Kirby's Dream Buffet

Kirby's Dream Buffet Cover artEnglish logoJapanese logoKorean box art Digital cover art, logos, and box art for Kirby's Dream Buffet Details Developer(s) HAL Laboratory Publisher(s) Nintendo Release date(s) August 17th, 2022 September 15th, 2022 (physical download code version) Platform(s) Nintendo Switch Supported languages Japanese, American English, British English, European French, Canadian French, Italian, German, Dutch, Latin American Spanish, Castilian Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Korean Rating(s) ESRB: PEGI: CERO: Game size 1.2 GB

Game chronology ← Kirby and the Forgotten Land Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe →

On affiliated sites Switcher.gg Find Kirby's Dream Buffet friends online StrategyWiki Walkthrough

“

In this competitive action game, four shrunken Kirbys roll through a world of sweets to see who can eat the most strawberries. Transform into foods and use Copy Food Abilities to win! Play solo or with up to three rivals using local wireless or an online connection.

”

— Past Adventures section in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Kirby's Dream Buffet is a small action/racing spin-off game for the Kirby series, released digitally on the Nintendo Switch. In this game, Kirby, a handful of different-color Kirby clones, and several Waddle Dees are shrunk down to the size of peas by the magical Dream Fork and roll around atop cakes, pastries, and other confections in a race to eat the most strawberries and other fruit, growing in size and speed the more fruit is consumed. After competing in a couple of linear race tracks and a short mini-challenge, the Kirbys face off in one last Battle Royale match where they fight each other for their strawberries using Copy Food abilities and other items, with the largest Kirby at the end of it all being declared the winner.

Kirby's Dream Buffet is built as a lightweight and quick-to-play multiplayer title, and (unlike many of its predecessors) lacks a story mode of any kind, making it similar to other small spin-off games such as Kirby Fighters Deluxe or Kirby's Blowout Blast, though its most direct resemblance may be Kirby Air Ride (the only other racing game in the series). In addition to its base gameplay, Kirby's Dream Buffet features local and online multiplayer functionality (the latter using the Nintendo Switch Online service), a large amount of collectibles in the form of Character Treats, and a Free Rolling mode that allows the player to explore and goof around in a distinct open area not used in regular gameplay. In addition to some original tracks, the game also features many songs from previous Kirby titles, in the form of both originals and rearrangements.

Kirby's Dream Buffet was released worldwide on August 17th, 2022 as a digital-only release on the Nintendo eShop. A physical version released in South Korea on September 15th, 2022, but like with Kirby Fighters 2, it is simply a download code inside a box rather than a cartridge.

Story

Kirby is shrunk down by the power of the enchanted Dream Fork, and lands upon the now-relatively-giant cake.

Kirby's Dream Buffet does not have a story mode whatsoever; due to its multiplayer focus, it is open-ended. The little story that exists is confined to the game's marketing, the Tasty Tidbits, and the opening cutscene. In it, Kirby is invited to a "gourmet festival" at the "Dream Restaurant" where he finds a lavishly-decorated cake covered in strawberries. Instead of waiting for the festival to start, Kirby decides to eat the cake using the Dream Fork, which was laying on the table nearby. Just as Kirby is about to dig in, however, he is zapped by the fork's magical powers and is shrunk down significantly (it is explained later that the fork has the power to make dreams come true, and it was Kirby's dream to eat a mountain-sized cake). After falling into the cake and getting his bearings, Kirby becomes overwhelmingly happy about the idea of eating such a large amount of delicious dessert. From here, he is joined by other Kirbys that also fall into the cake, and they start to roll up the slopes of it, setting the scenario of the game.

Gameplay

Kirby at the "Home Table", ready to pick all manner of tasty modes and options.

Kirby's Dream Buffet is an action multiplayer game with a core focus on racing and battle modes. The goal of each mode is to collect the most strawberries and grow to the largest size to be declared the winner, using whatever other items or course elements appear along the way to gain an advantage. Strawberries can be obtained along the various courses either out in the open, dropped from above, contained in boxes, or stolen from rivals. During gameplay, larger Kirbys generally have an advantage over smaller ones, as they roll faster and can bounce and resist being bounced by opponents more easily, though there are a few disadvantages (more details on the Strawberry page). In addition to strawberries, other types of fruit can appear known as "mission fruit", and collecting those during races can help Kirby gain certain bonuses during the results screen at the end of the Gourmet Grand Prix.

There are three distinct types of gameplay as follows:

• Race - Kirbys race along a linear course from start to finish and collect strawberries along the way. At the end of each track are giant Strawberry Mountains which are first-come, first-served.
• Minigame - Kirbys roll around a small board and collect strawberries that appear while also knocking their opponents away until time runs out.
• Battle Royale - Kirbys battle each-other to steal their strawberries in an open area while avoiding the Server Hands and other hazards on the board.

Game modes can be played separately or together in the aforementioned Gourmet Grand Prix mode. There is also a Free Rolling mode, where players can explore a big open area without any objectives (and no time limit if playing solo). Gameplay can take place in local or online multiplayer and/or against CPU opponents. Collecting strawberries also contributes to a level-based ranking system called the Gourmet Rank (similar to the Fighters Rank used in Kirby Fighters 2) which allows the player to unlock different Colors and Costumes for their Kirby, or unlock bonus music tracks to listen to during races. Due to the lack of a story mode, advancing the Gourmet Rank to its maximum level of 135 is the main means of progression in Kirby's Dream Buffet (though a separate ranking system is used for online multiplayer matchmaking). Additional background music will also be available if the player owns Kirby Star Allies, Super Kirby Clash, Kirby Fighters 2, or Kirby and the Forgotten Land, gaining three bonus tracks per game owned. Lastly, Character Treats can be collected to use as starting pedestals in races and to decorate the cake on the Home Table (the main menu for the game).

Copy Abilities

There are a total of eight different Copy Abilities in Kirby's Dream Buffet, which are acquired from Copy Foods contained within Food Boxes or out in the open. While most of these abilities are from earlier titles, they have all been given food-based redesigns. These abilities are all single or limited-use, and some only appear in the race modes while others only appear in the Battle Royale matches, though abilities can be taken into subsequent game modes if held onto in the Gourmet Grand Prix. The following are the Copy Abilities in the game:

Copy Abilities in Kirby's Dream Buffet
Ability	Copy Food	Game mode	Description	Notes
Burning	Burning Pepper	All game modes	Kirby turns into a ball with a chili pepper stem and can dash forward in a burning fireball, knocking opponents away.	This is the first time Burning has appeared as a distinct ability since Kirby: Canvas Curse.
Drill	ドリルキャロット (Drill Carrot)	Battle Royale	Kirby turns into a carrot and can dig through the ground to avoid attack, then pop up to hit opponents from below. Kirby can also move in a circle to attack opponents with a Quake Surge.
Hi-Jump	ハイジャンプグミ (Hi-Jump Gummy)	Race	Kirby turns into a gummy spring and can launch to a distant point ahead on the race track, landing with a splash attack similar to Stone.
Jelly	プルプルゼリー (Jiggly Jelly)	Race & Battle Royale	Kirby turns into an amorphous blob of jelly and can phase through breakable barriers and enemy attacks. He can also create globs of jelly that slows down other Kirbys.	This is a new ability to the series.
Needle	ニードルキャンディー (Needle Candy)	Battle Royale	Kirby turns into spiky hard candy and can attack other racers by ramming into them.
Stone	ストーンチョコ (Stone Chocolate)	Battle Royale	Kirby turns into a brick of chocolate and pounds the ground, creating a shockwave that can damage opponents. The player can also hold down the R button to create a bigger shockwave.
Tornado	Tornado Frosting	Race & Battle Royale	Kirby turns into a cup of frosting and can spin around, creating a vortex that grabs strawberries from a distance and defeats enemies.
Wheel	ホイールドーナツ (Wheel Donut)	All game modes	Kirby turns into a doughnut and can dash at high speed through opponents to knock them away.

Enemies

There are six regular enemies in Kirby's Dream Buffet which appear as obstacles on race courses and Battle Royale stages and as targets in minigame boards, and (aside from Gordo and Shotzo) can be defeated by bumping into them. Under normal circumstances, defeating an enemy causes Kirby to bounce back, likely ending up with lost time against his rivals, but Kirby can avoid this recoil if he defeats them with a Copy Food ability. In minigame stages and in Free Rolling mode, enemies can be seen carrying stacks of strawberries on some boards, and do not bounce Kirbys back nearly as strongly when defeated.

Enemies in Kirby's Dream Buffet
Enemy	Description
Bouncy	Bouncy bounces back and forth or straight up and down and can often be seen carrying one or more strawberries. Here, Bouncy has been given a makeover to resemble a sugar-coated gummy treat.
Bronto Burt	Bronto Burt flies slowly in set patterns and can often be seen carrying one or more strawberries. Here, he has been made to resemble a jawbreaker.
Cappy	Cappy moves back and forth slowly or hops in place and can often be seen carrying one or more strawberries. Here, he has been given a sugar coating.
Gordo	Gordo moves back and forth or holds position, and stuns any Kirby who makes contact with him. Here, he resembles a jawbreaker.
Kabu	Kabu moves in set patterns and may carry one or more strawberries. Here, it has been given a makeover to resemble a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles on top.
Shotzo	Shotzo holds position and fires a regular barrage of hard candy bullets that will stun any Kirbys they hit. Here, Shotzo has been given a makeover to resemble a chocolate doughnut with sprinkles on top.

Stages

Kirby's Dream Buffet contains a total of 24 distinct stages, eight for each of the main game modes, not including lobby areas or the Free Rolling stage. Most of the stages come in different variants, having several different themes and layouts. Most of these stages are available from the start, while others need to be unlocked by advancing the Gourmet Rank. The stages are as follows:

Stage	Game Mode	Unlock criteria	Description
Baumkuchen	Race	Available at start	A race course based on the eponymous pastry. Notable features include narrow wavy trackways and a large segmented cylinder that rotates near the end.
Cake Rolls	Race	Available at start	A race course built from circular cake roll pastries. The course features many very narrow split pathways connecting large circular platforms.
Chocolate Fountain	Race	Unlocked at Rank 47	A race course built from various bowls of molten chocolate connected by bridges. Falling into the chocolate slows the Kirbys down, so they need to traverse it using the various confections as platforms.
Doughnuts	Race	Available at start	A race course built out of donuts and other pastries. The course features many open-center platforms connected by narrow bridges of churros.
Hamburgers	Race	Available at start	A race course built out of American-style hamburgers, sandwiches, French fries, and various toppings and condiments. The course features a blend of circular platforms and straight paths lined with sunny-side up fried eggs to use as springs.
Ice Cream	Race	Unlocked at Rank 17	A race course built out of ice cream in various forms. The course features many long stretches of slippery paths broken up by interludes on sticky surfaces.
Pancakes	Race	Available at start	A race course built of pancakes and waffles topped with many sweet confections. This course features some long winding bridges as well as sections where walls of syrup need to be scaled.
Shortcake	Race	Available at start	A race course built of various cakes covered in frosting along with candles and other toppings. The course features largely straight trackways, though with a lot of confounding terrain.
Cheese Fondue	Minigame	Available at start	A small circular board consisting of veggies and crackers floating in cheese fondue, which slows down any Kirbys that fall into it.
Chiffon Cake	Minigame	Available at start	A small circular arena consisting of a cake with a separate central area which may or may not be a chasm with bridges spanning it.
Cupcakes	Minigame	Available at start	A hexagonal board made of various cupcakes which create a bumpy surface. Some of the cupcakes have chocolate on them that can slow Kirbys down.
Elfilin Cake	Minigame	Unlocked at Rank 28	A heart-shaped board consisting of a cake made to resemble Elfilin from Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
Kirby Cake	Minigame	Unlocked at Rank 10	A board consisting of a cake shaped like Kirby, featuring an area in the middle that rotates continuously.
Pie	Minigame	Available at start	A square board consisting of a giant pie with various obstacles inset, which can come in many varieties.
Teatime	Minigame	Available at start	A circular board set on a table containing teacups and plates. The teacups appear out of nowhere on the plates shortly before strawberries fall into them, then disappear afterward.
Waffle	Minigame	Available at start	A giant plate with a waffle in the middle, which can come in various shapes and varieties.
BBQ	Battle Royale	Unlocked at Rank 19	A battle arena resembling the top of a hot barbeque grill covered in hamburger patties, hot dogs, and various veggies typically associated with American-style cuisine.
Frozen Treats	Battle Royale	Unlocked at Rank 42	A battle arena made up of various rectangular popsicles and/or ice cream sandwiches, sometimes set at different heights. The fruity popsicle platforms act as slippery surfaces.
Magolor Cake	Battle Royale	Unlocked at Rank 50	A battle arena consisting of three large platforms connected laterally by bridges. The center platform is a cake resembling Magolor, while the ones on the side resemble large gears that turn slowly.
Puddings à la Mode	Battle Royale	Available at start	A battle arena consisting of two large pudding cups connected by bridges made of citrus slices and/or wafers.
Sandwiches	Battle Royale	Available at start	A battle arena set on a table and constructed of various sandwiches, along with condiments and other American fast food fare.
Sheet Cake	Battle Royale	Available at start	A battle arena with a rectangular layout made of pieces of sheet cake which can move independently of one another.
Whispy Stage Cake	Battle Royale	Unlocked at Rank 33	A battle arena consisting of a large rectangular space where a cake version of Whispy Woods resides. Bumping Whispy Woods causes him to drop strawberries from his canopy, and Whispy will periodically jump to a different location.
Whole Cakes	Battle Royale	Available at start	A battle arena consisting of three tall circular cakes connected closely to each-other in a line. Tall icing along the rims of the cakes acts as a fence.

Demo

A demo version of Kirby's Dream Buffet is available at Nintendo Switch kiosks inside retail stores in some countries. It features some changes from the base game:

• The title screen adds the word DEMO to the logo. The cake is also fully decorated with randomly-chosen Character Treats.
• The game opens directly to the mode select menu, skipping the Home Table.
• Several options are grayed out and cannot be selected when starting a game:
  • Online and Local Play
  • Extra-Spicy CPU difficulty
  • All modes except for Gourmet Grand Prix
• All of the unlockables are not available. The player always uses the color Kirby Pink, while the other three players use Keeby Yellow, Ice Blue, and Tea Green. No character can use costumes; not even the Waddle Dees. Character Treats are also unavailable.

Staff

The following is a list of staff who have worked on Kirby's Dream Buffet:

Staff of Kirby's Dream Buffet
Position	Developer(s)
General Director	Shinya Kumazaki
Sequence Director	Shota Yamada
Level Design Director	Kosuke Yamazaki
Game Designers	Yuya Kozuka Ryosuke Sakamoto
Technical Director	Hiroshi Ohnishi
Lead Action Programmer	Katsuyoshi Sumitomo
Lead UI Programmer	Yushi Uchida
Programmers	Taisei Yamamoto Kakuya Maekubo Keisuke Takemura Taiki Saka Keita Yamada Hiromu Watanabe
Art Director	Riki Fuhrmann
Character Artists	Kenta Miyamoto Akiko Hayashi
Field Artists	Yuki Yoshioka Mao Yamase Keiya Ogawa Natsumi Muraki Tomomi Minami
Lead UI Artist	Kanako Omori
UI Artists	Fumiyasu Kato Hikaru Ushiki Yumi Todo Teruhiko Suzuki
Movie	D.A.G Inc. Eiki Takizawa Hisanori Matsushima Akiko Sasaoka Yuya Suzuki Kenro Shimizu Sadahiro Okui Aika Takahashi Keisuke Nishina
Lead Sound	Yuuta Ogasawara
Sound	Jun Ishikawa Shogo Sakai Hirokazu Ando Megumi Ohara Yuki Shimooka
Voice	Makiko Ohmoto (Kirby)
FRAT Framework Programmers	Kazuya Suetsugu Tetsuya Noge Tomokazu Tsuruoka Ryoichiro Atono Shinichi Kawaji Rui Uchida Ayumu Kato Yuya Suzuki Masataka Seshimo Keigo Tsuda Munemasa Kimura Takashi Matsuda
Technical Support	Kazuya Konishi Hajime Imaizumi Yousuke Fukunaga Takaaki Kazuno Takashi Nemoto Junichi Aoyagi Hiroaki Nakano Tatsuya Murase Akio Hanyu Tatsuhiro Tanoue Takeshi Minagawa Takehiro Oyama
Team Support	Yoshimi Takahashi Katsuhiro Sakoda
Artwork	Rieko Kawahara Yuto Ibaraki Emi Imamura Keiko Inoue
Testing	Masaru Kobayashi Takeshi Tamura Akiko Ohashi Manami Onozuka Taiki Maeda Yuki Itonaga HAL Debug Team Mario Club Co., Ltd. SHIFT Inc.
Localization Management	Seiji Otoguro
Localization	Shigeru Hashiguchi Kenichi Masuda Shigeru Hirayama
NOA Localization Management	Reiko Ninomiya Rich Amtower Raymond Elliget Nicko Gonzalez Berenice Hofsetz Tim O'Leary César Pérez Morgan Ritchie Thaddée Wiseur Álex Zarza
NOA Localization	Ana Celeste Ascanio Michael Benedetto Billy Carroll Yanett Cepeda Valor Kris Copeland Marjolaine Drouin Paloma Hernandez Dutch Hixenbaugh Sara Hoad Marissol Karczeski Kristopher Katz Brandon Kraemer Keli Dominiciano Nakamura Erin Peterson Carolina Quesada Babi Velho Barreto Lauren Wells Ludovic Tientcheu Ponkin Taryn Ziegler Felipe Zylbersztajn
NOA Product Testing	Kentaro Nishimura Kirk Buchanan Tomo Ishiyama Hitoshi Nishizawa Sean Egan Tomoko Mikami Andy Kolden Jim Holdeman Manna Yamasaki Tom Hertzog Young Kim Marko Wallenius Michael Sahlin James Dillon Josh Yagi-Stanton Craig So Luisa Bayona Otero Rose Hernandez Agatha Carvalhaes Camargo Hortiz Nicolas Mora Cameron Parent Libia Santos Souza Brandon Truax Frances Eckrich Aaron Jones Product Testing Technicians
NOE Localisation Producers	Iván Garrido González Saskia Doorschodt Dario de Leo Liam Higgins
NOE Translation Coordination	Pierre Sanchez Andrea Jähn
NOE English Translation Support	Patrick Joyce
NOE Translation	Clémence Dieryck Jean-Paul Hausmann Giovanna Prati Giacomo Iacumin Kent Robello Michael Hussinger Hannah Siebert Sebastian Brück Jónatan Marcos Millán José Manuel Malagón León Carsten Harmans Patrick Koudstaal
NOE QA Coordination	J. Ignacio León López Matthew David Jones
NOE Quality Assurance	Keywords Studios
NOK Localization Management	Kim Dongyeon
NOK Translation	Kim Soonil
NOK Quality Assurance	Seoung Kiung
NOK Artwork	Lee Hoonkyung
NHL Translation	Jeanie Ho Natalie Yu
NHL Quality Assurance	Eiju Umemura Chih Hsien Chien Chen Wei Ming
NHL Artwork	Mike Kan
iQue Localization Coordination	Chen Yijun
iQue Translation	Qiu Xiaochun
iQue Quality Assurance	Zhang Jiong
Special Thanks	Haruka Ioth Naho Yoshizawa Yu Kanai Tatsuya Kamiyama Masayo Nakagami Yurina Inoue Shigenobu Kasai Tetsuya Abe Tomohiro Minemura Hiroaki Ikarashi Shohei Takahama Yumi Osada Akira Eguchi Nobuyuki Okada Tadashi Ikegami Good-Feel Co., Ltd.
Coordinator	Tomoki Fukushima
Project Management	Kazuyuki Nakamura Kaori Ishizaki Shinya Saito Akira Kinashi
Associate Producer	Kei Ninomiya
Line Producer	Yoshihiro Nagata
Producers	Tadashi Kamitake Toyokazu Nonaka
General Producers	Shigefumi Kawase Shinya Takahashi
Executive Producer	Shuntaro Furukawa
HAL Laboratory, Inc. Nintendo HAL Laboratory, Inc. and Nintendo are the authors of this software for the purpose of copyright. All rights reserved. © HAL Laboratory, Inc. / Nintendo

Nintendo eShop description

Bump, battle, and boost your way to sweet victory

Roll through a smorgasboard of food-themed stages in 4 rounds of 4-player fun as Kirby...who seems rounder than usual? Race through delicious obstacle courses to collect strawberries as Kirby grows. Then, turn the tides in the final round—a fruity fight atop a floating platform.

Have a feast of fun with family and friends

Get snacky with up to 4 players via local wireless or online. With 4 rounds, plenty of power ups called Copy Foods, and opportunities to steal strawberries, anyone can take the cake in this easy-to-play game. All ages can eat up the cute and competitive frenzy.

Come back for seconds to level up and unlock delectable customization options

Dress Kirby in delectable costumes that resemble Meta Knight, King Dedede, Elfilin, and more! You'll also get more colors for Kirby and music to listen to as you level up. Start the race in style by unlocking different decorations resembling cookies, chocolates, and candies from the Kirby™ series!

Trivia

• The game's internal codename is "Breakfast".
• The game's opening cutscene greatly mirrors the opening of the announcement trailer for Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, as both feature Kirby admiring an ornately-decorated cake topped with strawberries with a peach backdrop.
• This is the first game in the Kirby series to be officially localized into Brazilian Portuguese.
• This game is the first in the series since Kirby: Squeak Squad to have all of the series' regular composers credited.
• Initially, the North American website for Kirby's Dream Buffet mistakenly used a screenshot of a Memorial Song above a caption describing the Character Treats. This would be corrected a few days later, but the original mistake can still be seen on archives of the site.

Gallery

Main article: Kirby's Dream Buffet/gallery

• 

  Key art

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  Key art without the logo

• 

  Bloated Kirby, from the key art

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	カービィのグルメフェス kābyi no gurume fesu	Kirby's Gourmet Fest
Traditional Chinese	卡比的美食節 kǎ bǐ dì měi shí jié	Kirby's Gourmet Fest
Simplified Chinese	卡比的美食节 kǎ bǐ dì měi shí jié
Dutch	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-
French	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-
German	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-
Italian	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-
Korean	커비의 드림 뷔페 keobiui deulim bwipe	Kirby's Dream Buffet
Portuguese	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-
Russian	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-
Spanish	Kirby's Dream Buffet	-

External links

• Kirby's Dream Buffet on Nintendo.com
• Kirby's Dream Buffet on Nintendo of UK
• Kirby's Dream Buffet Japanese site
• Japanese Nintendo article detailing Kirby's Dream Buffet
• Second Japanese Nintendo article detailing Kirby's Dream Buffet
• Kirby's Dream Buffet article on Dengeki Online (JP)
• Kirby's Dream Buffet article on 4gamer (JP)