Kirby's Avalanche Box art forKirby's Avalanche from various regions Details Developer(s) Compile,Banpresto,HAL Laboratory Publisher(s) Nintendo Designer(s) Kazunori Ikeda Release date(s) SNES: February 1, 1995 April 25, 1995 Virtual Console (Wii): July 27, 2007 July 27, 2007 September 24, 2007 SNES: Nintendo Switch Online July 21, 2022[1] July 21, 2022 July 21, 2022 July 21, 2022 Platform(s) Super Nintendo Entertainment System Wii(Virtual Console) Nintendo Switch(SNES: Nintendo Switch Online) Supported languages American English, British English Rating(s) ESRB: / PEGI:

Game chronology ←Kirby's Dream Course Kirby's Dream Land 2 →

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Kirby's Avalanche, known asKirby's Ghost Trap in Europe and Australia, is a puzzle game developed byCompile, in collaboration withHAL Laboratory, that was released in 1995. It is a spinoff title and a direct modification of the Japanese puzzle gameSuper Puyo Puyo, except featuringKirby characters. The game, which can be played with one or two players, revolves around stacking multi-colored blobs (otherwise known as Puyos) and matching chains of the same color. Due to its similarities toSuper Puyo Puyo, this game was never released in Japan, making this the only coreKirby game with this distinction.

Story[edit]

The story ofKirby's Avalanche is simplistic, and largely conveyed through the manual. The most popular pastime inDream Land is a game called Avalanche. Since everyone likes to play Avalanche,Kirby thinks it would be a great idea to hold a tournament to see who the best player in Dream Land is. To that end, a tournament called the First Annual Dream Land's Avalanche Competition is held at theDream Fountain. Whoever wins will be the Avalanche Champion and receive the Dream Fountain Cup. The rules of the tournament are as follows: everyone in Dream Land makes their way to the Dream Fountain, and if two people meet, they play a round of Avalanche. The winner keeps going to the Dream Fountain, while the loser must stay behind. Once the final competitors reach the Dream Fountain, they will compete to decide the Avalanche Champion. The player takes control of Kirby to help him make it to the Dream Fountain and become the champion.

Gameplay[edit]

The rules inKirby's Avalanche are identical toSuper Puyo Puyo. Two players each have their own playing field, a grid of 72 spaces (6 across and 12 high). Pairs of differently-coloredPuyos (referred to in this game as blobs) fall from the top of the playing field and eventually touch the bottom. The goal is to drop and rotate the blobs in such a way that four or more of the same color connect with each other from above, below or to the side, in any combination. This done, they will disappear from the playing field. Any blobs above them will fall down and fill in the spots where the matched blobs once were.

Clearing blobs will sendGarbage Puyos (referred to in this game as boulders or ghosts) to the opponent's playing field. Boulders cannot be cleared when four or more of them touch, and can only disappear if a match of four colored blobs is accomplished right next to them. Because of this, they are essentially meant to waste space and make matching blobs more difficult.

It is possible to set up achain reaction by matching four blobs, and then letting other blobs fall into spots where they will connect with more blobs, clearing more of them one after another in succession. The more blobs that disappear from the result of a chain reaction, the more boulders will be sent to the opponent's playing field. Setting up a large enough chain will create the eponymous "avalanche" (or "ghost trap"); so many boulders will be dropped that the opponent has no chance to recover.

Just before the boulders rain down on a player's playing field, they will be shown icons that indicate how many boulders will drop. A small icon indicates one boulder, a bigger icon indicates 6 boulders, and a brown icon indicates 36 boulders. If a player cannot drop any more blobs (because the column where they drop, the third from the left, is full), that player will lose the game.

Some techniques found in later games of thePuyo Puyo series are not possible to perform in this game, such as"offsetting" (neutralizing boulders by matching blobs before they fall) or"double-rotation" (rotating blobs vertically when trapped in-between columns of other blobs).

Game modes[edit]

There are four options on the main menu forKirby's Avalanche: "Competition", "1P vs. 2P", "Practice", and "Options".

Competition[edit]

During the Competition mode of the game, Kirby faces a total of 16bosses in the order presented. These bosses do not possess any special skills (other than minor aesthetic differences), but their playing styles vary slightly, generally becoming faster and more aggressive as Kirby advances through the game. Each opponent is equivalent to another opponent fromPuyo Puyo, including their specific playstyle quirks (such as"first-instinct chains").

Notably, in the cutscenes between each round,Kirby is shown trash-talking his opponents and speaking in full sentences. This is a very unique and strange occurrence; in most of the rest of theKirby series, Kirby is not rude, and has rarely spoken outside of simple phrases, such as "hi". Instead, his behavior is more in line with the personality ofPuyo Puyo's protagonist,Arle Nadja, who is replaced by Kirby in this game.

There are three difficulty levels to Competition mode: Easy (otherwise referred to as the Learning Stage), Normal, and Hard.Waddle Dee,Bronto Burt andWaddle Doo are exclusive to the Learning Stage (and are the only opponents fought in that mode), whilePoppy Bros. Sr.,Whispy Woods andKabu are exclusive to the Normal setting. Individual battles are referred to as Stages, or "Lessons" in the case of the first three opponents.

Stage	Name	Appearance	Abbr.	Pre-Battle Exchange	Announcer Audio and Misc. Notes
Lesson 1	Waddle Dee		WADE	Kirby:Hi, Waddle Dee! Are you ready?!?	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Waddle_Dee.mp3 Waddle Dee never turns any of his blobs while they are falling. He plays rather passively, and rarely fast drops blobs. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isSkeleton T. During this stage, red blobs will never drop, meaning that only up to four colors will appear.
				Enemy:Umm, can we just walk together? The forest scares me...
				Kirby:Sorry, rules are rules!
Lesson 2	Bronto Burt		BRON	Enemy:Ah HA!! I have found my next victim!!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Bronto_Burt.mp3 Bronto Burt'sPuyo Puyo equivalent isNasu Grave. During this stage, red blobs will never drop, meaning that only up to four colors will appear.
				Kirby:Bronto Burt you bully, the pleasure will be all mine.
				Enemy:Shut up and play!
Lesson 3	Waddle Doo		WADO	Enemy:You did not treat Waddle Dee with respect... Now I, Waddle Doo will repay you in kind!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Waddle_Doo.mp3 Waddle Doo'sPuyo Puyo equivalent isMummy. During this stage, yellow blobs will never drop, meaning that only up to four colors will appear.
				Kirby:I don't think so!!
Stage 1	Poppy Bros. Sr.		PBSR	Enemy:Hi, Kirby! Want a bomb sandwich?	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Poppy_Bros_Sr.mp3 Poppy Bros. Sr. plays rather passively and rarely rotates blobs. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isDraco Centauros.
				Kirby:I'll breathe in your pathetic bombs and send them right back at you!
				Enemy:Stalemate... Okay, let's compete in a quick game of Avalanche!
Stage 2	Whispy Woods		WHIS	Enemy:Please don't tread on my roots, it would not be a wise decision.	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Whispy_Woods.mp3 Whispy Woods always opens the battle by attempting to build four rows of blobs at the bottom, and he will refill the bottom four rows if blobs from there are ever removed. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isSuketoudara.
				Kirby:I feel like some apple pie!
Stage 3	Kabu		KABU	Kirby:Who blocked the path with this boulder?	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Kabu.mp3 Kabu is the only enemy whose abbreviation is the same as his name. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isSukiya Podes.
				Enemy:Your road to glory ends here[sic]
				Kirby:OH!! Hi Kabu, are you ready for a game of Avalanche?
Stage 4	Broom Hatter		BRMH	Enemy:Oh what a mess! Must I clean up this entire forest?	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Broom_Hatter.mp3 Broom Hatter is the first opponent in the Hard setting and fills the leftmost and rightmost column to the top at the beginning of the fight. If blobs are removed from the side columns, she will always refill them. HerPuyo Puyo equivalent isHarpy, although her blobs do not release music notes, unlike Harpy.
				Kirby:I'd worry more about cleaning up your Avalanche skills first.
				Enemy:Dust, dust, sweep... Huh?!??
Stage 5	Squishy		SQUI	Enemy:I know what your dream is! But King Dedede was saying-	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Squishy.mp3 Squishy'sPuyo Puyo equivalent isSasori Man. In the European and Australian versions, the replacement of "Avalanche" to "Ghost Trap" causes his dialogue to overflow from his text box.[2][3]
				Kirby:Go meddle in someone else's affairs, Squishy, I've got to get to the Dream Fountain.
				Enemy:An eight-armed Avalanche for you then, Kirby!
Stage 6	Lololo & Lalala		LOLA	Kirby:To get this far you must have a-MAZE-ing skill Tee hee hee!![sic]	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Lololo_Lalala.mp3 Lololo and Lalala's blobs clear into musical notes, much likeHarpy. They prioritize clearing blobs over performing combos. TheirPuyo Puyo equivalent isPanotty. Their dialogue referencesHAL Laboratory'sEggerland series of maze games, which they originally debuted in as Lolo and Lala.
				Enemy:Oh yeah? Try and figure your way out of this!
Stage 7	Bugzzy		BUGZ	Enemy:ROOAAAAAAARRR!!!!!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Bugzzy.mp3 Bugzzy mainly focuses on slowly forming giant combos, filling Kirby's field with an immense amount of boulders. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isZombie.
				Kirby:Oh, I'm soooo scared[sic]
Stage 8	Paint Roller		PAIN	Enemy:Let me paint you a lovely portrait...	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Paint_Roller.mp3 Paint Roller'sPuyo Puyo equivalent isWitch. However, unlike Witch, his blobs do not release stars when they are removed.
				Kirby:Oh, how sweet of yo-
				Enemy:...of you losing to me, HA HA HA!
				Kirby:Paint Roller, you are the meanest art student I've ever met.
				Enemy:Student? HA! I am the MASTER!!
Stage 9	Heavy Mole		HVYM	Enemy:I am Heavy Mole, watch while I undermine your precious dream!!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Heavy_Mole.mp3 Heavy Mole is the first opponent fought at the Dream Fountain, and focuses primarily on rapidly destroying blobs rather than forming big chain reactions. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isZoh Daimaoh, though without his screen-shaking effect.
				Kirby:You are sneaky, but I will not be distracted by your under-handed tactics.
Stage 10	Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright		MS&B	Enemy:We rule both the night and the day!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Shine_Bright.mp3 Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright'sPuyo Puyo equivalent isSchezo Wegey.
				Enemy:This leaves no time for you Kirby! Be gone!!
				Kirby:I thrive at dusk and at dawn! I'll have you two fighting before the day is done.
Stage 11	Kracko		KRAC	Enemy:KRRR-RACKK!!!! Dance to my deadly music, or fry like a moth! HA HA!!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Kracko.mp3 Kracko's blobs release stars when they are removed, which is shared withWitch. HisPuyo Puyo equvialent isMinotauros.
				Kirby:You couldn't hit a barn sized lightning rod, Kracko!
Stage 12	Meta Knight		META	Enemy:None shall pass! En garde, Kirby!	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_Meta_Knight.mp3 Meta Knight is more skilled than other opponents at making a comeback when most of his playing field has been covered in boulders. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isRulue. The quote "None shall pass!" is a reference to theBlack Knight fromMonty Python and the Holy Grail.
				Kirby:But I have no sword!?!
				Enemy:Oh, you're so right... Then Avalanche it is, ha ha ha ha!!!
Final Stage	King Dedede		DEDE	Enemy:Kirby!! Your dream has carried you far but here it ends.	https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_voice_sample_King_Dedede.mp3 When Dedede's blobs land, his half of the screen shakes slightly. This has no effect on gameplay, however. HisPuyo Puyo equivalent isDark Prince, though his screen-shaking effect comes fromZoh Daimaoh.
				Enemy:The Dream Fountain Cup will be mine!!
				Kirby:Welcome King Dedede. And good luck to you too.

When Waddle Doo is defeated, King Dedede congratulates the player on their skill in the Learning Stage, then challenges them to try a higher difficulty. The high score table will be shown, and if the player got a high score, they will be prompted to input their initials. The game then returns to the title screen.

When King Dedede is defeated, the game displays a short ending cutscene, then the names of each of the characters, followed by the staff credits. If cleared with the COM Level set to Easy, Normal or Hard, the final message encourages the player to try the next COM Level, while if cleared on Hardest, the final message is a simple thanks for playing. Regardless of difficulty, at the end of the credits, a special code is revealed; holding A, B, X, and Y on the second controller during gameplay, then resetting the console with these buttons held, will unlock a special "custom" menu in the options. Much like clearing the Learning Stage, the best scores will then be shown, prompting the player to input their initials if they got a high score in the process.

1P vs. 2P[edit]

1P vs. 2P is the game's multiplayer mode, and requires two controllers to operate. Two players compete in a match of Avalanche. Player 1 will always be Kirby, while player 2 can be any of the opponents from Competition mode, selected at random. At the start of a match, each player can individually select their difficulty level on a scale from 1 to 5, which is represented by chili peppers: Mild, Medium, Spicy, Hot, and Cajun. This is another holdover fromPuyo Puyo, in which Arle's favorite food is curry, though this may possibly be a reference to theSuperspicy Curry as well, which came fromKirby's Dream Land. The difficulty level affects how fast the player's blobs fall, thus affecting reaction time. The number of rounds in each match can be adjusted through the Options menu. When a match is done, the loser has 10 seconds to push their controller's START button and return to the difficulty select. Otherwise, the game displays the high score table before returning to the title screen.

Practice[edit]

Practice mode allows the player to play a single round of Avalanche without having to compete against an opponent. The goal is instead to last as long as possible and rack up a high score. Like 1P vs. 2P, the player can select their starting difficulty speed, with a choice between Mild, Spicy (which adds 40,000 points to the score), and Cajun (which adds 90,000 points to the score). Player 2 can join as well, though there is no incentive to compete other than for score, as boulders do not appear. When both players receive a game over, the best scores are shown; if either got a high score, they will be prompted to input their initials before the game returns to the title screen.

Options[edit]

Options mode allows the player to adjust the game settings in the various modes, as outlined below. This also includes thesound test option to listen to the game's music and sound effects, and the input test option to ensure that the controllers' buttons are functioning properly. As mentioned above, some options are only available after entering a special code.

There are also further, unused special options that can only be accessed through a game-altering device, such as a GameShark. One of these options is an early form of the "offsetting" rule.^[3]

Staff[edit]

The following is a list of staff who have worked onKirby's Avalanche:

Masahiro Sakurai mentions in hisMasahiro Sakurai on Creating Games video regardingMeteos^[4] that he served as an uncredited supervisor forKirby's Avalanche. It is unclear exactly how involved he was, as he only mentions it in passing.

Nintendo Switch Online description[edit]

Everyone's favorite round, pink hero takes a break from swallowing his enemies to put your brain to work in this fast-paced puzzle game. Players take control of Kirby and match wits with well-known enemies from the Kirby series (including his archrival, King Dedede!) in an effort to win the First Annual Dream Land Avalanche Competition. This simple-but-addictive gameplay revolves around brightly colored blobs and boulders. When the right amount of matching blobs are stacked, they explode and rain down boulders on your opponent's field of play! Keep going until your screen is clear to move on to the next round. But be careful—the farther you advance, the faster the blobs fall, and the smarter the opponents get! Are you good enough to help Kirby become the avalanche king?

Trivia[edit]

• Kirby's Avalanche is one of several international rebrandings of thePuyo Puyo series for western audiences, with other examples includingDr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine and the "Bug Drop" minigame inTimon & Pumbaa's Jungle Games.
  • Although most traces ofSuper Puyo Puyo were removed fromKirby's Avalanche, the columns in the title screen still have inscriptions that read "PUYOPYO".
• Most of the game's soundtrack consists of remixed music fromKirby's Adventure andKirby's Dream Course.
• Interestingly, the modern designs for several characters (such asKracko andMeta Knight) first debuted in this game, ahead of their appearance inKirby Super Star. It is likely that this game's development overlapped withKirby Super Star, so the newer designs were used while the later game was still being developed.
• The staff credits can be viewed immediately if the game is started or rebooted while player 1 holds L + right and player 2 holds R + left.^[3]
• Kirby's Avalanche was one of several titles compatible withXBAND, anonline service for the SNES that functioned through an expansion cartridge connected to a modem. This technically makes it the firstKirby game with online multiplayer, though the first one with native online compatibility wasKirby Battle Royale, released 22 years later.

Gallery[edit]

Artwork[edit]

• 
  Kirby
• 
  Lololo & Lalala
• 
  King Dedede

Sprites[edit]

• 
  Kirby
• 
  Kirby
• 
  Kirby's icon from the credits
• 
  Waddle Dee
• 
  Bronto Burt
• 
  Waddle Doo
• 
  Poppy Bros. Sr.
• 
  Kabu
• 
  Broom Hatter
• 
  Squishy
• 
  Lololo
• 
  Lalala
• 
  Bugzzy
• 
  Paint Roller
• 
  Heavy Mole
• 
  Mr. Shine
• 
  Mr. Bright
• 
  Kracko
• 
  Meta Knight
• 
  King Dedede

Screenshots[edit]

• 
  American title screen
• 
  Mode select screen
• 
  Lesson 1 (Easy) gameplay againstWaddle Dee
• 
  Kirby meets up with Whispy Woods
• 
  Broom Hatter talking to Kirby
• 
  Kirby going againstHeavy Mole
• 
  Game over screen
• 
  Custom Options menu

Audio[edit]

• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:Kav_Level_1_intro.mp3
  Pre-stage theme (Easy)
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Butter_Building.oga
  Easy stage
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Yogurt_Yard_clip.mp3
  Normal stage
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Underground_Stage_Sample.mp3
  Hard stage
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Mid-Boss_Battle.mp3
  Dedede cutscene
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Dedede_Stage.mp3
  Dedede Stage
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Kirby_Dance.mp3
  Victory
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Ending.wav
  Ending
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Game_Over_jingle.mp3
  Game Over (sound effect)
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:KAv_Game_Over.mp3
  Game Over
• https://wikirby.com/wiki/File:Ice_Cream_Island_KAva.oga
  1P vs. 2P

Names in other languages[edit]

References

External links[edit]

• Puyo Puyo, the series from which this game is derived, at Hard Drop Tetris Wiki
• Kirby's Avalanche at Puyo Nexus, aPuyo Puyo wiki
• Kirby's Avalanche on Kirby Informer
• English manual (external archive) (second archive)

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