Review: Bomb

Beetles comprise the order Coleoptera. With over 400,000 species, it is the largest order of the animal kingdom. Out of all these species, a subfamily of the scarab, the rhinoceros beetle, is particularly relevant to the topic at hand today, as these are the beetles with exceptionally large horns. Notably, these large horns are exclusive to the males of the species, thus answering, with no question about it, that Kirby is a boy.

Because that's definitely the question we're answering today.

The Beetle ability has had one appearance so far, Kirby Triple Deluxe. Given that the main antagonists are based on a spider and a wasp respectively, as well as the heavy hive theming of the final area, Kirby obtaining a bug-themed copy ability is very appropriate for this game. These beetles are popular as pets in Asia, and the males are often used for gambling fights due to their natural tendency to fight eachother. It's no surprise then that this is one of Kirby's best combat abilities in the game.

The hat looks like the outer shell of a beetle, with wings in the back and the large horn in the front. Both ends have function, as the wings give Kirby a special method of flight almost identical to that of Jet, and the horn in the front is used for every attack the ability has. The standard attack has Kirby swipe the horn up and down repeatedly, much like Sword's multi-hit move, finishing with a final, powerful, horizontal swipe. This combo alone has solid power, but this is just the tip of the iceburg.

No ability these days can hold its own in the Arena, let alone the True Arena, unless it has plenty of invincibility frames, and Beetle has this area covered. Its dash attack, rocket horn, launches Kirby forward, horn extended. The horn can pierce through multiple foes and projectiles, and once the attack ends Kirby will launch any pierced objects forward, acting as a minor projectile. Kirby can also interrupt his move by pressing up, causing Kirby to loop up and then back down to the ground. This can help him avoid losing his invulnerability in dangerous locations. Kirby's upward attack, spiral horn, causes him to spin and spiral upwards. This is a multi-hit move that lasts for a decent amount of time, and has little cooldown between uses. Considering Kirby is invulnerable while using this attack it becomes a regular choice for anyone wanting to master this ability. Finally, Kirby has a ground pound move, hardhead slam. Kirby launches himself downwards while in the air, doing large damage and even potentially smashing in stakes.

With all of these moves, one might think that's all this bug has to offer, but Kirby still has one more trick up his chitin. Secretly, Beetle is the latest iteration of Backdrop/Suplex. This should come as no surprise, the enemy that previously gave these abilities, Bugzzy, is also a beetle, though based on a stag beetle rather than a rhinoceros beetle. Standing right up next to an enemy, and then pressing the attack button and any direction will result in Kirby skewering the nearby enemy or object on his horn. At this point, Kirby can walk back and forth freely, though he cannot change the direction he is facing. Input any direction and attack and Kirby will proceed to launch himself, and his grabbed object, in that direction, doing massive damage to any who are in the way. Kirby's ability to move while holding on to things alone provides a massive upgrade to the two old school powers, and the massive damage provided from these attacks compliments his other invulnerability-heavy techniques.

One last thing to mention about the ability is its appearance in Kirby Fighters Deluxe. It was one of two abilities, alongside Bell, that could be unlocked if one owned both KFD and Kirby Triple Deluxe. Most of the ability's moves were given greater startup, but this doesn't stop the bug from tearing through the ranks. Its considered one of the top three abilities, alongside Parasol and Fighter. Alternate hat designs are available in this game, and fitting for its power the alternate Beetle hat is based on the legendary air ride machine the Hydra.

From science to culture to incredible combat prowess, the Beetle ability has everything one could possibly want out of an ability. This power may have only gotten one chance to shine so far, but I suspect it could appear many more times in Kirby's future. This is one bug that refuses to be squashed!

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