Warp Star
Warp Stars (also Warpstars) are five-pointed star-shaped objects which serve as one of the primary modes of transportation in the Kirby series. They have appeared in nearly every Kirby game since their first appearance in Kirby's Dream Land. During gameplay, they are used to carry Kirby and/or other characters from one section of a stage to another, or provide transport in-between stages or levels. Warp Stars can also appear in cut-scenes, and are often paired with Kirby in promotional material and merchandise.
Warp Stars can vary greatly in their depiction, including details regarding their shape, size, colTemplate:Or, and the sound they emit when being ridden. How Kirby mounts a Warp Star can also vary. Typically he will grab onto the top or side of it as it is kept upright, but Kirby can also often be seen sitting or standing atop the star as it lays flat. Despite being ubiquitous to the series, it is still not entirely clear what a Warp Star is, where it comes from, and why it typically appears for Kirby to utilize.
As in-game objects
When encountered inside a stage in a typical main-series game, a Warp Star is typically seen floating off the ground (or occasionally high up in the air). It will either spin in place or wobble back and forth while glowing and occasionally shedding energy particles which resemble smaller stars. It waits until Kirby or another playable character hops onto the star, upon which it will fly off in a pre-determined direction in a cut-scene, often haphazardly, and almost always with the iconic warbling twinkling sound. When a Warp Star reaches its destination, it will crash down to the ground and shatter, usually sending its rider flying a short distance.
While functionally no different from a Door in how it transports a playable character from one area to another, the Warp Star is meant to be a more flashy way of doing so, often involving entirely separate areas that only serve as a back-drop for the Warp Star transportation scenes. Warp Stars are also often used in World Hubs and Level Hubs as a visual indicator of how Kirby is being transported from one area to the next.
In stages, Warp Stars can be made to appear in the same manner as other objects, often triggered by defeating enemies, pressing switches, or simply waiting. Most of the time, however, they do not need to be triggered to appear.
Game Appearances
Kirby's Dream Land
The Warp Stars made their first appearance in Kirby's first game Kirby's Dream Land. They are mainly used to take Kirby from one section to another.
Kirby's Adventure / Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
In Kirby's Adventure and its remake, Warp Stars are used to transport Kirby to distant levels, such as from Vegetable Valley to Orange Ocean. They are also found inside stages, where they transport Kirby to another part of the stage.
Kirby's Pinball Land
In this spin-off title, Warp Stars are used to transport Kirby from one board to another. Whenever Kirby finds himself in the main warp room, he can use Warp Stars to travel to any of the main Pinball Lands. Once within those lands, Warp Stars can be found which behave in a consistent way based on which floor they are found on, as follows:
- Lower floor - takes Kirby back to the Warp hub
- Middle floor - takes Kirby to the bonus game of that land
- Upper floor - takes Kirby to the boss area
In addition, a Warp Star will appear in the gutter of the main boss encounters (with the exception of King Dedede's fight) which will take Kirby back to the top floor of the main board, or back to the hub once the boss is defeated.
Kirby Air Ride
- Main article: Warp Star (Air Ride)
The Warp Star appears as one of the standard Air Ride Machines in this title. It is the first machine encountered in the Air Ride mode, and serves as an introductory machine to new riders, as it boasts mainly average stats in all areas. Unlike Warp Stars in the main series, the machine is not able to fly indefinitely, and is ridden by laying it flat and sitting on one side, rather than holding onto it while upright.
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
In addition to appearing in regular fashion, Warp Stars can be called by Kirby using the Cell Phone in order to take him back to the Central Circle in Rainbow Route or to one of the other Kirbys (if that Kirby is being controlled by a human player). Rooms that contain Warp Stars are marked on the level maps with stars. When Kirby hops on one of these stars, it will wait several moments before taking him away, in order to give time for any other Kirbys present to hop on as well if they so choose. The destination of these stars is almost always in another level entirely.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Warp Stars serve as the primary means of transportation between levels in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Additionally, they will occasionally appear in the stages themselves to take Kirby to a new location, much like they did in the older games.
Kirby's Dream Collection
In the introductory title movie, Kirby inhales a Warp Star (strangely enough) to update him and his friends to their modern (as of that game) appearances. Additionally, in the New Challenge Stages Sub-Game, warp stars with numbers painted on them take Kirby to the various levels of the game. The design for warp stars is the same as it was in Return to Dream Land. Also, they appear the same as they did in the original games.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot
In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Warp Stars will occasionally appear to take Kirby or King Dedede to new locations. However, much more common than those are the new 3D Warp Stars, which bear a different design, and transport their rider between the foreground and background. 3D Warp Stars also appear in Kirby: Planet Robobot.
Kirby Star Allies
In Kirby Star Allies, while Warp Stars do not appear in any capacity in the stages themselves, do appear in the world maps (including a 3D Warp Star in Jambastion's world map). A Warp Star also appears in the ending cut-scene to take Kirby and his friends home after defeating the final boss.
The Friend Star is similar in some respects to a Warp Star, but is fully controllable and allows Kirby and his allies to fire projectiles.
Super Smash Bros. series
In the Super Smash Bros. series, the Warp Star is a usable item with which a character uses to glide up in the sky, land on the ground, and create a large impact. It can be moved while in the sky by executing the common buttons used to move.
Warp Stars also feature heavily in many cinematic sequences that involve Kirby, and, in every game aside from Melee, Kirby enters the battlefield by riding in on a Warp Star.
Melee trophy description
| Name | Image | Appears In | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warp Star | File:WarpStarMeleeTrophy.png | Kirby's Dream Land (08/92) | The Warp Star originated as Kirby's ride: it helped the ponderous puffball get around at high speed. Hop on the Warp Star in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and your character will rapidly launch up and off the screen. You'll return in a flash, causing an explosion as you hit the ground. Try holding a direction to alter your landing. |
Brawl trophy description
| Name | Image | Appears In | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warpstar | File:WarpStarBrawlTrophy.jpeg | GB Kirby's Dream Land GB Kirby's Dream Land 2 |
A warp-speed item. In the Kirby series, Warpstars are used to move between stages. In Smash Bros., they're ultra-fast attack items that zoom up and down to devastate anyone they hit. You can shift your landing spot by moving the Control Stick left or right during your descent. Choose your target and hang on! Don't overshoot the mark and plummet off the stage, though. |
3DS / Wii U trophy description
| Name | 3DS Image | Wii U Image | Appears In | American English description | British English description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warp Star |  |
|
GB Kirby's Dream Land (8/1992) SNES Kirby's Super Star (American English), Kirby's Fun Pak (British English) (8/1996) |
A magical transportation device that Kirby has used in the past to get around. Jumping on the Warp Star will send the character high into the sky and then crashing back down to the battlefield. Anyone caught in the path or landing spot will be sent flying, and the rider can aim a bit to the left or right in the air. | In the Kirby games, Warp Stars carry Kirby from one spot in a stage to another. In this game, pick it up to shoot high into the air and then slam back down to bowl over your opponents. You can control where you land by shifting left or right while in the air, but it takes some practice! |
Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
The warp star appears as a 2 star support spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. When equipped, it allows the unknown reader to start the battle with a Super Launch Star.
Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
The Warp Star serves a special purpose in the anime series. It specifically belongs to Kirby, and was originally kept inside a small case similar to a piece of jewelry; able to increase drastically in size when needed. However, due to Kirby's general negligence and the ease of such an item being stolen, it was placed inside Kabu for safekeeping until called upon by Tiff during times of need. When called, it will fly off toward Kirby, allowing him to mount it and gain an advantage from the air, returning to Kabu when it is no longer needed.
Profiles
Kirby Super Star
- Wii U Virtual Console manual bio: "Ride the star to move to another area."
Gallery
- WarpstarKirbyKAR.jpg
Kirby riding atop the Warp Star in Kirby Air Ride.
- Warp Star Spirit.png
Artwork from Kirby Super Star Ultra
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ワープスター Wāpu Sutā |
Warp Star |
| Chinese | 传送之星 (chs) 傳送之星 (cht)[1] chuán sòng zhī xīng |
Warp Star |
Trivia
- In the Meta Knightmare mode of Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, when Meta Knight touches a Warp Star, he doesn't ride it, instead spreading his wings and flying off in a similar trajectory.
- In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Kirby uses a special cell phone to call a spaceship that looks very similar to a Warp Star. This may be the same ship that Kirby crash-lands in at the beginning of the anime series.
References
- ↑ From Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Not mentioned in Kirby Star Allies.
