Ever wondered what happens when Kirby swallows his enemies? Well, he doesn't eat them, at least in the traditional sense — that's according to HAL Laboratory's executive director Shinya Kumazaki.
In an interview with Polygon at this year's GDC, the publication was dying to know the truth behind Kirby's enemy-absorbing ability. Kumazaki was at the San Francisco-based conference along with expert director Tatsuya Kamiyama to celebrate the pink puffball's 30th anniversary, and the two of them provided the goods (via Nintendo Everything).
So, what actually happens when Kirby swallows an enemy? They get teleported somewhere else in the world. Sounds way less scary, right? That's what Kumazaki tells Polygon. If Kirby "digested" enemies, it might be a bit "jarring", and apparently the more "approachable" approach is to have the enemies teleported elsewhere. Here's Kumazaki's response on what actually happens:
"Instead, we have this comical, funny depiction where the enemies poof. When an enemy or creature gets swallowed by Kirby, they may disappear but they do resurface somewhere else in the world."
Kirby's stomach is just a reality-bending dimension that has the ability to warp people anywhere, then. Not terrifying at all.
In other important — and slightly worrying — Kirby news, if you cut Kirby open, you'll find out he's "filled with dreams". But in reality, it's actually a mystery. We know Kirby is just pure joy in round, pink form, but if he's stuffed with dreams... what does that say about his stomach, again? Can enemies be transported into dreams?
Are you glad to know Kirby doesn't eat his enemies? Share your fears of stomach teleportation with us in the comments.
[source polygon.com, via nintendoeverything.com]
Comments 48
That's how respawning enemies work probably.
How about Yoshi though? And any other character that eats enemies? I need answers!!!
You know there's actually a basis for this in the anime.
There's an episode called "Don't Bank On It" that features a Dedede doll with voodoo doll-like properties.
At the end of that episode, Kirby inhales the doll, and King Dedede himself seems to wind up in the void of space as a result.
Because a cute sentient vacuum wormhole is supposedly less Eldritch.
Kirby's stomach is canonically a black hole if Squeak Squad is anything to go by so this makes a fair bit of sense.
Makes you wonder where the poor things end up though....
That was always a slightly disturbing thought for me, so many sleepless nights...xD @Yosher i think in Yoshi's case they become little eggs?
Actually that's fairly consistent with previous depictions like the Whispy Woods episode of the anime or Kirby Squeak Squad where you can view the contents of Kirby's stomach and mix powers.
I never thinked that way what happens to the enemies. Teleported in a other place in the world? Oke i can understand that. Now I know that.
I’m not a Kirby lore expert. So if he doesn’t digest the enemy, how does Kirby copy their power? I always just assumed he absorbed the enemy’s “essence/soul/whatever” thus taking on their power. My head is spinning…I need to sit down…
That just sounds like digestion with extra steps
@ATHFjman18 Kirby just copies their ability and then teleports the entire intact enemy. It is like copying a file on the PC, nobody gets hurt.
So Kirby is just a walking portal? Fascinating. Sounds like he’d be a great way to teleport unless the destination is completely random.
I’d rather he just ate them lol. They mentioned him teleporting them is less jarring, but what about when he spits them out at an enemy like a weapon? That’s okay but he can’t eat them?
why does everything need to make sense? Not that this does anyway xD
A walking worm hole... Interesting
That kinda reminds me of when Kirby inhaled a Dedede Doll, and the real Dedede ended up somewhere else, too. Probably picked up by NME, and teleported back to his castle for a hefty price, given how much NightMare Enterprises charged Dedede for those monsters.
Listen, I just enjoy the games and apply a little bit of videogame logic to the proceedings without really thinking about it.
Red barrels explode, enemies heads are their weak points, RPG’s are turn-based and have damage indicated by a number and Kirby ‘eats’ things.
Well one of his powers is Hypernova. Who knows what the singularity of the resultant black hole is like.
And when Kirby hits enemies with giant swords and blazing infernos he’s just giving em a gentle pat that also happens to teleport them down to Belize.
So how does he actually eat if everything he swallowed gets transported elsewhere?
No wonder he's constantly trying to eat everything, he's starving to death.
@Chaotic_Neutral Kirby is just copying the foods nutritients when swallowing them, and then teleports the intact original food away.
I think a bigger question is how he can munch food without teeth? That's something I've always wondered ever since I saw him do that in Kirby 64.
@Yannis That's still digesting in a way I think? XD They certainly don't show as themselves anymore whatever the case--
You know what, maybe not the best thing to think about.... XD
It’s essentially a reverse fart.. I think..
I like Kirby because he's both cute and horrifying.
The best horror is a mix of cute and horrifying.
Just a few simple taps on the shoulder or a slide kick causes some of the enemies to “poof” anyways.
Does that mean they still teleport? Heck even head butting enemies in previous games causes them to combust. To say they are frail is an understatement. I mean what about the final bosses? Most of them just straight up explode and I guess one went to a different dimension and one became a computer before getting drilled in the head. But Marx survived the explosion from Nova but also there is a cutscene in True Arena that shows his corpse in space and tries to revive himself (huuuuuhhh? scratches head) but it’s not canon so it’s fine lol
They reappear in UK rivers and on UK beaches
At least we know no Waddle Dees were harmed when they are swallowed
Sure, sure. And Rick isn't a hamster.
The idea of there being a wormhole in Kirby's mouth is more unsettling than him just eating his foes.
@Yosher Yoshi has the same technology as Samus in his stomach. But since he likes cute things, he poops eggs instead of morphballs. Ennemies just die horribly when the egg breaks, since the eggs don't include the necessary components to go back to normal.
Kirby is basically a cute Black Hole creature.
This actually disappoints me a little. I liked that he devoured everything in his path.
Although I always assumed they were instantaneously consumed and that he didn't need to digest them in his bubblegum-like stomach acid.
(That stomach acid thing isn't canon, I just envision it that way).
@gsilver
That's spot on
The anime always depicted Kirby's "interior" (or whoever got swallowed 's PoV) to be a large space, complete with stars and galaxies. He was thought to be a walking black hole but maybe he is more of a wormhole?
No monsters hurt in the making of this game. really?
@chipia he pirates the power!
@Yosher Yea let's leave it at that..At least until another article gets made elaborating on the situation ;-;
Happy with that. Greg Johnson gave a similar explanation about ToeJam + Earl popping enemies. They don't die. Just appear elsewhere.
Kirby being a wormhole makes sadly a lot of sense with the existing lore
Just like me, it disappears in my belly and reappears in the toilet.
So it's supposed to be LESS terrifying? "See kids, he doesn't eat them. He just whisks them away to a different place after sipping a small part of their soul to copy their abilities." Totally not horrific... I love Kirby but that's way worse to me lol
Just like when Mario stomps on a goomba? Poof! They disappear!
More proof that Kirby is an Eldritch Abomination.
@Yosher Yoshi's enemies get turned into eggs, similar to the way depicted in the deleted scene from "Alien (1979)". It's painful and completely robs any sense of dignity from the victim.
Kirby and Yoshi lore getting out of hand in the fandom is not something I expected today, but I'm not against the idea
I wonder if the enemies will go to the same place as the food that Slimer from Ghostbusters eats? On another note, does this mean when we say Kirby's "Dreamland", and assuming he's made of dreams, is this a world of already digested and reappeared enemies, only for Kirby to infinitely eat and teleport the same enemies back to Dreamland? Questions questions...
Well that would explain how he is able to bring allies into Kirby Super Star out of nowhere just like that.
I see, makes sense why in smash bros whenever kirby inhales a fighter they just come out behind him since there isnt really much places a fighter would go on stage.
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