I had a dream – a few weeks ago, right after the new Kirby 3DS game got announced. It was described as a multiplayer action game which instantly brought my mind over to Amazing Mirror 2. However, I then had a dream where during E3 2017 Nintendo announces a sequel to Kirby Fighters Deluxe. Rather than just Kirby it now had a host of characters and played like a more competitive version of Kirby Fighters Deluxe. A simpler Super Smash Bros. game if you will. It was even accompanied by Sakurai, who had been brought on to the project due to it being Kirby’s 25th anniversary, and it looked glorious. However, it was just a dream and I never thought it would happen. Until…

“Action FIGHTING game.” Now it is specifically being called a fighting game and suddenly my dream is looking more like a reality. And I think this makes sense, Kirby has a fighting game already in Kirby Fighters Deluxe which was popular and could welcome so more polish. Plus this is Kirby’s anniversary so having a game that tries to bring in all of Kirby’s history is a good idea and a fighting game could do just that. As for the Sakurai part it doesn’t really matter for this game’s existence or this article, but considering his thoughts on the Switch it seems possible his next game isn’t on the platform (at least yet). I guess we’ll find out at E3 (and if we are right, feel free to call me a seer and take all my words as gospel 😉 ).

With this intro out of the way I thought I would share my thoughts on the characters, we could see in another Kirby Fighters Deluxe (as well as some extra features).

The original Kirby Fighters Deluxe came with 12 playable fighters which just happens to be the same amount as the first Super Smash Bros. game. With this in mind, I decided that this sequel should have the same amount as Melee, being 25. There is also a big theme throughout the cast with many being based on or around Kirby’s copy abilities as they make the most sense for a fighting game. The movesets are already there, after all.

Is it 12 or 13?

First I want to talk about the changes made to the original 12 characters of Kirby Fighters Deluxe… or should I say 13? Afterall, they were all Kirby however there was no standard Kirby moveset as they were all based on his copy abilities. So for this game we need an actual, plain, Kirby who can copy his opponents powers. For the rest of his moveset he either plays like standard Kirby in his games or we give him the Smash Kirby moveset, which is an ability in the games.

As for the actual 12 copy abilities, I felt it was best to give these movesets to new characters and in nearly all cases it made sense that the original enemy took that power back. In Kirby Super Star you could turn enemies like Waddle Doo and Knuckle Joe into helpers who were playable with complete movesets. I am thinking something like that for them here. The two just mentioned would be Beam and Fighter respectively. The remaining 10 would be made up of Waddle Dee (Parasol), Sir Kibble (Cutter), Poppy Bros Jr. (Bomb), Bio Spark (Ninja), Spynum (Archer) and Bonkers (Hammer).

Now we only have four abilities left and for these characters, I decided to take some liberties. The most obvious of these is Sword which has been given to Meta Knight as he helped make that ability a thing and functions as a more advanced Sword Kirby when playable. Next is Bugzy who, as a beetle already, makes sense to represent the Beetle ability. Whip was a tough one and I thought of originally having Wester take that on but after discussing things over with our Kirby expert, Nirbion, I decided that this is the best way to implement Prince Fluff into the game. Last is Bell whose original enemy isn’t the right shape for the way Kirby uses the power. As he dual wields I thought this is what Taranza could use as he has multiple arms. He also originates from the game Bell does so it fits thematically as well.

The Obvious Omissions

With the original 12 out of the way it is time for some obvious candidates. King Dedede needs to be playable in this game, both as Kirby’s rival and the second major character of the whole series. Then it came time to look at the rest of Kirby’s copy abilities and pick new ones that need representing in some way. Bandana Dee is a fan favourite character and brings the Spear ability along with him. We have three elemental abilities with Fire, Ice and Spark/Plasma that are too important to ignore, thus their respective enemy with popularity got chosen. Burning Leo, Mr. Frosty and Plasma Wisp. Finally I went for two abilities that are popular and have had recent resurgence with Birdon (Wing) and Simirror (Mirror). These two also naturally suit themselves to a fighting game. That’s 20 characters down so what about the final five?

Big Bads or Misunderstood Monsters?

There are, of course, popular Kirby characters who exist outside of the games copy abilities and I felt like it was important to include some of these characters as well. Most of these fall under the villain category but I had to make sure they weren’t too big for the Smash style of fighting found here.

Going from left to right we have Dark Matter from Kirby Dream Land 2. Not only does he represent the Dream Land trilogy well (as his species are the main antagonists) but he saw a reappearance in Planet Robobot and thus a resurgence in popularity.

Next is Marx, the big bad of Kirby Super Star. I was not sure if I should make him playable or keep him as a boss character but Nirbion convinced me that his pre-final form would work in the game. He could also use Kirby’s Circus ability quite well.

Galacta Knight comes in next who has been a very popular villain since his debut in Kirby Super Star Ultra. He has constantly reappeared as a rival to Meta Knight and that alone gets him a spot here.

From one popular villain to another, Magalor appears in his pre-final boss form. He can use various magical attacks and could potentially adopt some moves from Kirby’s Doctor ability as well. A recent resurgence in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe also helps his cause.

Finally, we have the newest character on the list being Suzie. From Planet Robobot, she would, of course, use her own Robobot in this game as well. I was worried about the size of the Robobot making it hard to implement but creatively I can shrink it down without damaging it and when Kirby sucks it in he could turn into a robot version rather than growing a Robobot out of nowhere.

And with that I have covered all of the characters I think would be in a Kirby Fighters Deluxe 2 but I have a few extra tidbits I want to get out before I go.

Encore of Extras

First of all, I wanted to address some characters who are popular but don’t make good playable characters. Wheelie is one of these but I thought he might make a fun item instead. You can ride him around to knock down your opponents. The first Kirby Fighters Deluxe also had bosses you fought on some stages and these should return. Kracko and Dyna Blade can both come back but we can also add Nightmare, Heavy Lobster and Queen Sectonia in order to get some form of representation for them. Master Hand and Crazy Hand could also cameo as secret bosses. There are also stage hazards which is were Kirby’s Animal Buddies come into play as well as Lololo & Lalala, Adelaide (or Paint Roller) and the alway popular Whispy Woods.

There are also some modes that this game could have other than just fighting. A Boss Rush, a Story or Adventure Mode and maybe even a mode like Team Kirby Clash. Also, we gotta have something like the trophy gallery here. The last few main-line Kirby games have all had a kind of character index you can unlock as well as a sound test so I have no reason to feel these wouldn’t be here again, especially because it is Kirby’s 25th anniversary.

With that, we’ve come to the end of my thoughts on a sequel to Kirby Fighters Deluxe. We will likely find out at E3 2017 what Kirby’s anniversary title will entail and with recent comments from HAL I feel confident enough to stick to my guns on this title. Let me know what you think of my article (especially when this comes true) in the comments below and let’s look forward to a new potential Smash-esque fighter.

Let’s lead this article out with some little development notes I had for this article, including cut characters! I know you like them so take a look below and have a nice day.

Development Notes: Cut/Considered Characters:

Blade Knight: the helper for the Sword ability. I was worried Meta Knight adopting that would be a disservice to him, but Meta Knight does everything Blade Knight does and more, so it felt pointless. A clone, maybe?

Lololo & Lalala: They would need to work as a duo and could even reference Adventures of Lolo. However, like Ice Climbers, 3DS limitations could get in the way. Maybe in a Switch sequel.

Rick: Rick was on the roster pretty much up until the end when I realised I forgot someone important. Could use Needle and other abilities of his.

Gooey: He was considered as an animal buddy but would end up a Kirby clone. In the end, I felt Rick was more important/popular.

Paint Roller: A bit like Rick, Paint Roller was on the roster until later into development. He was eventually cut for someone more important to the series.

Adeline: she was considered over Paint Roller early in development but I felt the latter was agiler and worked better in a fighting game.

Wester: Kind of mentioned above but Wester was planned as the Whip helper. Eventually felt he wasn’t popular enough to be playable and Prince Fluff could take his moveset with no problem.

Pillah: Pillah would have represented the Doctor ability. Like Wester he isn’t very popular. Was eventually just scrapped entirely.