This article is about the animal companions inKirby's Dream Land 2 andKirby's Dream Land 3. For the ability inKirby: Squeak Squad, seeAnimal. For other helpful characters, seeCategory:Allies.

TheAnimal Friends are a group of animal-like creatures who serve asKirby's allies. They made their debut inKirby's Dream Land 2. More specifically, the term refers to the rideable animal companions which Kirby can mount and combine hisCopy Abilities with, and is considered a type ofSpecial Ability.

There are six Animal Friends in total. The first three, which debuted inKirby's Dream Land 2, areRick, who resembles a hamster,Kine, who resembles a sunfish, andCoo, who resembles an owl. The other three, which joined the originals inKirby's Dream Land 3, areNago, who resembles a cat,ChuChu, who resembles an octopus, andPitch, who resembles a bird.

Most of the animal friends are somewhat larger than Kirby, and all of them provide their own unique way of moving once they are paired up with him. Kirby can only travel with one Animal Friend at a time and will have to switch out between them based on what task needs solving.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Dream Land 2[edit]

Rick, Kine, and Coo first appear in this title. They each have their distinct advantages and disadvantages when paired up with, and will use their own special version of whichever Copy Ability Kirby has equipped. Using their power is necessary to collect some of theRainbow Drops. To find them, Kirby will have to free them from a bag by defeating themid-boss on guard. If that animal friend is already freed,Gooey orGirl blob will appear instead.

Kirby's Star Stacker[edit]

InKirby's Star Stacker(both versions), Rick, Kine, and Coo feature prominently, both on the puzzle board as blocks that need to be moved around and in cutscenes and illustrations. Unlike in the main series titles, there is no functional difference between the animal friends in gameplay.

Kirby's Dream Land 3[edit]

In addition to the previous three, Nago, ChuChu, and Pitch appear in this title. Unlike the previous, they can be found in the open in various rooms, and Kirby will have to pick between them. Using each one in specific situations is necessary to get all of theHeart Stars.

Kirby Star Allies[edit]

Rick & Kine & Coo[edit]

InKirby Star Allies, Rick, Kine, and Coo appear asDream Friends, albeit rolled into a single character. They switch out based on which attacks are being used, playing in a tag-team style. When not attacking, Rick is used by default; Kine is used while swimming; and Coo is used when in the air, after using Flutter or Parasol Coo. Their abilities are based on their special Copy Abilities fromKirby's Dream Land 2 andKirby's Dream Land 3, and are capable of providing the Bluster, Sizzle, Splash, and (under rare circumstances) Blizzardpower effects to other abilities. In addition, while using Stone Rick, Rick can participate in theCurling,Geokinesis, andRock PainterFriend Abilities.

Rick retains his special properties fromKirby's Dream Land 2 and3; he doesn't slip on ice, and he can damage certain enemies by stomping on them, which also allows him to harmlessly bounce off of certain obstacles. Kine has the distinction of being the fastest swimmer of all the available characters, while Coo controls much like theWing ability and thus has improved aerial mobility. Whileguarding, the trio hides in aProtective Bag similar to the ones they were held in fromDream Land 2. Their unique rooms inGuest Star ???? Star Allies Go! recreate stages fromDream Land 2 and/or utilize their unique abilities. The trio'sFriend Star bullets are Sizzle-based.

ChuChu / Nago / Pitch[edit]

The other three animal friends fromKirby's Dream Land 3 also appear, but only briefly as part of theCleaning ability moveset. These animal friends reprise their combination moves that are performed if Kirby has the Cleaning ability in the original game.

• Clean ChuChu (Dash + B in midair) reprises her flying broom.
• Clean Pitch (Up + press & release B) reprises his bucket transformation move. This move can also be charged.
• Clean Nago (Dash + B) reprises his floor polishing technique.

ChuChu and Pitch are also depicted in theCelebration Picture "A Dream Above the Clouds". For some reason, Nago is not depicted with them.

Kirby Air Riders[edit]

Rick, Kine, and Coo appear inKirby Air Riders; Rick is an unlockable rider, and thus the most prominent of the trio. As with the other riders, Rick is represented by variousLicense Card stickers and icons,Air Ride Machine decals, and also appears on theAir Ride,Road Trip, and OnlineChecklist pictures.

Kine and Coo make various cameos aroundSkyah and in certain Air Ride courses;Waveflow Waters features Kine, whileAirtopia Ruins features Coo. Kine and Coo are both represented by variousLicense Card stickers. In addition, Kine appears in Road Trip as a helper atReefside Ride; thus, he also has an unlockable icon as the other helpers do.

Finally, an unlockable License Card theme features Rick, Kine, and Coo sitting at a table together, alongside Kirby,Whispy Woods,King Dedede,Meta Knight,Chef Kawasaki, aWaddle Doo, aChilly, and fourWaddle Dees.

Other titles[edit]

The animal friends often make cameos in other titles in the series. Most of the time, this entails appearing inSub-Games or having their likenesses made into collectible items. The most prominent cameo comes fromKirby 64: The Crystal Shards when Kirby uses theStone-CutterPower Combo. Doing so transforms Kirby into a stone replica of one of his animal friends, giving him a different movement option (potentially none at all) with each one.

InKirby: Right Back at Ya![edit]

Rick, Kine, and Coo appear as distinct characters inKirby: Right Back at Ya!, with some episodes featuring them prominently. They appear to have no direct connection to Kirby in the show, and are merely intelligent creatures living inDream Land.

Trivia[edit]

• According to the Kirby 20th Anniversary Celebration Book included withKirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, it was originally planned to refer to Kirby's Animal Friends as "minions", but this was changed to better fit with Kirby's personality.^[1] Some internal materials related to the Animal Friends (such as the theme forCoo's Forest,BGM_LP_SIMOBE1) use the word しもべ ("minion" in Japanese), relating back to this original plan.
• English marketing material forKirby's Dream Land 2 refers to the Animal Friends in that game as "Rick the hamster", "Kine the fish", and "Coo the owl". However, Japanese material has suggested from the beginning that they are not actual animals, and only resemble them in likeness. Later English material would also adopt this stance, which notably resulted in the Nintendo Switch Online description forKirby's Dream Land 2 being altered to refer to them as "Rick, Kine, and Coo, who look like a hamster, a fish, and an owl, respectively."

Gallery[edit]

Images[edit]

• 
  "Crazy Mischief in the Stars"Celebration Picture fromKirby Star Allies featuring Rick, Kine, and Coo
• 
  Tip image of Kirby adventuring with the Wave 1Dream Friends, featuring Rick inKirby Star Allies
• 
  Title screen forGuest Star Rick & Kine & Coo: Animal Trio inKirby Star Allies
• 
  The Rick, Kine & Coo statue atMerry Magoland inKirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
• 
  Illustration from theKirby JP Twitter featuring all the Animal Friends as cake toppers
• 
  Illustration from the Kirby JP Twitter featuring all the Animal Friends
• 
  The Animal friends alongsideGooey inFind Kirby!! Big Gathering at the Party!

Videos[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

References

• Characters
• Allies
• Special Abilities
• Animal Friends

• Articles which list Japanese names
• Articles which list German names
• Articles which list Korean names
• Articles which list Portuguese names