Sword

“	The undisputed king of melee weapons. Drill Stab, Down Thrust, Spin Slash-- the list goes on. Finish with a Sword Dive, and then raise your blade to the heavens and let out a war cry!”
	— Sword's Flavor Text • Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Sword is one of Kirby's Copy Abilities, first appearing in Kirby's Adventure.

General Information

Perhaps one of his most iconic powers, Sword Kirby wears a long green hat similar to Link from The Legend of Zelda series and wields a sword. Beyond its design, the Sword ability is often easily accessed, as Kirby can get it from a wide array of enemies in each game. Notable sword-yielding enemies include Sword Knight, Blade Knight, and Heavy Knight. Usually Meta Knight offers Kirby a sword before the boss battle and will not start fighting him until it is taken.

In most games, Sword Kirby is limited to a basic horizontal swipe. However, in games, when a larger moveset is provided, Sword Kirby is capable of more advanced swordplay, sometimes including Final Cutter, one of Cutter's primary attacks.

In Kirby: Squeak Squad, the Sword ability can be mixed into Ice Sword, Fire Sword, or Thunder Sword with the correct ability. However, this can only be done if Kirby finds the necessary Ability Scroll.

It is also one of the few abilities that may be used in the water, along with Parasol, Hammer, UFO, Master, Spear, and Bell.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, there is a Sword Challenge that can be accessed after collecting seven Energy Spheres.

Move Set

Move	Controls	Description	Element	Damage	Damage
Chop / Overhead Slash	B/Y/1	Kirby slashes at the enemy with his sword. Kirby swings automatically.	None	16	16
Spin Slash	Hold 1, then release	Kirby charges up his sword with energy, then twirls with it outstretched damaging enemies in a close range.	None	N/A	12 (1st hit), 10 (2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th hits), 28 (6th hit); max. damage = 80
Uppercut	B/Y after Chop	Kirby makes a quick slash motion up. It is less accurate than the Sword Slash, but it is more powerful and can hit slightly airborne enemies.	None	18	N/A
Multi-sword attack/Multisword Stab/Multisword Attack	B/Y/1 + B/Y/1 + B/Y/1 B/Y/1 + B/Y/1	Kirby attacks with lightning-fast sword slashes that are nearly impossible to see. The attack has more horizontal range, but no vertical range, and is much weaker. Kirby is invincible while flashing.	None	8 (all hits)	8 (1st hit, no combo from Overhead Slash), 7 (comboed 1st hit / 2nd, 3rd hits), 10 (4th hit), 28 / 32 (5th hit near / far); max. damage = 63
Final Cutter	↑ + B (cannot be used in midair)	Kirby jumps in the air and does a flip, then he falls, sword outstretched. This move comes from Cutter, but the first two slashes are removed. This skill is not available in any game where the move is in Cutter's arsenal.	None	N/A	N/A
Sword Spin	Dash + B/Y/1 in midair B in midair	Kirby swings the sword quickly in midair, damaging all enemies that come into contact with it.	None	12	12
Chop/Chop & Thrust	B/Y/1 (midair)	Kirby thrusts the sword at the enemy, doing damage and pushing Kirby back. If Kirby holds out his sword for a prolonged period of time before striking an enemy, the sword will go through the enemy and Kirby will not be pushed back.	None	22	16
Chop & beam/Sword Beam	B/Y/1 (at full health)	Kirby slashes and a sword beam comes out to damage enemies.	None	16	16
Sword stab/Lunging Stab/Drill Stab	Dash + B/Y/1	Kirby lunges to stab his enemies. In other games, a similar move replaces the Leg Sweep.	None	12 (1st hit), untested (2nd hit)	12 (1st hit), 10 (2nd hit)
Down air stab/Down Thrust	↓ + B (Midair)	Kirby thrusts his sword downwards and inflicts damage on any enemy unfortunate enough to be below him. Kirby's Down Thrust works identically to Chop and Thrust, sharing the same ending animation and roughly the same damage. Kirby's Down Thrust is executed identically to Meta Knight's; he drops straight down at a higher speed and is not pushed back by enemies after attacking.	None	24	22 (sword), 16 (shockwave)
Up Thrust	↑ + B/Y/1	Meta Knight thrusts his sword upwards, inflicting heavy ( ) or negligible ( ) damage on any enemy unfortunate enough to be above him. This move cannot be used by Kirby without Master.	None	26	8
Upward Slash	↑ + Button 1	Kirby slashes with his sword upwards, damaging unfortunate enemies above him.	None	N/A	12 (1st hit), 8 (2nd hit)
Sword Dive	↓ + 1 after Upward Slash	Kirby slams down on top of foes as if using Final Cutter. This move was most likely added as an "optional" move in Kirby's Return to Dream Land because Cutter's arsenal once again included Final Cutter.	None	N/A	12 (dive hit not comboed), 10 (dive hit comboed), 32 (ground impact)
Twister Slash	Press and hold B and then release + ↑	Kirby charges up and unleashes a spin attack while jumping.	None	N/A
Sky Energy Sword	Press and hold ↑ and then B	Kirby raises his sword over his head to charge it with energy. He then unleashes this energy as a ranged attack when he slashes.	None	N/A

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

Along with Fighter, this is perhaps one of Kirby's most powerful melee abilities in the anime. It uses the same green hat, but the color of the blade itself is yellow-gold instead of silver or blue.

The ability retains several of its previous attacks, such as Spinning Sword, but also adds the powerful Sword Beam. Taught to him by Meta Knight, it is an attack that uses the limits of one's power in a huge blade of energy (if Kirby can clear his mind first). It cannot be blocked except for when Kracko used one his powerful lightning bolts to block it. Sword Kirby can also cause his sword to expand in size, but he only does that in one episode. It's also possible for the sword to be broken.

Similar to Sword is the Galaxia ability, which works the same way, only much more powerful (another difference is how the regular Sword Beam is white, but the Galaxia Sword Beam is green-yellow).

In the transformation sequence, Kirby spins and forms his hat, the tip of which then falls on his face. He straightens the hat and takes out his sword.

Transformation Sequence

Sword transformation English version
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Sword transformation Japanese version
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Appearances

Sword, along with Tornado and Ice, are the fourth most commonly seen copy abilities in the anime, with five appearances each. If Galaxia appearances are also counted, it would have seven appearances, making it the second most common ability in the anime. (for the purposes of this list, Sword and Galaxia are considered separate abilities)

Super Smash Bros. series

Sword Kirby appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.

The hats Kirby gets when copying Link, Young Link, and Toon Link look just like Sword Kirby's hat (but Kirby gets either a boomerang or a bow & arrow, and not a sword), though this is to be expected since Sword's hat is a reference to Link in the first place. Sword's version of Final Cutter is taken from these games.

Flavor Texts

Game	Flavor text
	Use the sword to defeat enemies! If you attack in midair, Kirby will spin and slash!
	The King of weapons! Fire beams from the tip of your sword. Become a master by practicing multi-sword attacks.
	I can't lose with this sword! If they zig, I cut 'em! (If they zag, I cut 'em, too!)
	CUT
	You wield the king of blades! At full health, you shoot beams! Show your sword mastery!
	Don a green hat and take sword in hand! Spin Slash! Do a Sword Dive as your finishing strike! It's all about the flourish.
	The undisputed king of melee weapons. Drill Stab, Down Thrust, Spin Slash-- the list goes on. Finish with a Sword Dive, and then raise your blade to the heavens and let out a war cry!

Related Quotes

“	A Kirby ability made when Kirby inhales a sword-wielding foe or a sword itself. Doing so provides Kirby with a rapid sword slash, a jumping sword spin, or even the energy-beam blast of the Final Sword. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that this is the #1 Copy Ability in terms of accessibility.”
	— Trophy description • Super Smash Bros. Brawl

“	When Kirby dons a green cap and gets that blade in his hand, watch out! Launch charge attacks, lightning-speed slices, and more.”
	— Sword's description • Kirby's Return to Dream Land official site

Trivia

Kirby's hat and the sword are direct references to Link, the main protagonist in The Legend of Zelda series. Despite this though, he instead gets the Boomerang when he copies Link in Super Smash Bros., and the Bow & Arrow when he copies him in Super Smash Bros. Melee and Super Smash Bros. Brawl, since Kirby copies whatever his opponent's standard special is in that series.
- Kirby can only shoot sword beams when he is at full health. This is also a direct reference to The Legend of Zelda series, as in various games, Link was able to shoot beams from his sword at full health.
- The Sky Energy Sword is a direct reference to the Skyward Strike in The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. It functions similarly by the fact it involves pointing the sword upwards to charge in order to shoot beams of increased strength.
When using the elemental sword abilities (Fire Sword, Ice Sword and Thunder Sword) in Kirby: Squeak Squad, the pom-pom and the yellow edge of Kirby's hat change colors to match the element.
Sword Kirby and the Blade Knight helper cannot normally use the upwards thrust. Meta Knight and Sword Knight can use the thrust, but those characters are only playable in certain sub-games in Kirby Super Star Ultra.
In [Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby gains the ability to charge his blade and perform a spin attack and can also use an uppercut.
In the anime, Kirby gets the Sword ability from a sword-wielding Bugzzy, who only gives Backdrop or Suplex in the games, and from Kracko's sword-shaped lightning bolts, even though Kracko's lightning bolts cannot be inhaled in the games.
Kirby's yell is reminiscent of Young Link's from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
The flavor text for Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra calls the sword "the king of blades/weapons". This may be a further reference to The Legend of Zelda games, as Link's sword is called the Master Sword.
In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, there is an upgraded version of Sword called Ultra Sword, alongside other Super Abilities.
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, the Sword ability could be used to cut away at foliage, thus altering the landscape around Kirby, and sometimes revealing hidden items.
Sword is the only copy ability to have more than one helper for it in Helper to Hero.
The Spin Slash attack in Kirby's Return to Dream Land was originally seen in the Kirby GCN trailer. It was transferred to the final Wii product in the end.
In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, Sword's alternate costume is Blade Knight's helmet.