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This article is about the Copy Ability. For the Top Ride course in Kirby Air Ride, see Water (Top Ride course). For the recurring environmental element, see Environmental element#Water. |
| “ | A positively refreshing ability with many applications! Harness the waves and surf along the ground. Enjoy a powered-up version of the Water Gun and carry heavy stones with ease! And make sure you find out what happens if you freeze a fountain...” |
| — Flavor Text • Kirby Star Allies |
Water is one of Kirby's Copy Abilities. It first appeared in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, but it also appeared in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and in Kirby Star Allies.
General Information
Water's first appearance is in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, along with Top, Iron and Baton. All four appear in the episode Air-Ride-in-Style - Part II, and were all created by fans in a contest in Japan to decide on new ideas for Kirby to defeat the enemies.
| This section is about an unreleased or cancelled game | |
Water (or a very similar ability) was originally going to appear in Kirby GCN, its first appearance in a video game. It would have looked similar to the design in Kirby: Right Back at Ya! with shiny blue skin, except with a different crown housing what appears to be flowing water. Only one of its attacks was shown: Kirby blows bubbles that spread around a fairly short distance, similar to the later-revealed Bubble. However, the game was never released.
Water wasn't introduced to the games until Kirby's Return to Dream Land. It was first revealed in the game's teaser in Nintendo's quarterly investor report video, then later in the game's E3 2011 trailer where Water Kirby is seen battling a boss. Water Kirby's appearance in Kirby's Return to Dream Land lacks the translucency and blue tone from the anime, but his cap otherwise looks like the unreleased one from Kirby GCN with a larger size and more detail. He also cannot simply inhale seawater to get it like he did in the anime.
Water returns in Kirby Star Allies; it remains relatively the same, although water is more photo-realistic. It is also an element that can be combined with other Copy Abilities to create Friend Abilities.
Move Set
| Move | Controls | Description | Element | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave Attack | Button 1 | Kirby shoots a pulse of water. It follows the terrain surface regardless of whether it goes uphill or not until it moves off-screen. The water moves at the same speed as Kirby's Surf. | Water | 12 |
| Surf | Double ←/→ | A special dash move. Kirby surfs on a wave. This move allows Kirby to travel over the surface of a body of water or a fiery platform. | Water | 16 (when Kirby turns around) |
| Wave Surf | Surf + Button 1 | Raises Kirby's surf wave and deals damage for several seconds. Kirby is invulnerable during the attack. | Water | 32 |
| Geyser | ↑ + Button 1 | Projects a column of water straight up, but Kirby cannot move while doing so. Pressing button 1 repeatedly maintains the column. If executed in mid-air, Kirby carries on moving in his original direction. | Water | 16 per hit |
| Fountain Hover | (midair) ↓ + Button 1 | Kirby hovers by spitting water towards the ground. Hovers as long as Button 1 is depressed. After the hover starts, directional keys control Kirby's movement and hover distance. | Water | 8 per hit |
| Water Crown | ↓ + Button 1 | Splashes water at Kirby's feet, dealing damage to anything close to him. Has short range. | Water | 16, 14 (rapid subsequent uses) |
| Rainbow Rain | Hold ↓ then ↑ + Button 1 | Kirby crouches, then projects a sphere of water around him and ends with a rainbow flourish. Has longer range than Water Crown. This move has difficult execution timing - the player needs to press ↑ before Button 1 or Kirby performs Water Crown instead, and Button 1 must follow suit a split second after ↑ or Kirby stands up and does nothing. | Water | 6 (1st hit), 5 (2nd & 3rd hit), 21 (4th hit); max. damage = 37 |
| Enhanced Water Gun | (underwater) Button 1 | Passively enhances Kirby's underwater-only Water Gun attack. Doubles its range and damage area. | Water | None |
Friend Abilities
| Friend Ability | Mix | Description | Element |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zap Splasher | Plasma Beam |
When Kirby/Plugg/Waddle Doo uses any plasma attacks on Kirby/Driblee, they'll form a water pillar that shoots exploding electric bolts in a wide range. | Electric |
| Thundersplash | Plasma | When Kirby/Driblee uses any water attacks on Kirby/Plugg, they'll form a plasma barrier that shoots electric-infused puddles of water in a wide range. | Electric |
| Splash Curling | Stone | After using Stone Change, Kirby/Driblee can use their water attacks to make it a curling stone that does water damage to opponents in the way. | Water |
Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
Water Kirby in the anime
In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Water Kirby was a fanmade ability submitted in a contest in Japan to feature in the anime.
Water Kirby's body changes to a translucent blue gel, with a golden crown containing a cresting wave on his head. Naturally, Water Kirby attacks by spitting geysers of water to blast the enemy away.
Transformation Sequence
In the transformation sequence, Kirby spins around in a water tornado. His skin then turns translucent blue, and he gains a golden crown.
| Water transformation English version |
|---|
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| Water transformation Japanese version |
|---|
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Flavor Text
| Game | Flavor text |
|---|---|
 | Look out -- you're a water wizard! Ride the waves and cool down hot flames! Your Water Gun is supercharged too! |
 | A positively refreshing ability with many applications! Harness the waves and surf along the ground. Enjoy a powered-up version of the Water Gun and carry heavy stones with ease! And make sure you find out what happens if you freeze a fountain... |
Related Quotes
| “ | Ride a wave and control water!” |
| — Kirby Battle Royale - Kirby's 25th Anniversary Copy Ability Poll |
Names in Other Languages
The meaning of the Water ability's name remains constant throughout other languages. In Japanese, its name is ウォーター (U~ōtā), meaning Water. The other names also mean Water; the German name is Wasser, the Spanish name is Agua, the French name is Eau, the Italian name is Acqua, the Russian name is Вода (Voda), and the Chinese name is 清水 (Qīngshuǐ, literally "clear water").
Trivia
- This is currently the only ability out of the four that had debuted in the anime to appear in the games.
- However, the Staff ability, introduced in Kirby Star Allies, shares some similarities to Baton.
- If Kirby has the Cleaning ability while holding the Animal Friend Pitch, he can use Pitch to throw a blob of water at foes.
- Excluding Super Abilities, Water is the only ability introduced in Kirby's Return to Dream Land that does not reappear in Kirby: Triple Deluxe.
- Though it doesn't appear in Kirby: Planet Robobot, the Poison ability seems to be based on the Water ability, in terms of its appearance and some of its attacks. Water was most likely excluded from the game for its destructive nature when contacted with electricity, and hence, would be a very powerful ability in a world of machinery.
