Kirby

## Voices

**Kirby** (カービィ, *Kābī*) is the main character and namesake of the *Kirby* series. He is a small pink creature who resides on and protects all of Planet Popstar, though his true origin is unknown. Despite his simplistic appearance, Kirby is easily recognizable by his ball-like stature, his large glossy eyes, and his cheerful demeanor. He is often seen riding a Warp Star, but can otherwise fly by taking in air and puffing up like a balloon. While Kirby has many ways to combat his foes, the most well-known by far is his ability to open his mouth wide to suck up his opponents and then swallow them whole. Doing this allows Kirby to copy the attributes of whatever he just ate, expanding his powers in ways that are difficult to predict. Using these abilities is often crucial for Kirby to overcome the greater challenges he faces on his adventures. Kirby is classified as a "silent protagonist"; that is, he does not speak audibly or in text to the player in most instances. In some supplementary material, he has shown the ability to speak, but this is uncommon and not generally considered canon. Despite this, he is very vocal, using lots of grunts, shouts, and monosyllables; his signature one being his cheery elongated "Hi!".

Since 1992, Kirby has starred in over 30 video games (twelve of which can be considered part of the core series, not counting remakes), has appeared to some capacity in several other Nintendo games and products, has had an anime series, several manga series, a novel series, and has a great deal of merchandise in the form of figurines, plush dolls, clothing, and the like. Kirby and his series were created by Masahiro Sakurai under HAL Laboratory, with the latter of which retaining the rights to the *Kirby* series and characters despite Sakurai's departure from the HAL team in the mid-2000s. To this day, Kirby remains one of Nintendo's most famous and familiar mascots, with his games garnering millions of sales worldwide, and thanks in part to his perfect attendance as a fighter in the *Super Smash Bros.* franchise.

## Personality

Kirby matches his appearance given his child-like mannerism and persistent cheerfulness. Kirby does not speak in full sentences in any of the main-series games, adding to his infantile nature, and typically the only word he can muster is his signature elongated 'Hi!'. However, it has been established that he is fully capable of comprehending language, and can write in full sentences, often with flowery words that are not used in typical dialogue. Examples of this can be seen in early instruction manuals where Kirby directly addresses the player. It may also be the case that Kirby is capable of speaking fluently, but just like how Link and Mario are often portrayed, the player does not hear his side of any given conversation.

Kirby has been shown to be gluttonous, which makes his rivalry with King Dedede more understandable, but as long as he is well-fed, he is an altruistic hero who jumps at the chance to help those in need. Kirby is courageous, tackling problems head-on with an unbreakable determination. He is heroic to a fault, however, as certain villains will take advantage of this to get what they want. Unless called to adventure, Kirby spends most of his time sleeping and otherwise just relaxing in his homeland, Dream Land. Despite being the hero, Kirby can become extraordinarily stubborn and single-minded if he feels he's been wronged. This is evidenced in *Kirby: Squeak Squad* when, after having his cake stolen, he immediately assumes that King Dedede is responsible, and it is not until after fighting and beating him that Kirby realizes it wasn't Dedede after all. From there, Kirby chases after the real thieves, the Squeaks across several lands and worlds, fighting everything and everyone who gets in the way just to get his cake back.

Kirby's hobbies include fishing (which usually ends up with the hook in his mouth), sleeping, eating, flying about the countryside on a Warp Star, and singing, which he admittedly does so poorly that it can hurt enemies, especially when using the Mike ability. He is also a big fan of music, and can often be seen listening with a pair of headphones along with the player in the Jukebox.

When encountering new situations, Kirby shows himself to be a quick and astute learner. For example, upon copying a new ability, he instantly masters any skill the ability entails, whether that be martial arts or psychic powers. He also demonstrates this when piloting the Robobot Armor, adapting to its controls immediately after jumping into it for the first time.

One notable progression that can be observed through the *Kirby* series is that Kirby himself gradually becomes more and more expressive and vocal over time. 8-bit titles such as *Kirby's Dream Land* would rarely have Kirby change his facial expression at all, and he had very few vocalizations until *Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards*. *Kirby Super Star Ultra* would be the last game in the series to feature a mostly silent Kirby. This change can mainly be attributed to the gradual lifting of technical limitations on the games as the series progresses, along with gradual refinements to Kirby's design. Kirby has also gotten "cuter" as the series progresses, featuring larger eyes and shorter limbs; the Dream Button in *Kirby Star Allies* highlights this by allowing Kirby to switch between his current design and his original *Kirby's Dream Land*-era design.

Notably, one of Masahiro Sakurai's original goals with Kirby was his "commitment as a game character". To this end (particularly in the earlier games), when Kirby is being controlled by the player, he shows relatively little emotion, which is meant to allow the player to demonstrate their own feelings in the game through their own movements and actions as Kirby. His role as a silent protagonist also fits this characterization, though it could be inferred that this particular vision of Kirby has started to deteriorate in favor of a more expressive and lively character in *Kirby* games that postdate Sakurai's departure from HAL Laboratory.