Kirby

For fighter info, see Kirby (SSB), Kirby (SSBM), and Kirby (SSBB).

Kirby
Kirby Official artwork of Kirby from Kirby's Return To Dream Land.
Universe	Kirby
Debut	Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
Smash Bros. appearances	SSB Melee Brawl SSB4 Ultimate
Console/platform of origin	Game Boy
Species	Kirby's species
Gender	Male
Place of origin	Dream Land
Created by	Masahiro Sakurai
Designed by	Masahiro Sakurai
Voice actor	Makiko Ōmoto
Japanese voice actor	Mayumi Tanaka (1994) Makiko Ōmoto

Kirby (Japanese: カービィ, Kābī) is the main character of the Kirby series of games. He was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who also created the Super Smash Bros. series.

Character Description

Kirby began as an entirely different character design named Popopo that starred in Masahiro Sakurai's early NES game in development, originally called "Twinkle Popopo". During development he used a placeholder sprite resembling a ball with a happy face on it. Sakurai eventually came to prefer this more simplistic design and decided to use this character design instead of the original one. The little protagonist was eventually named Kirby and the game itself named Kirby's Dream Land. A later design change gave Kirby one of his most alluring characteristics -- his color. Kirby was originally to be yellow, but Sakurai had imagined him as pink. His name has two possible inspirations: a vacuum cleaner company named Kirby Corporation, or the legal counsel of Nintendo, John Kirby, who saved Nintendo during a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Universal Studios over the name of Donkey Kong.

Kirby's round pink form is only 8 inches in height (though in his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, his dimensions are obviously enlarged). Kirby is a resident and the consistent hero of the yellow star-shaped planet Pop Star. He can inhale forcefully, allowing him to swallow enemies in front of him and copy their abilities to fight back (known as a copy ability). He can also store the air he inhales, making himself large and puffy, enabling him to float around. His species, of which himself and Meta Knight are the two most prominent individuals, is not officially named, but is most commonly referred to as "Kirbys", "Kirbies", or "Star Warriors".

In Super Smash Bros.

File:KirbySSB.gif

Kirby's official Super Smash Bros. artwork

Kirby is a starter character in Super Smash Bros.. He is based off his appearance in Kirby 64: the Crystal Shards. Kirby is known for his great recovery, quick attacks, his incredibly fast up tilt, and surprisingly long-range aerials, all of which place him rather high in the original game's Tier list. Kirby's trademark move is Swallow, which allows him to him suck in enemies caught within the vortex and emulate their neutral Special attack.

In-game description:

The 8-inch high Kirby hails from a distant, peaceful star. Like his simplistic appearance, he is an easily-understood character. True to his instincts, Kirby eats when he gets hungry and sleeps as soon as he grows tired. Nevertheless, Kirby remains a formidable opponent. In addition to his distinct flying and swallowing skills, he also has the ability to copy enemy attacks for ever-changing action.

Works:

• Kirby's Dream Land (GB)
• Kirby's Pinball Land (GB)
• Kirby Super Star (SNES)
• Kirby's Adventure (NES)

In Super Smash Bros. Melee

File:Kirbymelee.jpg

Kirby, as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Melee.

As a playable character

In Kirby's return appearance in the GameCube game, he gets a redesign as a fighter that includes the Hammer Special Move as his new forward special move. He is still a starter character, and is still a floaty, lightweight character that can jump five times in midair. However, Kirby has been severely nerfed, losing most of his power, combo ability, and speed from SSB. In the time-tested viewpoint of the Smash community's elite, "Kirby's tournament viability has dropped like a stone". This nerf currently puts him in the G tier placing him in 25th/26th or last (tied with Pichu) on the list.

Trophies

Kirby is the most extensively represented character in Melee trophies: In addition to having his set of three trophies earned through single player modes, there are five trophies named "Kirby Hat" that provide information about the powers he gains with his in-game Swallow ability. See Kirby Hats (SSBM).

His Classic mode trophy reads as follows:

Kirby

A denizen of the far-off, peaceful planet Pop Star, Kirby became a citizen of Dream Land after defeating King Dedede. Even though he's only about eight inches tall, Kirby is an extremely skilled technician. He has the ability to absorb the powers of his enemies, and his elastic body makes him a versatile adventurer.

• Kirby's Dream Land, 8/92

There are also trophies depicting Kirby in various guises he has taken in Kirby games:

Ball Kirby

Ball Kirby

When Kirby swallows a ball enemy, he turns into a ball and can bounce off of floors and walls. It's tough to control, but well worth it for the strong attack power it gives Kirby. After his debut in Kirby's Adventure, Ball Kirby has popped up in several more Kirby games, such as Kirby's Pinball Land and Kirby's Block Ball.

• Kirby's Adventure, 5/93

Fighter Kirby

Kirby dons a warrior's headband and becomes a fierce fighter when he swallows an enemy skilled at physical attacks. Fighter Kirby uses many colorful punching and kicking moves as he overpowers his enemies with his sparring skills. The Vulcan Jab is just one of the many techniques Kirby can use thanks to his copying power.

• Kirby Super Star, 9/96

Fire Kirby

When Kirby swallows a fire-wielding enemy, he transforms into Fire Kirby. Not only does he breathe fire in this form, but he can also sprout flames on his entire body and damage enemies by crashing into them. Fire Kirby wears the bright red headdress of his enemy Burning Leo. The hat turns into a helpful weapon when thrown.

• Kirby's Adventure, 5/93

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl

File:KirbyinBrawl.jpg

Kirby, as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

As a playable character

Kirby returns for his third appearance in the Wii version of the Smash series. He was revealed in all trailers for Brawl before its release (also being the only character who didn't undergo drastic changes in graphics, as shown by the trailers), and was confirmed on the official website on June 7, 2007 [1]. He rounds out the roster again as a starter character, and is finally not the sole representative character for his series with the inclusion of King Dedede and Meta Knight. It would seem that he is a lot closer to his N64 "glory days" in Brawl than he was in Melee, having increased reach, speed, power and midair maneuverability.

As always, Kirby's moves are related to his copy abilities, for example his combo attack (where he throws out 3 punches repeatedly) is known as the "Vulcan Jab" from the games (Fighter Kirby) which is also used by Knuckle Joe.

Trophies

Many of Kirby's forms are made into trophies in Brawl.

Kirby

A round, pink ball of cuteness from a distant, peaceful star. He can swallow anything with his gigantic mouth, then spit it out as ammo. He has the handy ability to copy powers and use them as his own. His hovering ability lets him fly through the air with ease. He's so round, he's sometimes treated like a ball.

• Kirby's Dream Land
• Kirby Super Star

Cook Kirby

Beam Kirby

Kirby in a jester cap...and a supercute Kirby at that. Beam Kirby features a Beam ability, acquired by inhaling Waddle Doo, that allows him to shoot a whiplike beam at his enemies. With a wide attack range, this ability is extremely easy to use, especially for taking out enemies in bunches. In Kirby Super Star, this beam can also be charged and fired.

• Kirby's Adventure
• Kirby: Squeak Squad

Needle Kirby

A Kirby ability made when Kirby inhales a spiked enemy. When attacking, the needles on Needle Kirby's body extend, giving him a porcupine-like look. This ability provides both offensive and defensive measures against nearby enemies. Plus, needles which extend on Kirby's underside when jumping eliminate any threats on landing.

• Kirby's Adventure
• Kirby: Canvas Curse

Sword Kirby

A Kirby ability made when Kirby inhales a sword-wielding foe or a sword itself. Doing so provides Kirby with a rapid sword slash, a jumping sword spin, or even the energy-beam blast of the Final Sword. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that this is the #1 Copy Ability in terms of accessibility.

• Kirby's Adventure
• Kirby: Squeak Squad

Sleep Kirby

Kirby after he copies the ability to sleep peacefully. Kirby takes on this form when he inhales Noddy or other such enemies. Kirby cannot move at all while sleeping, so extra care should be taken not to use this ability when enemies are near. Kirby, in his slumber, tends to drool, and in his panicked awakening, isn't it cute how he forgets to wipe off the drool?

• Kirby's Adventure
• Kirby: Squeak Squad

Wing Kirby

Kirby when he inhales a winged enemy and copies its flying ability. This ability can be used to proceed through strong winds that would otherwise be too tough to overcome. Wing Kirby can also perform a plethora of attack moves, such as the Bomber Head, where Kirby dive-bombs onto enemy heads.

• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby Air Ride

Fighter Kirby

Kirby when he is skilled in martial arts, especially close-quarters combat. Inhaling brawny challengers like Knuckle Joe will transform Kirby, allowing him to use a bunch of fight moves like Rising Break, the heroic uppercut. His Mega Power Shot in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, which used charged energy to take out faraway enemies, is another Fighter Kirby highlight.

• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby: Canvas Curse

Fire Kirby

Kirby when he inhales an enemy who uses fire. Shooting fire from his mouth, Fire Kirby can cook enemies from afar. This ability also allows Kirby to light explosive blocks, fuses, and so on. In Kirby Super Star and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, Fire Kirby can roll his burning body into enemies as an attack move.

• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby: Canvas Curse

Ice Kirby

Kirby when he copies an enemy with chilly abilities. Ice Kirby can blow an icy wind from his mouth and freeze enemies solid. These frozen enemies can then be knocked into other enemies as an additional means of attack. These blocks are not only effective against enemies but can also be used on terrain such as magma or water.

• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby: Canvas Curse

Plasma Kirby

Kirby when he inhales Plasma Wisps, which glow with a neon green flame. Plasma Kirby can charge the plasma strength up to a maximum level of 5. In Kirby Super Star, your attack--be it a Plasma Laser or a Plasma Wave Cannon--varies with the length of time you charge it.

• Kirby Super Star
• Kirby Air Ride

Tornado Kirby

Kirby when he inhales enemies that fly around like twisters through the sky. When in tornado form, Kirby can spin freely through the air for short amounts of time, clearing out groups of enemies. Tornado Kirby will continue spinning and bouncing violently off of obstacles until he comes to a stop. One drawback of Tornado Kirby is the control difficulty.

• Kirby's Adventure
• Kirby Air Ride

Trivia

• Kirby is the only character to have a different dash attack in every Smash Bros. game. In the original Super Smash Bros., he performs a slide tackle (his sliding attack from Kirby's Adventure). In Melee, he performs "Burning Kirby" (an ability seen in some Kirby games, and merged with the Fire ability in others), while in Brawl, he performs Yo-Yo Kirby's "Break Spin" from Kirby Super Star.
• In SSBB, Kirby can inhale Meta Knight and King Dedede and copy their special moves. In regular Kirby games, he cannot inhale bosses (except mini-bosses) or other Star Warriors.
• Kirby's movesets are derived from the various copy abilities he could acquire, as such, Kirby in the Smash series is a merger of several abilities, though he has no hat to start with (he must acquire a hat by copying another character, just like in most of his games).
  • The specific abilities that have been represented in his normal moveset (excluding Inhale) are Yo-Yo and Burning(Dash attack), Fighter(continous neutral attack), Suplex and Ninja(throws), Cutter/Sword (depending on game), Hammer, Stone, and Cook (Special attack & Final Smash)
  • Based in this principle, the Smash ability in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror is a merger of moves from several abilities, as it is actually a scaled down version of Kirby's Melee moveset. He uses all his specials (except Inhale), as well as his neutral and neutral aerial attacks.
• Despite being able to in the majority of his own games, Kirby cannot float in midair forever, he instead has five small midair jumps.