List of references in the Kirby series

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This page consists of a list of references in Kirby media (games, the anime etc). This list does not include internal references to other Kirby series material or general fictional tropes shared between large amounts of media.

Copy Abilities

• The Fighter ability takes inspiration from moves in the Street Fighter series, including the Hadoken, the Shoryuken, and the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku.
• The Yo-Yo and ESP abilities are a nod to Ness from Earthbound.
• The Staff ability is a likely reference to Sun Wukong, from Journey to the West.
• The Sword ability references Link from The Legend of Zelda.
• Some of Kirby's rarer Stone transformations are references to other video game series such as Mario and Metroid.
• The Smash Bros. ability's name and moveset are based on Kirby's moveset from the Super Smash Bros. series.
• The Wrestler ability shares similar moves to Incinceroar's appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Characters & Enemies

• Chef Kawasaki is named after Kawasaki motorcycles.
• Computer Virus - the boss from [[Kirby Super Star|Template:KSS KFP]] and Template:KSSU - appears to be a reference to classical Japanese RPGs such as the Dragon Quest games. Its windows in Template:KSS KFP are also based on those of the Classic Mac OS.
• Kirby himself was named in part to honTemplate:Or the late attorney John Kirby, who defended Nintendo from a lawsuit from Universal Studios over the use of "Kong" in the name "Donkey Kong".
• Lololo & Lalala are directly taken from the Eggerland series, where they were originally known as "Lolo" and "Lala".
• Master Hand & Crazy Hand appear as bosses in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, hailing from the Super Smash Bros. series. They would make cameo appearances in a few subsequent titles.
• Moto Shotzo is based on the playable tank from the HAL Laboratory game Trax.
• Togezo is very similar in design to the Mario franchise enemy, Spiny, sharing names with that enemy in the Japanese releases of Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land 3.
• Two Face is likely based off of the Phanto from Super Mario Bros. 2.

References by game

Kirby's Avalanche

Kirby's Avalanche - being effectively a reskin of the Japanese game Super Puyo Puyo - shares many commonalities with that title.

Kirby's Dream Land 2

• In the Japanese version of Kirby's Dream Land 2, one of the characters that Kirby can rescue from a bag is Chao from the Japanese game Yūyūki. She is replaced with the character Girl blob in international releases.

Template:KSS KFP and Kirby Super Star Ultra

• Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Wario make a cameo appearance in Spring Breeze, as part of the audience watching Kirby battle King Dedede. Several of these characters can also be seen in Megaton Punch.
• Many of the treasures in the Great Cave Offensive are also references to other Nintendo franchises, such as Mario, Metroid, Earthbound, Fire Emblem, and Donkey Kong.
• The ending theme of Revenge of Meta Knight - My Friend and the Sunset - is partially based on the traditional folk song "The House of the Rising Sun", particularly the 1964 blues cover by British rock band The Animals.

Kirby's Dream Land 3

• Several of the friendly characters that Kirby helps are cameos from other video games. More details can be found on the Heart Star page.
• Metroids appear as enemies in this game.

Template:KCC KPP

• One of the objects that Paint Roller can paint in Paint Panic is the Triforce from The Legend of Zelda.

Kirby Mass Attack

• The Kirby Mass Attack sub-game Kirby Quest has several references to media outside the Kirby series, as follows:
  • The title screen is a direct reference to a 1992 video game produced by HAL Laboratory called Arcana. Its Japanese name, "Kirby Master", is a reference to Arcana's own Japanese name, Card Master.
    • The game over screen is a direct reference to a scene from the opening of Arcana, with Dark Matter in place of the wizard Galneon. This scene was the same one in which Kirby made a cameo appearance a month before his official debut.
  • One of Kirby's "Excellent" attacks calls on a horde of 66 Gators to attack the enemies. This is a reference to the 1989/90 game Revenge of the 'Gator, also produced by HAL Laboratory (called Pinball: The Great 66-Alligator Parade in Japanese).
  • Another "Excellent" attack has Kirby ride a Moto Shotzo while being chased by a mechanical dragon with boxing gloves that highly resembles a boss from HAL Laboratories' 1991 game Trax. As mentioned above, Moto Shotzo itself greatly resembles Trax's main protagonist.

Template:KRtDL KAW

• Goriath is a possible reference to Saiyan warriors from the Dragon Ball franchise.

Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition

• The first area in the New Challenge Stages stage Smash Combat Chamber features a layout similar to the Battlefield stage in the Super Smash Bros. series. In addition, the distinct ability-providing enemies that appear in sequence to fight Kirby there is likely a reference to Multi-Man Smash.
• The Kirby's History hallway makes numerous mentions of real world events that coincided with the release of certain Kirby games.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

• The Dreamstalk is a nod to the fairy tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.
• The end of Old Odyssey's 5th stage is a reference to The Three Little Pigs.
• The battle with King Fuwa Rover may be a reference to Luigi's Mansion.

Kirby Star Allies

• The Plasma move 'Light-Speed Dash' is similar to Quick Attack, a move commonly associated with the Pokémon Pikachu.
• Void Termina's first form bears a striking resemblance to Beast Ganon from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

• In the episode Un-Reality TV, there are several fictional TV shows displayed whose title and content are references to real-life shows.

Japanese:

• "Super Dededeman"
• "It's Dedede, everyone Come On"
• "DR"
• "Dedede Mystery Discovery"
• "Star Trick 9"
• "Gadzilla 2"
• "Gone with the Planet of the Apes"

English:

• "Three-D Man"
• "Wheel of Headwounds"
• "DR"
• "King of the Kitchen"
• "Snail Hunter"
• "DeDeDeep Space 9"
• "Globzilla Destroys Guam"
• "King Klong Vs. the Houston Astros"