Kirby

Kirby (カービィ, Kābī) is the main protagonist of the Kirby series. He was created by Masahiro Sakurai when he was 19 years old at the time. The same developer who also created the very Super Smash Bros. series this wiki is about, and even helped develop Kid Icarus Uprising. The Kirby series has been running for two decades, and nearly thirty titles have been released under the Kirby name, most of which were developed by HAL Laboratory Inc. A round, pink creature hailing from Planet Popstar, he is best known for his ability to inhale enemies and copy their abilities, and uses these powers to defend his homeland from various threats ranging from his "arch-frenemy" King Dedede to outside evil forces such as Nightmare and Dark Matter. As a member of the "perfect-attendance crew", Kirby has been featured as a playable character throughout the entire Super Smash Bros. series.

## Character Description

Kirby's round pink form is only 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) in height (though in his appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series, also created by Sakurai, his dimensions are obviously enlarged for fair play).
Kirby is a resident and the consistent hero of the yellow star-shaped planet Pop Star. He can inhale multiple items and individuals forcefully, allowing him to swallow enemies right in front of him and copy their abilities to help him fight back against different enemies (known as the copy ability). He can also store the air he inhales to make himself larger and more puffy than normal, enabling him to float around for significant periods of time. He can also store the air and spit out items that can damage enemies. His species, of which himself, Keeby, and Meta Knight (although the latter is still unconfirmed) are the three most prominent individuals, is not officially named, outside of the vague title of "citizens of Dream Land", which does not reveal his species, but is most commonly referred to as "Kirbys". Living in the peaceful kingdom of Dream Land, he defends his home against foes such as his "arch-frenemy" King Dedede, and the malevolent, shadowy Dark Matter. Kirby is generally depicted with an innocent and easygoing personality, but he is also shown to be determined and heroic when the situation calls for it. While Kirby's species is left unclear, he is not the only one of his kind; multiple Kirby-like beings are known to exist, including Meta Knight, who bears a striking resemblance to him.
Kirby's demeanor is best described as childlike. He is often motivated solely by his instinctual needs to eat and sleep, and depending on his temperament, he may make brash decisions or allow others to take advantage of him. This extends to the point that he is occasionally compared to an infant, especially in the Kirby: Right Back at Ya! anime. His voice, reflecting his nature, is comparable to a toddler learning to speak: mostly incoherent babbling with a very rare short sentence. However, Kirby does show some intelligence that an infant would not possess, particularly in his combat skills and adaptability to the situations he comes across. Kirby is also perceptive of emotions, being able to tell what others are feeling and respond appropriately.
Kirby's trademark attack is his ability to Inhale forcefully, allowing him to swallow his enemies whole or spit them back out as star-shaped projectiles. Introduced in Kirby's Adventure was the option to copy a swallowed enemy's ability to fight back (known as a Copy Ability). He has a multitude of Copy Abilities that allow him to perform a wide variety of techniques, such as wielding a sword, breathing fire, or creating beams of energy. He can also float by storing the air he inhales, making himself large and puffy.
Kirby began as an entirely different character that starred in Masahiro Sakurai's early Game Boy game in development, originally called "Twinkle Popo". 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 it as the final character. Originally called Popopo, the little protagonist was eventually named Kirby, and the game itself named Kirby's Dream Land. The name was chosen from a list of candidates provided by Nintendo of America, who wished to give the character more international appeal; Shigeru Miyamoto thought that the contrast between the cute character and the name's "harsh" sound was humorous. Coincidentally, John Kirby was the name of the lawyer who defended Nintendo during a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Universal Studios over the name of Donkey Kong.
Contrary to popular belief, Kirby was always intended to be pink, but the Game Boy's monochromatic palette led to initial confusion about his color scheme. North American marketing for Kirby's Dream Land depicted him as white, similar to the in-game graphics. Meanwhile, Miyamoto initially interpreted the character as yellow; as a result, the second player in later Kirby games is typically a yellow Kirby. His pink coloration wouldn't be seen in-game until Kirby's Adventure, the second game of the series, which also introduced the iconic Copy Abilities.