| “ | The scuttlebutt is that there's a gold creature living on this island. Seems like a good critter to go hunting for, doesn't it!” |
| — Daroach • Kirby Mass Attack |
Gold Waddle Dee is a rare gold-colored Waddle Dee, appearing in a few games in the Kirby series.
In Kirby: Squeak Squad, a Gold Waddle Dee will run from Kirby as soon as it spots him. If it's inhaled or defeated before it escapes, it drops a Treasure chest. If it's attacked with the Bubble ability, it will turn into a bubble containing a star, and a treasure chest will be dropped in the same place. When Kirby opens the treasure chest, the chest always contains a piece of the Secret Map. Kirby must often solve some sort of puzzle to trap it or race to catch it before it falls off a cliff and gets away. Sometimes Kirby must cut a rope to drop it into a pit so it can't run off a cliff. Othertimes, Kirby must chase the Gold Waddle Dee through a labyrinth full of Maigas, where the hero must avoid inhaling them to keep up.
In Kirby Mass Attack, a Gold Waddle Dee appears in Stage 6 of Dedede Resort. Defeating the Gold Waddle Dee and clearing the stage accomplishes the "Gold Thrasher" task on the Checklist. It is also one of the items which can be fished out of the water in the fishing sub-game during the end credits.
In Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition, Gold Waddle Dee appears in the Fighter Combat Chamber, the Smash Combat Chamber, and the Smash Combat Chamber EX. They run as fast as some Waddle Dees in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, which is not especially quick. Gold Waddle Dee is the only enemy in the game to give 1000 points upon defeat.
Trivia
- There are unused swimming sprites of Gold Waddle Dee for Kirby: Squeak Squad, which means that at some point in production, Kirby would have to outswim it to get the treasure chest. This would not technically make sense, as a Waddle Dee drowns in water.
- In Helper to Hero from Kirby Super Star Ultra, the P1 Parasol Waddle Dee has an appearance similar to that of a Gold Waddle Dee, albeit a duller gold.
- A similar-looking enemy appears in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, called Carry Dee. It carries a key instead of a treasure chest, and it runs quickly, just like a Gold Waddle Dee.
- If Ghost Kirby possesses a Gold Waddle Dee, it cannot attack and can only jump. If the player presses B, however, its eyes will bulge out as if it is surprised. Unpossessing it will cause it to disappear and make it drop its treasure chest.
- It is possible that Gold Waddle Dees were added in Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition because they are almost identical to Waddle Dees, which already exist on the game's reused engine. The only difference is that they would have to be recolored to look golden. Altogether, it would take considerably less work to modify a Waddle Dee than it would to create and animate a completely new enemy.
