Elfilin: Difference between revisions

{{Quote|A mystical new friend [[Kirby|you]] met in a mysterious new world. You found Elfilin as he was trying to save the Waddle Dees from the Beast Pack. He seems happy to be Kirby's guide, sharing helpful advice to save the Waddle Dees and rebuild their town. Thanks, Elfilin!|'''Elfilin'''{{'}}s [[figure]] description from ''[[Kirby and the Forgotten Land]]''}}

'''Elfilin''' is a supporting character who appears in ''[[Kirby and the Forgotten Land]]'', serving as [[Kirby]]'s primary companion. He is a small flying chinchilla-like creature capable of speech with giant ears (the right one having a large missing section on the rim) and turquoise fur. His eyes are bright blue and appear to shimmer in the light. Elfilin appears to be largely helpless at first, and is not keen on fighting, but he is later shown to have potent abilities, including the power to open wormholes through [[Another Dimension]] to connect distant worlds. Aside from that, his main role is to give Kirby (and the player by extension) advice and information on various things in the [[New World]] and in [[Waddle Dee Town]].

In ''Kirby and the Forgotten Land'', Elfilin joins Kirby after being rescued from a [[Beast Pack]] cage in the stage [[Point of Arrival]], hoping to help the pink puffball save all the [[Waddle Dee]]s, who Elfilin had gotten to know before they were captured. Along the way, Kirby and Elfilin become fast friends, and are later separated when [[King Dedede]] kidnaps him and takes him to [[Lab Discovera|an abandoned laboratory atop a volcano]]. Later on, it is revealed that Elfilin was (unbeknownst to him) derived from a primordial life-form known to the [[List of rumors of ancient civilizations in the Kirby series#Kirby and the Forgotten Land|New World civilization]] as "[[Fecto Forgo|Specimen ID-F86]]", who is kept in that laboratory and who seeks to be reunited with him to reform the ultimate life-form: [[Fecto Elfilis]]. When this eventually happens, Kirby has to fight this life-form and split Elfilin back out again, and then destroy the malevolent half with Elfilin's help.

Elfilin's name is a corruption of his ID, "F87," as a result of splitting off of F86. It is also an anagram for "Nil Life"; "Nil" is the Japanese name for [[Void]]. The opening cutscene of [[Lab Discovera]] contains Morse code that spells "EFILLIN" when decoded; "Efillin" is "Nil Life" spelled backwards, and more similar to his Japanese name.<ref>[https://twitter.com/haruda0316/status/1510431813948243970 Video decoding the Morse code in Lab Discovera's opening]</ref> In the Japanese, Chinese and Korean versions of [[Leongar]]'s figure description, it is also revealed that his full name is "Fecto Elfilin" (フェクト・エフィリン, 菲克特·艾菲靈 / 菲克特·艾菲灵, and 펙트 에피린, respectively), matching with Fecto Elfilis.

Through his actions and dialogue, Elfilin is characterized as a kind and energetic, yet unassuming creature who only wishes to live in peace with the Waddle Dees in the New World. When the Waddle Dees are captured, Elfilin is eager to rescue them on his own, but decides to let Kirby take the lead once he offers to help. Despite being imbued with incredible power, Elfilin seems to be unaware of this until after merging and re-separating from [[Fecto Forgo|his other half]]; up to that point, he is largely helpless without Kirby's protection. Even after this, he states that his power is still weak, as he can only open and close a single portal to [[Popstar]] at a time.

| Appears as a golden statue in [[Merry Magoland]] as a reward for completing 100 Missions, and his likeness appears in the form of two [[Dress-Up Masks]].

Elfilin makes his first appearance in ''[[Kirby and the Forgotten Land]]'', and is the very first that Kirby frees from one of the [[Beast Pack]]'s cages in the [[Point of Arrival]] stage. Once freed, Elfilin is eager to help Kirby free all of the captured [[Waddle Dee]]s, and so he accompanies Kirby on his adventure from then on. In stages, Elfilin may pipe up with some instructional dialogue, for instance, informing Kirby that he can keep his [[Copy Ability]] while using a [[Mouthful Mode]] if he keeps discarding his ability near a mouthful object. He will also make a remark when entering a new area on the [[New World]] and give Kirby advice and expository dialogue, both on the [[World Map]] and in [[Waddle Dee Town]]. Elfilin is also present with Kirby when he is collecting [[figure]]s from [[Gotcha Machine Alley]], eating food at the [[Waddle Dee Café]], sleeping in [[Kirby's House]], or playing [[Flash Fishing]].

Elfilin is critical to the story of ''Kirby and the Forgotten Land'', since his capture and reabsorption into ID-F86 is the goal of the Beast Pack's leader [[Leongar]], who is being possessed by Fecto Forgo directly. When Kirby defeats [[King Dedede]] at the end of [[Winter Horns]], Dedede manages to sneak up from behind while Kirby is dancing and capture Elfilin for this purpose. When Kirby eventually catches up to them at [[Lab Discovera]], he does his best to fight off both Leongar and Fecto Forgo to save Elfilin, but he is absorbed anyways. The two beings combine together to form the final boss of the game: [[Fecto Elfilis]]. Kirby has to battle this ultimate life-form until they are weak enough to the point where Kirby can separate Elfilin from them using [[Dome Mouth]]. From there, Elfilin helps Kirby destroy Fecto Elfilis for good by powering up his [[Big-Rig Mouth]] transformation. Elfilin uses up the last of his power to stop [[Popstar]] from crashing into the New World, but is saved from this otherwise-sacrificial act off-screen by [[Clawroline]]. He repays the favor to Clawroline by traveling with Kirby into [[Isolated Isles: Forgo Dreams]] to recover the lost [[Piece of Leon's Soul|pieces of Leon's soul]] and bring the lion back to life. Lastly, when Kirby defeats [[Chaos Elfilis]] in the final cup of the [[Colosseum]], the last remnants of Fecto Forgo dissipate into a benign life force that reunites peaceably with Elfilin, ending the split for good.

In ''[[Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe]]'', Elfilin is referenced in a few different ways. In [[Merry Magoland]], Kirby can earn two [[Costumes|Dress-Up Masks]] based on Elfilin: one has a neutral expression, and the other is of him "smiling" (despite not having a visible mouth). The former is unlocked by reaching the end of [[Stamp Rally]] card No. 20, while the latter is obtained by completing 100 [[Mission (Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe)|Missions]] (this also unlocks a golden statue of Elfilin in the Magoland plaza). Wearing either mask causes the wearer's voice to be replaced by Elfilin's, using voice clips from ''Kirby and the Forgotten Land''.

KatFL Car Mouth Elfilin Bandana Waddle Dee Artwork.jpg|Artwork of Elfilin and [[Bandana Waddle Dee]] on [[Car Mouth]] Kirby