Kirby has been an iconic series since the first game debuted in 1992 for the Gameboy. The long-running series has constantly put out titles with new concepts for the jolly pink ball to try out. The series is now gearing up for an all-new adventure on the Switch with Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
Over the last few years, Kirby has exploded in pop culture in both Japan and the West. More fans than ever have been introduced to the universe, and thanks to Kirby Star Allies, many fans got to meet the vast cast of the series for the very first time. Let's take a look at the historic series to see which characters are the most memorable.
10 Kirby
Kirby is easily the most recognizable character in the entirety of the series, mainly because he's the main protagonist. He has been at the center of many fan theories over the years and is theorized to be one of the most powerful characters in existence as he is basically an all-consuming black hole whenever he opens his mouth.
Kirby may not have ever reached the heights of popularity that Mario did, but he is still easily recognizable by most gaming fans and was one of the first characters that Nintendo thought to include in the first Smash Bros game for Nintendo 64.
9 King Dedede
King Dedede is an interesting character as he isn't the evil antagonist that the first game or the anime made him out to be. King Dedede goes out of his way to help Kirby in many games, and Nintendo even describes the relationship between the two as basically being frenemies.
King Dedede can be seen in almost every game in the series and is a playable character in some of them. He is a ruler on Planet Popstar, where Kirby calls home, although his ruling style is said to be pretty lazy.
8 Adeleine
Adeleine is a character that made her official debut in Kirby and the Crystal Shards for the Nintendo 64. Though she has not been in many games, and it's still debated whether she was the painter in Kirby's Dream Land 3 or not, fans have taken a liking to Adeleine art based powers.
Adeleine has the power to paint objects and enemies with terrifying detail. The subjects she paints literally come to life and jump out of the painting. She uses this power to provide aid to friends and even attack in Kirby Star Allies.
7 Whispy Woods
Whispy Woods is another mainstay in the Kirby series as they are a reoccurring boss that has appeared in just about every Kirby game you can think of. Whispy Woods even made it into Smash Bros as a stage that can blow unattentive players off the field.
While there are other tree-based bosses in the series, none have even come close to being as recognizable as Whispy Woods. Even players who aren't familiar with the series can probably match this boss back to Kirby.
6 Meta Knight
Meta Knight is another extremely well-known character from the series, partly due to the fact he is heavily associated with competitive Smash Bros matches. Meta Knight is another character who is an antagonist turned friend, and throughout the history of Kirby games, fans watched him become a much more peaceful character.
Meta Knight is known for being fiercely loyal and is the same species as Kirby. In fact, if you change to the blue version of Kirby with yellow eyes in Smash, you are technically playing as unmasked Meta Knight.
5 Magolor
Magolor is another old character and the final boss in Return to Dream Land. Like most bosses, he is now friends with Kirby. Strangely enough, some of his passions include building theme parks and playing pranks on Kirby.
Magolor does seem to be full of himself, as can be seen when he wins competitions against Kirby. Despite all the boasting though, he doesn't seem to be all that powerful in recent games.
4 Marx
Marx is actually a lesser character in the series as he first appeared in Kirby Super Star in 1996. After his initial appearance, Kirby fans wouldn't see the character again until he appeared in Kirby Super Star Ultra in 2008. Despite his cute appearance, he is actually an antagonist.
Marx is one of the few characters who isn't really ready to convert to the good side; he loves causing trouble and will only ally with Kirby when a constant supply of food is involved.
3 Daroach
Daroach is actually the newest character on the list as he didn't appear in the series until Kirby Squeak Squad in 2008. Like many characters in the series, he was possessed and acted as the main antagonist in his debut game. After being freed, he joined together with Kirby and even returned a cake in a later game that his bandits stole.
Daroach also reveals himself to be a ladies’ man in later games, and it's stated that he still loves stealing treasure.
2 Rick
Rick is an animal friend of Kirby who appears in Kirby's Dream Land 2, where he lends aid by carrying Kirby around on his back. After Dream Land 2, he cameos in several games before finally becoming playable again for Kirby Star Allies.
Rick isn't able to speak in the games and seems to just happily go about his life being a cheerful hamster who occasionally helps Kirby to save the day.
1 Waddle Dee
Waddle Dee is another mainstay in the series, although they mainly appear as a minor enemy that Kirby can easily take out. They are the inhabitants of Pop Star, and many of them follow Dedede, although they aren't really the best guards and are noted to be carefree.
One of the most well-known variations of this enemy is Bandana Waddle Dee, who wields a spear and is slightly more of a threat to Kirby.