Characters of the Kirby series

This is a list of fictional characters in the Kirby video game series developed by Nintendo.

Main characters

Kirby

Main article: Kirby (character)

Kirby has been the star of a number of namesake games developed by HAL Laboratory. 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. 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. The main games always have Kirby with the same basic abilities; he can walk, run, jump, float, and inhale and spit out or swallow his enemies. Following Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby was able to gain the abilities of the enemies he swallowed, such as Fire, Sword, Fighter, and Cutter. Kirby also can spit water out of his mouth while underwater. Kirby also has his own show called Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.

King Dedede

File:KingDedede200px.jpg

King Dedede, as seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

King Dedede (デデデ大王, Dedede Daiō) is a major recurring antagonist of the series. He is a jolly penguin-like monarch known to be fat and self-centered; furthermore, Dedede causes many problems for the inhabitants of Dream Land through selfish mischief, such as stealing Dream Land's food supplies for a midnight feast in Kirby's Dream Land, taking all of the stars from the sky, or merely just wanting revenge on Kirby. Despite this, he does care for Dream Land, and he works to protect it by destroying the Star Rod to keep Nightmare at bay in Kirby's Adventure and working with Kirby in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards to stop the Dark Matter. He has many of the same abilities as Kirby himself does, such as being able to inhale objects and spit them back out with tremendous force, and the ability to suck in air and fly.

King Dedede was originally intended to be a playable character in Super Smash Bros., but was cut due to time constraints; he does, however, appear in the background in the Dreamland stage and as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and was finally added as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, due to being one of the most requested characters to be playable in Japan, where his main weapon, the "Jet Hammer", is a mechanized version of his usual mallet.

In the anime series Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, King Dedede is presented as the illegitimate and incompetent ruler of Dream Land, with a castle atop a hill, overlooking Cappy Town. This version of the character is more rude and malicious, but ultimately ignored by the unimpressed populace. Dedede's main cause of inconvenience is his constant purchasing of monsters from Nightmare Enterprises to enforce his laws, create chaos, or to get rid of Kirby, whom he feels is a threat to his popularity and authority. King Dedede is voiced by Kenichi Ogata in the original Japanese version and Ted Lewis in the English dub. He is voiced by Masahiro Sakurai in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Meta Knight

File:Metaknight.jpg

Meta Knight, as seen in Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Meta Knight (メタナイト, Meta Naito) is an enigmatic character referred to as Kirby's rival, who often fights with him for different reasons, though they often have the same goal. He always wears a silver mask, and under it, he looks exactly like Kirby, though with a blue body and white facial features. He wears a navy blue cloak that can form into a set of wings, and he wields a legendary sword called "Galaxia." He follows a code of honor, and lends Kirby a sword before they fight to be fair. Meta Knight is voiced by Atsushi Kisaichi in Japan, Eric Stuart in the English dub of the anime, and Jay Ward in the English version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and is a Fan-Favorite of multiple Kirby series fans.

Meta Knight is often a boss and an ally of Kirby in the games. He first appears in Kirby's Adventure, where he fights Kirby to keep him from taking a piece of the Star Rod to keep it out of Nightmare's hands. He helps to defeat Dark Mind in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror by lending Kirby his sword. He works to keep the chest containing Dark Nebula out of Kirby's hands in Kirby: Squeak Squad. He is the main antagonist of the "Revenge of Meta Knight" mode in Kirby Super Star, in which he attempts to take over Dream Land in order to stop the inhabitants' lazy lifestyles. He is a playable character in special modes of Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby Super Star Ultra, in which he plays through the adventures of Kirby. He is an unlockable character in Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby Air Ride. Meta Knight appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee as a trophy, and he also appears as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where he utilizes his sword as his main weapon with fast, though weak, attacks.

Meta Knight is a main character in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. He is the last surviving member of the Galaxy Soldier Army, made up of "Star Warriors", the same race as Kirby. He works for Dedede in order to help Kirby and keep watch over the activities of Nightmare Enterprises. He wields a golden, spiked sword called "Master", and he often trains or defends Kirby to help him defeat Nightmare. Rumor surrounds Kirby and Meta Knight that they may be related.(father,brother etc.)Although none of this has been proven some evidence supports it.

Main Villains

0 and Dark Matter

File:DarkMatterKirby.jpg

Dark Matter, as seen in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

0 and Dark Matter (ダークマター, Dāku Matā) are recurring antagonists in the series. Dark Matter's main form is that of a planet-sized dark cloud with a single eyeball. It can separate into smaller clouds lined with petal-like extensions. These can possess other beings, putting them under the control of Dark Matter. At the core of the giant cloud is 0, a giant white creature with a kirby-sized red eye, which controls the Dark Matter. It is a force of negative energy that lives a lonely existence. It is jealous of Dream Land's lifestyle, so it constantly targets it to recreate Pop Star into a dark world where no one can be happy. 0 surprisingly uses what seems to be "blood" to attack.

In Kirby's Dream Land 2, one small cloud first appears as a masked, robed being, wielding a magical sword. It assumes its general form afterwards. In Kirby's Dream Land 3, Dark Matter attacks Pop Star, and possesses many of its inhabitants. Kirby eventually obtains the Heart Rod, and defeats it by destroying 0. It returns in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, where it attacks Pop Star and many other planets. After being repelled from all of the planets, it forms as the Dark Star. It is controlled by 0² (Zero Two), an angelic-looking form of 0 with a halo, geometric, segmented wings, and a green spiked tail (resembles to a cactus), who is destroyed along with the star. The band-aid on his head resembles the event when 0's eye exploded out of his body (a surprisingly bloody animation) and chased Kirby around. The "cactus" 0² sports resembles his undying hatred towards everything and his halo symbolizes his resurrection and the distant memory of his long gone ability to have positive feelings. 0² highly resembles a fallen angel.

Nightmare

Nightmare (ナイトメア Naitomea) , also known as the Cloaked Nightmare, is the ultimate villain and final boss of Kirby's Adventure and its remake, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. After Nightmare invades the Miraculous Fountain of Dreams, King Dedede splits up the Star Rod into seven pieces and gives them to his lieutenants, preventing Nightmare from using it to spread bad dreams. Kirby, not knowing this, finds the pieces and reunites them. Nightmare soon tries to steal it, but Kirby ends up using it to defeat him. Nightmare starts out as an orb that shoots stars, and he eventually transforms into a humanoid, vampire-like being with a tornado-like cloak for a body.

Nightmare is also the main villain of the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime. He runs 'NightMare Enterprises' . He is given the name of NME in the English version. Depicted as has having a more threatening persona then in the game, he is instead bent on conquering the universe, and he dominates much of the universe from the series' beginning. He uses his ability to create an endless number of creatures known as demon beasts to conquer civilizations. He also sells them to unsuspecting customers for a profit, via a transportation network. His only opposition are the Star Warriors and Galaxy Soldier Army, though they are wiped out before the series begins. He is an embodiment of life's fear and suffering, and so he strives to bring more pain in order to increase his power, and will always exist as long as people hold fear in their hearts. In the finale, he was destroyed by Kirby using the Star Rod.

Supporting characters

Adeleine

Adeleine (アドレーヌ, Adorēnu) is an artist who originally appears in Kirby's Dream Land 3 as one of the boss characters taken over by Dark Matter; under the name "Ado". Her name was changed for her appearance in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, where she is taken over once again, and later joins with Kirby after he frees her. She has the ability to make her paintings real, either creating monsters while under the control of Dark Matter or providing Kirby with help.

Dyna Blade

Dyna Blade (ダイナブレイド, Daina Bureido) is an enormous, armored bird that acts as both a friend and a foe in Kirby Super Star. In her self-titled game, she destroys all of Dream Land's crops to feed her chicks. Kirby defeats her, not knowing this, so he ends up feeding the chicks and teaching them how to fly. In Revenge of Meta-Knight, to thank Kirby for doing this, Dyna Blade helps Kirby get back on the Halberd only to be shot by the ship's crew. She makes a cameo appearance in Kirby's Air Ride.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Dyna Blade is shown as a legendary bird that is worshiped by the citizens of Cappy town. King Dedede hatches a plot to get rid of Kirby by tricking him into eating her egg, which infuriates Dyna Blade and causes her to chase and attack Kirby for much of the episode, until her chick appears and Kirby feeds it, placating Dyna.

Ribbon

Ribbon (リボン, Ribon) is a pink-haired fairy from the planet Ripple Star who appears in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. She is a kind and brave character who attempted to escape her planet with the fairies' power crystal when it was invaded by Dark Matter. In space, Dark Matter blobs ambushed her, shattered the crystal, and made her fall to Pop Star, where she lands on a stargazing Kirby and pleads with him for help. Kirby agrees and they search for the Crystal shards scattered on various planets and thwart Dark Matter's invasion of Ripple Star along with Waddle Dee, Adeleine, and King Dedede. In the final battle, Ribbon and the crystal aid Kirby in defeating Zero-Two, the controlling force behind Dark Matter. In the ending cutscene of the game, she gives Kirby a kiss on the lip.

Kirby's Allies

Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3 feature various allies that can team up with Kirby and share powers. Kirby's Dream Land 2 introduces Rick (リック, Rikku) the Hamster, Coo (クー, Kū) the Owl, and Kine (カイン, Kain) the Ocean Sunfish. Kirby's Dream Land 3 introduces Nago (ナゴ) the cat, Pitch (ピッチ, Picchi) the Bird, and Chuchu (チュチュ) the octopus. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, when Kirby uses the Cutter/Stone combo ability, he can randomly carve himself into a stone statue of his allies.

Enemies

Poppy Bro. Jr./Poppy Bro Sr.

Poppy Bros. Jr. is normal and is sometimes found on maximum tomatoes or apples and sometimes pigs. They may either do nothing, throw bombs or boomerangs, He is also the Helper assigned to the Bomb ability in Kirby Super Star. Poppy Bros. Sr. serves as a boss and is an larger version of Bomb Poppy Bros. Jr.. They appear in most every game and sometimes gives Kirby the Bomb or Cutter ability.

Chef Kawasaki

Chef Kawasaki (コックカワサキ, Kokku Kawasaki) is an enemy that first appears in Kirby Super Star. He throws dishes and uses an extendable frying pan to catch and cook Kirby to cause damage. He appears as a friendly character in Kirby's Dream Land 3, where he plays a game with Kirby. He appears in the anime, where he runs the only restaurant in town.

Drawcia

Drawcia (ドロシア, Doroshia) is the main villain of Kirby Canvas Curse. She is an evil paint-witch and a dangerous foe. She curses Kirby into a ball at the start of the game, and turns Dreamland into paint. She has two forms; Drawcia Sorceress and Drawcia Soul. Her first, humanoid form, can shoot balls of energy at Kirby and summon enemies to attack him (including Para Sourceresses) by painting them. Her second form resembles a blob of paint, and she has many paint-related attacks. When she is defeated, her curse is reversed and Dreamland and Kirby come back to normal.

Knuckle Joe

Knuckle Joe (ナックルジョー, Nakkuru Jō) is a fighter who utilizes a variety of punches and kicks. He appears in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra as an enemy type and a helper to Kirby, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl as a summonable assist trophy. He appears in the anime as the son of a legendary Star Warrior who seeks to avenge his father's death. He attacks Kirby, believing him to be the killer, though Meta Knight explains that his father was killed by him after being changed into a monster. He reappears multiple times to help Kirby. He is voiced by Minami Takayama in Japanese media and by Alésia Glidewell in the American version of Brawl.

Kracko

Kracko (クラッコ, Kurakko) is a boss that first appears in Kirby's Dream Land. It resembles a large cumulus cloud with spikes protruding from all sides, and a single large eyeball in the center; nicknamed "The Cloud King". It attacks with electricity, rain, and by producing smaller enemies, such as Waddle Doos. Kracko is typically first seen in a weaker form, sometimes called Kracko Jr. Its characteristic eye remains, but it is surrounded by four balls, which it either spins slowly or launches at Kirby. This form either fights as a mini-boss earlier in various games, or immediately prior to transforming to its "adult" form. In Kirby: Squeak Squad, a gray, electrified version called Mecha Kracko appears. It appears in the anime as a monster purchase by King Dedede to defeat Kirby, though it is soon defeated. For most of the episode, Kracko appeared as a storm that shot lightning throughout Cappy Town, but when Kirby flew inside of it Kracko shot electric sword beams at Kirby giving him the sword ability. Kirby shot five sword beams back and the last one splitting Kracko in half. Kracko is fought in episode 4 part 3. Kracko was shown the same way he is in the games. In Revenge Of The King, The Krakoes come back as Krako Jr.'s Revenge and Krako's Revenge.

Lololo and Lalala

Lololo and Lalala (ロロロ と ラララ, Rororo to Rarara) are two characters based on the pair of characters from the Adventures of Lolo series, another creation of HAL Laboratories. They appear once as the second boss fight in Kirby's Dreamland, where they push objects in an attempt to hurt Kirby. They also appear in the anime as friendly characters, where they are known as Fololo and Falala in the English dub, and they reside in King Dedede's castle. They are originally a single monster working for Nightmare Enterprises called Lola (Fofa in the English dub), but it is split into two by another monster and sent to Dedede as punishment for being too soft-hearted. They are both voiced by Tara Sands in the English dub.In the Revenge of the King, there exists a similar pair of creatures to Lololo and Lalala called Lololo and Lalala's Revenge.

Meta-Knights

The Meta-Knights (メタナイツ, Meta-Naitsu) are a group of soldiers led by Meta Knight, who often uses them to test Kirby's skills throughout Kirby's Adventure, which is their first appearance. The Meta-Knights include Axe Knight (アックスナイト, Akkusu Naito), Mace Knight (メイスナイト, Meisu Naito), Javelin Knight (ジャベリンナイト, Jaberin Naito), and Trident Knight (トライデントナイト, Toraidento Naito). They are four distinct armored soldiers that each wield the weapon they are named after. The Meta-Knights return in Kirby Super Star, where they aided Meta Knight in his attempt to conquer Dream Land via his warship, the Halberd.

Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright

Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright (Mr. シャイン & Mr. ブライト, Misutā Shain & Misutā Buraito) are tag-team bosses first appearing in Kirby's Adventure. Mr. Shine appears as a crescent moon with a face and limbs, while Mr. Bright is a sun with similar features. One always stays in the air, raining down projectiles, while the other attacks from the ground. One of their most lethal attacks is when they create a solar eclipse: Mr. Bright will blast the area with flames while Mr. Shine creates a patch of shadow, which is the only safe spot. They return in Kirby's Pinball Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kirby's Dream Land 3, and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. In the Anime, a Dream Monster named Kittari Hattari uses Moon and Star shaped staffs to split and paste his enemies. Presumably, this was an ode to Mr Shine and Mr Bright.

Paint Roller

Paint Roller (ペイントローラー, Peinto Rōrā) (and sometimes incorrectly called Skainter) appears as a boss in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Canvas Curse. It wears a baseball cap and roller skates, and it is capable of drawing enemies that come to life. It appears in the anime as a monster bought by Dedede to fight Kirby.

Waddle Dee

Waddle Dees are common enemies. They are creatures with no visible mouth, and are about the same size as Kirby. They simply walk around, maybe hop a little, and although a threat to Kirby, they usually don't even bother trying to hurt Kirby.

In Kirby Super Star Ultra Bandanna Dee, a Waddle Dee (depicted as wearing a blue kerchief) appears prominently in the "Revenge of the King" mode, as a minion of King Dedede. Eventually, Dedede has this guy fight against Kirby, but is defeated.

Multiple Waddle Dees appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl as part of King Dedede's "weapons", summoned through his side special move or his Final Smash.

Whispy Woods

Whispy Woods (ウィスピーウッズ, Wisupī Uzzu) is a large apple tree whose most common attack is dropping apples from his branches. He generally appears as a boss, usually the first one in many Kirby games and the first boss to appear in the Kirby series. Also, in Kirby Super Star (and its remake) there exists a related pair of creatures named Twin Woods, and they can be found in Milky Way Wishes, The Revenge of Meta Knight, Meta Knightmare Ultra, the Arena, and Helper to Hero. In the Revenge of the King, there exists a similar creature to Whispy Woods called Whispy's Revenge. Its leaves are purple and it can drop poisonous apples and worms. It can also drop Gordos like the Twin Woods, and shoot gusts of wind and small twisters. The anime features him as the king of the forest in Dream Land. Whispy is several hundred years old, and very wise, though he has a bit of a temper. He's very kind to his friends, but shows no mercy to those that threaten his kingdom. At first, he believes Kirby and his friends are intruders when they build a campfire around him. It turns out to be a setup by Dedede, who wants to destroy Whispy to build a golf course. After most of the forest is cut down, it is revived by one of Whispy's apples. Dedede continues to constantly try to build his golf course during the series, while Whispy becomes Kirby's ally.

Whispy makes appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series. He can be seen in Kirby-based stages, blowing wind at the characters and throwing apples.

Marx

Marx (マルク, Maruku) Is the final boss from Milky Way Wishes in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra. In the game, he was a purple jester-like creature, wearing a jester hat and having big feet but no arms and a ball on the feet when he was normal. Marx tricked the sun and moon into fighting in order to trick Kirby into summoning a giant wish machine called NOVA for him. Once NOVA had appeared, Marx pushes Kirby out of the way and wishes for control over Popstar. NOVA then sets itself on a collision course at Popstar, Marx then turns into a demonic version of himself, much larger and with fangs and strange, bat-like wings.

Because Kirby stopped NOVA from crashing into Popstar, Marx attacks Kirby. Kirby defeats him, and sends him flying into NOVA, destroying NOVA in the process. In the remake of the game, Super Star Ultra, Marx somehow survives this, and becomes Marx Soul, a more powerful, brain washed version of Marx. Marx Soul is actually a combination of Drawcia and Marx, because of Marx's normal abilities (except enhanced) and Drawcia's ability to splatter paint and fire a giant ball of energy. Marx Soul is more zombielike than Marx. He has red wings with discolored scales, and the hearts on his wings change from red to blue. The puffs on his hat are ripped and his hat has the two colors of Marx's normal hat reversed and changed to magenta and aqua. Marx Soul also wears a pendant (possibly made out of NOVA) instead of his usual red bow tie. Instead of floppy brown shoes, he has some pointed Dutch clogging shoes. When Kirby defeated him, he splits in two and let out a bloodcurdling scream, showing that Kirby has defeated him for the last time. He makes a cameo apperence in Kirby: Squeak Squad in an unlockable picture and the final boss in the arena. It is believed that Tabuu from Super Smash Bros. Brawl was inspired from Marx.

Anime Series characters

Escargoon

Escargoon, Doctor Escargon (ドクター・エスカルゴン, Dokutā Esukarugon) in Japanese versions, is an anthropomorphic snail that serves King Dedede in the anime series. He is voiced by Naoki Tatsuta in the Japanese version and by Ted Lewis in the English dub. He originally leaves his mother's farm to become famous and make his mother proud, but ends up serving Dedede instead. He helps Dedede's plots by creating various inventions to help defeat Kirby. The king also smashes Escargoon as much as he does Kirby.

Nightmare Enterprises

Nightmare Enterprises (Holy Nightmare Co. in the Japanese version) also known as N.M.E is an organization led by Nightmare. Its purpose is creating monsters selling them to unsuspecting customers through the internet in order to spread Nightmare's empire. One of Nightmare Enterprises' main employees is its salesman (Customer Service in Japan), who sells monsters to King Dedede over the internet. In the Japanese version, he speaks politely, but still doesn't pass up a chance to insult customers. In the dub, his personality is more like that of a stereotypical used car salesman. Besides the monsters and by-products, Nightmare Enterprises also creates different kinds of warfare, ranging from laser guns to large ships. The company is housed by a massive spaceship with an eye on its front and cyberspace cities on its exterior.

Sir Ebrum & Lady Like

Sir Ebrum (パーム, Pāmu) and Lady Like (メーム, Mēmu) are the parents of Tiff and Tuff, who work and live in King Dedede's Castle and keep peace between their strong-willed offsprings and their rambunctious employer. Sir Ebrum, the Cabinet Minister, is voiced by Takashi Nagasako in the Japanese version and David Lapkin in the English dub, while Lady Like is voiced by Yuko Mizutani in the Japanese version and Kayzie Rogers using an Eva Gabor impression in the English dub. Lady Like is usually the one out of the two who is suspicious of Dedede's plots since they put her children in danger as well, although even Sir Ebrum gets suspicious sometimes.

Tiff and Tuff

Tiff and Tuff (Fūmu (フーム) and Bun (ブン) in the Japanese versions) are the brother and sister duo that accompany Kirby in the anime series. Tiff is voiced by Sayuri Yoshida in the original Japanese version and Kerry Williams in the English dub. Tuff is voiced by Rika Komatsu in the Japanese version and Kayzie Rogers in the English dub. They live in Dedede's castle along with their parents, Sir Ebrum and Lady Like, and help Kirby in his fight against Dedede's plots and Nightmare's monsters. Tiff is more interested in academics, such as Chemistry and other studies, while Tuff is active in sports and other physical activities.