(Sorry in advance, but since Blogs can't be edited by multiple people we're kind of not given an option here)
Kirby Copy Abilities, there are a lot, 55 common ones to be precise. From Animal to Yo-Yo, Kirby has seen his fair share of abilities he can utilize against foes over the years although while some like Sword, Fire and Mirror are known for being awesome and amazing some... have been less well received. As a collaboration between TheFoxyRiolu and Shadow Inferno we are here to present our personal Bottom 10 Kirby Copy Abilites, now while we don't exactly agree on what the Bottom 2-10 should be, we do agree on the absolute worst.
That we are, my infernal friend! Just to let all you confused folks out there now, we are excluding Mix Abilities from 64 and Squeak Squad, Super Abilities from Return to Dreamland, and all endgame abilities. Without further ado, let's get started!
Foxy's Bottom 10[]
What you may notice is that mine and Inferno's list styles differ greatly from each other. While Inferno uses pros and cons, and reveals his choice in the section name, as well as just a text style, I reveal with pictures and will briefly talk about my opinions. Without further ado, let's get my list started!
#10[]
Super Star was a massive chapter for a Copy Abilities, with a whopping TWELVE being introduced. But, of course, with so many abilities being introduced, there has to be SOME bad ones. Coincidentally, this first choice of mine IS from Super Star.
Now, I tend to judge abilities partially on enjoyment. As in, if I can look past flaws and enjoy using an ability, then it likely won't make the list. That's why useless abilities like Ball and Cupid aren't on my list. However, there is one I can't really enjoy enough to like.
Jet Kirby is...well, a bit of a novelty of an ability. As in, it has some uses, but otherwise it kinda sucks. Jet basically allows Kirby to turn into a freakin' jet plane! Except...well, it's execution wasn't done well enough. All of it's attacks require charging for decent effect, and, while I don't hate charging attacks, realize I said ALL of it's attacks.
Not to mention that the second your brief invincibility ends with this ability after charging through a few enemies, you'll be completely vulnerable to whatever awaits you. Yeah, you can solve one or two puzzles with it, but when abilities like Wing and Fire outclass any true purpose it has. And if I want a rocket or jet Kirby, I would've used Missile.
Quite frankly, the only reason this isn't any lower is because it has some easy flight capabilities, but that's about it.
#9[]
Staying on trend with horrible Super Star abilities, let's talk about downgrades. A downgrade, in video games, would mean taking something that's...relatively decent, taking away some of it's perks, and reskinning it into something different. In Super Star, Crash came back, but it also had a downgrade of its own.
Paint Kirby is literally just a weaker Crash. No, I'm serious.
Paint was treated as a "secret ability" that could only be found by swallowing the projectiles of three different bosses (Chameleo Arm, Heavy Lobster, Marx Soul). When used, it splatters the area with a ton of paint, doing damage to all enemies on screen. The problem? ITS WEAKER THEN CRASH. This Crash knockoff actually does LESS damage then the said ability. It's only gameplay use is doing damage to Marx Soul if you lost your ability, but even then it barely dents him!
I do give this ability points, however, for the clever Easter Egg by using this ability on Heavy Lobster. So that's why it's only #9.
#8[]
Remember what I said about enjoying an ability? Well, unlike Jet, which wasn't too bad but wasn't enjoyable, I love using this ability...even though it's crap.
Hi-Jump Kirby is an ability I absolutely love to use. It's fun and has an interesting idea. So why is it here? Because...well, it sucks. Actually, that's a bit of a stretch. It's more of a problem with where this ability ends up.
While it's true that vertical sections become your new waifu with this ability, how many vertical sections are you gonna find in the games? Like, what, six at the maximum? Its also a bit pointless since the character using it can fly forever and whatnot. I don't think this ability is really that bad, but rather it is in the wrong place. It'd make a lot more sense to use this one if they ever made a Kirby game where he could lose his ability to fly at least at some point.
Oh but they did Fuzzy, the spin-offs could have used Hi-Jump and I'm not talking about the Curse Games, I mean like the Pinball, Block Attack and Golf games
#7[]
Flame shield UP-oh wait. That joke kinda died.
UFO Kirby is what many people point to as "one of the best abilities". To which I say....BULL. SHIT.
UFO Kirby is well-known as a really good copy ability, but the fact that this ability is so damn handicapped really turns me off. First off, this ability makes it so that Kirby is permanently in the air; while that's cool and all, it makes Kirby lose a lot of his abilities, like to slide and air puff. There's also the infamous "i cANT GO DOWN LADDERS" case.
Not only that, but this ability is really just Beam and Laser thrown in a blender. That's not creative, that's poor ability design. Also, why is it that you lose this ability the second you leave the level in every game save for Squeeak Squad? It makes this supposed "rare ability" completely pointless.
#6[]
Kirby's Dreamland 3 was quite a quirky game, with its odd artstyle and ideas. It turned out to be great though!...however...
...here we have Clean Kirby, possibly the most limited direct-melee-weapon out there. This ability only allows you to do one thing; sweep. Yes, you heard me. What, you have to CLEAN your enemies to death? Well, actually, yes.
The problem with this ability is that using it forces you to stop in your tracks to attack, meaning you're vulnerable to anything that doesn't die quickly or isn't hit by your low-range weapon. This one could've had a lot more going for it too, sadly; thankfully this ability is a lot better when paired with an Animal Buddy, so praise Arceus for that.
#5[]
Now we're getting into the REAL bad ones. The abilities that I think should've NEVER existed in the first place.
Now, when it comes to platformers, a lot have a "darkness gimmick" which creates artificial difficulty by making it hard to see anything. Most of the time, there's an item or enemy that allows the ability to see what is lurking in the dark. Kirby's Adventure had a similar concept, where there would be a few rooms...like, TWO...that could be lit up with an ability.
Yes, an ability that does NO DAMAGE to ANY enemy, can only be used ONCE, has NO REAL PURPOSE, and can only be used, like, TWICE? Good job, Light Kirby. Real good job. This is definitely the worst "real" one-use ability.
But why is it only Number 5? I think that this ability is the last one its list that actually succeeded at what it tried to do. It wasn't exactly a great idea, but at least it did what the idea was.
#4[]
So, what can be worse then a completely useless ability that actually was able to do what it wanted to do correctly? How about an ability with an amazing concept that fell in it's face harder then a sledgehammer to a nail?
Ghost Kirby is an extra special case; most importantly, this is the only ability on the list that I, at one point, whole-heartedly loved. However, after some serious reevaluation, I realized just how shitty this thing is.
The concept is actually realllly cool; being able to play puppetmaster by taking control of enemies. This gave a whole lot of incentive to collect the pieces of the Ghost Medal. So what was the prize? An absolutely handicapped ability that was extremely underwhelming in what it offered.
The main concept is to control enemies, sure, but it's done to such a small extent that it really isn't practical to use. Ghost Kirby loses a lot of hit regular abilities, just like UFO, and cannot go down platforms/ladders; Kirby is extremely slow when not possessing someone, and he can't even attack without a puppet. Speaking of that said puppet, all of Kirby's puppets are shockingly fragile and weak, and they can't even go through doors! Not to mention that this doesn't work on midbosses or regular bosses: that basically means it's impossible to beat a boss with this thing.
If this was a bit more promising with what it offered, I would've liked it much more. But sadly, it just had to suck.
#3[]
So, what do you get when you try and make the most useless possible ability, and make it even worse then that?...well, you get the biggest DOWNGRADE the games have ever seen.
Well fuck. Mini Kirby is, pun intended, one of the biggest DOWNGRADES I've seen in a video game. This was on Inferno's list, but only at like...7. I honestly don't see why. This is seriously an awful ability.
Mini Kirby is pretty self-explanatory; you become TINY. This is a nice idea on paper (hey, Minish Cap did it great, so why not?), but it was done extremely poorly. Remember how I said Ghost and UFO handicapped Kirby to no end? Well, Mini did it even worse somehow. While the previously mentioned two didn't take away too much, Mini Kirby cannot do what Kirby can do best; fly. Yep, Mini Kirby cannot fly.
Not only that, but, just like Light, it has absolutely NO purpose other then getting through small cracks...and, even so, there was only...like, two areas that were designated for this. This ability is just terrible, with everything included.
#2[]
If this was a list on my most hated abilities, this would've easily beaten out the number 1 choice. However, this only BARELY missed the top.
Metal Kirby...no. Please don't make me do this.
Okay, fine, I'll do it.
Metal Kirby is pretty much a giant middle finger to ANYONE who remotely enjoyed the concept of both the Stone ability, and any other transformation ability. Basically, the concept is that Kirby is literally just made of Metal. It isn't like you can transform out of this Metal form, or HELL no. Unless you let go, you're basically stuck as this giant chunk of iron for a while.
The perk to Metal is that it gives full invincibility to enemies...and know that I ONLY said enemies. You're basically FUCKED against any midbosses or bosses. Kirby doesn't lose any abilities, but they're so heavy and slow that they're useless now. Kirby himself is extremely heavy, and only has two attacks that only work by getting into the air, which takes fucking FOREVER since you've basically become a walking anvil.
In other words, Metal is a large shitty mix of a downgraded Stone, a downgraded Hammer, a downgraded Invincibility Candy, and overall a downgraded Kirby. It's only real perk is absolutely worthless, and it's just..ugh. Ew.
But wanna know what's scary?
This isn't even the worst ability.
What is it?
Well, while you wait in anticipation, why don't you see Inferno's list first?
Inferno's Bottom 10[]
#10 - Parasol[]
Parasol is a classic ability, its a shame though that it's inferior in every way to other abilities. Parasol has over the years been neglected, its abilities range from being a less effective Sword Ability, to a less effective Beam Ability to being a less effective Kirby. Seriously the Parasol may be cute but without some power and range to back it up this ability simply falls into the utter uselessness that is, inferior melee weapons.
Pros - It's Cute
Cons - It's like a terrible version of Sword, it hinders Kirby's floating capabilities, even after Return to Dreamland and Triple Deluxe it has still remained ineffective
Calling this a terrible version of Sword really is a stretch. Not only can you not go wrong with things likes slow descention and overhead protection, but also, let's not forget that this ability has MANY differences then other weapons. It's a bit fru-fru but it's definitely nowhere near "bad".
#9 - Balloon[]
Only a Spin-Off could produce such an utterly pointless ability, Balloon suffers from only working in absolute necessity. Because Canvas Curse limits Kirby's abilities by so much Balloon essentially functions to give Kirby back one of his abilities, Flight. Seriously though, you will never see this ability in a main series game because it's worse than standard Kirby. Other factors are that Balloon Kirby as like most things with the Touch Screen are a pain in the arse to use over long periods of time which makes it a rather annoying ability. I hold nothing against Canvas Curse for this having this ability since it was merely a way for Kirby to navigate certain areas but it is truly useless in comparison to other abilities.
Pros - It gives Kirby back a lost Ability
Cons - In most Kirby Games this Copy Ability would be a detriment
#8 - Paint[]
So here we go Paint, Foxy's already given his opinions on this ability and honestly it's a dissapointment of an ability to be given. Like Foxy has already stated it's a rare ability that you would expect from something like UFO or Ghost which while not particularly great, do live up to their secrecy, Paint on the other hand...
The problem with Paint is not only that its a weaker version of Crash, which I've already expressed my dislikeness towards Weaker Versions of other Abilities but also when you get it. Out of the boss battles where you use Paint, it's utterly useless, these bosses give you other Abilities, Cutter for example from Marx. It's just there's no point to getting these sorts of weak abilities when stronger ones also appear in the fights.
Pros - It is a Screen Nuke
Cons - It's pathetic and the Bosses that give it out have Better Abilities to take
#7 - Mini[]
You know the Mini Mushroom? Yeah that Mario Power-Up that makes Mario jump really fricking high but essentially downgrades him to very small and vulnerable, well say hello to its Kirby Equivalent, Mini. Mini is such an annoying ability, its pretty rare for one so you'd think it'd be worth it but it's really not, it makes Kirby small and it's only real purpose is to get through small gaps that normal Kirby can't get through, now wait doesn't that sound familiar, well it should since that's Mini Mushroom's main gimmick. I know that Mini Mushroom and Mini both came around the same time so neither one is ripping each other off but both are terrible and Mini is especially terrible because it makes Kirby super vulnerable to damage, when admittedly Kirby is a rather resistant character.
Pros - Gets you some Secrets
Cons - It's like having a giant sticker stuck on you that says "Kill Me now"
#6 - Throw[]
Ok now we're getting into the Abilities I really despise. I'm going to say this now and this will also apply to two more abilities later down the line; Fighter is the only good Physical Copy Ability. Seriously Fighter has a diverse moveset, is unique unlike Smash and has appeared in many of the Kirby Games. Ok so now to talk about the actual ability that's here, Throw. Throw is the lesser of three evils in that it's got more than one use, Throw as its name suggests allows you to throw stuff, how do you throw stuff though? Well you inhale it, which is really kind of stupid, Kirby does have hands and he has been shown to be able to pick up items so why does he need to inhale to use this ability. Incredibly though this ability is both OP and really annoying to use at teh same time, it can quickly kill a boss or mini-boss but due to how ability works it immobilizes you so if you accidentally suck up an enemy you have to discard what you're holding as quickly as possible, which means that you can only use the ability when you're about to get hit so you constantly are risking a chance of getting hit.
So what about that quick boss killing tactic, well it does work... sometimes, the only time it really works is in Boss Rushes with the Mini-Bosses because if you finish one Mini-Boss in the right spot you can throw that mini-boss into the next one causing massive damage. So you see the problem yet? This only works with Back-to-back enemies, if you are fighting one boss or a ranged enemy this ability is pretty much useless as Kirby can pretty much do the exact same things without any ability, in fact with Throw like I said before you become immobilized which is a downgrade from the limited movement of no Copy Ability while holding an item Kirby.
Pros - It can quickly kill Mid-Bosses
Cons - But only if the Mid-Bosses are back-to-back and otherwise you're essentially playing a game of Dodge the Bullet
#5 - Backdrop[]
A continuation on the theme of terrible abilities that Fighter exceeds in every way, I present to you the middle man of the three, Backdrop. Backdrop seems to suffer from a combination of not being able to work well against a lot of things and also looking a lot like Fighter at the same time. Backdrop's main gimmick is that Kirby can flip and slam enemies into the ground, now sure that's good and all but for one, it's a slow move, secondly it requires the player be right up in the face of their target like Throw and finally it's kind of boring to look at. It takes control away from the player to let Kirby perform the attack and when you have abilities like Sword, Beam and Leaf where the player has so much control and can pull off unique and varied attacks, Backdrop is kind of a one trick pony in comparison and sure maybe the first time you Backdrop a Waddle Dee its a new experience but unlike other abilities, Backdrop gets stale very quickly and becomes more of a hassle than simply sucking up the enemies especially ones with other abilities.
In fact it's pretty evident that Backdrop is useless as an ability because; one its bloody hard to turn the target into a projectile so your range especially against bosses is near negligble half the time and two it's only appeared in two games (and one of them is a remake), Kirby Adventure. Kirby Adventure I can excuse because it was the first game in the series to really try out Copy Abilities and since Nightmare in Dreamland was staying faithful to the original it kept it, but if a new game has Backdrop instead of; Archer, Water or Bell I'd be rather dissapointed that such a pitifully useless ability was chosen over abilities that are unique and vary in their capabilities.
Pros - It only appeared in two games
Cons - It's a terribly slow ability that is pretty much useless against Bosses and Mid-Bosses and the standard Kirby would be more effective
#4 - Hi-Jump[]
Let's talk about Hi-Jump, it's actually pretty annoying, it can hardly be used, Kirby games aren't known for Verticality so it was a bad idea to start with but what's more is that the attack often leaves the player vulnerable to enemies after they've high jumped since the attack is finicky and unless Kirby perfectly lands just above the platform he is aiming for, he's got a way to fall. Also the attack is slow and other attacks can do air-based fighting much better. For instance, an ability I don't particularly care for but I know some people do known as Spark is great against flying enemies because when charged it can destroy or heavily damage them were an ability like Fire and Sword simply don't have the range. Another issue is this, if you have Hi-Jump in the wrong area, you may as well throw it away immediately, it's barely useful against bosses and it's annoying in non-vertical sections of levels.
There are some obviously gimmicky Abilities like; Animal, Bubble, Wheel and Smash but what seperates them from the sort of gimmicky ability of Hi-Jump is that they are fun to use.
Pros - Jump High, even though Kirby can Fly
Cons - Useless in almost any scenario, other abilities can do air fighting better than it.
#3 - Light[]
You ever thought that some Kirby abilities are impractical, like those screen nuke ones that really don't work against Bosses or Mid-Bosses or maybe Sleep because jeez all Kirby does is fall asleep he doesn't even regain health, well since the prior have a combat function and we're not including sleep in this list and besides Sleep Kirby is cute, I present to you the Bronze Turd Placement for worst Copy Abilities (for Inferno); Light. What a useless and lazy ability this is, an absolute abomination to anyone it's function is optional for christ sake if you know what you're doing and considering we're talking about Kirby, most people do, Light really isn't needed at all. All Light does is as it suggests light up things, well what does it light up? Does it destroy Dark Creatures? No, Does is fire a beam of energy? No, Does it allow Kirby to progress through an otherwise impossible area? No, because people know how to get through a relatively simple stage in the slight dark, seriously, all Light does is act like a little glowstick for Kirby. It has no combat functionality and worst of all it's taking up Kirby's ability spot just waiting to be used. You know abilities that could have done Light's job instead of having Light? Beam, Spark, Plasma, Fire, Burning, Laser, Magic, Ghost & UFO there is seriously no reason for Light to be an ability.
Pros - It hasn't returned since Adventure and its remake
Cons - It was still in the remake and it's utterly useless otherwise
#2 - Suplex[]
Alright the big guy before we get to the agreed big guy, you know how I expressed discontent about Throw and Backdrop, well say hello to their big daddy, Suplex. What can be said about Suplex, it's annoying for one, it wasted what could've been the earliest possible appearance of the Beetle Ability. Suplex is for the most part usable in a sense, it's not intuitive at all in fact I'd argue that out of the three it's probably the most annoying to pull off properly, in addition, I'll say it again, Suplex could easily have been worked into Fighter. The ability has rather pain-stakingly existed in many Kirby Games, it's always there, taunting you with it's repulsive moves trying to convince you it's viable. You know what's more viable than Suplex? Light, because Light, despite it's purpose being so absolutely useless and minimal still has a purpose.
For whatever reason, Suplex has endured longer than several abilities and while I'm glad that so far it hasn't made an appearance in 8 years (2 if you count Smash) I do believe that if it ever comes back I will avoid it to my upmost ability. My suggestion with Suplex, don't use it, if you had the choice between getting any of the previous listed abilities or Suplex, go with the other abilities because at least they aren't Suplex.
Pros - Haven't had to deal with it since Ultra
Cons - It appears in Smash while; Fire, Ice, Spark, Archer, Leaf, Water, Needle, Bomb and numerous other abilities do not
#1 - Copy[]
Foxy's Opinions[]
TBA
Inferno's Opinions[]
Since this is pretty much dead, yes one is copy, not Kirby's but there are enemies that give this useless ability. It lets you copy an enemy's ability without killing them so aside from being redundant it's useless.