Kirby of the Stars: Star Allies

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Kirby of the Stars: Star Allies, known as Kirby Star Allies for short, is a platform game made for the Kirby series, and the first game that uses the Nintendo Switch console, developed by HAL Laboratory and Nintendo in 2018.

Deep in space, a mysterious cult leader (named Hyness) performs a strange ritual which causes shadowy hearts to explode outwards from his altar and spread across the Galaxy. Many inhabitants of Planet Popstar get worse when they get hit by these shadowy hearts. Meanwhile, Kirby is asleep in a field of grass when he absorbs a lighter, pink heart, gaining the power to use the Friend Heart. The Pink Puffball then notices that something is happening at King Dedede's castle, and hurries on his way to investigate, unaware of the threat from deep space and the fact that help might be necessary for him along the way...

Gameplay in Kirby Star Allies follows the standards set up by Kirby Super Star: inhale enemeis to copy abilities, and use versatile abilities to fight through the levels and solve puzzles. There is also a similar gimmick to the Helper gimmick from Kirby Super Star, but instead of creating helpers from abilities, Kirby can get helpers by curing certain enemies with a Friend Heart. Up to three friends can be active, and they can be controleld by the computer or other players for cooperative multiplayer. There are also Friend Abilities: extra moves that most Copy Abilities and all friends have to support their friends, commonly by mixing 1 abilities to create powerful combinations. Special platforms also exist to activate certain special abilities for the whole group that help them traverse levels. In addition to the normal friends, players can unlock additional Dream friends, ranging from series mainstays to long-forgotten characters, and even former villains.

There are also multiple modes for the game like many "traditional" games. Story Mode serves as the main game, where Kirby and company journey through worlds, looking for mysteries and battling the Religion of Evil to stop the Apocalypse. There are also a few minigames that can be played for fun; one example is Chop Champs, where Kirby and three other members of his species chop a very tall tree to build log houses while avoiding caterpillars and Gordos with the one who chops the most wood being the victor. Star Slam Heroes is another minigame, where the four puffballs have to deflect an oncoming meteor with a baseball bat, with the score being higher the better their timing is, with the one who hits the meteor the furthest being the victor. Two Extra Games also appear, one being Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go!, a Time Trial run where one of the friends (Dream Friends included after the first playthrough) goes on an adventure in Kirby's stead, although they take more damage and deal less, so they have to augment their stats with Power-Up Hearts that make them more durable, faster, or stronger in order to finish levels in record time, and the second was added in the third major update, where Kirby and his friends have to visit another dimension to save and cure Hyness by collecting Friend Hearts, and his Dream Allies also take the spotlight a few times. There is also the Ultimate Choice, which serves as the Boss Rush gauntlet that comes with five default levels and four unlockable ones.

Tropes used in Kirby of the Stars: Star Allies include:

• 100% Completion: The player has to get 100% by completing the main game and all of the game modes.
• A Twinkle in the Sky: Francisca gets sent flying after her battle on Planet Frostak's moon. Flamberge also gets hit with this following her battle on the moon of Star Lavadom.
• Action Bomb: The Bob-omb-esque Bomber enemies return, with their power being the explosive Crash ability. Additionally, Kirby can invoke this if he does not throw the bombs he conjures up with Bomb.
• Actor Allusion: Hyness shares his voice actor, Shigeru Chiba, with F.A.N.G. from Street Fighter V, who has many of Hyness's traits: both have unique headdresses and long robes with sleeves that go past their hands, can throw purple balls from their hands, treat subordinates badly, and are completely fanatic to a higher being.
• Adaptational Heroism: Popons were enemies during their debut role in Kirby's Dream Land 3. Here, a single one appears as the "spring" for the Goal Game, which functions like the one from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
• Advancing Wall of Doom: When Kirby and his friends get to certain points in certain levels, Waddle Dees may merge into a sphere that rolls down slopes and have to be outran. In the final secret level and Dimension 4 of Heroes In Another Dimension, Kirby gets to blast the spheres to bits with the Friend Star.
• All Webbed Up: There is a new ability called "Spider," which gives Kirby the ability to trap foes in web balls which can be kicked around at other enemies. Taranza also has these for his moveset.
• Apocalypse How: Had Void Termina and his worshippers had their way, we would have witnessed the complete destruction of everything in the Universe at best. It gets turned into merely the destruction of the flat-topped asteroid that Kirby and Void Termina squared off on when the latter is done in during the events of Story Mode.
• Arc Symbol: Heart symbols are prevalent throughout this game. Kirby uses hearts to cure those that have been corrupted, and certain structures have hearts, and Void Termina has hearts on some of his clothing and his mask is shaped like a heart.
• Art Attacker: Kirby can get his hands on the Artist Ability, which lets him use his artistic skills to create paintings that attack his enemies, and his weapon is a paintbrush. Vividria, who provides this power, can do this as well. She is also shown to be quite excited to get into an art school.
• Artificial Brilliance: The AI-controlled allies are fairly smart when it comes to combat and realising they have the ability to solve a puzzle of progress... It's actually zig-zagged, as they can be confused when it comes to using friend abilities and may get confused when trying to navigate an area with moving objects.
• Ascended Meme: Magolor is often called an egg by Kirby fans, and when cooked by Chef Kawasaki or Cook Kirby, he will pop out with a few cooked eggs.
• Attack Its Weak Point: During his first and third "super-phases," Void Termina has to be beaten by blasting five reptilian eyes that appear on certain parts of his body, starting with his chest, then shifting to one of his shoulders, then the other shoulder, then his backside, then on his "forehead." As more weak points are destroyed, he can gain new attacks for that form.
• Bait and Switch Boss: Galacta Knight makes his return to finish Guest Star ???, but then a butterfly appears and lands on his weapon, and he merges with it and becomes Morpho Knight.
• Battle Aura: Whispy Woods, King Dedede, Meta Knight, and their Parallel Counterparts gain a purple aura around their bodies when they drop to a certain amount of health and get stronger and tricker.
• Battle Boomerang: Void Termina's core has this move in the topmost two levels of The Ultimate Choice, with the attack being similar to Dark Mind and Marx for the first two waves. The last wave is similar in Level 8 (Soul Melter), but on Level 9 (Soul Melter EX), it becomes similar to how Drawcia does it in her Soul form. It signals this by spinning its face a full 360 degrees with its facial features stretching.
• Beam Spam: Void Termina's core and Void Soul have laser beam moves, but Void Soul can fire a bunch during his fight.
• Beat the Curse Out of Him: Whispy Woods, King Dedede, Meta Knight, Pon the raccoon, Con the fox, and any allies that Void Termina and Morpho Knight can brainwash can be dealt with this way, though the lattermost case is more optimally solved via Friend Heart.
• Be the Ball: Void Termina's heart can bounce around the walls of its arena (his innards) the second time it is confronted. It combines this with Me's a Crowd for a Doppelganger Attack as Void Soul.
• BFS:
  • Void Termina can summon massive swords when his humanoid form is running low on health.
  • In his Dream Friend role, Magolor from Kirby's Return to Dream Land can slice through his foes with a giant sword that is based on the Ultra Sword.
• Boss Subtitles: Every single boss has this akin to Star Fox 64 3D and Star Fox Zero and certain The Legend of Zelda games:
  • Whispy Woods is referred to as the Guardian of the Forest.
  • King Dedede is called His Royal Nemesis, a title that returns for his Kirby of the Stars: Discovery fight.
  • Meta Knight is called The Lone Swordsmith.
  • Pon the raccoon and Con the fox are called the Dual Defenders.
  • Francisca is called the Frozen General during her first fight. The second time she is fought, she is called the Bringer of Icy Doom.
  • Flamberge is referred to as the Blazing General during her first fight and the Bringer of Flame during her second fight.
  • Zan Partizanne bears the title of the Lightning General during her first fight and the Bringer of Shock when she is fought the second time.
  • Yggy Woods is given the title Old Growth Elder.
  • Goldon the raccoon and Silvox the fox are called the Metal Heavies.
  • The Grand Mam is called the Big Bad Mama.
  • Kracko is referred to as the Cycloptic Stormcloud during his first phase and the Dual Thunderheads after he splits in two for his second phase.
  • Hyness is called the Officiant of Doom during his main game boss battle and the Fell Officiant in his Heroes In Another Dimension battle.
  • Morpho Knight is referred to as the Reborn Butterfly unless his opponent is the Three Mage Sisters and it is not the highest difficulty level of The Ultimate Choice. If either one (not both) happens, he is referred to as the Dark-winged Disaster.
  • Void Termina bears the title of the Destroyer Of Worlds. His core has no title at first, but in Level 8 of The Ultimate Choice, it is referred to as Essence of Chaos as Void Soul.
• Bowdlerise: Prior to her battle, Flamberge threatens to burn Kirby to the degree that hellfire will seem lukewarm compared to him in the Japanese version. In the English version, she threatens to scorch him to such a degree that makes even tasty, toasty marshmallows seem like ice cubes compared to him.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: This is what kicks off the plot. After Hyness botches his ritual, Kirby has to use his newfound friend-making powers to cure everyone that got hit by the purple Jamba Heart pieces of uncontrollable hostility.
• Brick Joke: When fighting against her in the Divine Terminus in story mode and Hyness in Guest Star Allies mode, it is mentioned that Hyness often forgets Zan Partizanne's name.
• Bullet Time: Void Termina can perform divebombs in his bird form, and flying close to him during his divebomb will cause time to slow down to a crawl, rendering his weak points more vulnerable.
• Butterfly of Death and Rebirth: Morpho Knight is called the Reborn Butterfly in his Boss Subtitles.
• Color-Coded Elements: Every power has this, as a tradition in the franchise, but this is important for the elemental powers that the mechanics provide: fire is red (as per the stereotype), water is blue (ditto; ice included, though ice is lighter in colour while water is a darker colour), and electricity has shades of green and yellow, while Bluster, stereotypically, is green.
• Darker and Edgier: Once Hyness enters the room, he turns the tone from saving brainwashed enemies to preventing the apocalypse.
• Dark Reprise: The theme that plays in the Jambandra Base and the Divine Terminus is a dark remix of Green Greens. Hyness also has a corrupted, slowed-down version of the theme from the first level of World 2, Friendly Field, prior to his boss battle. The theme that plays during the second confrontation with Void Termina's heart includes an intense rock-and-roll C-minor 3/4 time remix that bleeds into an equally intense arrangement of part of the theme that plays during Void Termina's outside phases before looping.
• Doppelganger Attack/Me's a Crowd: When their health drops to half, Kracko and Meta Knight use their Jamba Hearts to duplicate themselves. Void Termina can also duplicate his heart during the second confrontation with it whenever it performs its bounding and laughing needle attacks in The Ultimate Choice, provided the difficulty level is set to level 8 (Soul Melter) or 9 (Soul Melter EX).
• Don't Look At Me: Hyness flips out once his hood falls off courtesy of him taking a beating during his first phase. His composure returns in his main game battle, however.
• Dual Boss: Pon and Con are this just like their Kirby's Dream Land 3 incarnation, even being called the "Dual Defenders." Goldon and Silvox also have this schtick. Kracko also invokes this with his duplication powers after he takes a beating.
• Dual-Wielding: When his first form runs low on health, Void Termina can summon swords that can be imbued with elemental powers.
• Eleventh-Hour Superpower: As per the norm with the Kirby franchise, Kirby gets to use a unique power when he and the Final Boss go head-to-head. After Void Termina awakens from his long slumber and prepares to destroy the Universe, Kirby and his friends summon the Star Allies Sparkler with a Friend Platform to stop the destructive god's reign.
• Electrified Bathtub:
  • Void Termina floods his innards with water that becomes hazardous during his heart's laser attack, due to the lasers' electric properties. It does not fire lasers in Soul Melter EX, but does have an electric aura when bouncing.
• Eyes Do Not Belong There: Void Termina has five reptilian eyes that must be blasted on his body: one on his forehead, two on his shoulders, one on his chest, and one on his backside.
• Flaming Sword: Flamberge wields one as her basic melee weapon. She usually performs slashes and stabs with the weapon, but can also grab Kirby with it and thrash him around. Void Termina can also embue his swords with with fire when he loses enough health in his humanoid form.
• Glass Cannon: Due to her nature as a Zero Effort Boss (not counting her painting gauntlet) in Kirby 64, Adeleine takes more damage than other characters. This was also most likely done for balancing purposes, since she has a special guard that lets her hide behind a canvas.
• Gone Horribly Wrong: This is what kicks off the plot. Hyness was trying to replenish Void Termina's divine essence via ritual, but the ritual goes wrong and the vessel explodes and Void Termina fails to awaken. Then, several innocent inhabitants of Dream Land get infected by this vessel's shards and take levels in jerkass.
• Kill It with Fire: Whispy Woods can catch fire which leads to his battle being cheesed if he takes enough fire damage.
• Lethal Lava Land: Star Lavadom is a lava planet. Ditto for Lavadom's moon.
• Life Meter: Every single player character and boss, mid-bosses included.
• Making a Splash:
  • The water ability returns in this game from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
  • When she drops to half health, Francisca pulls out a water gun, firing powerful jets of water around the arena. She can be stunned if you strike the jet with the Spark ability (or an ability infused with electricity).
• Mirror Match: King Dedede and Meta Knight can be sent to fight themselves.
• Motive Rant: During his debut scene, Hyness starts rambling on about his motivations to restore Void Termina's power.

We are the masters of a power driven to the far reaches of the universe, and we have but one desire! Can one such as you possibly fathom how dearly we have clung to this dream across the aeons? How could you! You couldn’t! Never ever ever! We who once faced those who were in such fear of our power that they sealed us away and banished us to the edge of the galaxy! US! As if THAT loveliness wasn’t enough, they tried to erase our very existence from history! RUDE! Only through our magic were we able to overcome their science and achieve great prosperity! We alone were responsible for stopping that repulsive nightmare of a galactic crisis, yet this is how you repay us! This won’t stand! It won’t be forgiven! It won’t be forgotten! Never ever EVER! Those who called us mad, are you listening? You left us at the edge of the galaxy to be forgotten, then went along your merry way, probably living somewhere pretty and peaceful! But know this! Your future is a farce! You have none! We, masters of a matter most dark, vow to be restored, as foretold in the book of legend, which everyone thought was just a fairy tale! It WASN’T! We have already obtained the vessel that contains our Dark Lord, and he will soon awaken and shower us in compassion! Look! The vessel of our Dark Lord is filling up even as we speak! Now the time for his greatness to enter our world has come! Welcome to a new history! A new age! The age of awesome! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DARK LORD! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Grace us, Gloriously Dark Looooooord!

• My Death Is Just the Beginning: Hyness realises after his battle that he does not have enough power to restore Void Termina's power. He then tosses the bodies of the three Mage Sisters and then his own body into the crystal heart so Void Termina can rear his ugly head. The four survive the ordeal, however.
• Punny Name: Silvox derives his name from "fox," reflecting his appearance, and "silver," reflecting his shiny silver body.
• Puzzle Boss: The Grand Man is impervious to many moves with her armour on, and uses giant bombs tethered to her body with rope as makeshift fists. However, Sword and Cutter can sever the bombs, then fire can blow them up, exposing her main body. As a result, she gets booted from The Ultimate Choice, Another Dimension, and Guest Star, which replaces the Friend Star with Friend Train.
• Religion of Evil: The Jambastion Cult. They were banished for magic use despite averting a cosmic disaster, so they decided to get even by calling on Void Termina's dark power.
• Sequential Boss: Every major boss has multiple phases. See Turns Red, below.
• Ship Tease: Ribbon is shown drawing Kirby (hinting that she loves him) in the picture that appears after Adeleine, Dark Meta Knight, and/or Daroach finishes a Guest Star Allies route.
• Shock and Awe: Zan Partizanne wields lightning powers. Kirby can also get Spark, and the Plugg enemies, which return from Kirby 64, can use electric attacks in their moves. This does a number on enemeis that wield water.
• Tactical Suicide Boss: The Grand Mam would probably be harder to take down if either no fire enemies or no cutter/sword enemies showed up.
• Took a Level In Jerkass: Anyone who gets hit by the Jamba Heart's purple shards does this, even if they do not want to. King Dedede and Meta Knight go through this trauma at the start of the game. Kirby is able to undo this corruption via the Friend Heart.
• Turns Red: Every major boss when they get knocked down quite a bit.
  • Whispy Woods jumps to his arena's centre to continue fighting. Yggy Woods does the same.
  • King Dedede loses his hammer, but becomes buff and monstrous, perhaps referencing his Devil Dedede form from the Kirby of the Stars anime, more specifically the episode Devil Kirby! where he (after taking the Devil Frog from Kirby) falls under the Devil Frog's control, though without the tattoo on his chest.
  • Meta Knight generates some clones that strike Kirby's friend group with harder-hitting attacks.
  • Pon and Con become even faster. Goldon and Silvox do this as well as changing the arena up.
  • Francisca pulls out a water gun that she fires around the arena. However, zapping her will stun her for a short time. She also intensifies her other attacks.
  • Flamberge, in a similar vein to Francisca, pulls out a fire cannon that she charges up before launching a burst of flames. Getting behind her will only make her switch to the other side of the room before she attacks. If hit with water, ice, or wind, however, she will be stunned before she can launch the attack. In addition, her other attacks are amplified.
  • Zan Partizanne pulls out some Taiko Drums that she launches energy balls from. Hitting her with water stops her from striking. She can also throw her spear through it for a proper Wave Motion Gun attack of plasma and lightning.
  • Kracko splits into two to make his moves harder to avoid.
  • Hyness quickly powers himself up with the Mage Generals when his hood is knocked off, combining this trope with Villainous Breakdown.
  • Morpho Knight enlarges his sword and can duplicate it.
• Unexpected Gameplay Change: Activated the Friend Star? Congratulations, player! You now have a Shoot'Em Up level to go through! This also occurs when Kirby gets his hands on the Final Weapon when he and Void Termina lock horns, with the game progressing into a 3D arena shooter akin to Star Fox: Assault's multiplayer versus mode.
• Victory Fakeout: After King Dedede is beaten, the credits start rolling, but then they backtrack off the screen and the Jamba Heart piece that the King had in his body flies away and Kirby and his band of merry men have to chase after it.
• Video Game Caring Potential: In addition to befriending enemies and mid-bosses that have been knocked out, Kirby can befriend some of the bosses with his Friend Hearts. Whispy Woods drops many Point Stars, some Picture Pieces, and food from his branches, while King Dedede and Meta Knight can be recruited into Kirby's party without having to rely on Dream Palaces.
• Villainous Breakdown: Hyness flips out upon losing his hood.
• Villain Teleportation: Morpho Knight can teleport during his battle. Void Soul is also implied to do this off-screen when it does its Beam Spam, disappearing at one of the bottom corners and then reappearing at the opposite top corner, though it is also just as likely to move quickly around Void Termina's innards to give the illusion of teleporting.
• Wind Is Green: Attacks infused with bluster have green colours.