Kirby: Triple Deluxe

US box
PAL box
JP box
US logo
JP logo

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Title (JP)

星のカービィトリプルデラックス (Hoshi no Kābī: Toripuru Derakkusu)

- Translates to

Kirby of the Stars: Triple Deluxe
星のカービィ = Kirby of the Stars
トリプル = Triple, デラックス = Deluxe

Developer

HAL Laboratory

Publisher

Nintendo

Release

January 11, 2014 
  April 17, 2014
  May 2, 2014
  May 16, 2014
  May 17, 2014

Genre

Action, 2D Platformer

Mode(s)

Single player, multiplayer

Rating

MSRP (launch)

$34.99^[1]

Platform(s)

Nintendo 3DS

“	Featuring action that moves not just left and right but into the foreground and background of stages. In addition to 25 different Copy Abilities, this game boasts the powerful Hypernova Copy Ability.”
	— Summary • Super Kirby Clash

Kirby: Triple Deluxe 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 on January 11th, 2014, In South Korea on April 17, 2014, in North America on May 2, 2014, in Europe on May 16, 2014 and in Australia on May 17, 2014. The game requires 4,766 blocks of free space on the SD Card if players wish to buy the game off the Nintendo eShop.

Story

After a day of fishing, flying, and relaxing, Kirby goes to bed and awakens to find that a massive beanstalk called the Dreamstalk had lifted his house high above the ground while he was sleeping. Upon noticing this, he runs out of his house in shock and falls from his home onto a part of the Dreamstalk before seeing that Castle Dedede was also lifted.

He climbs the Dreamstalk to reach the castle, and spots a spider-like creature named Taranza entering the castle. Kirby curiously follows Taranza and watches as he easily dispatches many of King Dedede's Waddle Dee guards before he proceeds to capture Dedede, surrounding him in a strange purple aura. Taranza breaks through the castle's glass ceiling and ascends the Dreamstalk with the self-proclaimed king in tow. Kirby follows close behind and enters Floralia, a series of floating islands, to rescue Dedede..

In one way or another, Taranza prompts all of Kirby's boss battles. When Kirby catches up to him at the end of the land, Taranza either aggravates an enemy or animates it with his spider web-esque magic so as to stall his pursuer and buy himself time to get ahead. Using his magic, he turned a flower into Flowery Woods, a cloud into Kracko, and brought a stone Coily Rattler to life. On the other hand, he moved Paintra's drawing and threw a rock at Pyribbit, which provoked them both to attack Kirby.

In Royal Road, Floralia's last island, Kirby enters several of what seem to be alternate dimensions and rescues the People Of The Sky who are imprisoned there, who in turn help him find Taranza's hideout. Upon entering said hideout (a structure reminiscent of a castle), Kirby finds Taranza, who (having reached the end of the line) notes Kirby's persistence.

He vaguely states that he "saw right through the plan of the People of the Sky," and assumes Kirby followed him in order to save "the hero of the lower world," referring to King Dedede. Taranza then says that he'll return their precious hero to them, adding an ominous quip; "But he may be a little more...hostile than you remember him!". Taranza then takes complete control of King Dedede, turning him into Masked Dedede and forcing him to fight Kirby.

After Kirby defeats Masked Dedede, breaking his hammer and part of his mask in the process, Taranza enhances Masked Dedede's powers further, causing his robes to turn purple. The reinvigorated Masked Dedede grabs an axe from a nearby statue and confronts Kirby once more. In spite of this, Dedede is defeated again and what remains of his mask is destroyed. Taranza's control over the king dissipates and he returns to normal.

Taranza approaches an unconscious Dedede, confused as to how Kirby defeated him, for he has done just as his master ordered. He then realizes that Kirby must be the true hero from the land below. To save himself, Taranza then summons his master, Queen Sectonia, to save him. However, Sectonia is displeased by Taranza's failure to follow her orders, and she immediately blasts him out of the castle and into the sky before turning to attack Kirby.

After Kirby defeats the evil queen, he begins to celebrate with a newly reawakened King Dedede. However, Queen Sectonia rises again and combines herself with the Dreamstalk. Under her control, the Dreamstalk's vines begin to grow explosively, covering up Floralia, Dream Land, and even Planet Popstar itself.

As Kirby and King Dedede panic, the People of the Sky appear with a cannon-like device that Kirby and King Dedede use to combat the vines. King Dedede repeatedly shoots Kirby at flowers on the vines to open a path to Queen Sectonia, which he then fires the pink puffball through to reach her.

Kirby then ascends the final stretches of the Dreamstalk, battling and defeating Queen Sectonia a second time. Just as Kirby again begins to celebrate, a vine grabs him by the foot and Sectonia rises for a third time. Just then, King Dedede, carried by Taranza, arrives ready to help.

Taranza tosses King Dedede at Kirby, and the king smacks his rival free of Sectonia's grasp with his hammer. King Dedede throws the KO'd Kirby at Taranza, who gives him a Miracle Fruit, granting him his Hypernova ability and filling him with life. Kirby confronts Sectonia once more, who uses the buds on her vines to fire missiles at Kirby and shield herself.

Kirby inhales the buds and shoots them at each other until all four are destroyed, negating Sectonia's ability to create a shield. A withered Sectonia then makes one last attempt to defeat Kirby by firing an enormous beam at him, only for Kirby to inhale the beam and send it back at her, finally defeating her for the third and seemingly final time.

Queen Sectonia's vines rapidly disintegrate, freeing Popstar and causing Kirby and Dedede to fall from the sky. The People of the Sky catch Kirby and his home while Taranza catches Dedede.

It is explained that the Dreamstalk was to bring a hero to save them from Sectonia's cruel reign. Although the Dreamstalk did not directly bring Kirby to Floralia's rescue, he still ended up saving Floralia regardless, thanks to his attempts to save King Dedede when he was mistaken for Dreamstalk's chosen hero and kidnapped by Taranza, in addition to their help. "Indeed, the Dreamstalk works in mysterious ways."

With the ordeal with Sectonia over, Kirby, Dedede, Taranza, and the People of the Sky notice that the Dreamstalk, now purged of her influence, had fully bloomed, serving as a new landmark in Dream Land in remembrance of Floralia.

After the credits, Kirby and King Dedede (on a Warp Star), along with the People of the Sky and Taranza wave goodbye before they fly off.

Gameplay

Kirby: Triple Deluxe stays true to classic Kirby games in that the player controls Kirby and the objective is to get to end of the stage by using Copy Abilities. The game is a 2.5D platformer, with playable characters moving on a 2-dimensional plane in a 3D environment.

The game is somewhat of a spiritual sequel to Kirby's Return to Dream Land, as the physics and graphics from that game are also used in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. Many concepts also return from it, such as Copy Abilities like Leaf and Whip, and items, like the Cracker (in the form of the 3D Helmet Cannon) and Keys. New mechanics, such as boxes with stars on them that teleport Kirby to other boxes if he steps on them, and glass walls that force Kirby to get rid of his ability when he walks through them, are introduced in this game. In addition, multiple soundtracks from Kirby's Return to Dream Land are reused, which are used in every extra stage in the game, as well the Ability Testing Area.

This installment takes advantage of the 3DS's 3D technology by frequently having Kirby, projectiles, enemies, and obstacles move toward or away from the screen, an example being the Springy Hand that will flatten Kirby against the screen if it hits him. Notably, Kirby is able to move from the foreground into the background and vice versa through use of the 3D Warp Star. Enemies also can enter Kirby's path from the background and foreground. Certain new items and abilities allow Kirby to attack enemies in the background from the foreground and vice versa, as well.

The game also uses the 3DS's motion controls. When Kirby comes across certain obstacles, the player can use it by tilting the 3DS. For example, Kirby could be riding a gondola, and the player tilts the Nintendo 3DS to move the Tilt Gondola, or if Kirby is in a bowl of water, the player can tilt the 3DS to pour out the water.

Kirby retains his trademark abilities: the Inhale, Star Spit, Slide attack, Air Gun, and floating. He retains his Air Bullet move as well. Due to having the Super Inhale, Kirby can inhale multiple things at once and spit them back out; the more he inhales, the larger and more destructive the Star Spit will be. Kirby can float for an unlimited amount of time in this game, but he cannot float at all while holding an item, such as a key. Kirby's slide still breaks blocks, and by jumping, he can also break blocks from below. Guarding also returns from the Kirby Super Star games and Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and a new dodge move can be performed while guarding (or when guarding in mid-air).

Kirby can also obtain a new ability, called Hypernova, by touching a Miracle Fruit. It greatly increases the power of his Inhale ability, allowing him to inhale things as large as trees; pull large items that are otherwise unmovable; or catch giant projectiles and fire them back.

The game features stars that can be collected throughout levels; collecting 100 of them awards a 1UP. Different colors and sizes award different star values, a feature returning from Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Green stars are worth five, red are worth ten, blue are worth twenty, and yellow stars are worth one.

Kirby will lose a life if he runs out of health or falls into a bottomless pit, and running out of lives causes the player to experience a Game Over. Doors and food items, like Invincibility Candy and 1UPs, return. Bandana Waddle Dee occasionally provides Kirby with a random Assist Star, which is stored on the touch screen and can be used at any time.

Like most Kirby games, there is a Goal Game at the end of every level that can award stars and recovery items. Now, it can also award a keychain, which is a collectible in this game. Players can obtain keychains of classic Kirby sprites in levels and look at them from the world map or the main menu screen. Sun Stones are also a collectible and a new item in this game. There are one to five of them are hidden in each level, and a certain amount need to be collected in order to unlock the boss level in each world, and in turn, complete the world.

Game Modes

This game features two new sub-games, Kirby Fighters and Dedede's Drum Dash, alongside The Arena (once the main mode is completed).

Completing the main game unlocks the Extra Mode of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Dededetour mode, in which the main game can be replayed as King Dedede in a manner similar to Meta Knightmare Ultra. The True Arena is unlocked after completing this mode.

Main Mode

After his home is lifted into the sky by a beanstalk called the Dreamstalk, Kirby travels through the six floating islands of a kingdom known as Floralia in pursuit of Taranza, a spider-like foe who has King Dedede captive. After saving Floralia's inhabitants, the People of the Sky, Kirby catches up to Taranza and defeats Dedede after Taranza brainwashes the king. Taranza summons his bee-like master, Queen Sectonia, who dispatches Taranza before attacking Kirby. Kirby defeats the evil queen as well, but she then combines herself with the Dreamstalk and threatens to cover Floralia, Dream Land, and all of Planet Popstar with vines in order to use the planet as her eternal sustenance. With the help of Dedede, the People of the Sky, and even Taranza, Kirby defeats Sectonia again and saves Floralia.

Dededetour (Extra Mode)

Main article: Dededetour

KTD Dededetour — Title screen of Dededetour

Dededetour is unlocked by beating the main game once, and stars King Dedede as the main protagonist and playable character. This mode is similar to Meta Knightmare Ultra in that each world is compressed into one sitting that must be completed before the player's progress and time can be saved and recorded. Like prior Extra Modes, this mode is more difficult than the main quest, with many changes mirroring Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Many enemies appear larger and are more numerous than they were before. Bosses and mid-bosses now have "DX" (meaning "Deluxe") at the end of their names, use a number of new attacks, and have alternate color schemes. All sections requiring the Hypernova ability in the main quest are skipped by Dedede, as Dedede cannot access that ability, or any at all. Finally, the stars from the main mode have been replaced by Dedede's trademark peace signs, which serve the same purpose as said stars, and Sun Stones do not appear in this mode.

King Dedede's Abilities

In Dededetour, King Dedede controls and functions similarly to how he does in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, in which his move set is nearly identical to Hammer Kirby in the same game. Dedede can float and guard, just like in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. Just like Kirby, he can perform a dodge while guarding, a move introduced in Kirby: Triple Deluxe. King Dedede has a few new moves in this game, such as his neutral attack sending out a shock wave in front of him, and his ability to charge his hammer to fire out a beam that cuts things like rope and grass.

Kirby Fighters

Main article: Kirby Fighters

Img-kirby-fighters — Logo for Kirby Fighters.

In this sub-game, players pick one of ten available Copy Abilities for their Kirby, including the new Archer ability. CPUs are always available as opponents, but the game also features a multiplayer mode. Items are included to aid players/CPUs in battle. There are seven available stages: Flower Land, Castle Lololo, Bubbly Clouds, Coo's Forest, Dedede Arena, Factory Tour, and Another Dimension; an eighth selection, Random (which simply selects a random stage), is also available, depending on the mode. Rather than actually being directly fought, characters like Lololo & Lalala, King Dedede, and Kracko are merely hazards of their respective arenas that will occasionally appear. Bosses can be defeated if they take enough damage, however. All throughout the game, once a player defeats his/her opposition, the classic "level complete" tune from Kirby's Dream Land plays. The sub-game itself uses many classic tunes or remixes, as well as the presence of old foes, friends, and stages. Items from previous games return, such as the Mint Leaf and Cracker; new items, like the Timed Dynamite, and 1-time throwable Gordos (each enlarged Gordo functioning mainly as a barricade) are also introduced. There are three modes included: Single Player, Multiplayer, and Training.

The gameplay of Kirby Fighters is reminiscent of that of the Super Smash Bros. series.

Kirby Fighters Deluxe

Main article: Kirby Fighters Deluxe

Kirby Fighters Deluxe is an upgraded version of Kirby Fighters sold as a stand-alone title on the Nintendo eShop. It includes new stages, a more advanced single player mode (including boss battles against Kracko and a team consisting of King Dedede and several miniature copies), team battles, a new item, and mouth-to-mouth. It also grants the new Beetle and Bell abilities, as well as the Waddle Dee Train Tracks stage, if the player owns a copy of Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

Dedede's Drum Dash

Main article: Dedede's Drum Dash

Img-drum-bash — Logo for Dedede's Drum Dash.

In this sub-game, players take the role of King Dedede, who bounces on drums and collects Musical Coins. Players press the A button when landing on a drum to increase the height of their jump, and consecutive jumps are higher. When King Dedede reaches the peak of the jump, players can press the A button again to perform a backbeat. Collecting coins and keeping the beat awards more points. 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 are four songs of increasing difficulty, one being unlockable after mastering the previous three.

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe

Main article: Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe is an upgraded version of Dedede's Drum Dash and sold as a stand-alone title on the Nintendo eShop. It includes newer, more difficult stages. The player can unlock masks for Dedede to wear, but most of them (Kirby, Meta Knight, Waddle Dee, and Taranza) require the player to own Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

The Arena

Main article: The Arena#Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Players choose one Copy Ability and battle the all of the game's bosses consecutively as fast as they can without dying. In this game's Arena, players are given five Maxim Tomatoes and a choice of two random Copy Abilities between battles, similar to Kirby's Return to Dream Land’s Arena. One of the Maxim Tomatoes is in an Assist Star; this allows the player to take the Maxim Tomato into battle and use it whenever they like, similar to how they could carry a box with a Maxim Tomato in it into battle in Kirby's Return to Dream Land’s Arena. After a Maxim Tomato is used, a regular tomato appears in its place the next time the player enters the rest room, which does not respawn after being consumed. Treasure Chests containing keychains occasionally appear upon returning to the rest room.

The True Arena

Main article: The True Arena#Kirby: Triple Deluxe

KTD True Arena title screen — The True Arena title screen.

The True Arena also returns in this game, pitting Kirby against the DX bosses that King Dedede fights in Dededetour, plus Soul of Sectonia. This mode is unlocked by beating Extra Mode once. Only four normal tomatoes and a single Maxim Tomato in an Assist Star are available in the rest room.

Characters

Major Characters

Main Game

Sub-games

Playable Characters

Enemies

	This section contains content derived from Japanese

Normal Enemies

The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help)

Enemies defeated with the Hypernova ability

Mid-bosses

Bosses

Copy Abilities

A total of 26 Copy Abilities appear in this game. All abilities returning from Kirby's Return to Dream Land retain their appearance and most of their movesets.

Archer	Beam	Beetle	Bell	Bomb	Circus

Crash	Cutter	Fighter	Fire	Hammer	Hypernova	Ice

Leaf	Mike	Needle	Ninja	Parasol	Sleep	Spark

Spear	Stone	Sword	Wheel	Whip	Wing

Of these, Archer, Beetle, Bell, Circus, and Hypernova are new.

Items and Objects

The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help)

Levels

The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help)

Music

Main article: Kirby: Triple Deluxe/Music

Glitches

Main article: Glitch#Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Reception

As of the end of March 31, 2015, the game has cumulative worldwide sales of 1.78 million.

Overall, Kirby: Triple Deluxe has received acclaim from players.

The game holds an average of 80 on Metacritic based on 67 critic reviews^[2] and an average of 8.84 on whatoplay.com^[3].

GameSpot gave it a score of 8/10, praising the controls, level design, music, graphics, use of 3D technology, and lasting appeal.^[4]
Polygon gave it a 7.5/10, praising its innovative level design but criticizing the overall aesthetics as "simple" and "drab" as compared to earlier games in the series.^[5]
Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4/5, describing Kirby: Triple Deluxe as "one of the best handheld iterations in the beloved Nintendo franchise."^[6]
Unlike other reviewers, IGN's Jose Otero gave the game a 6/10 score, praising its boss battles and use of the 3D technology while strongly criticizing its low difficulty.^[7]

Transcript

Main article: Kirby: Triple Deluxe/Transcript

Staff

Main article: List of Kirby: Triple Deluxe Staff

Trivia

Kirby: Triple Deluxe’s opening was designed with Kirby Super Star’s ending in mind, allowing it to pick up after the events of Milky Way Wishes.^[8]
The 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 North American box arts.
The title of the game was derived from a couple of characteristics: 3D due to it being on the Nintendo 3DS system and X as it is the roman numeral for 10, as Kirby: Triple Deluxe is the tenth traditional Kirby platformer. Combining these makes "3DX". As DX can be a shorthand for "Deluxe," and the three can be converted to "Triple," the title used "Triple Deluxe." ^[9]
- This title was also made fitting due to King Dedede's role in the game, as his name has 3 De's.
The 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.
The first letters of all the levels in order, including Eternal Dreamland, spell F-L-O-W-E-R-E-D, a reference to the final boss's last form.
- This is the fifth instance in the Kirby series where the first letters of the stages create an acronym; the other four are in Kirby's Adventure, Kirby: Canvas Curse, Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition.
- This is the second Kirby game where the acronym is a direct reference to a major villain that is only seen at the end of the game, the first being Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
This is the first Kirby game to use accelerometer controls since Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, and the first one to use gyroscope controls.
Subtle changes were made between the Japanese and North American box arts. The most notable of these changes (besides the title and ESRB ratings) was the removal of Shotzo from the cover. This may have been done for censorship reasons, as the Shotzo on the Japanese cover is depicted shooting at the viewer. The European box art is left unchanged, however.

KirbyTriplePuzzle — The *Kirby: Triple Deluxe* puzzle panel

The StreetPass Mii Plaza game Puzzle Swap contains a puzzle panel based on Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
Two recurring motifs of Kirby: Triple Deluxe are flowers and faces; many inanimate objects and pieces of scenery are made to look like they have two eyes and a mouth.
Once the game is beaten, the flowers on the Dreamstalk on the title screen bloom; once Dededetour is beaten, King Dedede is seen floating in the background; and finally once the game is completed 100%, Hypernova Kirby is seen walking on the Dreamstalk instead of the normal Kirby.
The game's title could be a homage to Kirby Super Star’s, as Kirby Super Star is known in Japan as "Kirby of the Stars: Super Deluxe."
Aside from the Kirby's Toy Box games, Kirby: Triple Deluxe was the first Kirby game to not be packaged with a physical instruction manual. It includes a digital manual instead.
In the Japanese version of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, the words "and more..." appear after the credits end. This is a reference to Milky Way Wishes's credits in Kirby Super Star (Japanese version only) and Kirby Super Star Ultra, which show the same words at the end. When Kirby: Triple Deluxe was localized in North America, the words were changed to "The End."
Kirby: Triple Deluxe consists of more than 300 rooms.^[10]
In the Music Room in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Kirby: Triple Deluxe is represented by an image of a 3D Warp Star.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe’s credits contain an image of Kirby holding a smoking pipe in Dededetour mode. This is notable for being one of the few tobacco references in the series; the other tobacco references are Fatty Whale's pipe in Kirby Super Star/Kirby Super Star Ultra, and the cigarette smoked by Kirby in the German comic book story, Kirby's Biggest Case.
On the Nintendo Selects box art, the closest Bronto Burt overlaps the red border just like it does the border on the standard box art.
The file select music is a remix of the music that plays in the Save Cottages of The Great Cave Offensive from Kirby Super Star and, in turn, would be reused as the file select music for Kirby: Planet Robobot.
The Copy Ability Testing Room, unlocked after beating Story Mode once, plays the same music as the Lor Starcutter from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
In Kirby Fighters, 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 in Kirby: Planet Robobot’s Team Kirby Clash sub-game and Team Kirby Clash 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.
Many of the themes in Kirby: Triple Deluxe are reused from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe is the only game in the series to have two seperate enemies that give the Crash ability via inhale. Other games allow it to be gotten via the Copy ability; however, as Bomber only appears in Kirby Fighters, Searches is the only enemy to grant the ability.
The reason Kirby loses his Copy Ability in the rooms with Truth Mirrors is that the Nintendo 3DS cannot properly render an ability in both the foreground and background.
Notes from the ESRB describe how Kirby: Triple Deluxe earned its E rating. In addition to its cartoon violence and the sounds and effects of that violence, the notes mention Kirby's use of the Sword, Whip, and Archer Copy Abilities as "cartoony weapons," as well as the 3D Tilt Missile turrets that enable the player to "shoot projectiles at obstacles and boss characters."^[11]
Of all the games in the Kirby series, Kirby: Triple Deluxe has the longest 100% speedrun. The top run was finished with a time of 6:34:42 on December 1, 2018.^[12]