Whispy Woods

"Please don't tread on my roots, it would not be a wise decision."

- Whispy Woods

Whispy Woods (also known as Whispy) is a recurring boss in the Kirby series. The forest king first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land and is a giant apple tree with a face and a branch-like nose. His attacks are to make apples fall on Kirby, blow air puffs, and occasionally shoot his roots at Kirby in some games. The only ways to counterattack without a copy ability is to inhale apples and shoot them back at him or use the Slide attack.

Whispy is commonly regarded as being one of the easiest bosses in the series alongside King Golem and others. This is because he (in most cases) cannot move and has a shallow range of attacks. As a result, Whispy is usually the first boss to be fought in most of games he appears in, and is the most recurring boss to be fought in the series, even more than King Dedede. This also has made him one of the most iconic and recognizable characters in the series.

Whispy evidently isn't the only tree of his kind, a fact explored in in several games following his debut, most heavily in Kirby Mass Attack where similarly-named sentient trees such as Totem Woods, Giga Woods, and Floaty Woods appear. In other games, similar trees like Whispy Woods Jr., Twiggy Woods, and Twin Woods  make appearances, and in the anime Whispy is shown to be old friends with another talking tree named Acore.

Whispy Woods is also capable of some movement (albeit limited), which is revealed in Kirby's Dream Land 3. This may explain how Whispy constantly relocates in different forests from game to game.

Physical Appearance
"A contemplative, age-old enemy of Kirby, Whispy Woods will prove to be the mightiest oak you have ever encountered."

- Instruction manual description

Whispy Woods hasn't changed much over the years. His concept always remains the same in all appearances: a light-colored apple tree with a large bushel of leaves on his top branches. He commonly has visible roots and a short, stubby branch on his side, but these details were absent in earlier games. His eyes and mouth are hollow circles and he has a pointy nose. Sometimes he has apples, little round spheres, or even small stars growing from his branches in some appearances (the most common, however, are the apples). He can drop the apples and roll them across the ground as obstacles. Whispy Woods is known for being able to shoot puffs of air from his mouth, and he can exhale vegetables such as eggplants and carrots in Kirby's Dream Land 3.

Usually, his nose is rounded and cylindrical. However in some games Whispy is shown to be able to sharpen it and will damage Kirby if he collides with it. In Kirby's Dream Land 3, Whispy's mouth and eyes become jagged and sharp in the second phase of his fight, and this is the only game where Whispy Woods actually walks around and pursues Kirby.

Although his concept is always similar, his final look is sometimes tailored for certain games. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Whispy's bark was plaid, he no longer had hollow eyes, and had a slightly more vibrant color palette. Whispy has identical looks in both Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby: Squeak Squad, where he has ivy growing along his sides and even more detailed bark. This is arguably his most detailed appearance to date. In Kirby Air Ride, Whispy's design was somewhat simplified to match the simplistic style of City Trial.

Kirby's Dream Land
Whispy Woods debuts in Kirby's Dream Land as the boss of the game's first level, Green Greens. Whispy will try to drop apples on Kirby which Kirby must inhale then spit back, and shoot air puffs which Kirby can't inhale. He later returns near the end of the game in Mt. Dedede when Kirby must fight all of the game's bosses again. His looks in subsequent games are refined versions of this original look.

In Extra mode, Whispy will move faster and also drops Gordos every other 3rd time which roll along the ground and must be jumped over.

Though touching Whispy won't hurt Kirby, touching his sharp, pointed nose (or anywhere near it) will take away two HP. This prevents Kirby from jumping while standing next to Whispy.

Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Whispy returns in this game as the boss of Vegetable Valley, having been given a piece of the Star Rod from King Dedede when Nightmare invades. In Kirby's Adventure, the battle against Whispy Woods is no different than the fight in Kirby's Dream Land, except now Kirby can enter the fight with a copy ability, making the fight much easier. Also, Whispy's nose will no longer hurt Kirby if he runs into it.

Because Whispy Woods is completely immobile during the fight and many of his obstacles can be dispatched before they hit Kirby, coming to the battle equipped with the Spark, Freeze, or Needle ability guarantees victory. Standing right next to Whispy and then by activating the ability, Whispy continuously takes damage and has virtually no way of protecting himself (his apples are taken out as soon as they hit Spark/ Needle's barrier and the air puffs pass right over Kirby's head).

Kirby's Dream Land 2
Whispy is once again the boss of the game's first level, Grass Land. This time, however, he is fought in two rounds. The first round has him wearing a surgical mask that makes him unable to shoot air pellets at Kirby, but he gains the ability to shoot his spike-like roots at Kirby from below. In Japan, during times of high pollination or times when the grass grows relentlessly, residents will often wear surgical masks to avert hay fever and other types of allergies. Thus, the joke is that the tree is attemtping to avoid hay fever in the level referred to as "Grass Land." His "swirl-lens"-like eyes reinforce the idea that the tree has "allergies," which are an impairment to his vision. After being damaged enough, Whispy's mask falls to the ground and he returns to his traditional attacks and is once again able to shoot out air pellets. In the bonus game for world 1, Whispy shoots out apples and stars; Kirby has to collect the stars, but if he gets hit by an apple the game is lost.

Kirby's Dream Course
In Kirby's Dream Course multiple Whispy Woods appear and serve as bumpers which can injure Kirby and send him bouncing off soon after. They can only be beaten with the Spark ability.

Kirby's Avalanche
Whispy acts as the second boss and fifth competitor that must be challenged in the Avalanche competition, following Poppy Bros. Sr. and preceding Kabu. Whispy's dialogue with Kirby is below.


 * Whispy Woods': "Please don't tread on my roots, it would not be a wise decision."
 * Kirby: "I feel like some apple pie!"

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
In Spring Breeze (an enhanced remake of Kirby's Dream Land) Whispy is once again the boss of Green Greens and is fought similarly as in Kirby's Adventure. Although this game does not have Spark or Needle, Ice Kirby's Freezer Blizzard is identical to the Freeze ability.

Whispy Woods makes a cameo appearance at the ending sequence of Dyna Blade. Kirby uses Whispy's apples to feed Dyna Blade's babies, much to Whispy's shock.

In Revenge of Meta Knight (another of Super Star's eight games) Kirby encounters a variation of Whispy Woods called Twin Woods just after Kirby defeats the regular Whispy. The Twin Woods are conjoined twins facing each other that must be fought at the same time. They have most of Whispy's attacks as well as some new ones such as spinning to drop worms from their branches that Kirby can't inhale and trading sections of their trunk.

In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Whispy and the Twin Woods return the same as they were in the original. However, in Revenge of the King, an alter ego of Whispy is introduced. Known as Whispy's Revenge, this misanthropic oak is much stronger and adds several new attacks to the mix, such as purple apples that poison Kirby if he inhales them, purple caterpillars, and tornadoes instead of air puffs. A card of the plain Whispy is also found in the mini-game Card Swipe.

Kirby's Dream Land 3
As in Kirby's Dream Land 2, Whispy Woods is the boss of Grass Land but this time he has been disturbed by Dark Matter's mischief, as are all of the other bosses in the game. His attacks are slightly different this time. Whispy now spits out various fruit and vegetables that Kirby must inhale and shoot back at him, and he may occasionally shoot air puffs at Kirby. Once again, Whispy's nose takes away Kirby's HP if he comes in contact with it.

After roughly four hits, Whispy becomes enraged and begins to chase Kirby by using his roots to walk across the ground just as the screen starts to scroll automatically. Now Kirby has to run away from Whispy while fighting him. In his angry state, the fruit Whispy spits out takes on a rotten and bruised appearance but can still be inhaled and spit out in the same manner as the regular fruit. Once again, another 4 hits will end the fight with Whispy Woods.

If Kirby gets all of the Heart Stars after fighting Whispy the first time, he will no longer attack Kirby if he enters the boss stage again. In Boss Butch, Whispy's arena looks as if it takes place in autumn.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Whispy Woods is the boss of Pop Star, and is fought in an entirely different way from earlier games. Kirby travels a circular path around Whispy inhabited by three Whispy Wood Jrs. Whispy Woods himself drops apples that Kirby can inhale and spit. Whether he uses apples or a power, Kirby must defeat the 3 seedlings by hitting each of them two times.

After all three of them are defeated, Whispy becomes enraged and makes his roots travel through the ground to stab at Kirby, while still dropping apples. Whispy still spits air pellets at Kirby, but these are easy to dodge. To defeat Whispy in his second phase, Kirby must quickly attack his roots before they burrow back underground.

Whispy's card is #1 on page 1/9.

Kirby Super Star Stacker
Whispy Woods makes a small cameo appearance in the background in Waddle Dee's battle cutscene. He later makes another cameo appearance in the last cutscene of the game (excluding Grill's cutscenes), along with Kirby and Kine, saying goodbye to Mr. Star.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
Whispy Woods appears in this game with a friendlier role, appearing in some levels to teleport Kirby to a different part of the level.

Kirby Air Ride
In Kirby Air Ride Whispy Woods makes a cameo in the City Trial Mode, nestled around other trees in the small, peaceful forest in the West sector of the city. He doesn't attack any of the players in this game, and if Kirby rams into him with an Air Ride Machine enough times, Whispy becomes exhausted and shows his "beaten" pose, just as when he was defeated in previous games.

Kirby: Squeak Squad
Whispy makes a small cameo appearance by showing up on the game's title screen, although much of his face is obscured by the game logo. Whispy Woods' appearance as well as the area that he stands in look the same as in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

Kirby's Epic Yarn
Whispy appears in Kirby's Epic Yarn as a late-game boss, where he is seen near the end of Whispy's Forest. He uses his usual abilities to throw apples and blow puffs of wind at Kirby. Kirby fights him in his Tankbot form. There are three smaller versions of him called Twiggy Woods which appear earlier in the level, though all they do is occasionally release Gordos to hinder Kirby's progress, and they are part of the mechanic to allow Kirby to reach higher ground. He can also be obtained as a decoration for Kirby's Pad.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Whispy Woods returns as a boss in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. He serves as the boss of Cookie Country and holds the Lor Starcutter's oars.

Main Game
Whispy's main attack is dropping three apples from his branches. These can be sucked up and used against him. Whispy may also spit out between two or four clouds that can be easily avoided. Occasionally, he may drop down some Comos that the players can use against him.

After Whispy's health is depleted to half his original health, he will grow twice his size. He can drop down five apples of different sizes. Whispy can also drop random enemies from his branches; these enemies are Gordos, Bronto Burts, Waddle Dees, and Comos. Whispy can also spit out three clouds at the same time. The boss also gains the ability to inhale the crew. Whoever is inhaled takes moderate damage from Whispy chewing on them and lose their copy ability upon release. The player needs to shake the Wii remote for the characters to escape.

After Whispy is defeated, he shrinks and releases the oars.

Extra Mode
Whispy Woods looks a lot like how he did in Kirby Super Star Ultra's Revenge of the King, having purple leaves and a darker bark color. Whispy can now spit four fast purple clouds. He can also spit out three tornadoes in a rising arc and can drop poisonous purple apples (that hurt Kirby if inhaled) from his branches. Occasionally, he may drop some large and small Gordos and large apples. Whispy Woods can also attack using his roots, using four of them as large spikes that protrude directly in front of him and retract a few seconds after.

After losing half his health and growing twice his size, Whispy will attempt to inhale the crew once again. This time, though, he will drop apples to make the players stumble and lose balance. Whispy can now drop Scarfies as well as more apples and Gordos. His tornado attack is much faster and his roots protrude a lot quicker. Whispy can also spit out three purple clouds.

Whispy will release the oars when defeated, just like in the Main Game.

Other Games
Whispy is a boss in both Kirby's Pinball Land and Kirby's Block Ball, fought using pinball flippers and bumpers to thrust Kirby at him while he uses his air pellets, apples, and Gordo to try to throw Kirby off course. Whispy is also appears in Kirby Mass Attack, where he is a boss in the main game, the Kirby Brawlball sub-game and the Strato Patrol EOS sub-game. He is also in the Field Frenzy sub-game, where he is one of the enemies that comes out of the holes. Whispy Woods appears in the New Challenge Stages in Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition, at the end of the Smash Combat Chamber EX. He acts like Whispy Woods EX, but loses his root attack. His apples are red, and he has gained the ability to lower Comos from his branches.

In the Anime
In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Whispy is an ally of Kirby, Tiff and Tuff and is the ruler of Whispy Woods Forest. He is shown to be wise, protective, caring, and even vengeful, at times. Dedede and his protegé, Escargoon, often times, try to turn Whispy to a pile of lumber, so they can clear out the rest of the forest. Whispy is often a step ahead of them, however (and when he isn't, he relies on Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff). He always outsmarts them, and, somehow, avoids being cut down. He is adored by the many creatures of the forest, and is close with Acore, the oldest tree in the woods. One time, Whispy sensed a threat to Acore and asked Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff to protect the eldery tree. Whispy is also shown to have a love of flowers, as seen the The Flower Plot, where he fell in love with Lovely, who tried to suck the energy out of him. In his final appearance in the series, Whispy, along with Phan Phan and the other wildlife. watched the Halberd's ignition in Cappy Town Down.

Smash Bros. Series
Whispy Woods cameos in all three Super Smash Bros. games where he appears as an element in the background of Kirby's stages Dream Land in Smash Bros. and Melee and Green Greens in Melee and Brawl. He interferes with the fight by blowing the characters around with a gust of wind, and in the Green Greens stage he also drops apples that can either be picked up and thrown or occasionally be eaten to recover damage (granted the Food item is turned on in the settings).

Strangely, the trophy for Whispy Woods' apples in Melee, as well as the trophy in Brawl, states that he doesn't actually grow his own apples, though this might refer to the apples that were shown on the trophy.

A sticker of Whispy appears in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, utilizing his design in Kirby Super Star.

Trivia

 * Though Whispy Woods does not appear in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, a boss named King Golem bears great resemblance to Whispy, except he is actually a stone pillar instead of a tree. He also acts similarly by dropping rocks onto the floor in a similar fashion to Whispy's apples.
 * Almost every episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! involving Whispy is about saving trees.
 * In the American commercial for Kirby Mass Attack, a boy says "You again!?" after encountering Whispy. This may reference how Whispy Woods is a recurring character throughout the series.
 * One issue of Nintendo Power states that Whispy Woods is also known as "The Larkspur Liar."