King Dedede

King Dedede (Japanese: デデデ大王, Hepburn: Dedede Daiō) is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in Nintendo's Kirby video game series created by Masahiro Sakurai and developed by HAL Laboratory. Dedede first appeared in the 1992 video game Kirby's Dream Land as the main villain. He returned for all other games of the series except Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (2004) and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (2015), also appearing in several Kirby comic books, in the 2001 anime series and in the Super Smash Bros. series, more specifically Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.

King Dedede is the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land and the "arch-frenemy" of Kirby.^[1] Although Dedede is typically a major antagonist of the Kirby series, his moral character has been debated by video game critics; this is courtesy of his goals being driven by greed and selfishness rather than outright maliciousness, as well as demonstrating traits of camaraderie alongside Kirby in regards to either serious threats (such as in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards), or easy-going moments (such as in the minigames where Dedede is featured as a playable character), as well as many of his roles as the antagonist actually being the result of another enemy controlling him (such as in Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3).

Characteristics

King Dedede is an obese, blue bird^[2] that dresses in red and white royal finery with his personal emblem, a stylized version of his hand striking the V sign, embossed on the back of his robe. He also wears yellow mitten-like gloves, a red and yellow zigzag-patterned belt, and usually wields a giant wooden mallet as an offensive weapon. The mallet sometimes has other features built into it to increase its power and versatility, including a jet engine, precision bearings, and in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, a chargeable laser weapon for shooting at targets from afar. He has many of the same abilities as Kirby himself does, such as being able to inhale objects and spit them back out with tremendous force, and being able to breathe in huge amounts of air at once to hover and/or fly.^[3] Although he is considered to be a major antagonist of the series, critics have noted he does not fully fit the profile of a villain, tending to be merely greedy and selfish rather than truly evil.^[3][4] He even helps and fights alongside Kirby in some situations, and has been shown to compete with him in events such as speed-eating contests and mini-games.^[5][6]

Appearances

In the Kirby video game series

King Dedede is introduced to the series as the main antagonist of the game Kirby's Dream Land (1992),^[7] in which he steals Dream Land's food supply, prompting Kirby to travel to his castle and confront him.^[6] In Kirby's Adventure (1993), he breaks the Star Rod, the source of all dreams, into several pieces, preventing the inhabitants of Dream Land from having dreams, to keep Nightmare sealed in the Fountain of Dreams. However, Kirby defeats Dedede, who is only the penultimate boss, because Kirby did not know his intentions, and so he releases Nightmare.^[6][8] In Kirby's Dream Land 2 (1995), Dedede appears as the penultimate boss, and fights while being possessed by a spirit-like entity known as Dark Matter, the game's true final boss.^[9] In Kirby Super Star (1996), Dedede appears in the "Spring Breeze", "Gourmet Race", and "Samurai Kirby" minigames, as well as in the "Arena" minigame where he is fought alongside the rest of the game's bosses.^{[10][11][12][13]} Dedede is possessed by Dark Matter again in Kirby's Dream Land 3 (1997) to fight against Kirby as the game's penultimate boss.^[14]

Dedede plays the role of a protagonist in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (2000), helping Kirby in certain areas after Kirby once again saves him from possession by Dark Matter.^[15] Additionally, King Dedede is a playable character in the game's three minigames.^[16] Images of the game's beta show that Dedede was originally a playable character all throughout the game.^[17] In Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (2001), Dedede steals all of the stars from the sky for himself and Kirby needs to fight him to get them back.^[18][19] In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (2002), a remake of Kirby's Adventure, he plays the same role as in the original game.^[20][21] After his absence from Kirby and the Amazing Mirror (2004), he appears in Kirby Squeak Squad (2007) and is identical to his appearance in previous games, with the exception of a new ability to summon Parasol Waddle Dees. Unlike previous games, he is the first boss of the game, and he can easily be defeated by the Ice ability, which is supplied outside of his room.^[22] He appears in Kirby's Return to Dream Land (2011) as one of the four playable protagonists, alongside Kirby, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee,^[23] and as playable character in multi-player mode.^[5] Kirby: Triple Deluxe (2014) features a rhythm-based platforming mode, "Dedede's Drum Dash", in which Dedede is playable.^[24][25] Also, when the Story Mode is completed, the "Dededetour" sub-game is unlocked, allowing players to play through the game as Dedede. An enhanced, standalone version of "Dedede's Drum Dash" has been released on the Nintendo eShop under the title of Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe, a downloadable title, making it the first time Dedede has starred in his own game.^[26]

King Dedede also appears in several spin-off games in the series. He appears as the final boss in Kirby's Pinball Land (1993).^[27] In Kirby's Avalanche (1995), Dedede appears as the final opponent.^[28] He appears as the single boss in Kirby's Dream Course (1995), along with a robotic version of himself.^[29] In Kirby's Block Ball (1996), he is a hidden final boss.^[30] In Kirby's Star Stacker (1997), Dedede appears to antagonize Kirby during the Round Clear sub-game, in which Kirby has to reduce his hit points to zero in order to move on to the next stage.^[31] Additionally, there was a version of the game released only in Japan in 1998 which featured Dedede as the final boss in a short story mode.^[32] He is an unlockable character in Kirby Air Ride (2003) and Kirby Canvas Curse (2005).^[33][34] Dedede is a boss in Kirby's Epic Yarn (2010) and Kirby Mass Attack (2011).^[35][36] Though he is absent from the main story, Dedede appears in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (2015) as a collectible figurine.^[37] The game is also compatible with the King Dedede Amiibo, which Kirby can use for a temporary increase in health.^[38]

Other appearances

King Dedede has made several appearances outside of the Kirby video game series. He is featured in every Kirby manga adaptation; the first one was written by Yoshiko Sakuma, and published by Shogakukan originally in 1992,^[39] and the most recently is a 2012 Yuki Kawakami manga by Shogakukan, Hoshi no Kirby: Pack to Daibaku Show.^[40] Dedede is a main character in the 2001–2003 anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, in which he is the ruler of Dream Land who tries to defeat Kirby at any cost, usually by ordering monsters from Nightmare Enterprises.^[41] Dedede has also been featured in the Super Smash Bros. video game series. While originally planned for inclusion in the first installment of the series and its sequel, he did not appear as a playable character until 2008's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He made a return appearance as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U.^[42]

Reception

After his first appearance in Kirby's Dream Land, King Dedede has received generally positive reception. GamesRadar included Dedede on their list of "9 video game 'bad guys' who aren't really bad at all", noting "he actually only committed the 'crime' because he knew that a nightmare had infested the fountain and wanted to stop it from infiltrating the dreams of the country's citizens through the power of the rod."^[4] Although Dedede "has historically been the pink puffball's major nemesis",^[43] Complex stated his popularity was eventually surpassed by Meta Knight.^[44]

In 2007, IGN correctly speculated that Dedede could appear in a next Super Smash Bros. title since he "is the classic recurring villain of the Kirby franchise", and his creator, Masahiro Sakurai, is also the game director.^[45] UGO Networks remarked that he is "cool" because "he's a hammer-wielding, glove-wearing evil penguin."^[46] They also listed the fight against King Dedede in Kirby's Dream Land as the seventh hardest boss battle in video games in their "Top 50".^[47] He has been cited by Yahoo! Voices as one of the top five characters in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.^[48]

References