Pause

The pause menu, as seen in Kirby Star Allies.

Pausing refers to the action of suspending the action of a video game, usually using the "start" button or its equivalent. When done, the game will either freeze in place or take the player to a menu, from which the player can either resume the game again, quit the level/stage being played, or manage any number of other menu options included with the title. Pausing is typically done in normal sections of gameplay where the player has control of the actions of their character. As such, it is not usually possible to pause during cutscenes, though pressing the "start" button during one may bring up a prompt to skip the cutscene in question.

In the context of the Kirby series, the pause function has taken on a variety of different looks and options. In the original Kirby's Dream Land, pausing froze gameplay and stopped the music until the start button was pressed again. Starting with Kirby's Adventure, however, pausing usually takes the player to a menu and lowers the volume of the music instead of muting it. (Kirby: Planet Robobot is the only main-series game to break this pattern, using a unique song on the pause menu titled "Mother's Intuition".) In these menus, there are often one or more pages explaining the playable character's moveset, which tend to include flavor text and controls for Copy Abilities and secondary characters.

Starting from Kirby Super Star Ultra, pausing during a Boss battle often provides unique flavor text that gives backstory for the boss the player is currently fighting. This continued from Kirby's Return to Dream Land through Kirby Star Allies. Kirby and the Forgotten Land doesn't provide any flavor text in the pause screen, however, opting instead to provide descriptions for select collectible figures.

Trivia

If the player waits a brief amount of time while Kirby's Dream Land is paused, Kirby will start dancing in place.
While the main gameplay of Kirby Star Allies, Super Kirby Clash, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land is locked to running at 30 FPS maximum (barring the occasional frame drop), the pause menu (as well as other menus) runs at a smoother 60 FPS.