Please remember that WiKirby contains spoilers, which you read at your own risk! See our general disclaimer for details.

Bad ending

From WiKirby, your independent source of Kirby knowledge.
Revision as of 06:56, 19 February 2019 by Samwell (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigationJump to search

A False Ending (or Bad Ending) is any conclusion to a story in a given game that is sub-optimal for the hero(es), and not part of the canon. These endings (if they exist) are typically shown to the unknown reader if the game is either lost, or completed without the necessary prerequisite objectives to obtain the true ending. Technically speaking, every 'Game Over' screen is a form of bad ending - because it implies that Kirby or whoever else is serving the role of main protagonist failed somewhere in their adventure - but this article will mainly focus on the other type of false ending, where the game is seemingly completed.

Standard Vs. Full Completion

Before specific examples of false endings are cited, it is important to distinguish between a proper false ending with credits roll and/or a cut-scene, and an otherwise true ending where not all in-game objectives are met. The latter is characterized by getting the same ending regardless of how many of the important collectables were picked up along the way. An example of this would be the Energy Spheres from Kirby's Return to Dream Land. While the canon-telling of the story has Kirby and his friends collecting all 120 of them, this is not necessary to reach the proper ending of the story mode. Collecting all 120 in turn will not change the ending cut-scenes.

Examples by Title

Kirby's Dream Land 2

File:False Ending DL2.jpg
Kine looks up during the false ending cut-scene.

This ending is triggered if Kirby defeats King Dedede in Dark Castle without collecting all the Rainbow Drops first.

Once Dedede goes down, Kirby poses in triumph. From here, a cut-scene plays where Kirby walks back home in the rain with a Parasol in hand, as his three Animal Friends follow him closely behind. Below this scene, an enemy line-up is shown to the unknown reader, containing every enemy and Boss in the game. At the end of this line-up, a silhouette of Dark Matter is shown, with the name !?, implying that something was missed. From here, The End is displayed, as the party walks off-screen. Kine the sunfish trails behind them, and pauses in the middle of the screen for a brief moment. He looks up, and a ? is added to the end text. From here, Kine waddles off-stage, and the game resets.

Kirby Super Star (Ultra)

In The Great Cave Offensive, the goal is to collect all 60 Treasures before leaving the cave. If Kirby does not collect all the treasures, a number of alternate final screens will be shown based on how many he did collect.

Kirby's Dream Land 3

File:False Ending DL3.jpg
Dark Matter is shown as a silhouette in the sky in this false ending.

This ending is triggered if Kirby defeats King Dedede in Iceberg without collecting all the Heart Stars first.

Once King Dedede goes down, Kirby hops off his Animal Friend (if he was riding one), and jumps a few times in the air, trying to conjure something. When this fails, he stands there, and the game transitions to a new scene where Kirby and Gooey are walking back home in a grassy field in the daytime. Like in Dream Land 2, a list of all the enemies and Mid-Bosses are shown to the unknown reader along the way. At the end, the camera pans upward to show a large black circle looming in the sky, with the caption of ?. This is the yet-undefeated Dark Matter. From here, the game resets.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

The Fairy Queen gives Ribbon a menacing glance in the false ending.

This ending is triggered if Kirby defeats Miracle Matter in Ripple Star without collecting all the prior Crystal Shards first.

Kirby and his team watch as the crystal banishes the plague of Dark Matter from Ripple Star's skies, where it then flies off into space, disappearing with a twinkle. Kirby and his friends celebrate this as fireworks fill the sky. Ribbon and the Fairy Queen see the party off, giving them a transport ship to take them home. Before Kirby leaves, he shakes hands with Ribbon. Once the ship carries them away, the Fairy Queen gives Ribbon a menacing glance while she's not looking just before the scene ends - her changing eye colTemplate:Our implying that she remains possessed by Dark Matter.

The credits sequence afterward shows concept art sketches from the game's development. Unlike the ones in the true ending, these sketches are not colTemplate:Oured in. From there, the game resets.

Kirby Star Allies

Exclusive to the Heroes in Another Dimension mode, a false ending plays out if less than 100 Friend Hearts were collected prior to defeating The Three Mage-Sisters. In this ending, Kirby and his allies simply walk off after they defeat the mage sisters, leaving them and Hyness in a pile on the floor while the bad ending jingle from Kirby 64 plays to a quick fade-out.

Having this ending play out will still unlock the Soul Melter EX difficulty for The Ultimate Choice, but will not unlock the Three Mage-Sisters as a Dream Friend, nor will it unlock the final three Celebration Pictures. Additionally, Marx will not appear in the credits game and the ending caption will read 'The End?'.

Trivia