Please remember that WiKirby contains spoilers, which you read at your own risk! See ourgeneral disclaimer for details.
Keeby
| ||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
Keeby is the name of the yellowKirby who serves as the second player character inKirby's Dream Course. He initially wasn't properly named as such, as "Keeby" was originally an internal nickname given by the developers of the game to an otherwise unnamed yellow Kirby.[1] Keeby was properly named in a game for the first time inKirby's Dream Buffet.
In-game inKirby's Dream Course, Keeby is a bright yellow Kirby with dark yellow feet. In official artwork andKirby's Dream Buffet, his feet are more orange, bearing a resemblance to the coloring Kirby gets with theBeam ability inKirby Super Star andKirby Super Star Ultra. Like Kirby, he is also able to obtainCopy Abilities, and plays exactly the same in every respect to his pink counterpart.
Game appearances[edit]
Keeby's name has only been officially used in relation toKirby's Dream Course, but genericyellow Kirbys have made appearances in multiple other games in theKirby series. It has been speculated that these yellow Kirbys are actually Keeby, or that "Keeby" is a nickname for all yellow Kirbys, but no official source has stated that to be the case. It is worth noting that Japanese fan communities generally consider all yellow Kirbys to be Keeby, while English-speaking fan communities generally consider Keeby to be the specific yellow Kirby fromKirby's Dream Course.
Initially, "Keeby" was only used internally as a nickname by the developers ofKirby's Dream Course; it is a portmanteau of Kirby's name with the Japanese word for "yellow",ki. Supplementary material, such as the instruction manual, simply refers to him as a yellow Kirby.
On the official website forSuper Smash Bros. for theNintendo 64,Masahiro Sakurai referred to Kirby's yellow palette swap in said game as "Keeby", and mentioned that it comes fromKirby's Dream Course.[2] This was the first time this nickname was made public. Later, theKirby's Dream Collection Special Edition booklet mentioned Keeby again, marking the first usage of the nickname in English material.
Keeby appears, unnamed, as part of aSticker inKirby: Planet Robobot. InKirby's Dream Buffet, Keeby appears on the "Kirby & Keeby"Character Treat, and the name "Keeby Yellow" is used for the yellowcolor for Kirby. This marks the first time the name "Keeby" has actually been used in a game itself, and also is the first time Keeby's name has been translated into other languages besides English.
Trivia[edit]
- Keeby's color scheme may be a reference to howShigeru Miyamoto and otherHAL Laboratory employees initially thought Kirby was yellow before seeing his color design.[3]
Gallery[edit]
Artwork[edit]
Artwork of Keeby fromKirby's Dream Course
Keeby in ball form
Keeby looking mad
Keeby looking disappointed
Keeby looking surprised
Keeby from the side
Kirby crashing into Keeby
Parasol Keeby
Fireball Keeby
UFO Keeby
Keeby using aWarp Panel
Kirby with the Keeby Yellowcolor fromKirby's Dream Buffet
Kirby's 33rd anniversary illustration from theKirby JP Twitter, featuring Kirby with the Keeby Yellow color and the whipped creamcostume
Sprites[edit]
Keeby's player sprite fromKirby's Dream Course
Keeby's icon display sprite fromKirby's Dream Course
Keeby's sprite in the 2P Game menu
Other[edit]
Having just finished theKirby Dance
Kirby & KeebyCharacter Treat fromKirby's Dream Buffet
Keeby Yellowcolor fromKirby's Dream Buffet
Plushie of Kirby with the Keeby Yellow color from the "Kirby's Gourmet Festival" merchandise line, by San-ei
Kirby's Dream Buffet korotto figures, featuring Kirby with the Keeby Yellow color
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | キービィ[2] Kībyi | Combination of「黄」(ki, yellow) and「カービィ」(Kābyi,Kirby) |
| English | Keeby | From the Japanese name |
| Chinese | 奇比 Qí bǐ | Transliteration of the Japanese name |
| Dutch | Keeby | - |
| French | Keeby | - |
| German | Gelby | Combination of "Gelb" (yellow) and "Kirby" |
| Italian | Gialby | Combination of "giallo" (yellow) and "Kirby" |
| Korean | 키비 Kibi | Transliteration of the Japanese name |
| Portuguese | Kiiby | From the Japanese name |
| Spanish | Keeby | - |
References
- ↑"The development team nicknamed this character "Keeby," a play on words from the Japanese word for "yellow."" –Kirby's Dream Collection booklet (Nintendo), pg. 24
- ↑2.02.1Super Smash Bros. (64) official website (JP) - Secrets of fighters' alternative colors
- ↑"—Was Kirby always pink?
Sakurai: I had been thinking he would be pink since we madeKirby's Dream Land, yes. Of course the Game Boy visuals had to be monochrome.
Shimizu: But Sakurai, you were the only one who thought Kirby was pink!
Sakurai: Yeah, that's right! Once it came time to create a full-color promotional illustration forKirby's Adventure, the staff were all talking about it: "What! You mean Kirby isn’t white?!" or "I thought he was yellow..." (laughs)
Iwata: Now that you mention it, on the cover for the American release ofKirby's Dream Land, Kirby was colored white. It had a very mysterious aura!
Miyamoto: I remember the first time I saw the color illustration. "Yeah, pink. That looks good!", I thought to myself. Normally a character like Kirby would have been yellow. Think Pac Man, or Noobow. (laughs) That’s why when I saw Kirby with a different color, it felt really fresh." -1993Kirby's Adventure developer interview (archive)
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
