Mid-Boss Tower

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A Mid-Boss Tower is a reocurring level type in the Kirby series. As the name suggests, it is a sort of tower that is infested with mid-bosses.

Games

Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

Rainbow Resort

Mid-Boss Tower KA — Entrance to the tower in Rainbow Resort

The first mid-boss tower in Kirby's Adventure (or in its remake) is in the second stage of Rainbow Resort. It is a tall tower with a spiraling staircase. It also has an alternate entrance near the top of the first room of the stage (made more obvious in the remake by making the doorway an air vent) which is a shorter route, but is significantly more difficult; the reward is five 1UPs. The music that plays in Kirby's Adventure is the first version of the main mid-boss theme, whereas in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, King Dedede's theme plays instead.

The mid-boss order is as follows:

In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, the mid-bosses have alternate color palettes.

Poppy Bros. Sr. is red instead of blue.
Mr. Tick Tock is blue instead of orange.
Mr. Frosty is green instead of blue.
Bonkers is red instead of purple.
Phan Phan is blue instead of gray.
Bugzzy is green instead of purple.
Fire Lion is purple instead of orange.

In the alternate route, the first three mid-bosses are skipped, but the remaining ones are made significantly faster, and thereby more difficult to fight. Each mid-boss also features a different alternate color palette in Kirby's Adventure.

Bonkers is blue instead of orange;
Rolling Turtle is red-violet instead of green;
Bugzzy is gray instead of purple;
Fire Lion is blue instead of magenta.

In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land:

Bonkers is green instead of purple;
Phan Phan is green instead of gray;
Bugzzy is red instead of purple;
Fire Lion is gray instead of orange.

After defeating Fire Lion (and getting the 1UPs if applicable), Kirby rides his Warp Star through the sky and lands at another location in Rainbow Resort. In this last area of the stage, there is a Maxim Tomato nearby with a Blade Knight guarding it. This Blade Knight is particularly notorious to KOing players who left the tower with one Health remaining.

Oddly, Grand Wheelie does not appear, although it does appear later in stage five of Rainbow Resort. It is also the only other mid-boss to appear after the Mid-Boss Tower.

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra

Milky Way Wishes

Mekkai

In the last room of Mekkai, there is an elevator that can go up 5 floors. The above floors are filled with mid-bosses (and Plasma Wisps on the last floor to the right). Each mid-boss sports an alternate color palette.

On the first floor is a trail of food on the way to the elevator and a Maxim Tomato to the right of the elevator.
On the second floor, to the left is Mr. Frosty, who drops a Maxim Tomato; to the right is Jukid, who drops a cherry.
On the third floor, to the left is Chef Kawasaki, who drops a cherry; to the right is Bugzzy, who drops a cookie.
On the fourth floor, to the left is Poppy Bros. Sr., who drops a candy corn; to the right is Bonkers, who guards the exit door.
On the fifth floor to the left is Iron Mam, who gives the Plasma Copy Essence Deluxe. The room to the right is filled with Plasma Wisps and a 1UP.

In Kirby Super Star:

Mr. Frosty is purple;
Jukid is orange;
Chef Kawasaki is brown;
Bugzzy is blue;
Poppy Bros. Sr. is red;
Bonkers is orange;
Iron Mam is green.

In Kirby Super Star Ultra:

Mr. Frosty is red;
Jukid is orange;
Chef Kawasaki is brown;
Bugzzy is black;
Poppy Bros. Sr. is green;
Bonkers is blue;
Iron Mam is pink.

Bonkers is the only mid-boss in the tower that needs to be defeated in order to finish the stage; however, Iron Mam is also required if the player wishes to get 100%.

Kirby's Dream Land 3

Iceberg

In the last stage of Iceberg, Kirby has to find Angel's feathers. Each feather is hidden behind a pair of Ability Blocks, in which the correct Copy Ability must be used in order to destroy. These Copy Abilities must be obtained from a mid-boss fought in the previous room or, if a mid-boss for the ability does not exist, from a group of enemies in the previous room.

The first room autoscrolls upward. It consists of 16 long platforms, each with a Nruff roaming on it, and then three doors; left, right, and middle; leading to the second room. Rick is accessed through the left door, Coo through the middle door, and Nago through the right door. In the third room, the branching paths meet back into one room, in which the player is given three more doors. The left door leads to a Maxim Tomato, the middle door to a 1UP, and the right door to a star. In the room after the items, another three doors. Left leads to Kine, middle leads to ChuChu, and right leads to Pitch. After the branching paths again lead to the same room, the player is presented with three doors again, but the right and middle doors are actually Nidoos. Entering the left door leads the player to the first "mid-boss."

Five Sparkys on small platforms arranged like an M shape.
Blocky
Jumper Shoot
Yuki
Three Sir Kibbles, one on the left, right, and middle of the room.
Haboki
Boboo
Captain Stitch

After obtaining every feather, Angel will give Kirby a Heart Star.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Ripple Star

In the last normal stage of Ripple Star, Kirby must climb up the enemy-infested Ripple Star Tower to reach Miracle Matter. As Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards does not use the traditional mid-boss system, instead having Room Guarders, every other room is filled with a variety of enemies. The first room contains a bunch of stars Kirby can collect. The second room contains the first Room Guarder. The odd-numbered rooms feature a part of the spiraling staircase to the top, along with three Star Blocks in each, a food item or 1UP, and a few enemies: three Bumbers in the third room, four Bouncys in the fifth room, three Rockys in the seventh room, and three Gordos in the ninth room. In the background is a Christmas tree. In the eleventh room, five N-Zs fall out of the black void in the sky before Kirby enters the doorway leading to Miracle Matter.

The Room Guarders are as follows:

Chacha, Galbo, Gabon, Chilly, Poppy Bros. Jr., Ghost Knight, and two Pompeys
Sparky, Mariel, Sawyer, Kany, Punc, Yariko, Hack, Bobo, Emp, and Nruff
Bonehead, Cairn, Bouncy, Kapar, Bobo, Plugg, Kacti, and Sir Kibble
Two Floras and a Fishbone, two Bos and a Zoos, two Bumbers and a Skud, two Mumbies and a Scarfy, and three Propellers
Three Bronto Burts, three Pterans, three Turbites, three Frigis, and three Burnis

The first and third Crystal Shards appear after defeating the first and fourth Room Guarders, with the second one hidden in the third Room Guarder room; it is obtained using Burn + Needle on the bulls-eye on the sun on the floor.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Nutty Noon

The fifth stage of Nutty Noon marks the return of the Mid-Boss Tower, taking place near the top of the Sky Tower. Like in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, ambient wind flows outside the entrance; there is also a secret entrance which is marked off by an air ventilation duct, which gives access to a more challenging route, and gives 4 1UPs at the end. The first room inside has Copy Essences for Fire, Bomb, Beam, and Stone; and a Maxim Tomato Box. Entering the next door brings Kirby to the first mid-boss, in which King Dedede's theme plays, referencing Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. The Copy Abilities that the mid-bosses grant are used to get the Energy Spheres in the stage, each one appearing after the previous mid-boss.

The mid-bosses in the main entrance are as follows:

After each mid-boss is the puzzle to get the Energy Sphere, and then the room following is an upward slope that leads to the next mid-boss door, in which a lone enemy guards. Lanzer guards the door to Moundo, Waddle Doo guards the door to Water Galboros, and Blade Knight guards the door to Dubior.

The mid-bosses in the alternate entrance are:

Water Galboros
King Doo
Dubior
Kibble Blade & Gigant Edge
Bonkers & Moundo

Knuckle Joe guards the door to King Doo, Whippy guards the door to Giant Edge and Kibble Blade (Dubior is fought right after King Doo), and Moonja guards the door to Bonkers and Moundo.

The secret entrance is also mostly flipped, going from right-to-left most of the time instead of left-to-right.

After leaving the tower, there is a Maxim Tomato for the player to collect, similarly to Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition

Last Land

Smash Combat Chamber EX

In the penultimate challenge in Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, Smash Kirby faces off against all of the mid-bosses from Kirby's Return to Dream Land (except Super Bonkers), as well as Whispy Woods. There isn't much room transitioning in this Mid-Boss Tower; instead, Kirby and the mid-bosses are in an elevator, which will rise once Kirby defeats a mid-boss (or both if applicable). The music that plays is the Miracle Matter theme, with the alternate theme being The True Arena coliseum music from Kirby Super Star Ultra.

The mid-bosses are in the following order:

After fighting all of the mid-bosses, Kirby is taken to a room where many Gold Waddle Dees spawn in. After this room, Kirby fights Whispy Woods. After defeating Whispy, Kirby is then led to a room that has Star Blocks arranged to make "20," each hiding Score Coins.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Endless Explosions

The fifth stage of Endless Explosions serves as a Mid-Boss Tower, although not exactly as a standard tower. The first room of the stage has Bandana Waddle Dee to assist Kirby, as he usually appears before fighting a mid-boss or boss. Ambient wind flows. There is an upward-going ladder that leads to two 3D Warp Stars. Each one leads to a different mid-boss. After defeating the mid-boss, a 3D Warp Star appears, allowing Kirby to try to obtain the Sun Stone in the background before exiting. Like in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, taking the mid-boss's Copy Ability is usually required for getting each Sun Stone. The path branches three different times. The music that plays is "Ripple Red," the music that plays in Ripple Star's tower.

The mid-bosses fought by taking the 3D Warp Stars on the left are:

The mid-bosses fought by taking the 3D Warp Stars on the right are:

After defeating Mr. Frosty or Hornhead, Bonkers must be battled.

Sir Kibble, Leafan, and Tick appear before the first mid-boss; Sparky, Clown Acrobot, and Whippy appear before the second mid-boss; Pierce, Foley, and Knuckle Joe appear before the third mid-boss; and Parasol Waddle Doo and Birdon appear before Bonkers. Climbing the ladder leads to only one 3D Warp Star, but floating a distance above will reveal a hidden 3D Warp Star. This 3D Warp Star allows Kirby to take a detour, leading to a room with two Walkys in the foreground, another 3D Warp Star, and three Degouts in the background guarding a Treasure Chest containing a rare keychain. Exiting the room leads back to Bonkers. Kabu, Waddle Dee, Chip, and Sheld appear in the background after destroying the Bomb Block. Leaving the room leads to a Blade Knight and a Maxim Tomato in a Container, referencing the end of the second stage of Rainbow Resort.

Similar Occurrences

While not necessarily being Mid-Boss Towers, the following occurrences have some of the traits of Mid-Boss Towers:

Kirby's Dream Land 2

Dark Castle

Dark Castle is the final level of Kirby's Dream Land 2, and at the end of each stage is a mid-boss. The mid-boss order is as follows:

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra

Dyna Blade

At the end of each stage in Dyna Blade (excluding the Trial Rooms and Dyna Blade's Nest), Kirby faces a mid-boss. All of the mid-bosses from Kirby Super Star appear in this sub-game except for Jukid, who first appears in The Great Cave Offensive.

In Peanut Plains:
- Chef Kawasaki
In Mallow Castle:
- Bonkers
In Cocoa Cave:
- Bugzzy
In Candy Mountain:
- Mr. Frosty, Bonkers, and Twin Poppy Bros. Sr.
In VS. Iron Mam:
- Iron Mam

The music that plays during the mid-boss fights in Candy Mountain is the boss theme. When fighting Iron Mam in VS. Iron Mam, the standard mid-boss theme plays.