“ | To save a world invaded by an evil corporation, Kirby dons the Robobot Armor, which can transform into over 10 different modes.” |
— Past Adventures • Kirby games for Nintendo Switch |
Kirby: Planet Robobot is a platformer Kirby game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. It was released in Japan and South Korea on April 28th, 2016, in North America and Europe on June 10th, 2016, and in Australia on June 11, 2016.
Story[]
On a regular day on the peaceful Planet Popstar, a giant spaceship, known as the Access Ark, arrives at the planet. The Access Ark is the home of the Haltmann Works Company. Many inhabitants, such as King Dedede and Meta Knight, watch in shock as the base covers the sky. Kirby, however, is sleeping under a tree unaware of the incomers. The company then begins to invade the planet, drilling the ark’s five legs into the five corners of Planet Popstar and turning its surface into a mechanized world. King Dedede and Meta Knight attempt to retaliate against the invaders. King Dedede uses his castle's cannons and Meta Knight uses his Halberd, but the company’s advanced weaponry easily defeats them both, with Castle Dedede destroyed and the Halberd shot down. Kirby, after sleeping through the entire event, wakes up from his nap to a completely mechanized world and sets out to restore his homeland to normal.
Shortly into his adventure, Kirby is attacked by one of the Haltmann Works Company's soldiers, piloting a large mech suit called the 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 and executive assistant of the Haltmann Works Company. She informs him that the company is harvesting the vast resources from Popstar, and its natives are obstacles to be removed. She attempts to destroy him, but her Business Suit proves unable to defeat Kirby, forcing her to flee.
Kirby proceeds through Gigabyte Grounds before meeting Susie again. After singing part of the company’s theme song, “The Noble Haltmann,” she reveals Meta Knight was captured and turned into a cyborg called Mecha Knight. She deploys the newly-minted Mecha Knight before retreating again, leaving Kirby to battle his mechanized 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. After singing part of the company’s theme song again, she remarks that she is surprised by Kirby's ability to defeat Mecha Knight - which she attributes to a flaw in the "Mother Computer" - she then brings out a container with a small purple orb inside. She states that it should quash Kirby’s rebellion and tosses it into the air for it to break out of the container and reveal itself to be Dedede Clone. She commands the clone to fight against the 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 the president himself. There, Kirby meets Susie once again. After remarking that he needs to be taught manners, she brings out a newly upgraded version of Mecha Knight called "Mecha Knight+" and leaves him to fight Kirby; still, Kirby manages to defeat him. With Meta Knight freed from 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 the company has been studying the most advanced civilizations in the universe, allowing them to reactivate Star Dream, the most powerful super-computer in existence. After showing the machine to Kirby, he engages him in battle, using a powerful mech suit of his own - nonetheless, the champion 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. However, before Haltmann could use it, Susie suddenly snatches the helmet off of Haltmann’s head, causing something to go wrong and Haltmann to pass out. Susie then reveals her plans to sell Star Dream’s database to a start-up company for a huge sum of money.
When Susie tries to don the control helmet, however, Star Dream turns sentient and blasts her unconscious with a laser. It then takes control of Haltmann’s body and speaks through him. It explains that it has been studying the cosmos through the Haltmann Works Company, and that it has found all life-forms to be a liability to the company’s goal of eternal prosperity. Announcing its intent to wipe out all life in existence, Star Dream launches itself into space.
When Susie realized what happened, she summons an 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 they pursue Star Dream.
In space, the Halberd encounters Star Dream, which then engages its battle mode to stop the ship. After failing to do so, Star Dream takes control of the entire Access Ark, becoming a sentient planet. The Halberd breaks off the Access Ark’s shell piece by piece, revealing it to be a Galactic Nova, clockwork stars that soar the cosmos with the ability to grant wishes. Throughout the fight, Star Dream is progressively absorbing Haltmann. After another failure at defeating its foes, Star Dream shoots down the Halberd with a laser, forcing Meta Knight to shoot out the Robobot Armor and Kirby, who then charge at Star Dream with the armor’s hand turned into a giant screwdriver. The two manage to screw Star Dream in half, causing it to explode and ending the machine and Haltmann once and for all. After the explosion, Kirby is knocked unconscious. 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 at the restoration of peace, and Susie flies off in her Business Suit. Kirby watches as Meta Knight flies on the Halberd, looking proudly into the distance. Kirby waves to Meta Knight, and proceeds to run after the Halberd.
Gameplay[]
“ | Guide Kirby in his latest adventure as he fights to save Planet Popstar from the Haltmann Works Company and its robotic army! Defeat enemies with Kirby's Copy Abilities and navigate obstacles with the Robobot Armor to advance through each stage of the game.” |
— Instruction manual • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
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, hover, guard, and Quick Fall. 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, sounds, 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 stages, 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.
The game is also the second mainline Kirby game to use the StreetPass functionality which allows players to receive one sticker from another user as well as share record times for certain modes.
Modes[]
Kirby: Planet Robobot has a story mode, Team Kirby Clash, Meta Knightmare Returns, Kirby 3D Rumble, The Arena and The True Arena.
Characters[]
Playable Characters[]
Non-playable Characters[]
- Bandana Waddle Dee
- Gigant Edge
- King Dedede
- Landia (EX)
- Masher
- Mr. Frosty
- President Haltmann
- Pyribbit
- Star Dream
- Susie
- Team Kirby
- UFO
- Whispy Woods
Enemies[]
Regular enemies[]
- Barbar
- Big Chip
- Big Kabu
- Big Propeller
- Big Waddle Dee
- Blade Knight
- Blipper
- Bomber
- Bronto Burt
- Broom Hatter
- Burner Bird
- Cappy
- Capsule J3
- Chemitory
- Chilly
- Chip
- Clown Acrobot
- Como
- Covered Looker
- Craby
- Dacooga
- Degout
- Dubior Jr. (2.0)
- Elec
- Flamer
- Foley
- Gabon
- Galbo
- Gigatzo
- Glunk
- Gordo
- Grizzo
- Haltworker
- Hot Head
- Kabu
- Key Dee (2.0)
- Knuckle Joe
- Labotory
- Leafan
- Mamanti
- Mecha Acro
- Mecha Flotzo
- Metal Bit (2.0)
- Moonja
- Mumbies
- NESP
- Noddy
- Pacto
- Parasol Waddle Dee
- Parasol Waddle Doo
- Pata
- Poppy Bros. Jr.
- Propeller
- Rocky
- Scarfy
- Security Laser
- Sheld
- Shotzo
- Simirror
- Sir Kibble
- Sleepy Turtle
- Sparky
- Spynum
- Squishy
- Toughness Waddle Dee
- UFO
- Venog
- Volm
- Vol
- Waddle Dee
- Waddle Dee Driver
- Waddle Doo
- Walf
- Walker Waddle Dee
- Walky
- Wester
- Wheelie
- Whippy
Mid-bosses[]
- 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)
Bosses[]
- Gigavolt
- 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)
- C.O.G.S.
- Mecha Knight+
- President Haltmann (2.0)
- Dark Matter Clone
- Sectonia Clone
- Galacta Knight Returns
- Star Dream
Copy Abilities[]
The game features 27 Copy Abilities. Of these, four make return appearances from older games (Jet and Mirror, returning from Kirby Super Star, Smash Bros. returning from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, and UFO returning from Kirby's Adventure) 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.
Archer |
Beam |
Bomb |
Circus |
Crash |
Cutter |
Doctor |
ESP |
Fighter |
Fire |
Hammer |
Ice |
Jet |
Leaf |
Mike |
Mirror |
Ninja |
Parasol |
Poison |
Sleep |
Smash Bros. |
Spark |
Stone |
Sword |
UFO |
Wheel |
Whip |
- 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:
Robobot Armor Modes[]
The Robobot Armor is able to scan and obtain up to 13 Copy Abilities, known as Modes.
Beam Mode |
Bomb Mode |
Cutter Mode |
ESP Mode |
Fire Mode |
Halberd Mode |
Ice Mode |
Jet Mode |
Mike Mode |
Parasol Mode |
Robobot Armor |
Spark Mode |
Stone Mode |
Sword Mode |
Wheel Mode |
Items and Objects[]
The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help) |
1UP | 3D Laser Bar | 3D Warp Star | Assist Star | Battery | Cannon | Chain | Code Cube | Coin (Kirby 3D Rumble) | Docking Station | Energy Drink | Food | Grate | Invincibility Candy | Maxim Tomato | Medal (Team Kirby Clash) | Nut | 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
Areas[]
Patched Plains | Resolution Road | Overload Ocean |
Gigabyte Grounds | Rhythm Route | Access Ark |
Mind in the Program |
Demo[]
Kirby: Planet Robobot was promoted using a demo. This demo, titled, "Kirby: Planet Robobot Demo," was available for a limited time at retailers (though copies of the demo were not sold to customers). The demo was later released on North American Nintendo eShop on July 21, 2016. Like all eShop demos, the software can only be launched 30 times before the player must purchase it.
The Kirby: Planet Robobot Demo consists of two stages: Stages 1 and 2 of Patched Plains. These are selected from the title screen, and are called "Normal Stage" and "Robobot Stage," respectively. The player can access the electronic manual and the eShop by tapping other icons on the title screen. When entering a stage, the player is shown an image of a Nintendo 3DS XL with lines pointing to specific buttons, teaching Kirby's techniques. Stickers and Code Cubes that Kirby collects are not saved. When Kirby completed a stage, a scene plays depicting many moments in the full game, with a rendition of Green Greens' theme playing over it. After this, the player enters a screen showing Kirby and a suit of Robobot Armor, with the message, "Thanks for playing the demo!" The player can visit the eShop by tapping the icon on the Touch Screen or return to the title screen by pressing A.
If the player waits long enough on the title screen, Kirby will fly away in his Robobot Armor like in the full game. The demo then fades to black. Rather than showing the opening cutscene, however, the demo simply loops back to the title screen. The demo's Home Menu icon and Home Menu diorama are the same as the full game's, but with the word "DEMO" added to them. The demo shares the same Miiverse community with the full game.
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.
Copy Ability | amiibo |
---|---|
Archer | Duck Hunt/Duck Hunt Duo |
Pit | |
Dark Pit | |
Beam | R.O.B. |
Bomb | Bowser Junior |
Diddy Kong | |
Samus | |
Circus | Mr. Game & Watch |
Cutter | Toon Link |
Doctor | Dr. Mario |
Wii Fit Trainer | |
ESP | Ness |
Lucas | |
Mewtwo | |
Shulk | |
Fighter | Donkey Kong |
Lucario | |
Little Mac | |
Fire | Mario |
Luigi | |
Charizard | |
Hammer (custom) | King Dedede (Kirby series) |
Hammer (colorful) | King Dedede (Super Smash Bros. series) |
Ice | Rosalina & Luma |
Jet | Fox |
Falco | |
Leaf | Animal Crossing amiibo |
Olimar | |
Toad | |
Mike | Jigglypuff |
Mirror | Palutena |
Zelda | |
Ninja | Greninja |
Sheik | |
Parasol | Peach |
Parasol (custom) | Waddle Dee |
Poison | Ganondorf |
Splatoon amiibo | |
Smash Bros. | Kirby (Super Smash Bros. series) |
Spark | Pikachu |
Robin | |
Chibi-Robo | |
Stone | Bowser |
Sword | Link |
Lucina | |
Marth | |
Ike | |
Roy | |
Sword (custom) | Meta Knight (Kirby series) |
Sword (colorful) | Meta Knight (Super Smash Bros. series) |
UFO | Kirby (Kirby series) |
Wheel | Wario |
Captain Falcon | |
Whip | Yoshi |
Zero Suit Samus |
Controversy[]
Kirby: Planet Robobot delivers much of its story through copious amounts of text; however, large portions of Susie and President Haltmann's backstory are only hinted at in-game, leaving much of the story up to the player's perception. Due to this lack of in-game explanation, some players noticed a major inconsistency in the game's story following its release. President Haltmann's final lines of dialogue ("Why did I reactivate such a terrible machine? Oh, I remember--I wanted to see her just one last time. How foolish! I should have known that no machine could make such a dream come true.") appear incongruous with his behavior the entire game; he doesn't seem to recognize his own daughter even though he hired her and appears to obsess over her likeness.
Following the game's launch in North America and Europe, players complained about the apparent plot hole. The issue was resolved over two months later through an explanation by director Shinya Kumazaki during the Kirby: Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon event on Miiverse.[2]
Music[]
Main article: Kirby: Planet Robobot/Music |
Glitches[]
Main article: Glitch#Kirby: Planet Robobot |
Reception[]
Kirby: Planet Robobot has received generally favorable reviews, holding a critical score of 81 out of 100 on Metacritic.[3]
As of April 27, 2017, Kirby: Planet Robobot has sold 1.36 million copies worldwide.[4]
Transcript[]
Main article: Kirby: Planet Robobot/Transcript |
Staff[]
Main article: List of Kirby: Planet Robobot Staff |
See Also[]
Trivia[]
- On April 26, 2016, the Kirby: Planet Robobot ROM was leaked online. This is the first instance of a Kirby game leaking online before any official release date.[5]
- Kirby: Planet Robobot is the first Kirby game to be released at the same time in Japan and Korea.
- The StreetPass Mii Plaza game Puzzle Swap contains a puzzle panel based on Kirby: Planet Robobot. When it is completed, the panel features Meta Knight, Kirby, and Susie soaring through the skies above Planet Popstar. Bandana Waddle Dee is also present on a nearby asteroid, waving towards the screen.
- 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.
- The Copy Abilities that made their debut in this game—Doctor, ESP, and Poison—were likely influenced by the game's amiibo compatibility, particularly regarding fighters in the Super Smash Bros. series:
- Doctor has similarities to Dr. Mario: both wear a head mirror and white coat, Bouncing Capsules resemble and act like Megavitamins, and Bandage Spin is reminiscent of Dr. Tornado.
- ESP has similarities to Ness: both wear a sideways baseball cap, PK Shift/PK Electroshift resemble and act similarly to PK Flash, and Vanish/Reappear is reminiscent of PSI Teleport.
- Poison has similarities to Inkling: the ability to create damaging puddles of poison is reminiscent of Inkling's ability to splatter ink that debilitates opponents that walk in it. Inkling was not a playable fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series prior to Kirby: Planet Robobot, but all compatible Splatoon amiibo at the time, all Inkling-related, give Poison.
- 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 of 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.
- This is the first 3D Kirby game to show Meta Knight without his mask.
- When the player tries to delete their save file, an eerie, distorted version of the theme heard on the pause menu plays, named "Are You Sure?" 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. "The Noble Haltmann: Final Recital" music is listed in the Jukebox as Track 158.
- According to Shinya Kumazaki, development of Kirby: Planet Robobot was intended to attract a different audience than Kirby: Triple Deluxe, with its mechanized setting being a "polar opposite" to the lush setting of the previous game. The Robobot Armor mechanic was built around this design choice.[6]
- 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.
- Kirby: Planet Robobot was originally going to be named "Kirby: HAGANE" (hagane means "steel" in Japanese), before being changed to "Kirby: Robot Planet." The name was viewed as too literal, so was then changed to "Kirby: Roborobo Planet" before finally reaching its current name. This would later be the influence for the name of the Robobot Armor.[7]
- Because Kirby: Planet Robobot displays large numbers of objects on-screen, it may experience more frame rate slowdown than the other games in the series.
- There was going to be a version of Whispy Woods made of pipes that got scrapped.[8]
- Many of the music in the game are remixed versions of themes from previous Kirby games, primarily Kirby Air Ride and Kirby: Canvas Curse.
- The file select music is reused from Kirby: Triple Deluxe where it plays in the main menu, and in turn is a remix of the music that plays in the Save Cottages of The Great Cave Offensive from Kirby Super Star, which in turn is a remix of the Float Islands music from Kirby's Dream Land.
- This game tends to have many references to Kirby Super Star. Some prime examples are the revelation that Access Ark is a repurposed Galactic Nova, most music tracks are reused or remixed from this game, and the Copy Abilities Mirror and Jet making a return. This could be due to the game being released in 2016, 20 years after Kirby Super Star's release date.
- The ellipsis punctuation mark is used 101 times throughout the game.[9]
- In Team Kirby Clash, when a Kirby is KO'd, he spins around and falls over like Kirby does when he is KO'd in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. A Kirby angel then floats away, which is a reference to a KO'd Kirby from Kirby Mass Attack. Both of these animations are reused from Kirby: Triple Deluxe’s Kirby Fighters sub-game and Kirby Fighters Deluxe.
- Since its release, this game's characters, locations, and/or music have been referenced at least once in every following Kirby game except Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn.
- This is the final Kirby title that Satoru Iwata was involved in before his passing.
- This is the first Kirby game to have its complete original soundtrack album officially released outside of Japan, on digital services like iTunes and Amazon Music.
- Notes from the ESRB describe how Kirby: Planet Robobot earned its E rating. In addition to its cartoon violence, the notes mention sequences in which the player must "pilot a ship and shoot projectiles at obstacles and enemy bosses."[10] This seems to be referring to scenes involving the Jet and Halberd Robobot Armor Modes.
- The first letter of all areas, in order of appearance, form an acronym spelling the word "PROGRAM," which is a subtle hint towards the game's final boss, Star Dream.
- The German names of the areas spell "ROBOBOT".
- The Spanish names of the areas spell "PROCESO," the Spanish word for "process".
- The Italian names of the areas spell "SISTEMA," the Italian word for "system".
Trailers[]
Artwork[]
Logos[]
Box Art[]
Official Miiverse Artwork[]
Media[]
Concept Artwork[]
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Japanese Nintendo website
- Official American website (archived)
- Official Japanese website (archived)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot Instruction Booklet (American English)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot Instruction Booklet (British English)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot Instruction Booklet (German)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot Instruction Booklet (European French)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot Instruction Booklet (European Spanish)
- Kirby: Planet Robobot Instruction Booklet (Italian)
References[]
- ↑ Game Details (May 29, 2016)
- ↑ Kirby: Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon (part 2)
- ↑ Metacritic.com
- ↑ Nintendo Operating Results (Page 3)
- ↑ Reddit thread
- ↑ Kirby: Planet Robobot Ask-a-thon 1
- ↑ Miiverse
- ↑ Twitter Post
- ↑ Ellipses are used 90 times in Story Mode and Meta Knightmare Returns dialogue; twice in the cutscene title, "Please... Get Him...!;" once in Bomb's flavor text; once in Ice, Jet, Parasol, and Wheel Modes' flavor texts; once in Dedede Clone's pause description; twice in Star Dream's pause descriptions; and once in Team Kirby Clash's Quest 5 description.
- ↑ ESRB