King Dedede: Difference between revisions

King Dedede is a birdlike creature who greatly resembles a penguin. His exact species is unclear, [[smashwiki:Solid Snake|Snake]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' assumes that Dedede is a penguin, though becomes confused upon learning that he is not. On one occasion, the ''Nintendo Power'' magazine has referred to him as a "regal eagle", though it is unclear if this is meant to be taken literally.<ref>{{quote|The king isn't the friendliest bird on Pop Star, but if Kirby can rid Dedede's kingdom of Dark Matter, the regal eagle will become a valuable ally and the newest member of Kirby's ragtag band of shard collectors.|[https://web.archive.org/web/20210410061607/https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dv3MflbX4AAQWf2.jpg ''Nintendo Power'', Vol. 134]}}</ref> He has a large, round belly, blue eyes, a yellow beak, 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 ''[[wikipedia:kimono|kimono]]'' instead. Around his belly is an ''[[wikipedia:obi (sash)|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.

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".<ref>[https://gigi9714.wordpress.com/2022/07/31/translation-of-the-kirby-and-the-forgotten-land-interview-from-the-june-2022-edition-of-nintendo-dream/ Gigi's translation of the interview from the June 2022 edition of Nintendo Dream]</ref> 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.

After 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.