List of mysteries

This commercial for Suntory Tokucha, a green tea, plays up the mystery of Kirby's stomach. The Japanese text reads, 「ホントのカービィのおなかの中は，ナゾのまま…」 ("What really happens inside Kirby's stomach remains a mystery...")

The following is a list of mysteries in the Kirby series. More specifically, this list covers details related to characters, story, and other elements that have not been explained officially by HAL Laboratory, and may be widely speculated on by fans of the series. This list does not include speculation on chronology (such as series timelines).

Disclaimer

It should be noted that this list is not meant to be exhaustive, and will not attempt to account for every discrepancy in the series. It is only meant as a broader outline of mysteries that are specifically highlighted in-game as an effort to expand the lore of the series. As such, it is also not the intent of this list to find answers to these mysteries, and as such, there will be no attempt here to craft or propagate theories.

Characters

General

Characters' origins

To this day, none of the major characters (and by extension most characters in general) have had their origins explained clearly (if at all). It is not even known if most characters in the Kirby series are born in the biological sense or if they just pop into existence at some point.

The hostility of creatures on Popstar

It is still not clear why most creatures (on Planet Popstar in particular) tend to be hostile toward Kirby and his friends.

Age of characters

The age of characters is never specified, with the most being explained is that certain characters (such as Kirby) are "young" without further details.

Kirby

Kirby's homeland

Kirby is described as not being native to Dream Land, instead "blowing in on the spring breeze" one day and becoming an official resident after recovering the Sparkling Stars from King Dedede. Where Kirby lived or came from before he arrived in Dream Land is therefore unknown.

Kirby's anatomy

Much of Kirby's anatomy remains a mystery, particularly his inner workings. Additionally, his weight is always listed as "unknown". An internal memo from HAL Laboratory circa 1993 suggests that this is because his weight "changes a lot before and after a meal".

What happens to what is swallowed by Kirby

It is still not known precisely what happens to enemies and objects that Kirby inhales, nor where they go when he swallows them. On several occasions, HAL Laboratory has played up this mystery. Director Shinya Kumazaki states that, for the purposes of keeping the game world approachable, the enemies simply "poof" and then reappear somewhere else in the world.

Kirby's power and strength

Kirby has been described as a being "possessing infinite power" in Kirby: Planet Robobot, and yet it is still possible for him to be defeated or to starve. How exactly Kirby harnesses this power is still unknown, though the fact that he has had over 60 Copy Abilities may imply that said quote is referring to infinite potential. It should be noted, also, that both instances of Kirby being described as having "infinite power" come from Star Dream (one heavily implied, one directly), so it's also possible that this is just a way of Star Dream describing Kirby's great power with hyperbole.

Meta Knight

Meta Knight's species

Meta Knight has long been suspected to be the same species as Kirby, due to similarities in appearance when unmasked. However, despite evidence in favor of this conclusion, no official statement has been released regarding Meta Knight's precise relation to Kirby.

Relationship between the Meta-Knights and Dream Land

It is still not clear exactly what relationship Meta Knight and his Meta-Knights have with Dream Land, in terms of whether they consider themselves to be part of Dream Land or not. It is implied that they are either a separate political entity who once intended to take over Dream Land or they are merely an occasionally rebellious faction of Dream Land.

King Dedede

The Waddle Dees' loyalty to King Dedede

King Dedede has a retinue of Waddle Dees and other creatures who are loyal to him. Precisely how he acquired this loyalty is still unknown. In the anime, it is stated that the Waddle Dees are loyal to whoever gives them food and shelter; however, it is unknown if this is true outside of the anime's continuity.

Bandana Waddle Dee

Relationship to the Waddle Dee from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Bandana Waddle Dee and the Waddle Dee from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards are speculated by some to be the same character. While both have a strong bond with Kirby and with King Dedede, and there are both references that go in favor and against this theory, there is ultimately no confirmation one way or the other, and HAL Labaratory has never made any official statement regarding the matter, unlike the case with Ado and Adeleine. There are often references to how they are similar in official material, such as Adeleine & Ribbon's Dream Friend trailer for Kirby Star Allies using Bandana Waddle Dee to represent Waddle Dee, and Bandana Waddle Dee in Checkerboard Chase of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe being the only character to hold his ranking at the results screen of the sub-game with a left hand, and the Waddle Dee from Kirby 64 was also the only character to hold it with his left hand. Meanwhile, one title screen skit in Kirby Star Allies itself uses Parasol Waddle Dee to represent the Kirby 64 Waddle Dee rather than Bandana Waddle Dee, showing that there doesn't appear to be any conclusive answer to this theory.

Dark Matter

Dark Matter's nature

Though generally described as an incarnation of negativity, the precise nature of Dark Matter and its relatives is still poorly understood. Moreover, certain entities such as Miracle Matter and Dark Nebula have either similarities or have been mentioned in official sources are possibly being related to Dark Matter, but have been never confirmed as such.

Adeleine

Adeleine and Ado

It is still not known definitively if Ado from Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Adeleine from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards are meant to be the same character, or two different ones.

Adeleine's homeworld

Adeleine's homeworld is left unclear. While it has been said she came to Popstar to study art, there are no other official claims of where she is originally from.

Magolor

Magolor's friend

The identity of the character that Magolor claims knows Kirby "quite well" is unknown.

The Three Mage-Sisters

Relationship between the Three Mage-Sisters

The exact relationship between the Three Mage-Sisters is ambiguous. Their name can mean sisters both in the familial sense and in the religious sense of a sisterhood; in the Japanese version, the mages are referred to with the English word "sisters" (シスターズ) rather than any native Japanese word, which adds further ambiguity. While this was addressed on the Kirby Star Allies Channel as a "mystery" of the series akin to the relationship between Kirby and Meta Knight, the in-game descriptions for Soul Melter EX indicate that they were all disparate girls before Hyness took them in and made them into mages, something which is confirmed in Kirby Star Allies: The Original Artbook. This means they are not related by blood. In the artbook, it is further explained that Hyness raised them from childhood, and the fact that Hyness drops a baby bottle when being ejected from Void Termina could allude to this (though in actuality, it was chosen simply because it resembles Hyness in shape and color). However, the sisters do not refer to each other with Japanese honorifics that indicate familial relation, and in fact Francisca refers to Flamberge as "Ms. Flamberge" (or ルージュさん Rouge-san in Japanese) at the end of Heroes in Another Dimension, which would be an unusually formal way to address a sibling. Either way, there is no official answer regarding their relationship, as it is meant to be ambiguous.

Other characters

Sir Kibble's armor

It's unclear what lies beneath Sir Kibble's armor, a mystery that has been played up more than once.

HR robots

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards features a robotic boss named HR-H. Kirby's Return to Dream Land features a mech named HR-D3, piloted by Metal General. While outside media has confirmed that the "HR series" is intentionally connected, the initials "HR" are never explained, and the origin of the series remains a mystery. HR-D3's official attack names imply that the initials may stand for "Heavy Robot", but this not confirmed.

Kirby: Planet Robobot features a company named "Haltmann Works Company". However, no official media makes any connection between the HR series and Haltmann's company, therefore the recurring "H" initial is likely entirely coincidental.

The ancients

In several instances, an ancient interstellar race is mentioned by characters (often villains) throughout the series. These ancients were said to have left behind many of the more powerful artifacts in the series, though their appearance, motive, and fate are still unknown.

Sphere Doomers and Energy Spheres

The reason why Sphere Doomers eat Energy Spheres is unclear. Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe suggests that the Doomers previously had a different form and were capable of warping space and time under their own power, and that they may be hunting the Energy Spheres for their dimension-warping powers. If this is the case, the Doomers' previous form is also a mystery, though it may be related to the Greater Doomer, the only Doomer who has been seen warping time and space by itself.

Galacta Knight and Morpho Knight

The nature and motives of both Galacta Knight and Morpho Knight are almost completely unknown.

The butterfly

The true nature and purpose of the recurring Butterfly is completely unknown, other than it twice demonstrating the ability to absorb a soul and transform into Morpho Knight.

Locations and objects

General

• The precise nature of Kirby's universe is still not understood.
• It is unclear what other planets are exactly around Popstar and how close or far they are from each other. Milky Way Wishes shows various planets near it, but they haven't showed up in other games apart from cameos, and in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards other planets appear, although it should be noted that since these planets are visited through portals, it's possible they are actually very far from Popstar. Moreover, both Halfmoon and Ripple Star can be seen in Far-Flung Starlight Heroes, which is said to be very far from Popstar as its description claims that "Planet Popstar was but a tiny glimmer in the distance".

Planet Popstar

• Popstar is often described as a front of great energy, which often makes it a target of interstellar invaders. How exactly this energy manifests or originates is still unclear.
• Popstar's shape and appearance from space does not match its appearance near the surface, for reasons still unanswered.
• Popstar is riddled with ruins of all sorts, the builders of which are still not accounted for.
• The exact locations of Dream Land and various other locations throughout Popstar are never specifically mentioned, although some are sometimes placed in maps in-game, such as in World of Miracles - Planet Popstar in Kirby Star Allies; it is unclear however if these are accurate or simply placed like that for gameplay purposes.

Halcandra

• Halcandra is generally depicted as a ruined planet once occupied by great civilizations. It is unclear what led to Halcandra's current state. Although separate from the main series, Kirby: Lor Starcutter and a Magician of Falsehood describes the planet falling to "sudden" ruin, and Shinya Kumazaki's commentary mentions that the planet has "a nightmarish history of destruction". This interpretation is supported by the background of the Master Crown boss fight at the end of Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler, which features what appears to be Egg Engines engulfed in flames.

New world

• What the new world looks like from space is completely unknown, unlike most planets in the series.
• Exactly what happened that caused the new world to be abandoned by its previous inhabitants and become reclaimed by nature is a mystery. In particular, the Forbidden Island (Originull Wasteland and Redgar Forbidden Lands) is in a much worse state than the Arrival Continent, but it is unclear what could have caused this.
• What the previous inhabitants of the new world looked like is unknown, as nothing they left behind depicts them in any way. The only time they have been physically depicted is through the appearance of Neichel at the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival, and it's unclear if this can be considered a confirmation of what they truly looked like.

Warp Stars

• It has never quite been explained what Warp Stars are or how they function. In the anime, the Warp Star is the source of Kirby's power, but this is likely not the case in the games.

Game-specific

Kirby's Dream Land

• King Dedede steals the Sparkling Stars in addition to all of the food in Dream Land. The Dream Landers are said to use the Sparkling Stars "to play and work among the heavens", and to harvest food, in particular; without the Sparkling Stars, they are unable to gather more food and begin to go hungry. It is unclear precisely what the Sparkling Stars are, how they function, and why the Dream Landers need them to harvest food.

Kirby's Adventure / Nightmare in Dream Land

• It is still uncertain how Nightmare had infected the Fountain of Dreams, or why it was necessary to remove the Star Rod in order to seal him in there.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

• The fifth planet visited by Kirby and Ribbon in their journey, Shiver Star, bears a striking resemblance to Earth. The true connection between Shiver Star and Earth remains a mystery.
• While 0² is generally thought to be a successor to Zero, owing to its similar appearance and name, its exact relationship and connection to the greater Dark Matter species has never been clarified.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror

• It is not entirely clear where the Kirby clones went after Dark Mind was defeated.
• It is not clear if the Master ability is intended to be the same sword as the Galaxia, especially with how inconsistently portrayed the sword is in-game and in official artwork.

Kirby: Planet Robobot

• It was mentioned on Miiverse that Star Dream is a "heartless" and "incomplete" machine, and this is why President Haltmann lost his memories while using it. The full implications of this are unclear.

Kirby Star Allies

• Much mystery surrounds the four legendary heroes who, in the distant past, defeated and sealed away Void Termina with the spears of the heart. Super Kirby Clash has led to speculation that Aeon Hero may have been one of these heroes, as Aeon Hero (Dark) uses an attack that wields weapons resembling spears of the heart, but this is unconfirmed, and any other details are left vague at best.
• The nature of Void Termina itself is left unclear. The pause screen descriptions state that its appearance is shaped by the emotions of those who summon it, and that it exists in all dimensions. One pause screen description in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean states that it is made of matters of dream, dark, soul, and heart, and its winged appearance references both 0² and the Master Crown. Its final core also bears a striking resemblance to Kirby himself, although it is unknown if or how they are related.