| This article's title is derived from Japanese | (Edit | (Similar) |
| ...because it was never localized to English in official sources. | |
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"?" redirects here. For the hidden planet in Milky Way Wishes, see ???. |
Zero is the final boss and true main antagonist of Kirby's Dream Land 3, seen in the oblivion known as Hyper Zone.
Background
Zero's association with Dark Matter, as well as its role as the final boss and its capability to produce smaller Dark Matter look-alikes from its body in the fight suggests that it is a source (if not the source) of Dark Matter, and at the very least, an intelligence which drives the events involving Dark Matter.
Zero is unique as a villain or final boss, since no backstory is known about it, and the only thing it is ever seen to be personally doing is fighting Kirby at the end of the game. Hence the only hints towards its motivations are from the actions of Dark Matter, which tends to revolve around infesting certain planets such as Pop Star. While likely to be attempts at controlling the planets, they never came to fruition; so it is not known what Zero, if it is indeed the leader of Dark Matter, intends to do with Dark Matter-infested planets. The somewhat unusual name of the Love-Love Stick, which is the weapon Kirby uses against it at the end of Kirby's Dream Land 3, suggests that it is weak to positive emotions.
Games
Kirby's Dream Land 3
Zero in Boss Butch mode
Zero and Dark Matter are the extra, final bosses in the game. They can only be fought if Kirby has collected all of the Heart Stars; if Iceberg's Heart Stars are not collected, the game simply ends after Kirby defeats the possessed Dedede and an ominous, dreary ending plays. Together, the two evil entities are fought inside the Hyper Zone.
Right after Kirby delivers the final strike to Dark Matter, the screen begins to flash and Zero suddenly appears. The way it attacks is very similar to Dark Matter; it flies around shooting projectiles at Kirby and attempts to crash into him. In his first form, Zero appears as a giant, round, white sphere, with a small, red eye with a black pupil. It attacks by shooting blood from openings that appear around its eye and launches miniature Dark Matters at Kirby. Sometimes it moves across the screen in an erratic manner trying to ram into Kirby. Due to its size, this can be difficult to avoid. Sometimes, Zero flies forward, off-screen, and into the background. When it does, it will begin to deploy more blood from its eye, which deals a lot of damage if it makes contact with Kirby. When Zero's life meter is depleted, the central part of the eye detaches and begins the final phase of the fight. The eye will then start to circle around Kirby continuously closing in and ramming into him. Ramming Kirby is the eye's only form of attack. It does not have much health, and can be taken down in a short number of hits.
Once its life meter is depleted, Zero spirals out of control, severely hemorrhaging, and explodes.
Trivia
- It is stated in the Japanese-exclusive 20th Anniversary Hoshi no Kirby Pupupu Taizen that Zero is the leader of Dark Matter, despite only directly appearing in one game and predating the Dark Matter race as seen in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. However, as 0² is visually similar, it is most likely a resurrected form of Zero. In turn, it is suggested that Dark Nebula might be a weakened incarnation. While the three have similar names and attributes, the official truth behind their relation currently remains unknown.
- Zero, along with 0², Dark Meta Knight, and Black Dedede, is one of the few characters to bleed or shed blood-tinted tears when fought - these are the four most gruesomely-depicted characters in the series.
- Zero's bloody battle did not affect the E rating of Kirby's Dream Land 3, but later turned the rating of Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition from an E to an E10+.
- This is due, in part, to the fact that the E10+ rating didn't exist at the time.
- Dark Mind's final form bears a very strong resemblance to Zero, so a credible inference would be that Dark Mind's final form is possibly the Mirror World equivalent of Zero.
- According to the size of Dark Matter in Kirby Mass Attack, it appears that it has grown to the size of Zero.
Artwork
Gallery
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Sprites
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