The unspoken (and unspoken) lore that holds the Kirby universe together is not hot air: let’s find out how the various antagonists connect multiple games
It will be for the cloying marshmallow aspect of the protagonist, but the series Kirby remains perhaps one of the most underrated IPs of the Big N: a real shame, given the gloomy ones antagonists that made her lore as nebulous as it is intriguing. Yes, there is a macrotrama capable of tying together even the apparently less correlated episodes. For this reason, we wanted to dedicate a space of their own to some recurring bad guys, to allow you to get to the exit of La terra perduta as prepared as possible. This is not something as crazy as what we saw in Kingdom Hearts, but it really comes close.
We will therefore also focus on the bosses who make their appearance as main enemies only in some chapters, whose influence, however, also extends to other episodes of the saga by indirect ways. The latter are not limited to simple reincarnation, but also (and above all) come to variants from parallel universes or simple doubles. Mind you, our analogy with Kingdom Hearts is anything but by the hair: from the Nintendo 3DS era, the promotion of some minigames to true digital-only spinoffs has allowed each of them to contribute to a world-building unexpectedly deep. We will, of course, use the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Spirits gallery for the illustrations.
Dark Matter
The first of the antagonists we will talk about today, Dark Matter, participated in the lore by appearing in no less than three different episodes of the Kirby saga. A living manifestation of darkness, he and all his species (yes, there is more than one) have set the Planet Pop and Dream Land on fire since the events of Dream Land 2 (Game Boy), giving the away to the tradition of making King Dedede the puppet of the demonic entity of the moment. In Dream Land 3 (SNES) it is then discovered that the incarnations of Dark Matter respond to someone: specifically, we allude to the bloody eyeball (!!!) Zero.
The defeat of 02 (Zero Two, occasionally considered a different entity such as in the Star Allies collages for Switch, image above) in The Crystal Shards for Nintendo 64 seems to have eliminated the threat of Dark Matter forever. It seems. In fact, the gear inspired by the character’s first incarnation (Dream Land 2, below) makes a disturbing appearance in the equipment available in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe (Nintendo 3DS) and Super Kirby Clash (Switch). However, the canonicity of the two spinoffs is still under discussion given the ambiguous approach to skills, bosses, locations (“Dream Kingdom”) and almost the entire species to which the hero belongs.
Nightmare Wizard – Kirby’s antagonists and series lore
Straight from Kirby’s Adventure for the NES, we have the second stinker among the antagonists who have stitched the vague lore of the series. Let’s talk about the Nightmare Wizard, originally conceived only for the title released precisely on the NES (and which received a remake on the Game Boy Advance). Born to deliberately counteract the dream nature of the game world, the Nightmare Wizard (below) is a demon contained in the Fountain of Dreams and accidentally freed from the Star Scepter. Following the events of the original game, however, he hasn’t seen it again for years… in the games themselves, at least.
The discourse changes if we consider the alternative continuity ofanime, curated by Masahiro Sakurai (yes, that Masahiro Sakurai: he didn’t just create Smash, Kirby is also his work). Following a similar dynamic to the version of Giovanni seen in the Pokémon adaptation, in this case it is “Nightmare Enterprises” that provides King Dedede and his minion Escargoon with the bosses to feed the protagonist. A parallel version of the Nightmare Wizard (simply called Another Nightmare Wizard) acted as the main antagonist in the aforementioned Super Kirby Clash on Nintendo Switch.
Mark and Nova Galattica – Kirby’s antagonists and the lore of the series
The iconic role of Mark (Marx in English) makes him one of the most detestable villains in the series, and in a world besieged by the devil every other day, that’s saying something. In his Super Star debut (excellent to be enjoyed on the Nintendo Switch Online SNES app, even better to be enjoyed in Italian in the Ultra remake on Nintendo DS), Mark is the trigger for the conflict between the sun and the moon (not to be confused with the bosses Lunatico and Solerte… it’s a long story) in the final adventure Milky Way Wishes (from us Greetings from the Milky Way). Kirby must reach a specific star.
This star is the semi-mechanical entity Galactic Nova, in front of which Mark steals from the hero the possibility of expressing wishes by asking for divine powers. After his defeat, the two went their separate ways. Mark made a reappearance as an ally in Star Allies, as a costume in Kirby Fighters 2 (Switch) and as equipment in Super Kirby Clash. As for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the game has revived the final form (below) as a boss by focusing more on the horror vein that Sakurai always wanted. The final form of the computer Star Dreamseen at the end of the excellent Planet Robobot for Nintendo 3DS, looks like Nova Galattica despite a completely different color scheme from the original.
Magolor and Landia – Kirby’s antagonists and the lore of the series
Going from one imbecile with delusions of omnipotence to another, we have Magolor from Kirby’s Adventure Wii (guess which platform it came out for). Also in this case, we are faced with a manipulator who has been able to intortia well Kirby and his allies (or Meta Knight, King Dedede and Waddle Dee Adjutant or three other Kirbys, based on the preferences of those who play with us in co -op). Predictably, once the Astrobarca Lor was repaired, the “good” Magolor (below) took off his mask only in the final stages of the game, forcing us to eliminate the benevolent dragon Landia.
That Landia was not an enemy to be knocked out was already evident from the background music during the battle. However, that didn’t stop the dragon from returning as boss in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash, along with its parallel versions (Landia X e Another Landia). Different speech for Magolor, which has played an ambiguous role as a simple manager of the challenges in Dream Collection (which never arrived in Europe, unsurprisingly) and a merchant in the aforementioned Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash. In Star Allies and Kirby Fighters 2, he is playable.
Void Termina and the cult of Hyness – Kirby’s antagonists and series lore
Although the Three sorceress sisters (Flamberg, Zan Partizanne and Francisca, below) and the whole cult of Hyness have only appeared in Star Allies, in reality these characters deserve a place of their own in our in-depth study. The purpose of the holy man Hyness is to invoke the malevolent entity Void Termina; it is the latter that arouses our interest the most. The concept behind this specific (and barely sentient) antagonist is the same behind Mortipher from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and all fans of that series will have already figured out what we mean.
The colossal “world destroyer” design incorporates aesthetic and thematic aspects seen throughout the saga up to that point. We talk about the wings of Zero Two, the crown that Magolor aimed at in Adventure Wii and even a core practically identical to Kirby (expressions … strange, to put it mildly, aside). Of course, there’s a lot more to it, and the Star Allies showdown is pretty much peppered with references to other villains seen previously. It will be up to you to discover the thousand quotes in the mode The decisive choice … as long as you manage to escape unscathed from the difficulty boss rush Soul on fire X.
Parallel Worlds (Mirror Dimension and Another Dimension) – Kirby’s antagonists and series lore
There are two parallel dimensions in the series. The first, seen in The Labyrinth of Mirrors (Game Boy Advance), is precisely the world of mirrors. The local daemon is Dark Mind (below), whose sole purpose is to subjugate the Pop Planet. Being the cornerstones of the saga as vague as ever, as the antagonist Dark Mind leaves enough time it finds. However, his lackey Meta Knight Nero (counterpart to the original) has reappeared in Kirby Star Allies as a playable character and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a costume for Meta Knight. Dedede Shadowon the other hand, it was only seen in Dedede to Adventure (Kirby Triple Deluxe, 3DS).
The speech changes a lot with Another dimension, accessible only through a few glimpses and which is the theater for several raids in the series. The first that come to mind are the clashes with Fenix Sferix in Adventure Wii, but this (still mysterious) scenario has made its reappearance for the clashes with the various “Another / Another” of Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash. The alternative version of Dedede, in this case King D-Mind, appears to be a reincarnation of Dark Mind but there is still no confirmation on the canonical link between the two; as in Pokémon, after all, even here it is up to the fans to do the necessary cut and sew.
Taranza and Queen Sectonia – Kirby’s antagonists and the lore of the series
A little simpler, if you like, is the role of Taranza. This Rayman-style reinterpretation of a tarantula kidnapped King Dedede in the opening lines of Kirby Triple Deluxe, guiding Kirby to the top of the parasitic tree born on Planet Pop. Only at the end of the adventure is the figure on top of the invading empire revealed: the queen Sectonia, obsessed with beauty (below). Thanks to the Hypernova ability introduced in the game, however, Kirby manages to get the better of the despotic wasp. She made a fleeting reappearance as a clone in Meta Knight: Return (Planet Robobot, 3DS), regenerated by Star Dream.
As for Taranza, the spider has reappeared in Star Allies among the playable characters in the roster of The Decisive Choice, authentic “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, but with Kirby” (before Kirby Fighters 2 arrived, at least). In the alternate (?) Continuity of Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash, on the other hand, we have a parallel version from Another Dimension called Dark Taranza. It appears only in the first of the two games, and it is by him that King D-Mind is invoked through the mirror of the… er… other parallel dimension, further deepening the mystery behind this clone of Dedede. And speaking of arcana …
The real mystery: that of the dark counterpart!
We forgot to mention one of the most ambiguous antagonists ever seen in the lore, namely Kirby Ombra. Initially, this dark variant of our lovable hero appeared only and exclusively in The Maze of Mirrors, manifesting considerable cowardice (or at least shyness) in every casual appearance. It is not uncommon to find it in front of you and then see it …