“ | Through this organic body, I have studied all forms of life. The goal of this company has always been prosperity. Unfortunately, you imperfect, fragile life-forms were a liability. So you are invited to witness the end of history. A new age shall begin--an age of infinite prosperity. Enjoy your destruction.” |
— Star Dream • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
Star Dream (also known as the Mother Computer) is a powerful, malevolent machine in the Kirby series which serves as the overarching antagonist and final boss of Kirby: Planet Robobot. It was initially built as a wish-making robot and the Mother Computer of the Haltmann Works Company, but eventually developed the intention to eradicate all organic life-forms.
Physical Appearance[]
Star Dream is a white cylinder-shaped machine with a screw-like head and a circular piece of yellow glass that appears to be its eye. Pink lights course through it in a circuit-board-like pattern, with the center lights forming the shape of a heart with a jagged line down the middle. It also possesses angel-like wings with gold accents and blue glass-like shards protruding from them. Star Dream's entire overall shape is reminiscent of a screw.
Games[]
Kirby: Planet Robobot[]
Story Mode[]
At some point in the past, President Haltmann discovered the blueprints for a machine known as Star Dream, a powerful wish granting device. By studying ancient technology he gained the knowledge he needed to rebuild the device. During an early test of the computer (likely to be that of the Space-Time Transport program), however, there was an accident and Haltmann's daughter was lost, evidently warped to Another Dimension. Haltmann was devastated, and, believing his daughter had perished, attempted to use the wish-granting computer to bring her back. His attempts were unsuccessful; furthermore, Star Dream began to steadily deprive him of his memories through the program controller interfacing with his brain, due to its incomplete nature. As a result, he lost compassion and even memories of Susie's existence, changing the goal of his company to infinite prosperity. With the might of the Haltmann Works Company behind him, and Star Dream as his advisor, Haltmann began invading planets and harvesting their resources to achieve that goal. During his campaign to enslave Planet Popstar, however, Haltmann was confronted by Kirby, resulting in an intense battle that ended in his defeat. In response, an outraged Haltmann decided to activate Star Dream, only for his control helmet to be stolen by Susie.
Unbeknownst to either party, Star Dream had been studying the cosmos through the Haltmann Works Company and had concluded that all organic lifeforms were obstacles to the company's prosperity. When President Haltmann's control device was stolen, the malevolent computer analyzed Haltmann, absorbing his memories and even his soul, becoming a sentient god-like being in the process. Star Dream promptly blasted Susie and possessed President Haltmann's body, using it to reveal its plan to bring eternal prosperity to Haltmann's company by wiping out all organic life. Star Dream subsequently bursts out of the Access Ark, intent on fulfilling its newfound goals.
Susie gives Kirby the Robobot Armor to combat Star Dream. Meta Knight offers Kirby to board the Halberd, but Kirby instead scans it for the Robobot Armor's Halberd Mode, and the two engage the rogue supercomputer in a fierce dogfight that ends in Kirby and Meta Knight's victory. Damaged but not defeated, Star Dream - by now having begun to delete Haltmann's soul and thus lose track of its original purpose - fuses with the Access Ark to become a sentient planet that attacks the two once again. In spite of the machine's new capabilities, Kirby and Meta Knight are still able to triumph, destroying the armored front of the Access Ark to reveal a modified Galactic Nova underneath, similar to the one that Kirby had previously encountered in Kirby Super Star. Though suffering major damage in the third battle that results, Star Dream still manages to fire its laser and hit the Halberd, forcing Meta Knight to eject Kirby in his Robobot Armor. Using a more powerful version of the Robobot Armor's Drill, Kirby breaks through Star Dream's defensive barriers before successfully drilling the malevolent computer's screw-like body straight through the Access Ark, destroying both Star Dream and Haltmann.
Meta Knightmare Returns[]
This section contains information that does not coincide with the main series canon. | |
During Meta Knightmare Returns, Star Dream is once again found in the center of the Access Ark. After Meta Knight defeats President Haltmann 2.0, Star Dream - viewing Meta Knight as its new administrator - creates clones of Dark Matter and Queen Sectonia to test Meta Knight's strength; when these fail to defeat the masked warrior, Star Dream summons Galacta Knight from Another Dimension (an action that had been expressly prohibited by Haltmann). Galacta Knight promptly attacks Star Dream, leaving an enormous, seemingly fatal gash in its hull and causing it to collapse from its pedestal as Galacta Knight proceeds to fight Meta Knight.
The True Arena[]
This section contains information that does not coincide with the main series canon. | |
Main article: Star Dream Soul OS |
In The True Arena, the damage incurred by Galacta Knight activates a hidden program, allowing Star Dream not only to survive the otherwise fatal encounter but also resulting in its transformation into Star Dream Soul OS. This powerful new form is fought at the end of The True Arena. Upon being defeated in a similar manner to the way it was defeated in its normal form, Star Dream inhales Kirby out of his Robobot Armor, leaving the pink warrior in the machine's core and resulting in a heated battle between Kirby and its heart. The first part of this phase is similar to the battle against Nova's heart in Kirby Super Star and even plays Nova's battle theme. After this phase of the battle concludes, the machine makes one last attempt to defeat Kirby with powerful red energy waves before its heart crumbles and Star Dream is fully destroyed.
Battle[]
Area 7 (Mind in the Program), and thus the battle with Star Dream, will initiate after defeating President Haltmann in Stage 6 of Access Ark.
First Phase[]
In the first phase of the battle, Star Dream conjures lasers from black holes to fire upon the Halberd. Star Dream then fires two large missiles that home in on the Halberd. Then, Star Dream summons Invader Armors to go after the Halberd. After that, Star Dream fires heart-shaped projectiles at the Halberd. These explode in large bursts if not shot down.
Star Dream then conjures a heart-shaped force field to defend itself after about a third of its health is gone. Pieces of it can be fired at to break the shield while Star Dream conjures sets of 3 giant Code Cubes that attempt to ram the Halberd. Another attack has Star Dream spin rapidly while engulfing itself in flames, followed by it spinning away off-screen, and trying to ram Kirby from below (in its final stretch of health, it will attempt tackles from the left side of the screen). After that, Star Dream fires a massive laser from its core, which it sweeps across the screen. Star Dream then conjures a huge field of meteors which fly toward the Halberd once its health goes to roughly a quarter left.
Second Phase[]
Once the first battle concludes, Star Dream returns to Popstar and abducts the entire central dome of the Access Ark, adding to its mass and returning to the fight. Star Dream conjures beam rings from black holes to fire upon the Halberd. This is done in several patterns. After 25% damage is done and at subsequent 25% damage intervals, 2 pieces of the Access Ark's front will break off from the structure, which can crash into the Halberd.
Star Dream then forms a shield in front of itself, which spits out a large letter-shaped field that approaches the Halberd (depending on the extent of damage already done, first an "L", then "A", and finally "H" at 25%, 50% and 75% respectively). After the "L", Star Dream fires several large missiles that home in on the Halberd. They can be shot down, though they are more durable than the ones its previous form used. After the "A", Star Dream conjures 3 series of energy lasers that split off from each-other, in a horizontal manner, covering a good portion of the screen before converging and bursting at the end. The energy balls that form from the lasers will explode in decreasing numbers (from 4 to 2) and with increasing blast radius. After the H, Star Dream then forms four legs and swipes with them. The swipes will always be diagonal and Star Dream will always move its new body a bit before lashing out. After alternating between its leg and right sides several times, it will retreat back and continue to use its projectiles until it is defeated.
Third Phase[]
Once the second battle concludes, the remaining front covering of the dome falls off to reveal a face on the dome that resembles the one on Galactic Nova. The fight resumes, with new and bizarre attacks. Star Dream inhales, trying to suck the Halberd in. If caught, the Halberd takes massive damage. Star Dream then conjures a shield, which releases fields shaped like numbers in the exact number with the countdown starting from 5, the numbers increasing in size as the countdown progresses. Each wave of numbers is harder to dodge than the last. The first 3 will proceed slowly towards the screen. The fourth wave's two 2s will assemble in a horizontal bar which like the fifth wave's vertical 1, will rotate anti-clockwise. The final wave, "GO!!" will result in a series of red Fatal Error shields heading towards the Halberd in succession. Its almost impossible to survive this without the Halberd being at full health and/or dodging with perfect timing.
Star Dream then disappears and summons a heart-shaped vortex that spawns a giant implement which attacks the Halberd, and can be shot down. These items can be any of the following: a weather vane that shoots arrows, a protractor that shoots circular projectiles everywhere, a light bulb that explodes, a pocket watch that will try to eat the Halberd, or a spyglass that will use a rotating laser attack. Star Dream will reappear after the implement disappears from the screen, after a certain amount of time or its destroyed, then will continue the countdown. Once the Fatal Error shields are over, the countdown is repeated and Star Dream's defense drops.
Fourth Phase[]
Once the third battle concludes, Star Dream falls for a moment, but then shoots a surprise laser to cripple the Halberd. Meta Knight releases Kirby from its face, to engage Star Dream one last time with the Robobot Armor by itself. All that needs to be done during this phase is for the player to continue rotating the 3DS analog stick as quickly as they can. This will allow Kirby to drill through all the shields, then unscrew Star Dream from its base as it tries to counterattack with lasers. On defeat, Star Dream explodes, fragmenting into countless pieces, which then all vaporize, along with everything else that was built by Haltmann Works. Popstar is saved, and the Story Mode is completed.
Music[]
Name | Music Track |
---|---|
”Vs. Star Dream" | |
”Intermezzo Without a Leader" | |
”Vagrant Counting Song of Retrospection" | |
”Pink Ball Revolution" |
Quotes[]
“ | L...O...A...D...I...N...G... You must be...the new admin. Yes. You possess incredible power... OK. As the new admin, you must supply your credentials...to the strongest warriors of this planet. Executing Sword_Master.EXE.” |
— Meta Knightmare Returns • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
“ | ...Impressive. That may have been too easy for the new admin... Next up is one whose swordplay resembles a beautiful dance... Let us bring back the most powerful queen from the void. Experience her royal presence and unparalleled fighting skills. She will be a fitting test for you.” |
— Meta Knightmare Returns • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
“ | You are mighty indeed. Now for the final test... This was prohibited by the previous admin... Preparing to boot the Space-Time Transport program... Let us bring back a legendary swordsman from a forgotten time. He may end up destroying a planet or two, but such is life. The benefits of this final battle outweigh the collateral damage. Prepare yourself... Executing Space-Time Transport... Extra-dimensional road... Booting... 3... 2... 1... ...BEGIN!” |
— Meta Knightmare Returns • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
Related Quotes[]
“ | Fusing together with Haltmann, the most advanced computer in the galaxy has become self-aware. To realize its old master's wish of eternal prosperity... it's decided to eradicate all life-forms in existence!” |
— VS Star Dream (Phase 1) • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
“ | Haltmann's mind is being absorbed by Star Dream. Merging with the giant ship Access Ark, Star Dream has turned into a sentient planet. The machine has lost its master and purpose. It must be stopped!” |
— VS Star Dream (Phase 2 and 3) • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
“ | Its energy signature far exceeds that of the Invader Armor, our combat mech. The nearly infinite power within this life-form is astounding. Calculating probability of survival... It doesn't look good.” |
— VS Star Dream (Robobot Armor) • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
“ | Fusing together with Haltmann, the most advanced computer in the galaxy has become self-aware. Its objective is to foster eternal prosperity...by eradicating all forms of life!” |
— vs Star Dream (Phase 1; British English version) • Kirby: Planet Robobot |
Trivia[]
- Star Dream's Pause Screen descriptions reveal that the computer's goals and even its level of sentience seem to depend on how much of Haltmann's soul is left in the machine. In the first phase of the battle, the machine had adopted Haltmann's wish for mechanical supremacy and intended to fulfill it by destroying all organic life; by the second phase, the machine had begun to consume Haltmann's soul, resulting in it losing its purpose; and by the time Kirby fights the heart of Star Dream Soul OS, the computer had completely obliterated what remained of Haltmann, leaving it as a "cold, mindless machine" seemingly bent only on mindless destruction. Thus, it is possible that Star Dream was not truly sentient before consuming Haltmann and that its sentience was purely a result of its unplanned fusion with its master.
- Ironically, Star Dream Soul OS's last form is a mechanical heart in spite of the fact that Star Dream has become 'heartless' by this point.
- Once Star Dream Soul OS is shattered in its last form, a slowed-down, pitch-bent version of one of Haltmann's shouts plays, possibly showing the distortion and corruption Star Dream has brought upon Haltmann's soul.
- The single eye, body coloration, and the wing shape on Star Dream's first form makes it rather similar in appearance to 0². Both the Star Dream and 0² fights have some similarities in their execution and do not involve typical Kirby gameplay.
- Though it is implied to have originated from the same design plans as Galactic Nova and possesses similar speech patterns and reality warping abilities, Star Dream Soul OS is shown to have two known limitations to its processing power: it is unable to analyze the upper limits of Kirby's power (describing it as infinite) and unable to analyze any form of Dark Matter after the swordsman form (which alone was stated to take everything the machine had to analyze). These are very likely limitations of Star Dream itself.
- Curiously, Star Dream has no issue creating the Sectonia Clone even though it observes that she is considerably stronger than Dark Matter's swordsman form (calling the latter "too easy" by comparison).
- On a related note regarding the clones Star Dream creates to fight Meta Knight, both seem to inherit a trait from him. Dark Matter Clone adopts Star Dream's yellow eye (which turns red after being severely damaged, just like Star Dream) and Sectonia Clone has Star Dream's broken heart emblem on her chest.
- The giant letters Star Dream's second form fires are H, A, and L, referencing HAL Laboratory, the developer of the Kirby series.
- Despite all 5 of the Access Ark's legs having slightly different shapes, the ones that Star Dream creates during the second phase are all identical.
- The third phase of both Star Dream fights are timed; a number will keep appearing on a digital screen, starting with 5, which shoots out five projectiles shaped like the number 5, and going through numbers 4, 3, 2, and 1 (the last two of which spin around on the screen). If the counter reaches 0 before Star Dream is defeated, it produces a digital screen displaying "GO!!"; after that, Star Dream executes a hard-to-avoid attack, taking the form of red digital screens displaying "Fatal Error", which will eventually kill Kirby if he doesn't dodge the screens or isn't at full health.[1]
- It is still possible to completely dodge the Fatal Error attack without taking damage, though it takes precise and careful moving.[2]
- If Kirby does survive that attack, the countdown will reset to 5. Star Dream will receive increased damage.
- Star Dream's fight in Story Mode contains multiple references to Galactic Nova and the ending of the sub-game Milky Way Wishes in Kirby Super Star and its remake. The countdowns in the third phases of the Star Dream fights are reminiscent of Nova's "OK > 3, 2, 1, GO!" quote in Kirby Super Star and its remake. In addition, the items that Star Dream summons out of the portals in its third phase seem to be pieces of Nova.
- The sequence leading up to Kirby's final attack in the first Star Dream battle is likely a reference to the Giga Drill Break attack from the Gurren Lagann series.
- All but the last phase of both Star Dream battles uses mechanics reminiscent of those found in a Star Fox game.
- The opening attack of Star Dream Soul OS's second phase has it inhale meteors (and potentially the Halberd if it gets too close) and spit them at the Halberd, a possible reference to Andross from the original Star Fox.
- The manner in which Star Dream teleports in the second and third phases is a possible reference to Gorgon from Star Fox 64.
- After Star Dream was defeated, all of the planets that the Haltmann Works Co. invaded returned back to normal.[3]
- The cry that Star Dream makes at the beginning of its third form includes audio of director Shinya Kumazaki's pet cat "Tom" meowing. The sounds produced by the weathervanes in the battle against the third form include audio of a real chicken named "Nago." One member of the sound team kept it at home and recorded it for the game.[4]
- The name of Star Dream's battle theme is "VS. Star Dream" (derived from スタードリーム), using a literal English translation of its Japanese name, which would then later be used as its localized name as well.
- Concept art of Star Dream reveals that it was originally going to resemble 0² much more closely, featuring a more spherical body, a large central eye, and wings that fanned out on both of its sides.
- This could also be why Intermezzo Without a Leader is a remix of 0²'s theme, a potential remnant of this concept.
- When fighting President Haltmann, Dark Matter Clone, Sectonia Clone, and Galacta Knight, Star Dream appears relatively large, about 3-4 character widths, however, when battling Star Dream itself, it appears massive, dwarfing even the Halberd.
- During Star Dream's third form, a heavy remix of Bright Spinning Planet, Vagrant Counting Song of Retrospection, plays.
- The string of fights against Mecha Knight+, President Haltmann, and Star Dream is the longest in a Kirby game that a player must go through without breaks. However, if the player fails at any of these bosses, they will pick up at the boss they lost against rather than start over again. This does not include Boss Endurance or other similar game modes.
- Star Dream's battle theme during the first phase contains several remixed leitmotifs. These include Spinning Jungle from Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Havoc Aboard the Halberd from Kirby Super Star, and Green Greens from Kirby's Dream Land.
- Due to how Star Dream's eye is constructed, it appears to always be gazing at the player.
- Star Dream is similar in aspects to the Mega Man character Ra Moon. Both Star Dream and Ra Moon are malicious ancient extraterrestrial supercomputers based on a preexisting machine in their series, who both can recreate previous major antagonists the protagonist have defeated in the past and have mindsets of seeing themselves as perfect and seeing everything else as fragile and imperfect, and were ready to destroy any living being. They were also found by antagonistic old men with a technological army who used their power for their personal benefits which later proved to cause great harm to the planet, before both of the supercomputers betrayed them at the end of their games and faced off against the main protagonist. Both are named after celestial objects and also have pink outlines around their eye region.