King Dedede Artwork of King Dedede from Kirby Air Riders. Details First appearance Kirby's Dream Land (1992) Latest appearance Kirby Air Riders (2025) Other appearance(s) (click to navigate) Copy Abilities Stone (rocks, Kirby Star Allies) Hammer (dropped hammer, Kirby and the Forgotten Land) Similar (click to navigate) Voice actor(s) Shinya Kumazaki (Kirby series, since Kirby Super Star Ultra) Masahiro Sakurai (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and the Super Smash Bros. series)

Theme music "King Dedede's Theme" Clip of "King Dedede's Theme" from Kirby's Dream Land 3

"King Dedede" on other NIWA wikis: SmashWiki Super Mario Wiki

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King Dedede (King DeDeDe in some older games; sometimes shortened to Dedede) is a portly, blue, penguin-like creature who wields a hammer and proclaims himself as king of Dream Land. He is a recurring character who serves as Kirby's "arch frenemy"^[1] and is usually fought as a boss. He often engages in trouble-making, such as stealing all of Dream Land's food and the Sparkling Stars or shooting Mr. Star with a cannon. However, over time he began to perform more noble deeds, such as trying to seal away Nightmare, helping Kirby battle Queen Sectonia, and accompanying Kirby in several of his adventures. Because of this, he is considered a protagonist, despite his greediness and egotism. King Dedede lives in a castle atop a mountain with a retinue of Waddle Dees acting as his servants.

Having debuted in the series' first installment, Kirby's Dream Land, King Dedede is arguably the most recognizable character from the Kirby series besides the pink hero himself, having appeared in one form or another nearly every game in the series (except Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe), though not all of those appearances are major roles. He is also the series' only character besides Kirby to have starred in his own game, namely the spin-off Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe. He is often portrayed as a comic foil to Kirby, especially in spin-off titles. In older games, he was seldom playable, but this changed starting with Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, with the king being playable in many of his subsequent appearances.

Physical appearance[edit]

King Dedede is a birdlike creature who greatly resembles a penguin, although his exact species is unclear; Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl assumes that Dedede is a penguin, and becomes confused upon learning that he is not. On one occasion, the Nintendo Power magazine referred to him as a bird, specifically a "regal eagle", but it is unclear if this was the designers' intent or if it was intended to be taken literally to begin with.^[2] He has a large and round belly, blue eyes, a yellow mouth (which, according to a memo from HAL Laboratory, is not a beak^[3]), and yellow feet which resemble Kirby's. He wears a kingly red coat with white trim and a red tuque with a golden crown-like ridge. The coat's back bears his signature V-sign emblem (or in earlier appearances, a portrait of himself). In most appearances, he also wears yellow gloves on his hands, and a beige undershirt under his coat; occasionally, it is designed as an elaborate kimono instead. Around his belly is an obi (patterned belt) with a tessellated red-and-yellow design on it, somewhat resembling pointed teeth. When he is possessed by Dark Matter in Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, this obi will open up like a big mouth to chomp at Kirby or fire projectiles.

King Dedede, like Kirby, can inhale and hover by expanding his belly. According to his trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee, King Dedede could not hover initially but taught himself how after being beaten by Kirby for the first time. However, in most games, King Dedede is not able to copy abilities like his pink rival (according to flavor text in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this is because he's "already perfect"). To make up for this, he carries a large wooden mallet, which he uses for most of his attacks. When that is not enough, the king can use his portly size to perform great leaps and body slams.

Changes in design[edit]

In each game, the specifics of the king's design may differ, but his portly figure, regal hat and robe, and his large wooden mallet are all characteristically "Dedede". While the most basic aspects of King Dedede are more or less consistent throughout the series, his design tends to change notably with each game, as his body proportions and the particulars of his wardrobe are given tweaks and adjustments more so than many other characters. This is most notable when comparing his portrayal in games such as Kirby Super Star versus Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, or his appearance in Kirby Star Allies versus Kirby and the Forgotten Land. In the June 2022 edition of Nintendo Dream Magazine, in the Kirby and the Forgotten Land developer interview, Shinya Kumazaki explained that the reason for this was because it was King Dedede's "destiny" since he has more details than Kirby, and with each new game, he is designed to "...bring out the worldview of that particular work".^[4] Despite this statement, King Dedede has been known to receive substantial design changes in remakes of games compared to his look in the originals, with Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe being the most prominent example.

Personality[edit]

King Dedede is often portrayed as egocentric, stubborn, and also gluttonous. This is evidenced by his self-proclaimed status as the King of Dream Land, and how he selfishly stole all of the food in Dream Land in the past. He also views Kirby as his rival, and often competes against him to prove his superiority. However, he is not evil. Over time, his selfish tendencies have faded away, and he has been portrayed and described as a heroic and dependable leader who is willing to protect Dream Land from outside threats, such as Nightmare and Queen Sectonia. He is also willing to accompany Kirby on his quests, such as in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (where he is "worried" about safety of others going on such a dangerous trip, according to the Japanese website), and in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, where he eagerly joins Kirby, Bandana Waddle Dee and Meta Knight in order to collect pieces of the Lor Starcutter for Magolor (Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe implies that, like in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, he worries that the others "won't get far without [him]").

While King Dedede considered Kirby one of his enemies in the past, he resolved his grudge with Kirby in Revenge of the King, a sub-game added in Kirby Super Star Ultra. After that, their relationship became much friendlier, and he became one of Kirby's close companions. Dedede views Kirby as his "destined rival," as the games phrase it since Kirby Fighters 2, and the two are often described as "buddies" or "friendly rivals". Their bond has grown to the point that when King Dedede arrived in the new world in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, he was "crestfallen" that he couldn't find Kirby, and is genuinely happy to see him once he breaks free from the Beast Pack's brainwashing.

Ultimately, despite his rocky past, Dedede grew to understand that Kirby is the true savior of Dream Land, and does not hesitate to assist him during times of peril. He is also very caring and protective of the Waddle Dees who serve him. For example, he spares Bandana Waddle Dee from fighting Kirby in Revenge of the King, and risks his own life for the safety of a single Waddle Dee in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Dedede's personality in the anime, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, is significantly different from his contemporary portrayal within the games. In the series, his bloated ego and regal persona often shines, along with his jealousy of Kirby's power and popularity. This personality carries over to Kirby Battle Royale, which plays out very similarly to an episode from the anime: King Dedede hatches a ludicrously complicated (and expensive) plot to lure Kirby into a public spotlight and try to humiliate the pink puffball in a series of games, only to have it backfire in his face, resulting in Kirby coming out on top once again.

Signature attacks[edit]

Due to being a boss in so many Kirby games, King Dedede has a large number of signature attacks which he uses in most of his fights, and in some games can be used when he is playable. The following table lists all of his most notable attacks, in alphabetical order:

King Dedede's signature attacks
Name	First game used	Description	Notes
Gordo Throw	Super Smash Bros. Brawl (first appearance), Kirby Star Allies (first use in a Kirby game, by Parallel Dedede), Kirby Fighters 2 (first use by Dedede himself in a Kirby game)	King Dedede pulls out a Gordo and knocks it forward using his hammer, causing it to bounce across the stage.	This move is the only recurring attack of Dedede's that first appeared outside the Kirby series proper.
Hammer	Kirby's Dream Land	King Dedede swings his hammer, usually in an overhead manner, which causes Dropped Stars to form around the point of impact.	There are several different varieties to this attack.
Head Slide	Kirby's Dream Land	King Dedede jumps head-first at his opponent, crashing to the ground. Depending on the game, this either looks like a disheveled belly flop, or a purposeful dive. It only sometimes drops Dropped Stars.
Hover	Kirby's Adventure	King Dedede can take in air and puff up like a balloon, then fly through the air to chase after his enemies. He can also shoot out a large Air Bullet when he is done.
Inhale	Kirby's Dream Land	King Dedede uses his own inhale, which has a longer range and is more powerful than Kirby's, but cannot copy abilities. If King Dedede inhales his foe, he will spit that foe back out as a Star Bullet to damage them. In Kirby's Dream Land 2, his inhale might sometimes let him spit out an explosive Star Bullet without having sucked anything up beforehand.
Super Dedede Jump	Kirby's Dream Land	King Dedede leaps high into the air and comes crashing back down, creating two Dropped Stars on each side of him.	Depending on the game, this move may also create shockwaves.

Variants[edit]

Due to King Dedede's ubiquity as a character, there are several other entities that resemble him, as well as alternate versions of the King himself. The following lists all of the different versions of King Dedede along with other characters or entities that resemble him throughout the Kirby video game series:

Dedede alter egos and lookalikes[edit]

• Masked Dedede: King Dedede wears a special mask when he is serious about fighting, and also carries a special mechanical hammer. This version of Dedede first appeared in Kirby Super Star Ultra.
• Shadow Dedede: A dark version of King Dedede that emerged from the Dimension Mirror in Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
• Team DDD: An army of smaller Dededes who accompany the King in Kirby Fighters Deluxe.
• Dedede Clone: A gelatinous replica of King Dedede fabricated by the Haltmann Works Company using Dedede's DNA to battle Kirby in Kirby: Planet Robobot.
• King D-Mind: The king of darkness resembling both King Dedede and Dark Mind which hails from Another Dimension beyond the Black Mirror, first appearing in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe.
• Giant King Dedede: King Dedede becomes giant after absorbing a Sparkling Star in Kirby's Blowout Blast.
• Parallel Dedede: A different more powerful version of King Dedede who hails from Another Dimension, first encountered in Kirby Star Allies.
• Waning Crescent Masked Dedede: King Dedede puts on a cursed relic called the Mask of Dark Bonds along with Meta Knight in the final boss encounter in the story mode of Kirby Fighters 2.
• Forgo Dedede: Another variant of Masked Dedede who wields two hammers and can produce fiery projectiles, encountered in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
  • Phantom Forgo Dedede: An illusory double of Forgo Dedede who is more powerful.
• Phantom King Dedede: An illusion of the king formed from powerful psychic energy and memories of his turn under Fecto Forgo's control in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
• Noir Dedede: A fragment of Zorah's will that copied the form of King Dedede, who appears as a major character in Road Trip and is later unlocked as a playable rider in Kirby Air Riders.

Robots[edit]

The Kirby series' fascination with King Dedede's visage as a giant robot has wrought several iterations of Kirby-squashing mecha, with varying relations to the king himself:

• Robo Dedede: This giant robot made to resemble King Dedede appears as the boss of Kirby's Dream Course.
  • Robo Dedede also summons smaller robotic Dededes, known as Chibi Dededes.
• Dedede Robo: A giant robot in Kirby Mass Attack that somewhat resembles Dedede and bears its emblem.
• Robo Dedede: A giant robotic Dedede appears in Scope Shot in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
  • A smaller version of this robot appears in the Egg Catcher subgame in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.
• HR-D3: A giant robot similar-looking to Dedede Robo used by Metal General EX in the Extra Mode of Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe.
• Dededestroyer Z: A robot that King Dedede pilots in Kirby Battle Royale with the ability to make clones of Kirby.
• Robo Dedede: A boss that appears in Kirby Air Riders which can transform between Dedede Form and Car Form.

Game appearances[edit]

King Dedede's video game appearances
Game	Role	Notes
Kirby series
Kirby's Dream Land	Main antagonist and final boss
Kirby's Adventure	Central antagonist and boss	Antagonizes Kirby for most of the game but assists him in defeating the true final boss.
Kirby's Pinball Land	Main antagonist and final boss
Kirby's Dream Course	Main antagonist and final boss
Kirby's Avalanche	Main antagonist and final boss	This is Dedede's first speaking role in the series.
Kirby's Dream Land 2	Secondary antagonist and boss	Possessed by Dark Matter in this game.
Kirby's Block Ball	Main antagonist and final boss
Kirby Super Star	Secondary antagonist and boss	Main antagonist and final boss of Spring Breeze, main antagonist of Gourmet Race, and an opponent in Samurai Kirby.
Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy)	Antagonist	Randomly appears to drop more blocks.
Kirby's Dream Land 3	Central antagonist and boss	Like in Kirby's Dream Land 2, Dedede is possessed by Dark Matter.
Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)	Main antagonist and boss	While the main villain in the story, Dedede is not the final boss, as Gryll can be fought in a surprise encounter if certain conditions are met.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards	Supporting protagonist, playable character, and boss	Initially possessed by Dark Matter, but joins Kirby's side when defeated.
Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble	Main antagonist and final boss
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land	Central antagonist and boss	As this is a remake of Kirby's Adventure, he has the same role here as he did in that game. Dedede is also the final boss of Meta Knightmare, as Nightmare is never fought.
Kirby Air Ride	Playable character	Also appears as the antagonist in the Stadium mode VS. King Dedede.
Kirby: Canvas Curse	Playable character and boss	Dedede is in ball form when playable, but in normal form when faced in Cart Run.
Kirby: Squeak Squad	Opening antagonist and boss
Kirby Super Star Ultra	Secondary antagonist and boss	As this game is a remake of Kirby Super Star, his roles from that game are reused. In addition, he serves as the main antagonist and final boss of Revenge of the King.
Kirby's Epic Yarn	Secondary antagonist and boss	Controlled by Yin-Yarn during his boss fight.
Kirby Mass Attack	Secondary antagonist and boss	Implied to be possessed during his boss fight in Dedede Resort.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land	Supporting protagonist and playable character
Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition	Roles vary between games
Kirby: Triple Deluxe	Supporting protagonist, playable character, and boss	Controlled by Taranza near the end of the game. Additionally, Dedede is playable in Dededetour.
Kirby Fighters Deluxe	Main antagonist and final boss
Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe	Sole playable character
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse	Cameo	Appears as a collectible figurine and in one of the Secret Diary pages.
Kirby: Planet Robobot	Cameo	Appears in the intro cutscene. Additionally, the Dedede Clone bears Dedede's likeness.
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe	Reference	King D-Mind bears Dedede's likeness.
Kirby's Blowout Blast	Main antagonist and final boss
Kirby Battle Royale	Main antagonist, playable character, and final boss
Kirby Star Allies	Supporting protagonist, playable character, and boss	Initially controlled by a Jamba Heart piece, but joins Kirby's side as a Dream Friend once defeated.
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn	Supporting antagonist, boss, and playable character	As this is a port of Kirby's Epic Yarn, he reprises his role from the original Wii version. Additionally, he appears as the sole playable character in the sub-game Dedede Gogogo.
Super Kirby Clash	Cameo, reference	There are several stickers of King Dedede, and a set of gear is based on Masked Dedede. King D-Mind returns in this game.
Kirby Fighters 2	Playable character and boss	King Dedede is playable and also teams up with Meta Knight as the final boss of Story Mode.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land	Supporting protagonist, central antagonist, and boss
Kirby's Dream Buffet	Reference	Referenced by a costume and color for Kirby, and also appears on several Character Treats.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe	Supporting protagonist and playable character	Reprises his role from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World	Supporting protagonist, central antagonist, and boss	Reprises his role from Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
Kirby Air Riders	Rider
Super Smash Bros. series
Super Smash Bros.	Cameo	Appears in the background of the Dream Land stage.
Super Smash Bros. Melee	Cameo	Appears as a trophy and in the background of the Dream Land stage.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl	Playable character	Dedede also has a role in The Subspace Emissary.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U	Playable character, cameo	Dedede can appear in the background of the Dream Land stage as long as no one is playing as him.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate	Playable character, cameo	Dedede also has a role in World of Light. Dedede can also appear in the background of the Dream Land stage as long as no one is playing as him.
Other appearances
Super Mario Maker	Reference	Mario can use a Mystery Mushroom to take on Dedede's 8-bit appearance in courses.
Yoshi's Woolly World	Reference	Yoshi can take on Dedede's appearance by tapping his amiibo.
BYE-BYE BOXBOY!	Reference	Qbby can take on Dedede's appearance if the player uses Dedede's amiibo.
Part Time UFO	Reference	One of the levels in the Nintendo Switch version features a King Dedede plush doll.

Kirby's Dream Land[edit]

King Dedede first appears in Kirby's Dream Land, where he serves as the main antagonist and final boss. Prior to the game, King Dedede had stolen all of the food in Dream Land and left the population hungry, and had also stolen the land's Sparkling Stars. Kirby sets out to defeat Dedede and give the people back their food and their stars. After traveling through the different regions of the land, Kirby finally confronts the king in his castle atop Mt. Dedede. The two of them engage in battle in a wrestling ring. Kirby manages to defeat him and the food supplies of Dream Land are saved.

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

In Kirby's Adventure and its remake Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, King Dedede reappears as the apparent final boss of the game. The game begins with him stealing the Star Rod from the Fountain of Dreams, which he then divides into seven pieces, giving six of them to his trusted allies and keeping the last for himself. This causes Kirby to assume ill will from his enemy, and he sets out and tries to restore the broken artifact.

However, unknown to Kirby, King Dedede stole the Star Rod in order to safeguard Dream Land from the clutches of Nightmare. The misunderstanding results in Kirby defeating King Dedede at Rainbow Resort and retrieving all seven pieces of the Star Rod. As Kirby walks towards the Fountain of Dreams to return the Star Rod, King Dedede tries to hold him back and begs him to drop his ambitions. However, Kirby refuses to listen and releases Nightmare as a result. After Dedede inhales Kirby and fires him in the direction Nightmare went, Kirby manages to defeat Nightmare with the help of the Star Rod, and at the end, King Dedede's motivations of stealing it are finally revealed. He and Kirby can be seen flying next to each other during the credits.

King Dedede also has minor appearances during some of the game's sub-games and appears on the top of every boss level door.

Kirby's Pinball Land[edit]

King Dedede serves as the primary antagonist of Kirby's Pinball Land, escaping from Kirby via a series of bumpers in the intro cutscene. Once all three of the Pinball Lands have been cleared, Kirby can take a Warp Star from the main level hub to encounter Dedede in a special boxing ring stage.

This fight takes place in two phases. In the first, King Dedede poses in a spotlight and tosses bombs at the flippers to temporarily disable them. After five hits, the spotlight gives way to the fully-lit wrestling ring. Here, King Dedede has two different methods of attack. He can either puff up and chase Kirby around, or cast lightning from his hands to disable the flippers while held. He can also use his Super Dedede Jump to reposition himself. After eighteen more hits, Dedede is defeated. He lands out in a checkerboard field, and Kirby has him cornered, when a Kabu jumps from behind and flattens Kirby, allowing Dedede to escape with his entourage. From there, the game resets.

This is one of the few games in the series where King Dedede is without his hammer. This game also marks the only time that King Dedede has ever been able to shoot lightning bolts from his hands.

Kirby's Dream Course[edit]

In Kirby's Dream Course, King Dedede has once again stolen all of Dream Land's stars, and is hoarding them in his castle. Kirby sets off to defeat him and get the stars back, facing him down at the end of the 1P Game in a giant robot that the King pilots. King Dedede also makes a small appearance in the opening cutscene for Course 8.

Kirby's Avalanche[edit]

“

Kirby's goofy arch-rival is the #1 Avalanche player in Dream Land. You will need to focus all of your Avalanche skills to beat this character.

”

— Kirby's Avalanche Instruction Booklet (North American print), page 24

King Dedede is the final opponent in Kirby's Avalanche. When Dedede's Puyos land, his half of the screen shakes slightly. This has no effect on gameplay, however. His Super Puyo Puyo equivalent is Dark Prince, though his screen-shaking effect comes from Zoh Daimaoh.

Kirby's Dream Land 2[edit]

Dedede does not appear until the final level of Kirby's Dream Land 2, Dark Castle. He acts as the final boss if Kirby has not collected all of the Rainbow Drops yet. If all have been collected and Kirby emerges victorious, the piece of Dark Matter that had possessed Dedede will leave the defeated king's body, enabling Kirby to fight it. Later on, King Dedede can be seen in the ending cutscene, looking on as Kirby repairs the bridges between the Rainbow Islands.

King Dedede battles in a similar manner to his fight in Kirby's Dream Land, but there are a few notable differences. During the fight, he changes between a drowsy "hypnotized" state where he is relatively slow and easy to avoid to a more aggressive state where his attacks speed up and create fiery projectiles that need to be avoided.

Kirby's Block Ball[edit]

In Kirby's Block Ball, King Dedede is the main villain, having once again stolen the Sparkling Stars and hidden them in his castle. King Dedede is the final boss in this game and is encountered in the seventh round of Stage 11. King Dedede has 24 hit points in this game, as opposed to other bosses which only have 12.

King Dedede has a number of different methods of attack, which he uses at different intervals of remaining health. King Dedede starts by pulling out and tossing bombs at the paddles to shrink them. Further in, he puffs up and starts hovering around the area. While doing this, he will eat Kirby if he approaches from below and then spits him out again. In the final phase, King Dedede jumps from place to place and uses a rocket launcher to shoot missiles at the paddles to shrink them.

Kirby's Toy Box[edit]

King Dedede makes three appearances out of eight original Kirby's Toy Box mini-games. He acts as the Boss on the sixth stage of Star Breaker, a rewarding higher-difficulty target in Pinball, as well as an alternative variety of balls in Ball Rally which are worth ten times more than standard Kirby balls if led all the way to the exit.

Kirby Super Star[edit]

In Kirby Super Star, King Dedede appears as the central opponent in two main game modes, and also makes minor appearances in some other modes.

Spring Breeze[edit]

Spring Breeze, being a re-imagining of Kirby's Dream Land, features King Dedede in his old role as the food-stealing villain. He engages Kirby in a boxing ring inside his castle on Mt. Dedede, acting as the final boss of this game mode. Much like in Kirby's Dream Land, King Dedede attacks Kirby with his hammer as well as attempting to jump on or inhale him (as this is a retelling of Kirby's Dream Land, Dedede does not have access to his hover here). Unlike in Kirby's Dream Land, however, King Dedede is generally slower and is stunned whenever he is hit (even being knocked out of his Super Dedede Jump if hit), meaning that if Kirby attacks fast enough with a Copy Ability, Dedede will be entirely unable to retaliate.

Gourmet Race[edit]

In Gourmet Race, Kirby confronts King Dedede in three different stages: Pumpkin Grand, Corn Hall, and Onion Garden, where the two of them engage in a race for food. Unlike in Spring Breeze, King Dedede does have use of his hover here, and he also uses his hammer to clear away obstacles, but does not attack Kirby directly. In order to emerge victorious, Kirby must score more points than Dedede by eating more food and/or beating Dedede to the finish line in the three rounds.

Additional roles[edit]

King Dedede makes two other appearances in Kirby Super Star. In Samurai Kirby, he appears as the penultimate opponent where he is depicted wearing samurai-styled clothing. In The Arena, King Dedede from Spring Breeze appears as one of the bosses Kirby must defeat.

Kirby's Star Stacker (Game Boy)[edit]

“

Hey Kirby! This means war!! If you can stack this many ★'s, you win!

”

— King Dedede's opening dialogue for Normal mode of Round Clear in Kirby's Star Stacker

In the Game Boy version of Kirby's Star Stacker, King Dedede is the one responsible for pounding the boards and causing rows to be added to the bottom of the board during gameplay. In the Round Clear mode, Dedede also has a number of lines of dialogue which display at the beginning of each difficulty. His facial expression changes during Round Clear rounds depending on how well or poorly the player is doing. King Dedede also appears in the ending illustration for Super Hard difficulty, where he has been made into a snowman.

Kirby's Dream Land 3[edit]

When Dark Matter takes control of Pop Star during Kirby's Dream Land 3, it possesses several of the planet's denizens, one of which is King Dedede. He is fought in level 5, Iceberg, and is simultaneously the last boss of the game if Kirby didn't complete all of the errands in the numerous stages.

The fight against King Dedede is separated into two different phases: A battle on the ground, and a battle in the air. While being on the ground, Dedede uses his usual strategy of lunging at Kirby, trying to crush him with his mallet, and using his powerful suction attack. After taking several hits, the King switches to the second phase and begins floating in the air. His move pattern strikingly departs from his usual behavior in that phase, and he is capable of performing some gruesome attacks like opening his stomach area like a maw with pointy teeth and chasing Kirby, trying to eat him, or shooting black orbs of energy from a giant eyeball in his belly. The battle ends once Kirby manages to defeat King Dedede in this state.

Usually, the game ends at that point, but if Kirby managed to complete all the errands from the previous levels, he will get access to the actual final fight of the game, located in Hyper Zone. King Dedede can then be seen in the Hyper Zone introduction scene, and once Kirby defeats the final boss, Dedede will appear in some of the drawings shown during the credits.

Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Famicom)[edit]

King Dedede is the final opponent in the Story Mode of the Super Famicom version of Kirby's Star Stacker. He is the one responsible for blasting Mr. Star out of the sky in the first place and scattering his pieces, and King Dedede ends up with the last piece that Kirby needs to recover. Once Dedede is defeated, Mr. Star is restored to his former self, and the game is over (though one more opponent awaits after the credits if Story Mode was completed without failing a round).

In addition, King Dedede is the opponent in the Round Clear modes, with the score Kirby needs to clear each round represented as King Dedede's "HP". Unlike in the Game Boy version, King Dedede has no remarks in this version.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards[edit]

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is notable in that it is the first game in the Kirby series where King Dedede is playable in any meaningful respect, and the only game where Dedede is lacking his gloves. In addition, this game also marks the first time that King Dedede is given voice acting, provided by Masahiro Sakurai. In the main game, Dedede is first seen at the end of the third stage of Pop Star atop another one of his castles. There, he and Kirby run into a misunderstanding when they both spot a Crystal Shard. King Dedede takes it for himself and keeps Kirby from having it until Dark Matter shows up and possesses him (again). Kirby then has to fight him as a mid-boss, where he has two distinct battle phases that are very similar to his fight in Kirby's Dream Land 3, though much slower and easier. Kirby manages to defeat him, drive out Dark Matter, and get back the Crystal Shard, but King Dedede snaps after the battle and refuses to look at the group any further. After they leave, he can be seen visibly struggling, until he makes the decision to follow them along, because he was worried about Kirby's group going alone.^[5]

After that, King Dedede becomes playable in areas of stages, allowing Kirby to ride him piggyback and to use his hammer to break through obstacles. King Dedede's moveset is relatively simplistic, being able only to make single jumps, attack with his hammer, and climb up poles. He can also be seen in the background at other points of stages, where he occasionally helps Kirby progress via short cutscenes. Outside of the main game, Dedede is playable in the Minigames that are accessible from the main menu, coming with up to four different color palettes.

Following a slight hint of such in the credits of Kirby's Dream Land 3, this is the first time Dedede is directly depicted as an ally of Kirby, albeit only because he is worried about his wellbeing. This is referenced by the name of the cutscene where he joins Kirby's group, "A Reluctant Ally," or ついていってやるよ (I'm Coming Too) in Japanese. Dedede's Japanese pause screen descriptions as an ally in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby Star Allies both reference the idea that he is worried about the other heroes and include ついていってやるぜ ("I'm coming too"), maintaining this as a consistent part of his character.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble[edit]

“

Kirby's archenemy can be taken out with a quick cannon attack.

”

— Description from Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble North American instruction booklet

King Dedede serves as the main villain and final boss of Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble. The intro cutscene and the instruction booklet explains that he has robbed Popstar of its stars yet again, so Kirby must venture to defeat him and get the stars back.

King Dedede can be found at the end of Lvl 8-4. He attacks Kirby by charging at him and swinging his hammer, sometimes by throwing it like a boomerang. Once King Dedede is defeated, he starts crying, prompting Kirby to go and comfort him, and the two walk off-screen together. King Dedede trips briefly while walking away with Kirby.

King Dedede also appears in the Sub-Game Kirby's Hurdle Race as the main opponent.

Kirby Air Ride[edit]

Main article: King Dedede (Kirby Air Ride)

King Dedede makes a relatively minor appearance in Kirby Air Ride as an unlockable character. Once unlocked, he can be selected as an Air Ride Machine in the game's Air Ride mode or in City Trial mode's Free Run. Unlike Kirby, he cannot inhale enemies, copy abilities, or dismount his vehicle. However, he rides a powerful bike (known as the "Wheelie Bike Dedede Custom") and is capable of wielding his hammer as an effective weapon at all times, similar to Sword Kirby.

Aside from his role as a playable character, a larger and more powerful version of the King appears as an opponent in VS. King Dedede, a Stadium round in City Trial .

Kirby: Canvas Curse[edit]

In Kirby: Canvas Curse, King Dedede appears as a boss painted by Drawcia to engage Kirby in a Gourmet Race-esque challenge called Cart Run. In it, Kirby needs to race King Dedede using mine carts while eating food in two different stages in order to advance through the levels.

Further, if purchased in the Medal Swap, Dedede can become a playable character, being inflicted with the same curse as Kirby has. As a ball, King Dedede moves slower than the other characters, has a larger hitbox, and immediately sinks underwater, but can use his hammer to attack enemies and has seven hit points, much more than other characters (by default).

Kirby: Squeak Squad[edit]

In Kirby: Squeak Squad, when Kirby's Strawberry Shortcake is stolen, Kirby immediately assumes King Dedede is responsible for the theft of his cake and storms his castle. However, upon defeating Dedede, it turns out that he didn't have anything to do with Kirby's cake. Suddenly, the titular Squeaks come in carrying a treasure chest which Kirby believes to hold his cake, and who had also been stealing King Dedede's things. To try and stop them, King Dedede grabs Kirby and throws him at the Squeaks, causing them to fall down a deep hole into the next area: Nature Notch. Dedede doesn't appear after that point for the rest of the story.

King Dedede serves as the boss of Prism Plains: the first area in Kirby: Squeak Squad. His moveset is largely the same as it has always been, but he has been weakened in a similar way to his appearance in Kirby Super Star's Spring Breeze mode, and suffers more recoil from damage in order to make him a more manageable first encounter. He can also summon Parasol Waddle Dees. King Dedede also appears as the first opponent in the Boss Endurance mode.

Kirby Super Star Ultra[edit]

In the remake of Kirby Super Star, Kirby Super Star Ultra, King Dedede reprises his roles as the final boss of Spring Breeze (where he gains new voice clips), Kirby's opponent in Gourmet Race, the penultimate opponent in Samurai Kirby, and one of the bosses in The Arena. In addition, one of the new modes in this game features King Dedede as the main antagonist yet again.

Revenge of the King[edit]

Main article: Masked Dedede

Kirby Super Star Ultra adds a new game mode called Revenge of the King: a re-imagining of the Extra Mode of Kirby's Dream Land. Here, King Dedede is stated to desire revenge on Kirby, and has gathered his strongest minions to try and defeat his rival once and for all. During his boss battle, Dedede takes up a persona known as Masked Dedede and gives Kirby a Hammer so they can have an honorable duel in a similar vein to Meta Knight. In this persona, King Dedede wears an intimidating horned mask and carries a special mechanical hammer which is equipped with a jet and a missile launcher.

Additional roles[edit]

King Dedede has a number of roles and appearances in some of the other new modes. He is featured on two cards in the Kirby Card Swipe game; one of these cards depicts him in his Ball form from Kirby: Canvas Curse. Additionally, he appears as a target in the Kirby on the Draw game wearing a cowboy inspired outfit. Finally, King Dedede appears as one of the bosses in Helper to Hero, while Masked Dedede appears as the first of the final four bosses in The True Arena.

[edit]

Main article: King Dedede (boss stage)

“

"This selfish Dream Land king wields a big hammer that's almost as big as his mouth!"

”

— American English Patch Plaza description

In Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, King Dedede is initially seen through cutscenes in Dream Land having his Waddle Dees managing his treasure hoard in his castle. Yin-Yarn starts creating fake yarn Waddle Dees which try to blend in at first, but then start to take over once enough of them are created. They tie up all of the real Waddle Dees, along with King Dedede, and then Yin-Yarn captures King Dedede with his Magic Sock and forces the king to serve him while also taking over his castle.

King Dedede appears in-game as the boss of Snow Land as a yarn outline while being controlled by wooden bars with strings, similar to a marionette. King Dedede attacks with his usual hammer, jumps, and body slams with some variations (e.g. upon landing from his jump attack, it causes shock waves to appear while also causing Gordos to fall from above). To defeat him, Kirby and Prince Fluff need to find an opening to slam into King Dedede using their Weight power and then pull off one of the four strings controlling him one by one. Once King Dedede is freed from the strings, he stops fighting, and Kirby and Fluff can obtain the next piece of Magic Yarn and gain access to Space Land. If enough beads were collected during the fight, they can also get the Penguin Patch to unlock Frigid Fjords.

In the cutscene "To Dream Land!", after Kirby, Prince Fluff, and Meta Knight use the Magic Sock to travel to the transformed Dream Land, Dedede quickly follows them soon afterwards. Some of the obtainable furniture in the game include his robes that can be found in Castle Dedede and a plush version of himself that can be bought in the Furniture Shop for 5000 beads after defeating the eponymous boss.

In Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, King Dedede is playable in the Sub-Game Dedede Gogogo. Here, he runs along four different courses themed after stages from the main game, collecting Fuse Beads by jumping, sliding, and slamming enemies with his hammer.

In the voiced cutscenes of the Japanese version, King Dedede ends his sentences with "zoi", similar to his depiction in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! in that same language.

Kirby Mass Attack[edit]

Main article: Dedede Resort - Boss Stage

King Dedede appears in Kirby Mass Attack as the boss of his own resort. In the battle, King Dedede rides in a hot air balloon and tosses two types of timed bombs in bubbles down towards the Kirbys. Waddle Dees help by throwing their own bombs from the sidelines. To attack King Dedede, the Kirbys need to bounce the bubble bombs back at King Dedede's balloon and have them explode there. Once Dedede's hot air balloon is disabled, he resorts to the old method of fighting with his own strength, primarily using his hammer, but in this state, he can be pummeled by the Kirbys once he lets down his guard. After being defeated for the first time, a flame comes out of his body (implying that Dedede was possessed), and the way to Volcano Valley is opened. In Necro Nebula, King Dedede is fought again, but he and his hot air balloon now sport a purple color scheme.

King Dedede also appears in two of the subgames in Kirby Mass Attack (not counting his appearance in Survival Rush). The first is acting as the boss portal in Kirby Brawlball, and the second is being faced multiple times in Kirby Quest. If King Dedede gets to attack the Kirbys in this latter game, there's a chance that Escargoon or Captain Waddle Doo will appear, which is a callback to the anime series: Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. He also pilots the Dedede Robo which appears in Kirby Quest.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land[edit]

King Dedede appears in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but acts as a playable protagonist rather than an antagonist, controllable by the second, third, or fourth player (though he can be controlled by the first player in The Arena and The True Arena). Alongside Meta Knight and Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede assists Kirby in finding the missing parts of the Lor Starcutter and defeating several bosses, including the final boss.

King Dedede's moveset in Kirby's Return to Dream Land is very similar to that of Hammer Kirby, and he also uses a hover very similar to Kirby's. The main difference is his increased size and the fact that he can use infinite Hammer Throws.

King Dedede's moveset in Kirby's Return to Dream Land
Skill	Button Execution	Skill	Button Execution
Hammer	1	Midair Hammer Swing	1 in midair
Hammer Twirl	↓ + 1	Giant Dedede Swing	Dash + 1
Triple Dedede Hammer	Hold 1, release	Dedede Hammer Throw	Dash + - or Giant Dedede Swing + -
Dedede Hammer Flip	↑ + 1	Underwater Hammer Swing	1 underwater

Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition[edit]

In Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, King Dedede appears in the intro animation that carries into the title. When he is transformed from his 2D sprite into his 3D model form, he briefly laments about the belly he was given. From there, he helps launch Kirby into the title screen so he can become part of the emblem.

Dedede does not appear in the New Challenge Stages (outside of the credits), but naturally can be found in the main titles featured in the collection. The three episodes of the anime that are bundled with the collection also feature Dedede to some extent.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe[edit]

Story Mode[edit]

In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, King Dedede is first shown in the opening sequence, being captured by Taranza, who mistook Dedede as the hero of Dream Land. Throughout the first five levels, he is seen in every boss stage, being carried by Taranza. In the final level, Taranza turns Dedede into Masked Dedede and forces him to fight Kirby, but Kirby breaks his mask and knocks Dedede out for a while. After Queen Sectonia's initial defeat, Dedede comes back to his senses and helps Kirby defeat Queen Sectonia when she merges with the Dreamstalk as a last resort. First, he mans a cannon that fires Kirby at Sectonia's vines, and then he helps Kirby escape from Sectonia's clutches and tosses him a Miracle Fruit with Taranza's help. Once the Queen is finally defeated for good, King Dedede is rescued from falling by Taranza.

Sub-Games[edit]

Main article: Dedede's Drum Dash

Main article: Dededetour

King Dedede has his own Sub-Games: Dedede's Drum Dash (a rhythm action game) and Dededetour (a time attack mode, similar to the Meta Knightmare series). His likeness also appears in many of the game's collectible Keychains.

In Dededetour, King Dedede plays Kirby's role in a retelling of the main story, with the goal of defeating Queen Sectonia himself. After defeating her, however, Dedede discovers a Dimension Mirror which spits out a shadowy version of himself which he must then fight. After defeating this doppelgänger, King Dedede jumps into the mirror and finds himself in an eerie colosseum reminiscent of the same area from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, and battles Dark Meta Knight's Revenge. After defeating this evil warrior, King Dedede seals him in another Dimension Mirror and then smashes it with his hammer, thus finishing this game mode.

Moveset[edit]

Dedede's moveset in Dededetour is largely the same as it was in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but he is made larger in size, comparable to Bonkers, and is given a few new moves that allow him to solve puzzles that Kirby would normally require Copy Abilities for. Firstly, like Sword Kirby, Dedede can shoot a projectile from his regular Hammer if he has full health. Secondly, he can charge up and release an aimed projectile similar to Archer Kirby that can cut ropes. Lastly, Giant Dedede Swing now has a wind property that can put out flames, like Ice Kirby. As always, Hammer Twirl and Dedede Hammer Flip can light things on fire.

The following table lists King Dedede's moveset in Dededetour:

King Dedede's Moveset in Kirby: Triple Deluxe
Skill	Button Execution	Image	Skill	Button Execution	Image
Hammer	B		Hammer Twirl	↓ + B
Hammer Wave	B while at full health		Dedede Hammer Flip	↑ + B
Giant Dedede Swing	Dash + B		Dedede Hammer Cannon	Press and hold B, and then release
Quick Fall	↓↓ in midair		Aim Hammer Cannon	Either of ↑↓ while holding B
Giant Swing	B in midair		Dedede Hammer Throw	Dash + X
Ultra Swing	Dash + B in midair		Underwater Hammer Swing	B while swimming

Kirby Fighters Deluxe[edit]

Main article: Team DDD

In Kirby Fighters Deluxe, King Dedede with his smaller clones are fought as Team DDD (the number varies on difficulty, the hardest being Team DDD64) in the Final Round of Single Player mode. King Dedede has his usual set of moves here, but harder difficulties add more variations to his attacks.

King Dedede also serves as a stage hazard in the stage Dedede Arena, where he tosses things at the Kirbys.

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe[edit]

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe is the first game to feature King Dedede as the main character instead of Kirby. The game has him bouncing across drums in seven distinct stages to earn as high a score as possible. This is a standalone upgrade to Dedede's Drum Dash; the Sub-Game from Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse[edit]

While King Dedede himself does not feature in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, he is represented by one of the Figurines. His absence is explained in the Play Nintendo comic In the Name of Fashion, where he and Meta Knight are revealed to have lost their colors at the beginning of the game.^[6]

King Dedede also appears in Elline's Secret Diary, though his depiction suggests that Elline has not actually seen him, as there are notable differences in his characterization.

• 

  Elline's impression of King Dedede in the Secret Diary. Note the egg-shaped body, cape, and curly mustache.

Kirby: Planet Robobot[edit]

In the opening cutscene for Kirby: Planet Robobot, King Dedede is seen playing a (simplified) game of chess with his Waddle Dees at his castle when the Haltmann Works Company invasion begins. He orders his Waddle Dees to fire cannonballs at the invading ship, but to no avail. His castle is later destroyed by a laser from the ship.

Dedede himself does not feature in the game after this point, but his genetic information is stolen by Haltmann Works Co. to create the Dedede Clone. By the end of the game, he is shown to have been unconscious the entire time and wakes up in his castle's rubble after Popstar is returned to normal.

King Dedede's likeness also appears on several of the game's collectible stickers, which can be applied to the Robobot Armor. One of these stickers in particular is a doodle of his head, which is taken from a frame of the anime episode Cartoon Buffoon depicting his unchanged alter ego "DededeMan".

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe / Super Kirby Clash[edit]

King Dedede himself does not feature in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe or Super Kirby Clash. However, a dark lookalike is encountered as a powerful boss in both games.

In Super Kirby Clash, King Dedede is depicted by multiple stickers, including "Macho King Dedede" from Kirby Star Allies.

Kirby's Blowout Blast[edit]

In Kirby's Blowout Blast, King Dedede is faced as the last boss of the main series of levels, and has both a normal and a harder version named King Dedede's Revenge, with the latter having a purple color scheme and lacking a kimono (as a callback to his original artworks from early Kirby games). He battles Kirby using his hammer and other techniques as usual, though in a 3D space. The following lists King Dedede's attacks in Kirby's Blowout Blast. All attack names are conjectural unless otherwise stated.

King Dedede's attacks in Kirby's Blowout Blast
Attack	Description
Hammer	King Dedede preps his hammer, chases after Kirby and then swings it down in front of him, leaving a star behind. He can sometimes swing his hammer normally twice in a row before doing a powered-up slam that produces three shockwaves that home in on Kirby. In this case, stars appear after the shockwaves dissipate.
Super Dedede Jump	King Dedede jumps up high in the air and then comes crashing down on the ground, producing two stars and a shockwave. He can do this either once or three times in a row.
Head Slide	King Dedede runs towards Kirby and then makes a leaping dive at his current position, leaving a star behind in the process. Only King Dedede's Revenge can do this move either once or three times in a row.
Inhale	King Dedede hops to the center of the arena and opens his mouth trying to suck Kirby in. King Dedede's Revenge additionally rotates around the arena to catch up to Kirby's current position. If Kirby doesn't evade the suction, then King Dedede will eventually spit him back out, dealing damage in the process.

When defeated, Kirby prematurely celebrates his supposed victory. However, one of the Sparkling Stars falls in the same area where King Dedede fell and causes him to grow to a giant size as the second phase of the battle begins, now named Giant King Dedede. This form also gets a harder version named Giant King Dedede's Revenge (abbreviated Giant K. Dedede's Revenge in the British English version) when fought in Level 5 EX.

The following lists Giant King Dedede's (and Giant King Dedede's Revenge's) attacks in Kirby's Blowout Blast. All attack names are conjectural unless otherwise stated.

Giant King Dedede's attacks in Kirby's Blowout Blast
Attack	Description
Hammer	Giant King Dedede raises his hammer above the playing field, homes in on Kirby's position, and then slams it down on the ground. Multiple stars are left behind each time the hammer hits the ground. If the hammer is charging before the swing, then the slam leaves behind shockwaves. If the hammer does not charge, then Dedede will swing the hammer three times in a row, moving the hammer to a different location on the stage each time before swinging. Sometimes, Giant King Dedede immediately swings his hammer down left-to-right at either the top or bottom of the arena four times in a row before repeating a second time on the other side. Stars only appear every fourth hammer swing.
Inhale	Giant King Dedede opens his mouth and begins drawing Kirby closer to his gaping maw. If Kirby doesn't run away from the suction fast enough, he'll get caught, chewed on three times and then spat back out.
Zap Hammer	Attack exclusive to Giant King Dedede's Revenge. Giant King Dedede's Revenge raises his hammer above the playing field, charges it up with static electricity and then slams it down on the ground, producing four electric shockwaves that home in on Kirby's positioning. Stars are left behind after the shockwaves dissipate.

When defeated in this state, he returns to normal size and lays on the ground knocked out. In Level 5, King Dedede is knocked out in a fashion similar to other battles across the series. In Level 5 EX, King Dedede stands there dazed with his mouth open, similar to his shocked expression from Kirby's Dream Land.

At the end of the Secret Path, King Dedede also dons his mask when he grows giant for the final encounter. When defeated in this state, King Dedede starts crying, much like in the Extra Game post-credits scene in Kirby's Dream Land.

Kirby Battle Royale[edit]

Main article: Dedede's Cake Royale

King Dedede is the host of the grand tournament featured in the story mode of Kirby Battle Royale, having set up this tournament in the hopes of humiliating Kirby in a series of elaborate (and expensive) games. He oversees the Kirby Printer – which creates copies of Kirby to fight the real thing — and later engages Kirby himself at the end of the Platinum League. When Kirby beats him, he falls back and then pilots a giant robot, the Dededestroyer Z, in a last-ditch effort to stop Kirby from claiming his cake.

King Dedede is a playable character in this title, unlockable after completing Dedede's Cake Royale. He fights similarly to Hammer Kirby, but has a unique charge attack. Additionally, a piece of alternate headgear for Hammer Kirby is based on Dedede. Dedede himself also has alternate headgear, with one in particular making him resemble Masked Dedede.

King Dedede's moveset in Kirby Battle Royale
Skill	Button Execution
Hammer	B/Y
Hammer Twirl	B/Y during jump
Dedede Hammer Throw	Hold/release B/Y
Giant Dedede Swing	Y/A

Kirby Star Allies[edit]

King Dedede has an elaborate role in Kirby Star Allies, serving first as a boss and later as a Dream Friend that Kirby can recruit from the Dream Palace:

As a boss[edit]

King Dedede starts the game being possessed by one of the falling Jamba Heart pieces and sets off Kirby's adventure by once again stealing all of the food in Dream Land via his Waddle Dee servants. When Kirby and friends arrive in the throne room of Castle Dedede, they can see King Dedede gorging himself on the (quite dirty) food, and King Dedede attacks Kirby's team immediately.

The first phase of the battle plays out as usual, with Dedede attacking using Head Slides, Dedede Jumps, his hammer, hovering, and his Hypernova Inhale. However, once the second phase begins, Dedede is consumed by the power possessing him and becomes considerably beefier; his arms becoming huge and ripping through his robe. In this form, Dedede uses his massive arms to pummel Kirby and friends, as well as toss food, swing around columns, and break the floor away to reveal new arenas and (momentarily) separate Kirby's teammates.

Once defeated, the dark heart pops out of King Dedede and he returns to normal (his robe also being inexplicably repaired), then passes out. If Kirby is fast near the end of this defeat sequence, he can toss a Friend Heart at King Dedede and recruit him right away as a Dream Friend. Kirby and co. then do their victory dance and pursue the dark heart after the credits roll.

King Dedede is also fought in the main credits after completing Story Mode, though here, he does not transform into his "macho" form. In The Ultimate Choice, King Dedede and his "macho" form are faced in every difficulty except for "Soul Melter EX" (where he is replaced by Parallel Dedede).

Moveset[edit]

The following lists all of King Dedede's attacks during his boss battle.

King Dedede's boss attacks in Kirby Star Allies
First phase: King Dedede wields his hammer and attacks in a similar fashion to previous Kirby games.
Attack	Description
ヘッドスライディング Head Slide	Dedede runs and dives into Kirby or an ally. He always begins with this attack in this boss battle, similar to many previous Kirby games. Unlike previous Kirby games, Head Slide leaves a Dropped Star on each side this time.
デデデジャンプ Dedede Jump	Dedede jumps into the air and attempts to land on Kirby or an ally. He leaves a star on each side when landing. It is only named "Super Dedede Jump" in this game when he uses it as a Dream Friend.
ハンマーたたき Hammer	Dedede slams his hammer in front of him. This leaves a star from his hammer. If he gets close to an airborne target, he will instead jump into the air and slam the hammer down, producing a shockwave. Both the hammer and shockwave leave behind stars.
ビッグバンすいこみ～はきだし Hypernova Inhale ~ Spit	Dedede jumps to one end of the stage, then inhales in the range of about half the stage. If he captures someone, he will then spit them out. King Dedede's inhale has been named "Hypernova Inhale" since Kirby: Triple Deluxe, to reflect its improved range.
ホバリング Hover	Dedede takes in air and starts flying. Once he is finished, he releases an Air Bullet and falls back to ground level.
Second phase: When King Dedede's stamina is below about 65%, his hammer is destroyed and lost. Now his body gets buffed under the influence of the dark heart and he attacks with his giant beefy arms.
Attack	Description
デデデジャンプ Dedede Jump	In this phase, Dedede jumps into the air and slams the ground with his beefy arms. He leaves two stars on each side when landing. He may do this jump once or three times.
デスパレートダムダム Desperate Dam Dam	Dedede attacks with his beefy arms, slamming the ground in succession. Every slam leaves a star. At the end of Dedede's combo, a rock is flipped out from the floor, which can be swallowed for the Stone ability. After breaking the floor of the castle, Dedede instead jumps to a nearby pillar, charges up and then slams both his arms onto the ground. This occurs twice in a row after breaking the floor once and three times after breaking the floor twice. After the final instance of the attack, his arms get stuck in the ground for a few seconds before he pulls them out, along with some rocks. ダムダム (dam dam) is most commonly associated with the sound of dribbling a basketball, but can figuratively be taken to mean the sound of anything bouncing off a floor, such as Dedede's fists in this case.
ディスポーズフード Dispose Food	Dedede collects some dirty food from the pile and tosses it at Kirby or an ally. This food is dangerous if swallowed, but can be cleaned using Water or any Splash elemental attack. After breaking the floor of the castle, he hops on a nearby pillar before tossing the food at a certain character.
Stage Transition	When Dedede's health is lowered to two given moments (about 45% and 25% left), he slams the floor with his beefy arms, causing it to break and sending everyone to a lower level which contains pillars. Kirby and friends are separated to different sides of the pillars. The bottom of the pillars can be destroyed so Kirby can reunite with his allies. The first level below has one pillar and the second level below has two pillars. This attack has no official name.
ディザスターグルグル Disaster Spin	Dedede spins around the pillars, jumping from one to the other. グルグル (guru guru) means "spin"/"twirl" in Japanese. Its synonym can be found in the names of some Copy Ability attacks like ぐりぐりハンマー (Hammer Twirl) and ぐりぐりパラソル (Parasol Twirl).
ダムダムターン Dam Dam Turn	After breaking the floor, Dedede may occasionally follow up Desperate Dam Dam by slamming his arm in the ground twice in three sets, with each set in a different direction; left or right. After the third set, he slams his arm in the ground and it gets stuck. After a second or two, he pulls his arm out as a rock comes flying out of it. This attack is only named in concept art seen from Kirby JP Twitter, and is otherwise considered to be the same as "Desperate Dam Dam" in official guides.
Attack names are taken from Japanese guide books where applicable; English translations are taken from official sources in other games where possible.

In the first phase, King Dedede attacks in a fixed order on loop as follows:

1. Head Slide x2
2. Dedede Jump x3
3. Hammer
4. Dedede Jump
5. Hypernova Inhale ~ Spit
6. Head Slide
7. Dedede Jump
8. Hover

In the first-third of phase 2, King Dedede switches to this pattern:

1. Dedede Jump
2. Desperate Dam Dam
3. Dispose Food x3
4. Dedede Jump x3
5. Dispose Food x3

After losing some of his health during phase 2 and after using the "Stage Transition" attack, King Dedede attacks in a fixed order on loop as follows:

1. Dispose Food x2
2. Desperate Dam Dam x2
3. Disaster Spin
4. Desperate Dam Dam x2
5. Dam Dam Turn
6. Disaster Spin
7. Desperate Dam Dam x2

After losing some more of his health during phase 2 and after using the "Stage Transition" attack for a second time, King Dedede switches to this fixed order on loop:

1. Disaster Spin x2
2. Desperate Dam Dam x3
3. Dam Dam Turn
4. Dispose Food
5. Disaster Spin x2
6. Desperate Dam Dam x3
7. Disaster Spin x2
8. Dispose Food
9. Desperate Dam Dam x3

As a Dream Friend[edit]

King Dedede also appears as a Dream Friend, recruitable from a Dream Palace (or right after his boss fight as mentioned above). In this form, he can help Kirby and travel with him using a moveset similar to the one he had in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. However, he is now able to use the Head Slide attack, which formerly could only be seen in his boss battles. In the latest update, he was also given the Super Dedede Jump. King Dedede as a playable Dream Friend can deal more damage than Hammer Kirby and Bonkers when using the same moves.^[7] What's more, King Dedede has a larger attack range than those two characters thanks to Dedede being taller (i.e. better aerial range).

Outside of Story Mode, King Dedede can also be selected as a character (including for the first player) in Guest Star ???? Star Allies Go! and The Ultimate Choice. He also has a dedicated section in Heroes in Another Dimension.

In his previous playable appearances in Kirby's Return to Dream Land and Kirby: Triple Deluxe, King Dedede's hitbox is the same size as Kirby's, despite his model being much larger. Due to this, he can squeeze through the same gaps that Kirby can, even when it appears as though he shouldn't. This was changed in Kirby Star Allies however, due to the fact that a bigger hitbox wouldn't hinder the progression in that particular game.^[8]

Moveset[edit]

King Dedede's Dream Friend moveset in Kirby Star Allies
Skill	Button Execution
Hammer	B
Dedede Hammer Throw	Dash + Y
Hammer Twirl	↓ + B
Head Slide	Dash + ↓ + B, release
Giant Dedede Swing	Dash + B
Super Dedede Jump	↓, and then ↑ + B (Added in v4.0.0 update; Can be repeated immediately up to 3 times)
Giant Swing	B in midair
Underwater Hammer Swing	B underwater
Ultra Giant Swing	Dash + B in midair
Hover	A in midair
Dedede Hammer Flip	↑ + B
Air Bullet	B during Hover
Move While Charging	During Dedede Hammer Flip ↔

Other appearances[edit]

Outside of his physical appearances, King Dedede is depicted in many of the game's Celebration Pictures. He can also be seen depicted with one of the hidden "murals" in the stages, most notably visible in Heroes in Another Dimension.

Kirby Fighters 2[edit]

King Dedede plays a prominent role in Kirby Fighters 2, both as a playable character and as a boss, paired up with Meta Knight. King Dedede is unlocked as a playable fighter after Story Mode: The Destined Rivals is completed. His moveset is largely the same as it is in Kirby Star Allies. Notably, he has 15% more health than other playable characters, perhaps to help compensate for his larger size. Additionally, one of his battle entrance poses is the same pose he assumes in his Super Smash Bros. Ultimate render.

For more precise competitive-oriented information on King Dedede in Kirby Fighters 2, see Mizuumi Wiki's page.

For more information about his role as a boss, see King Dedede & Meta Knight.

Moveset[edit]

King Dedede's moveset in Kirby Fighters 2
Skill	Button Execution	Description	Damage (unmodified)	Notes
Hammer	B	King Dedede pounds the ground in front of him with his hammer, dealing large damage to foes in the way.	32 13 (indirect hit)
Hammer Twirl	↓ + B	King Dedede thrusts his hammer down and spins it, drilling into foes caught in the motion.	34 (if all hits connect)	This move no longer has invincibility frames during normal battles.
Giant Dedede Swing	Dash + B	King Dedede slides forward while spinning with his hammer out, dragging foes along with his motion.	41 (if all hits connect)	This move no longer has invincibility frames during normal battles.
Giant Swing	B in midair	King Dedede performs a somersault with his hammer out, hitting foes around him.	24
Ultra-Giant Swing	Dash + B in midair	King Dedede performs several somersaults with his hammer out, hitting foes around him.	32 (if all hits connect)
Dedede Hammer Flip	↑ + B	King Dedede charges his hammer and releases a powerful upward swing at varying levels of charge, sending his opponent flying and dealing massive damage when fully charged. If Dedede charges for too long, his hammer's head breaks, and he can only swing the handle for small damage.	36 (uncharged) 48 (partially charged) 76 (fully charged) 8 (overcharged)
Move While Charging	During Dedede Hammer Flip ←/→	King Dedede can slowly shuffle left or right while charging Hammer Flip. He can also jump a short distance.	N/A
Dedede Hammer Throw	Dash + ↑ + B	King Dedede performs a spin with his hammer out, then tosses it forward, where it explodes upon hitting an enemy.	36 (if all swing hits connect) 35 (thrown hammer)	This move no longer has invincibility frames during normal battles.
Head Slide	Dash + ↓ + B	King Dedede leaps forward and crashes into his opponent.	24 (initial hit) 7 (subsequent hits)	This move no longer has invincibility frames during normal battles.
Super Dedede Jump	↓, then ↑ + B	King Dedede jumps high into the air, then crashes back down, creating stars on impact. King Dedede can steer himself left or right while jumping.	17 (rising hit) 30 (impact) 13 (stars)	This move no longer has invincibility frames during normal battles. Additionally, its left and right movement has been greatly reduced since Kirby Star Allies. The move can be done up to three times in a row.

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

King Dedede returns in Kirby and the Forgotten Land and its Nintendo Switch 2 Edition as a boss, titled His Royal Nemesis like in Kirby Star Allies. His appearance is drastically different from previous games: he somewhat resembles his Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards design, but with more prominent fur, torn clothing, and a mottled orange leopard-skin robe with red feathers sticking out of the collar. In addition, his pupils are now red and he has a stripe of red war paint across his face, somewhat resembling a blush. However, the former seems to be an effect of his possession - once freed, his pupils return to being a dark blue.

As revealed through various figure description, King Dedede's first thought upon arriving in the new world at the beginning of the game was to look for Kirby, who (to his misery) hadn't arrived yet. After a while, his mind slowly got controlled by telepathic waves from Fecto Forgo's larval state into helping the Beast Pack. Kirby first encounters him in the Winter Horns boss stage "An Unexpected Beast King" where – after seemingly being defeated – he successfully captures Elfilin and escapes to the Forbidden Island. The next time Kirby comes across King Dedede in the stage "In the Presence of the King", he is further corrupted by a mask resembling a hog, and is now called Forgo Dedede. After a hard battle, Kirby breaks this mask and frees King Dedede from his possession, allowing him to reunite with his Waddle Dees. However, this rejoice is abruptly interrupted when a stampede of Beast Pack members closes in on the group, and King Dedede decides to stay back and fight the beasts alone after saving one of his Waddle Dees who tripped and fell behind Kirby and the others.

After defeating the Ultimate Life-Form, King Dedede is shown to have survived (despite the Beast Pack horde catching up to Kirby at the end of the battle of Leongar), having moved into Waddle Dee Town (along with the three Waddle Dees that were saved at the end of Redgar Forbidden Lands), next to the Colosseum.

Illusory versions of King Dedede and Forgo Dedede, known as Phantom King Dedede and Phantom Forgo Dedede, appear as bosses in Forgo Dreams. All Dedede boss fights also appear in the various cups of the Colosseum.

King Dedede has 1,600 HP in An Unexpected Beast King and 1,120 HP in the Colosseum. He enters the second phase when his health is less than 40% and takes 0.2X damage when he roars at the start of the battle and during the transition to phase 2.^[9]

The following lists all of King Dedede's attacks during his boss battle (attack names are from the Kirby and the Forgotten Land Perfect Support Guide). He is accompanied by two Primal Awoofies at the start, both of which are ordered to immediately rush Kirby. Any Primal Awoofies still present by the time Dedede transitions to the second phase immediately disappear during the cutscene.

King Dedede's attacks in Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Attack	Description	Variants	Notes
ハンマーたたき Hammer	King Dedede approaches Kirby with his hammer and, once close enough, slams down, creating a Dropped Star on impact.	King Dedede might do two Hammer attacks in a row before using "Dedede Swing."	King Dedede always begins the battle with one instance of this attack.
スーパーデデデジャンプ Super Dedede Jump	King Dedede makes a great leap into the air, then falls down, producing a shockwave on landing and causing a ring of Dropped Stars to appear around him.	He may use this move up to three times in succession, with the last jump being a very high spinning one.
ヘッドスライディング Head Slide	King Dedede runs after Kirby and dives at him, producing two Dropped Stars on impact, assuming that the head slide doesn't occur too close to the edge of the arena.
デデデスイング Dedede Swing	King Dedede approaches Kirby with his hammer and, once close enough, swings around laterally, creating a Dropped Star after the swing.	King Dedede may do the "Hammer" attack twice before finishing with this move.
Second phase only
エンド オブ アイスエイジ End of Ice Age	King Dedede slams the ground hard with his pillar, creating a fissure that spreads out from the impact and erupts with icy spikes.
NEW WORLDアタック NEW WORLD Attack	King Dedede attacks with his pillar, slamming the ground and creating lots of Dropped Stars.	The initial attack may happen once or three times before the NEW WORLD Swing.
NEW WORLDスイング NEW WORLD Swing	King Dedede swings his pillar laterally and creating lots of Dropped Stars.	The NEW WORLD Attack may happen once or three times before the swing, while other times Dedede may only do the NEW WORLD Swing.

Kirby's Dream Buffet[edit]

King Dedede does not appear directly in Kirby's Dream Buffet. However, Kirby can dress up like him and take on his main body color using the Costumes & Colors menu. Additionally, King Dedede appears on several Character Treats.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[edit]

King Dedede returns in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, reprising his role from Kirby's Return to Dream Land. In this remake, King Dedede's design has been updated to more closely resemble his appearance in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, rather than the Kirby Super Star-based design of the original. Dedede also reprises his role as a challenger in Samurai Kirby as well as a target in Kirby on the Draw. Three Dress-Up Masks are dedicated to King Dedede himself, including ones based on his appearance in this game, Forgo Dedede, and Masked Dedede, and they can be unlocked by completing Stamp Rally cards #10, #29, and #37 respectively. Wearing any of these masks will replace the wearer's voice with King Dedede's.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, King Dedede was given a few more moves (Head Slide, Super Dedede Jump, and a chargeable Hammer Flip) and adjustments to match his appearance as a Dream Friend in Kirby Star Allies:

King Dedede's moveset in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe
Skill	Button Execution
Hammer	B/Y
Hammer Twirl	↓ + B/Y
Triple Dedede Hammer	Press and hold B/Y, then release
Giant Dedede Swing	Dash + B/Y
Midair Hammer Swing	B/Y in midair
Dedede Hammer Flip	↑ + B/Y
Move while Charging	Left/right during Dedede Hammer Flip
Dedede Hammer Throw	Dash + Y/A
Head Slide	↓ + B/Y while dashing
Super Dedede Jump	↓, then ↑ + B/Y
Underwater Hammer Swing	B/Y while underwater
Hover	A/B in midair
Air Bullet	B/Y during Hover

Kirby Air Riders[edit]

King Dedede is a playable rider in Kirby Air Riders, being one of the four starting riders alongside Kirby, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee. His design is reminiscent of his appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series. Unlike in Kirby Air Ride, King Dedede is not selectable as a machine, but instead as a standalone character. This means that the king can now ride any Air Ride Machine from the game. Like all riders, King Dedede is capable of using Copy Abilities. When not using a Copy Ability, he uses his hammer to hit riders and enemies directly in front of him. For his Special, Jet Hammer, Dedede uses the propulsion of the Jet Hammer to increase his speed. If he performs a Quick Spin during this Special, his reach and damage is significantly increased. In contrast to most other riders, King Dedede has three other alternate color schemes, each of them based on one of his alternate colors in the Super Smash Bros. titles. In the Road Trip cinematics, its Checklist image, and his amiibo, he rides the Tank Star.

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

Super Smash Bros.[edit]

King Dedede makes a cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros.. In the background of Dream Land, a King Dedede sprite can be seen flying around. In addition, King Dedede was planned to be a playable character but was scrapped later in development.

Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]

King Dedede makes another cameo appearance in Super Smash Bros. Melee, appearing as a random trophy and reprising his previous role as a sprite in Dream Land.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]

As a Playable Character[edit]

King Dedede makes his first appearance as a playable character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl alongside Meta Knight, who is also a new fighter, and Kirby, who has been a fighter since the first game. His attacks are especially strong, particularly his side Smash Attack, though the fact that he is slow can greatly lower the player's chance of winning. Like Kirby, he has the ability to jump multiple times.

Despite King Dedede's heavyweight status, his four midair jumps and very long-range up-special 'Super Dedede Jump' can allow him to come back from even the deepest parts of off-stage. As such, his survivability is quite high, even if he is often unable to get a hit against speedier characters. His ability to 'chain-grab' certain opponents (by grabbing and throwing them over and over again) makes him very dangerous in certain matchups, and in many cases makes up for his otherwise lackluster moveset. King Dedede is also infamous for his forward-tilt attack, where he juts his hammer out forward in a motion that can hit much farther than any other attack of its type in the game.

Role in The Subspace Emissary[edit]

In the Adventure Mode of Brawl, The Subspace Emissary, King Dedede plays a major role in the story.

At the beginning of the gameplay, he is seen turning other protagonists into trophies and putting his badges on them. However, it turns out Dedede is actually not affiliated with the Subspace Army, similar to his role in his home series as surprise hero.

In the prologue, King Dedede accidentally allows the Subspace Army to capture the Halberd while distracting Meta Knight. Soon after, he learns of the presence of Tabuu, the final boss of the story who can turn any character into a trophy with his Off Waves. Dedede then develops badges called Dedede Brooches, which can revive the character trophies at a set time.

He manages to get Ness, Luigi, and either Peach or Zelda's trophy (which princess depends on player action), as well as steal Wario's transportation vehicle, a Cargo. He attempts to take Mario and Pit/Link and Yoshi's trophies, but Kirby slashes the Cargo claw, with an arrow from either Pit or Link slowing it down. He heads to his castle in order to place his brooches, but as he does, Bowser breaks the roof, crushing Dedede. Bowser steals the princess, and during an encounter with Kirby's group, the brooch falls off. Kirby inhales the brooch off-screen. His castle is absorbed by a Subspace Bomb.

The protagonists later face Tabuu, but all get knocked out and turned into trophies by his Off-Waves. Thanks to the Dedede Brooches, Luigi and Ness are revived. They revive King Dedede, and they revive several fighters, while the newly awakened Kirby also does so. King Dedede combats Bowser, showing him that Tabuu is a common enemy. Dedede reunites with Kirby joyously, and if Wario is revived, convinces him to join the team like with Bowser. The fighters go through the Great Maze, and defeat Tabuu, with the help of Sonic, Dedede gleefully viewing the sunset with the rest of the cast.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U[edit]

King Dedede was confirmed as a veteran fighter for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U during the Super Smash Bros. Direct on April 8th, 2014. As his creator Masahiro Sakurai stated, the king is now more expressive. Another major difference is that he throws Gordos instead of Waddle Dees. However, the Waddle Dees and Parasol Waddle Dees appear as enemies in Smash Bros 3DS' Smash Run, and the Gordos the king throws can be deflected back by his enemies.

Additionally, his Final Smash was changed to Dedede Burst, which involves him trapping his opponents using his Inhale, then hitting them with a giant bomb that pops out of his hammer. Unfortunately, whether by a bug or otherwise, this is the only trapping-type Final Smash in the game that can be jumped out of before all of the attacks connect.

Once again, King Dedede reprises his role from Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee in Dream Land, which has been reintroduced as DLC content. However, if King Dedede is present in the battle, then the King Dedede sprite will not appear.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]

King Dedede returns in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, though this time he must be unlocked before he can be used. Although retaining his essential characteristics as a slow heavyweight with five jumps, he has had many important improvements to his moveset to help offset his status as one of the worst fighters in the previous game. His main improvements come in the form of stronger and safer hammer attacks, which can now properly ward off opponents in most cases. His mobility has also been improved somewhat and his already heavy weight increased even further, now equal to Donkey Kong. While still poorly regarded in the competetive scene, he is universally agreed to still be improved compared to his previous appearance.

King Dedede has had a couple of fundamental changes to his moveset as well. His Inhale can now catch projectiles and spit them back for increased damage, acting as a sort of reflector much like Kirby's. In addition, he was once again given a new Final Smash (this one known as 'Dede-Rush'), which allows him to throw his opponents into a caged boxing ring and assault them as Masked Dedede before launching them away.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya![edit]

Main article: King Dedede (anime character)

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, King Dedede serves as one of the villains of the story, though the role of true villain belongs to eNeMeE. He rules over Dream Land, which includes the residents of Cappy Town, though said residents do not treat him with much respect or loyalty. His castle is situated on a high cliff overlooking the town. Other castle residents include his main lackey Escargoon, Meta Knight and his apprentices Sword Knight and Blade Knight, Sir Ebrum, Lady Like, their children Tiff and Tuff, and a retinue of Waddle Dees led by Captain Waddle Doo.

King Dedede is characterized in the anime as a jealous, short-tempered, and foolish tyrant who tries constantly to remove Kirby from Dream Land, whether that be by attempting to destroy him with a monster purchased from Night Mare Enterprises or by attempting to subvert Cappy Town's support of the pink Star Warrior. Most of his rage when these plans are foiled is directed at his assistant Escargoon, who puts up with this abuse on the regular. He is also shown to be extremely childish, and is prone to attacking other characters with his hammer when he doesn't get what he wants. He does, however, have a rarely-seen compassionate side, and is occasionally shown treating Escargoon or Kirby as a friend. He is shown to be unable to read or do even basic mathematics, though this trait is inconsistent between episodes. In the Japanese version of the show, King Dedede ends most of his sentences with "zoi".

In the Kirby novel series[edit]

Main article: King Dedede (novel character)

King Dedede is one of the main protagonists of the Kirby novel series, along with being the star of one of the novels. He lives in his castle in Dream Land as the self-proclaimed ruler. He gets along well with Meta Knight and sometimes Kirby. He is identical in appearance to his game counterpart, and shares the same large appetite. He considers Kirby to be his rival.

Portrayals[edit]

King Dedede was first voiced by Masahiro Sakurai in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Since then, while Sakurai continued to voice Dedede in the Super Smash Bros. series since Super Smash Bros. Brawl, he has been voiced by Shinya Kumazaki in all of his Kirby series appearances since Kirby Super Star Ultra. Interestingly, however, Kumazaki is never credited in-game for his voice work.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, King Dedede is voiced by Kenichi Ogata in the original Japanese version and Ted Lewis in the English dub, where he was depicted with a distinct Texan accent.

Profiles[edit]

Flavor text[edit]

Image	Game	Flavor text
	Kirby: Canvas Curse	Big, heavy, and mallet-toting!
	Kirby's Return to Dream Land	The king of Dream Land! This big dude is one tough cookie. With his trusty hammer, it’s aim once, WHAM once!
	Kirby: Triple Deluxe	At long last--Dededetour! This land will not be ruled by Queen Sectonia. No! It will be ruled by the king! The self-proclaimed Great King of Dream Land embarks on his own adventure!
	Kirby and the Rainbow Curse	The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land loves to swing his giant hammer and breathe in lots of air. He spends countless hours in training in order to learn how to fly just like Kirby. He appears here in figurine form only.
	Kirby Star Allies	As a boss: Surely King Dedede would never steal all the food in the kingdom and hoard it for himself... Why would he do such a vile deed?! Such questions will have to wait, as the king is coming for his eternal rival with all the fury of a wild beast! As a Dream Friend: The rival to rival all rivals, ever since Kirby's Dream Land! This tough guy calls himself a king and can take a friend's power and add it to that of his hammer... Wait, rather than reading about it, you should just try it out! Go on! You know you can't resist! Guest Star King Dedede: "I'll be the one to keep the peace!" Kirby's first rival, from Kirby's Dream Land, wants to clean up his image, so he's set off to save his people. There's no stopping this self-made king, so watch out, world!
	Kirby and the Forgotten Land	His Royal Nemesis King Dedede (figure) King Dedede arrived in the new world shortly before Kirby and his friends! It looked like he joined forces with the Beast Pack, but that's no excuse for his mistreatment of the Waddle Dees! His iconic gown seems to have been altered to match his newfound allegiance...and he seems way, way stronger somehow! Destined Rivals (figure) "Planet Popstar's destined rivals!" That's how King Dedede usually describes this special relationship, so he was crestfallen when he arrived in the new world and couldn't find Kirby. By the time they finally met, Dedede had changed from friendly rival to menace!
	Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe	Make way for the king of Dream Land! I'm big and burly, just like my hammer. You won't get far without me...so I'm coming too!
	Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World	Slobby King (figure) Bring more fruit! And make it snappy! It might seem as though this king is just lazin' around, but he's actually got a lot on his mind. Kings feel bad too, ya know. About the stuff they did to the Waddle Dees back in the day? Oh, yeah. Stirs up the emotions. This king is considering a royal, but brief, apology. The Rivalry Lives On! (figure) Rivals learned to survive in a new world. King Dedede was starving when he joined forces with the king of the beasts. But Meta Knight, sensing the sinister will of something to the north, shook it off and became a protector of Waddle Dee Town.
	Kirby Air Riders	A heavyweight rider who rules the raceway! Hits hard with his powerful hammer.

Super Smash Bros. Melee trophy[edit]

King Dedede's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee
Name	Image	Appears In	Description
King Dedede		Kirby's Dream Land (08/92)	Dedede's the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. While he says he's king, Dedede performs no administrative functions and the citizens of Dream Land continue to live as they always have. He's able to suck in air and fly like Kirby does, but only as a result of the vigorous training he undertook after being bested by Kirby.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl trophy[edit]

King Dedede's trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Name	Image	Appears In	Description
King Dedede		GB Kirby's Dream Land N64 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards	The self-styled king of the amazingly peaceful Dream Land. He continually does things unbecoming a king, like stealing the kingdom's food supplies or all the stars from the sky. He's not all bad, though, and sometimes performs good deeds. While he and Kirby often battle, they've been known to compete good-naturedly at speed-eating contests and minigames.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U trophies[edit]

King Dedede's trophies in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
Name	3DS Image	Wii U Image	Appears In	American English description	British English description
King Dedede			GB Kirby's Dream Land (08/1992) 3DS Kirby: Triple Deluxe (05/2014)	He calls himself the King of Dream Land, but he doesn't have a lot of interest in ruling. He really loves to eat, so it's no surprise he's a heavyweight fighter. Despite his size and low speed, he can easily recover with his four jumps. His Jet Hammer will leave a mark on everyone he meets.	Being a self-proclaimed king, Dedede clearly doesn't care too much about the whole "politics" things. He's just a bit greedy. In this game, his weight and hefty hammer make him slow, but he can still jump four times in mid-air anyway, making it easy for him to get back to the stage. Fully charge his Jet Hammer for ultimate destruction.
King Dedede (Alt.)			GB Kirby's Dream Land (08/1992) 3DS Kirby: Triple Deluxe (05/2014)	For the Gordo Throw side special, King Dedede sends a Gordo bouncing with a hammer strike. It bounces off walls—or sometimes gets stuck in them. After a while it'll disappear. If an enemy hits one, it'll bounce back toward you. Use the special again to whack it back at them!	For the Gordo Throw side special, King Dedede hits a Gordo with his hammer, sending it bouncing along the stage. It'll bounce off walls, or sometimes get stuck in them. Then, after a while, it'll disappear. If an enemy hits the Gordo with an attack, it'll fly back towards you. Use the special again to whack it back at them!

Blue indicates exclusive to the Wii U version.

Kirby: Squeak Squad manual[edit]

• "From his castle high atop the mountains, King Dedede rules over all of Dream Land. Is he responsible for the theft of Kirby's Cake? Only time will tell..."

Kirby: Triple Deluxe electronic manual[edit]

• "The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land and Kirby's archrival. Might he have a role to play?"

amiibo[edit]

• Every hero needs an arch frenemy, and King Dedede is Kirby’s! He calls himself the King of Dream Land, but he doesn’t have a lot of interest in ruling. His hobbies include eating, stirring up trouble, and yelling orders at his loyal Waddle Dees while bashing things with his huge hammer.

Play Nintendo[edit]

Every hero needs an arch frenemy, and King Dedede is Kirby’s!
The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land, King Dedede just loves stirring up trouble. His other hobbies include yelling orders at his loyal Waddle Dees and bashing things with his huge hammer.

Kirby Portal[edit]

• The greedy, self-proclaimed king of Dream Land, King Dedede is Kirby’s “arch-frenemy”. Armed with a giant hammer, King Dedede often causes trouble, but sometimes helps Kirby out in a pinch.

Nintendo Today![edit]

The self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. His star-stamped hammer is his pride and joy, but he can also inhale and spit out enemies just like Kirby. The hat he wears is actually his crown. He has a castle on Mt. Dedede, where he cooks up trouble with his minions.

He tries to keep Dream Land safe, and sometimes helps out Kirby in a pinch. Any way you look at it, he has a kind side too.

Music[edit]

King Dedede is often associated with the following musical themes:

• "King Dedede's Theme"
• "Gourmet Race"

King Dedede has also occasionally been related to "Masked Dedede's Theme", but that theme is usually reserved for his alter ego.

Trivia[edit]

• While King Dedede's appearance in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is the only time in which he does not wear gloves in-game, his artwork for earlier games such as Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land 2 also depicts him without gloves.
• King Dedede is often subject to possession and other forms of mind control. He has been unwillingly controlled by Dark Matter in Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3, Dark Rimuro in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Yin-Yarn in Kirby's Epic Yarn, Taranza in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, a piece of the Jamba Heart in Kirby Star Allies, and Fecto Forgo in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
• Since Kirby: Triple Deluxe, King Dedede's inhale attack (including his other forms) has a significantly increased range; in Japanese material, it is named ビッグバンすいこみ (the Japanese name of Hypernova Inhale). Dedede Clone's inhale, meanwhile, is named がんばり吸いこみ (the Japanese name of Super Inhale), reflecting its slightly reduced strength compared to most of Dedede's forms.
• King Dedede became the "Osaka Station Master", the icon for the Osaka fair of Japan's Pupupu Train merchandise event during June 15-25, 2018.^[10] Residents of Osaka are frequently stereotyped as loud and brash figures, similarly to Dedede's portrayal throughout the series.
• Several descriptions of the Hammer Copy Ability imply or directly mention that the hammer Kirby uses is inherited from King Dedede himself.

Gallery[edit]

Main article: King Dedede/gallery

Quotes[edit]

Quotes from King Dedede in the Kirby series

"Kirby!! Your dream has carried you far, but here it ends." "The Dream Fountain Cup will be mine!" "Nyehehehe! There was one left!" "Hey Kirby! This means war!! If you can stack this many ★'s, you win!" "When you lose, I get to laugh at you...big time! Ha-ha-ha!!" "What do you think? Lot's[sic] of work, huh?! It will get much, much faster!" "Shoot, shoot, shoot... Think you can win? Think again!" "Don't let your head get so big. I haven't really even begun yet!" "You've done well to make it this far, Kirby!" "Yes, I shot that star out of the sky!" "I'm going to keep all the pieces for myself!" "What did I do to deserve this..." "Waaaaahh!!" "You mean Kirby is coming here now?!" "R-right... Well... Here's what we do! Kirby will be OURS!" "First, test him... Go, my servants!" "Argh! We'll see how he likes the next!" "Unthinkable! He beat that one, too?!" "Cursed pink lump! I can't believe it!" "Third one's the charm! Get him, Phan Phan!" "Grr! All right, call the cavalry!" "Enough, Kirby! Face Twin Fire Lions!" "Ack! Can't anyone beat that guy?!" "(...We're done for... Only one option...)" "...O-OK then. I guess it's your turn." "...Fine, you can go. You've been spared." "(...I'm sorry.)" "(It's time for my secret weapon...)" "Now you pay, Kirby!" "You made it here... Now, arm yourself!" "Our grudge will be settled at last..." "Meet my powerful secret weapon..." "The brand-new Dedede Hammer!" "Finally, Kirby! I thought you'd never get here." "Ha! You're going to love this. I've got a DELICIOUS treat for you." "A truly DELUXE delight." "A triple helping of DANGER." "Welcome to Dedede's Cake Royale!" "My tournament here is jam-packed with crazy battles." "Try hard enough, and you might just win a battle or two." "About time you noticed. All right, let's show 'em our big surprise." "You see, this here machine is my fancy new Kirby Printer." "It spits out Kirby copies, good as the original. Maybe better." "Ha! You've got it. Kirby versus Kirby versus Kirby. Nothing better!" "There's a deluxe hunk of cake for the winner of this whole thing." "Ha! A Kirby tourney with only one cake. Let the mayhem begin!" "So, Kirby's not doing all that bad, huh?" "I guess it'd be dull for the crowds if he didn't win once in a while." "It's time to put a stop to Kirby though. Fire up my printer!" "Heh. That should do it. Kirby's losing streak begins NOW." "What? They're STILL winning?" "That pip-squeak! I made up these battles to bust him down to size." "So he'd better get to losing already—or else!" "Well, no one makes a fool of King Dedede..." "NO ONE!" "Hey, you! Get to cranking! We've got to turn up the heat." "That should do it. Kirby's streak of luck is over and done!" "What's that? Meta Knight just keeps on winning?!" "That chump thinks he can do as he pleases in MY tournament?!" "That's even WORSE. He'd make my Kirby Printer scheme look bad!" "I guess we'll just have to pulverize the both of them." "Crank this thing up to 10! I NEED STRONGER KIRBYS!" "Don't tell me that pink twerp beat Meta Knight!" "Argh... I guess it's showtime then." "You two think it's going to be THAT easy?" "Both of you have gotten WAY too far." "But that's the end of that! I'll take you on myself." "For your Championship Battle, you'll be fighting ME!" "You two aren't half bad, but you're no match for me." "Or for my HAMMER." "NO WAY. NOT YET." "You think you won? This is FAR from over." "So? Who cares?" "This is my tournament. I'll do what I want!" "Now, if you want that cake, Kirby, you'll have to do one last thing." "You've got to beat my strongest team...all by yourself!" "All right, off to the Battle Arena for a one-game match!" "NO WAY! NOT YET!" "I worked hard to put Dedede's Cake Royale together." "It's my right to crush you in a one-on-one battle!" "There's NO way you're going to win, Kirby." "You think you can take victory from ME?!" "Ha! I've got something special for you up my sleeve." "Follow me, Kirby!" "Only ONE of us is a real winner. About time you see it's me." "Get in the elevator, Kirby. It's behind my throne!"

Names in other languages[edit]

King Dedede[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	デデデ大王だいおう Dedede Daiō	Great King Dedede
Traditional Chinese	帝帝帝大王 (Kirby Star Allies onwards) Dìdìdì Dàwáng 狄狄大王[11] Dídí Dàwáng 嗲嗲嗲大王 (anime) Diādiādiā Dàwáng	Great King Dedede The character 帝 also means "king" or "emperor".
Simplified Chinese	帝帝帝大王 (Kirby Star Allies onwards) Dìdìdì Dàwáng 狄狄大王[12] Dídí Dàwáng 迪迪迪大王[13] Dídídí Dàwáng
Danish	Kong Dedede	King Dedede
Dutch	Koning Dedede	King Dedede
Canadian French	Roi Dadidou	King Dedede
European French	Roi DaDiDou	King DeDeDe
German	König Dedede (games) King Dedede (anime) König Nickerchen	King Dedede - King Snooze
Italian	King Dedede	-
Korean	디디디 대왕 Dididi Daewang	Great King Dedede 대왕 is the Hanja transliteration of 大王.
Polish	Król Dedede[14]	King Dedede
Brazilian Portuguese	Rei Dedede	King Dedede
Russian	Король Дидиди[15] Korol' Dididi	King Dididi
Latin American Spanish	Rey Dedede	King Dedede
European Spanish	King Dedede (Kirby: Canvas Curse) Rey Dedede	- King Dedede
Swedish	Kung Dedede	King Dedede
Thai	King Dedede	-

Giant King Dedede[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ジャイアントデデデ jaianto dedede	Giant Dedede
Canadian French	Roi Dadidou Géant	Giant King Dedede
European French	Roi DaDiDou Géant	Giant King Dedede
German	Riesen-Dedede	Giant Dedede
Italian	King Dedede Gigante	Giant King Dedede
Korean	자이언트 디디디 jaieonteu dididi	Giant Dedede
Spanish	Rey Dedede gigante	Giant King Dedede

King Dedede's Revenge[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	デデデ大王だいおう リベンジ dedede daiō ribenji	Great King Dedede Revenge
Canadian French	Roi Dadidou Ultra	King Dedede Ultra
European French	Roi DaDiDou Ultra	King Dedede Ultra
German	König Dedede Ultra	King Dedede Ultra
Italian	King Dedede rivincita	King Dedede Revenge
Korean	디디디 대왕 리벤지 dididi daewang ribenji	Great King Dedede Revenge
Spanish	Rey Dedede vengador	Avenger King Dedede

Giant King Dedede's Revenge[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	ジャイアントデデデ リベンジ jaianto dedede ribenji	Giant Dedede Revenge
Canadian French	Roi Dadidou Géant Ultra	Giant King Dedede Ultra
European French	Roi DaDiDou Géant Ultra	Giant King Dedede Ultra
Italian	King Dedede Gigante rivincita	Giant King Dedede revenge
Korean	자이언트 디디디 리벤지 jaieonteu dididi ribenji	Giant Dedede Revenge
Spanish	Rey Dedede gigante vengador	Avenger Giant King Dedede

His Royal Nemesis, King Dedede[edit]

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	宿敵しゅくてきの暴君ぼうくん デデデ大王だいおう shukuteki no bōkun dedede daiō	The Nemesis Tyrant, Great King Dedede
Traditional Chinese	宿敵之暴君 帝帝帝大王 sù dí zhī bào jūn dì dì dì dà wáng	The Nemesis Tyrant, Great King Dedede
Simplified Chinese	宿敌之暴君 帝帝帝大王 sù dí zhī bào jūn dì dì dì dà wáng
Dutch	Koninklijke tiran, Koning Dedede	Royal tyrant, King Dedede
Canadian French	Rival despotique, Roi Dadidou	Despotic rival, King Dedede
European French	Rival despotique, Roi DaDiDou	Despoctic rival, King Dedede
German	Königlicher Erzfeind, König Dedede	Royal Nemesis, King Dedede
Italian	Sua maestà nemica, King Dedede	His Royal Enemy, King Dedede
Korean	숙적 폭군 디디디 대왕 sugjeog poggun dididi daewang	The Nemesis Tyrant, Great King Dedede
Latin American Spanish	Némesis despótico, Rey Dedede	Despotic nemesis, King Dedede
European Spanish	Némesis despótica, Rey Dedede	Despotic nemesis, King Dedede

References