Mint Leaf

Mint Leaf Model of the Mint Leaf from Kirby Fighters 2 Details Use Causing Kirby to continuously shoot Air Bullets. Obtained Various points in stages or randomly generated. Game(s) Kirby's Dream Land Kirby's Pinball Land Kirby: Triple Deluxe (Kirby Fighters) Kirby Fighters Deluxe Kirby Fighters 2 Comparable to Superspicy Curry Balloon (item)

The Mint Leaf is an obscure Kirby series item that first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land. It lets Kirby use his Air Bullet attack in the air without falling afterwards, essentially allowing him to rapid-fire his enemies. The item's effect is a reference to real-life mint leaves giving better breath.

The item is referred to as a さつまいも (Sweet Potato) in Japanese, in reference to real-life sweet potatoes often being the cause of hiccups; the reason for the name mismatch may be due to cultural differences, as the association between sweet potatoes and hiccups is not as strong outside of Japan. Regardless, the regional difference has been solidified in Kirby: Triple Deluxe onwards by making the item distinctly different in appearance between versions.

Game appearances

Kirby's Dream Land

The Mint Leaf first appears in Kirby's Dream Land, and can be found within the Float Islands, Bubbly Clouds, and Mt. Dedede stages. It is most notably used during the battle against Kaboola, where it does not run out until after the battle is over. When Kirby is under the effect of the Mint Leaf item, the "Shooting" theme plays, much like when he is using the Superspicy Curry.

Kirby's Pinball Land

The Mint Leaf appears as one of the items which Kirby can eat in the bonus game for Kracko Land. When a Mint Leaf is eaten, it confers 1000 points, and has no additional effects.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby Fighters Deluxe, and Kirby Fighters 2

Model of the Sweet Potato in the Japanese version of Kirby Fighters 2

Screenshot of Kirby using a Mint Leaf to attack his opponents in Kirby Fighters

“

This lets you attack with Air Bullets for a little while.

”

— In-game tip from Kirby Fighters 2

In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, the Mint Leaf appears as one of the keychains, resembling its original sprite from Kirby's Dream Land.

In the Kirby Fighters games, the Mint Leaf returns as an offensive item with a similar function, appearing at random during most battles. Notably, it now clearly resembles a sweet potato in the Japanese version and an actual mint leaf in international versions. After picking up this item, instead of puffing manually, the fighter shoots out Air Bullets automatically, pausing briefly after five puffs, with each bullet dealing 10 damage for the first hit and 5 thereafter. After firing 20 of these bullets (or enough time passes), the fighter puffs out one last giant Air Bullet which deals 24 damage. If the player holds the B button while under the effect of the Mint Leaf, the current direction they are facing will be locked, allowing them to move backwards while firing.

In Story Mode: The Destined Rivals, there is a story item called the Mint Leaf Sticker, which doubles the attack power of the Air Bullets the player's fighter fires after picking up a Mint Leaf.

Kirby's Dream Buffet

While the Mint Leaf does not appear directly in Kirby's Dream Buffet, it is depicted as a Character Treat, using its sprite from Kirby's Dream Land.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

The baked potato sushi from Dedede's Raw Deal

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, it appears in the Dedede's Raw Deal episode in its original form as a baked sweet potato. However, its hiccuping powers come as a hindrance rather than a help to Kirby this time around. In the episode, Kirby eats it off of a sushi revolver. He is then attacked by an overgrown Squishy, and his inhaling powers are prevented by the hiccups that result from eating the potato sushi. As such, he starts off on the losing side of the battle. However, Tiff scares his wits out by saying he'll starve if his hiccups don't cease, which makes Kirby (who is known for his gluttonous nature) jump in fear and release his hiccups.

Trivia

• Despite being based on a real-life food item, the Mint Leaf does not restore any health when consumed. As such, it does not count as food in the Kirby series.
  • However, like the Invincible Candy, it is technically considered food for the purposes of Face-to-Face transferring.
• The Mint Leaf is only referred to as a Sweet Potato in the Japanese version of the series (and looks the part in Kirby Fighters); even the Korean and Chinese localizations, which normally are literal translations from the original Japanese version in many ways, refer to it as a Mint Leaf and have the item look like such in Kirby Fighters.

Gallery

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  Kirby approaching a Mint Leaf in Kirby's Dream Land

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  Keychain from Kirby: Triple Deluxe

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  Model of the Mint Leaf from Kirby Fighters

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  Model of the Sweet Potato in the Japanese version of Kirby Fighters

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  Screenshot of the Mint Leaf in Kirby Fighters

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  The Mint Leaf Sticker from Kirby Fighters 2

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  The Sweet Potato Sticker from the Japanese version of Kirby Fighters 2

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  Screenshot of the Mint Leaf from Kirby Fighters 2

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  In-game screenshot of Magolor firing the last Mint Leaf shot at an opponent in Kirby Fighters 2

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  Character Treat from Kirby's Dream Buffet, featuring its sprite from Kirby's Dream Land

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  Artwork from the Kirby JP Twitter featuring Kirby and friends eating roasted sweet potatoes

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  Kirby #26 from the Kirby 30th Anniversary site

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  Plush of Kirby holding a Sweet Potato by San-ei, created for Kirby's 30th Anniversary

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  Fifth set of mascot plushies of various Kirbys, created for Kirby's 30th Anniversary

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  Miniture plushies from Lawson's Kirby's 30th Anniversary Campaign

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  Kirby 30th Anniversary Edition Nendoroid holding a Sweet Potato

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	さつまいも Satsuma-imo やきいも Yaki-imo	Sweet potato Roasted sweet potato
Chinese	薄荷叶 Bòhé yè	Mint Leaf
Dutch	Muntblaadje	Mint leaf
French	Feuille de menthe	Mint Leaf
German	Minzblatt	Mint Leaf
Italian	Foglia di Menta	Mint Leaf
Korean	민트 잎 Minteu Ip	Mint Leaf
Portuguese	Folha de menta	Mint Leaf
Spanish	Hoja de menta	Mint Leaf