Dream Allies in Kirby Star Allies

Links-Home–Reviews–Articles–Library–Contact

Alright, I had recently played and reviewed Kirby Star Allies. One thing my readers may have noticed is that I didn’t really discuss the dream allies, or guest characters featured in this game. This was mostly due to not using them in my play through, and I wanted to play as them in guest star mode so I could try them out. Before I begin, I should mention that there are some plot spoilers for various Kirby games here.

Here’s a quick list of the available dream allies:

Originally, the game featured 3 dream allies:

• Bandanna Waddle Dee
• King Dedede
• Meta Knight

After a specific update the next 3 were added:

• Marx
• Gooey
• Rick, Kine, and Coo (3 characters in one)

It should be noted that they may add more characters after more updates. This article may be updated with them, or alternately, a new article will cover the new characters as they come out.

I will reveal who these characters are, and how they fit into Kirby’s history. I will also discuss some of my experiences I had with them from other games. Finally, I will mention how they play in Star Allies. Let’s take a look at them:

Bandanna Waddle Dee:

One of the most common enemies seen in Kirby games are Waddle Dees. Bandanna Waddle Dee is a special one that made his first appearance in the Megaton Punch mini-game included in Kirby Super Star for the SNES.

Eventually, he made more appearances. He started to be playable in Return to Dreamland on the Wii, and has played a supportive role in other games, such as giving Kirby items at certain points in Kirby triple Deluxe and Kirby Planet Robobot (both games are for the 3DS). When playable, he can use a spear to fight.

Memories: This character is new enough for me that I didn’t realize there was much to him.

In Star Allies: In trying out his spear fighting, I find that sometimes his spear throwing action could get me hurt, as you have to dash to use it, causing me to expect a lunge instead of a throw, so I have to attack before getting close to a foe.

King Dedede:

He’s been around since the first Kirby game, Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy. In that game, he greedily stole food from the citizens of Dream land. In the final battle he was defeated by Kirby, who returned that food to the residents of Dream land.

King Dedede has made appearances in most Kirby games since, often as a boss fight. That being said, he’s not always the main villain, and can perform good deeds (yes, even in the games that the player fights him in). He also has a tendency to be controlled by villains or evil influences found in these games.

Memories: Most notably are his reactions to being defeated in some games. He usually makes a weird screeching noise and gets sent flying backwards with his jaw hanging open in surprise.

In Star Allies: Using him is similar to using the Hammer power. He does have an attack that has him trip forward, which isn’t available with the hammer power. I also get a chuckle out of his expression and robotic movement when performing the friend train with other allies.

Meta Knight:

This masked swordsman made his first appearance in Kirby’s Adventure for the NES. It appears that he serves King Dedede, and is another boss fight, but has been seen helping Kirby at other points earlier in the game (oddly, this was removed in the remake of Kirby’s Adventure, Nightmare in Dreamland for the Game Boy Advance). He also grants Kirby a sword before the battle in most games, leading to a duel.

He’s definitely a fan favorite, and frequently is playable in a mode after certain games are finished, (usually called something along the lines of Meta Knightmare). This mode was first featured in Nightmare in Dreamland, and in some games, it keeps track of your play time so players can try to beat their best time.

Like King Dedede, he has traits of both a hero and a villain. He seemed most evil in the Revenge of the Meta Knight story in Kirby Super Star, were he tried to conquer Dreamland with his airship the Halberd. In fact, he tried to kill Kirby after losing a duel with Kirby. This happened in an escape scene with Kirby riding a Wheelie off of the collapsing Halberd. Since then, he often plays both roles in future games.

Memories: Meta Knight is usually a tough boss in the games you fight him in. I find his movements erratic, and he seems unpredictable. I wonder if his attack pattern is partially randomized.

In Star Allies: He fights similarly to the sword power. He does have some flight based attacks in this game that can help him strike through enemies.

A Special note about the character included in the first update:

As I was playing through Guest Star mode, it seemed that I was playing on a few different stages per play through. When I started playing as the dream allies included in the first update, the opening stage was noticeably different. In fact there are a few new stages when playing as each of these characters. Some of these stages are tailored to the way the character plays. This confirms that they change the levels slightly when you play as different characters in this mode.

Marx:

This clown like character is actually the last boss in Kirby Super Star, and instigated the scenario to his benefit in the Milky Way Wishes story. Other than tricking Kirby to summon the giant wish granting machine Nova (so Marx could steal Kirby’s wish), not much else is known about this guy.

Memories: This boss fight in Super Star seems tough at first, with powerful long-range attacks that can’t be blocked. He can do a lot of damage to unprepared players. I remember this being one of the first bosses where I discovered an attack pattern. While I don’t remember the specifics, I did notice that after certain actions, a specific one always followed it. I may not have noticed the entire pattern, but it was enough to make a tough boss quite easy.

In Star Allies: He has most of his actions from Super Star. He additionally has a variety of ball riding and kicking actions. Particularly fun abilities include the black hole action, and the ability to ride then kick small enemies. He seems a little complex at first, but looks to be powerful in a skilled player’s hands.

A fun Easter egg when playing Guest Star mode occurs when you reach the final battle as Marx. It plays the music from the Marx fight in Super Star!

Gooey:

This goofy looking blob made his only previous appearance in Kirby’s Dream Land 3 for the SNES. Gooey is the character that the second player, or computer can control, and can be called at any time.

Interesting enough, calling him will make Kirby lose two health points. Kirby can’t die from doing so, and can still call him with one or two health left. Kirby can eat him to earn 2 health points as well. This leads to an exploit that allows Kirby to gain health when at low health. All the player has to do with one or two hits left is call Gooey, then eat him, and Kirby will have three hits left. This is very helpful, as all damage taken in this game deals one point.

When controlled by the computer, he can be pretty clumsy. He can frequently mess up some puzzles, especially ones involving flowers. Fun fact: he is actually a chunk of the villain Dark Matter that broke off and became friendly.

Memories: I kind of wish I played two player Dream Land 3 more. It might have altered the experience. It should be noted that Gooey eats enemies with his tongue instead of by inhaling, allowing him to eat underwater.

In Star Allies: Gooey has some actions based on his connection to Dark Matter. He also has some of his copy abilities from Dream Land 3. His tongue can be used to grab items and enemies. Additionally, he can trigger effects from the fire, water, and rock powers. If you reach the last battle in Guest Star mode, you get a remix of the Dark Matter tune form Dream Land 3. The original version of this track appears on another level in Star Allies as well.

Rick, Kine, and Coo:

These are the three animal companions that Kirby can ride on in Kirby’s Dream Land 2 for the Game Boy. They also appear in Dream Land 3. Since then, these characters have only made cameos in other games.

When Kirby rides one of his animal companions, he moves differently based on which one he is traveling with. Kirby’s active copy power also changes in some way, such as having different range or effect. In Dream Land 2, riding a companion will also extend Kirby’s health. If that extended health hits zero, the companion goes away. There are no health meter extensions in Dream Land 3, but only one of the two players can ride an animal at one time.

Rick the hamster can’t fly like Kirby can, so the only benefits involve the extra hits and copy power changes. In Dream Land 3, Rick can’t inhale either, but can run with his mouth open so he can eat an enemy. It may not be obvious, but Rick can wall climb in Dream Land 3, which is necessary to get a particular collectible in one stage.

Kine the fish moves poorly on land in dream Land 2, but moves unusually fast on land in Dream Land 3. As a fish, he moves freely when in water, and can swim through fast currents.

Coo the owl, can fly anywhere, and quickly at that. He can fly through strong winds, his most useful trait.

Memories: I was quite amused when trying out the cleaning copy power in Dream Land 3. Coo turned into a feather duster, and Kine sticks out a toilet plunger from his mouth if you try this out. There isn’t anything else to mention about Rick though.

In Star Allies: The three are mashed together. When on land, you play as Rick. When flying, you switch to Coo. On land, you can flop as Kine and it counts as a water action. Kine is used while swimming as well. For attacks, they borrow from the copy abilities from Dream Land 2 and 3.

---

So these are my impressions of the dream allies in Kirby Star Allies. But what about you? Which one is your favorite, and why? What are your best memories of these characters in the games they are from? Was there a detail I missed about any of these allies that I missed? Let me know in the comments below!