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Scare Tactics - Part I
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Scare Tactics - Part I is the 45th (52nd in the 4Kids broadcast) episode of theKirby: Right Back at Ya! series. In this episode,Kirby and the children ofDream Land are invited by the adults ofCappy Town to participate in a "spook-out" and challenged to make it through a dark woodland and graveyard lined with ghost props and other things meant to scare them as part of an annual tradition. In retaliation for not being invited,King Dedede andEscargoon endeavor to hijack this event to scare everyone themselves, but are driven off when they are scared by Kirby. After clearing the spook-out challenge, a storm kicks up which forces Kirby,Tiff, andTuff to take refuge in an abandoned mansion, but Tuff is soon separated from the others and is sent off to getMeta Knight to help him get them back out. Inside the house, Kirby and Tiff are set upon by what looks like a real ghost, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger leading into the next one:Scare Tactics - Part II.
Characters[edit]
The following characters appear in this episode:
| Cast of "Scare Tactics - Part I" | |
|---|---|
| Character | Selected quote |
| Primary characters | |
| "Heh heh heh heh heh heh eyuuu..." | |
| "All it is is a bunch of phony ghost dummies out in the woods! This time I'm not gonna let 'em fool me no matter how scary they look!" | |
| "I wish my head was as empty as Kirby's is..." | |
| "That cowardly cop is gonna tell them Cappies these woods really is spooked!"[sic] | |
| "It must be jealousy! They all know you're tops when it comes to terrifyin' tots! Why you could out-spook everybody there!" | |
| Secondary characters | |
| "I met Chief Bookem on a spook-out when I mistook him for a werewolf!" | |
| (no dialogue) | |
| "Come on, Tiffy! Don't be a spoilsport! Just give it a try!" | |
| "From the scream she let out, I'd have to say you're right, Mayor!" | |
| "You can't have a good spook-out without doin' lots of scarin', right?" | |
| "I remember when I was a kid I got spooked so bad I wet my overalls!" | |
| "I held my hubby's hand when the trail got too scary!" | |
| "Well, I guess if everybody else is..." | |
| "I'll go if Tiff goes!" | |
| "How's that? You saw an actual ghost?!" | |
| "Hmm... I wonder who could be behind this nonsense? Take me to this...haunted house." | |
| "Who's behind these sinister spirits, and will Kirby and his friends survive them?! Find out...next time!" | |
| "You're way over your limit, boys!" | |
| "You're brave now, but soon, we'll have you blubbering!" | |
| "The kids these days don't have a clue about what it means to be frightened!" | |
| "Uhh...I'll go if she goes..." | |
| "What good's bein' a kid if you don't have nightmares once in a while?" | |
| (no dialogue) | |
Locations[edit]
Plot synopsis[edit]
The episode begins out in theDream Land countryside, whereKirby and the kids are playing a game of soccer whileTiff reads nearby. During the game, Kirby is mistaken for the ball and kicked into the woods byTuff, prompting Tiff to go and get him. After finding Kirby, Tiff proceeds to return from the woods, but gets lost. She then steps on a tripwire that causes a puppet resembling a ghost to swing out at her, giving Tiff a good scare. It is then revealed thatMayor Len Blustergas set up this trap to practice his scaring skills for the upcoming "spook-out". Later on, the kids walk throughCappy Town reading a flyer promoting the spook-out, and notice all of the adult Cappies talking about it; relishing in the opportunity to give the kids a good scare and saying it will make their childhoods complete. Tiff has her doubts, but the others tell her to lighten up a bit and she agrees to give the event a try, intent on not letting herself be spooked. Meanwhile atCastle Dedede,King Dedede is outraged that he was not invited to the spook-out, and decides he will show them up by hosting his own. He sets out to order a monster fromNight Mare Enterprises to help with the task, but N.M.E. refuses to send him anything due to his outstanding debt, leaving Dedede to fend for himself this time.
That night, Tiff and the rest of the kids head to the edge of the woods where they formally enter the spook-out set up by the adults.Iro is picked to go in first, but almost immediately comes running right back out in a panic, setting a new record for shortest time spent in the spook-out. Seeing this, Tiff resolves to go next and make it all the way through and picks Kirby to go with her, while Tuff follows suit as to not get left behind. As they make their way along the path, Kirby steps on another tripwire which causes a ghost puppet to drop. Tuff tries to run for it, but Tiff stops him and points out the ghost is a fake. Chief Bookem follows closely behind and admires the ghost puppets that pop up, when he encounters one that was not originally in the plans. Believing it to be a real ghost, he runs off in a panic, but the ghost in question was just Escargoon in a sheet. Him and King Dedede plan on hijacking the event in order to make the Cappies believe there are real ghosts in the woods, and as several of the adults start running out of the woods and relaying their experiences, this plan starts to work and the main group waiting outside makes a run for it.
As this happens, Tiff starts to lose her nerve, but remains determined, especially when seeing that Kirby is still enjoying himself. When encountering a series of floating blue lights, Tiff chucks a rock into the bush which inadvertently hits Escargoon and pushes on. Seeing this, King Dedede grows more determined then ever to scare them. As they continue, Tiff and Tuff comment on Kirby's apparent lack of imagination, as he remains as care-free as ever. At that moment, Escargoon tries his ghost trick again to scare them and it nearly works, but Kirby jumps onto Escargoon and pulls him down. Before Tiff can recognize him however, Escargoon makes a break for it and disappears into the woods. Escargoon breathes a sigh of relief, but soon realizes he too is now lost in the spooky woods. In a panic, he runs into King Dedede and scares him, causing the King to smack Escargoon repeatedly with his hammer. When Escargoon reveals it's only him, King Dedede gives him a few more whacks for good measure. After assuring himself that there are no real ghosts in the woods, King Dedede turns around and sees a creature wearing a Jack-o-lantern standing on the hood of theRoyal Racecar. After scaring both Dedede and Escargoon away, this creature is revealed to be Kirby, and Tiff is relieved to have finally gotten rid of the two of them.
Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby manage to make it out of the woods and reach the graveyard mentioned as part of the tour. Kirby points them to a bunch of arrow signs which they presume to be directing them to the prize thatProfessor Curio buried for anyone brave enough to get this far. They end up finding the buried treasure and let Kirby open it, revealing a medal with a Cappy superhero on it and a note commending the kids' bravery. Kirby celebrates, but Tiff and Tuff are bemused, having expected a better prize. The celebration is cut short, however, when a sudden storm begins, prompting the group to take cover in a nearby abandoned mansion they did not notice before. As they try to enter, a sudden gust of wind kicks up from inside which leads to Tuff being stranded outside the house while Tiff and Kirby are swept inside and the door behind them locked. From inside, Tiff directs Tuff to go and get help and he runs off. On the way, he runs intoMeta Knight and recruits the maskedStar Warrior to help him get Tiff and Kirby out of the house. Meanwhile, Tiff and Kirby try to stay strong, but are met by a glowing apparition which forms from several small lights. The episode ends on a cliffhanger as anarrator sets up the scenario for the beginning of the next episode:Scare Tactics - Part II.
Differences between versions[edit]
- In the Japanese version, there is an extra scene where Mayor Len and Hana walk through the woods. Mayor Len ends up fainting after one of his own ghost puppets startles him.
- WhenTuff first runs into Meta Knight in the Japanese version, Meta Knight is shown as a silhouette. In the international versions, the picture brightness and gamma were adjusted to a higher level so that he can be seen more clearly, though still in shadow.
Dialogue differences[edit]
- In the Japanese version, the event held by the Cappies is referred to as "Kimodameshi", which is a traditional Japanese event where participants are challenged to brave spooky places. Kirby attempts to pronounce the last part of the word in this version.
- In the Japanese version, King Dedede andEscargoon openly mock the Cappies by repeating their justification for the event back at them after scaringChief Bookem out of the woods.
- In the Japanese version, Chef Kawasaki claims he sawhitodama in the woods. Hitodama are a form of lost soul in Japanese mythology that resemble will-o'-the-wisps.
- In the Japanese version, Meta Knight explains that he saw theMonster Delivery System operate without anyone using it before heading withTuff to the haunted house.
- As is standard, there is no external narration at the end in the Japanese version.
Trivia[edit]
- In this episode, Tiff and many other characters insist there are no such things as ghosts, despite seeinga real ghost in theEscargoon Squad episode.
- During the scene when Iro is fleeing from the forest and crashes into the crowd, Tiff's torch momentarily goes out for a few frames before the flame reappears again. This appears to be an animation error, as the burning head of the torch also vanishes in that moment.
Gallery[edit]
Kirby and the kids play soccer while Tiff reads nearby.
Tiff recovers Kirby after he was kicked into the woods.
The kids look over the invitation to the "spook-out".
King Dedede receives news about the spook-out as his Waddle Dees tend to him.
The kids arrive at the spook-out.
Iro fails the challenge within seconds of starting it.
Tiff prevents Tuff from chickening out.
Kirby plays with the ghost puppet.
Chief Bookem is scared off by a ghost that was not part of the set-up.
King Dedede and Escargoon laugh as they successfully take over the event.
The Cappies run after they convince themselves there are real ghosts in the woods.
Kirby gets an evil look in his eyes as he continues down the path.
Escargoon recoils from a rock chucked at him inadvertently.
Kirby saves Tuff from a twig that has him snagged.
King Dedede clobbers Escargoon repeatedly after being startled by him.
Kirby wears a Jack-o-lantern to scare King Dedede and Escargoon off.
Kirby, Tiff, and Tuff celebrate their victory over the interlopers.
Kirby spots an arrow leading to the grand prize.
Kirby and the kids take cover from a storm by heading to an abandoned mansion.
A fierce breeze from inside the mansion separates Tuff from the others.
Tuff runs into Meta Knight in the woods and recruits his help.
Tiff and Kirby huddle together as they wait for rescue.
The final shot of the episode
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | 真夏の夜のユーレイ！前編 manatsu no yoru no yūrei! zenpen | A Midsummer Night's Scream! - Part 1 A play on words on the Japanese title of the Shakespearean playA Midsummer Night's Dream (真夏の夜の夢). |
| Italian | La notte dello spettro burlone (prima parte) | The night of the prankster spectre (part one) |
| Brazilian Portuguese | Táticas Horripilantes - Primeira Parte | Horrifying Tactics - First Part |
