Please remember that WiKirby contains spoilers, which you read at your own risk! See ourgeneral disclaimer for details.
Air Bullet
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
Air Bullet (also known as anAir gun,[1]Air Shot,Air Pellet, orAir Puff) is an attack involving exhaling a small puff of air whenKirby or another character stopshovering, as a byproduct of deflating themselves. The air bullet acts as a short range projectile and can hurt most standard enemies, but is useless against mostmid-bosses andBosses. It can also be used to interact with various obstacles, including breakingblocks and activatingswitches. Kirby can utilize the Air Bullet in every main seriesKirby game, along with many of the spin-off titles, but it is not part of his moveset in theSuper Smash Bros. games, nor is it ever used in theanime series. In laterKirby games, Air Bullets' damage to enemies can vary depending on how close Kirby is to his target (closer shots doing more damage than further ones). Air Bullet is also a recurring attack of several bosses, most notablyWhispy Woods and his variants.
Notable appearances[edit]
Air Bullets appear and function more-or-less the same way in everyKirby game in which the attack can be performed, though there are notable exceptions. The following list includes details about Air Bullet functionality in certain titles:
Kirby's Dream Land[edit]
Air Bullet is one of Kirby's primary means of defense inKirby's Dream Land, and is useful for fending off flying enemies and clearingStar Blocks away. TheMint Leaf item causes Kirby to continuously fire Air Bullets, allowing him to take on the bossKabula.
Kirby's Adventure[edit]
Kirby's Adventure marks the first time thatKing Dedede can use Air Bullets, as a natural consequence of his new hover technique. King Dedede's air bullet is larger and travels farther than Kirby's.
Kirby Super Star /Kirby Super Star Ultra[edit]
InKirby Super Star and its remake,Kirby Super Star Ultra,Ninja Kirby's 'Ninja Kick' can be canceled by hovering. By looping the three movesNinja Kick-Hover-Air Bullet, Kirby can save his horizontal momentum from Ninja Kick and move very fast in the air, his action of continuously spitting Air Bullets somewhat resembling the effect from theMint Leaf. This method of saving momentum, while useful in tool-assistedspeedruns of those games, does not appear in any other game.
Similarly,Cutter Kirby's 'Sweep Cutter' (press and hold B in midair) can be canceled by hovering. By doing the loop ofSweep Cutter-Hover-Air Bullet, Kirby can hover while still attacking, which is useful for aerial mid-bosses and bosses but requires very fast button execution.
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble[edit]
InKirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, theBalloon item allows Kirby to fly through the air and continually fire Air Bullets, in a similar manner to the Mint Leaf. This is used to traverse specific stages and battleKracko.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land /Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]
InKirby's Return to Dream Land andits remake, Kirby can bepiggybacked by his friends to perform aTeam Attack that takes the form of a giant Air Bullet. This attack is much stronger than a regular Air Bullet, but moves through the air a lot slower, similar to aBlaster Bullet. It can also damagebosses, unlike a regular Air Bullet.
Kirby Fighters series[edit]
In theKirby Fighters games, theMint Leaf item returns, allowing Kirby and other characters who pick it up to fire a continuous barrage of Air Bullets at their foes. These air bullets are pale green in color (representing minty fresh breath) and are shot five at a time before finishing with a giant Air Bullet that passes through enemies.Kirby Fighters 2 in particular allows characters other than Kirby and King Dedede to use the Air Bullet for the first time through this item.
In theKirby novel series[edit]
In theKirby novel series,Kirby's Air Bullet is his only method of attack when he does not have aCopy Ability. He uses it whenever he ends up in a fight with seemingly no way to obtain a Copy Ability. The Air Bullet is known to be very powerful against small creatures, but not too effective against larger enemies. Overall, Air Bullets are way less effective than Copy Abilities.
The Air Bullet is first used in the beginning ofKirby and the Dangerous Gourmet Mansion?!, where Kirby accidentally uses it againstWaddle Dee. Waddle Dee tells Kirby aboutMrs. Parfaitski, who had recently moved intoDream Land. When he mentions that she'll have a feast at her place, Kirby shouts with so much excitement that his shout turns into an Air Bullet. The Air Bullet hits Waddle Dee, knocking him away. Waddle Dee is in pain, and rebukes Kirby for being careless with his powerful Air Bullet, but Kirby still has only food on his mind.
Kirby's first intentional use of the Air Bullet is inKirby Meets the Squeak Squad!, where he uses it when he is chasing theSqueaks after they steal the egg that he was trusted with.Daroach andSpinni dodge the Air Bullet, butDoc takes a direct hit, which throws his UFO off balance. Later in the story, Doc builds a cannon that fires Air Bullets, and uses it to ambush Kirby and co. when they set out to return the egg back where they found it. The Squeaks start firing away when they notice Kirby using theWheel ability to pull a cart with his friends in it. The cannon's Air Bullets disappear after flying a few feet, which Doc had not planned. Much to Daroach's annoyance, the group decides to move closer to Kirby and co.'s cart. Kirby notices them, and smashes the cannon to pieces by ramming into it as a Wheel.
Kirby makes use of his Air Bullet multiple times inKirby: Meta Knight and the Puppet Princess. When the protagonists are fighting againstBaron Gallic at the Royal Cake Factory, everyone tries to strike him with their own attacks, with Kirby always using Air Bullets. After two missed shots, Kirby finally hits Gallic with an Air Bullet, knocking him over. With the Baron down,Meta Knight has an opportunity to takePrincess Marona to safety, so he lets Kirby stay behind to deal with Baron Gallic as the group watches from a distance. Gallic gets back up, but can now dodge Kirby's Air Bullets with ease. With the Air Bullets not working anymore, Kirby's next idea is to inhaleSword Knight so he can fight with theSword ability. Later in the story, when Sword Knight andBlade Knight are under the control of Gallic'sMalice Stone, Kirby deals the final blow on them with an Air Bullet. This allows him to inhale them both so they can no longer attack Meta Knight, giving him an opening to chase after Baron Gallic.
InKirby: Save the Rainbow Islands!, Kirby uses Air Bullets to fight against the puppetedKing Dedede and Meta Knight, but they are too weak to let him keep fighting alone.
Kirby uses Air Bullets multiple times inKirby: Meta Knight and the Knight of Yomi. He at first uses them againstBeryl, who is disguised as Meta Knight, to try and stop his rampage in Dream Land. Later in the story, he uses them to assist Meta Knight in his fight againstMorpho Knight. He shoots one at Meta Knight to help him dodge from Morpho Knight's attack. Meta Knight wants Kirby to help more, but the Air Bullets are to weak to damage Morpho Knight.
Trivia[edit]
- Aside from Kabula,Ado,Adeleine, and theHolo Defense API can also be defeated using an Air Bullet, but only during the very last portion of the battle.
- InKirby's Dream Land 2 andKirby's Dream Land 3, Kirby's Air Bullet has a face on it.
- Kirby Air Ride marks the onlyKirby game where Kirby does not release an Air Bullet when he stops hovering, instead slowly deflating with each jump like he does in theSuper Smash Bros. games. Other games that do not feature the Air Bullet do so because Kirby does not hover in them at all.
- Additionally, despite Kirby using his hover skill on rare occasions inKirby: Right Back at Ya!, the Air Bullets he fires in the anime are never aimed at anyone, nor do they hurt any enemies. Rather, they're merely a visual effect, with yellow Air Bullets appearing exclusively inDedede's Raw Deal as a visual representation of a hiccup.
Gallery[edit]
Kirby or other playable characters[edit]
Artwork fromKirby's Dream Land
Artwork of Kirby shooting an Air Bullet at aBronto Burt fromKirby Super Star
Kirby firing an Air Bullet inKirby's Dream Land 3
Kirby spits out air bullets while under the effects of aBalloon inKirby: Tilt 'n' Tumble.
Artwork fromKirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Artwork fromKirby & The Amazing Mirror
Artwork fromKirby: Squeak Squad
Kirby spits an air bullet in midair inKirby: Squeak Squad.
Artwork fromKirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby shoots out an air bullet inKirby: Triple Deluxe.
In theKirby Fighters series, characters that use theMint Leaf are capable of spitting out one last giant air bullet when its effects are worn out.
Bosses[edit]
Sprite of Whispy Woods' Air Bullet fromKirby's Dream Land 2
Whispy Woods firing Air Bullets inKirby Super Star
Whispy Woods using his Air Bullet attack inKirby's Return to Dream Land
Whispy Woods fires sickly purple Air Bullets while under the influence of theJamba Heart inKirby Star Allies
Tropic Woods releasing a wave of Air Bullets inKirby and the Forgotten Land
Artwork of Whispy Woods firing Air Bullets fromKirby no Copy-toru!
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 空気弾 Kūkidan | Air bullet |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Bala de ar[2] | Air bullet |
See also[edit]
References
- ↑Kirby's Dream Land 2 Instruction Booklet (American release), Page 7 and 11
- ↑Kirby Super Star Brazilian manual
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
