Emote

“

Want to greet a friend or react to something surprising? Press + to use four different emotes!

”

— Tasty Tidbit from Kirby's Dream Buffet, describing emotes

Emote is an action that can be performed by Kirby and other characters in games, starting with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which allow them to display certain audio-visual expressions when using auxiliary directional inputs, similar to how taunting works in the Super Smash Bros. games. By default, there tend to be four Emotes, one for each direction, though the specific emotes used vary depending on the game and/or circumstance. These actions are distinct from Idle animations, which happen automatically and have been in the Kirby series for much longer.

Game appearances

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Emotes made their first appearance in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Here, Kirby has access to four when the +Control Pad is pressed in each direction, and Bandana Waddle Dee can make use of these as well. In addition, a number of Mouthful Modes have their own unique emotes. The following table lists every emote in the game, along with details on them:

Emotes in Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Emote	Direction	Description	Notes
Kirby and Bandana Waddle Dee
	↑	Kirby stands on the tips of his feet and waves enthusiastically while calling out "Hiii!".	The exact voice clip used for this emote varies. Bandana Waddle Dee does not have a vocalization. If Kirby uses this emote near Elfilin or most of the Waddle Dees in Waddle Dee Town, they will wave back at him.
	←	Kirby smiles, then gets up on one foot while raising his arm upward while shouting "Hi!" with his eyes tightly closed.	Bandana Waddle Dee does not have a vocalization. If Kirby uses this emote near Elfilin or most of the Waddle Dees in Waddle Dee Town, they will react excitedly.
	→	Kirby looks to his right and then his left with a curious expression.	This is also one of Kirby's idle animations in the game.
	↓	Kirby sits down and taps his feet gently with a smile on his face, than gets back up shortly afterward.	This was an idle animation in previous games.
Mouthful Modes
	↑ or ↓ (Car Mouth)	Elfilin pops out and rubs the top of Car-Mouth Kirby's hood, making him relaxed from the massage until seemingly asleep. Then he pops back to attention as Elfilin disappears again.	This emote can only be used when Elfilin is with Kirby. Otherwise, the other Car Mouth emote is used.
	← or → (Car Mouth)	Car-Mouth Kirby bobs back and forth on his wheels a couple times.
	Any direction (Cone Mouth)	Cone-Mouth Kirby does a headstand and spins for a while, then gets back upright.
	Any direction (Ring Mouth)	Ring-Mouth Kirby does a sitting spin, and then nearly loses his balance when getting back up from it.

Kirby's Dream Buffet

In Kirby's Dream Buffet, Kirby has access to four different emotes, which he can use any time during normal gameplay, as well as on the results screen. When on the Home Table or in Free Rolling mode, Kirby will orient himself toward the camera before using his emote. In online play, the emote comes with a caption that displays above the head of the Kirby that uses it. The following are all of the emotes in the game:

Emotes in Kirby's Dream Buffet
Emote	Direction	Description	Notes
Hey!	↑	Kirby waves with one hand while vocally greeting with his eyes closed tightly.	The exact voice clip used for these emotes varies.
Yay!	←	Kirby wiggles his limbs about while giving an ecstatic expression and a longer happy shout.
Huh?!	→	Kirby gives an exaggerated shocked expression and vocalization as his eyes enlarge in cartoonish fashion.
Hiii!	↓	Kirby waves both hands and feet while giving a greeting.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

One of the new features added to Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe over the original game was the addition of Emotes, which are activated using the right control stick. Each playable character has access to four emotes. When playing single-player, the camera will zoom in a bit on Kirby when he uses one in most cases.

Emotes in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Direction	Description	Kirby	King Dedede	Meta Knight	Bandana Waddle Dee
↑	Waving (or saluting in Meta Knight's case) with one hand while vocally greeting.
←	Looking around, becoming excited at the sights in the latter half of the motion.
→	Putting on a dour expression and raising one hand into the air, giving a determined shout.
↓	Stretching exercises varying by character. Kirby takes a moment to stretch his back, wearing a grin as he then rolls his arms down to his feet. King Dedede does side stretches on each side. Meta Knight twists to each side. Bandana Waddle Dee stretches forward and then back.

In Merry Magoland, inputting any direction on the right stick causes the character to pose in one of two emotes at random while riding the Warp Star. If they do this near anyone on the grounds, they will wave back.

Emotes from the Warp Star in Merry Magoland
Kirby	King Dedede	Meta Knight	Bandana Waddle Dee

The Magolor Epilogue also introduces emotes for Magolor.

Emotes in the Magolor Epilogue
Direction	Description	Emote
↑	Magolor looks up and around.
←	Magolor looks crestfallen and wipes his eyes.
→	Magolor scratches his head with a nonplussed look.
↓	Magolor looks down at his hands with a nonplussed look, and then appears to sigh as he closes his eyes.