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Elfilin
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“ | A mystical new friend you met in a mysterious new world. You found Elfilin as he was trying to save the Waddle Dees from the Beast Pack. He seems happy to be Kirby's guide, sharing helpful advice to save the Waddle Dees and rebuild their town. Thanks, Elfilin! | ” | — Elfilin's figure description from Kirby and the Forgotten Land |
Elfilin is a supporting character who appears in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, serving as Kirby's primary companion. He is a small flying chinchilla-like creature capable of speech with giant ears (the right one having a large missing section on the rim) and turquoise fur. His eyes are bright blue and appear to shimmer in the light. Elfilin appears to be largely helpless at first, and is not keen on fighting, but he is later shown to have potent abilities, including the power to open wormholes through Another Dimension to connect distant worlds. Aside from that, his main role is to give Kirby (and the player by extension) advice and information on various things in the New World and in Waddle Dee Town.
In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Elfilin joins Kirby after being rescued from a Beast Pack cage in the stage Point of Arrival, hoping to help the pink puffball save all the Waddle Dees, who Elfilin had gotten to know before they were captured. Along the way, Kirby and Elfilin become fast friends, and are later separated when King Dedede kidnaps him and takes him to an abandoned laboratory atop a volcano. Later on, it is revealed that Elfilin was (unbeknownst to him) derived from a primordial life-form known to the New World civilization as "Specimen ID-F86", who is kept in that laboratory and who seeks to be reunited with him to reform the ultimate life-form: Fecto Elfilis. When this eventually happens, Kirby has to fight this life-form and split Elfilin back out again, and then destroy the malevolent half with Elfilin's help.
Etymology[edit]
Elfilin's name is a corruption of his ID, "F87," as a result of splitting off of F86. It is also an anagram for "Nil Life"; "Nil" is the Japanese name for Void. The opening cutscene of Lab Discovera contains Morse code that spells "EFILLIN" when decoded; "Efillin" is "Nil Life" spelled backwards, and more similar to his Japanese name.[1] In the Japanese, Chinese and Korean versions of Leongar's figure description, it is also revealed that his full name is "Fecto Elfilin" (フェクト・エフィリン, 菲克特·艾菲靈 / 菲克特·艾菲灵, and 펙트 에피린, respectively), matching with Fecto Elfilis.
Personality[edit]
“ | When I'm with you, Kirby, everything becomes an adventure! | ” | — Elfilin on the World Map in Kirby and the Forgotten Land |
Through his actions and dialogue, Elfilin is characterized as a kind and energetic, yet unassuming creature who only wishes to live in peace with the Waddle Dees in the New World. When the Waddle Dees are captured, Elfilin is eager to rescue them on his own, but decides to let Kirby take the lead once he offers to help. Despite being imbued with incredible power, Elfilin seems to be unaware of this until after merging and re-separating from his other half; up to that point, he is largely helpless without Kirby's protection. Even after this, he states that his power is still weak, as he can only open and close a single portal to Popstar at a time.
Game appearances[edit]
Elfilin's video game appearances | ||
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Game | Role | Notes |
Kirby and the Forgotten Land | Supporting protagonist | |
Kirby's Dream Buffet | Cameo | Appears as part of a costume for Kirby, and also appears on a couple Character Treats. The Elfilin Cake stage is based on him. |
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe | Reference | Appears as a golden statue in Merry Magoland as a reward for completing 100 Missions, and his likeness appears in the form of two Dress-Up Masks. |
Kirby and the Forgotten Land[edit]

Elfilin makes his first appearance in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and is the very first that Kirby frees from one of the Beast Pack's cages in the Point of Arrival stage. Once freed, Elfilin is eager to help Kirby free all of the captured Waddle Dees, and so he accompanies Kirby on his adventure from then on. In stages, Elfilin may pipe up with some instructional dialogue, for instance, informing Kirby that he can keep his Copy Ability while using a Mouthful Mode if he keeps discarding his ability near a mouthful object. He will also make a remark when entering a new area on the New World and give Kirby advice and expository dialogue, both on the World Map and in Waddle Dee Town. Elfilin is also present with Kirby when he is collecting figures from Gotcha Machine Alley, eating food at the Waddle Dee Café, sleeping in Kirby's House, or playing Flash Fishing.
Elfilin is critical to the story of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, since his capture and reabsorption into ID-F86 is the goal of the Beast Pack's leader Leongar, who is being possessed by Fecto Forgo directly. When Kirby defeats King Dedede at the end of Winter Horns, Dedede manages to sneak up from behind while Kirby is dancing and capture Elfilin for this purpose. When Kirby eventually catches up to them at Lab Discovera, he does his best to fight off both Leongar and Fecto Forgo to save Elfilin, but he is absorbed anyways. The two beings combine together to form the final boss of the game: Fecto Elfilis. Kirby has to battle this ultimate life-form until they are weak enough to the point where Kirby can separate Elfilin from them using Dome Mouth. From there, Elfilin helps Kirby destroy Fecto Elfilis for good by powering up his Big-Rig Mouth transformation. Elfilin uses up the last of his power to stop Popstar from crashing into the New World, but is saved from this otherwise-sacrificial act off-screen by Clawroline. He repays the favor to Clawroline by traveling with Kirby into Isolated Isles: Forgo Dreams to recover the lost pieces of Leon's soul and bring the lion back to life. Lastly, when Kirby defeats Chaos Elfilis in the final cup of the Colosseum, the last remnants of Fecto Forgo dissipate into a benign life force that reunites peaceably with Elfilin, ending the split for good.
In addition to appearing physically in the game's narrative, Elfilin also appears in the form of a handful of collectible figures.
Kirby's Dream Buffet[edit]

Elfilin appears in Kirby's Dream Buffet as a costume for Kirby. Since Elfilin moves and blinks, it is safe to assume that it is the real Elfilin, and not a prop. In addition, a Minigame stage themed after Elfilin is available to unlock. Elfilin also appears on a few Character Treats.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]
In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Elfilin is referenced in a few different ways. In Merry Magoland, Kirby can earn two Dress-Up Masks based on Elfilin: one has a neutral expression, and the other is of him "smiling" (despite not having a visible mouth). The former is unlocked by reaching the end of Stamp Rally card No. 20, while the latter is obtained by completing 100 Missions (this also unlocks a golden statue of Elfilin in the Magoland plaza). Wearing either mask causes the wearer's voice to be replaced by Elfilin's, using voice clips from Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
In Magolor's Tome Trackers, Elfilin appears as one of the possible designs on a tome's cover. Additionally, one of the missions for this Sub-Game requires the player to win while wearing the Elfilin mask.
Trivia[edit]
- The large hole on the outer rim of Elfilin's right ear is reminiscent of the practice of ear punching, wherein laboratory mice have specific sections of their ears punched out in order for researchers to more easily identify them.
- From behind, Elfilin is shaped like a chipped heart.[2] This might be a reference to his kind-hearted nature, and/or the fact that he "was born from a small, compassionate soul" of Fecto Elfilis.[3]
Gallery[edit]
- Main article: Elfilin/gallery
Artwork of Elfilin and Bandana Waddle Dee on Car Mouth Kirby
Figure of Elfilin
Artwork from the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival
Quotes[edit]
Quotes from Elfilin in Kirby and the Forgotten Land |
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Names in other languages[edit]
Language | Name | Meaning |
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Japanese | エフィリン Efirin |
Efillin |
Traditional Chinese | 艾菲靈 Àifēilíng |
Transliteration of the Japanese name
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Simplified Chinese | 艾菲灵 Àifēilíng | |
French | Elfilin | - |
German | Elfilin | - |
Italian | Elfilin | - |
Korean | 에피린 Epirin |
Efillin |
Portuguese | Elfilin | - |
Spanish | Elfilin | - |
References
- ↑ Video decoding the Morse code in Lab Discovera's opening
- ↑ Shinya Kumazaki, Nintendo DREAM June 2022 interview (translation by Gigi)
- ↑ "The Elfilin we first met was born from a small, compassionate soul that hid behind greater, invasive ambitions. Without a soul to temper its power, the creature's spatial-teleportation ability ran amok, opening mysterious vortices left and right. Now that they're whole again, they're already planning their next invasion..." --Fecto Elfilis figure flavor text
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