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Chao & Goku

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Chao & Goku
Goku & Chao.png
Artwork of Chao & Goku, as seen in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Details
First appearance Kirby's Dream Land 2 (1995, Japanese version, Chao only)
Latest appearance Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1997)
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KDL3 Chao Sprite.pngKDL3 Goku Sprite.png Chao & Goku are characters that first make their debut in the Japanese game Yūyūki, itself based on the 1592 Chinese novel Journey to the West. Chao is a Chinese human girl and she makes a guest appearance in the Kirby series by debuting in the Japanese version of Kirby's Dream Land 2 and all versions of Kirby's Dream Land 3. She is seen in the latter game with Goku, an anthropomorphic monkey based on the Journey to the West character Sun Wukong (known as Son Goku in Japanese translations).

Chao's hair is black and held in pigtails. She wears a red Changshan with white linings and black shoes as Goku does after being befriended. In Chao's Zenpen artwork for Yūyūki, she wears white ku and socks; in Kouhen artwork, she appears to be older, slimmer, and wears no pants or socks. Chao's sprites in the Kirby series are modeled after her appearance in Zenpen, and Goku appears as he does at the beginning of the game after being found by Chao. In the Kirby's Dream Land 3 manga, Chao's pants are red.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Dream Land 2[edit]

KDL2 Chao sprite.png Chao only appears in the Japanese version of Kirby's Dream Land 2, where she is trapped in a bag, and Kirby can free her by popping the bag if he has the same Animal Friend by his side already, though usually Gooey appears instead. Finding Chao is required for 100% completion of the game.

100% completion of the game unlocks the Sound Test, where Chao appears in the background playing the piano. This entire easter egg is an elaborate reference to the plot of the first half (i.e., Zenpen) of Yūyūki, in which Chao and Goku become separated shortly after their meeting in the first chapter, and Goku seeks to reunite with Chao with the help of his nominal spiritual teacher Sanzō as well as Sanzō's other disciples Hakkai and Gojō. Thus, rescuing Chao and completing the game allows Kirby and the Animal Friends to find her in the lounge pictured in the Sound Test, just as Sanzō and the animal disciples (Gojō, Gokū, and Hakkai) find her in the exact same lounge in Yūyūki after completing most of the game's first half.

The Girl blob takes Chao's role in the western versions of the game.

Kirby's Dream Land 3[edit]

In Kirby's Dream Land 3, Chao returns, retaining her design from Kirby's Dream Land 2. She appears in Grass Land - Stage 4, where she and Goku get separated. After their reunion, Chao gives Kirby a Heart Star as thanks. Like Donbe & Hikari, she and Goku retain their classic 8-bit look.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Chao and Goku appear as a spirit.

Trivia[edit]

  • According to a transcript of a Q&A session during a 2021 shareholder meeting, Yūyūki is Shinya Takahashi's favorite game, as it was the first title he "was involved with".[1] Takahashi has served as a General Producer on Kirby games since Kirby's Epic Yarn as the Nintendo executive (currently senior managing executive officer) in charge of first-party software.

Gallery[edit]

References