Kirby (series)

The nihongo|"Kirby"|星のカービィ|Hoshi no Kābī series is a fantasy video game series developed by HAL Laboratory and Nintendo, and produced by Nintendo. The gameplay of a majority of the games in the series consists mainly of action, platformer and puzzle-solving elements. The series is known for its bright and artistic settings, simplistic gameplay, cute characters, upbeat, cheerful music, and the in-game ability to inhale enemies, thereby gaining a characteristic ability from them. As of July 2007, the "Kirby" series includes a total of eighteen games, with a nineteenth game currently in development.

Overview

All of the games in the "Kirby" series feature a pink spherical creature named Kirby as the main playable character and protagonist. Kirby frequently saves the world he resides in from various powerful antagonists, the most recurring one being King Dedede, the self-proclaimed ruler of Dream Land (a region of Pop Star). King Dedede has appeared in every "Kirby" game except for "Kirby & the Amazing Mirror". Another major character of the series is the enigmatic Meta Knight, a chivalrous warrior who often assists Kirby, but, depending on his intentions, will fight against Kirby to get things as he desires.

The games' fantasy world of Pop Star includes many regions of different climates and terrains, which are home to many different creatures. Each game features uniquely-named areas, but all games features typical locations such as fiery caverns, open meadows, water-filled or submerged areas, icy mountains, and similar nature-based places. Most games in the series also contain a castle, which more often than not belongs to King Dedede.

The main "Kirby" games feature a mixture of basic side-scrolling platform gameplay, unique puzzles, and a number of hidden items that either unlock more parts to the game or are simple incentives to collect, and are usually required to collect to achieve a 100% completion rate in the game. These elements have remained constant throughout most the series, with each game having its own unique twist to affect gameplay. There are also several unique "side" games in the series, which involve a variety of different gaming genres such as pinball, puzzle, racing, even a game based on motion-sensor technology. A number of these side games take advantage to Kirby's unique ball-like appearance.

Nearly every platform "Kirby" game involves traversing through a number of areas, each containing around one to six stages, and defeating the boss enemy of each area along the way. Kirby's signature method of dispatching enemies found in the stages is by using his ability of inhaling with extreme power, literally sucking the enemies into his mouth. If Kirby inhales and eats the correct enemy, he can acquire a special ability from them, which he can then use to attack further enemies. Each of these abilities are unique, such as breathing fire, wielding a sword, launching sparks in every direction, or attacking enemies with direct hand-to-hand combat.

In the platform games, several of the bosses have a special item, which must be taken from them by defeating them. These special items usually relate to the final boss of the game, most often used to create a special weapon required to defeat it. In some games, the special weapon is optional and can be used in the game regularly after defeating the final boss with it.

While a traditional "Kirby" game can be called a side-scrolling platform game, it cannot really be called a traditional platformer. One of the things that sets a "Kirby" game apart from most of them is Kirby's ability to inflate and fly for as long as he likes — however, in "", he can get tired after a while. Like a stereotypical platform game character, Kirby can also land on his enemies to attack them — though, unlike most of them, Kirby must fall from an appropriate altitude to do this.

History

The first game in the "Kirby" series, "Kirby's Dream Land", was released in Japan and the United States in April 1992. A simple game, consisting of only five levels, it introduced the main protagonist Kirby, main antagonist King Dedede, and Kirby's ability to inhale enemies and objects. The game features a second adventure, known as the "Extra Game", which features stronger enemies and half the normal amount of vitality. It is one of only two games where Kirby was shown on screen as colored white, rather than pink; indeed the North American box art also showed a white Kirby, although the Japanese box art had the correct pink coloring.

The second game, "Kirby's Adventure", was first released in the U.S. in May 1993. "Kirby's Adventure" introduced the concept of 'copying' the abilities of enemies, and as one of the last games created for the Nintendo Entertainment System, featured astonishing graphics and sound that pushed the hardware's capabilities to the limit. It was re-released in 2002 on the Game Boy Advance, retitled as "", featuring greatly updated graphics and sound.

After "Kirby's Adventure", the "Kirby" series received a number of "side" games. "Kirby's Pinball Land", released in November 1993, is a pinball game featuring Kirby as the pinball (because this was a Game Boy game, Kirby again appeared white on the screen, although he was pink in the box art). "Kirby's Dream Course", released in the U.S. in February 1995, is a unique golf-based game which features an isometric graphic design. "Kirby's Avalanche", released in February 1995 only in the U.S. and Europe, is a puzzle game known to be a cloned version of the Japanese game "Puyo Puyo".

"Kirby's Dream Land 2", released in Japan and the U.S. in March 1995, continued using the ability-copying idea first featured in "Kirby's Adventure", but lowered the number of abilities to seven. The game introduced three animal companions: Rick the Hamster, Coo the Owl, and Kine the Ocean Sunfish. Pairing up with any of these three alters how Kirby's abilities work. Also introduced was Gooey, a dark-colored blob-like creature, who could be found in a bag. The game was to be remade for the Game Boy Color as "Kirby's Dream Land 2 DX", but was cancelled.

"Kirby's Block Ball", released in November 1995 in the U.S., is a variation of the game "Breakout", featuring multiple levels, some of Kirby's copy abilities, and various enemies in unique boss battles.

"Kirby Super Star", known as "Hoshi no Kirby Super Deluxe" in Japan and "Kirby's Fun Pak" in Europe, was released in the U.S. in September 1996. "Kirby Super Star" is comprised of eight separate games, and features several characters and abilities which have not appeared since in the series. The game features "Helpers" to help the player dispatch enemies.

Released in 1997, "Kirby's Star Stacker" is a puzzle game which involves touching two or more similar blocks together that have Kirby's animal friends on them. The game received a sequel on the Super Famicom in 1998 in Japan as "Kirby no Kirakira Kizzu".

"Kirby's Dream Land 3", released in November 1997 in the U.S., is a direct sequel to "Kirby's Dream Land 2", as it features the return of Rick, Coo and Kine, as well as the introduction of Nago the Cat, Pitch the Bird and Chuchu the Octopus. Similar to "Kirby's Dream Land 2", "Kirby's Dream Land 3" features a few copy abilities which are modified when Kirby pairs up with one of his now six animal friends. Also reintroduced was Gooey, who can now be played as a second character.

The first 3D game of the "Kirby" series, "", was released on the Nintendo 64 in the U.S. in June 2000. The game features a unique compound ability system that allows two of the seven abilities in the game to be merged together, making a new compound ability.

The next game in the "Kirby" series, "Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble" became one of Nintendo's first motion-sensor-based games in August 2000. Players are instructed to tilt the Game Boy Color to move Kirby on the screen. Quickly flicking the Game Boy Color upwards would make Kirby jump into the air. "Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble" is currently the only "Kirby" game to have a special cartridge color (transparent pink).

The only "Kirby" game for the Nintendo GameCube, "Kirby Air Ride", was released in the U.S. in October 2003.

"Kirby & the Amazing Mirror" was released in October 2004 on the Game Boy Advance. It is the second game released on that system, following "". It features Kirby in a maze format, unique to the series. Also unique was the in-game phone, which can be used to summon up to three additional copies of Kirby to fight enemies and solve puzzles.

The next game in the series is "", released on the Nintendo DS in Japan on March 24, 2005, North America on June 13, 2005, Europe on November 25, 2005, and Australia on April 6, 2006. Unlike most previous "Kirby" games, the player does not directly control Kirby with a directional pad, analog stick, face buttons, or shoulder buttons. Instead, Kirby is a helpless ball, and can only move when he gains momentum, the player painting paths with the stylus to direct his movement.

This was followed by "" in late 2006, also on the Nintendo DS, which revived traditional "Kirby" gameplay.

An untitled "Kirby" platform game originally planned to be released on the Nintendo GameCube, was thought to be canceled for some time, before being "re-announced" for the Wii.Fact|date=December 2007

"Kirby Super Star Ultra" for the Nintendo DS, announced early fall 2007, is a remake of "Kirby Super Star". It will feature updated graphics and other new features such as in-game cutscenes and a map on the touch screen. "Kirby: Super Star Ultra", announced June 25, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, was released on September 22, 2008 for North America.

Fictional universe

The "Kirby" series has developed a considerably large universe over its many releases. The setting of the games was originally Dream Land, which was revealed to be a part of the planet Pop Star in "Kirby’s Dream Land 3". Kirby’s adventures went on a planetary scale in "", where Kirby and friends visited other similarly-named planets in the galaxy Pop Star belongs to while collecting the shards of a crystal that Dark Matter had shattered. Kirby also visits nearby planets in "Milky Way Wishes", one of Kirby Super Star's subgames. However, these planets have yet to appear again, as all of Kirby's further adventures have occurred entirely on Pop Star.

Chronology

In a similar fashion to the series' simplistic gameplay, plot connections between "Kirby" games are loose, with little underlying plot.

Nature of the protagonist

Kirby is a small, pink, spherical creature with large red feet, stubby flap-like arms and trademark pink cheek-blushes. His body is soft and flexible, allowing him to be flattened. He is referred to as male in the animated series, and is roughly 8 inches tall. He is from the planet Pop Star, 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.

Kirby does not commonly speak, mainly only saying "hi" in such games as "Super Smash Bros.", "Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards", and speaking in the stories written in some games' instruction manuals. He rarely speaks in-game, the only exception being "Kirby's Avalanche". He narrates the functions of Copy Abilities on the start menu in "Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land", "Kirby & the Amazing Mirror" and "Kirby: Squeak Squad". Most in-game talking Kirby does is in "Kirby's Star Stacker", where Kirby explains the game's rules and gameplay.

Other incarnations

There are some other "Kirby" media creations that have been licensed by Nintendo, but are not officially acknowledged as part of the series canon.Fact|date=September 2008

Anime

The "Kirby" series was made into an anime in October 2001, originally titled "Hoshi no Kirby", which was produced by "Warpstar Inc.", a company formed between a joint investment between Nintendo and HAL Laboratory, Inc. It is currently licensed in North America by 4Kids Entertainment, under the title Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, on 4Kids TV. The show was distributed by 20th Century Fox, Nelvana Enterprises, and HAL Laboratory, Inc. It ended in Japan in 2003 with 100 episodes.

The show is about adventures Kirby has with his friends after he crash lands in Dream Land, on Pop Star. He is a legendary Star Warrior destined to save the planet from destruction by the evil Nightmare. The ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede, orders monsters from Nightmare's company, Nightmare Enterprises, to attack Kirby and the people of Dream Land. The show is based on the game series, using characters and concepts, rather than completely copying any of the games.

Comics and manga

Kirby stars in several manga series, none of which have been released outside Japan. The longest running series is "Kirby of the Stars" (a rough English translation of "Hoshi no Kirby"), written by Hirokazu Hikawa.

Other "Kirby" manga are typically one-shot comedy 4koma based on the games, and have multiple artists. They have recurring themes and running gags.

Kirby also appears in several German comics, featuring him as a detective and King Dedede as his friend. His animal friends also appear in the German comics as pets of a female Kirby look-alike with red glass slippers. In one comic, he meets Lolo, Lala, and Lulu, the protagonists of the "Adventures of Lolo" series. The German comics were meant to let German "Kirby" fans know of "Kirby" games which would be released there.Fact|date=August 2008

Cancelled games

In the lifetime of the "Kirby" series, several video games have been in development that, for various reasons, were ultimately abandoned. Such titles include "Kirby's Air Ride" and "Kirby Bowl 64" on the Nintendo 64 (the former eventually being released on the Nintendo GameCube as Kirby Air Ride), and "Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble 2" on the Nintendo GameCube, which was supposed to use a combination of motion-sensor technology and connectivity to the Game Boy Advance via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable.Fact|date=July 2008

In 2005, a "Kirby" game was announced as a GameCube title, but never released. In 2007, it was announced as a Wii title for release that year, but no further information has since been released. Nintendo has since removed the game's page from their website.Fact|date=July 2008

"Kirby" in other video games

Kirby appears in "Super Smash Bros." for the Nintendo 64, a crossover fighting game featuring many Nintendo characters, such as Mario and Link. Kirby also appears in the game's sequel, "Super Smash Bros. Melee". The third iteration of the "Super Smash Bros." series, "Super Smash Bros. Brawl", introduces Meta Knight and King Dedede as playable characters. Kirby has also had cameo appearances in other games such as ', "EarthBound" and '.

ee also

*"Kirby" (Nintendo)
*List of "Kirby" games

External links

* [http://www.kirbykirbykirby.com/ Official U.S. "Kirby" website]
* [http://hicbc.com/tv/Kirby Official Japanese "Kirby" website]