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List of references in the Kirby series

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This article is about references within the Kirby series to things outside it. For the inverse list, see List of references to the Kirby series.

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

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References by game

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Kirby's Avalanche

Kirby's Dream Land 2

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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, as part of a mission involving Samus Aran.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

  • The planet Shiver Star, which serves as one of the levels in the game, bears a striking resemblance to Earth, albeit frozen over.

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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.

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  • 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

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Kirby: Planet Robobot

Kirby Battle Royale

  • One of Kirby's alternate costumes for the Bomb ability is based on Qbby, though it can only be unlocked with the Japan-exclusive Qbby amiibo.

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.
  • Qbby cameos in one of Kirby's rare Stone transformations.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

The anime series Kirby: Right Back at Ya! is packed full of references to other media and events, with several episodes being directly based on other media or even real world events. Characters also make frequent references to other media through their dialogue.

Episode titles

Many of the titles of episodes directly reference other media, as follows:

References by episode

Beware: Whispy Woods!

In the Japanese version of Beware: Whispy Woods!, King Dedede remarks after building his country club that though Whispy Woods is gone, Tiger Woods is now here, in reference to the name and occupation of the famous golf player.

Un-Reality TV

There are numerous references to other T.V. shows and media in Un-Reality TV, mainly revolving around the show titles for Channel DDD. Specific references include the following:

More references exist in the Japanese version, as follows:

  • "Super Dededeman" references Superman.
  • "It's Dedede, Everyone Come On!" references a Japanese T.V. show called It's 8 O' Clock, Everyone Come On!.
  • "Dedede Mystery Discovery" references a Japanese T.V. show called World Mystery Discovery.
  • "Gone with the Planet of the Apes" references the Planet of the Apes franchise, and may also reference Gone with the Wind.

Curio's Curious Discovery

The overall plot of Curio's Curious Discovery is likely a reference to the Japanese Paleolithic hoax, in which an archaeologist made famous for stone age tool discoveries was eventually ousted as a fraud when he was caught planting artifacts at dig sites.

Cappy New Year

In the Japanese version of Cappy New Year, Escargon refers to his rocket as the "Teppoudon", which is a reference to the North Korean ballistic missile called "Taepo Dong". Additionally, while Kirby is being flung around by the robotic arm, King Dedede says he'll "have Kirby depart on his 2,001-year space odyssey", explicitly referring to the science fiction story of the same name.

Labor Daze

In the Japanese version of Labor Daze, Fumu remarks that the pollution from King Dedede's factory is severely damaging the environment of Dream Land, which could result in a "Silent Spring". This is a reference to the famous environmental science book of the same name, published in 1962.

Abusement Park

In the Japanese version of Abusement Park, when the Dream Landers are fighting over the Walky in the karaoke contest, Mayor Len attempts to sing Y.M.C.A. by the Village People but gets the acronym wrong, singing "Y.W.C.A." instead. Cabinet Minister Pāmu later tries to sing Frank Sinatra's songs I Left My Heart in San Francisco and My Way.

A Dental Dilemma

In the Japanese version of A Dental Dilemma, Lady Mēmu promises Bun a "CubeGame" if he goes to the dentist, which is likely a reference to the Nintendo GameCube; the newest Nintendo console out at the time.

Watermelon Felon

In the Japanese version of Watermelon Felon, an advertisement appears on Channel DDD promoting "DDDLAND", which is a reference to Disneyland.

A Novel Approach

The premise of A Novel Approach revolves around characters reading a new bestselling novel called "Pappy Pottey and the Fool's Stone", which is a direct reference to the Harry Potter series of books. Likewise, the story also features Castle Dedede stylized as a "magic school" similar to Hogwarts, and a character called Rowlin appears, who is a stand-in for J.K. Rowling.

Prediction Predicament - Part II

In the Japanese version of Prediction Predicament - Part II, the asteroid heading towards Dream Land is called Phantom Star Gerath, which is a reference to the Japanese film Gorath, which involves a white dwarf star heading directly toward Earth. Additionally, In the Japanese version, King Dedede sings a song on the swings that can be translated as such: "Life is short...fall in love, Dedede..." This is a reference to a famous Japanese film called ‘Ikiru’ (Live) by Akira Kuwasawa. The scene being referenced can be found at this link: YouTube clip.

Scare Tactics - Part II

In Scare Tactics - Part II, King Dedede and Escargoon reenact the murder in the shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho.

Don't Bank on It

The ending of Don't Bank on It references the final scene in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Snack Attack - Part II

Some of the Martial Arts All-Stars that Kirby faces in Snack Attack - Part II are references, as follows:

One Crazy Knight

The guest character of One Crazy Knight - Sir Gallant - is a reference to the main character of the classic novel Don Quixote. Likewise, the monster that features in this episode - the Windwhipper - references Don Quixote's battles against windmills in the book.

Mabel Turns the Tables

The scene in Mabel Turns the Tables where Mabel and Kirby part the sea is a reference to the biblical Book of Exodus, where the Abrahamic prophet Moses parts the Red Sea with Yahweh's power to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt.

The Kirby Quiz

In The Kirby Quiz, the N.M.E. Sales Guy reveals that the winners of the game show will receive a trip to "Planet Hawahu". This is a reference to the real-world location of Hawaii, and the image shown appears to be that of the city Honolulu.

Waddle While You Work

In Waddle While You Work, the scene where King Dedede eats a turnip and cries out that he will never go hungry again is a reference to Gone with the Wind.

Caterpillar Thriller

This episode revolves around a giant moth-like monster called Mosugaba who lives on a remote island with two tiny fairy twins called the Island Sisters. These are direct references to the equivalent characters from the Japanese monster film Mothra.

Fossil Fools

In both parts of Fossil Fools, numerous references to both the science fiction film Jurassic Park and the H.G. Wells story The Island of Doctor Moreau are made, with the latter primarily taking the form of the villain Doctor Moro.

Dedede's Monsterpiece

The episode Dedede's Monsterpiece revolves around the Dream Landers looking at several examples of real-world famous paintings and sculptures.

Right Hand Robot

In Right Hand Robot, the scene where Escargoon empowers the Escar-droid using lightning is a reference to Mary Shelley's horror story Frankenstein.

Goin' Bonkers

In the 4Kids version of Goin' Bonkers, several characters have lines that reference the movie Planet of the Apes. Additionally, while Bonkers is in his monster form, his actions mimic scenes from the movie King Kong. Lastly, in the Japanese version, when Bonkers first shows up, Chef Kawasaki speculates that Bonkers might be a Terminator.

Shell-Shocked

In Shell-Shocked, when King Dedede is imagining what Escargoon would look like without his shell, he pictures the famous painting The Birth of Venus with modifications to make Venus resemble Escargoon.

Tooned Out

There are several references to cartoons and other subjects related to animation and film in Tooned Out, as follows:

  • In the Japanese version, King Dedede mentions that his animation aspirations had "gone with the wind" while the recap montage shows the scene in Waddle While You Work that references Gone with the Wind.
  • When the townsfolk are coming up with cartoon ideas, Gengu proposes an anime where a space hero fights monsters only to find out that he is actually a toy. This is a Toy Story reference.
    • Additionally, Professor Curio proposes "Curio Jones", which is inspired by Indiana Jones.
    • In the Japanese version, the character Mayor Len proposes for it is called "Wooltaro". This is a reference to the popular anime series Hamtaro.
    • In the Japanese version, Hohhe proposes a robot character called "Ovangelidan". This is a reference to the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion.
    • In the Japanese version, Honey proposes a cartoon idea similar to Kiki's Delivery Service.
  • The monster Anige is initially disguised as "Dis Walney", who is a direct stand-in for Walt Disney.

Born to Be Mild

Melman's alter-ego "Steppenwolf" is a reference to the band of the same name.

Hunger Struck

In the Japanese version of Hunger Struck, when King Dedede and Escargon are being chased by the Waddle Dees, Escargon says (translated) "This is a revolt! No...it's a revolution!" This may be a reference to the famous line offered to King Louis XVI of France when the Bastille was stormed in 1789.

Cowardly Creature

In the Japanese version of Cowardly Creature, when King Dedede is hammering Phan Phan, he repeats the line (translated) "Defense only!" This is a reference to Japan's policy of keeping an army only for defense purposes.

Frog Wild

In Frog Wild, the way Mabel reacts after Devil Kirby cracks her crystal ball in two is a reference to the famous painting, The Scream.

Cappy Town Down

In the Japanese version of Cappy Town Down, when King Dedede and Escargon first see the Halberd, they reference the anime Space Battleship Yamato, which the Halberd itself was based on. The composer for the Japanese version of the anime, Akira Miyagawa, has worked on the Space Battleship Yamato franchise and is the son of the series' original composer, Hiroshi Miyagawa.

Kirby 3D

The monster Lobzilla is named after the film monster Godzilla in English; his name is Ebizō in Japanese, after a famous family line of kabuki actors, Ichikawa Ebizō. Fittingly, he gives Kirby the Kabuki ability.

Other references

References

  1. ↑ Masahiro Sakurai's Twitter answering Chef Kawasaki's name origin
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