Kirby Star Allies

Kirby Star Allies (sometimes written Kirby: Star Allies), known in Japan as 星のカービィ スターアライズ (Hoshi no Kabi: Sutā Araizu, meaning Kirby of the Stars: Star Allies), is a game in the Kirby series, set to be released on March 16, 2018 worldwide. It is the first game in the series for the Nintendo Switch.

Gameplay
Kirby Star Allies is a traditional platformer Kirby game, in which the player controls Kirby, whose objective is to get to the end of each stage through the use of Copy Abilities. Kirby retains his traditional moves; the Inhale, Star Spit, Slide attack, Air Gun, and floating.

The game is a 2.5D platformer, meaning that the characters move on a two-dimensional plane in a 3D environment.

Two game mechanics return from previous installments of the Kirby series; those of Mix abilities (from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby: Squeak Squad) and Helpers (from Kirby Super Star and its remake). In a manner similar to the mechanic shown in the trailer for the unreleased Kirby GCN, there can be four player-controlled or CPU-controlled Helpers at one time. Kirby must throw a heart item at certain types of enemy in order to turn it into a Helper. Helpers can assist Kirby in multiple ways, allowing for combo moves such as creating a circular formation that allows them to roll ahead in certain areas. The player can also mix Helper Abilities, though it is currently unknown how this mechanic will work.

Playable characters

 * Kirby

Helpers

 * Beetley
 * Bio Spark
 * Birdon
 * Blade Knight
 * Bonkers
 * Broom Hatter
 * Bugzzy
 * Burning Leo
 * Chilly
 * Como
 * Driblee
 * Gim
 * Knuckle Joe
 * NESP
 * Parasol Waddle Dee
 * Plugg
 * Poppy Bros. Jr.
 * Rocky
 * Sir Kibble
 * Vividria
 * Waddle Doo
 * Wester

Allies

 * ChuChu (cameo)
 * Nago (cameo)
 * Pitch (cameo)

Enemies

 * Beetley
 * Bio Spark
 * Birdon
 * Blade Knight
 * Blipper
 * Bouncy
 * Bronto Burt
 * Broom Hatter
 * Burning Leo
 * Cappy
 * Chilly
 * Chip
 * Como
 * Driblee
 * Gim
 * Gordo
 * Kabu
 * NESP
 * Noddy
 * Nruff
 * Parasol Waddle Dee
 * Plugg
 * Poppy Bros. Jr
 * Propeller
 * Puppet Waddle Dee
 * Rocky
 * Shotzo
 * Sir Kibble
 * Vividria
 * Waddle Dee
 * Waddle Doo
 * Wester
 * Unnamed tiki enemy
 * Unnamed fiery ghost enemy
 * Unnamed enemy with a fire shield
 * Unnamed red enemy inside a water bubble

Mid-bosses

 * Bonkers
 * Bugzzy
 * Mr. Frosty

Bosses

 * Francisca
 * King Dedede
 * Meta Knight
 * Whispy Woods
 * Unnamed Cloaked Figure

Copy Abilities
The game will feature standard Copy Abilities, as well as the ability to mix certain abilities together into Friend Abilities, similarly to how mixing abilities worked in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby: Squeak Squad. Abilities in bold are confirmed to be able to be imbued with an element to become a Friend Ability.

Copy Abilities

 * Artist
 * Beam
 * Beetle
 * Bomb
 * Cleaning
 * Cutter
 * ESP
 * Fighter
 * Fire
 * Hammer
 * Ice
 * Ninja
 * Parasol
 * Plasma
 * Spider
 * Stone
 * Sword
 * Suplex
 * Water
 * Whip
 * Wing
 * Yo-Yo

Elements

 * Cleaning
 * Fire
 * Ice
 * Plasma
 * Water

Items

 * Food
 * Star
 * Puzzle Piece

Objects

 * Apple
 * Cannon

Trivia

 * This game greatly resembles the first attempt at Kirby GCN, a cancelled game for the Nintendo GameCube. It resembles Kirby's Return to Dream Land as well, though this is because Kirby GCN was reworked into Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
 * Helpers can be mixed with abilities themselves, a first for the series. This was seen in the portion of the trailer with Whispy Woods.
 * Helpers wear the hat that corresponds to their ability, unlike Helpers in Kirby Super Star and its remake.
 * Helpers reflect the colors of the player playing them. Any helpers who are player 2 are yellow, helpers who are player 3 are blue, and helpers who are player 4 are green. This concept is reused from Kirby GCN.
 * This is Nago, Pitch, and ChuChu's first appearance in the flesh since their debut 21 years before Kirby Star Allies in Kirby's Dream Land 3.
 * King Dedede, when he transforms, greatly resembles his transformation in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! when he was possessed by the Demon Frog.
 * This is the first Kirby game to be localized into Chinese, in both Traditional and Simplified forms.
 * For unknown reasons, when the official Nintendo website lists Kirby Star Allies in a recommended games section, it states the release date of the game is June 30, 2018. This is incorrect, as the January 11 Nintendo Direct confirmed the actual release date to be March 16, 2018.
 * Kirby Star Allies is the fourth Kirby game to have an E10+ ESRB rating.
 * Kirby Star Allies is the first Kirby game to have a | happy Kirby on the North American box art since Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.
 * Kirby Star Allies is the first Kirby game to see release worldwide on the same day.
 * This is the third Kirby game to have Helpers. The other two are Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra.
 * The power of the new Artist ability, when paired with the hat, is reminiscent of the aspiring artist, Adeleine from Kirby 64 (who might also be Ado from Kirby's Dreamland 3).