Kirby's Origins?

[TheMirrorTwin]

If my questions are answered elsewhere, please excuse this thread and delete it. (And send me a pm where they can be found)

I have enjoyed playing Kirby since the Nintendo 64 Super Smash Bros., although I have always wondered some things about Kirby.

First off, what is he? I have heard Alien, Balloon, and magical creation from my friends. Does anyone know?
Is Kirby a he or she?
What was the first game Kirby originated in?
Anything else you want to tell me about his origins?

What sparked this curiosity was the thread on Pit's origins and all the things about kid Icarus, though know I would like to know Kirby's story. Thanks.

 

[Kasek]

Since no one seems to be answering, I'll try to answer this to the best of my ability.

Alien would be the best choice, as he IS from another planet. And yes, Kirby's a he.

Kirby's first game? Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy. I've never played it, but I have played Kirby's Adventure for the NES, his second game. I've heard it's the best NES game graphics-wise. I'm inclined to agree.

Other things about his origins? Well, he is of the same species as Meta Knight, whatever they are. Considering Meta Knight doesn't copy opponents, but rather has the abilities driven into the core of his being, I assume that Meta Knight is a more 'grown-up' version of Kirby.

I've also heard his game was originally supposed to be "Twinkle Po Po Po", but while they were designing the main char, they used Kirby's sprite as a placeholder. They ended up liking Kirby, so they kept him in.

And beyond this point is kinda pointless stuff- more like a life story than an origin story.

If you didn't already know, Kirby LOVES food. It's the basis for many of his adventures, I believe. At the very least, Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby Squeak Squad both start out with Kirby chasing down De De De for food (The first time was because De De De had stolen food from everyone; the second time, Kirby just kinda automatically assumed De De De had stolen his cake.).

Kirby has a fairly good sense of right and wrong. I never played Kirby Super Star, but I've read Kirby faces the major threat of the time (Meta Knight) on principle, and not over a food issue. Kirby also went on a quest for the Star Rod pieces when he discovered that De De De had broken it. He also helped out Ribbon in Kirby 64 with collecting the Crystal Shards. I guess he likes helping people out.

I think I went too far... and yet, I feel that I have not gone far enough.

 

[finalark]

Well.... I remember in the anime (this is just from a memory of that.... thing) he was apparently a monster created by Nightmare but he would not obey his creator and is now a good guy.

 

[Kasek]

Well.... I remember in the anime (this is just from a memory of that.... thing) he was apparently a monster created by Nightmare but he would not obey his creator and is now a good guy.

I think that was the pilot ep... and that could've just as easily applied to Meta Knight instead of Kirby. They never clarified. EVER. But, in the anime, Kirby's pretty much too childish to really think for himself.

 

[Pun]

Kirby was originally named Popopo. His first game was called Twilight Popopo, but after his name changed to Kirby, it was named Kirby of the Stars. I don't know what Kirby is. I presume Kirby is a she considering that she is played by a female character, but I always refer to kirby as a he. That's all my big bro knows about Kirby.

 

[G-X]

The most important thing to remember is that Meta Knight is a bad guy and DeDeDe is not.

 

[Kasek]

The most important thing to remember is that Meta Knight is a bad guy and DeDeDe is not.

Wait, what? De De De has been the villain more than Meta Knight has. Meta Knight is just as much of a good guy as De De De (if not more so). Both have been antagonists and have both tried to save Dream Land on their own.

Pun: Female voice actors do not a female make. Lots of young boy characters are voiced by girls (If you're a Naruto fan, Konohamaru is a good example; if you're into Pokemon, Ash is/was a good example [I don't know who his current voice actor is], and there are tons more I don't feel like looking up).

 

[G-X]

Wait, what? De De De has been the villain more than Meta Knight has. Meta Knight is just as much of a good guy as De De De

Here's what happened:

Sakurai designed Meta Knight as a bad guy. He is mysterious and elitist and oh so cool.

But then, after Kirby 64 (or Air Ride, I can't remember which), Sakurai quit HAL Labs. Thus. the Kirby series continued on without his input.

Then, an anime series was made. It was based on the Kirby games, but it took many liberties with the source material. For instance, in the anime, DeDeDe is a bad guy, Meta Knight is a good guy, and Nightmare owns an evil corporation.

HAL decided to continue with the anime's precedent when making new Kirby games (which was a horrible idea; just look what it did to Sonic).


To summarize, Meta Knight was originally a bad guy, but then 4Kids ****ed it up, as always.

 

[Kasek]

Here's what happened:

Sakurai designed Meta Knight as a bad guy. He is mysterious and elitist and oh so cool.

But then, after Kirby 64 (or Air Ride, I can't remember which), Sakurai quit HAL Labs. Thus. the Kirby series continued on without his input.

Then, an anime series was made. It was based on the Kirby games, but it took many liberties with the source material. For instance, in the anime, DeDeDe is a bad guy, Meta Knight is a good guy, and Nightmare owns an evil corporation.

HAL decided to continue with the anime's precedent when making new Kirby games (which was a horrible idea; just look what it did to Sonic).


To summarize, Meta Knight was originally a bad guy, but then 4Kids ****ed it up, as always.

I wasn't even referencing the anime! Meta Knight has always been a 'rival' character. He's never been evil. I'm sure Sakurai had his input on Meta Knight's trophy in Melee.

In both the original and the anime, De De De is a good guy deep, deep, deep down. But he's a bit of a jerk either way- just more so in the anime.

P.S. 4Kids didn't make the anime. They only dubbed it.

 

[G-X]

He's never been evil.

What about that time he attacked Dream Land with his giant battleship because he thought the people were too lazy? :/

P.S. 4Kids didn't make the anime. They only dubbed it.

Yeah, I know. I was riffing on the "blame 4Kids" mentality.

>_>
<_<

4Kids sucks.

 

[Kasek]

What about that time he attacked Dream Land with his giant battleship because he thought the people were too lazy? :/

I think it was more of a 'reform' thing. What with a king and all, he can't really do that the traditional way... and I've read the NOA made him slightly more 'evil'ish in the English version for more impact (for instance, he claims that he'll kill Kirby in the English, but says no such thing in the original).

Unfortunately, I've never played Kirby Super Star. I want the DS remake. NOW.

 

[courte]

there was a link i just had... i think i put it in the kirby thread... back when some game was coming out, they were sued by a guy named kirby... i'll post it if i find it again

also i always thought of metaknight as somewhat of the anti-hero going more for his own goals than those of others

 

[Kasek]

there was a link i just had... i think i put it in the kirby thread... back when some game was coming out, they were sued by a guy named kirby... i'll post it if i find it again

also i always thought of metaknight as somewhat of the anti-hero going more for his own goals than those of others

I thought that Nintendo's lawyer was named Kirby in that case?

 

[courte]

Sorry for the DP, but here is the thread--Link's in the OP!!
http://smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=137230

From that site there:
Apparently, Nintendo producer Shigeru Miyamoto wanted the character to be yellow but Sakurai insisted for him to be pink. The blob was first referred to as Popopo and then later renamed Kirby. Sakurai doesn't recall how Kirby ended up being named Kirby. While Kirby coincidentally has the same name as the Kirby vacuum brand (which has a similar sucking ability), it is unknown if this brand was the original inspiration. Another rumor is that in the 80's, Nintendo was faced with a gigantic lawsuit by the entertainment company MCA Universal, who claimed Nintendo was infringing upon its copyright of King Kong with the Donkey Kong Nintendo video game. Nintendo was still trying to get a foothold in the American market and this lawsuit threatened to destroy the company. The lawyer who was representing Nintendo was named John Kirby. It's rumored that a copy of the game was eventually sent to John Kirby who was humored and flattered.

there ya go

edit to the guy above me--yeah you're right

 

[shinzou]

I'll put in my 2 cents about metaknight. Metaknight is more of kirby's rival than an enemy... he doesn't hate kirby or want to kill him, only the english version of super star had this. And if metaknight wanted to kill kirby, he wouldn't have given kirby a sword to fight him with in every boss battle against him. Metaknight I believe is good... much like dedede. In nightmare in dream land/kirby's adventure, when the star rod was broken into pieces, dedede with good intention tried to stop kirby from piecing it together... and metaknight is the kings servant so he tried to prevent kirby from regaining the pieces. Superstar, he was attacking dreamland with the halberd as a reform idea thing to get the people to stop being lazy. And though the anime isn't really much related to the game beyond the characters and stuff, metaknight did seem to make trouble for kirby... but in the end it was to train him... maybe this was true for the game in some parts...

 

[TheMirrorTwin]

Fascinating, let me give my thanks to everyone so far who has answered my questions.

THANKS EVERYONE

 

[Kasek]

You're very welcome. People like us love to talk about this kind of thing.

Now that I think about it, De De De only gave Star Rod pieces to his friends... and Meta Knight had one. Meaning Meta Knight and De De De are on the same side. On the other hand, in that same game, Meta Knight helps Kirby out once or twice by flying by and tossing Kirby an Invincibility Lollipop. It does seem like Meta Knight wants Kirby to get stronger and stronger.

 

[Archenyte]

Well, Kirby's first game was Kirby's Dreamland but you already knew that. Meta Knight was never a villian. He was a friend and a rival. Even in the game Meta Knight's Revenge, Meta Knight gave Kirby a weapon before fighting him to make it fair. In Kirby Squeak Squad, Meta Knight fought Kirby to protect him. Meta Knight gave Kirby his sword to fight the final boss in Amazing mirror. etc.

 

[Ricard_the_dragoon]

In my opinion Meta Knight is just as much of a "good guy' as Kirby, he just believes that the end justifies the means.

 

[Maraphy]

Meta Knight is nor a Good guy or a Bad guy. He is more "Nuetral". In KSS, he had a good reason to assault Dreamland with the Halberd, he was trying to make it a better place by becoming its leader or something like that. I'm not sure if he stated he wanted to kill Kirby... maybe he did, who knows? But Meta Knight only wanted to get rid of Kirby because Kirby was interfering with MK's plans.

Meta Knight only battles Kirby nowadays to "test" Kirby. He wants to find out if Kirby is good enough to move on. He wants to make sure Kirby has enough training to advance.

As for Dedede. I have heard many people say that he is more of a "comical relief" villain now. And that is mostly true. Maybe HAL Labs is getting soft. But really, if you dwelve deep enough, he's never been evil. Look at Kirby: Crystal Shards. He helps Kirby whenever you need to break through rocks. In Nightmare in Dreamland, he wasn't evil, trying to steal all the Star shards. He broke the Star rod into pieces and gave it to all those bad guys so that Nightmare didn't get it first. King Dedede is moreso good than evil.

And as for Kirby. His intentions are good. Starting off at the Anime, when he was created as a monster, he rebelled and tried to destroy Nightmare. That's how the Star Warriors formed. Ever since then, Kirby has been a "hero", the proof is in the last two sentences. Now, he might do something wrong, but he always has good intentions.

 

[shinzou]

yeah... and metaknight wouldn't be one of magic kirby's attacks if he was a bad guy...