Ask Guru Gobbo #123

Uh... sound tracks... sound tracks... hmm... Listening to it, I have to say that it sounds like some pretty standard Kirby music, just with a heavy modification to the intro. If I have the correct track at least, the one listed as "Training" in our Sounds archive, it's similar to the Dream Land 3 anthem of levels 1-3, 4-2, and 5-4. At least, I think. Pretty tone deaf.

Anyhoo, there's a pretty obvious reason for those other two being there: they were meant to be in the game. Much like the unused sprites in Adventure and Squeak Squad, the game makers have more produced than they wind up having appear in the game. These spare trinkets can still be found, and easily in the case of the sound track.

Actually, scratch that. Now that I'm looking at the, they aren't "dance" as in Kirby dance. I see them listed as "club mixes", meaning they are retooled to serve as dance club beats. At least, that's what I'm getting from it. What type of club is this, and how much X is being dropped there?

No, there's no trick to it. The Samus statue does exist, but they decreased its frequency from before. They've also added a lot more possible shapes for the power to take on. Her and Mario are very rare, and the HAL Block is the omega rarest. If you have yet to see it, then I guess it's either that rare or you don't make use of Stone as much as you think.

Argh! Of course, that place! It's been so long since I've had to look up anything there, I forgot about using it as a source.

Anyways, "Tincell" could be the starfishes name, but I can't tell for certain. The only place said name is stated is at that site, and most of their game information, particularly for anything from the Dream Land period, was pirated from Kirbypedia (credited towards one sole loser's blame, not of the site itself). Since it's not there, I don't know where they got it. There's no mention of Tincell in any part of the Japanese Wikipedia entries for Kirby.

Oh, wait a minute. Lemme try Googling the Japanese name of Dream Land 2 and looking for... Ah, here we are. Tiinseru. Yep, that be them's name. I'd romanize it something different, however, more like Teesel to really emphisize how to pronounce that first syllable, long "e", but still. ... Actually, a Google of that name reveals that's just how to spell "tinsel", as in the flashy decor or fishing filament, in Japanese. The name makes since given Sweet Stuff is an angler. And, since Kirby enemies often just have word names and not askewed word names (Whiskers, Lips, Rocky), it probably is just suppose to be Tinsel, plain and simple. So, thanks for the point to, pie lord.

Obviously, it wouldn't be an eclipse attack then. Then what would they have? A supernova? Well, Mr. Shine would be all, "Hey, Bright. Can't I be used in this attack, too? C'mon! Let me do something! Okay, fine. I'll go get snacks..."

Really, tho', I've always seen it that their attack requires the both of them to act. The moon and sun sorta combine their power for the big bang. Just Bright alone wouldn't be able to pull it off. The required sacrifice for said whomping deathblow is that a small portion is left unscorched.

I was initially gonna drop this Q in the cylinder filing cabinet, but then I realized, "Oh, right, it has been a while." The entire fact that the name of these sessions go by "Gobbo" is a complete mystery to newcomers. They see Bimblesnaff, Squeaky Bogg, and some third person Gobbo who takes the namesake and for what reason? Well, I guess it's time for some Bimblesnaff history lessons, now since one has actually been formed to tell.

A clear place to start is to state that I'm a multi-facetted horror. That's a phrase, why not? And, if it isn't, I'm making it one. I have many name, many forms, and many personas. An earlier user name of mine, and the actual one I have linked to this site, is Mad Goblin. Under this name, I was christened as Gobbo by a party-hearty Aussie. I never used that name as one of my official handles, but it'd always pop up now and again. Here at Rainbow Resort, I often affixed it with "Uncle" when referring to myself in a whimsical or fun authoritative manner. Uncles are the fun ones, after all.

Now, when I first came to do these sessions, they were not under the umbrella of Ask the Kirby Gurus. It was just "Ask Uncle Gobbo", plain and simple. A little bit less formal and kinda laid back from the knowledge intensive Gurus... Well, that was stupid. There was no need to have two things that were so closely related to one another. So, my corner was integrated into the Gurus corner, and I turned into a reluctant Guru. Since I'm a sucker of alliteration and nostalgia, I kept the "Gobbo" name and named my sessions after that. All the other Gurus did that, anyways. It was "Ivy" and "KW". I couldn't very well have "Bimblesnaff Session #81". That's an unpleasant load.

So, this "Gobbo" fellow is me, Bimblesnaff, who also goes by Mad Goblin, Jackdaw, Bogg, Beany Joe, and probably some other monikers. Then, there's Squeaky Bogg, also known as Squeaky Gobbo who is not me unless he is sometimes, but normally not. He's a distinct representation who is supposed to serve as a stand in or mascot to my ugly mug unless directly standing in for me. I'd make a diagram of this all, but I think it would implode upon itself. Why did I even go into this last confusing paragraph?

1) Kirby is not up and about all the time. It's just he's active during the games, which, portionally, take up very little of his actual life. It often shows him napping away before and after each of his little adventures. Besides, how interesting would a game be if he was zonked out ninety percent of the time?

2) That there is the sole connection between Dark Matter and Waddle Doo. Crystal Shards is actually the only game that features those two characters. There's some theories on tainted Waddle Doo and dark cores floating out there, one actually. Really, I think it was just a way to fit more faces in the game. Adeleine got all wicked looking, and Dedede's been possessed before. What could happen to Dee? All the effort in the world couldn't make that thing look menacing or scary. So, why not make it turn into its attack ready cousin, Doo? I think cyclopses have some sort of oni symolism and thus are more evil than two eyed beings.

3) I've only heard it as "Dark Rimuru", which may explain why you can't find anything on it. This is one in a trio of Dark Matter clouds, the others being Rimura and Rimuro, that are dispatched by the central being who chase after Ribbon and the Crystal. They wind up going to Pop Star and possessing Adeleine, King Dedede, and Waddle Dee. I don't believe their names are ever given in the English game, which is nothing new.

4) "Mm, life is pain. No one understands me. I don't have any friends. I'm going to take over people so I'll be able to cut myself while listening to Good Charolette." Oh, Dark Matter. He's a big emo~! No, really, I like his actual back story. It's a nice break from the typical "I'm a dark overlord who will be dark and lord over people with darkness, rrr!" bit that is typically thrown out there. That, and it fits in with the whole scheme of the Dream Land games. You know, being not all grim and serious.

5) Kinda already on the list. Of course, it wasn't going to be next, and now it can't be for a while since you had to go and spoil it. I hope you made everyone happy.

Wow, Melee question. Well, Luigi is gotten by either fighting eight-hundred Vs. matches or play adventure mode and, on the first level, complete the stage with a 2 in the seconds counter. He'll jump in and substitute Mario. Win against the green dude and Peach, who is also there, and get 'im.

Cry upon the realization that a mere child could accomplish what he could not, the over-hyped git! No, really, he doesn't do much of anything. Halberd gets shot down, a hatch opens, everyone spills out, runs around a corner (convenient), the ship blows and falls off a cliff. Then, Kirby defeats Nightmare. Wow, such amazing events.

Oh, wow, you asked this a month and a half ago? Time sure flies. Well, repetition dropped a bloated thirteen questions to a lean nine, so why not tackle it this time?

I think I've said it before, but my Kirby game would not star Kirby. It'd be something like The Adventures of Bon Tron, a video game spin-off. I could have went with Mega Man Zero for the example, but that'd suggest a higher ranking and cared for character in the series, ie: Meta Knight. Not on my watch!

The game would smack of old school elements from the Dream Land days, some even taken from the first in the series. This translates to a smaller set of abilities with combination via your ride at the time 'cuz I gotta have my pets! However, rather than copying abilities, since that's more a Kirby trademark, the player would get items a la the first game in the series. Curry would grant fiery attacks, bombs would be explosive Crash equivalents, and Mint Leaves would actually be mint leaves instead of sweet potatoes to get something frosty in there. There'd be more than those, of course.

The primary character pool would be all folks who have been around since day one: Dee, Doo, Hatter, and Poppy. Even Dedede would get his due since his opportunity back when that was plucked from him in The Crystal Shards. The characters could be changed between levels or at, I dunno, between levels or central hubs. The main difference with the players wouldn't just be their manner of attack but their mobility. Speed, jumping height, drifting, whether they could fly or not, and unique abilities (like Rick's wall jump or Nago's triple jump) all would weigh into who could get where or how easily. Also, this way, linking up four players would really be something as they'd all bring something new to the table. Just like a Dungeons & Dragons player group!

For example, Broom Hatter would have pathetic offensive ability. The sweeper would only must something like an air pellet on normal cases. However, the stick also grants flight, true and unlimited, a rarity in by this game's standards. On the other hand, someone like Waddle Doo would be a bit more sluggish and heavy but have wide and power attacks. Good luck getting him places, tho'! That's where team work comes into play.

The actual plot or enemies involved would be insignificant by my means. As long as it took Kirby out of the picture, either asleep or saving some place else, it'd work. It could be a parallel companion to Mirror or 64 maybe? I don't care. All I think about is game mechanics and playability. The rest is what level designers get paid for.