Editing Kirby's voice

Throughout the ''[[Kirby (series)|Kirby]]'' series, '''Kirby's voice''' has undergone many changes and adjustments. In the early games in the series, [[Kirby]] was not properly voiced, only vocalizing using chirping noises when [[damage|getting hit]] or using the [[Mike]] ability. Early spin-off media occasionally gave him full voice acting. Kirby was first voiced in-game by [[Makiko Ohmoto]] in ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' on the [[Nintendo 64]], and has been voiced by her ever since. Despite his vocalizations, Kirby is classified as a [[wikipedia:Silent protagonist|silent protagonist]], since he does not speak in audible full sentences or in text boxes to any other characters (barring ''[[Kirby's Avalanche]]'').

As portrayed by Ohmoto, Kirby's voice is high-pitched with inflections similar to that of a toddler first learning to speak. This reflects his youth and his often infantile nature, an idea that is exemplified in [[Kirby: Right Back at Ya!|the anime]]. As such, Kirby does not use very many words in his vocalizations, though it is implied that — much like [[mariowiki:Mario|Mario]] and [[zeldawiki:Link|Link]] — Kirby is indeed capable of complex speech, though the player is not privy to what Kirby says to other characters. All the player hears instead are Kirby's grunts, cheers, and inflections, peppered only with occasional words such as his signature elongated "Hi!" In the anime, Kirby is known for spouting the babble-word "poyo" repeatedly in place of speech which, unlike the games, is what other characters hear instead of actual speech. He also occasionally repeats words that he hears other characters say, which is more apparent in the Japanese version. When Kirby gains a [[Copy Ability]], he will also gain the ability to shout whichever words may be associated with the move he has copied, which is evident in both the anime and in the [[Super Smash Bros. (series)|''Super Smash Bros.'' series]] when he copies his opponents.

Prior to the series giving Kirby a consistent voice actress, Kirby was voiced in various spin-off media by a variety of voice artists. The earliest examples in any media are in VHS tapes distributed to stores in Japan for advertising specific games in-store, in particular 1993 promotional videos for ''[[Kirby's Adventure]]'' (for which Kirby appears throughout the tape and is fully voiced whenever on screen) and ''[[Kirby's Pinball Land]]'' (for which Kirby voices the entire tape and makes a voiced appearance at the end of the included TV commercial).<ref>Niconico uploads exist of the tapes for [https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm14280563 ''Kirby's Adventure''] and [https://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm17659498 ''Kirby's Pinball Land'']. Kirby's voice actor in both tapes is uncredited, and does not resemble any later credited voice work for Kirby.</ref>

 

The earliest example of Kirby being given a proper voice in a work for public sale is a 1994 mini-CD/manga set released by Shogakukan (based on Yoshiko Sakuma's 1992–2009 manga series), with his voice provided by [[wikipedia:Taeko Kawata|Taeko Kawata]].<ref>{{cite book|quote='''アニメより先にCDデビューしていた''' / １９９４年に発売された「星のカービィおしゃべCDコミック」は、漫画に８センチCDがついたもので、漫画に関するカービィのおしゃべりなとを聞くことができた。 ('''''Before the anime came the CD debut''' / In the 1994 ''Kirby of the Stars Talking CD Comic'', a 8 cm CD was included with the manga, so that you could listen to Kirby chattering about the manga.'')|book=[https://archive.org/details/kirby-pupupu-daizen-20th-anniversary-encyclopedia-art-book/page/210/mode/2up 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia]|publisher=Shogakukan|page=[https://ia902503.us.archive.org/view_archive.php?archive=/4/items/kirby-pupupu-daizen-20th-anniversary-encyclopedia-art-book/Kirby%20Pupupu%20Daizen%2020th%20Anniversary%20Encyclopedia%20Art%20Book_jp2.zip&file=Kirby%20Pupupu%20Daizen%2020th%20Anniversary%20Encyclopedia%20Art%20Book_jp2%2FKirby%20Pupupu%20Daizen%2020th%20Anniversary%20Encyclopedia%20Art%20Book_0210.jp2 211]}}</ref><ref>{{twitterlink|camelletgo|1641433301352345601|featuring a scan of the CD/manga credits|wbsnap=y}} showing Taeko Kawata's birth name (Taeko Yamada)</ref> Another early work where Kirby is given a voice is the ''[[Mario Kirby Masterpiece Video]]'', an educational VHS from 1995 also released by Shogakukan, where he is voiced by [[wikipedia:Mayumi Tanaka|Mayumi Tanaka]]. From the beginning, Kirby's Japanese voice was consistently portrayed as childlike with immature speech patterns. Makiko Ohmoto's performance as Kirby starting in ''Super Smash Bros.'' follows the model of these examples, though with a more limited capacity for speech. Outside of Japan, however, Kirby was rarely given voice acting in this early period. At most, international promotional material opted for simple grunts and vocalizations, such as in the American commercials for ''[[Kirby's Pinball Land]]'' and ''[[Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble]]'', before adopting Ohmoto's voice worldwide.

Though iconic to his character, Kirby did not initially have a voice, nor was he properly voiced in every game after its introduction. The following table illustrates notable games (and other media) which Kirby was voiced in, including notes when appropriate discussing how his voice was changed or updated.

| Kirby is given a "voice" of sorts in this title, as every time he is hit, he makes a chirping sound. Additionally, the [[Mike]] ability uses — in addition to the iconic screech — a couple other vocal oddities, the last of which was done by ''Kirby'' series creator [[Masahiro Sakurai]] himself. A chirping sound would also be used for Kirby when he is hit in ''[[Kirby's Dream Land 3]]'', ''[[Kirby: Canvas Curse]]'' and ''[[Kirby Super Star Ultra]]''.

| [[Makiko Ohmoto]] debuts as the voice of Kirby in this game. This performance set the initial standard for Kirby's voice, with its high pitch, elongated "Hi!" as a taunt, and shouting other moves where appropriate.  

| Kirby is voiced via sampled 8-bit clips of Makiko Ohmoto's performance from ''Super Smash Bros.'', similarly to Pikachu in ''Pokémon Yellow''. Notably, when he collects a [[Red Star]], he shouts "Yatta!", which is a Japanese exclamation of joy. The [[Mike (item)|Mike]] sound effect is reused from previous 8-bit entries.

| 2001–2003

| The anime series has Kirby speaking only in babble consisting mainly of the word "poyo". It follows a similar inflection to ''Melee'' Kirby, but is often exaggerated further.

| This was the first ''Kirby'' game in nearly 10 years to have Kirby fully voiced, though he only uses a small number of shouts. These clips would carry over — and be expanded upon — in ''[[Kirby's Return to Dream Land]]'', and start to shape the current standard of Kirby's inflection used in modern titles.

| Kirby can be said to have gained his modern inflection style in this game, as his voice became noticeably clearer and human-like than in previous titles, while still retaining its high pitch and infantile nature. The developers noted that they added a variety of voice clips for Kirby getting damaged in various ways, such as getting burned or squashed, giving him more character than before.<ref>{{cite|Now, did you notice that Kirby's voice is a lot more varied in Kirby: Triple Deluxe? There's more to hear besides his usual happy “hi!” or his regular yells when he takes damage. For example, he yelps like he's been scorched when he comes into contact with flames, and when squashed flat he sounds suitably deflated.|[[Shinya Kumazaki]]|[[List of HAL Laboratory Miiverse posts - Kirby: Triple Deluxe|''Kirby: Triple Deluxe'' Behind the Scenes]] on [[Miiverse]]}}</ref> These voice clips were reused, and expanded upon, in all later ''Kirby'' games up to ''[[Kirby Fighters 2]]''. A similar style of voice is also featured in ''[[Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U]]'' and ''[[Super Smash Bros. Ultimate]]''.

| Kirby's voice was completely redone for ''[[Kirby and the Forgotten Land]]''; no previous clips were reused. Reflecting the 8 years that have passed since ''Kirby: Triple Deluxe'', Kirby's voice has become slightly deeper, and more voice clips feature a "guttural" quality that was not present before. This style of voice continues to be featured in recent titles, such as ''[[Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe]]'', which likewise features entirely new voice clips.<ref>[https://gigi9714.wordpress.com/2023/04/07/translation-of-the-kirbys-return-to-dream-land-deluxe-interview-from-the-may-2023-edition-of-nintendo-dream/ Translation of the Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe interview from the May 2023 edition of Nintendo Dream]</ref>

*''[[Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land]]'' (uncredited)<ref name="shmup"/>

*''[[Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition]]'' (''[[Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards]]'', [[New Challenge Stages]], and a few other places)

KSS Mike 2.mp3|The second Mike voice from ''Kirby Super Star'', voiced by an intern at HAL Laboratory.

KTD Kirby squashed voice.mp3|Kirby's voice when he gets squashed in ''Kirby: Triple Deluxe''.

*Despite seeing release well after the debut of Makiko Ohmoto as Kirby's voice and being on a high-fidelity console, ''[[Kirby Air Ride]]'' is the only 3D game in the series which features a silent Kirby.