Francisca

"If you resist, I will freeze you into ice."

- Francisca

Francisca, also titled as Frozen General and Bringer of Icy Doom, is a character in the Kirby series, debuting as a secondary antagonist in Kirby Star Allies, but would later become an ally. She is a member of The Three Mage-Sisters, who are followers of Hyness.

Physical Appearance
Francisca has disembodied hands and long, blue hair parted to her right. She has a noticeably paler skin tone compared to the other mages, possibly due to spending time in the cold. She has no nose, and her eyes are blue and resemble Kirby's as opposed to being one color. She also has blue markings curving downward from the bottom of her eyes. She wears a dark purple beret with a bat-like symbol in front, which Hyness and the other mages feature as well. Her uniform is outlined in blue, and on her chest, there are two purple hearts connected by a golden chain. Under her uniform, she wears a dress with a blue underside. This dress also partially covers her face in a similar manner to a veil, the area on her face is white with orange buttons on it.

When fought in Heroes in Another Dimension and the Soul Melter EX difficulty in The Ultimate Choice, Francisca’s outfit has changed into more of an angelic color scheme. Her outfit and beret are all completely white with beige lining. The two hearts on her chest are also gold instead of purple. Her skin has turned black and her eyes have turned red. However, she retains her blue markings and hair.

Personality
Francisca is very refined and elegant, twirling around when moving in her boss fight. Her Pause Screen description on Longview Corridor describes her as “calm, cool, and collected.” However, she is also known to be ruthless and cold-blooded, swiftly encasing her opponents in ice and keeping them as trophies in a collection. Despite her cruel manners to her enemies, she is very kind and polite to her allies, as shown in Heroes in Another Dimension where she addresses Flamberge as “Ms. Flamberge.” Specifically, she used this prefix to respectfully adress someone. She has a close bond with Flamberge as well, missing her when out on missions. She also likes to hang out in snowy, cold areas.

Battle
Francisca is first fought on Jambastion in Longview Corridor, serving as the fifth boss, and is fought again later in Far-Flung - Starlight Heroes on Blizzno Moon, serving as the twelfth boss.

Francisca mostly attacks using a labrys with a snowflake design; she can swing it normally, or she can enlarge the head and throw it like a disk using magic to capture Kirby and co. by freezing them. If anyone is captured in the attack, she then turns it back into a labrys and flings them at the wall and floor. She can create icicles that can freeze the ground. If Kirby and/or his friends have the Sizzle element, then they can attack the icicles or the frozen ground to gain food. In update 4.0.0, they can also now attack the enlarged labrys head with the Sizzle element in order to burn it, leaving Francisca shocked at what had happened and vulnerable to attack. She also has a soda gun, which she shakes in order to expel a strong soda current that bounces off the ceiling and floor. Attacking the soda stream with the Zap element will send an electric current through the stream, electrocuting Francisca and stunning her.

In her rematch on Blizzno Moon, her attack pattern is somewhat different. Specifically, her soda beam and icicle attacks were changed quite a bit. It takes a little less time to charge up her Soda Beam, and she now moves it around by closing it in or moving out. For her icicle attack, the icicles, once fired, now loop around and head in the opposite direction of where they spawned. She can now jab her labrys into the ground and drag it across the arena, then doing an upward slash afterwards. The trail of ice her labrys leaves freezes anyone it contacts.

Francisca appears in the game's boss rush mode, The Ultimate Choice. She appears in five levels of difficulty (Zesty Expedition, Fiery Showdown, Infernal Crisis, Soul Melter, and Soul Melter EX).

Story
Before the events of the main story, Francisca was originally a normal girl on the brink of death. Francisca was wandering in a snowstorm, and nearly froze to death. However, before she could depart from the world, Hyness arrived in the nick of time and saved her by granting her the powers of ice. Thus, she became one of Hyness’s followers, admiring him for rescuing her.

According to Hyness, those of his religion, as well as possibly himself, Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne, were banished and sealed away to the edge of the galaxy by a race known as the ancients. Hyness says that their religion was responsible for stopping a "galactic crisis," but it's unknown what the crisis was. Apparently, the ancients banished them because they feared their power, and they also subsequently attempted to erase their existence from history itself. Hyness also mentions a book of legend that foretold the restoration of those that are masters of a matter most dark, or those of their religion. It could be presumed that those who were part of this religion wrote this book, akin to the Holy Bible and other religious books. At the start of the story, Hyness began to resurrect Void Termina, whom they zealously worshiped. However, Hyness did not fully understand how to break the seal, so the ritual went wrong, causing the Jamba Heart to shatter and spread its negative influence across the galaxy. Hyness then sent The Three Mage-Sisters on a quest to gather the dark shards while he stays behind and continues the ritual.

After Kirby and friends defeat Meta Knight, the Generals of magic land their Jambastion on Planet Popstar. Kirby and friends break into their fortress and battles them one by one, confronting Francisca first, who reveals that they are gathering dark hearts for their plans. Later on, Kirby and friends encounter Francisca again on Blizzno Moon. Francisca fights them again, only to be launched into the distance. Near the end of the game, Kirby and friends try to confront The Three Mage-Sisters’ leader, Hyness, who is performing the revival ceremony, only to be stopped by Zan Partizanne.

Kirby and friends defeat Zan Partizanne, who then begs for Hyness’s help. Hyness, displeased with her failure, bats her aside and faces Kirby and friends himself. When the heroes knock off his hood, however, Hyness becomes enraged, summoning Francisca and her two sisters and draining their life force to restore his own, rendering them unconscious. Hyness uses them as living weapons to fight Kirby and friends, but still manages to fail at defeating them. In a last ditch effort to finish the revival of his Dark Lord, Hyness throws Francisca into the Jamba Heart, along with her sisters Zan Partizanne and Flamberge, all three of them still unconscious, and then dives into the Jamba Heart himself, successfully reviving Void Termina.

During the fight with Void Termina, Kirby and friends enter his body to battle his heart. During so, they find Francisca, along with Hyness, Zan Partizanne, and Flamberge, trapped inside cocoons. One by one, they are freed as the heroes deal more damage to Void Termina’s heart. After the heroes rip off the outer shell, the core is released, ejecting everyone, including Francisca, her two sisters, and Hyness, who aren’t seen again until Heroes in Another Dimension.

Sometime after the events of the main story, Hyness had somehow fallen into a dimensional rift leading to Another Dimension, leading to Francisca and her sisters entering Another Dimension as well in order to search for him. Zan Partizanne soon finds him after Kirby and friends have defeated him, lamenting his current state before calling Francisca and Flamberge, who also lament him. Francisca and her sisters then direct their rage to Kirby and friends and attempt to end their long-lasting battle. However, the heroes are victorious, and Francisca and her sisters are defeated. After the battle, all of the Friend Hearts the heroes collected merge into one giant Friend Heart, which Kirby throws at the sisters. Francisca and her sisters wake up and are restored to their original colors. After some thinking, they then nod their heads in agreement and presumably say a prayer of sorts, which turns the dark battlefield into a brightly-lit arena. The Warp Star then descends from the sky, and the heroes hop on. Before leaving, Kirby waves goodbye to the sisters and the Warp Star takes off, leaving behind a small heart that slowly falls onto Hyness. Hyness then wakes up, restored to his former glory, and Francisca and her sisters run up to him in joy and presumably tell him what had happened as the screen fades to black. It is unknown Francisca, her sisters, and Hyness decided to live on Planet Popstar with Kirby afterwards, but the 100% completion picture for Heroes in Another Dimension shows that they are now on good terms with each other.

As a Dream Friend
Francisca also appears as a Dream Friend, where she is paired with her two sisters as a single character. Unlike other paired Dream Friends, the player can switch between the three sisters at will. Francisca’s moveset consists of attacks from her boss fights. Most of her attacks grant the Blizzard element, while her Soda Blaster grants the Splash element.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
Francisca appears alongside Flamberge and Zan Partizanne as a single advanced-class support spirit in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Their spirit can be obtained by fighting a team of three Robins with enhanced power in their special moves, each one of them bearing a different color palette, the pink one representing Francisca. When equipped, their spirit enhances the power of battering items.

Quotes
"…Bonjam. Heh. That’s how we greet people on MY planet. I am Francisca, one of the three generals of magic. Together, we command the Fortress of Shadows known as…Jambastion! We wish to assemble the dark Jamba Heart pieces that were scattered across the universe. Once we do, our most twisted of visions will finally be…untwisted. Unthawed? Unfurled! But I do not wish to waste my time with pointless chatter. So I won’t! Just know that should you attempt to oppose us…I'll have no choice but to put you on ice...FOREVER!"

- Francisca

"…Hmph. Color me surprised. I certainly didn’t expect to run into your puffy self again. And here I thought you were buried along with the Jambastion… Well then! I’ll just have to ensure that my victory is complete this time! I shall now turn this pink ball of nice into a frozen block of ice! Heh! I always wanted an ice sculpture for my trophy collection!"

- Francisca

Related Quotes
"Calm, cool, and collected, Frozen General Francisca is one of three mages at the head of Jambastion’s forces. The freezing attacks she unleashes are enough to chill the very hearts of those who oppose her."

- VS Francisca (1st battle)

"Undeterred from her quest to find the dark hearts that have rained down across the galaxy, the Frozen General is back and tougher than ever before! Her duties have kept her away from Flamberge lately… She kind of misses her."

- VS Francisca (2nd battle)

"-Song of Supplication- In spite of all, cold as ice! In spite of all, hard as stone! In spite of all, hear out plea! In spite of all, all alone! In spite of all, we reconcile! In spite of all, we pass the trial! In spite of all, hear us three! We beg of thee! We beg of thee!"

- VS Francisca (The Ultimate Choice)

"Once upon a time, a girl was stranded freezing in a snowstorm. As she got colder and colder, a mysterious traveler appeared and unlocked her natural talent for ice magic. She kept turning blue, all right--the beautiful blue of Francisca!"

- VS Francisca (Soul Melter EX)

"Francisca attacks with ice and water. Use Friend Abilities with fire and electricity against her!"

- Francisca’s use of water and ice

"Bonjam. Can it be? Frosty Francisca from Kirby Star Allies is your new ally?! Indeed, this cool character is known for swiftly encasing her enemies in ice and keeping them as trophies. Looks like her collection is about to get even bigger..."

- Flavor Text

"The cold-blooded blue priestess from Kirby Star Allies pays a surprise visit! Along with her sisters, she seeks paradise. But will standing too close to Flamberge throw water on her dreams?"

- Guest Star Description

Etymology
A "francisca" is a type of throwing axe that was used in the Early Middle Ages. Since Francisca wields an axe as a weapon, her name may have been derived from it.

A translation of her Japanese name is Fran-Kiss.

Trivia

 * Interestingly, Francisca has been prominently featured as an avatar on the Kirby 25th Anniversary Twitter account for posts relating to Kirby Star Allies (much like Susie before her).
 * The Twitter would later feature Flamberge and Zan Partizanne as the hosts for sharing content about Kirby Star Allies.
 * If a fire attack is used against one of Francisca's icicles that she launches, it will turn into one food item, even during The Ultimate Choice.