Last Battle Ability

Official artwork of the Star Rod, the first and benchmark example of a Last Battle Ability

A Last Battle Ability^{[Japanese title]} is a special ability used near the end of the game to defeat the final boss (or in some cases, the penultimate boss). The name and designation for most Last Battle Abilities comes from the Kirby Portal website, as they were not known to be officially considered such prior to then.

List of Last Battle Abilities[edit]

Star Rod (Kirby's Adventure / Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land) - Obtained by collecting each of the seven pieces from each major boss in the game. Kirby uses the Star Rod to defeat Nightmare by firing stars at him.
- The Star Rod is also used in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! to battle eNeMeE in Fright to the Finish.
Rainbow Sword (Kirby's Dream Land 2) - Obtained by collecting all the Rainbow Drops, then defeating King Dedede. Kirby uses this sword to battle Dark Matter. Unlike most final weapons, this one has no ranged attack, but it can reflect Dark Matter's projectiles back at it for extra damage.
Starship (Kirby Super Star / Kirby Super Star Ultra) - Obtained by combining seven stars in Milky Way Wishes, Kirby uses the ship to chase down and stop Galactic Nova before it can grant Marx's wish of world domination. This ability changes the game's functionality to a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up, like the Kabula battle in Kirby's Dream Land. Unlike the other weapons, it is not used to battle the final boss directly.
- The Starship is also used in Revenge of the King and The True Arena to battle Kabula in Kirby Super Star Ultra, where it is formed by combining three Sparkling Stars.
Love-Love Stick (Kirby's Dream Land 3) - Obtained by collecting all the Heart Stars in each level, then defeating King Dedede. Kirby uses this stick in much the same way as the Star Rod to battle Dark Matter, then Zero.
Ribbon's Crystal (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards) - Obtained by collecting all the Crystal Shards, then defeating Miracle Matter. Kirby and Ribbon pair up to use this ability, firing crystal projectiles at 0² to defeat it. This was the first weapon to be utilized in a 3D scenario, being a "rail shooter" instead of a side-scroller.
Master (Kirby & The Amazing Mirror) - Obtained after defeating Dark Meta Knight. Also known as the Galaxia, Kirby is given this sword by Meta Knight just prior to facing Dark Mind. Unlike most final weapons, it is possible to lose this weapon, though losing it will not make the final boss unbeatable. Master can also be used outside of the final boss fight, where it can serve as a multipurpose tool for various tasks, including pounding Stakes, lighting Fuses, and cutting Rope platforms.
Triple Star (Kirby: Squeak Squad) - Obtained by defeating Dark Daroach. Kirby is given this cane by Daroach, and uses it to battle Dark Nebula. Much like Master, it can be used on a multitude of puzzles, and can potentially be lost. Otherwise, its primary function is to fire three encircling star orbs at the enemy to deal damage.
Landia (Kirby's Return to Dream Land / Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe) - Landia is a four-headed dragon who helps Kirby and his friends take on Magolor after being betrayed by him. Landia splits into four separate dragons to accommodate each hero, and controls similarly to the Starship from Kirby Super Star. Also like the Starship, Landia is not used to battle Magolor in his final state, merely to bring down the Lor Starcutter.
Halberd Mode (Kirby: Planet Robobot) - To battle against the final boss, Star Dream, Kirby combines his Robobot Armor with the Halberd to take to outer space and fight this planet-sized threat. Its functionality is very similar to Ribbon's Crystal.
Star Allies Sparkler (Kirby Star Allies) - A special version of the Friend Star is formed to do battle with the Destroyer of Worlds, Void Termina. This ability is the first one to give Kirby full movement in three dimensions, unlike previous 3D abilities being restricted to "rails".
Big-Rig Mouth (Kirby and the Forgotten Land) - Used exclusively during the final phase of the battle with Fecto Elfilis in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Functions much like Car Mouth.

Other abilities[edit]

The following are used in "last battle" situations, but are not considered to be official Last Battle Abilities, in part because most of them are used elsewhere in their origin games:

Tankbot - Used in the final phase of the fight against Yin-Yarn in Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn.
Ultra Sword - Used to finish off Magolor's first phase in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. However, Landia is considered this title's "official" Last Battle Ability.
Hypernova - Used during the final phase of the battle with Flowered Sectonia in Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
Kirby Rocket - Used during the battle with Dark Crafter in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
Buddy Star Blaster - Used to finish off Waning Crescent Masked Dedede & Waxing Crescent Masked Meta Knight in Kirby Fighters 2.

Trivia[edit]

While the term "Last Battle Ability" did not exist at the time of its release, 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia features a small section on them under the title "Special Items" (特別なアイテム). This list only includes the Star Rod, the Rainbow Sword, the Love-Love Stick, Master, and Triple Star. The text also refers to these as "Legendary Items" (伝説のアイテム); the Magical Paintbrush is referred to as a Legendary Item elsewhere in the book, despite not being a Last Battle Ability.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe is the only main series game in the Kirby series to not feature a Last Battle Ability (excluding Kirby's Dream Land due to Last Battle Abilities not existing at the time of its release).