| “ | Please don't tread on my roots, it would not be a wise decision.” |
| — Whispy Woods • Kirby's Avalanche |
Whispy Woods (also known as Whispy) is a recurring boss in the Kirby series. The forest king first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land and is a giant, immobile apple tree with a face and a branch-like nose. His attacks are to make apples fall on Kirby, blow air puffs, and occasionally shoot his roots at Kirby in some games. The only way to counterattack without a copy ability is to inhale apples and shoot them back at him.
Whispy is commonly regarded as being one of the easiest bosses in the series alongside King Golem and others. This is because he (in most cases) cannot move and has a shallow range of attacks. As a result, Whispy is usually the first boss to be fought in most of games he appears in. This also has made him one of the most iconic and recognizable characters in the series.
Physical Appearance
Whispy attacking.
Whispy Woods hasn't changed much over the years. His concept always remains the same from game to game; a light-colored, non-moving apple tree with a large bushel of leaves on his top branches. He commonly has visible roots and a short, stubby branch on his side, but these details were absent in earlier games. His eyes and mouth are hollow circles and he has a pointy nose. Sometimes he has apples, little round spheres, or even small stars growing from his branches in some appearances (the most common, however, are the apples). He can drop the apples and roll them across the ground as obstacles. Whispy Woods is known for being able to shoot puffs of air from his mouth, and he can exhale vegetables such as eggplants and carrots in Kirby's Dream Land 3.
Usually, his nose is rounded and cylindrical. However, in some games, Whispy is shown to be able to sharpen it and will damage Kirby if Kirby collides with it. In Kirby's Dream Land 3, Whispy's mouth and eyes become jagged and sharp in the second phase of his fight, and this is the only game where Whispy Woods actually walks around and pursues Kirby.
Although his concept is always similar, his final look is sometimes tailored for certain games. In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Whispy's bark was plaid, he no longer had hollow eyes, and had a slightly more vibrant color pallete. Whispy has identical looks in both Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby: Squeak Squad, where he has ivy growing along his sides and even more detailed bark. This is arguably his most detailed appearance to date. In Kirby Air Ride, Whispy's design was somewhat simplified to match the simplistic style of City Trial.
Games
Kirby's Dream Land
Whispy Woods debuts in Kirby's Dream Land as the boss of the game's first stage, Green Greens. Whispy will try to drop apples on Kirby which Kirby must inhale then spit back, and shoot air puffs which Kirby can't inhale. He later returns near the end of the game in Mt. Dedede when Kirby must fight all of the game's bosses again. His looks in subsequent games are refined versions of this original look.
In Extra mode, Whispy will move faster and also occasionally drop Gordos which roll along the ground and must be jumped over.
Though touching Whispy won't hurt Kirby, touching his sharp, pointed nose will take away two HP. This prevents Kirby from jumping while standing next to Whispy.
Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland
Whispy Woods in Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland
Whispy returns in this game as the boss of Vegetable Valley, having been given a piece of the Star Rod from King Dedede when Nightmare invades. In Kirby's Adventure, the battle against Whispy Woods is no different than the fight in Kirby's Dream Land, except now Kirby can enter the fight with a copy ability, making the fight much easier. Also, Whispy's nose will no longer hurt Kirby if he runs into it.
Because Whispy Woods is completely immobile during the fight and many of his obstacles can be dispatched before they hit Kirby, by coming to the battle equipped with the Spark, Freeze, or Needle ability and standing right next to Whispy and then by activating the ability, Whispy continuously takes damage and has virtually no way of protecting himself (his apples are taken out as soon as they hit Spark/Needle's barrier and the air puffs pass right over Kirby's head).
Kirby's Dream Land 2
Whispy's strange, masked form in Kirby's Dream Land 2
Whispy is once again the boss of the game's first level, Grass Land. This time however he is fought in two rounds. The first of which has him wearing a surgeon's mask that makes him unable to shoot air pellets at Kirby, but he gains the ability to shoot his spike-like roots at Kirby from below. He also wears swirl-lens glasses that impairs his vision somewhat. After being damaged enough, Whispy's mask falls to the ground and he returns to his traditional attacks and is once again able to shoot out air pellets. In the bonus game for world 1, Whispy shoots out apples and stars; Kirby has to collect the stars, but if he gets hit by an apple, the game is lost.
Kirby's Dream Course
In Kirby's Dream Course multiple Whispy Woods appear and serve as bumpers which can injure Kirby and send him bouncing off soon after. They can only be beaten with the Spark ability.
Kirby's Avalanche
Whispy acts as the second boss and fifth competitor that must be challenged in the Avalanche competition, following Poppy Bros. Sr. and preceding Kabu.
Whispy's dialogue:
- Whispy Woods: "Please don't tread on my roots, it would not be a wise decision."
- Kirby: "I feel like some apple pie!"
Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra
In Spring Breeze (an enhanced remake of Kirby's Dream Land) Whispy is once again the boss of Green Greens and is fought similarly as in Kirby's Adventure. Although this game does not have Spark or Needle, Ice Kirby's Freezer Blizzard is identical to the Freeze ability.
Whispy Woods makes a cameo appearance at the ending sequence of Dyna Blade. Kirby uses Whispy's apples to feed Dyna Blade's babies, much to Whispy's shock.
In Revenge of Meta Knight (another of Super Star's eight games) Kirby encounters a variation of Whispy Woods called Twin Woods just after Kirby defeats the regular Whispy. The Twin Woods are conjoined twins facing each other that must be fought at the same time. They have most of Whispy's attacks as well as some new ones such as spinning to drop worms from their branches that Kirby can't inhale and trading sections of their trunk.
In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Whispy and the Twin Woods return the same as they were in the original. However, in Revenge of the King, an alter ego of Whispy is introduced. Known as Whispy's Revenge, this misanthropic oak is much stronger and adds several new attacks to the mix, such as purple apples that poison Kirby if he inhales them, purple caterpillars, and tornadoes instead of air puffs. A card of the plain Whispy is also found in the mini-game Card Swipe.
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Whispy Woods in Kirby's Dream Land 3
As in Kirby's Dream Land 2, Whispy Woods is the boss of Grass Land but this time he has been disturbed by Dark Matter's mischief, as are all of the other bosses in the game besides Pon and Con. His attacks are slightly different this time. Whispy now spits out various fruit and vegetables that Kirby must inhale and shoot back at him, and he may occasionally shoot air puffs at Kirby. Once again, Whispy's nose takes away Kirby's HP if he comes in contact with it.
After roughly four hits, Whispy becomes "angry" and begins to chase Kirby by using his roots to walk across the ground just as the screen starts to scroll automatically. Now Kirby has to run away from Whispy while fighting him. In his angry state, the fruit Whispy spits out takes on a rotten and bruised appearance but can still be inhaled and spit out in the same manner as the regular fruit. Once again, another 4 hits will end the fight with Whispy Woods.
If Kirby gets all of the Heart Stars after fighting Whispy the first time, he will no longer attack Kirby if he enters the boss stage again. In Boss Butch, Whispy's arena looks as if it takes place in autumn.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Whispy's debut in 3D
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Whispy Woods is the boss of Pop Star, and is fought in an entirely different way from earlier games. Kirby travels a circular path around Whispy inhabited by three Whispy Wood Jrs. Whispy Woods himself drops apples that Kirby can inhale and spit. Whether he uses apples or a power, Kirby must defeat the 3 seedlings by hitting each of them two times.
After all three of them are defeated, Whispy becomes enraged and makes his roots travel through the ground to stab at Kirby, while still dropping apples. Whispy still spits air pellets at Kirby, but these are easy to dodge. To defeat Whispy in his second phase, Kirby must quickly attack his roots before they burrow back underground.
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
Whispy Woods appears in this game with a friendlier role, appearing in some levels to teleport Kirby to a different part of the level.
Kirby Air Ride
Whispy as seen in Air Ride
In Kirby Air Ride Whispy Woods makes a cameo in the City Trial Mode, nestled around other trees in the small, peaceful forest in the West sector of the city. He doesn't attack any of the players in this game, and if Kirby rams into him with an Air Ride Machine into him enough times, Whispy becomes exhausted and shows his "beaten" pose, just as when he is defeated in previous games.
Kirby: Squeak Squad
Whispy makes a small cameo appearance by showing up on the game's title screen, although much of his face is obscured by the game logo. Whispy Woods' appearance as well as the area that he stands in look the same as in Nightmare in Dream Land.
Kirby's Epic Yarn
Whispy appears in Kirby's Epic Yarn, where he is seen near the end of Whispy's Forest. He uses his usual abilities to throw apples and blow puffs of wind at Kirby. Kirby fights him in his Tankbot form. There are three smaller versions of him called Twiggy Woods which appear earlier in the level, though all they do is occasionally release Gordos to hinder Kirby's progress, and they are part of the mechanic to allow Kirby to reach higher ground.
Whispy as seen in Kirby's Epic Yarn
Kirby Wii
Whispy Woods returns as a boss. After he loses enough health, he will grow double his regular size. He occasionally sucks up Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Dee, much like Kirby's signature inhale, and drops Waddle Dees throughout the battle.
When defeated, he shrinks to a size much smaller than usual.[1]
Other Games
Whispy is a boss in both Kirby's Pinball Land and Kirby's Block Ball, fought using pinball flippers and bumpers to thrust Kirby at him while he uses his air pellets, apples, and Gordo to try to throw Kirby off course. Whispy is also scheduled to appear in Kirby Mass Attack.
In the Anime
In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Whispy is an ally of Kirby, Tiff and Tuff and is the ruler of Whispy Woods Forest. He is shown to be wise, protective, caring, and even vengeful, at times. Dedede and his protegé, Escargoon, often times, try to turn Whispy to a pile of lumber, so they can clear out the rest of the forest. Whispy is often a step ahead of them, however, (and when he isn't, he relies on Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff). He always outsmarts them, and, somehow, avoids being cut down. He is adored by the many creatures of the forest, and is close with Acore, the oldest tree in the woods. One time, Whispy sensed a threat to Acore and asked Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff to protect the eldery tree. Whispy is also shown to have a love of flowers, as seen the The Flower Plot, where he fell in love with Lovely, who tried to suck the energy out of him. In his final appearance in the series, Whispy, along with Phan Phan and the other wildlife watched the Halberd's ignition in Cappy Town Down.
Smash Bros. Series
Whispy Woods cameos in all three Super Smash Bros. games where he appears in the background of Kirby's stages Dream Land in Smash Bros. and Melee and Green Greens in Melee and Brawl. He interferes with the fight by blowing the characters around with a weak gust of wind, and in the Green Greens stage he also drops apples that can either be picked up and thrown or occasionally be eaten to recover damage.
Strangely, the trophy for Whispy Woods' apples in Melee, as well as the trophy in Brawl, states that he doesn't actually grow his own apples, though this might refer to the apples that were shown on the trophy.[1]
A sticker of Whispy appears in SSBB, utilising his design in Kirby Super Star.
Trivia
- Though Whispy Woods does not appear in Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, a boss named King Golem bears great resemblance to Whispy, except he is actually a stone pillar instead of a tree. He also acts similarly by dropping rocks onto the floor in a similar fashion to Whispy's apples.
- Almost every episode of Kirby: Right Back at Ya! involving Whispy is about saving trees.
- In the title screen of Kirby: Squeak Squad, Whispy's sprite from Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land is used.
- The glasses Whispy wears in KDL2 are similar to the ones worn by Fawful, a recurring character in the Mario & Luigi games. However, this is most likely a coincedence, as Fawful appeared years after Kirby's Dream Land 2.
