Kirby: Planet Robobot

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

A 2016 videogame directed by Shinya Kumazaki about a pink blob and his quest to destroy robotic alien invaders.

The planet Popstar has been invaded by some kind of mechanical alien force. King Dedede and Meta Knight try in vain to stop them. Kirby, asleep during the initial invasion, wakes up, notices the alien invasion and decides to take care of business, kicking a lot of robot(and cyborg) ass in the way.

The game is a 2D platformer with 3D models with the usual features of the series: Kirby being able to devour enemies to absorb their abilities. However, this game also introduces the Robobot Armor, a Mini-Mecha that also can scan abilities and have access to tools not available to our protagonist.

Developed by HAL Laboratory. Published by Nintendo.

Tropes used in Kirby: Planet Robobot include:
  • Action Bomb: The Robobot Armour Bomb Mode spits out living robot bombs.
  • Advancing Wall of Doom:
    • In Area 5-2, Kirby has to run from...a giant ball.
    • Kirby has to run from giant balls again in Area 5-7.
  • Amazing Technicolor Battlefield: Star Dream creates one of these after Kirby breaks its mask and it enters its third phase.
  • An Ice Person:
    • Holo-Ice Dragon, true to its name, uses ice-based attacks.
    • Kirby using the Ice Ability.
  • Apocalypse How: Star Dream decides after Susie fails to control it to end all organic life everywhere.
  • Attack Its Weak Point: Holo-Coily Rattler is mostly immune to attacks, except when you hit its shiny blue head.
  • Big Bad: President Haltmann, CEO of the Haltmann Works Company, and therefore responsible for everything that happens to Popstar and his inhabitants through the game.
  • Blob Monster:
    • Miasmoros, who is green and black and has teeth and eyes.
    • Venogoo, who is cyan and blue.
  • Boss-Only Level: Where the main bosses at the end of each world are fought.
  • Breath Weapon:
    • The Holo-Doomers shoot fireballs at Kirby.
    • Miasmoros 2.0 shoots poison from his mouth, in several different ways.
  • Burning Rubber: The Robobot Armour leaves a trail of fire behind the path where it walks when using the Fire ability.
  • Casino Park: Area 2-4, where Kirby has to dodge things like giant dices and roulettes.
  • Charged Attack:
    • C.O.G.S. launches three straight laser beams from its three main cannons after charging.
    • Many of the abilities scanned by the Robobot Armour give it charged attacks.
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Between other little aspects, the Robobot Armour also changes colour when changing modes. It turns pink like its pilot Kirby when it was grey when piloted by an invader.
  • Combat Tentacles: Star Dream grows tentacles in its second phase and tries to strike Kirby with them.
  • Deadly Doctor: The Doctor ability, aside of giving a new cute doctor uniform for Kirby, also gives him the ability to attack with...pills. And clipboards. In the case of the pills, we can only assume it's a dose that will kill you.
  • Dishing Out Dirt: The Stone ability gives Kirby several powers over Earth, including transforming himself in a rock.
  • Disney Villain Death:
    • Mecha-Knight falls off a ledge after you defeat him.
    • Sleepy Turtles fall off the stage when you defeat them.
  • Eternal Engine: Considering the robotic nature of the game, several levels are like this, though with the extra aspect that natural environments of Popstar have been mechanized.
  • Evil Laugh:
    • Susie lets out one of these when leaving after an encounter with Kirby.
    • Haltmann cackles madly as he attacks Kirby during his boss battle.
  • Evil Versus Oblivion: Susie helps Kirby after Star Dream manifests its intentions to destroy everything that lives.
  • Goggles Do Nothing: When Kirby takes over the Robobot Armour, he gains a hat with goggles on it...and he never wears the goggles.
  • Green Thumb: The Leaf Ability that allows Kirby to manipulate leaves like he desires to.
  • Hologram Projection Imperfection: The monsters that Holo Defense API summons are colored green. They're purple in its 2.0 form.
  • Humongous Mecha:
    • The result of fusing the Robobot Armour to Meta Knight's Halberd.
    • Star Dream is already big by itself. Then it fuses with the Access Ark and it becomes colossal.
  • Immune to Flinching: You can hit Blocky with many Smash Bros. hit combos as you want; it will not stop him from attacking you even if he's losing health.
  • Interface Screw:
    • In Area 3-4, giant ice cream cones fall over and spill over the screen itself.
    • They reappear in Area 6-7.
  • Kamehame Hadoken: Kirby can launch energy blasts from his hands when using the Fighter ability.
  • Level Ate: Area 3-4, filled with sweets and ice cream.
  • Me's a Crowd: Dedede Clone splits in three after taking a certain amount of damage.
  • Mecha-Mooks: Some enemies, and that's why the non-robot enemies are cyborgs.
  • Mini-Mecha:
    • The Robobot Armour isn't much taller than Kirby, though it's clearly wider, and many bosses are bigger than it.
    • Susie fights Kirby using her own drill-based Mini-Mecha.
    • Haltmann uses a mini-mecha similar to Susie to fight Kirby.
  • No Ontological Inertia:
    • If you defeat C.O.G.S. with a projectile still going towards Kirby, the projectile simply disappears in thin air.
    • The same goes for projectiles launched by a Security Force.
  • Parasol of Pain: The Parasol ability.
  • Planet Looters: The antagonists are actively drilling Popstar to extract resources with colossal drills.
  • Power Copying: Not only Kirby, but also the mini-mecha he pilots, through some kind of enemy scanning process that changes its appearance and weapon.
  • Psychic Powers: The ESP ability gives Kirby this.
  • Shock and Awe: One of powers that ESP grants to Kirby, involving the capacity of creating electrical fields.
  • Shoryuken: Kirby can attack with a jumping uppercut using the Fighter ability.
  • Shout Out: Star Dream references Francis Fukuyama by saying Kirby and Susie are about to witness the "end of history". Let's just say that doesn't involve replacing the reign of King Dedede with a liberal democracy.
  • Summon Magic: Star Dream is able to bring weapons from apparently other dimensions to fight Kirby in the final battle.
  • Technicolor Poison:
    • The Poison ability gives Kirby the power to manipulate a dark blue poison.
    • One of the environment hazards is clouds of green gas.
  • Transforming Mecha: Kirby's Robobot Armour transforms into different forms when absorbing abilities from enemies.
  • The Starscream: Susie tries to betray Haltmann to fulfill her own greedy objectives, but Star Dream rejects her command and decides to fulfill his own agenda.
  • Unwilling Roboticisation: Meta-Knight is transformed into Mecha Knight after being curb-stomped by the HWC.
  • Villain Teleportation: Telepathos can go from one side of the screen to another.
  • When Trees Attack: Clanky Woods, a cyborg tree that serves as boss.
  • Whip It Good: The Whip ability, obviously.
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