IN FOCUS: KIRBY

I've decided to start a complete 30+ series of posts, In Focus. Basically, I'll be focusing on one thing: characters, items, bosses, stadium events, etc. Today's In Focus will be on... the always-hungry puffball, cute, and pink Star Warrior Kirby!

HISTORY

Kirby was invented by Masahiro Sakurai (yes, the Sakurai, creator of the Smash Bros. games) in the late 1980's. He was originally named "Twinkle Popopo" but his name was later changed to Kirby. There are two theories on how it got started: after John Kirby, who had saved Nintendo from a crisis with Universal Studios over whether Donkey Kong was copying King Kong, or after the brand of vacuum cleaners called Kirby (inhale, inhale, inhale, get it?). Over the ages Kirby had gone from a scary little monster to a little pink puffball eight inches in height. Obviously, he was enlarged for Brawl, since someone like Marth wouldn't fight someone up to his knees. The Kirby games has obviously been a hit, for that someone who uses its mouth to kill is a nice way to attract attention.

GAMES BEFORE BRAWL

Kirby's Dreamland

Kirby's Adventure

Kirby's Dreamland 2

Kirby Super Star

Kirby's Dreamland 3

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror

Kirby Canvas Curse

Kirby Squeak Squad

Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland

Kirby Super Star Ultra

Kirby's Pinball Land

Kirby's Dream Course

Kirby's Avalanche

Kirby's Block Ball

Kirby's Star Stacker

Kirby Tilt 'n Tumble

Kirby Air Ride

That's a very nice list of Kirbys.

SUPER SMASH BROS. AND SUPER SMASH BROS. MELEE

Despite the fact that Kirby's creator Masahiro Sakurai also created Brawl, the puffball was obviously a weaker character in the original Super Smash Bros. Lightweight, Kirby is very easy to KO but difficult to combo, Kirby's appearance was also nerfed, reducing his feet and arm length and enlarging his mouth (though I don't know how they did it). He has five midair jumps, the fastest air movement alongside Jigglypuff, but several lagging moves such as Stone. Known as a noob in the Smash media, Kirby is used for spamming almost as much as Pikachu.

However, in Super Smash Bros. Melee, Kirby's appearance went back to his cute little self, but his attacks were obviously changed. Still with five midair jumps, though, Kirby falls slower, making him an easy target. With a low crouch, he has one of the largest shields, and famous for Kirbycides (sacrificial KO's). His hammer has a tiny sweetspot, but otherwise useless, very much nerfed from Brawl. Most of his attacks are weak and Kirby is still easy to KO.

IN BRAWL

Needless to say, Kirby was improved greatly in the third Smash Bros. game, Brawl. He is somewhat heavier, making it harder to KO, his attacks are strengthened, especially his side-B, Hammer, and his placement on the tier list has moved up (though I still say tiers don't exist). Now is is 16th, rising from his place as 25th in Melee. His maneuverability has increased drastically, making him easier to dodge, run, and fly. His low ducking skills remain, and although he still has some weaknesses he is obviously more powerful than the original and Melee. His Final Smash is Cook Kirby, where he cooks everything on the stage (including items) and blasts them out of his pot, making healing items for himself.

Role in Subspace Emissary: Kirby's trophy and Mario's trophy are tossed in an arena called the Midair Stadium. Both trophies come to life and the battle begins. After the battle, the winner thinks for a second, and revives the fallen loser. Just as the two are shaking hands, the Halberd looms up, pays a good load of Shadow Bugs onto the stadium, forming Primids and all sorts of the Subspace Army. Two audience members, Peach and Zelda, arrive to help Kirby and Mario sort out the mess. After the battle, the Ancient Minister comes by, drops a Subspace Bomb that immediately begins its countdown. Mario tries to stop it, but is suddenly punched hard, and he disappears into the sky. Kirby turns around, only to find that the two princesses were locked in cages, held by none other than Petey Piranha. After defeating Petey, Kirby escapes with one princess. In the midst of the confusion, Wario comes by and fires a Dark Arrow at the princess not with Kirby. Kirby tries to run after him, but eyeing the detonation timer he decides to escape with the rescued princess on his Warp Star instead. Escaping the Subspace Bomb, Kirby sets off to find the Halberd and see what was going on.

Eventually Kirby hears something, and runs down a road, leaving the princess alone. Without knowing that the rescued princess was now a trophy, turned into one by Bowser, Kirby sights Wario's Cargo but driven by King Dedede. Kirby sees that Dedede was now grabbing the trophies of Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi (here I'll say the trophies were Link and Yoshi) along with the other fallen princess, Ness, and Luigi. Using Final Cutter, Kirby revives Link and Yoshi, and when Dedede runs past, Link shoots an arrow at the Cargo but fails. Seeing the other two Smashers there, Kirby chases after Dedede with Link, Yoshi, Pit, and Mario.

They find the Cargo parked outside a set of caves, and after going through them Kirby and co. find King Dedede's castle, his hideout. Through a hole in the wall, they find Bowser escaping with one princess trophy - the princess Kirby had seen on the Cargo. They attempt to chase after the Koopa King but Bowser escapes in his Clown Car to the Halberd. However, something golden falls off from the princess's arm, and Kirby examines it, seeing the face of his old nemesis King Dedede etched onto the brooch...

Later, Kirby and co. find the Ancient Minister somewhere in a desert, where they pursue him to prevent the setting of another Subspace Bomb. However, despite their efforts, it still exploded, with Kirby, Pit and Link escaping on the Warp Star and Mario riding on Yoshi's back. At a cliff, they see Marth, Ike, Lucas, Ice Climbers and Pokemon Trainer in trouble from yet another wave of the Subspace Army. After defeating them the Falcon Flyer and Halberd (under Meta Knight's control yet again) land in front of them, and the complete set of Smashers (aside from Sonic, Toon Link, Jigglypuff, Ness, Luigi and Wolf) join forces to end the Subspace Armies once and for all. From the cliff, Kirby can see the massive Subspace Bomb explosion from hundreds of bombs, and from it, emerges a Subspace Gunship. The Smashers pile up in the Halberd which attacks the Gunship directly, but fails. As the ship sinks (for the five billionth time in a row next to the previous Kirby games) four smaller ships emerge from it, containing the rest of the Smashers. As the Hocotate guided by Olimar, a personal ship flown by Samus, and two Landmasters controlled by Fox and Falco nimbly avoid the attacks Ganondorf and Bowser (on the Gunship's bridge) sends at them. Then, from nowhere, Kirby driving his Dragoon solo pierces the Gunship neatly in half, setting flame. As Ganondorf and Bowser retreat to the safety of Subspace through the portal, Kirby and the rest of the Smashers escape the wrecking Gunship parts and also fly into the explosion, arriving in Subspace.

They find a crippled and broken Master Hand lying in wait for them, after exploring a bit of Subspace. They look up, sights Tabuu, who sees this as the perfect opportunity to stop the pests. Unleashing the Off Waves, Tabuu turns every single Smasher including Kirby into a trophy. Some time later, Kirby is revived. He coughs, and spits out something golden. It was a Dedede brooch which Kirby had eaten earlier while examining it (like I said, Kirby's always hungry). He puts the jigsaw together, figures out that everyone else were also trophies, and set off on a run throughout Subspace to revive as many Smashers as possible. After some time, Kirby finds Ganondorf's trophy lying there on the ground. As he bends forwards to revive him, Bowser runs up, and begins clawing at the trophy for no reason at all (it was because Ganon had turned him into a trophy earlier). Bowser flings the trophy away, but then Dedede came along and for the first time, being nice to him. Dedede wraps Kirby in a huge hug, and drags him off to the set of stairs that lead to Tabuu, very similar to Diddy Kong dragging Fox and Falco.

Kirby and co. arrive at Tabuu, who sees the pests awakened yet again. Angry, he tries to use the Off Waves again, but something flashes and cripples his wings. It was Sonic, the speedy hedgehog, ready for some action. With his wings gone, the Off Waves are gone, and the Smashers team up to defeat Tabuu. After defeating him the heroes escape Subspace and shares a brilliant sunset.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE THREE SMASH BROS. GAMES

Kirby was very weak in the original Bros. game, with very light weight making him easier to KO, slower falling speed he may use to use advantage but easy to juggle (keeping an enemy in the air), and weak attacks, with more sourspots than sweetspots. In Melee he was worsened even more; out of the 26 characters he ranked 25th on the tier list (not that I believe in them). His hammer had absolutely no effect whatsoever on KO'ing, his attacks were weak, and he was still easy to KO. In Brawl, he obviously improved. He gained weight, gained muscle to KO with his hammer, gained ever stronger attacks, and is now considered one of the pros. Kirby is one of the most changed characters from the original to Brawl.

TROPHIES AND STICKERS

Kirby: A denizen of the far-off, peaceful planet Pop Star, Kirby became a citizen of Dreamland 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 bod makes him a versatile adventurer.

Ball Kirby: When Kirby swallows a ball enemy, he turns into a ball and can bounce off 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.

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.

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 Hat 1: Here's Kirby sporting several results of his Copy Ability. In Link's hat he can shoot arrows, while Mario's cap gives him access to Fireballs. THe Donkey Kong suit offers up a Giant Punch, while Samus's helmet allows Kirby to fire off charged-up energy shots. Finally, while wearing the Yoshi hat, Kirby can swallow enemies and turn them into eggs.

Kirby Hat 2: Kirby's got several of his finest hats here. In Ness's baseball cap, he can use the power of PSI to unleash PK Flash, while Captain Falcon's visor gives him the ability to unleash a huge punch. His adorable Pikachu cap comes complete with stored-up electric charges, allowing him to shock his foes, and the Fox ears come up with a matching blaster.

Kirby Hat 3: With all of these hats, Kirby could open his own haberdashery! Peach's crown lets him use Toad, while the Ice Climber parka allows him to shoot ice blocks. Kirby has Fire Breath in the Bowser horns, and he can copy Zelda in both her forms. In Zelda's headdress he can use Nayru's Love, while Sheik's wrap gives him the needle arsenal.

Kirby Hat 4: Looks like Kirby's copied a bunch of hidden characters! In Luigi's hat, he can shoot green Fireballs, while copying Mewtwo gives him the power to throw Shadow Balls. Copying Mr. Game and Watch lets Kirby hurl sausages, and doing the same to Jigglypuff earns him a Rollout move. Marth's hair comes complete with a powerful Shield Breaker move.

Kirby Hat 5: Secret hats galore! In Pichu's hat Kirby can shoot out electricity, while Dr. Mario's headgear gives him Megavitamins. When Kirby wears Falco's beak, he gets to use Falco's powerful Blaster; by the same token, he can fire arrows when in Young Link's cap. When Kirby copies Ganondorf he gets the Warlock Punch, and copying Roy produces a Flare Blade.

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, his 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.

Blade Knight: A sword wielder covered head to toe in armor, Kirby can copy his Sword ability by inhaling him. Blade Knight has a variety of sword techniques, inlcuding chops and 100-slash combo attacks. As a helper, you can take him with you, and he will assist by taking out enemies with sword attacks. He's about strong as Sword Knight.

Bonkers: A large enemy who wields a giant hammer as a weapon. Bonkers battles you with several moves - his hammer attack and coconut throw could be considered his specialities. Kirby can inhale Bonkers to learn Hammer and Smash techniques. Not many know this, but Hammer Kirby can also break walls and pound down stakes.

Bronto Burt: A bird that looks a lot like Kirby. Bronto Burt has clear wings that he uses to busily flutter around the skies of Dream Land. He will pull off sudden dive bombs on occasion, and although he has no ill will toward Kirby, Bronto Burt will sometimes collide with the pink hero if he gets in the way. You should be especially careful of these collisions.

Cook Kirby(Final Smash trophy): Kirby's chef's garb. When Kirby throws on his chef's hat, a giant pot appears in the center of the screen. All characters, items, and even long-distance weapons are sucked into the pot. Once they've simmered a bit, food items equal to the number of the things in the the pot appear. Characters in the mix get blasted straight out of the pot.

Dyna Blade: A monstrous bird with white and rainbow colored bladed wings and huge talons. Challengers who face Dyna Blade are forced to contend with her speed and armor plating that can reflect any attack. The only weak point is her head. In Kirby Super Star, she's destroying Dream Land's crops, but there's apparently a perfectly good reason for this.

Gooey: While Kirby swallows enemies in order to copy their powers, Gooey wraps them up in his tongue to steal their abilities. In Kirby's Dream Land 2, he occasionally appeared inside of a bag, but by Kirby's Dreamland 3 he was a full-fledged partner. He could be controlled by setting him up as Player Two.

Gordo: A creature that sits in one place and doesn't even try to move. They won't even budge if Kirby tries to inhale them - they're the definitive obstacle. In addition, they're covered in spikes so they can damage whoever touches them. They're found stopped in groups, blocking narrow passageways, etc. Nothing's harder to get by than an encampment of Gordos.

Hydra: One of only two legendary Air Ride machines. Known also as the King of Destruction, the Hydra was born to battle. Collecting its three parts on City Trial will reveal its fiendish side. With high offensive and defensive levels, the Hydra can easily blast through rivals and obstacles, leaving a swath of ruin. This is the ultimate Air Ride machine for attacking the course.

Knuckle Joe: A martial artist known for amazing attacks like the Vulcan Jab. With his bandana, he looks and fights the part of a Muay Thai boxer. When Kirby copies Knuckle Joe, he gains the fighting techniques of a hand-to-hand-combat expert. Knuckle Joe also engages in friendly block-breaking competitions with Kirby. His other famous techniques are the Smash Punch and Rising Break.

Maxim Tomato: A sweet, juicy tomato that heals 50 percentage points of the damage you've accumulated. When one of these appears in combat, rest assured there will be a race to see who can reach it first. It's a race of desperation between players who want to heal their damage and those who want to stop them from doing so. In the Kirby series, Maxim Tomatoes healed all damage.

Waddle Dee: Many delicate creatures like this one inhabit Dream Land. They generally live carefree lives and have never considered themselves to be followers of King Dedede. Waddle Dees are innocent and generally harmless to man and beast. While they have virtually no offensive or defensive power, they'll sometimes try to wield a parasol.

Waddle Dee 2: A carefree creature that wanders the hills and dales of Dream Land. Basically harmless to creatures great and small, Waddle Dees sometimes use parasols to float down through the skies. If Kirby swallows a parasol, he'll get one he can use to float or ward off enemy attacks. On the other hand, Kirby can't copy anything by swallowing Waddle Dees themselves.

Waddle Doo: A creature identified by a single, unblinking eye. Like Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos roam about Dream Land and sometimes use parasols. Unlike their counterparts, though, they hate being approached - they'll fire a beam of energy at anyone who nears them, so don't think they're harmless like Waddle Dees. If Kirby swallows one, he copies the beam Ability and gains a jester's hat.

Kirby 2: 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.

Beam Kirby: Kirby in a jester cap... and a super cute 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.

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.

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.

Sleep Kirby: Kirby after he copies the ability to sleep peacefully. Kirby takes 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 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?

Wing Kirby: Kirby when he inhales a winged enemy and copies its flying ability. This ability can be used to proceed to 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.

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.

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.

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.

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, you attack - be it Plasma Laser or Plasma Wave Cannon - varies with the length of time you charge it.

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.

Stickers: Kirby (Amazing Mirror), Kirby (64), Kirby (Air Ride), Cook Kirby, Cupid Kirby, Needle Kirby, Acro, Big Switch, Blipper, Bonkers, Box Boxer, Boxy, Bronto Burt, Candy, Cell Phone, Chef Kawasaki, Daroach, Dyna Blade, Gordo, Hot Head, King Dedede & Kirby, Maxim Tomato, Nruff, Perara, Squeaker, Starman (Squeak Squad), Treasure Chest, Waddle Dee, Waddle Dee Ball, Whispy Woods.

INTERESTING FACTS

The anime series Kirby: Right Back At Ya! or Hoshi no Kaabii (Kirby of the Stars) in Japan features Kirby as the Star Warrior, starring his own TV show! In the show, Kirby crashes in Dreamland,Pupupuland in Japan, when his Starship guided him there. The famous Meta Knight witnesses it, along with the residents of Dreamland, a town full of Cappys. Kirby quickly becomes friends with Tiff, Fumu in Japan, and her younger brother Tuff, Bun in Japan, and soon discovers his fate as a Star Warrior. However, King Dedede is the arrogant ruler of Dreamland, and wants to kill Kirby. The village Tiff and Tuff live in, Cappytown or Pupu Village in Japan are constantly attacked by Dedede's demon beast minions. The demon beasts come from a company called Holy Nightmare, eNeMy in America, ruled by none other than Nightmare.

Despite the reference that Master Hand's universe is from Brawl, he actually appeared as a boss in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror.

Kirby has the biggest role in the Subspace Emissary (everyone else were statues, don't forget).

All three Kirby characters are promoted to highest attention with Mario knocked aside. Kirby is the hero who slices the Gunship, Meta Knight's ship, the Halberd, is constantly used in the Subspace Emissary, and Dedede's brooches brings four Smashers back to life (Ness and Luigi awakened Dedede).