The Lore of Kirby -- Designing For Friendship

[Music] [Music] kirby's kind of the best isn't he adorable and cool simple but fascinating utterly broken for a genre yet a joy to play there's hardly anything to hate about the little guy as such despite my absolute love for the kirby series it makes talking about him beyond what he offers at an introductory level really difficult kirby's good you know he's good it's obvious what makes him good go play planet robobop it's like the best power fantasy game it doesn't deserve to be locked in 3ds jail with kid icarus and smt4 set them free please new kirby games tend to just showcase different gimmicks and unique ways to play with kirby rather than creating some kind of deeper innovation kirby's like a childhood friend when you go over to his house you already know your favorite game and that you're going to play it together and sometimes he'll throw in a brand new toy to add to the fun outside of the darkmare games being more focused on environmental puzzles and those following superstars design focus in more on beat-em-up action than the platforming elements kirby's mainline series is just a cozy escape into pure playfulness every single time and that's great kirby doesn't have to be anything more than a friend [Music] however there is one aspect of kirby that has evolved in recent years it's lore perhaps more than any other nintendo franchise say for smash kirby adores celebrating its history bringing back past bosses and friends giving them new forms or attacks to show off all the cool stuff that could be imagined with the passing of time on top of that it's no secret that kirby games start nice and cheery but end with a confrontation with a nightmarish extra dimensional being of reality shattering power for a while a final boss at the end was all they were as cool as the nightmare wizard and marks and zero two are they're ultimately just terrifying foils to the pink puffball you'd get a hint of a post-apocalypse earth here or a demonic possession there but these guys are just in the way to show how good kirby is that no matter how tough and scary it gets a smile optimism and boundless potential can see it through they're a nifty talking point when discussing the series and i will love marx forever but not something to really take with you outside of the assuredly amazing final boss theme that is until shinya kumasaki became director of the kirby series starting with kirby superstar ultra a great deal more focus was given to the overall continuity of the kirby series marx would revive his dark soul reanimating his defeated body for one final showdown the most loyal waddle dee in king dedede's army was given a bandana to distinguish him that would carry on through future installments meta knight would go on his own journey and use the power of nova to wish to fight the strongest warrior in the universe all of these great but simple additions to superstar's plot that gave it just a bit more character but it was kumazaki's first original kirby game return to dreamland where the series would gain a significantly more grandiose presentation the days of kirby getting a cake stolen leading to oops accidentally released the ancient evil eyeball man we're gone now magalore alludes to the ancients of the universe as he tricks kirby into slaying a space hydra to gain ultimate power king dedede is considered the strongest warrior of his planet and is kidnapped to prevent his resistance against alien invaders who wish to drain pop star dry an evil galactic corporation wants to mechanize all of the planet to increase its corporate influence because its ceo has been driven mad with greed and power your star allies is that a death cult cool needless to say the lore of kirby became a much deeper part of its overall narrative later bosses weren't just obstacles they were intrinsic parts of kirby's universe star allies featured brainwashed friends with new super forms as area bosses before moving on to the mysterious mage sisters who all get their personalities and religious devotion to the jamba heart well established before their fights planet robobot takes this a step further taking kirby's enemies and twisting them into mutated and assimilated versions of themselves while the higher-ups of haltman enterprises analyzed the weird pink ball in their own way the plot wasn't just an excuse to move kirby from ice cream island to butter building or to make king dedede body horror again kirby had a story characters had arcs and those arcs didn't always have the happiest endings and what added to that perhaps more than anything else was the pause screen no really this might sound a bit ridiculous at first pass but a majority of kirby's deeper mythology is tucked away in the pause menu during boss fights the descriptive text explaining kirby's ability will change into a brief description of the boss at first this is just a little bit of flavor that can be seen easily in the story oh no king dedede would never steal all the food in dreamland perish the thoughts oh the ancient texts read that the snake's weakness is its head cute but as time goes on these descriptions stop being purely flavorful and start being charged with backstory and an odd emptiness villains in the later half of kirby games stop being goofy apple trees and mr duder they start showing their failings their tragedies some playing before the camera but most tucked away while you can see the madness of president haltman play out in front of you his regrets his pain his motivation for living all of these are tucked away to be discovered only there if you truly want it those who oppose kirby are tragic souls perhaps entirely possessed by power perhaps forces naturally driven to do harm perhaps fulfilling their heart's mission that has turned dark and twisted but they all add so much to kirby's world and their stories that i can't do them justice just discussing them truly they speak for themselves a sad shell possessed by the limitless power of the master crown no more than a manifestation of the crown itself it has the look and voice of king dedede but not his soul some things can't be cloned some of the trial models were only interested in food some were fearful of a certain insect and all were imperfect all worlds whether in another dimension or some far-flung galaxy are bound by earth and sky and where there is sky there is krakow made of volunteers and the scattered mists of his enemies krakow roars with dark power his full name is max prophet haltman ever since losing his only child he's dedicated his life to his company however his only wish is to see his daughter once again why did i reactivate such a terrible machine oh i remember i wanted to see her just one last time how foolish i should have known no machine could make such a dream come true terranza's final words and offering can no longer reach her ears the former queen has become a pitiable husk in the throes of madness after losing everything she has consumed the world and all she has left to cling to is her vanity but there's one that stands out above all else kirby's had his fair share of demons a dark planet desiring nothing but assimilation beings a pure nightmare reveling in torment onion girl but none compare in both world building and scope to perhaps the greatest and most terrifying being ever written into kirby's mythos for the entirety of kirby star allies shards of the mysterious jamba heart are gathered pulled out of friend and foe alike intoxicated by their corrupting influence kirby must free his friends by battling through the mysterious jambastion a religious order dedicated to collecting their hearts for a dark ritual eventually kirby is able to defeat the orders generals the three mage sisters and their high priest lord highness an attempt to stop whatever mean thing they happen to be doing the jamba heart nearly complete his body giving out highness does the only thing he is capable of sacrificing his own life and the lives of his generals in order to complete his cruel machinations the essence of chaos a godly being foretold by books of legend revives and the negativity and hatred gathered granted a form equal in destructive power to its violent emotions summoned forth is the true destroyer of worlds a deity with the sole purpose to crush all opposition hatred obsession jealousy greed and chaos made manifest it is the end of all rise o dark lord of despair crush the stars lay waste to care rise and cover the land in sorrows may your symphony of emptiness bring the end of all tomorrows rise o dark lord of the despair crush the stars lay waste to care upon your wing dark judgment ring may your symphony of tragedy cause the end of everything and the craziest thing about this boss is introducing a suicide doomsday cult with universally apocalyptic consequences to kirby isn't enough for it not only can it freely create master crowns to use as a tool an artifact that almost destroyed the universe on its own in return to dreamland but within the hulking monstrosity there is its purest essence as kirby fights the eater of worlds plunges into the belly of the beast knocks away the corpse of the corrupted highness fueling it with hatred the core takes notice of the pink puffball and it reacts he has begun to feel to desire to think within the void there lurks a soul and when that soul becomes manifest it takes the form of a friend [Music] this asks and answers so many questions and the deeper the player goes the more they fight the harder they make it on themselves the more the game answers facing the dark force in story mode it begins laughing almost playing as it fights having strong overtones of kirby's first melody green greens mixed into his boss theme slowly it begins using attacks familiar to other bosses in the series before morphing into a form any kirby fan would know dark matter kirby's friend gooey possessed a similar copy ability to the star warrior and always had a connection to the dark bear species but never before was such a possible link created directly to kirby it fought on the soul melter difficulty in the ultimate choice the hardest challenge in star allies before dlc came in void's soul shall appear delving into the pause screen presents a further reward detailing the existence of void no telling if it's true but according to the ancient scrolls void termina may rise again in other forms depending on whether positive or negative energy is gathered it seems this being of darkness will wander the galaxy until one day he is reborn into a new existence when he returns hopefully will be as a friend but nothing is quite as strong as the clash with the hardest foe possible added at the end of star allies life cycle was soul melter e x the greatest challenge possible there replacing the soul lies the astral birth itself void introduced with a splash screen of rapid colors mirroring the hyperzone that once contained zero the heart of all dark matter void plays with kirby as aggressively as possible written into its soundtrack is a tragic piano version of green greens a soulful and sorrowful refrain of peace clashing with the chaotic theme of void termina [Music] before eventually even that crumbles the sounds of a gameboy are mixed in and the cheerful tomb that started kirby's adventures is turned into a lonely cry [Music] and it is undoubtable void is dark matter dark matter is kirby floyd is kirby a kirby born of hatred and suffering instead of friendship and joy kirby himself is a destructive god who forsook his violent appetite in favor of peace happiness and bonds with others void is the tragedy of a kirby without friends and only the power of that friendship can truly put him to rest the final battle is at hand floyd takes his first steps toward a new age in place of tyrannical rage will he find naptime gentle breezes treats he may even dream again a dream of friends reunited [Music] you may already know all this it's not as if kirby lore is a massive secret the fact that kumazaki himself voices void termina is telling enough that they want this stuff to be known there are excellent studies out there exploring kirby's lore and a tonality befitting its depth but does this lore really have a place this is kirby after all he's got a winning formula and great character design there shouldn't be a need to load him up with horrors from the great beyond tons of series have had dramatic twists or moments where they've taken themselves too seriously and most have strayed away from such attack in the future why should kirby be different and moreover if you're going to commit to this bit why hide the deep details in the pause menu kirby isn't dark souls piecing together bits of the ruined world around you isn't baked into the natural curiosity of the world you just gotta kill wispy woods for the 50th time and yet something about this undeniably works something endearing ties all of these disparate pieces together allowing them to function what should be bloated and obtuse is made not only functional but fascinating because of one simple piece [Music] hi kirby doesn't really care about his own lore he's kirby he can't read the pause screen anyway the little guy just wants to go about his day make friends eat a whole bunch make sure everyone he cares about is safe and that everyone being mean to them will stop it no matter how complex the world around him is or how deep the lore gets kirby remains simple dark matter heart matter dream matter doesn't matter what kirby is physically doesn't define him compared to what he is intrinsically a friend whether he's fighting mr duder or a world ending nightmare kirby tackles every single problem with the same confidence desire to play around and positivity that he always exudes the player can delve deeper find stories to tug on the heartstrings and fascinate the mind or they can just follow kirby's path and move forward without much of a care no matter what they choose kirby will be there with them with the same answer let's play together and win together and if they do delve deeper all of the tragedy and mythos surrounding kirby only elevates how powerful his simple message is kirby can overcome all of that and still do everything in his power to help others because he's just that good of a boy [Music] that's the beauty of kirby's lore to me no matter how tough things get no matter how scary our obstacles no matter how complex the world around us might become a simple and earnest approach can always see us through the solutions to our problems may not be as simple as kirby but the place one comes from dissolving them is one of care confidence and love if kirby can fight monsters of immeasurable power and evil just because he cares so can you that's the message of the kirby series to me and it's one that's only shown brighter the more the series is developed around him kirby is shaped like a friend kirby is your friend kirby will always be your friend and like him you can take on anything that's the value of kirby that's the story behind his lore that's friendship [Music] you

Channel: Designing For

Views: 1,094,717

Keywords: Kirby, Kirby Lore, Designing For Friendship, Shaped Like A Friend, Kirby Star Allies, Kirby of the Stars, Kirby: Star Allies, Star Allies, Void Termina, Void, Void Soul, Dark Matter, Zero, 02, Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dreamland, Soul Matter, Dream Matter, Heart Matter, Game Design, Game Analysis, Game Review, Video Game Design, Video Game Review, Video Game Analysis, Video Games, Video Gaming, Games, Gaming, Nintendo, Game Boy, Super Star, Termina, Hyness, Jambastion Mages

Id: CUSYCLgEMfU

Length: 22min 46sec (1366 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 13 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/Late_Radish1632]

It would be neat to see void Kirby incarnation in the next game. Like maybe picking void Kirby to play as would be like choosing hard mode.

[u/Pluviophile81]

Thank you, I really enjoyed this video.