A Game Over occurs when Kirby or any other playable character loses all of their lives during a game. This results in the game ending, often leading to a Continue screen where the player can choose to continue from the beginning of the level or stage (with point penalties if applicable), or quit to the main menu or title screen. Generally speaking, a Game Over is not a huge impediment to progress in the Kirby series, especially in more recent titles, and in many cases can be seen as unnecessary. Despite this, most games in the series utilize Game Overs as a natural consequence of using 1-Ups.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Dream Land[edit]

The first entry in the series, Kirby's Dream Land, established how the Game Over screen generally operates in the series overall. If Kirby loses all of his lives, the game shows Game Over on a white screen before showing Kirby sleeping on the Continue screen. Continuing will cause the pointer hand to move down and prod Kirby to wake him up and direct him back to the game. Kirby will then continue from the beginning of whichever stage he was in, with five lives and a 20,000 point deduction. Ending the game has the hand charge up and simply knock Kirby away before returning to the title screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Dream Land.

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  The Continue screen.

Kirby's Adventure[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby's Adventure functions similarly to the previous game, but features a different look and theme. Continuing will return Kirby to the level he was in, with the stages he's so far unlocked still open. The point penalty for continuing is now 50,000. Ending the game causes Kirby to wake up, eat the hand and fall back to sleep, which causes the game to return to the title screen.

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  Game Over screen (NES version)

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  Continue Screen (NES version)

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  Game Over screen (3D Classics version)

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  Continue screen (3D Classics version)

Kirby's Pinball Land[edit]

Falling out of the pinball table in Kirby's Pinball Land puts Kirby in a room similar to a Goal Game, where he can jump back up to the table to continue playing. If he does not return to the table, he loses a life. If this happens with no lives remaining, the game ends and the score for the current game is shown.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Pinball Land.

Kirby's Dream Course[edit]

When Kirby loses all his lives in Kirby's Dream Course, the Game Over screen is shown with a sparkling background, followed by the scorecard for the current game and the Continue screen. Continuing causes a Warp Star to burst through the ground where Kirby is sleeping, returning Kirby to the stage he last played. Ending the game causes the pointer hand to poke Kirby repeatedly, but he does not wake up. Then, the hand pulls a rope from the ceiling that causes a giant star to crush Kirby, but he still snoozes peacefully. The hand then gives up, shrugs, and moves to the bottom off-screen, before returning to the title screen.

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  The initial Game Over screen, shown after running out of lives

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  Kirby hops back onto the Warp Star if "Continue" is selected.

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  Kirby has a giant star dropped on him, but still snoozes, if "Game End" is selected.

Kirby's Avalanche[edit]

In Kirby's Avalanche, the game ends when too many blobs reach the top of the screen, causing Kirby's screen to collapse and Game Over to be displayed. The Continue screen shows a distressed Kirby surrounded by blobs, with a rapid countdown to continue the game before it returns to the title screen. This Game Over screen is directly based off that of Super Puyo Puyo, the game that Kirby's Avalanche is a modification of.

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  Kirby looking distressed on the Game Over screen of Kirby's Avalanche.

Kirby's Dream Land 2[edit]

The Game Over screen for Kirby's Dream Land 2 features Kirby, Rick, Kine, and Coo sleeping. Continuing causes a Warp Star to appear, letting Kirby and the Animal Friends wake up and use it to return to the game. Ending the game causes the background to change to nighttime before returning to the title screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Dream Land 2.

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  The Game Over screen in the Super Game Boy version.

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  Quit screen (selecting Game End)

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  The Quit screen in the Super Game Boy version.

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  The Continue screen.

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  The Continue screen in the Super Game Boy version.

Kirby's Block Ball[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby's Block Ball shows Kirby with a cross-shaped patch angrily pointing to a sign displaying 'Continue' or 'End', with the score for the current game shown at the top.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Block Ball.

Kirby Super Star / Kirby Super Star Ultra[edit]

Running out of lives in Kirby Super Star or Kirby Super Star Ultra takes the game to the Continue screen, where the choice can be made either to "Continue" or "Game End" ("Quit" in Kirby Super Star Ultra). Continuing causes the pointer hand to fly down to the sleeping Kirby, remove his hat, and change it into a boom cone to wake him up. Startled, he flees to the right, as the hand waves his hat like a tissue to cheer him on.

Ending the game, however, causes the pointer hand to lift Kirby up from above the selection screen to the Moon. The hand gently places Kirby on the Moon before wrapping a blanket over him and tucking him to sleep, thus returning to the title screen.

Based on the game being played, selecting 'Continue' will do the following:

• Spring Breeze / Dyna Blade / Revenge of Meta Knight / Revenge of the King - Place Kirby back at the beginning of whatever stage he was felled in, with score and lives reset.
• The Great Cave Offensive - Place Kirby back at the point where he last saved his progress, with score and lives reset.
• Milky Way Wishes - Return to the level hub, with score and lives reset.
  • Vs. Marx - Place Kirby back to the beginning of the fight with Marx.

Selecting "End" will return the game to the corkboard menu. The continue option is not available in The Arena, Helper to Hero, and The True Arena. Getting KO'd in any of the boss endurance modes shows the defeated player, along with text displaying the number of enemies defeated, with Kirby Super Star Ultra showing additional text based on how far the player advanced.

The Kirby Super Star Ultra Game Over replaces the moon with Popstar and the hand makes Kirby float to the upper right corner instead of walking to the right if "Continue" is chosen, but the screen otherwise remains the same.

Kirby Super Star[edit]

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  The Game Over screen.

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  The Continue screen.

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  Choosing Continue.

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  Kirby sleeping on the Moon after ending the game.

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  Failing the Gourmet Race grand prix.

Kirby Super Star Ultra[edit]

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  The Game Over screen.

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  The Continue screen.

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  Choosing Continue.

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  Kirby sleeping on Planet Popstar after ending the game.

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  Failing the Gourmet Race grand prix.

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  Failing The True Arena.

Kirby's Star Stacker[edit]

In both Game Boy and Super Famicom versions of Kirby's Star Stacker, the game ends if too many panels stack up, causing them to hit the ceiling. Continuing restarts the game and score, while quitting causes the pointer hand to crush Kirby, who then proceeds to fall asleep, before returning to the title screen.

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  One of the Challenge mode Game Over screens.

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  The Game Over screen for the Story Mode in the Super Famicom version of Kirby's Star Stacker.

Kirby's Dream Land 3[edit]

The Game Over screen for Kirby's Dream Land 3 shows a still of Kirby, Gooey, and his Animal Friends looking dejected underneath the Game Over text.

If Kirby loses to any of the bosses on Boss Butch, the Game Over screen displays an illustration of Kirby being defeated by the boss he lost to. The player can quit back to the Boss Butch starting screen by pressing any button.

In the Jumping sub-game, the player's total scores will be displayed on the Game Over screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Dream Land 3

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  A collage of the various images shown if Kirby is defeated by a boss in the Boss Butch

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards[edit]

The Game Over screen for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards features Kirby, Adeleine, Waddle Dee and King Dedede all sleeping with a black background with a spotlight on them. Strangely, Ribbon is nowhere to be seen.

In Boss Battles, the Game Over screen displays text that says "It's hopeless...", and features a dejected Kirby in the center with King Dedede, Waddle Dee, and Adeleine disappointedly staring at him. This screen also uses the same music as the regular Game Over screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

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  Game Over screen for Boss Battles in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble uses a rearrangement of the music from Kirby's Dream Land. Continuing has Kirby wake up, and the game continues, putting Kirby at the beginning of the stage he got a Game Over on. Quitting the game returns to the title screen instead.

Getting a Game Over results in the loss of both the Red and Blue Stars collected on the stage Kirby got a Game Over on. In that case, Kirby will have to collect them again.

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  The Game Over screen from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble.

Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land[edit]

In Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, continuing only results in being given three lives, as opposed to five from a fresh start. Additionally, the point deduction is now half of the current score instead of 50,000. In the multiplayer mode, the Game Over screen shows all Kirbys laying on the ground, knocked out. The number of them present depends on the number of players (from 2 to 4). There is no option to continue or quit, and after pressing A, all players go back to the title screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land.

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  The Game Over screen in multiplayer.

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  Multiplayer Pause screen for a Game Over.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror[edit]

There is no proper Game Over screen for the main mode in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror. Instead, if Kirby runs out of lives, he is instantly brought back to the Central Circle with two lives. In multiplayer, one player is prompted whether to borrow a life from another to continue playing from the same room.

Getting a true Game Over in this game is only possible in the Boss Endurance. This Game Over screen shows Kirby face-down in a purple circle with a bandage on his head, with the phrases "Game Over" and "Try Again!" surrounding the circle. In multiplayer, if one or more players lose all their health during Boss Endurance, they are met with a "Game Over" caption but can continue watching the progress of remaining players.

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  The Game Over screen from Boss Endurance

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  The Multiplayer Boss Endurance Game Over screen.

Kirby: Canvas Curse[edit]

The Game Over screen for Kirby: Canvas Curse shows an ominous black and white background, with "Continue" and "Quit" displayed on the touch screen. Continuing has Kirby fall and bounce to the left, and quitting has him bounce to the right.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby: Canvas Curse.

Kirby: Squeak Squad[edit]

In the Game Over screen for Kirby: Squeak Squad, Kirby is sleeping with his Sleep hat. Continuing causes Kirby to wake up and run off. Quitting causes Kirby to briefly wake up before falling back to sleep, followed by returning to the title screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby: Squeak Squad.

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  The Game Over screen in Boss Endurance

Kirby Mass Attack[edit]

Kirby Mass Attack does not use a 1-Up system. Instead, the game is over if no Mini-Kirbys remain on the stage. Here, the last Kirby will turn into an angel, similar to the Cupid ability from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, and will float off the screen. The game will then return to the world map, with however many Kirbys were together before starting the stage, and the stage left incomplete (unless it was completed beforehand). A Game Over can also happen if any of the Wee Birdees are dropped in Sandy Canyon - Stage 11, if the Teetering Tree collapses in Dedede Resort - Stage 11 or if the Skull Tower collapses in Volcano Valley - Stage 8.

Often, if a Game Over occurs, Daroach will approach the Kirbys with his airship and give them some advice. Additionally, getting a Game Over three times in a row in the same stage will cause an Invincible Candy to appear at the beginning of said stage, making this the only way to obtain Invincible Candy in the game (as opposed to Jumbo Candy).

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby Mass Attack.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land / Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is similar to the one in Kirby's Adventure and Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, though it bears slightly alternate aesthetics. Continuing has the pointer hand prompt Kirby to get back up, and quitting has Kirby eat the hand and return to sleep, sending the player back to the title screen.

Continuing returns Kirby to the level hub, at the door of the stage he got the game over in, with eight lives and no point stars. No other penalty is incurred besides having to restart the stage (if it was not already complete). The only exception to this is the Magolor boss fight in Another Dimension, where continuing returns Kirby to the preparation room, and the fight picks up from the phase Kirby got a Game Over in.

If player 1 loses on The Arena or The True Arena, the Game Over shows the characters used fainted and falling to the bottom of the craggy area seen in the corresponding mid-boss room. On the top of the screen is text that says "K.O'd in Round #". If the character is wearing a Dress-Up Mask at that time, it will also fall off from the character's face and land on the floor.

The glove that appears in the Game Over menu is referred to internally in the data as "Master Hand" starting in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. However, this glove has never been named outside of the internal data.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

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  Model of the pointer hand

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby: Triple Deluxe is similar in design to that of the previous game. Continuing has the pointer hand wake Kirby up and direct him to run towards the screen to return to the game whereas quitting has Kirby wake up, eat the hand and fall back asleep before the game returns to the title screen.

In the Kirby Fighters sub-game, if Kirby is defeated in Single-Player Mode, he gets a Game Over. The player is given a choice to either quit or try the round again. Selecting the option to continue will, however, not reset the timer for the current round and will continue running without any penalties. In Dedede's Drum Dash, if King Dedede either falls off the stage or runs out of health himself, it will be an instant Game Over and the stage must be restarted from the very beginning.

If Kirby loses on The Arena or The True Arena, the Game Over shows a fainted Kirby with a shaft of light shining on him, amidst a dark background. On the top of the screen is text that says "K.O'd in Round #", and a royal banner on the bottom that encourages the player to try harder.

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  The game over screen in story mode.

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  The game over screen in Dedede's Drum Dash.

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  The game over screen in Kirby Fighters.

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  The game over screen in The Arena.

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  The game over screen in The True Arena.

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  The Game Over screen in Dededetour

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  Model of the pointer hand

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe[edit]

In Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe, if King Dedede runs out of health in a stage, it will result in a Game Over, forcing the player to restart the stage from the very beginning.

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  The Game Over Screen in Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe.

Kirby Fighters Deluxe[edit]

If Kirby gets a Game Over in the Single-Player Mode of Kirby Fighters Deluxe, he has the option to either restart the round he failed on or quit to the main menu. Selecting the option to continue will, however, not reset the timer for the current round and will continue running without any penalties.

During the boss battle against Team DDD, if the player gets a Game Over, Team DDD will reduce their numbers to a lower level of difficulty, no less than Team DDD24.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby Fighters Deluxe.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse features Kirby and Elline sleeping. Continuing will return Kirby to the stage, but will reset the score. Quitting will return the game to the title screen.

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  English game over screen.

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  Japanese game over screen.

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  Latin American Spanish game over screen.

Kirby: Planet Robobot[edit]

Much like previous installments, the Game Over screen in Kirby: Planet Robobot shows Kirby sleeping, with a pulse meter in the background and options to Continue or Quit. Continuing causes the pointer hand to fly down and wake Kirby up, pointing him back to the adventure. Quitting has Kirby wake up and eat the hand before falling back asleep, before the game returns to the title screen.

If Kirby loses in The Arena and in The True Arena, the background is situated in a virtual system-like background with a shaft of light. Kirby falls down and a text saying "K.O'd in Round #", with a message displayed at the bottom of the top screen encouraging the player to try harder. The player can choose to either restart the run or quit to the (True) Arena's main menu.

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  The story mode game over screen.

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  The Meta Knightmare Returns Game Over screen.

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  The Arena Game Over screen.

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  The True Arena Game Over screen.

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash[edit]

Both Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Super Kirby Clash do not feature 1-Ups at all; instead, during quests, Kirby and his teammates can revive each other provided at least one member is still standing. However, if the time limit expires (or all teammates are down), then the quest ends in failure and Kirby is returned to the village, unless if the player uses Gem Apples to revive the Kirbys or extend the time limit.

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  The Game Over screen in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe.

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  Time's Up screen in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe.

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  The Game Over screen in Super Kirby Clash.

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  The Time's Up screen in Super Kirby Clash.

Kirby's Blowout Blast[edit]

In Kirby's Blowout Blast, once Kirby runs out of health, or the time limit expires, Kirby gets sent flying off-screen and the game ends. 'Game Over' is displayed in purple on the top screen, with options to retry the stage or return to the plaza displayed on the touch screen.

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  The Game Over screen in Kirby's Blowout Blast.

Kirby Battle Royale[edit]

Similar to Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, Kirby Battle Royale does not possess a traditional Game Over screen, as Kirby automatically revives in most battles and can revive himself during Battle Arena at any time. However, each revival in the latter becomes progressively more difficult, and underperforming in Story Mode League Battles may require Kirby to retry the battle later on.

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  Failing a Story Mode League Battle in Kirby Battle Royale.

Kirby Star Allies[edit]

The Game Over screen in Kirby Star Allies shows Kirby sleeping in the center of the screen, with the options to Continue or Quit below him. Continuing causes the pointer hand to fly down from above and wake Kirby up, returning him to the game, while quitting sends the player back to the title screen. In Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go!, the screen shows the friend in their low health idle animation, once again with the options to continue or quit. Continuing has the friend run to the right while quitting returns the player to the Guest Star ???? title screen.

In The Ultimate Choice, Kirby and his friends collapse, using their multiplayer KO'd animation.

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  Story Mode Game Over screen.

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[edit]

Game Overs are possible to obtain in Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn if Kirby loses all his Life Pieces in Devilish Mode. Kirby will become a messy pile of yarn, then a Devil will come to take him away. The player can choose to try the stage again from the beginning or quit to the stage select screen.

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  A Game Over in Devilish Mode.

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  The "Try Again?" menu after a Game Over.

Kirby Fighters 2[edit]

In Kirby Fighters 2, Game Overs can be earned in both Single-Handed Mode and in Story Mode: The Destined Rivals. They can be earned by simply losing to the opponents or, in the case of Story Mode, exhausting the time limit.

In Story Mode: The Destined Rivals, getting a Game Over will cause the player to receive a score penalty that subtracts their total score by a couple hundred points. In the first four chapters, after this happens, the player can choose to either quit and create a Bookmark Save or try the round again. In the case of the final chapter, however, the game limits the amount of continues the player can use to three, in addition to automatically restarting the current floor and saving the now-reduced lives counter once the player loses (with no option to quit). If the player gets a Game Over and they run out of continues as a result, they will be forced to restart the chapter from the very beginning. In addition, the final score will also be halved as a penalty and given out as Fighters Points.

Single-Handed Mode has no penalty for getting a Game Over, although it does break the player's winning streak bonus. The player can choose to either quit (which sends them back to the beginning), or try again (the timer will continue to run for the round they failed on).

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  The Game Over screen.

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  Results screen after losing all lives on the Final Chapter of Story Mode.

Profiles[edit]

Kirby's Dream Land 2[edit]

• 3DS Virtual Console manual bio: "When your remaining-lives total reaches zero and your life meter is fully depleted, it's game over. Select Continue to restart from the island and stage you were playing when the game ended. Select Game End to return to the title screen."

Kirby's Return to Dream Land[edit]

• Instruction manual bio (page 10): "When Kirby runs out of health, you will lose one life. If you run out of health with no remaining lives, your game will end and the screen to the right will appear. "

Kirby Star Allies[edit]

• In-game tip: "If Kirby is defeated and has no more Kirbys remaining, it's game over!"

Trivia[edit]

• In the Japanese version of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the Game Over screen for Boss Battles reads 「カイショウナシ」 ("You're hopeless...") rather than "It's hopeless..."
• The boss endurance modes present in Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Star Allies all have a variety of different messages upon getting KO'd before reaching the end. Which message is displayed depends on how many bosses were defeated before the player character loses all of their health.
  • Getting KO'd very early on (usually 0-3 rounds) displays "No easy wins!" in Kirby Super Star Ultra and "You'll get 'em next time..." in all other titles. The phrase in Japanese is 「カイショウナシ…」, pulled directly from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, minus the three-dot ellipsis.
  • Getting KO'd after round 1 but still early in Kirby Super Star Ultra displays the message "Try harder!" (「もっとがんばりましょう」 in Japanese).
  • Getting KO'd after a significant number of rounds, but not near the end, displays the message "Long way to go..." (in Kirby Super Star Ultra), "Becoming a (true) champion isn't easy," (in Kirby: Triple Deluxe), "Don't give up!" (in Kirby: Planet Robobot), or "The road is long..." (in Kirby Star Allies). The phrase in Japanese is 「みちは ながい…」 ("The road is long...") in Kirby Super Star Ultra and Kirby: Planet Robobot, 「 (真しんの)格闘かくとう王おうへの道みちは ながい…」 ("The road to becoming a (true) fighting king is long...") in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, or 「みちはながいぞ…」 ("The road is long...") in Kirby Star Allies, which references the Japanese name for The Arena (「格闘かくとう王おうへの道みち」, "The Road to Become a Fighting King"). In the Japanese version of Kirby Super Star Ultra, the exact message differs depending on the mode (e.g. 「ヘルパーマスターへのみちはながい」, "The road to become a Helper Master is long...", appears if the conditions are met in Helper to Hero).
  • Getting KO'd near the end displays the message "Try and beat # foes!" or "Try to be a hero!" (in Kirby Super Star Ultra), "You're so close to becoming a (true) champion!" (in Kirby: Triple Deluxe), "So close!" (in Kirby: Planet Robobot), or "Just a bit further!" (in Kirby Star Allies). The phrasing in Japanese is 「(真しんの)格闘かくとう王おうまで あとちょっと！」 ("Just a little more until you become the (true) fighting king!") in Kirby: Triple Deluxe or 「あとちょっと！」 ("Just a little more!") in Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Star Allies.
    • In Kirby Super Star Ultra, the defeat message when in The Arena reads "Try and beat 13 foes!", which serves as a hint on how to unlock Helper to Hero. If Kirby loses after meeting the criteria, the message instead reads "13 foes beaten! Goal cleared!".
• In most Kirby games, a Game Over happens when being defeated while having zero extra lives. However, the minimum number of lives reads as one in the Final Chapter of Story Mode: The Destined Rivals in Kirby Fighters 2.
• In Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby can't get a game over, since the game has no health system and falling into a bottomless pit or getting crushed means Kirby is put back at the last safe place that he was standing on.
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land (including its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition) and the Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler mode in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe lack a life system, and thus also lack Game Overs.
  • In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, when losing all health, Kirby simply loses 100 Star Coins and gets brought back to the last checkpoint. In the game's Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Kirby loses 50 Starry Coins in addition to 50 Star Coins if he runs out of health in a Starry Stage before getting brought back to the most recent checkpoint.
  • In Magolor Epilogue, after losing all health, the player is prompted to either restart from the beginning of the current section or exit the stage. In either case, Magolor's Magic Point counter will not be reset to an earlier value or otherwise decrease.

Gallery[edit]

Main article: Game Over/gallery

Names in other languages[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ゲームオーバー gēmu ōbā	Game Over
English	Game Over	-
Traditional Chinese	遊戲結束 yóu xì jié shù	Game Over
Simplified Chinese	游戏结束 yóu xì jié shù
Dutch	Game over	-
Canadian French	Fin de la partie Partie terminée	End of the game Game over
European French	Game Over Fin de partie Partie terminée	- Game end Game over
German	Game Over	-
Italian	Game over	-
Korean	게임 오버 geim obeo	Game Over
Portuguese	Fim da partida	End of the game
Russian	Конец игры[1] Konets igry	End of the game
Spanish	Fin del juego Fin de la partida	End of the game

References