Ask Guru Gobbo #158

1) Their names are unchanged. Still 0 (Zero), still 0² (Zero-Two). The fact that there is a big series of bosses who feature both "Dark" and "Zero" in names at various points does cause confusion on the black star's tie to the past bosses.

2) Why just America made the switch is anyone's guess, although I've aired my thoughts. The entire bunch of Dark Matter/0 does come from the often buried and ignored leg of Kirby games, the Dark Matter Trilogy. Combining the two names could have been an attempt to get as close as possible to having the white tyrant returning for reals. In America, it could have just been taken that even less people would get the reference, so a star related name was opted over the original to make some semblance of sense. Of course, since this all isn't high on the chatter an' gossip, most of this is just logical assumptions.

1) Prank is the purple mischief maker who sports a wide assortment of gags and trickery to torment Kirby, including banana peels, bombs, and frying pans. He can damage Kirby plain and simple with a number of his attacks, which is randomized between four options. However, there are some that don't attack with a thrown object, which I think encompasses two whole locations. I think the one you are referring to is the banana peeler. Yes, running into the peel makes Kirby just slip and drop any held ability. This is a gag. It's a slippery ice stage (Peppermint Palace). Kirby used to be really big on visuals and charm.

2) It is joooke. The guy (I guess?) is saying how happy and jovial the puff ball is, and he gives a quick sour face. It's a quick little bit to be caught and enjoyed, not heavily analyzed like you just did. Way to kill it. Now no one can ever enjoy it again. Ever. I hope you can sleep at night.

3) He is Whispy Woods and appears in several locations and even stars. Sorta like in the animated series, as it really did happen in the games but they showed it better, he's more like a presence that can hop from tree to tree. It stands to reason that he could embody two timbers at the same time. By the way, that's Twin Woods. Don't they give his name in the game? Rhetorical, I know it's yes.

4) Frequently being... twice? First of all, it only comes up as it is a stage. Why would you say you don't mean the level but the color when there isn't any other orange colored ocean? It's the domain that Meta Knight was first stationed at. Of course in his sub-game, Revenge of Meta Knight, they'd go back to his abode. That's why Grape Gardens is mentioned, too, as it was also a level in Adventure. So, to recap, Orange Ocean is orange, it's the only ocean to be orange, and it appears whenever anyone goes to its location. If anyone learned anything from this, I'd be shocked.

1) So, you've never once heard the crazy theorists out there who say that ancient civilizations were visited by extraterrestrial intelligence. Come on, man. It was the underlying plot to Star Gate and who knows how many other movies. It's how nut-jobs say the Egyptians built the pyramids.

2) There's really no comparing the two "soul" forms. Why they chose to re-use the prefix is beyond me as they are entirely different. Anyhoo, if a boss was unstoppable, well, that'd really cramp a game's style. I'm looking at you, Time Lord's cockroach! Second, ever here of Booler? Gaspar? Wapod? Ghosts are not new to Kirbydom, and they are far from indestructible in any franchise. Intangible, yes, but never proof of defeat. Kirby's abilities are far from ordinary, so it's not as though he's just landing a punch on the reanimated.

1) While every fiber of my being is screaming "No", much like any other detail of unsaid relations (ie: all of them ever), I can't say 'cuz it's never said.

2) I would like to take this moment to set aside and raze and the horror that the Wikis have wrought on our world. You bloody, dumbass pieces of Gip. What is your problem? You are compilations of facts, data, and truths. You know what isn't in an encyclopedia? Speculation! Also present, understanding of basically ascertained information.

My rage is directed at Kirby Wikia and, the grand daddy master of all suck, Wikipedia. These places are propagating the most heinous crimes against all Kirby fandom with their peddled lies. At the good ol' Kirbypedia, if a speculation or rumor is mentioned, it is only to refute it so that people know what is total bull. Those other guys? Nope, pile up that slop a mile high so that brains may rot and spread through the population like a bad case of zombies.

Allow me to explain. Wikia mentions that Galacta could be Kirby from the future, even though I've shot that full of so many holes, it's no longer funny. This one is really bad, but at least the pool of people are exclusive to those that patrol that site, whom I assume are Kirby fans. That's a controlled population. However, grandmaster of stupid, Wikipedia, has that "rumor", which I've personally never heard of anywhere outside of your mention and its presence on that disastrous database, is plainly posted as a rumor on the Kirby characters page.

What the hell, dudes? What the hell? I can understand an amok and small scale wiki letting crap slide, but the tightly regulated and controlled juggernaut has something that it clearly defines as a rumor on a general character synopsis? What's the purpose of that? What are they thinking? And why has no one removed that yet?

Permit me to define all that is wrong with those to those of you who did not vomit through your eye sockets already. "Define" is the correct term in this case, but "all" should be singular as it all boils down to a single, simple definition: reincarnation. Uuum... you gotta die to be reincarnated, dipsticks. Galacta Knight was put in stasis, not killed. How could he be reborn?

Kirbypedia doesn't pull crap like that. In fact, it sets aside time to address and debunk such commonly spread stupidities, like Meta Knight being possessed by a fragment of Nightmare at the end of Adventure. In fact, I'm going to go put that there right now. Someone has to take a stand against gross incompetence 'cuz we all know the public can't fend for itself.

Gooey's fate is never really touched on after Dream Land 3. Technically, it's not known that all Dark Matter vanished. Mainly just the evil influence black clouds that Zero held. Theoretcially, since Googoo was a separate and benign entity, he should have been spared from being purged from the universe. Of course, as he wasn't even present in Crystal Shards and never heard of again, like any unspoken plot point, no one can certainly say.

Allow me to rephrase your statement: "I have only played two Kirby games in my life and know nothing about the rich history of the game or any older video game for that matter."

It used to be pretty common to have game play shift in a title to switch thing. Swimming stages are an example of this, but becoming a shooter was typically easier to program and used a lot. Other stunts could be a racing or driving bit or wacky mini-game like parts. Back then, that was a big deal, but I guess mini-games are common nowadays.

Kirby was no different. His final battles always like to change up the game play with some fantastic weapon. Typically, this winds up being a permanent shooting ability. Star Rod, Triple Star, Crystal Gun, Love-love Stick, they all just shot something forward with or without giving the ability of flight. The Star Chariot was much the same in line with these.

But, none of those were first. The entire "Kirby shoots something while flying" battle scheme was pioneered in the original Dream Land by, big shock here, Kaboola. Not even a final boss, you gobbled up a super-charged Mint Leaf and battled the blimp not even as the last boss. The ol' gal was just the third, right in the middle of the game's five. They wanted to go old school (for once) in Revenge of the King, but they didn't want to have power items like the original game had, so they just reused the already implemented Star Chariot to conduct the battle.

Yes, the Star Chariot is a rip-off of the Star Rod. Yes, the Nightmare battle does seem copied. But all of them were seeded by Kaboola. The zepplin is king/queen/gender neutral ruler of the entire gimmick. Give dues to where they're needed. Don't just start the time line where you think it's convenient to start.

This is really more of a general video game functioning question than it is a Kirby specific one. You want some type of technical expertise, to which I do not have.

My only guess is that the game is old. Really old. I can't play my copy any more, either, but my problem is due to my SNES giving out. I've bought a replacement FC3, but the special chip in the title isn't compatible with the off-brand console. Your game, however, could have anything from wear on the card to dust to a dead battery back up. It could have gotten, I dunno, moisture damage or temperature related hazards. The only thing I can recommend is blowing on it and cleaning it off with approved cleaning solution and techniques.

As a side note, my original Nintendo Entertainment System and all the games still work fine. I don't know why Super Nintendo had a problem with dying. Just don't make things like they used to, I guess.

Really? That's the one you pull up for example? You're going to ignore the spike shelled turtle named Spiney? Anywise, Scarfy isn't even the first enemy, let alone Kirby enemy, to do such. There's certain Waddle Dees in Dream Land 2 who run at you from behind and freeze when spotted. As for other games that used this tactic on foes... I don't recall off hand. There were ones, tho'. It's like a boomerang shot. Programmers love 'em. Scarfy just uses the sneak-up-on tactic that one time, I think a star in Milky Way Wishes.

Anyhoo, you are pulling up one occurrence, one, and asking if it makes a trend. You don't draw a line with a single point. Kirby enemies typically work off an inhaling gimmick while Mario baddies are stomp related. Outside of those molds, everything is honestly pretty generic and found plentifully. Togezo wasn't even in any way like Mario's Spiney until Dream Land 3 where it no longer rolled up and about. But, you know what? A spiky shelled foe isn't unique to either of these series. They are quite common, in various forms. Your entire deduction is based on a single event, an out of character action performed at one time in one place in the game. I might as well say that I solved the time travel dilemma by adding two and two.

Throwback? I think somebody needs a dictionary. Grab one and paste yer picture by the word "ign'ant". You can't pay homage to something that is still present and quite active in the entity in question. It's a little like saying that Dream Land I is homage to the first Dream Land... which it physically is.

The only influences I know Whammy to have are tribal ones, what with his headdress and all. He even kinda looks like something you might find carved into an old temple. That's all, I believe, he was meant to be. Temples are stone, you're stuck in a cave, so what better enemy to have as the final leader in the contained slew than a rock giant? it's not like its a nod to Inhumanoids or The Never Ending Story. It's just a rock giant.