Ask Guru Gobbo #51

1) I'm not really sure. Nothing out of the biggest Brawl sites seems to give hard wired numbers for any of the attacks, which seems odd since it seems someone should have done that by now. I've never played the game, so I can't just say from experience. The closest thing to a number that pops up is for Kirby's downward aerial attack, listed at 150%, whatever that means.

2) I do not believe there are. There is no mention of any new powers, and all things only point towards all the originally included abilities. They didn't add anything in the remake of Adventure, and this one will probably be the same. That's not to say they may add to or tweak some abilities. They did that a lot before.

1) I'm pretty sure that's a fun tag line they've used when promoting the games, or at least one fans have used to describe it.

2) Kirby does not have two stomachs. He only gets an ability when he eats something that has an ability to offer. For example, eating a Waddle Dee sans Parasol always leads to nothing. What you are suggesting is a pre-emptive knowledge of whether or not an item or being possesses a copy ability. He could not know if anything is obtainable when he eats something, and then what? He'd get some weird, Waddle ability?

No, he doesn't get powers from everything, only those with a definable attribute that can be copied. At least, this is how it started. They've really boiled down the notion over the years. It use to be, "Hothead spits flames, and that's what he can do once he eats them." Then it kinda became, "Laser Ball gives Beam since we didn't include Laser in Super Star. Yay!"

No, no checkmate. You can't call checkmate if you can't see the figures your opponent has on the board. That'd just be a check, and it looks like you moved your king right into my bishop's path, Pompous K. What they used in Brawl, as will be explained, was neither Galaxia's name nor Master's appearance. Master's appearance, regardless of what official art shows, is a straight edged sword. In fact, it even remained straight edged in Squeak Squad despite being side-spiked in Air Ride, a game their releases sandwiched. I've said it before, but the only reason it probably wasn't all flanged on the sides in the Game Boy games was due to spriting limitation, something that Wii rendering has no worry about.

Besides, official artwork and game graphics don't always have to line up. In fact, there're plenty of cases where they do not. Why, even the Kirby series is ripe with examples. Have you ever seen official artwork of Poppy Bros. Sr.? He was a fat bottomed, egg headed, pink freak of nature, and stayed so for some time! That's nothing like the clown bomber we see in any game. I don't believe the two synched up until Super Star. Artwork and graphics are almost independent of one another, in a developmental sense, since one team takes on each task. In fact, it's likely that the official artwork was updated or changed in order to better coordinate with the animated series, assuming graphical restraint wasn't the culprit.

Now, let us look at other times Kirby wields a weapon. When he has a hammer, the ability is Hammer. A parasol, Parasol. The Star Rod? That's Star Rod. Excluding the two cases that he brandishes a wimpy scepter, Beam and Mirror, which each house a plethora of reasons why they should be excluded from such consideration, what is in hand is the ability's name. Hence, Master is taken to be a weapon called "Master". Granted, it could equally be taken that it is called that due to its supreme dominance over all other abilities, like how it can tackle any encountered obstacles or tight spots, outside of the literal tight spot that still needs Mini.

Regardless, there is no official name given to Meta Knight's blade in the games, even in Japan, which named each of the levels in Dyna Blade and gave full-fledged star names to each of the worlds in Milky Way Wishes. Japanese sources actually note as well that only the animated series named the weapon. Even in Smash Bros., the closest point reached is just the name of his Final Smash. Outside of that, I've found no mention that the weapon carries that name as well. I mean, we all could assume that's its name, but isn't that what caused this predicament? The Master ability is assumed to wield a weapon called the same, while the Galaxia Darkness special is assumed to be linked to a blade of the same name. Even if somewhere in Super Smash Bros. did call it such, as I haven't played and can't certainly say, this is the same game series that called Bronto Burt a bird and stated that Meta Knight debuted in Super Star. Reach into that sigmoid and reap whatever can be grasped. That's apparently what the crack staff for the translations did.

Galaxia has a serrated edge, something like a leaf or steak knife. Like you said, this isn't even the sword shown in the Amazing Mirror official artwork or really even the weapon featured in Brawl or Air Ride or anything. This weapon, actually, is the traditional straight edge, golden sword with a pair of additional, curved blades protruding from each side. The Mirror version has three such sets instead of two. Really, there's so many reasons that the side-points would make for a terrible weapon, I don't even feel like getting into it, and not just because it wasn't the focus of this question. I guess, however, Parasols are treated a deadly, so it can be overlooked. Anyhoo, in truth, this "fanged" blade could be called a third armament altogether, not being the classic, real sword or the crackpot from the animated series. However, the sword changes appearance about as often as Meta Knight does, so there's really no solid connection with the matter of appearance and name. The wielder changes looks, and so does what is wielded, each progressing to a more detailed and refined look.

These are all minor and possibly dismissible factors, I know. The point is, so was your proposal. None of them really amount to anything. The message to take home is that there actually is no official reference to the in-game sword that Meta Knight carries being called Galaxia or any other name for that matter. Yes, that's right, everybody wrong! That's right. No winner, no check, not even a stalemate. It turns out the match was thrown due to playing on a Monopoly board with Sorry pieces rather than pawns. Hungry, Hungry Hippos is better, anyways.

All things aside, calling the weapon by Galaxia or Master in the games is really just a fandom creation, like calling what the hedonistic hero is a "Kirby". They're just bad habits picked up that don't really do any harm, and, since the game makers aren't providing actual titles for the things, they're largely stuck with. It also creates a nice distinction between the two worlds created by the games and in the animated series. It was, after all, just a weapon at first. The show turned it into some legendary relic. Now, as the gap between these two worlds closes, much havoc ensues.

Finally, don't say "check mate". Unless it's something like, "You spelled this guy's name wrong" or something arbitrarily black and white, you'll just incite an onslaught of counter argument to belittle every syllable spoken of the supposed coup de grace. I swear, Ivyna and Kirby Warrior never got so much as a raised eyebrow.

Nega-Bogg, as a base, would look like Squeaks, of course. In addition, he would have a scar over his eyes, both of them, yet still retain their functionality. He'd have spiky hair, of course, and be all black with the powers of darkness despite not being evil or good but in that tweener zone. He'd have detailed shoes complete with laces and treads, some sort of jacket with studs, button, and needless straps and buckles. The jacket would be supported by his noodly arms! In case you couldn't tell, he'd just be a mockery of the common stock of fan character, at least how I see them, since that was what he was designed not to be.

1) The slide does get over looked more than it should. Reasons for this can easily be blamed on its lack of appearances and focus. It wasn't around in Dream Land 1 and got left out of Dream Land 2. The Animal Friends can't slide, either, and I'm honestly not sure if it was even bothered with in 3 altogether, not that it even matters. It was great when it first debuted in Adventure. Like with the water gun and other techniques first introduced in this game, it opened up a lot of improvement in game play. Like you said yourself, one slide would take out a common foe, and this feat could come in handy when dodging one to take out another. However, this golden age fell apart soon after.

Super Star introduced "damage points" to the regular enemies, meaning a single slide was no longer sufficient to dispose of the dregs. I'm not sure how well this trend continued later on, but that, too, doesn't really matter. The slide is over looked since Kirby has, well, real powers to use. You are rarely if ever without a copied ability in Super Star and such holds true with later titles to boot. Why simply use a short range, risky maneuver when you can blast away or plow through a full flock of foes? It boils down to a matter of practicality. I like the air pellet, too, but it had more meaning in the first game when there were no other means of causing damange other than the huff 'n' hock. Slide is in the same boat -- a day late and a dollar short.

2) Tellus, A.K.A. Earth (the more you know ---*), has a similar illusion, of sorts. From a distance, it appears wholly blue despite only being two thirds covered in water. What does this have to do with anything? Not much of anything. Well, water isn't blue from close up. It's a distant visual effect. It's taken that something in Pop Star's atmosphere is tinted yellow, possibly having a higher percentage of nitrogen. This would cause a color tinting when looking downward from the cosmos at the world but, when on the surface, allow a blue sky to be seen. Also, if you note, that this is total bull! Yeah, it's just another case for Scully to file under X for things that the game makers put less thought into than the fans.

3) It's true that anything coming into contact with a star is injured or destroyed in the Kirby series. However, you may not, anything coming into contact with anything is generally destroyed or injured. It doesn't have to be a star. The foe can just touch anything of Kirby or that he does and they burst into, yes, stars. Stars are everywhere and take the role of the generic marking. They label blocks, spew from defeated enemies, are produced when mini-bosses and the like strike the ground, and even pop out of Kirby if he hits a surface too hard. So, they aren't really the destructive force of Pop Star. Their role is more the generic force of the series. A star can pretty much represent anything, as they clearly have made it do over its lifespan.

That would be pretty freaky if it was real. And, it is! That tactic Kirby used was the nekodamashi, a surprise attack where by you clap right before your opponent's face to open their defense. Neko, of course, means cat. Yeah, there was reference to this in the forums, actually twice, and Ivyna J. Spyder even acknowledged it in her rendition and as having been there. Weird stuff.

1) I never said Meta Knight sounded like a vampire. Ever. That was the questioner who made that affiliation, where upon I immediately disagreed and voiced my outlook on the situation. I've always said that he sounds Spanish since he does. Besides, the stab 'n' drain siphon sword was merely an alternative to the proposed "bear trap" blade, which is just creepy and odd.

2) No, I do not have a sprite sheet of Squeaky Bogg or anything. I only have this one sprite made, ever. I'm an artist -- I draw. Pens, paper, that whole spiel. I don't normally take apart and piece or edit other games' graphics in order to construct something I claim as my own. The above sprite is the exception since I wanted something that looked like it came from the Game Boy titles. Besides, I don't just have characters who are largely one thing recolored, so making a full, decked out sprite sheet of Squeaks or the Ice Cream Island Crew, let alone all, would be a mammoth task.

1) They already have that. It's called Meta Knightmare mode in Nightmare in Dream Land. You can also unlock Meta Knight in Canvas Curse and Air Ride, to my understanding. Plus, he'll be playable in the upcoming Super Star Ultra in one of the sub-games, Meta Knight Ultra. Now, if you meant will he have a game solely devoted to him, a la the Mega Man X Zero line of games, I've voiced my opinion on that matter.

2) No, neither in the games or the animated series is he a protector. In the games, he started as one of King Dedede's friends/underlings, paralleling the likes of Kracko or Whispy Woods, sorta like the lord over a certain domain. In the show, he's just under the king's service, a role he grudgingly took on for no other reason then to find more Star Warriors. He's under Dedede, yes, but he's not at his side and keeping him safe.