Mr. Masahiro Sakurai, working for a little company called HAL Labs, had the project of making a new Gameboy game, one for beginning gamers in which any player could reach the ending. During the production, he would need to create a dummy, until graphics and later code would be filled it. The dummy he created was a funny smiling blob that soon became the star of the game. Everyone liked the funny little blob so much, they decided to expand on it.

The blob was first named Popopo, with the game called 'Twinkle Popopo'. Then later he became Kirby, and the series in Japan was called 'Hoshi no Kirby', or 'Kirby of the Stars'. Rumors spread that Kirby was named after the famous vacuum company, but in fact he was named after the Nintendo Lawyer John Kirby, who once had won a major case where Universal Studios attempted to sue Nintendo, saying the Donkey Kong character infringed on the King Kong copyright.

Because Kirby's career started on the black-and-white Gameboy, no one was sure exactly what color he was. Mr. Sakurai intended for him to be pink, while Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of such Nintendo franchises as the Legend of Zelda and Super Mario, believed he should be yellow. But Sakurai's idea won out, and the Japanese box art for the first Kirby game in 1992, Kirby's Dream Land, showed him as pink, but he was shown as white on the US cover. But when Kirby's Adventure came out for the NES, he became pink in the US as well.

For Kirby's Adventure, the Kirby team tackled a concept in which beginners could complete the game, but also appeal to advanced players. Then the genius idea came that Kirby could inhale his baddies and copy their ability. This way, beginners could easily get through the game just swallowing and shooting, while advanced players could have different options and choices. This has since become Kirby's signature move and as he has advanced through the years it only gets better!

Who is Kirby? What is Kirby? Where's he from?

Deep in the heart of the Universe, many light years from earth, there is a shining star with multi-colored rings called Popstar. On Popstar, there is a beautiful little place called Dream Land, where the citizens live a peaceful existence. They spend their days eating delicious food, napping and then gathering with friends to tell their dreams. This is Kirby's homeland.

Kirby is a cheerful, innocent and brave little boy with a round, squishy pink body, stubby little arms, red feet, and a smiling face with rosy cheeks. He loves to sleep, and he loves to eat even more. Despite his harmless appearance though, Kirby has amazing abilities.

He can inhale his enemies into his mouth, and either spit them out or swallow them. Starting with Kirby's Adventure, Kirby gained the ability to 'copy' an enemy's powers. He could breathe fire, wield a sword, become a martial artist- or even become a UFO! It added a whole new level of variety to his games. In later games, Kirby would get a special hat to wear for each 'Copy Ability' he gained.

No one really knows what Kirby is- his kind has never been given a name, but fans have made up all sorts of names, like creampuffs and puffballs.

Kirby's Friends

Kirby is lucky that he is not alone on his adventures, as he has tons of friends. All through out Popstar Kirby has friends and characters he knows. However, you can find more about them through playing the games, or just checking out our game guides. Here are a few of Kirby's most well known friends that appear in Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3, among others.

	Gooey Gooey is one of Kirby's best friend, first appearing in Kirby's Dreamland 3. He's a piece of Dark Matter, but he's a nice guy.
	Rick the Hamster A cute friend that rules the grassy terrains. Rick has helped Kirby out a couple of times in his adventures.
	Coo the Owl Coo is a wise and reserved owl that helps Kirby by lifting him off the ground and flying him around.
	Kine the Fish Kirby's fishy friend is eager to help and makes underwater predicaments extremely easy for Kirby, which can be tough work otherwise.
	Nago the Cat Nago is a purrfect friend to Kirby, as he helps in on the ground with his sneaky moves and abilities. Eager to lend a hand, Nago has appeared in one adventure.
	Chu Chu the Octopus Chu Chu is an excellent friend both above ground and under water. From her flying broom ability to natural underwater skills, she makes a wonderful teammate.
	Pitch the Bird Good things come in small packages, as Pitch proves. Despite his size Pitch has some unique and powerful moves. Eager to help Pitch is a valued friend.

Kirby gains many other friends in later games, who offer their unique abilities to aid him in his quests.

Bad Guys

In Kirby's universe, every planet has a Fountain of Dreams. It protects against nightmares and creates wonderful dreams that the dreamer wishes to his heart's content. The Star Rod is at its center, giving it power.

Many things have gone wrong, like when the ruler of Dream Land, King Dedede stole the Star Rod and breaking it to giving a piece to each of his friends. Without the star rod, not a single Dreamlander had a dream.

He once stole all the food from Dream Land because he was greedy, but more than once he was possessed by the evil Dark Matter, a being that wishes to take the peaceful, cheerful planet Popstar and drain it of it's good. King Dedede really isn't that bad, he's just misunderstood... and easily possessed!

Kirby has taken on the tasks and overcome the obstacles that have been thrown at Popstar, and handled King Dedede's greed. He is the Hero of Dreams and the protector of Popstar, a title he did not intentionally earn. Without his friends' help the tasks would have been a lot harder, maybe impossible.

Kirby has met very interesting characters in his travels, with unique abilities and looks. The most mystifying one is Meta Knight, a heavily armored swordsmen who endlessly challenges Kirby. The strangest thing is, when Kirby is victorious in battle against him, he shows his true form - which is strikingly a lot like Kirby! Many theories have been made as to who exactly Meta Knight is, but there are no answers. Meta Knight has both helped and fought against Kirby, making his loyalties unclear.

The Future

Kirby has graced every Nintendo console released, and has games planned for the newest ones as well. For so long, Kirby has been a very underrated Nintendo character, but he proved his worth in cuteness when he took on the heavyweights in both Super Smash Bros. and it's sequel, Super Smash Bros. Melee.

Kirby crossed over from games to TV in 2002 with his own Saturday morning cartoon called Kirby: Right Back at Ya. It finished airing in Japan and the US with 100 episodes, and still continues to air around the world.

The future just gets brighter and brighter with Kirby, coincidentally happening quite recently. While Kirby just seems to rise only higher, only time will tell.

To be Continued. ;)