Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Kirby: Triple Deluxe (Hoshi no Kābī: Toripuru Derakkusu, or Kirby of the Stars: Triple Deluxe in Japan) is a Kirby game for the Nintendo 3DS. Kirby: Triple Deluxe was announced during a Nintendo Direct. This is the 15th Kirby game and the first for the Nintendo 3DS. It will be made available for purchase in retail stores and on Nintendo eShop.

Gameplay
Kirby: Triple Deluxe has mechanics that are used like a 2.5D platformer that appears to run on the engine of Kirby's Return to Dream Land. The physics and graphics are mostly reused from the Wii title, although, there is a new feature that lets Kirby move into the foreground and the background with an item similar to the Warp Star, a similar mechanic seen in Donkey Kong Country Returns. This installment takes advantage of the 3DS's 3D technology by frequently having Kirby, projectiles, and other things move toward the screen or away from the screen, an example being seen at the end of the trailer as Kirby gets flattened against the screen. Enemies also can enter Kirby's path from the background and vice versa.

One scene in the trailer depicts Kirby dodging a train resembling a Waddle Dee coming from the background, and another shows Kirby fighting a mid-boss that looks strikingly similar to Bugzzy, only with subtle differences.

The game also uses motion controls. During a trailer made specifically to showcase the motion controls, the 3DS can be seen moving, which in turn moves an item that Kirby is using. For an example, Kirby could be riding a gondola, and the player tilts the 3DS to move to gondola, or if Kirby is in a bowl of water, the player can tilt the 3DS to pour out water.

Kirby obtains and ability called Hypernova by touching a bean of some sort, which aplifies his signature inhale exponentially, allowing him to eat things as large as trees, pull large items that are otherwise unmoveable, or catch giant projectiles and fire them back. The final battle of this game takes advantage of the gyro controls and Hypernova ability; Dedede fires Kirby out of a cannon to destroy flowers that the player controls by tilting the 3DS, and the last section of the final boss requires Kirby to suck in and fire back things like enemies and missles.

Keys and gates from Kirby's Return to Dreamland return in this game, along with Copy Abilities like Leaf and Whip. Boxes with stars on them that teleport Kirby to other boxes, and glass walls that force Kirby to get rid of his ability when he walks through them are introduced in this game.

Story
After a day of fishing, flying, and relaxing, a massive beanstalk known as the World Tree lifts Kirby's house high above the ground one night while he is sleeping. When he wakes up the next day, Kirby realizes his house isn't on the ground anymore, instead being in the air in the mysterious kingdom known as Floarald. He runs out of his house and falls onto a part of the beanstalk, and spots King Dedede's castle above him, which was also lifted by the beanstalk. He climbs the beanstalk to reach the castle, and spots a creature named Daranza entering the castle. Kirby curiously follows Daranza and watches as it easily dispatches many of Dedede's Waddle Dee guards, and it proceeds to capture Dedede, surrounding him in a strange purple aura. Daranza breaks through Dedede's glass ceiling and ascends the beanstalk with him in tow, while Kirby follows close behind.

Kirby chases after Daranza in Fine Field but is stopped when Daranza turns a flower into Whispy Flowers with what appears to be a spider web. Kirby again follows Daranza in Lollipop Land, but must fight Paintcia, a panting summoned by Daranza, in order to progress. Kirby catches up to Daranza in Old Odyssey, as Daranza appears to be looking for something. He zaps a small cloud, which turns into Kracko and fights Kirby. Kirby finds Daranza again just as the latter shoots another spider web at a stone Toggle-Lo Garaga, and flies away, breaking the it into pieces in the process. Kirby attempts to chase after Daranza, but Toggle-Lo Garaga begins to move and put itself back together, and it attacks him.

Kirby catches up to Daranza in a castle of some sort and Daranza appears to speak to Kirby before taking control of Dedede as if he's a puppet and forcing the two to fight. After Kirby defeats Dedede in his masked form, destroying his hammer and part of the mask in the process, Daranza zaps Dedede, causing him to rise again. His robes change from red to purple and he grabs an axe from the background and confronts Kirby once more.

Kirby defeats Dedede again, and Daranza summons a large queen bee-like creature, who attacks Daranza, sending him flying into the sky. The bee creature explains something to Kirby before attacking him. During the battle, the bee summons smaller bee creatures, and attacks with what appear to be crystals, one of which she summons into the background and forces a portion of the battle to take place on. After Kirby defeats her, he celebrates with a now-awake Dedede, but the bee creature says something to Kirby and combines herself with the World Tree.

The World Tree's vines grow significantly, covering the castle Kirby and Dedede fought in and PopStar itself. As they panic, several Floarald inhabitants appear with a cannon-like device (that's controlled by titlting the 3DS) that Kirby and Dedede use to combat the vines. Dedede repeatedly shoots Kirby at flowers, weakening the vines and creating an opening to the bee creature that Dedede fires Kirby into.

Kirby ascends the World Tree and fights with the bee creature once again. He defeats the vines she controls and celebrates again, but a vine grabs Kirby by the foots and captrues him. Daranza appears with Dedede in tow, ready to help. Daranza throws Dedede at Kirby, and Dedede uses his hammer to smack Dedede out of the vines. He then throws Kirby at Daranza, who throws the Hypernova bean at Kirby, giving kirby his Hypernova ability. Kirby uses the ability to confront the bee creature for the final time. During the battle, Kirby inhales missles that the boss's vines fire at him, and shoots them back to intercept a larger missle. The buds of the boss's vines create a shield to protect her, but Kirby inhales the buds at fires them at each other (by tilting the 3DS) until all four are destroyed. The boss, for her last attack, attemps to fire an enormous beam at Kirby, only for him to inhale it and fire it back at her, defeating her for good.

Her vines disintergrate, freeing PopStar and causing Kirby to fall from the sky. Two Floarald inhabitants catch him in the air while the other four catch Kirby's home and Daranza catches Dedede. Daranza explains something to Kirby, and they all admire Floarald while flower petals fall from the sky.

Announcement History
The first trailer was shown during a Nintendo Direct presentation on October 1, 2013, and the game was unveiled by Satoru Iwata. On November 14, 2013, the title for the game in North America was revealed to be Kirby: Triple Deluxe. The next day, on November 15, 2013, a teaser site was revealed in Japan and the release date for the game in Japan was announced. The game was slated for release on January 11, 2014 in Japan, with a TBA 2014 release window for North America and Europe.

On December 18, 2013, Nintendo revealed two new copy abilities, Circus and Sniper, and the new modes, Kirby Fighters and Dedede's Drum Dash, via Nintendo Direct.

The game saw its Japanese release on January 11, 2014.

Confirmed Major Characters

 * Kirby
 * Bandana Waddle Dee
 * King Dedede
 * Daranza
 * Rick (Kirby Fighters)
 * Coo (Kirby Fighters)
 * Kine (Kirby Fighters)

Confirmed Playable Characters

 * Kirby
 * King Dedede

Confirmed Copy Abilities

 * Beam
 * Beetle
 * Bell
 * Bomb
 * Circus
 * Crash
 * Cutter
 * Fighter
 * Fire
 * Hammer
 * Hypernova
 * Ice
 * Leaf
 * Mike
 * Needle
 * Ninja
 * Parasol
 * Sleep
 * Sniper
 * Spark
 * Spear
 * Stone
 * Sword
 * Wing
 * Wheel
 * Whip

Confirmed Enemies

 * Barbar
 * Big Waddle Dee (some with skis and/or what resembles brown fur)
 * Birdon
 * Blade Knight
 * Blipper
 * Bomber
 * Bouncy
 * Bronto Burt
 * Broom Hatter
 * Cappy
 * Chilly
 * Chip
 * Como
 * Craby
 * Flamer
 * Foley
 * Giant Gordo
 * Glunk
 * Gordo
 * Grizzo
 * Hot Head
 * Kabu
 * Knuckle Joe
 * Lanzer
 * Mumbies
 * Noddy
 * Parasol (enemy)
 * Parasol Waddle Dee
 * Pierce
 * Poppy Bros. Jr.
 * Rocky
 * Scarfy
 * Search
 * Shotzo
 * Sir Kibble
 * Soarar
 * Sparky
 * Sodory
 * Squishy
 * Tick
 * Tsukikage
 * Waddle Dee (some with skis)
 * Waddle Doo
 * Walky
 * Wheelie Bike
 * Whippy
 * Unnamed beetle enemy
 * Unnamed bell enemy
 * Unnamed clown enemy
 * Unnamed archer enemy
 * Unnamed one-eyed ghost enemy
 * Unnamed ghost with a skull face
 * Unnamed golden cobra-like enemy that spits fire
 * Unnamed ghost that can possess items
 * Unnamed one-eyed Gordo-like enemy
 * Unnamed enemy resembling Kabu and Grumples
 * Unnamed ray enemy that resembles Blipper
 * Unnamed giant eel enemy
 * Unnamed bug enemy which hides in tree trunks

Confirmed Mid-bosses

 * Blocky
 * Helmehorn
 * Mr. Frosty
 * Grand Wheelie Bike
 * Gigant Edge
 * Bonkers
 * Unnamed fire mid-boss that resembles Galbo
 * Unnamed large ghost that possesses items
 * Unnamed giant mole enemy that throws Star Blocks (comes in yellow/orange, red, and purple varitations)
 * Unnamed giant bird enemy (comes in blue, green, and purple variations)
 * Four unnamed dragon-like enemies with shields

Confirmed Bosses

 * Whispy Flowers (Fine Field)
 * Paintcia (Lollipop Land)
 * Kracko (Old Odyssey)
 * Toggle-Lo Garaga (Wild World)
 * Unnamed fire frog-like boss with a crown (Ever Explosion)
 * Masked Dedede (Royal Road)
 * Unnamed queen bee-like creature (final boss)
 * Shadow Kirby (Kirby Fighters, presumably different than the one found in Kirby and the Amazing Mirror.)

Confirmed Items

 * 1UP
 * 3D Warp Star
 * Blue Box
 * Cracker
 * Dash Shoes
 * Food
 * Gordo
 * Key
 * Key Chain
 * Large Wooden Crate
 * Maxim Tomato
 * Mint Leaf
 * Pep Brew
 * Star
 * Star Block
 * Sun Stone
 * Timer Dynamite
 * Treasure chest
 * Warp Star
 * Unnamed long electric rod that can damage enemies in the foreground and background
 * Unnamed Bean giving a Hypernova ability
 * Unnamed Star-like item like a Bubble from Kirby Squeak Squad

Confirmed Game Modes

 * Main Mode
 * Kirby Fighters
 * Dedede's Drum Dash
 * The Arena/Boss Endurance

Confirmed Levels

 * Fine Field
 * Lollipop Land
 * Old Odyssey
 * Wild World
 * Ever Explosion
 * Royal Road
 * Eternal Dreamland

Kirby Fighters
What is currently known about this sub-game is that players pick one of ten available copy abilities for their Kirby, including the new Sniper ability. From what appears in a gameplay video, computer-controlled players are assigned colors randomly. They can then either play by themselves, or with three other players. When playing with computers, the player progresses through areas, similar to a fighting game such as Street Fighter. It is unknown if maps are chosen when not playing with computers. Rather than actually being fought, Lololo and Lalala, King Dedede, and Kracko are actually part of the map itself. That is, players could be fighting on the Castle Lololo stage (name not certain yet) and Lololo and Lalala come out of their doors to push through anything in their path while the Kirbys still fight each other. A warning sign usually pops up on the screen first, as is the case of King Dedede when playing on his stage, popping up on the bottom right of the screen. His stage is in an arena similar to the one seen in KSS and its remake. It is currently unknown if bosses can be KO'd, however, they can be damaged. The core focus of this game mode is apparently to find out "Which Copy Ability is the best". Once a player beats their opposition, the classic "level complete" tune from Kirby's Dream Land plays. The sub-game itself use many classic tunes or remixes.

This minigame is multiplayer, allowing four people to play together. It is unknown if it is an online multiplayer or if it is used via Download Play.

Dedede's Drum Dash
Players take the role of Dedede, who bounces on drums to collect coins. Players press the A button to either adjust the height of Dedede's jump, or to cause him to perform an action at the highest point of his jump, awarding points, and they use the control pad to guide Dedede to the right. A significantly larger drum is the last one in the stage and upon bouncing on it correctly, it launches Dedede up off the screen, clearing the stage. There appear to be three difficulties or levels. Players bounce on the drums and also use cymbals to keep a "rhythm" going, that is, a song plays in the background and the player has to keep a beat going with that song. Players can keep the beat to classic Kirby tunes.

Trivia

 * The Japanese box art for Kirby: Triple Deluxe depicts Kirby inhaling. This makes it the second game in the series to show Kirby's suction ability on the cover -- the first is the international box art for Kirby's Adventure.
 * This is also the first Kirby game to feature an angry-looking Kirby on the Japanese box art, as the expression is mostly used on American box arts.
 * The title references the 3D focus of this game; 'Triple' is derived from the number 3, and the 'Deluxe' can be shortened to its first letter, D. When put together, the title literally becomes "Kirby 3D".
 * During the new Hypernova ability's transformation, the pink and red colors of Kirby's body burst off him.
 * Paintcia is possibly this game's reincarnation of Drawcia, the main villain of Kirby: Canvas Curse. Both possess an attack that has them shoot paint at Kirby from above.
 * The background music in the first part of the trailer depicting the features of the Nintendo 3DS Gyroscope is possibly a remix of the unused theme from Kirby's Dream Land 2.
 * In the Japanese commercial and Overview Trailer, Kirby is shown to be able to interact with the environment, for example, using the Sword Ability to cut down grass, as he can in Kirby: Squeak Squad. The Cutter ability can also cut grass and the Fire ability can burn it.
 * Players can collect old sprites of classic Kirby foes, allies, etc. in the form of keychains in levels and look at them from the world map in a gallery. These unlockables can also be awarded if the player succeeds at the post-level bonus game.
 * All the levels in order excluding Eternal Dreamland spell FLOWER.