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Boss

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A boss is a distinguished enemy, usually very strong in comparison to others, that is faced at the end of a level. Bosses come in many shapes and sizes, but they all have the following things in common:

  • They are fought in a distinctive area, which cannot be left until the boss is defeated or Kirby loses the fight (in some cases, even a life loss won't let Kirby escape).
  • They take many hits to defeat, and their health meter is displayed to the unknown reader during the fight.
  • They cannot be inhaled by Kirby (one exception exists), but can be harmed in other ways.
    • In most cases, they have attacks which will either drop debris that Kirby can spit back at them, or cause Recoil Stars to appear where they attack.
  • Defeating them completes the particular level they are featured in, or completes the game if they were a final boss.
  • Bosses typically have many different attacks they use in a random or not-so-random pattern. Some bosses enter different attack phases when their health reaches a certain threshold.
  • With some bosses there are two or many phases to go through. These are completed in succession and are somewhat more difficult than most bosses. These include " soul " bosses such as Drawcia soul and Magolor soul.

Enemies that possess some, but not all of these traits are usually considered Mid-Bosses, and are usually not as powerful.

Game Appearances

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Spoilers abound! If you do not wish to read them, skip ahead to the next heading or find a different article.

Boss fights have been a staple of the Kirby series since the very first game, and have appeared in nearly every subsequent entry. Below are listed every single major boss under their respective games, in order of appearance, as well as any other pertinent notes:

Kirby's Dream Land

  • Whispy Woods - The very first boss in the series, and one of the most common recurring ones as well.
  • Lololo & Lalala - The first duo boss. Both have separate hit points.
  • Kabula - The first boss fought via shooter sequence.
  • Kracko - Another recurring boss that makes its first appearance here.
  • King Dedede - The first final boss, and a common recurring character in the series, serving as either hero, villain or both in many installments.

Kirby's Dream Land was also the first game to introduce the idea of an Extra Game, wherein the bosses were made harder in certain respects, among other changes.

Kirby's Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

  • Whispy Woods
  • Paint Roller - The first of many bosses in the series that relies primarily on painting and/or conjuring minions to attack Kirby with.
  • Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright - Duo boss that fights tag-team style.
  • Kracko
  • Heavy Mole - The first boss that would also alter the topography of the area as it was fought, creating pits in places.
  • Meta Knight - This was his first appearance as a boss. Kirby could only use the Sword ability to fight him with.
  • King Dedede
  • Nightmare - This final boss came in two distinct phases, and was battled with a unique item known as the Star Rod.

This game was the first in the series to feature a Boss Endurance mode, which pitted Kirby against all the bosses in order on one Vitality bar and one life.

Kirby's Dream Land 2

Kirby Super Star

Super Star was the first game to introduce The Arena, which pitted Kirby against all the bosses and mid-bosses of the game in a random (at first) order with minimal supplies.

Kirby's Dream Land 3

  • Whispy Woods - Has two phases here, and actually chases Kirby in the second one.
  • Acro - Two phases, one on land, and the other underwater.
  • Pon Con - Much like Nruff & Nelly, but with two large animals accompanied by corresponding smaller ones.
  • Ado - Like Paint Roller, but instead of painting obstacles, paints strong enemies resembling earlier bosses. After all are defeated, Ado charges, but can be taken out in one hit.
  • King Dedede - Two phases. The second phase takes place with Dedede floating in the air.
  • Dark Matter - Fought if Kirby obtained all the Heart Star fragments. Fights similarly to Nightmare.
  • Zero - Final boss faced directly after Dark Matter. It bleeds when hit and after its main health bar is depleted, fights a bit longer with only its eye.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

  • Whispy Woods - Two phases. Kirby has to defeat Whispy's children before fighting Whispy himself.
  • Pix - Two phases, this collection of three entities first must be dodged, then are fought at the top of a tower.
  • Acro - Two phases, both are fought underwater, but one is an upward scrolling section.
  • Magman - Two phases
  • HR-H - Two phases. This boss takes on two very different forms, one fought after the other.
  • Miracle Matter - Penultimate boss. Can only be harmed by its corresponding elemental form.
  • Zero Two - Final boss, fought in a 3-D shooter section if Kirby collected all the crystal shards.

Kirby & the Amazing Mirror

Kirby: Canvas Curse

Kirby: Squeak Squad

Kirby Super Star Ultra

In this enhanced remake of Kirby Super Star, the following bosses are included in addition to the ones in the original:

Super Star Ultra was the first game in the series to feature The True Arena, which is like The Arena, but features tougher bosses and less items available.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

In this game, Kirby's primary means of attacking the bosses is to toss something at them to stun them, then pull on their buttons to unwind them.

Kirby Mass Attack

In this installment, the Mini-Kirbys have to fight the bosses in varying ways, from latching on to them at the right moment to pummel them, or knocking themselves/certain objects into them.

In the last level - Necro Nebula - each boss, except the last one, is fought again.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Nearly all the bosses in this game have an EX form, which is generally stronger and bears a different color pallet (or other visual changes). Those that don't will be mentioned as such. This game also formally introduced the concept of having the boss change its tactics when its health reaches a certain threshold (usually half-way).

Kirby's Dream Collection

Aside from the games contained in this collection, there is a separate boss fight in the New Challenge Stages Sub-Game. At the end of the Smash Combat Chamber EX, Kirby has to contend with Whispy Woods, appearing as he did in Return to Dream Land, but fighting like his EX form from that same game. Unlike in other cases, Whispy's health bar is not shown during the fight.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Like in Return to Dream Land most bosses have more powerful alternate forms (known as DX here), but not all do. Most bosses also incorporate the foreground and background when fighting.

Some bosses in this game are fought like Mid-Bosses later. In addition, the third time Flowery Woods is encountered, Kirby has the Hypernova ability, and swallows him whole without a fight.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Kirby: Planet Robobot

Like in Return to Dream Land most bosses have more powerful alternate forms (known as 2.0 in most cases), but not all do. Some bosses are fought in circular arenas, much like in Kirby 64.

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe

Many enemies encountered in this free-to-start spin-off title are beefed up considerably in subsequent encounters, given more Stamina and more attack options. Almost all enemies are faced at least twice this way, except a handful in the last area.

Kirby's Blowout Blast

Every Boss is fought in a 3-D space, with their move-sets adjusted to accommodate this fact. Each Boss also has a 'Revenge' version, except for the last one.

Trivia

  • Kirby Super Star Ultra contains more bosses than any other main series Kirby game, at 23 (17 if not counting souped-up forms).
  • The most frequently appearing boss in the series by far is Whispy Woods, who has appeared in some form as a boss or a mid-boss in every mains series Kirby game except for Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Kirby: Squeak Squad and Kirby: Triple Deluxe. He has also appeared at least as cameos in most of the spin-off games.
  • A Miiverse post regarding Triple Deluxe revealed that Bosses fought repeatedly gradually lose their maximum Vitality and become slower and weaker. As such, each time Kirby fails to defeat the boss and tries again, the Boss becomes slightly easier. This is meant to give relief to players struggling with the fights.