him. Kirby often plays with Tuff and the other children in the village, but being younger he is sometimes left out. Some of the animal friends also appear, but Kirby does not have close friendships with them.

Kirby is generally willing to make friends with anyone, though moreso in the anime than games.

Shadow Kirby

File:Dark2.PNG

Kirby sees Shadow Kirby for the first time.

In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, the Mirror World is introduced, an alternate dimension that in some ways is a reflection of Kirby's own. In it exists Shadow Kirby, a dark version of Kirby with a gray body and black feet. He appears before the player at various points in the game, occasionally popping out of walls, and sometimes attacks before retreating. However, if the player attacks he will leap backwards, at the same time dropping items such as 1-Ups, candy, and food. It is revealed in the end that Shadow Kirby wants to save his own world just as Kirby does his, and they work together towards the same goal. Shadow Kirby throws Meta Knight's sword back to Kirby if Kirby loses it in the final battle against Dark Mind.

In Kirby Squeak Squad the player can collect the 'Shadow' spray paint to make Kirby look like Shadow Kirby.

Species

Kirby's species has been a common topic of debate in his fandom. Unlike many other video game mascots, such as Link being Hylian, Kirby's kind has never been given an official name.

However, while Kirby is the one most often emphasized, he is not the only member of his kind. This is evidenced by similar looking characters seen in the ending of Kirby's Dream Land and the remake Spring Breeze in Kirby Super Star and potentially Meta Knight, who looks identical to Kirby aside from color. In Kirby & the Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, different colored Kirbies appear as other players in multi-player games. In the case of the former, they are the result of Kirby being divided into four by Dark Meta Knight.

Aside from Meta Knight, another character appears that resembles Kirby but is yellow, officially known as Keeby. (Japanese キービィ, sometimes written as Kiiby. It is a portmanteau of Kirby and kiiro, the Japanese word for yellow) He is a reoccurring character in Kirby's side adventures. His first appearance was in Kirby Bowl, known in the US as Kirby's Dream Course. Keeby is controlled by the second player, and has the same abilities as Kirby. The reason for Keeby's appearance may be a nod to Shigeru Miyamoto, who wanted Kirby to be yellow. While Keeby was only named in Kirby Bowl, it is assumed that he appears in the following side games, such as Kirby Air Ride, though unnamed. Aside from not maintaining the Keeby name consistency, HAL has not yet named the other multi-colored members of Kirby's species.

In general, members of the species all look similar, except sometimes with different colored skin, eyes and feet. They are commonly referred to as Kirbies, similar to how Yoshi in the Mario series is the name of both the species and character. However, Kirby has only ever been used as the name of one character. Often terms like creampuffs or puffballs are used, referring to their soft, round appearance.

Another common term is Dream Landers, a term used in the instruction manual for Kirby's Adventure. However, this also refers to anyone who lives in Dream Land, including characters like King Dedede. The Super Smash Bros. bio says Kirby is a denizen of Dream Land rather than a citizen, though the writer may have misused the word. Additionally, it says "Kirby hales from a distant star of peace", implying he may be from another planet, since he was not born in Dreamland.

Kirby's race, however, is not called Star Warrior, Warpstar Knight or any variation thereof. Star Warrior, which is a term found solely in the anime series, is not the name of his species or any other. It is a term used to describe a group of legendary warriors that consists of many different races.

The terms Warpstar Knight or Warpstar Warrior have only ever been used in advertisements, and have never appeared in any game or the anime.

In Kirby's Dream Land 3, mysterious characters appear called Batamon. They look very similar to Kirby aside from a more flattened shape and different face, and are unique in that the player can never directly come in contact with them. They are always seen walking past walls or ceilings beyond Kirby's reach. Considering it is the only Kirby-like creature to ever be given a name, some say Batamon is a default name for Kirby's species, or a closely related one- or perhaps just an imposter such as Anti-Kirby from The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

In the anime, aside from Kirby and Meta Knight, four others that appear to be of their race appear. Four members of the Galaxy Soldier Army and likely Star Warriors, Sir Arthur, Noisurat, Dragato, and Falspar. They resemble Meta Knight, wearing full armor and masks. The only new information given about them is that they have a potential lifespan of hundreds of years, as suggested by Meta Knight saying that Kirby was meant to sleep for 200 years, and Meta Knight himself is implied to be much older.

Nintendopedia

Nintendopedia needs your help to improve this article

See also

• Kirby series enemies
• Kirby series bosses
• List of Kirby games
• List of Kirby powers

References

• Kriby edit page

External links

• Kirby Nintendopedia (need to be improves)
• Kirby's "official" U.S. homepage
• Kirby's "official" Japanese homepage
• Kirby's Rainbow Resort
• Kirby game character and game series fanlisting
• Kirby's Fan Gaming Dreamland
• TV Tome—Kirby: Right Back at Ya!