Warp Star

"Hey, what's that up there? In the sky, falling fast! Oh! It looks like... Yes, it is!"

- Bandana Waddle Dee

Warp Stars (called shooting stars in Kirby's Pinball Land) are glowing, yellow, star-shaped vehicles modeled after shooting stars. They serve as Kirby's primary mode of transportation in the Kirby series. Used to travel quickly between areas, they can be ridden and steered by thought alone to fly their rider quickly through the sky.

Kirby is an accomplished flyer of Warp Stars, however, he isn't very good at landing them and has a tendency to violently crash land, sending him flying and destroying the Warp Star in the process.

In most games, grabbing a Warp Star takes Kirby to the next section of a level; though sometimes they are optional and take Kirby to secret areas, or simply provide a faster (and safer) way to travel between areas.

In the Kirby games
Warp Stars can be found floating in many of the levels. Once Kirby touches one, he will cling to it and fly to another area. While riding a Warp Star is sometimes optional, it is usually advisable to catch a ride on one.

Kirby's Dream Land
A Warp Star appears once in all of the stages in the game (including Mt. Dedede where Kirby boards it in the stage intro to get into Dedede's castle). Each will allow Kirby to proceed to the next part of the stage in a short cutscene.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
Similar to previous games, the Warp Star serves as means of transport, often taking Kirby to other areas of the game map.

Kirby can also use his Cell Phone to call a Warp Star at any time that will take him back to the main hub area at the center of Rainbow Route.

The Warp Star is also used in the Goal Game, as well as the final Boss Battle against Dark Mind.

Kirby Air Ride
"Great for cruising and gliding. No real flaws."

- Warp Star's Flavor Text

The Warp Star plays a major role in this racing game, where it's revealed that it is one of a number of similar flying vehicles dubbed Air Ride Machines.

Initially, the Warp Star is the only Air Ride Machine available to Kirby. It has the most balanced stats out of the available machines in the game and has no quirks, making it user-friendly and a viable choice for the beginning and average player. It also has excellent Glide. Under the right player, the Warp Star becomes a fierce competitor since it can utilize almost every trick present in each Air Ride course. Different models of Warp Star, the Flight Warp Star and Compact Star are available in City Trial, but the former can only be used in Free Ride mode.

Kirby: Canvas Curse
The Warp Star makes an appearance as one of the objects drawn by Paint Roller in the Paint Panic sub-game.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, there is only one Warp Star. According to Meta Knight it is the source of Kirby's power, however, because of his age and inexperience, Kirby cannot summon it himself. Tiff, because of her connection to Kirby, becomes the Warp Star's keeper and summons it on his behalf. When not in use the Warp Star shrinks down to the size of a small medallion.

Kirby initially keeps the Warp Star in a small box inside of his starship, after Kirby's starship is shot down by King Dedede Tiff hides the Warp Star inside the wise statue, Kabu. In the later stages of the anime's run, Nightmare Enterprises manages to badly damage the Warp Star and Kabu reveals that he was initially built as a safehouse for use by the Star Warrior's and is capable of making repairs to the Warp Star.

They eventually find the Warp Star's hiding place in Kabu, which Nightmare's Destroya promptly attacks, but Kirby is able to defend Kabu using the Crash ability. In its final appearance, Tiff summoned the Warp Star in Kirby's dreams to help fight Nightmare, but instead of riding it, Kirby inhaled it, giving him the Star Rod ability.

In the Super Smash Bros. series
In the Super Smash Bros. series, Kirby's stage intro is flying in on his Warp Star and crashing into the stage like a shooting star.

Starting with Super Smash Bros. Melee, Warp Stars are also items that the fighters can use. When grabbed, its rider flies off the top of the screen, then comes crashing down a second later, causing an explosion. The explosion does damage and sends opponents flying. The Warp Star's impact location can be controlled slightly to track players who try to avoid it, and in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the player can also delay the Warp Star's landing to trick opponents.

The Warp Star appears twice in the Subspace Emissary, both times summoned by Kirby as a method of escape. The first time, he summons it to escape a Subspace Bomb at the Midair Stadium with the princess he rescued from Petey Piranha, either Zelda or Peach depending on the player's choice. They later crash land on the Battleship Halberd after it rises out of the clouds below them, knocking Kirby off the Warp Star.

Later on, after Kirby joins Mario, Pit, Yoshi, and Link, he uses the Warp Star once again to escape another Subspace Bomb. Link and Pit join Kirby on the Warp Star while Mario rides Yoshi.

In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, the Warp Star makes its Kirby Super Star Ultra sound effects as it takes off.

The Warp Star is the symbol used to represent characters from the Kirby franchise.

Related Quotes
"The people of Dream Land use these magical warp stars to travel to nearby places. If you see one, jump on board for a quick trip but make sure to hold on tight!"

- Kirby's Arsenal

"This object does not grant Kirby any special rewards, but it will transport him to a new part of the stage. The warp star also appears in the warp stage (see page 12)."

- Power Packed Items!

"Transports Kirby and his friends between levels."

- Items

"The Warp Star originated as Kirby's ride: it helped the ponderous puffball get around at high speed. Hop on the Warp Star in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and your character will rapidly launch up and off the screen. You'll return in a flash, causing an explosion as you hit the ground. Try holding a direction to alter your landing!"

- Trophy description

"All you have to do with a Warp Star is grab it and hang on. Warp Stars will automatically zip Kirby away to the next section of the current stage."

- Using Gimmicks

"A warp-speed item. In the Kirby series, Warp Stars are used to move between stages. In Smash Bros., they're ultrafast attack items that zoom up and down to devastate anyone they hit. You can shift your landing spot by moving the Control Stick left or right during your descent. Choose your target and hang on! Don't overshoot the mark and plummet off the stage, though."

- Trophy description

"A magical transportation device that Kirby has used in the past to get around. Jumping on the Warp Star will send the character high into the sky and then crashing back down to the battlefield. Anyone caught in the path or landing spot will be sent flying, and the rider can aim a bit to the left or right in the air."

- Trophy description

Trivia

 * In the anime, Kirby's Warp Star holds the Star Rod ability, the ultimate reflection of Kirby's power; however, in the games they cannot be inhaled.
 * A parody can be seen in the level Moon Grove from Drawn to Life, where the most common enemies ride stars in the same fashion Kirby rides his.
 * In most of the side scrolling games, Kirby flies the Warp Star vertically, with its side facing the player, whereas in its 3D appearances, the anime, and some cutscenes, he rides it horizontally, sitting on its side like a surfboard.
 * The opening for Kirby Super Star is the first game to show Kirby riding a Warp Star horizontally.
 * Kirby has shown multiple different ways of summoning the Warp Star to him:
 * In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Tiff is the keeper of Kirby's Warp Star. She calls upon it whenever Kirby needs it.
 * In the intro to Milky Way Wishes, Kirby uses some of the Star Rod's power to create a Warp Star so he can travel through space.
 * In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Kirby reveals that he has a cell phone that can be used to call the Warp Star and in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror the same cell phone that calls the other Kirbys can summon a Warp Star back to the world hub.