Continuity

This article is about internal storyline continuity, and should not be confused with Cannon.

Canon is a term used to designate events, objects, or characters that are indisputably part of a fictional narrative, and congruent with other stories in that narrative. In terms of the Kirby series, the term would be used to describe anything that has definitively occurred in the storyline of the main series.

Canonicity Within a Title

A quick example of what is considered 'canon' can be gleamed in the events of Kirby's Adventure. For instance, it can be said that Kirby ventured through several distinct areas on Pop Star, fought seven foes in a specific order to obtain the shattered pieces of the Star Rod, then used the rod to battle Nightmare at the end of his journey, but it cannot be said that Kirby was whisked away to a Goal Game where he trampolined onto various cloud levels to gain points at the end of every stage, or that he used doors to enter each area of the land, despite that being what the unknown reader has Kirby doing during gameplay.

For a more basic example, in-game items such as Food and collectables like Energy Spheres can be considered canon, but collectable points, stars, or 1-Ups are not canon, and only serve as gameplay elements. In-game music is also not considered canon, unless it is playing from an object in-game, such as a radio which the characters can interact with.

Beyond this basic distinction, Sub-Games, other side activities, and spin-off entries might be internally congruent, but fail to fit anywhere in the main narrative, and as such, officially never occur in the story. An example of this would be the optional Bonus Chances that can be played after defeating a boss in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Canonicity of Alternate Game Modes

Unless otherwise specified by HAL, the events of the Main Game in any given title are canonically what happened. As such, all Extra Games, Meta Knightmares, DededeTour!s, Arenas and True Arenas are not considered canon.

Canonicity between Titles

It is sometimes difficult to determine which entries in the Kirby series are canon and which are not. The official Japanese website for Kirby's 25th anniversary suggests that the storyline events of every major main-series game is canon, and congruous between each-other, but this list also includes Kirby's Dream Collection, which may only be a statement of the games in the collection being canon, or may also imply that the New Challenge Stages Sub-Game is canon as well.

Main Series

Assuming that New Challenge Stages is not canon, here is HAL's official list of main series titles, according to the 25th anniversary site (remakes are considered to be the same story as the original):

• Kirby's Dream Land
• Kirby's Adventure/Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
• Kirby's Dream Land 2
• Kirby Super Star/Kirby Super Star Ultra
  • Specifically, Spring Breeze (remake of Dream Land), Dyna Blade, Gourmet Race, The Great Cave Offensive, Revenge of Meta Knight, Milky Way Wishes, and Revenge of the King
• Kirby's Dream Land 3
• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
• Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
• Kirby: Squeak Squad
• Kirby's Return to Dream Land
• Kirby: Triple Deluxe
• Kirby: Planet Robobot

Note that this list describes every main series title which boasts standard side-scrolling Kirby-style platforming gameplay. It does not include any title that falls into a different genre or sub-category. As such, the upcoming Kirby: Star Allies is also expected to fall into the main canon, while Kirby: Battle Royale will not.

Possibly Canon Spin-Offs

While these games are not part of the official series, they could be considered part of the overall storyline, as they do not conflict with the main series in that regard:

• Kirby: Canvas Curse
• Kirby's Epic Yarn
• Kirby Mass Attack
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse

Non-Canon Spin-Offs

These titles contain elements which cause them to conflict with the main storyline, and as such, can be considered non-canon:

• Kirby's Pinball Land
• Kirby's Block Ball
• Kirby's Dream Course
• Kirby's Star Stacker
• Kirby's Avalanche
• Kirby's Super Star Stacker
• Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
• Kirby Air Ride
• Kirby Fighters Deluxe
• Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe
• Team Kirby Clash Deluxe
• Kirby's Blowout Blast
• Kirby: Battle Royale

Canonicity with Kirby: Right Back At Ya!

Generally speaking, while elements from the anime can influence design choices in the game series, and vice-versa, the anime - Kirby: Right Back At Ya! - is not considered to be in canon with the main Kirby game series. In addition, the original Japanese version of the anime - Hoshi no Kabi - is not considered to be in canon with the American localization, as several plot points are changed, along with the names of some of the characters (not to mention the different voices and language used).

Canonicity of Extra-game Content

Promotional material, such as illustrations, merchandise, videos, and even pre-release gameplay footage are not considered part of the canon. A game in development, therefore, cannot be considered canon until it is released.

When it comes to developer commentary on back-story and side information about the setting or characters, this information can be considered tentatively canon if it is released as part of an official statement from HAL, but such information can easily be overruled by in-game events (both for current titles and future ones) that contradict the statements. As such, gameplay narrative always takes precedence over any commentary outside the games.

Retroactive Continuity

In some cases, details that were prominent in earlier entries of the Kirby series will not match up with newer titles, as changes are made either to the main narrative itself, or to details of certain characters/objects/events. In every case where this happens (referred to as retroactive continuity, or ret-con for short), the newer change is considered to be the current canon, and applied retroactively to the story as the way it always was.

An example of this is the colTemplate:Our of Meta Knight's eyes. In earlier games, his eyes were white under the mask, but starting with Kirby: Planet Robobot, they are shown to be yellow, just like when the mask is on. This change was made in part because technical limitations on sprite colTemplate:Ours in older games didn't allow Meta Knight to have yellow eyes under the mask.

External Links

Japanese 25th Anniversary site. (scroll to the bottom for the list)