Top 10 Copy Abilities In Kirby Games

Nintendo’s Kirby is known for having easy to play games that can be tough to complete 100%. The franchise was the first project of Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai and is also known for being extremely cute but having darker bosses and lore beneath the surface. However, the most iconic thing about Kirby is definitely his Copy Ability.

Kirby has the ability to inhale his enemies and copy their abilities. This can transform him into many different exciting forms like Fire Kirby, each with unique sets of moves. This ability is essential to Kirby and will even be appearing in his upcoming first 3D platformer, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. There are certain abilities that become beloved for how strong and cool they are, proving to be the best of the best.

10 Mirror

Some of the best copy abilities are ones players wouldn’t necessarily think of first. While Kirby has plenty of copy abilities for basic elements like fire, ice, and wind, there are plenty of oddball abilities. Mirror is one such ability, giving Kirby mastery of reflections. This allows him to reflect projectiles, duplicate himself, and cast powerful magic.

This ability was introduced in Kirby Super Star as a recolored version of the Beam ability. The enemy who gives Kirby this ability is called Simirror, a small wizard-looking fellow. This ability is beloved for being able to do some truly wild things like projecting Kirby all over a map and throwing crystals everywhere. Despite its beloved status, it’s only appeared in two mainline games.

9 Water

Despite the earlier remark against base elemental copy abilities, there are still standouts in that category. Some of the most exciting abilities give Kirby a lot more movement options. Water is one of them, allowing Kirby to slip and slide throughout a level. It also gives him a water gun and rainbow attacks that can propel him through the air.

The Water ability turns Kirby’s default run into a stylish surf, with Kirby able to generate more waves. It’s also the first ability that debuted in the Kirby anime to appear in the mainline Kirby games. It then moved to the games in Kirby’s Return to Dreamland as a power provided by Pluid and Driblee.

8 UFO

Back in Kirby’s Adventure for the NES, options were limited. Processing power and the clunky controller made complex inputs impossible. These would be necessary for the move list inputs that would appear in future games. But then along came UFO Kirby, who had a full move set of attacks based only on how long one button is pressed.

UFO Kirby is a rare breed of Kirby ability. Kirby can fly around a shoot a bunch of different kinds of lasers depending on the button held after inhaling an enemy UFO. This ability was always treated as a special occasion, as Kirby couldn’t keep it after the end of a level.

7 Ninja

Throughout all of pop culture, including games and movies, Ninjas have been great and powerful. These stealthy masters of assination are iconic, and everyone wants to emulate their deadly skills. Fortunately for Kirby, he can just eat one to do it. Debuting in Kirby Super Star, Ninja allows Kirby to throw shuriken, vanish in smoke, and do fiery take downs.

This is one of Kirby’s fastest abilities, allowing him to blaze through levels easily. It even lets Kirby run on water. It also possesses cutting weaponry, giving it the qualities of Sword and Cutter. Kirby can get this ability from Bio Spark or Moonja, but it’s also easy to lose it due to its speed.

6 Fighter

Fighting games have had a big impact on the gaming landscape as well as pop culture in general. The reach has certainly extended to the Kirby universe,  as evidenced by the red Ryu-style headband he wears as Fighter Kirby. This ability gives Kirby the bread-and-butter attacks of a fighting character: a punch combo, an uppercut, a spinning kick, and a fireball. These moves would of course reappear when Kirby appeared in the fighting game Super Smash Bros..

Fighter is one of the earliest abilities known for needing skill to use properly. Its spinning and punching attacks can easily put Kirby into danger. Mastery of knowing when to throw certain punches will let Kirby pull out big damage, making this one deadly power. While there can only be one champ, there are many enemies that give this ability, but most iconic is Knuckle Joe.

5 Archer

Archer is the newest ability in Kirby’s repertoire. Despite that, it’s quickly become a favorite since its debut in Kirby Triple Deluxe. This ability is called Sniper in Japan, alluding to its best play style. This move allows Kirby to camp out and shower the enemy with endless arrows with little risk to his own pink hide.

There’s a reason why this ability from Spynum is so good. Archer has a move that hides Kirby behind a prop backdrop, basically making him invincible. This makes it ideal for cheesing out boss battles, which is probably why it hasn’t appeared in the most recent games. It still appears in every PvP Kirby Fighters game though, so camping is apparently only condoned on other players.

4 Sword

Swords may be standard issue combat weapons in fiction, but they never lose their luster. Sword Kirby also remains a fan favorite, slashing through foes and wearing a hat similar to The Legend of Zelda‘s Link. Maybe it’s all the duels Kirby has had with Meta Knight that keep him sharp.

Sword is one of Kirby’s oldest abilities, debuting in Kirby’s Adventure. It’s one of his most reliable as well, offering up range and speed with various slashes and thrusts. He can even fire a sword beam at full health like Link can. And in a few games, Kirby can use a supercharged attack called the Ultra Sword.

3 Hammer

As mentioned, Archer is quite good for boss fights. But before it’s debut, there was another, harder-hitting power that did the trick for demolishing the boss rush. That ability was Hammer, which debuted in Kirby Super Star from the mini-boss Bonkers. It’s rarity was deserved, as this weapon held the most devastating attack in the game.

This attack was the devastating Hammer Flip; a powerful uppercut that punches enemies into the sky. It’s a truly powerful mallet, able to light fires and crush metal blocks. Because it’s so strong, it’s usually only held by mini-boss enemies. The Hammer Flip has even appeared in Smash Bros. because it’s so strong.

2 Smash Bros.

Kirby’s appearances in the Super Smash Bros. series are well known since the franchises share a creator, he’s even one of the best characters in Super Smash Bros. 64. But the influence came back around. In Kirby and The Amazing Mirror, Smash‘s boss Master Hand appeared as a mini-boss. Through absorbing him, Kirby could become Smash Bros. Kirby, gaining his move set from those games.

As Kirby’s Smash move set is composite from different copy abilities, this makes him a jack-of-all-trades, similar to how strong Kirby was in the original Smash Bros 64. Kirby can zoom through the air with fire and fighting attacks. He can crush blocks with hammers and stones. He can even lay the hurt on bosses with cutting attacks and grab attacks, giving him options for everything.

1 Yo-Yo

While Kabuki Kirby is the most obscure Kirby ability, Yo-Yo Kirby is arguably the coolest, allowing Kirby to do sick flips and tricks with a yo-yo. He breakdances and spirals himself all over the platforming levels. It’s not just the moves that are stylish – it gives Kirby a purple hat that he wears backward and a bandage.

These moves may seem ineffectual as attacks, but they actually hit as hard as anything else in Kirby’s arsenal. This means Kirby slinging a Yo-Yo can hit and puncture space aliens and gods. The string is also a utility for Kirby, as it allows this ability many different grappling moves that throw enemies around the screen. This ability from the enemy Gim makes Kirby the coolest kid in school, with stylish moves that still put the hurt on the bad guys.

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