Guard

“	Hold / to guard against attacks. Use / while guarding to dodge.”
	— Using Guard and Dodge: • Kirby Star Allies

A Guard (Crouch Guard in Kirby and the Forgotten Land) is a technique in the Kirby series, debuting in Kirby Super Star.

Games

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra

Upon guarding, Kirby (or the Helper) assume a defensive posture. Guarding reduces damage from stronger attacks and generally negates damage from weaker attacks, however it is ineffective against grab moves. Mirror and Simirror's guard has the additional ability to reflect projectiles. Ice and Chilly's guard, while effectively the same as a regular guard, surround them in an ice block. Tac's guard makes all attacks pass through him, similarly to Stone.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition, and Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

Guarding attacks now gives more recoil than previously. Ice's guard now makes it immune to most damage, but can still be grabbed or damaged by lava; releasing the guard is now a form of attack. Leaf's guard makes all attacks pass through it, similarly to Tac's, but it does not defend against the Black Hole attack; like Ice's guard, releasing the guard is a form of attack. Ninja, while simultaneously guarding, being hit by an attack, and pressing the attack button, causes it to disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear in an explosion; this is just a damage-less version of its Hide Guard attack.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Kirby can now dodge when on the ground and air dodge in the air. Sand's guard makes all attacks pass through it, similarly to Leaf's; it can also perform an attack while guarding. Mecha's guard, when activated right after being attacked, causes him to surges his gauntlet as a counterattack and parry.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby Fighters Deluxe

Dodging, a technique related to guarding, is introduced. Ice's and Leaf's guards return; these guards cannot dodge on the ground, however. Ninja's guard, when activated right before being attacked, causes it to disappear in a puff of smoke, creating a log in its place; Kirby then reappears in an explosion. Bell's guard makes it immune to most damage, negates recoil, can be used in the air, and emits a shockwave as a counterattack, but can still be grabbed and cannot dodge; releasing the guard is a form of attack.

In the Kirby Fighters sub-game and Kirby Fighters Deluxe, guards can only be held out for a certain amount of time; exceeding this time causes the guard to break, leaving the player stunned, and not guarding replenishes this time. Performing a perfect guard, by guarding right before being hit, will stop the guard time from decreasing until the attacking subsides. Dodges are faster and cover significantly more distance when given a lateral direction. Bell's guard's counterattack is stronger during a perfect guard; releasing guard no longer does damage.

Kirby: Planet Robobot, Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, and Super Kirby Clash

Ice's, Leaf's, and Ninja's guards return. ESP's guard, when activated right before or while being attacked, causes it to vanish; depending on the timing of the guard activation, it will perform one of two counterattacks. Mirror's guard transforms projectiles that make contact with it into stars and sends them back at the attacker; the Reflect Guard now only lasts for a short period before reverting to a regular guard. Smash Bros.'s guard makes it immune to most damage, but can still be grabbed.

In the Team Kirby Clash sub-game and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, Sword Hero's guard creates a sphere around him that makes allies inside it immune to damage, but can still be grabbed. As with the Kirby Fighters series, a guard meter will appear for all guarders showing how much integrity a hero can hold their guard before it breaks, stunning the user temporarily if it becomes empty.

Kirby Star Allies

ESP's, Ice's, and Ninja's guards return; NESP, Chilly, and Bio Spark also have these respective guards. Dodging retains its behavior from Kirby Fighters and Kirby Fighters Deluxe. Plasma and Plugg, when guarding and having an active Plasma Barrier, can dodge in any direction as an attack. Spider and Como's guard makes them immune to most damage, negates recoil, and counterattacks, but can still be grabbed or damaged by lava and cannot dodge. Staff and Jammerjab's guard, when activated right before being attacked, causes them to spin their staffs as a counterattack and parry.

Rick & Kine & Coo and Gooey's guard makes it immune to most damage, but can still be grabbed. Marx's and Daroach's air dodges make them teleport in any direction; Daroach can only do this up to three times before needing to land. Adeleine & Ribbon's guard makes all attacks pass through it, similarly to Leaf's; releasing the guard is a form of attack. Dark Meta Knight's guard transforms projectiles that make contact with it into stars and sends them back at the attacker, similarly to Mirror's. Magolor's guard makes it immune to most damage, but can still be grabbed; every two attacks the Magic Barrier takes reduces its shield by one, reverting to a regular guard after taking ten hits. Magolor's air dodge allows him to teleport with more control and time than Marx's and Daroach's; vanishing and reappearing are forms of attack.

Friend Star's guard makes it immune to all damage, but causes it to rapidly descend. Star Allies Sparkler can dodge.

Kirby Fighters 2

Ninja's and Staff's counterattacks require pressing down and guard to activate, causing a flash upon activation similarly to Meta Knight's Galactic Counter. Bell's guard behaves as it did in Kirby Fighters and Kirby Fighters Deluxe.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby now crouches and guards in a single move, the Crouch Guard. Additionally, the dodge has been altered, going from a spin to a handstand jump. When dodging right before getting hit results in the world slowing down, allowing Kirby to quickly counterattack; most Copy Abilities have designated moves as counterattacks. Ice's guard returns and is present in all of its evolutions; it can now be used in the air. Gigant Sword's guard has a spiked shield that makes it immune to most damage and can counterattack; Kirby can move slowly with the shield up, but cannot dodge. Morpho Sword's guard allows it to perform special attacks by holding and releasing the attack button while on the ground or in the air; Morpho Sword's dodge is a teleport.

Special Guards

Copy Abilities and Evolved Copy Abilities

Copy Ability (Evolved)	Guard type	Description	Immune to damage?	Ground dodge?	Air dodge?	Counterattack?
Bell	Bell Block	Guarding with the Bell ability causes Kirby to pull the bell he wears on his head over his body to protect himself. When attacked while guarding, the bell will send out sound waves that hurt nearby enemies. In Kirby Fighters Deluxe and Kirby Fighters 2, Bell's guard will only produce sound waves if timed precisely before an attack hits Kirby. This change was made to balance the ability for a competitive game.	Yes	No	No	Contact (Unaffected to bosses or mid-bosses)
Ice	Ice Block	Guarding provides a spherical ice shield that serves solely as an aesthetic change, not protecting Kirby more than a normal guard. Guarding with the Ice ability produces a spherical ice formation around Kirby which blocks more damage than a regular guard. It also damages nearby enemies when the guard button is released.	Yes (Kirby's Return to Dream Land onwards)	No	Yes (Absent in Kirby and the Forgotten Land)	When released
Leaf	Leaf Hide	While guarding with the Leaf ability, Kirby is intangible instead of invincible; attacks will simply pass through him regardless of their power. This guard also makes Kirby immune to grabs. Releasing the guard causes minor damage to nearby enemies.	Yes (Also immune to grab attacks)	No	Yes	When released
Mirror	Reflect Guard	Guarding with the Mirror ability provides a shining bubble of rainbow-colored energy around Kirby's body. This bubble negates damage from even strong attacks and can reflect projectiles. The bubble now reflects projectiles as stars that will fly back towards the source of the initial attack.	Yes (Kirby: Planet Robobot only & with durability)	Yes	Yes	Reflects projectile
ESP	PK Evade PK Insight	Guarding with the ESP ability to dodge an attack results in psychokinetic energy swirling around Kirby’s hands for a moment. Depending on when an enemy touches Kirby next, he will perform either PK Evade or PK Insight.	Only during PK Evade or PK Insight	Yes	Yes	Yes (Can parry during PK Evade or PK Insight)
Smash Bros.	Shield	Guarding with the Smash Bros. ability allows Kirby to utilize the Bubble Shield from the Super Smash Bros. series. However, the Bubble Shield will not deteriorate as it does in the Super Smash Bros. series. Kirby is invincible while guarding.	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Sword Hero	Hero Shield	Guards with the shield equipment to create a barrier that also protects teammates inside. Its durability decreases in time.	Yes (With durability)	Yes	Yes	No
Ninja	Clone Technique	Kirby is dodging and an enemy attacks (or the enemy itself touches) Kirby. The log that is substituted will disappear in a couple of seconds, although both the log and Kirby (changing back) deals damage to enemies. In Kirby Fighters 2, Kirby can be only crouching and guarding to perform a powerful counterattack and parry.	Only during Clone Technique	Yes	Yes	Yes (Can parry during Clone Technique)
Staff	Staff Counter	Guarding with the Staff ability moments before taking a hit allows Kirby to perform a powerful counterattack and parry. In Kirby Fighters 2, Kirby can be only crouching and guarding to perform a powerful counterattack and parry.	Only during Staff Counter	Yes	Yes	Yes (Can parry during Staff Counter)
Spider	Pod Guard	Guarding with the Spider ability causes Kirby to encase himself in a cocoon made out of silk. If Kirby is attacked while inside the cocoon, spikes will come out, damaging enemies.	Yes	No	No	Contact (Unaffected to bosses or mid-bosses)
Frosty Ice	Frosty Ice Block	Guarding with the Frosty Ice ability produces a spherical ice formation around Kirby which blocks more damage than a regular guard. It also damages nearby enemies when the guard button is released.	Yes	No	N/A	When released
Blizzard Ice	Blizzard Ice Block	Guarding with the Blizzard Ice ability produces a jagged ice formation around Kirby which blocks more damage than a regular guard. It also damages nearby enemies when the guard button is released.	Yes	No	N/A	Contact/When released
Gigant Sword	Gigant Shield	While guarding with the Gigant Sword ability, Kirby pulls out a spiky shield and sets it in front of him. While using this move, Kirby can move slowly, which will damage enemies in front of him. He is also invulnerable to most attacks in this state, but he cannot dodge.	Yes	No	N/A	Contact
Mecha	Shock Counter	Guarding with the Mecha ability moments after taking a hit allows Kirby to perform a powerful counterattack and parry.	Only during Shock Counter	Yes	Yes	Yes (Can parry during Shock Counter)
Sand	Sand Hide Sand Geyser	While guarding with the Sand ability, Kirby is intangible instead of invincible; attacks will simply pass through him regardless of their power. This guard also makes Kirby immune to grabs. Releasing the guard or pressing /// causes minor damage to nearby enemies.	Yes (Also immune to grab attacks)	No	Yes	Sand Hide: When released Sand Geyser: Pressing ///

Dream Friends

Dream Friend	Guard type	Description	Immune to damage?	Ground dodge?	Air dodge?	Counterattack?
Adeleine & Ribbon	Canvas Cover	Hides behind a canvas and becomes intangible. Releasing the guard causes paint to spray out.	Yes (Also immune to grab attacks)	No	Yes	When released
Dark Meta Knight	Reflector Shield	Guards with a reflective shield that reflects projectiles.	Yes	No	Yes	Reflects projectile
Magolor	Magic Barrier	Guards with a five-piece star shield, which deals damage when a piece breaks.	Yes (With durability)	Yes	Yes (Only during Dimensional Vanish)	When a piece breaks
Rick & Kine & Coo Gooey	Protective Bag	Hides into a bag that resembles the one they are trapped inside from Kirby's Dream Land 2.	Yes	No	Yes	No
Taranza	Magic Guard	Guards with a magic shield, which can spike out to damage enemies in contact.	Yes (Also immune to grab attacks)	Yes	Yes	Contact (Unaffected to bosses or mid-bosses)

In the Super Smash Bros. series

The shield mechanic in the Super Smash Bros. series is heavily based on the guard mechanic of the Kirby series. Shielding in the Super Smash Bros. games produces an energy bubble very reminiscent of the Mirror ability's Reflect Guard. The primary difference is that shields shrink as they are held or when they take damage, and will break if they get too small, stunning the user, though shields' power regenerates when they are not in use. This shield design eventually made an appearance in the Kirby series through Kirby: Planet Robobot’s Smash Bros. ability.

Related Quotes

“	Guard at the last second before an attack to execute a Perfect Guard!”
	— Tip • Team Kirby Clash Deluxe

Trivia

According to the Kirby's 20th Anniversary Celebration Book, the developers of Kirby Super Star originally considered creating a technique called the "Guard Bomb"; if Kirby guarded for enough time and absorbed attacks, he would charge up an enemy-damaging explosion that he would trigger when he lifted his guard. This idea was scrapped.
While guarding as Sword in Kirby Star Allies and Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby now holds his sword as a unique guarding animation.
- Meta Knight Sword and Morpho Knight Sword also have unique guarding animations.