Stactus

Stactus File:Stactus.png Artwork from Kirby Mass Attack. Details First game Kirby Mass Attack Similar entities Big Stactus, Crazy Stactus, Colossal Stactus, Boten

File:KMAKakusanOrange.png

Sprite of an orange Stactus from Kirby Mass Attack.

Stactus (カクサン lit. Kakusan in Japan) is a common enemy from Kirby Mass Attack, appearing primarily in Sandy Canyon. It is a small round green plant-like creature with a cat-like face, remaining motionless. As its name implies, it often stacks on top of others of its kind, with the top Stactus taking on an orange hue.

Being desert-themed enemies, Stacti are first encountered in Sandy Canyon, the second level of the game. They come in three different colTemplate:Ors (green, cyan and orange), which determine their behaviTemplate:Or:

• Green Stacti may either be stationary or move slowly towards the Kirbys, occasionally stopping and extending their spikes; in order to defeat them, they must be pummeled while their spines are retracted or the Kirbys will take damage and be thrown off.
• Orange Stacti are stationary and harmless by themselves, their main purpose being to rest on top of a stack of differently colTemplate:Ored Stacti and serve as a means of obliterating the entire stack by slamming them downwards.
• Cyan Stacti are likewise stationary and always have their spines extended, making them invincible to direct attacks and permanently harmful to touch. They usually form stacks below an orange Stacti, requiring the Kirbys the defeat the enemy on top of them instead, thus slamming it down and eliminating the cyan ones below it.

Stactus's primary means of defense is its thorns, which it will shoot out on occasion. When stacked, the lower Stacti will often have their thorns permanently out. Defeating the head Stactus will allow the Kirbys to smash the lower Stacti at the same time, however.

Unlike many other creatures, Stactus will not sink in quicksand. Apart from the regular kind, two larger varieties of Stactus exist in the game: Big Stactus and Colossal Stactus. There is also a separate variety that wobbles known as a Crazy Stactus.

Trivia

• Stactus's Japanese name is most likely derived from 「カクタス」kakutasu (cactus) and the common honorific 「さん」san. 「拡散」kakusan is also the Japanese word for "scattering".
• A stack of two green and one orange Stactus can be seen in Kirby Mass Attack's Japanese ending, watching the enemy listing from a theater seat.