Flamberge

"Ha, ha, ha! Come on Francisca. Let's get wild!"

- Flamberge

Flamberge, also titled as Blazing General and Bringer of Flame, 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
Flamberge has disembodied hands and red, spiky hair. She has a noticeably darker skin tone compared to the other mages, possibly from tanning herself with all of the fire she likes to use. Her eyes, which are blue, remain fierce instead of relaxed and have red markings curving upward from their tops instead of their bottoms, like Francisca and Zan Partizanne. She carries a flamberge, hence her name, and wears a dark purple beret with a red bat-like symbol in front, which Hyness also features on his hood. Her uniform also has red ridges all over it with two purple heart gems connected by a golden chain on her chest. Under her uniform, she wears a dress with a red underside. This dress partially covers her face in a similar manner to a veil. The area on her face is white with orange buttons on it. Flamberge has a higher pitched voice compared to her comrades.

When fought in Heroes in Another Dimension and the Soul Melter EX difficulty in The Ultimate Choice, Flamberge’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 red markings and hair.

Personality
Flamberge is known to be quite hot-headed, as she sometimes gets very angry and shouts a lot. She is also very protective of Francisca, as she has a close bond with her and will attack anyone who has done something to upset her. She is so protective of her that she will worry if she would melt in intense heat. Flamberge is a bit of a slacker as well, saying that her hunt for the Jamba Heart pieces has led her to Kirby and friends, when in actuality, she was taking a break according to her Pause Screen description when on Sizzlai Moon. She likes to hang out in fiery, hot areas and apparently likes toasted marshmallows.

Story
Before the events of the main story, Flamberge was originally a normal girl on the brink of death. She had gotten trapped in a fire and nearly suffocated after releasing one fiery last scream. However, before she could depart from the world, Hyness arrived in the nick of time and saved her by granting her the powers of fire. 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, Flamberge, Francisca, and Zan Partizanne, were banished and sealed away to the edge of the galaxy by a race known as the ancients. According to Hyness, 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 legends 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 Christian Bible, Jewish Torah, or 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 off on a quest to gather the dark shards while he stays behind and continues the ritual.

After Kirby and friends defeated Meta Knight, who was possessed by a shard from the Jamba Heart, The Three Mage-Sisters land their Jambastion on Planet Popstar. Kirby and friends face them one by one, encountering Flamberge second, who is furious with them for having hurt Francisca. However, her attempt at defeating them ends in failure, resulting in her having no choice but to flee. Near the end of the game, Kirby and friends encounter Flamberge on Sizzlai Moon, where she is slacking off and taking a break. She challenges them once again in vengeance, but fails and is launched into the distance. Kirby and friends then make their way to The Three Mage-Sisters’ base, where they try to confront their master, Hyness, who is performing the reviving ceremony, only to be stopped by Zan Partizanne.

Kirby and friends defeat Zan Partizanne, who then pleas for help. Hyness, displeased at her failure and that she’s in his way, bats her aside to face Kirby and friends by himself. When the heroes knock off his hood, however, Hyness becomes enraged, summons Flamberge and her two sisters, and drains their life force to restore his own, rendering them unconscious. He then uses them as living weapons to fight Kirby and friends, only to be defeated. In a last ditch effort to revive the Dark Lord, Flamberge is thrown into the Jamba Heart by Hyness, along with her sisters Zan Partizanne and Francisca, all three of them still unconscious. Hyness then dives into the heart himself, successfully reviving Void Termina.

During the fight with Void Termina, Kirby and friends enter his body to battle his heart. They end up finding Flamberge, along with Hyness, Zan Partizanne, and Francisca, trapped inside cocoons. One by one, all of them are freed as the heroes battle the heart. Once the heroes rip off the outer shell, the core is released, ejecting everyone, including Flamberge, 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 Flamberge 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 Flamberge and Francisca, who also lament him. Flamberge 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 Flamberge 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. Flamberge 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 Flamberge 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 Flamberge, 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.

Battle
Flamberge is first fought on Jambastion in Inner Sanctum, serving as the sixth boss, and is later fought in Far-Flung - Starlight Heroes on Sizzlai Moon, serving as the fourteenth boss.

Flamberge wields a flamberge, which is a wave-bladed sword. She can swing it around and do a multi-thrust attack similarly to Queen Sectonia, and she sometimes swings her sword and shoots out fireballs after these attacks. She can also do a downward thrust to get her sword in the ground. She then drags it across the arena. She then releases her sword, and a row of flames burst out of the cracks she made with her sword. When she gets to her second phase, she brings out her cannon, the Mega Broiler. Before firing, a rope is at the bottom of the cannon with a fire slowly igniting it. If anyone has the elements of Blizzard, Splash, Bluster, the Artist ability, or Adeleine & Ribbon, they can extinguish the cannon’s fuse, causing it to explode, which will stun Flamberge. If the fire successfully reaches the cannon, it will shoot out a stream of flames. She can create multiple swords and shoot them at the ground, creating pillars of fire. These swords can be cooled off by Splash, Blizzard, Bluster, Artist, and Adeleine & Ribbon, and when inhaled after, they give the Sword ability. She can also enlarge her sword and try to capture Kirby and co. with it. If she captures someone, she will send them flying on fire, damaging anyone when touched. However, if she doesn't catch anyone, she will capture flaming rocks instead, and when inhaled, give the Fire Ability, but when cooled off, they give the Stone Ability. This attack is similar to Francisca's ice disk attack.

In her rematch on Sizzlai Moon, she can now move to the top corners of the screen and swing her sword to send out fireballs in multiple directions. Her oven cannon's rope will burn faster too, and she will create six swords instead of four. When using her Mega Broiler, she will move to the opposite side of the screen to get anyone that was behind her.

Flamberge appears in the game's boss rush mode, The Ultimate Choice. She appears in four levels of difficulty (Spicy Adventure, Infernal Crisis, Soul Melter, and Soul Melter EX).

As a Dream Friend
Flamberge 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. Flamberge’s moveset mostly consists of attacks from her boss fights. All of her moves grant Friends the Sizzle element.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
Flamberge appears alongside Francisca 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 red one representing Flamberge. When equipped, their spirit enhances the power of battering items.

Quotes
"HEY, YOU! Stubby little…pink thing! Yes, YOU! I have a buuuurning question for you! You’re the one who was so rude to sweet Francisca, aren’t you?! Don’t you dare try to deny it! Fiend! Coward! I swear, if you’ve harmed a single blue hair on her perfect head…you’ll BURN for it!!! Jamblasted!! I will never EVER forgive you! Now you must face Flamberge! That’s ME! For what you’ve done, I’ll scorch you to such a degree that…that… even tasty, toasty marshmallows will seem like ice cubes compared to you!"

- Flamberge

"Bahaha! Who would have thought my search for the Jamba Heart pieces would lead me back to you and your puffery! This must be the fiery flames of fate at work! Ooooh yeaaaah! My flames and I are fully stoked now! Beware, you puny pink pest! In the name of Lord Hyness… I’ll turn you into a burning ball of meddlesomeness!"

- Flamberge

Related Quotes
"One of the three Jambastion mages, the Blazing General Flamberge rains fiery vengeance upon who stand in her way. She gets pretty mad if anyone does anything to upset Francisca. In fact, she's kind of riled up right now..."

- VS Flamberge

"She's supposed to be looking for dark hearts, but Flamberge has found her way to a nice, toasty spot and is taking a bit of a break. She'd like to invite Francisca to join her but worries she might melt in the heat..."

- VS Flamberge

"In spite of all, we sing to you! Please hear our pleas and help us too! In spite of all, sadness rose! In spite of all, yearning grows! We call to you! We dream of you! In spite of all, this all is true!"

- VS Flamberge (The Ultimate Choice)

"Once upon a time, a girl facing a raging inferno tilted her head to the sky and let loose a fiery scream. Just before she lost consciousness, a mysterious traveler appeared and unlocked her natural talent for fire magic. Thus, Flamberge was born."

- VS Flamberge (Soul Melter EX)

"Flamberge attacks with fire. Use Friend Abilities with ice to cool down her fiery assault."

- Flamberge’s use of fire

"BONJAM! No way! The fiery mage sister Flamberge from Kirby Star Allies has joined the fight as one of your Dream Friends! She’s known for accidentally roasting Francisca’s frozen foes, but now you can put her fire to work for you."

- Flavor Text

"The hot-blooded red priestess from Kirby Star Allies pays a surprise visit! Along with her sisters, she seeks paradise. But can the trio handle her at her most heated?"

- Guest Star Description

Etymology
A flamberge is a type of sword with a wavy blade; this is the type of sword she wields.

A translation of her Japanese name is Fran-Rouge. Rouge is French for "red," referencing her defining color; it is also a type of lipstick. Fran is also used in Francisca's name, showing a relation between each other, as they are both part of The Three Mage-Sisters.

Trivia

 * Flamberge's sword is very similar to the one created from the Sizzle Sword Friend Ability.
 * When playing as the Three Mage-Sisters and having Flamberge selected, she noticeably cannot float unlike Francisca and Zan Partizanne, as she instead multi-jumps.