Inhale Artwork of Kirby inhaling from Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. Details First game Kirby's Dream Land (1992) Latest game Kirby Air Riders (2025) Other game(s) All main-series games Kirby Air Ride Kirby's Epic Yarn Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition (New Challenge Stages) Kirby's Blowout Blast Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn Kirby Fighters 2 (Gobble) User(s) Kirby, various others Related Star Bullet, Copy Ability

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Inhale (sometimes called Vacuum or Swallow) is one of Kirby's main abilities, debuting in the first game, Kirby's Dream Land. It is his primary form of attack, and he is able to use it in all of the mainline Kirby games. Kirby performs this ability by opening his mouth wide and sucking in air, which creates a vortex, dragging nearby enemies or other objects toward him and into his mouth. From there, Kirby can either swallow them (which removes them from the playing field) or shoot them back out as a Star Bullet which shatters on impact. In the majority of appearances, Kirby obtains a Copy Ability after swallowing an enemy or object with an applicable ability.

Details[edit]

Assuming he is not interrupted by another action, Kirby can inhale indefinitely as long as the player holds the attack button. Any enemy or object in front of Kirby will then be drawn toward him until it reaches his mouth, at which point Kirby will stop inhaling automatically. When Kirby has something in his mouth, he becomes larger than usual, and he cannot hover or swim. The player can then press the attack button again to exhale a Star Bullet, or crouch to swallow, obtaining a Copy Ability if applicable.

In most games in the series, Kirby's Inhale can work through walls, allowing him to nab enemies through them (and even items like food and keys, in some cases). Oftentimes, doing this is necessary to solve certain puzzles. Kirby can also inhale multiple enemies and objects at once. If he spits them out, it creates a more powerful star projectile known as a Blaster Bullet, which can pass through multiple targets. In some games, the Blaster Bullet grows proportionally to the number of objects inhaled.

The main caveat to inhaling is that Kirby generally has to hold still. He usually cannot walk around while inhaling; only Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby and the Forgotten Land let him do this without a power-up. He also cannot jump while inhaling (though he can inhale in midair), and he can never inhale while hovering. As a result, it is usually difficult to inhale airborne or highly mobile enemies. Kirby also cannot inhale while underwater in most cases — Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is the only game where he can do so without Kine's assistance — with his main form of underwater attack instead being the Water Gun.

According to series director Shinya Kumazaki, enemies are not killed when Kirby swallows them; instead, they "poof" and are teleported elsewhere in the world.^[1] In certain games, Kirby can inhale his allies and use them as projectiles, though this does not "poof" them like it does the enemies. While carried inside Kirby's mouth, allies automatically share consumable items. Swallowing an ally has different effects depending on which character they are: ability-bearing Kirbys will have their ability stolen, friends will have their ability copied, and other characters simply reappear nearby with no effect.

Inhale works on most enemies in the Kirby series, but some enemies are immune to this technique. The most common examples are Gordos, Shotzos, Scarfies, and Mumbies. While there may be a large number of reasons as to why Kirby cannot inhale these entities, the English manual for Kirby's Dream Land states that such enemies are simply "too nasty" for Kirby to swallow.^[2] Additionally, mid-bosses must be defeated first before they can be inhaled, and most bosses simply cannot be inhaled at all.

Super Inhale[edit]

In Kirby & The Amazing Mirror onwards, Kirby can perform a stronger variant known as Super Inhale. This technique is often necessary to swallow large objects or move around heavy blocks. In Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and Kirby: Squeak Squad, a Super Inhale can be performed by inhaling for a short time, but Kirby will get tired and stop inhaling if he uses it for too long.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Super Inhale's functionality was tweaked; instead of being performed automatically after inhaling for a while, the player must either shake the controller or input several different directions on the + Control Pad while inhaling to perform this technique. Kirby no longer grows tired, so a Super Inhale can be held for as long as the player wishes. When using Super Inhale, Kirby does not stop inhaling until the button is released, so large groups of objects can be inhaled simultaneously.

The tweaks to Super Inhale remain in all mainline titles starting with Kirby: Triple Deluxe; however, it instead occurs simply by inhaling for a short time. This action is not referred to as Super Inhale in Kirby: Triple Deluxe or Kirby: Planet Robobot, but it is in Kirby Star Allies onward.

In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Super Inhale functions similar to how it does in 2D games, but it also activates if Kirby inhales immediately after a successful dodge, in a similar manner to how some Copy Abilities receive a boosted attack if used after dodging.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Super Inhale functions much the same as the original game, but it can also be activated simply by inhaling for a short time (akin to Kirby: Triple Deluxe onward), in addition to shaking the controller or pressing different directions on the + Control Pad or Control Stick.

Hypernova[edit]

Kirby: Triple Deluxe introduces Hypernova, an ability that functions as a souped-up version of Kirby's inhale, which can be acquired by eating a Miracle Fruit. Using Hypernova, Kirby can inhale massive objects in large numbers, and he can also walk forward and backward while inhaling, which allows him to move around large objects and activate devices that he otherwise could not. In addition, he can even swallow some bosses whole, which is impossible to do with the normal Inhale.

Notable game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Dream Land[edit]

In Kirby's Dream Land, inhaling is Kirby's primary method of dispatching enemies, either in swallowing them, or spitting them back out. Against bosses, the usual strategy was to inhale any projectiles thrown his way and spit them back. Kirby cannot gain a Copy Ability from inhaling an enemy, as this feature only appears in later Kirby titles.

Kirby's Adventure / Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land[edit]

Starting with Kirby's Adventure, Kirby can obtain a Copy Ability from inhaling then swallowing an enemy. Additionally, the Throw and Backdrop abilities utilize Kirby's inhale to allow him to grab enemies before tossing them (in Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, Backdrop instead utilizes a lunging grab).

Kirby Super Star / Kirby Super Star Ultra[edit]

In Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby can swallow in midair by pressing the Helper button with something in his mouth.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards[edit]

In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards alone, Kirby is able to use his inhale underwater without assistance from another character like Kine. This is also the first game where he can combine two Copy Abilities together, allowing for combinations like Cutter-Cutter, Bomb-Cutter, and Burn-Needle. This game is also the first instance where Kirby can move forward or backward while inhaling, an ability which would not be seen again until the introduction of Hypernova.

Strangely enough, in this game alone, it is possible for enemies to get 'stuck' on platforms when Kirby is attempting to inhale them. In this case, they will stay in place, spinning around for a moment before being 'defeated' and vanishing.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror[edit]

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror is the first game in the series where Kirby can Super Inhale. Often, he needs to team up with the other three Kirbys to move large objects.

Kirby: Squeak Squad[edit]

In Kirby: Squeak Squad, Kirby can store up to five objects that he has swallowed in his Copy Palette for later use. Kirby is also able to combine certain abilities he has stored away, like combining Sword with Spark to create an electric sword, or two otherwise incompatible abilities to get a random new ability. The Copy Palette feature did not return in later games, though similar features would appear through the Assist Star in Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot and Stock Items in Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.

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

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby is able to inhale his friends and spit them out as part of his projectiles. This does not hurt them, making it sometimes a useful strategy to use Kirby's friends as ammunition. If a Kirby swallows another Kirby with a Copy Ability or Super Ability, he can steal that ability for himself and take it away from the other.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, the option to turn on Auto Swallow returns from Kirby and the Forgotten Land, but it is turned off by default.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe[edit]

Kirby: Triple Deluxe is where the Hypernova ability made its debut. At one point near the end of the game, Kirby uses it to inhale an entire boss, defeating it in one fell swoop. He also uses it to defeat the final boss of Story Mode.

Kirby's Blowout Blast[edit]

Kirby gets particularly big when he inhales a bunch of enemies in Kirby's Blowout Blast. When he releases them, the star that results is referred to as a Blaster Bullet, and can wipe out enemies in a huge area.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land / Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World[edit]

In Kirby and the Forgotten Land and its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, Kirby is once again able to move around while inhaling, this time in all directions. He's also able to inhale while swimming above water. An option for Auto Swallow is available so Kirby will automatically swallow an enemy or a hat that gives a Copy Ability, which is on by default.

When near an object that can be used for Mouthful Mode, Kirby can inhale it even with an active copy ability. Elfilin will point this out to Kirby if he repeatedly discards his abilities near a "mouthful" object.

Kirby Air Riders[edit]

In Kirby Air Riders, while Kirby uses inhale as normal, most other riders instead use a variation of the move called Capture. It works essentially the same as inhale, and riders are able to capture and throw enemies as Star Bullets, or capture ability-granting enemies to copy abilities. Most riders simply gesture their hands forward as a vortex similar to Kirby's own inhale appears when performing Capture, though other riders such as Gooey have other means of capturing enemies.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

Kirby uses Inhale as his neutral special move in all of the Super Smash Bros. titles. This allows him to copy his opponents' neutral special attacks when swallowing them. Naturally, Kirby does not destroy his opponent when he does this, though it does deal damage. He can also spit his opponent out as a Star Bullet by pressing the special attack button - said Star Bullet travels a short distance before the opponent returns back to normal; how far it travels depends on Kirby's and the opponent's damage percentages.

Two custom moves can be used in place of the original once unlocked in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U. The first, Ice Breath, functions similarly to the Ice ability's attack of the same name and can temporarily freeze opponents solid for a time. In return, Kirby cannot swallow opponents or spit them out. The second, Jumping Inhale, lets Kirby leap forward a ways while inhaling, but any Star Bullets he spits out won't deal any damage.

Games where Kirby does not inhale[edit]

The following are games where Kirby either cannot or does not use his inhale, with further explanations given where appropriate:

• Kirby's Pinball Land
• Kirby's Dream Course - Kirby gains Copy Abilities by colliding with the appropriate enemies.
• Kirby's Avalanche
• Kirby's Block Ball - Kirby gains Copy Abilities by colliding with the appropriate enemies.
• Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy)
• Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)
• Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
• Kirby: Canvas Curse - Kirby gains Copy Abilities by colliding with the appropriate enemies.
• Kirby's Epic Yarn / Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn - Kirby tries to inhale the Metamato in the opening cutscene. After turning into yarn, he tries to inhale again, but it is ineffective as the air just passes through him.
• Kirby Mass Attack
• Kirby Fighters Deluxe
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
• Team Kirby Clash Deluxe
• Kirby Battle Royale
• Super Kirby Clash
• Kirby Fighters 2 - Kirby has a technique called "Gobble" instead (details in the "Gobble" section below).
• Kirby's Dream Buffet - Kirby gains Copy Abilities by collecting Copy Foods from Food Boxes.

Other entities that can Inhale[edit]

Kirby is not the only one who can Inhale. The following is a list of other entities that use an Inhale to attack, though most of them cannot Copy abilities or even swallow:

• Other Kirbys
  • Kirby-saurus
• King Dedede / Masked Dedede
  • Shadow Dedede
  • Dedede Clone
  • Giant King Dedede / Giant King Dedede's Revenge / Giant Masked Dedede
  • Parallel Dedede
  • Waning Crescent Masked Dedede
  • Forgo Dedede / Phantom Forgo Dedede
• Rick (Kirby's Dream Land 2 only)
• Danglerfish
• Banishback
• Barbar
• Star Dream / Star Dream Soul OS
• Whispy Woods (Kirby's Return to Dream Land & Kirby Star Allies)
  • Yggy Woods
  • Parallel Woods
• Void Termina / Void Soul

Gobble[edit]

In Kirby Fighters 2, Kirby does not have the ability to inhale (due to utilizing Copy Abilities). However, he can use a different technique called Gobble which allows him to eat his opponents and then spit them back out to deal damage. The only functional difference between this and a regular Inhale is that Kirby does not use suction (meaning he has to be up close to catch someone), and he cannot swallow. Gooey and King Dedede also make use of Gobble in this game.

Gobble/Grab controls
Skill	Button execution	Description
Gobble/Grab	Y (or L/R + B)	The chosen character attempts to gobble or grab an opposing character within a small range in front of themselves. This move can break through opponents' guards. Kirby, Gooey and King Dedede gobble the opponent, while Bandana Waddle Dee, Magolor and Meta Knight grab the opponent.
Change Direction	Left/right after Gobble/Grab	After gobbling or grabbing, the user can change the direction they're currently facing.
Spit/Throw	Y (or B) after Gobble/Grab	The user spits or throws the given enemy forward a set distance. If an affected character crashes into a wall, they take a small amount of damage. If an affected character crashes into another opposing player, both players take damage. If another teammate or the user who initiated the spit or throw hits the affected character again, that character takes massive damage while they're sent bouncing across the screen.

Trivia[edit]

• Initially, Kirby was intended to use his tongue instead of inhaling in Kirby's Dream Land, but the idea was scrapped.^[3] Masahiro Sakurai explains that this was not due to the similarity to Yoshi, since Yoshi did not exist at the time. Ironically, this idea would later be applied to Gooey in Kirby's Dream Land 3.
• In earlier games such as Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, if Kirby gets interrupted (such as taking damage) while inhaling things, the item or enemy he is inhaling gets destroyed. In the later games, the entity itself gets instantly inhaled.
• In Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby can inhale Copy Abilities from pedestals in Waddle Dee's Weapons Shop without going through the upgrade menu.

Gallery[edit]

Artwork[edit]

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  Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

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  Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

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  Kirby & The Amazing Mirror

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  Kirby: Squeak Squad

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  Kirby: Squeak Squad (Super Inhale)

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  Kirby: Squeak Squad

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  Kirby Super Star Ultra

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  Kirby Super Star Ultra

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  Larger but cropped version of previous artwork

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  Kirby and the Forgotten Land

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  Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

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  Kirby no Copy-toru!

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  Kirby no Copy-toru! (Super Inhale)

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  Kirby #22 from the Kirby 30th Anniversary site

Other[edit]

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  Tip image of Kirby inhaling an allied Waddle Doo from Kirby Star Allies

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  Screenshot of Kirby inhaling in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!

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  LINE animated sticker from "Kirby's Puffball Sticker Set"

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  "Inhale" Card stand from the "Kirby Desktop Figure" merchandise line, manufactured by Re-ment

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  "Waddle Dee & Kirby" figure from the "Swing Kirby" merchandise line, manufactured by Re-ment

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  Set 11 of the Kirby hanafuda cards, featuring Kirby inhaling.

Names in other languages[edit]

Inhale[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	吸すい込こみ suikomi	Inhale
Chinese	吸入 xī rù	Inhale
Dutch	Opzuigen	Sucking up
French	Aval'tout	Swallow all
German	Einsaugen	Sucking in
Italian	Risucchio	Sucking up
Korean	빨아들이기 pparadeurigi	Inhale
Portuguese	Aspirar Inalar[4]	Vacuum Inhale
Russian	Вдох Vdokh	Inhale
Spanish	Absorber Tragar	Absorb Swallow

Super Inhale[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	がんばり吸すい込こみ ganbari suikomi	Enduring inhale
Dutch	Super opzuigen	Super sucking up
French	Super aval'tout	Super swallow all
German	Mega-Einsaugen	Mega Suction
Italian	Super risucchio	Super sucking up
Korean	힘차게 빨아들이기 himchage pparadeurigi	Inhale Strongly
Portuguese	Superaspiração	Super Vacuum
Spanish	Superabsorción	Superabsorption

Swallow[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	のみこむ nomikomu	Swallow
Dutch	Inslikken	Swallow
French	Avaler	Swallow
German	Schlucken	Swallow
Italian	Inghiotti	Swallow
Portuguese	Engolir	Swallow
Spanish	Tragar	Swallow

Gobble[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ほおばり hōbari	Mouthful
Traditional Chinese	塞滿嘴 sāi mǎn zuǐ	Mouthful
Simplified Chinese	塞满嘴 sāi mǎn zuǐ
Dutch	Opschrokken	Gobble up
French	Gober	Gobble
German	Verschlingen	Gobble
Italian	Bocca piena	Mouthful
Korean	머금기 meogeumgi	Mouthful
Spanish	Zampar	Devour

References