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HAL Room

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An official wallpaper showing various HAL Rooms in the series.
The famous creators of Kirby’s Adventure Wii, HAL Laboratory, have left their mark on the game in more ways than one. Only the most acute observers and meticulous explorers would happen upon them, but there are actually two secret locations where you’ll find the word “HAL” spelled out in blocks. Not only that, these areas also contain Copy Abilities that can come in very handy indeed!
— Kirby's Return to Dream Land Nintendo UK Support site

A HAL Room is a secret area in any given Kirby title, where elements of the stage spell out the letters H, A, and L. This is a direct reference to HAL Laboratory, the studio that develops the Kirby series.

To reach a HAL Room, a specific path and/or series of doorways must be taken in a specific stage. These paths are usually hidden and require a discerning eye, specific movement, or just plain patience to reveal. The room itself usually features its own music, and often contains rare Copy Essences, and plenty of Food and other collectibles. HAL Rooms are usually intended to be "safe zones", but the player can still potentially lose lives if they get in the way of their gimmicks or fall down a bottomless pit.

Though these rooms are secret, their locations are usually telegraphed to the player through cryptic screenshots showcased in the credits. Finding these rooms is not required for 100% completion of the games they appear in.

HAL Room Locations

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Still needs KCC and KSSU at a minimum

Kirby's Adventure / Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

In Kirby's Adventure, the series' first HAL Room can be found in Vegetable Valley - Stage 2. When the Warp Star is reached, Kirby has to walk past it, run up against the right end of the screen for a little while, then fly back for a moment. Once the Warp Star platform is out of view, Kirby then needs to go back toward it. If done correctly, the star will be gone, and Kirby will be able to proceed further right to reach the formation of Star Blocks that spell out 'HAL', with a Broom Hatter sweeping on the L-letter blocks (HAL rooms in subsequent games usually have a Broom Hatter on the L blocks). Once Kirby returns to the left, the Warp Star will be there again.

The HAL Room is retained in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. However, while it is still present in the stage data, it is not actually accessible; the game loads objects in a different manner, so it is no longer possible to make the Warp Star disappear. In the 3D Classics version of Kirby's Adventure, it is still possible to access the HAL Room, but Kirby needs to venture a little bit further left toward the Shotzo firing at him before turning back.

Kirby: Canvas Curse

While not technically a "true" HAL Room, there is a related secret in Level 3, Stage 11 of Block Attack. By heading to the right from the goal and defeating a Topper, the player can continue to find more blocks, including indestructible blue blocks that spell out the HAL letters. Additional breakable blocks and Maxim Tomatoes can be found here.

Kirby Super Star Ultra

In the Illusion Islands stage of Revenge of the King, there is a Stake that can be pounded along the route to the castle; this requires inhaling a Rocky found earlier in the stage. Doing so uncovers a Food item and a hidden entrance to another area. In this area, Kirby has to battle Mr. Tick Tock. After defeating him, Kirby can progress to the right, over a wall, and find the HAL logo in Star Blocks. Near the exit door, Kirby can get an Invincible Candy.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land / Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

A HAL Room can be found in Cookie Country - Stage 4, in the first area. After reaching the end of the path, Kirby needs to walk all the way to the end of the screen, wait there a short moment, then head back the other way, to find a pillar of land has moved downward to reveal a new doorway. Through this door is a walk to the HAL Room, which contains the Wing, Hammer, Fighter and Ninja abilities. Breaking the Star Blocks that spell HAL also reveal items.

Another HAL Room can be found in Egg Engines - Stage 5, in the third area. A series of conveyor belts at the end of the hall drop a number of Halcandle Dees in front of Kirby and the normal door forward. However, if Kirby bypasses the door and heads up the conveyor belts, he can enter an obscure hole at the back of it to reach a series of cannon firings, and the HAL Room, again made of star blocks. The Whip, Water, Leaf and Spear abilities can be obtained here, which happen to be abilities introduced in this title.

Both HAL Rooms play the Item Challenge remix of "Green Greens".

Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition

The HAL Room in the Normal Challenge in New Challenge Stages.

In the New Challenge Stages, a hidden doorway in the Normal Challenge leads to a room where the platforms unfold themselves slowly to spell out HAL, and generate some Score Coins. This room plays the original version of "Green Greens", and may rarely play the Kirby's Epic Yarn version instead.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

The first HAL Room can be found in Fine Fields - Stage 3. To unlock it, Kirby must first walk all the way to the right end of the area, in the background, wait there a short moment, then return to the spot where Kirby first entered the area to find a new 3-D Warp Star. Taking this star places Kirby in an area he couldn't get to before, where he must then walk to the left to find the HAL Room. This room contains the Wing, Leaf, Fighter and Wheel Copy Essences. If the Star Blocks are broken, they reveal a Keychain and Food. This HAL Room plays the title theme from Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, a remix of "Welcome to Dream Land".

The second HAL Room is found in Royal Road - Stage 1. Following the fight against Gigant Edge, Kirby can find a secret area at the very right of the screen that contains some Point Stars and a Maxim Tomato. If Kirby goes directly up from where the Maxim Tomato was and presses up in front of the moon, he enters an invisible door. The room is behind this door. The HAL blocks are split across the foreground and background in perspective, with the blocks in the background being larger than the ones in the foreground. There are also Copy Essences for the new abilities in this game: Circus, Beetle, Archer, and Bell. It also contains a Keychain, another Maxim Tomato, and several 1-UPs. This room plays "Spring Breeze: Title" from Kirby Super Star Ultra. In Dededetour!, this room contains a Warp Hole, so it is ideal for King Dedede to enter it for a faster time.

The third and final HAL Room can be found in Royal Road - Stage 5, in a special area where Kirby must contend with 3D Securitron Blocks that will box him in. In the third of the rooms, once the blocks stop extending, Kirby must wait next to the door for 86 seconds, which will cause the blocks to retract followed by three more sets of blocks extending, in the shape of the letters H A and L. If Kirby survives this, another door will appear leading to the room. No special music plays in this room.

Kirby Fighters Deluxe

Though not a true HAL Room, when fighting Kracko on Very Hard difficulty, the tiles on Bubbly Clouds' floor read "HAL". This secret was compared to a HAL Room by the developers on Miiverse.

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe also features a HAL-related secret, but has no true HAL Room. At the end of C-R-O-W-N-E-D (reprise), there are musical coins that spell out "HAL" instead of "DDD" in the normal version of the level.

Kirby: Planet Robobot

The first HAL Room can be found in Patched Plains - Stage 3. At the very front of the train, Kirby must activate the Warp Star, but instead of riding it, he must then backtrack and find an area where he collected a Code Cube. There a new 3-D Warp Star will have appeared to take him into the background, where he will then find a door to another room. This room has a chute with some 1-Ups in it, which is reward enough, but yet another secret passage can be found in this room, which will lead to the HAL Room in question. This room contains Jet, Hammer, Mirror, and Mix Copy Essences, as well as a Maxim Tomato. This room plays "Spring Breeze: Title" from Kirby Super Star Ultra.

The second HAL Room can be found in Access Ark - Stage 1. After defeating the second Security Force, a nook can be found on the wall beside the door to the next room. The nook leads to a big room containing two portraits of President Haltmann. The right portrait has a tear in the top right corner, which Kirby can enter to reach the HAL Room. This particular HAL Room has very large Star Blocks and Copy Essences of the three new Copy Abilities introduced in Planet Robobot (Doctor, ESP and Poison) as well as the elusive Smash Bros. ability. This means this HAL Room also doubles as one of the 5 Smash Bros. rooms, and is the only HAL Room to double as such. This HAL Room plays the title theme from Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe.

The third and final HAL Room can be discovered in Access Ark - Stage 4. At the very end, some extending walls will box Kirby in with the goal door. Instead of using this door, Kirby has to wait in this room for 86 seconds. After that time passes, another door will appear which will take Kirby to a room where more extending walls will spell out HAL. The music that plays here is the title theme for Kirby 3D Rumble, a remix of "Welcome to Dream Land".

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe

Though not an actual HAL Room, in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, the letters HAL can appear on the crates that appear besides Magolor's Shoppe once all weapons and armor have been purchased.

Kirby's Blowout Blast

Similarly, Kirby's Blowout Blast has no true HAL Room, but still has a HAL-related secret. As Kirby defeats each boss in Secret Path, Score Coins appear that spell out the letters "H", "A", and "L", after defeating Masher, Kracko, and Mega Masher respectively.

Kirby Star Allies

There are three HAL rooms in Kirby Star Allies. They are as follows:

HAL Room locations in Kirby Star Allies Story Mode  
Level Stage Image How to reach Notes Copy Essence
World of Peace - Dream Land Fruity Forest KSA HAL Room 01.jpg First, Kirby and his allies must walk all the way up to where Whispy Woods is, but don't actually initiate the fight (walk up to where his canopy can be seen and the background music fades out). Then, Kirby must backtrack all the way to the beginning of the stage. A door will appear leading to the HAL room.
Fortress of Shadows - Jambastion Heavenly Hall KSA HAL Room 02.jpg In the very last part of the escape, where large chunks of rock are falling down from the sky, Kirby and his friends will need to wait for 86 seconds. A door will then appear leading to this room. The HAL letters in this room are formed using Electro Saw guide wires. None
Far-Flung Starlight Heroes Jambandra Base KSA HAL Room 03.jpg
KSA HAL Room 03 part 2.jpg
At the very end of the stage, Kirby and his friends can find a hidden door to this room above the stage exit by 'entering' Popstar as it appears in the background.

Additionally, Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! features special "Pseudo HAL Rooms" that appear when playing as certain Dream Friends. These rooms feature the respective characters' English names written with Star Blocks, are often found by solving a difficult puzzle, and play a personalized theme song for each character.

Super Kirby Clash

Similarly to the Kirby Fighters Deluxe example, Super Kirby Clash does not contain a true HAL Room, but still has a HAL-related secret. After purchasing all of Magolor's gear at the Shoppe, there is a random chance that the HAL letters will appear as clouds in the sky in the Port Village. The secret was revealed in a Super Kirby Clash Channel post on July 31st, 2020.

Kirby Fighters 2

As per with previous spinoffs, Kirby Fighters 2 once again does not contain a true HAL Room. However, during the battle against Waning Crescent Masked Dedede & Waxing Crescent Masked Meta Knight in the Final Chapter of Story Mode: The Destined Rivals, stars forming the HAL letters may briefly twinkle in the sky of the Stage of the Partners. This secret was confirmed in a Kirby JP Twitter post on May 3, 2021. Also, after waiting for 86 seconds on the Options menu, the music changes from an arrangement of the Select theme from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror to an arrangement of the Start Stage and Forest/Nature Area themes from the same game.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

There are three known HAL Rooms in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, as follows:

HAL Room locations in Kirby and the Forgotten Land  
Level Stage Image How to reach Notes Copy Essence
Natural Plains Rocky Rollin' Road KatFL HAL Room 1 screenshot.png From the very end of the stage, instead of touching the cage, Kirby should jump up to the tree on the right side with the help of the metal blocks. Touching the glowing point will cause a Target Switch to appear in the distant background in front of the large white building, as well as the Copy Essence of Ranger near the left bench of the plaza. Shooting the Target Switch with Ranger creates a block pathway into the distance, which Kirby will need to follow up to reach the HAL Room. It contains Copy Essences for Ice, Hammer, Needle, and Tornado.
  • The room itself features a sleeping Awoofy atop the "L", since Broom Hatter is not in this game.
  • Notably, the position of the bridging block in the "A" has been shifted one space upward.
Wondaria Remains The Wondaria Dream Parade KatFL HAL Room 2 screenshot.png In the room featuring a Car Mouth race track (which requires 05.555 seconds to get the gold medal), instead of driving as fast as possible, Kirby should cross the finish line when the timer is at 86 seconds. Doing so will make a platform rise from the hole in the track, with the HAL letters formed by bushes and Star Coins.
  • The car has the number 86, possibly a hint for how to access the HAL Room.
None
Redgar Forbidden Lands Burning, Churning Power Plant KatFL HAL Room 3 screenshot.png In the first area with the horizontal crushers, Kirby must get to the end of the room, break the boxes in the crusher wall on the right, and climb up to enter the hidden "control room". From there, he must backtrack to the beginning of the stage, but should watch out for the crushers because their speed is increased now. If done correctly, a new path will appear on the right in the form of a ramp and line of Star Coins leading to a long ladder. Taking this path leads to the HAL Room, with the letters in the center of a large round room made of metal blocks. When Kirby breaks all of the surrounding blocks to reveal these letters, a vending machine appears (which has 860 cans in it) so that Kirby can bust the letters themselves.
  • The letters on the floor read "H-86 HALLAB1980", the year when HAL Laboratory was founded.

In all three HAL Rooms, a medley plays based on the main menu themes for Kirby Star Allies, Kirby Fighters 2, and Super Kirby Clash, the three previous Nintendo Switch Kirby games. The third HAL Room features a chiptune version of this medley.

Kirby's Dream Buffet

In Kirby's Dream Buffet, a HAL-Room-like Easter egg can be found in the Free Rolling board, in the form of three square cookies with the letters "H", "A", and "L" respectively hidden in different parts of the board. The H cookie can be found on the left side near the syrup wall. The A cookie can be found behind the Strawberry Mountain under a crate, and the L cookie can be found behind a wall of whipped cream on the right side of the board, where the Kirby Star Allies cookie is.

Additionally, like in Kirby Fighters 2, there is a musical secret. By waiting on the fully-completed Character Treat menu for 86 seconds, its theme will change from a remix of the "Alternate Corkboard" theme to an 8-bit medley of "Kirby's Dream Buffet" and "Gourmet Race".

Trivia

  • There are three notable recurring patterns of HAL Rooms based on how to reach them:
  • Since Kirby: Triple Deluxe, HAL Rooms usually play a variation of "Welcome to Dream Land".
  • On the Kirby 30th Anniversary official website, collecting the three HAL letters will unlock a secret wallpaper featuring HAL Rooms throughout the series.
    • H: On the front page, the viewer must choose all 30 Kirbys. Once done, a popup message acknowledging having chosen every Kirby will appear. Afterwards, the viewer should then scroll to the bottom of the page, and a new link will appear.
    • A: On the front page, scrolling to the bottom of the page, then back to the top, and then back to the bottom again causes a secret door to appear.
    • L: On the front page, the viewer must choose 09 "Tabi no Wakamono" (young traveler), wait for 86 seconds until the Moon map from Kirby's Dream Land appears, and then click on the moon in the image.