Zero
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Zero (sometimes shortened as 0; also known as ? in the False Ending of Kirby's Dream Land 3) is the final boss of Kirby's Dream Land 3. It is the leader of Dark Matter, and is fought directly after Dark Matter in the Hyper Zone. While it does not appear in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Zero appears to have been succeeded by 0².
Although only formally appearing in one game, Zero's legacy throughout the series is quite vast, as several subsequent final bosses would reference or resemble it, including Dark Mind, Magolor, and Void.
Characteristics[edit]
Zero is a giant white sphere with a single red eyeball in the center. For some of its attacks, it spurts blood from red streaks on its body and from its eye. It also has the power to summon Dark Matter that charges forward. When Zero's initial phase is defeated, its eyeball emerges from its body and is fought on its own in the final phase of the battle; it is smaller, faster and continues to spurt blood, but loses its ability to summon Dark Matter.
Game appearances[edit]
| Zero's video game appearances | ||
|---|---|---|
| Game | Role | Notes |
| Kirby's Dream Land 3 | Main antagonist and true final boss | |
| Kirby: Planet Robobot | Reference | Appears as a sticker |
| Kirby Star Allies | Reference | Appears in the "Bad Boss Brothers" Celebration Picture. |
| Kirby's Dream Buffet | Reference | Appears on a Character Treat. |
| Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe | Reference | Appears as a Dress-Up Mask. |
Kirby's Dream Land 3[edit]
- Main article: Hyper Zone
After forging the Love-Love Stick, Kirby and his friend Gooey fly into the heart of Dark Matter in an area called the Hyper Zone. There, after Kirby defeats Dark Matter, Zero appears out of nowhere and engages Kirby.
Phase 1[edit]
Zero has a number of attacks, but what makes it the most dangerous is its looming size. Zero's attacks are as follows:
- Shooting red blood pellets out from its body as a projectile volley.
- Creating small Dark Matter flyers and sending them at Kirby.
- Charging at Kirby.
- Leaving the main area and firing blood at Kirby from the background.
To hurt Zero, Kirby must simply hit the boss with projectiles from the Love-Love Stick in his hands (32 damage per shot), though Zero takes many hits to defeat. Zero's first form has 4080 HP, which takes 128 shots from Kirby to defeat (or 160 shots if Gooey is in battle due to the 0.8× damage modifier for 2 players). Zero's first form has only 1 invincibility frame when getting hit so it's faster to defeat this form with 2 players.
Phase 2[edit]
Once it loses all its HP, Zero's eye rips out of its body in rather gory fashion and pursues Kirby as a last resort to defeat him. All Kirby has to do at this point is dodge and keep hitting it with the Love-Love Stick. In this form, Zero now has only 256 HP and takes 8 shots from Kirby to be defeated (or 10 shots if Gooey is in battle). Zero's eye has much longer invincibility frames, so it's recommended to battle with 1 player only. Defeating the eye of Zero finally defeats Zero itself and completes Kirby's Dream Land 3 with the good ending.
Kirby: Planet Robobot[edit]
Zero appears as a sticker, based on his artwork from Kirby's Dream Land 3 (though shrunken down a fair bit).
Kirby Star Allies[edit]
Zero appears in the Celebration Picture "Bad Boss Brothers" alongside many other final bosses.
Kirby's Dream Buffet[edit]
In Kirby's Dream Buffet, Zero appears on a Character Treat, depicting its artwork from Kirby's Dream Land 3.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]
In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Zero's likeness appears in the form of a Dress-Up Mask, rewarded for completing card #41 in the Stamp Rally.
Trivia[edit]
- Although it is easy to construe the blood that spurts from Zero and 0² as merely red energy blobs, both the ending credit illustration of 0² in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and the game's ESRB E10+ rating in Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition confirm it as blood.[1]
- Zero is one of the few bosses in the Kirby series that explicitly depicts blood. The others include 0², Shadow Dedede, Dark Meta Knight's Revenge, Star Dream Soul OS and Void Termina.
- Zero was originally set to appear as a ball character in Kirby: Canvas Curse, along with other bosses from previous games, like Lololo & Lalala, Dark Matter, and Nightmare's Power Orb. However, the idea was scrapped, and it doesn't appear in the final game.[2]
- Dark Nebula is called "Dark Zero" in Japanese, Chinese and Korean, but beyond this connection, there is no confirmed relationship between it and Zero.
- In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Lor & Magolor have an attack similar to one of Zero's, in which they fire barrages of bullets from the background.
- Void has a similar color scheme to that of Zero and resembles him more in his Dark Matter-esque form. This connection is furthered by the Hyper Zone's appearance in Void's splash screen.
Gallery[edit]
Zero can be seen in the lower-right in the "Bad Boss Brothers" Celebration Picture from Kirby Star Allies
Kirby wearing the Zero Dress-Up Mask in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Miiverse illustration commemorating Kirby's 23rd birthday
Illustration from the Kirby JP Twitter featuring a cookie based on Zero
Dedede Directory about Zero
Zero occupying the train door as seen on a "Manners Improvement" badge and cushion from the "Kirby Pupupu Train" 2018 events. The text says "Let the door be open"
Zero (bottom right) as seen on "Pupupu Times Vol.2" towel from the "Pupupu Train" 2018 events. The news headline says "Train delay! Numerous sightings of a giant flying sphere!"
Set 8 of the Kirby hanafuda cards, featuring Zero.
Metal charms with tassels from the "KIRBY Mystic Perfume" merchandise line
Acrylic stand collection from the "KIRBY Mystic Perfume" merchandise line
Second set of oil charms from the "KIRBY Mystic Perfume" merchandise line
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ゼロ Zero |
Zero |
| Chinese | 零 Líng |
Zero |
| Dutch | Zero | - |
| French | Zéro | Zero |
| German | Zero | - |
| Italian | Zero | - |
| Korean | 제로 Jero |
Zero |
| Portuguese | Zero | - |
| Spanish | Zero | - |
References
- ↑ "One boss character (a giant eyeball) fires red droplets at Kirby; additional red-damage effects appear as its health decreases." Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, ESRB
- ↑ 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia (Shogakukan), pg. 125
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