Level 5 (Kirby's Blowout Blast)

Level 5 is an area in Dream Land's sky that serves as the fifth level in Kirby's Blowout Blast. It is King Dedede's residence in this game.

General Information
Level 5 is a fortified location with castle architecture. Velvet carpets and banners emblazoned with Dedede's insignia adorn many floors and walls, and pillars are erected in certain parts. There are short, crenellated walls and pillars lining the platforms' outer edges to prevent Kirby from walking off. The floor is checkered with gold and ivory squares, and the blocks beneath it are made of red brick. Tower spires can be seen piercing through the cloud line below.

In Level 5 EX, the night sky changes the ground's hue; the checkers are blue and teal, and the bricks below them are purple.

As Kirby's Blowout Blast has a Kirby's Dream Land motif, Level 5 is based on Kirby's Dream Land ' s fifth stage: Mt. Dedede. The level's architecture is patterned after King Dedede's Castle.

Stage 1
The platform scrolls left to right as well as toward and away from the Z-axis. Waddle Dees, Spear Waddle Dees, Cappies, Scarfys, and Chips inhabit this area, and Masher and Babut are introduced here. There are four gauntlets.

Stage 2
The platform scrolls left to right; Kirby does not have much room to move about because the castle's outer wall is immediately left of him. Waddle Dees, Spear Waddle Dees, Bouncys, Kabus, and Squishys inhabit this area. There are three gauntlets.

Stage 3
The platform primarily scrolls left to right, though it scrolls toward the Z-axis at the end. Waddle Dees, Spear Waddle Dees, Scarfys, Nruffs, Broom Hatters, and a Key Dee inhabit this area. There are three gauntlets.

Stage 4
The platform primarily scrolls toward the Z-axis, through Kirby must also travel left or right at times. Waddle Dees, Spear Waddle Dees, Bronto Burts, Chips, Bouncys, Scarfys, Shotzos, Babuts, Mumbies, a Grizzo, an Nruff, and a Key Dee inhabit this area. There are four gauntlets.

Stage 5
The stage is a large square. Waddle Dees, Spear Waddle Dees, and a Masher attack in the beginning, and King Dedede appears after they are dispatched. He attacks as he typically does--he attempts to hit Kirby with his mallet, body slam him, and land on him after leaping into the air. His landing attack creates shock waves. The king also attempts to Inhale the hero, creating a torrent of suction that stretches across the radius of the stage. Kirby must Inhale his stars (or the Star Blocks on the platform) and spit them out as Star Bullets to defeat the boss.

After the king falls off the tower and Kirby poses victoriously, a Sparkling Star descends from the sky and causes him to grow to an enormous size. Giant King Dedede mainly attacks with his huge mallet; he guides it to follow Kirby before slamming it down, or he uses it to create massive shock waves. The boss also Inhales violently, and chews on the pink puff if he catches him. To defeat the king, Kirby must Inhale the groups of stars left behind by mallet strikes and spit them out as Blaster Bullets--these deal significantly more damage than ordinary Star Bullets, and Dedede has a great deal of health.

EX Stages
By collecting enough Score Coins and earning high enough scores, a blue Warp Star appears in the Plaza that can take Kirby to Level 5 EX. It is largely the same as Level 5, though the stages are tweaked to be more challenging. The primary differences for each stage are:

Stage 1 EX
The EX stage contains more enemies than its counterpart. In addition to scaled-up enemies and Sectra Dees, Shotzo and Bouncy are added; Cappy and Babut are removed. Shotzos are situated in places that often pose a threat to Kirby while he focuses on other enemies. One more gauntlet is added to the stage as well.

Stage 2 EX
The EX stage contains more enemies than its counterpart. In addition to scaled-up enemies and Sectra enemies, Bronto Burts, Gordos, Scarfys, and Key Dee are added; Bouncy and Squishy are removed. The number of gauntlets remains the same, but they are moved around.

Stage 3 EX
The EX stage contains more enemies than its counterpart. In addition to scaled-up enemies and Sectra Dees, Shotzo, Gordo, and Kabu are added; Key Dee is removed. The number of gauntlets remains the same.

Stage 4 EX
The EX stage contains more enemies than its counterpart. In addition to scaled-up enemies and Sectra enemies, Gordo and Squishy are added; Grizzo is removed. One more gauntlet is added to the stage as well.

Stage 5 EX
The EX stage adds Bronto Burts (including a Sectra Bronto Burt), and Scarfys to the enemy pool. Masher is replaced with Mega Masher as well. King Dedede's Revenge appears after they are dispatched. He is faster and more aggressive than his original form. Some new additions to his moveset include his power to create homing energy spikes from mallet strikes and his ability to spin 360 degrees when Inhaling.

Giant King Dedede is slightly different as well. He tries to flatten Kirby several times in a row before switching techniques. Rather than creating huge shock waves, he can hit the ground to create bolts of electricity that follow Kirby along the ground.

Hidden stickers
Level 5's hidden stickers are located in Stage 4 and Stage 4 EX. When Kirby runs along the thin strip leading to the last gauntlet, the player must tilt the camera up and to the left.

Trivia

 * When Giant King Dedede's Revenge is defeated and the king lands on the platform, he sits with his mouth hanging open. This is a reference to the reaction he has at the end of Kirby's Dream Land.