Kirby: Planet Robobot

Kirby: Planet Robobot is a game in the Kirby series for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. It was released in Japan on April 28th, 2016 and in North America on June 10th, 2016.

Gameplay
Kirby: Planet Robobot is a traditional platformer Kirby game; in it, the player controls Kirby, whose objective is to get to the end of each stage by using Copy Abilities. Kirby retains his moves from Kirby: Triple Deluxe, including the inhale, Star Spit, Slide attack, air bullet, floating, and guarding. In addition to these abilities, Kirby is now able to climb grates as well and carry some objects underwater.

The game is a 2.5D platformer, and characters move on a two-dimensional plane in a 3D environment. The game's camera moves around to show different angles in some stages, similarly to Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. The physics and graphics of the game are mostly reused from Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

The most major mechanic that is introduced in this game is the Robobot Armor. In several levels, Kirby can take these mech suits, either by defeating an Invader Armor or by finding a suit in the stages themselves, and use them to solve puzzles or to explore secret areas. Unlike the Super Abilities from Kirby's Return to Dream Land and the Miracle Fruit from Kirby: Triple Deluxe, which were designed to appear near the end of several stages, most stages with the Robobot Armor are designed to be used throughout them. In some cases, the Armor is entirely optional or hidden, and isn't required to complete the stage .

Normal Abilities
Kirby is able to use all of his regular moves in Kirby: Planet Robobot, including his inhale, floating, running, jumping and the slide attack.

Copy Abilities
27 Copy Abilities appear in Kirby: Planet Robobot. Of these, four make return appearances from previous games (Jet and Mirror, returning from Kirby Super Star Ultra, Smash Bros. returning from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, and UFO returning from Kirby: Squeak Squad) and three are new (Doctor, Poison and ESP). Many of the returning abilities retain their designs and movesets from Kirby's Return to Dream Land and/or Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

Kirby's Copy Abilities

 * The Smash Bros. ability is available through the Kirby amiibo (Super Smash Bros. series) or through a rare Copy Essence.
 * UFO is available through Kirby amiibo (Kirby series) or through 100% completion of the game.
 * The following Abilities have alternate costumes that can be unlocked via amiibo:
 * Hammer (King Dedede amiibo)
 * Parasol (Waddle Dee amiibo)
 * Sword (Meta Knight amiibo)

Robobot Armor Modes
The Robobot Armor is able to scan and obtain up to 13 Copy Abilities, known as Modes.

Story
As Kirby naps under a tree, a group of robotic invaders from the Haltmann Works Company descend from the skies of Dream Land and overrun Planet Popstar with machinery. Both King Dedede and Meta Knight retaliate against the invaders. King Dedede uses his castle's cannons and Meta Knight uses his Halberd, but the enemies' weaponry easily defeats both. Kirby wakes up, and seeing the machinery, sets out to stop the invaders.

Shortly into his adventure, Kirby is attacked by one of the Haltmann Works Company's soldiers, piloting a large mech suit called Invader Armor. After Kirby defeats it, the grunt is knocked from the pilot's seat, allowing Kirby to hijack the mech for himself by transforming it into Robobot Armor.

After defeating Clanky Woods in Patched Plains and Holo Defense API in Resolution Road, Kirby reaches Overload Ocean, where he meets Susie, the secretary of the Haltmann Works Company. She informs him that the company is harvesting resources from Popstar, and its natives are nothing more than nuisances to be removed. However, her personal mech suit proves unable to defeat Kirby, forcing her to flee.

Kirby proceeds through Gigabyte Grounds before meeting Susie again. After praising the Haltmann Works Company's CEO, President Haltmann, she reveals that Meta Knight was captured and mechanized into her own personal security guard. She deploys the newly-minted Mecha Knight before retreating again, leaving Kirby to battle his rival. The pink warrior triumphs, but Mecha Knight collapses into a deep ravine before he can be freed from the Haltmann Works Company's control.

In Rhythm Route, the final site of the Haltmann Works Company's harvesting operation, Kirby confronts Susie within a massive tower. Surprised by Kirby's ability to defeat Mecha Knight - which she attributes to a flaw in the "Mother Computer" - she deploys a clone of King Dedede to fight against the persistent puffball before making another exit. Despite a wide array of abilities, including the ability to split into three and take control of the massive D3 cannon, the cloned king couldn't stop Kirby from shutting down the final area supplying the company with power, allowing him to breach the Access Ark.

After fighting through waves of defenses and powerful robots, Kirby reaches the very heart of the ark; the office of President Haltmann himself. There, Susie again sends in Mecha Knight, newly upgraded into "Mecha Knight+"; still, Kirby manages to defeat him. With Meta Knight freed from her mind control, Susie prepares to take the situation into her own hands - however, President Haltmann chooses that moment to reveal himself. He expresses disappointment in Susie's performance, and dismisses her from the office before confronting Kirby himself.

Haltmann reveals that he has been studying the most advanced technologies in the world, allowing him to reactivate a wish-granting computer named Star Dream. After showing the machine to Kirby, he engages him in battle, using a powerful mech suit of his own - nonetheless, the hero of Planet Popstar emerges triumphant yet again. Enraged by the "savages" of the world, Haltmann activates Star Dream by using a special helmet to take control of it. Suddenly, Susie betrays him by forcefully taking it off, revealing her plans to sell Star Dream to the highest bidder for profit.

When Susie tries to don the control helmet, however, she is shot down by Star Dream itself, which possesses Haltmann and speaks through him. It explains that it has been studying the cosmos through the Haltmann Works Company, and that it has found all organic lifeforms to be a nuisance and a hindrance to its master's goals of eternal prosperity. Announcing its intent to wipe out all organic life in the universe, Star Dream launches itself into space.

When Susie realized what happened, she summons Invader Armor and decides that Kirby would be the best suited to use it considering how far he's come. She then pleads for Kirby to stop Star Dream. Kirby immediately leaps aboard, transforming the armor into his Robobot Armor as Meta Knight arrives aboard the Halberd. From atop it, Meta Knight beckons to Kirby, who promptly uses the Armor to fuse with the Halberd and pursue Star Dream.

After a long battle, with the Halberd being shot down and Meta Knight ejecting Kirby and the Robobot Armor to finish the fight, Kirby loses consciousness. The Robobot Armor then proceeds to reach in and remove Kirby, sending him back to Popstar, but as the Robobot Armor floats into space, it sheds tears at the loss of Kirby. After all of the mechanization of Popstar is undone, Kirby wakes up on solid ground, being placed safely by Meta Knight. King Dedede and a Waddle Dee emerge from the rubble of the castle and rejoice, and Susie flies off into space in her mech suit. Kirby watches as Meta Knight flies on the Halberd, looking proudly off into the distance. Kirby waves to Meta Knight, and proceeds to run after the Halberd.

Major Characters

 * Kirby
 * Meta Knight
 * King Dedede
 * Bandana Waddle Dee
 * Susie
 * President Haltmann

Playable Characters

 * Kirby
 * Meta Knight

Regular Enemies

 * Acro Bot
 * Barbar
 * Benogoo
 * Big Chip
 * Big Gordo
 * Big Propeller
 * Big Waddle Dee
 * Blade Knight
 * Blipper
 * Bomber
 * Bouncy (Kirby 3D Rumble only)
 * Bronto Burt (regular and cyborg)
 * Broom Hatter
 * Burner Bird
 * Cappy (regular and cyborg)
 * Capsule J3
 * Chilly
 * Chip
 * Clown Acrobot
 * Clubmech
 * Como
 * Construcraken
 * Covered Looker
 * Craby
 * Cultra
 * Dacooga
 * Degout
 * Dekabu
 * Elec
 * Electro Sphere
 * Flamer
 * Foley
 * Gabon
 * Galbo
 * Gigatzo
 * Glunk
 * Gordo
 * Grizzo
 * Haltmann Grunt
 * Hot Head
 * Kabu
 * Key Dee
 * Knuckle Joe
 * Leafan
 * Mamanti
 * Moonja
 * Mumbies
 * Noddy
 * Pacto
 * Parasol
 * Parasol Waddle Dee (hard hat, and cyborg)
 * Pata
 * Pillah
 * Poppy Bros. Jr.
 * Propeller
 * Rocky
 * Scarfy (regular and cyborg)
 * Security Laser
 * Sheld
 * Shotzo
 * Simirror
 * Sir Kibble
 * Sleepy Turtle
 * Sparky
 * Spear Waddle Dee (Kirby 3D Rumble only)
 * Springy Note
 * Spynum
 * Squishy
 * Steam Hammer
 * Tough Waddle Dee
 * Waddle Dee (regular, hard hat, and cyborg)
 * Waddle Doo
 * Walf
 * Walky
 * Wester
 * Wheelie
 * Whippy
 * UFO
 * Volm
 * Volte
 * Waddle Dee Driver, Waddle Dee driving several types of automobiles
 * Walker Waddle Dee

Mid-bosses

 * Main Mode
 * Blocky (2.0)
 * Bonkers (2.0)
 * Dubior (2.0)
 * Invader Armor
 * Kibble Blade (2.0)
 * King Doo (2.0)
 * Miasmoros (2.0)
 * Security Force (2.0)
 * Telepathos (2.0)
 * Robobot Bosses
 * C.O.G.S.
 * Gigavolt
 * Gigavolt II
 * Core Kabula

Bosses

 * Main Mode and Meta Knightmare Returns
 * Clanky Woods (2.0)
 * Holo Defense API (2.0)
 * Holo-Kracko (2.0)
 * Holo-Doomers (2.0)
 * Holo-Ice Dragon (2.0)
 * Holo-Coily Rattler (2.0)
 * Susie (2.0)
 * Mecha Knight
 * Dedede Clone (2.0) / Dedede Clones & D3 (2.0)
 * Mecha Knight+
 * President Haltmann (2.0)
 * Star Dream
 * Stock Mecha Knight
 * Dark Matter Clone
 * Sectonia Clone
 * Galacta Knight
 * Team Kirby Clash
 * Gigant Edge
 * Mr. Frosty
 * Whispy Woods
 * Pyribbit
 * Landia
 * Landia EX
 * Kirby 3D Rumble
 * Masher
 * Mega Masher
 * The True Arena
 * Star Dream Soul OS

Items and Objects

 * 1UP
 * 3D Laser Bar
 * 3D Warp Star
 * Assist Star
 * Battery
 * Cannon
 * Chain
 * Code Cube
 * Coin (Kirby 3D Rumble)
 * Food
 * Grate
 * Invincibility Candy
 * Maxim Tomato
 * Medal (Team Kirby Clash)
 * Nut
 * Pep Brew
 * Play Coin
 * Power Tablets (Team Kirby Clash)
 * Reviving Tomato
 * Robobot Armor
 * Remote Controller
 * Screw
 * Skull Panel
 * Sticker (common and rare)
 * Swap Chamber
 * Table saw
 * Teleporter
 * Treasure Chest
 * Trophy (Kirby 3D Rumble, The Arena, The True Arena)
 * Warp Star
 * Wire


 * Other environmental elements

Modes
Kirby: Planet Robobot has a story mode, Team Kirby Clash, Meta Knightmare Returns, Kirby 3D Rumble, The Arena and The True Arena.

Levels

 * Patched Plains
 * Resolution Road
 * Overload Ocean
 * Gigabyte Grounds
 * Rhythm Route
 * Access Ark
 * Mind in the Program

Incidentally, if the first letter of each world is combined, the letters spell out the word "P-R-O-G-R-A-M", which is a subtle hint towards the final boss, Star Dream.

amiibo Compatibility
During Story Mode, the player can scan an amiibo to instantly obtain a Copy Ability, whether random or character-specific, depending on the amiibo used (for example, the Mario amiibo will give Kirby the Fire ability). A line of Kirby series amiibo, featuring Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee, was released alongside the game. When either of these is scanned, they will either give Kirby the UFO ability or one of three custom-designed versions of existing abilities. Ten amiibo can be scanned per stage, with each amiibo being scanned once per day.

Scanning any amiibo when playing Meta Knightmare Returns causes a food item to appear.

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Reception
Kirby: Planet Robobot has received generally favorable reviews, holding a critical score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic and a score of 83.26 on Game Rankings.

Trivia

 * On April 26, 2016, the ROM of the English version of Kirby: Planet Robobot was leaked on Reddit. This is the first instance of a Kirby game leaking online before its release in any region.
 * Kirby: Planet Robobot is the first Kirby game to be released at the same time in Japan and Korea.
 * Kirby 3D Rumble appears to be greatly inspired by Nintendo's second attempt at creating the canceled game Kirby GCN.
 * Simultaneously, the art style of the game's logo, heads-up display, and overall appearance pay homage to Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
 * Kirby: Planet Robobot is the first game in the series to come bundled with an amiibo figure.
 * All the first letters of the worlds together spell the acronym "P-R-O-G-R-A-M."
 * This is similar to the acronyms in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby: Triple Deluxe, which spell out "C-R-O-W-N-E-D" and "F-L-O-W-E-R-E-D," respectively. These are only a few of the many acronyms in the series, the others are "R-A-I-N-B-O-W" in Kirby: Canvas Curse, "H-A-L" in Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition, and "V-I-B-G-Y-O-R", spelled backwards, "R-O-Y-G-B-I-V" in Kirby's Adventure.
 * One of the pieces of artwork of Kirby greatly resembles his artwork for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, which itself is based off his Good Ending pose from Kirby's Dream Land 3.
 * This is the first game in the Kirby series to have a Roulette Copy Essence.
 * Dubior is the only returning mid-boss in the main game to not be mechanized, as it is already a robot.
 * In the Korean version of the game, The Arena's and The True Arena's names are written as "보스와 정면승부" (Boss Endurance) and "진 보스와 정면승부" (True Boss Endurance) rather than "격투왕의 길" (The Arena) and "격투왕의 길 마스터" (The True Arena).
 * This is the first 3D Kirby game to show Meta Knight without his mask.
 * When the player tries to delete his/her save file, an eerie, distorted version of the theme heard on the pause menu plays. This music is listed in the Jukebox as Track 105.
 * This is the first game in the series directed by Shinya Kumazaki since Kirby Super Star Ultra to not feature a "Kirby Master" celebration video when the game is 100% completed. Instead, the 100% completion video is a song praising the Haltmann Works Company.
 * Early in the development of Kirby: Planet Robobot, it was considered more of a direct successor to Kirby: Triple Deluxe. The Hypernova ability would have been included, but eventually was replaced with the Robobot Armor because the development team did not want to reuse certain elements from past games.
 * The "Kirby" part of the game's logo has the colors swapped: the normally pink letters are yellow and the normally yellow star is now pink.
 * The Robobot Jet Mode is similar to Landia when Kirby rides on it through Another Dimension.