Stun

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Being stunned in the Kirby series is when a character enters a temporary state of disability due to being hit. This state of being is also known as taking damage being hurt; in many fighting games, this is referred to as hitstun. Within the Kirby series, however, “stun” is more commonly used as an umbrella term for when one flinches or is disabled from movement in one way or another. Methods for being stunned being able to stun has varied across games.

Being Stunned

Taking Damage

When hit with a particularly strong attack, Kirby will be staggered for a brief moment and regain his composure; he will land on his face as he slowly stands up to move again. During his recovery animation, he is completely invincible to all attacks. These type of attacks that cause Kirby to perform a slow recovery involve:

• being hit with a strong multi-hitting attack
• being hit with a move that deals a considerable amount of damage in one hit
• being hit with a strong-looking flashy move
• being grabbed then thrown
• being thrown via wind
• being trapped within a portal of some sort
• after being slammed against the screen

Kirby also has another slow recovery animation whenever he is flattened by an enemy or boss; this is not to be confused with losing a life when crushed between surfaces. When Kirby is flattened, he will stay flattened until the source moves off him where he will then shortly fly into the air and float down to comically emphasize his paper-like state before popping back into his spherical shape.

If he takes damage from an elemental source, his damage animation will reflect the elemental attribute that hurt him. In older games involving Kirby using pixel sprites, his damage animations are more exaggerated and comical unlike more modern entries where the damage animation for nearly every elemental source is roughly the same, however, starting with Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby’s cries of pain will now reflect the elemental attribute that hurt him.

Below is a table showing the elemental sources for when Kirby takes damage from them, taking animations from Kirby & The Amazing Mirror.

In other spinoff entries where Kirby takes on a different form, he will also have unique damage animations that stun him for a couple seconds.

In Kirby's Epic Yarn and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn, whenever Kirby takes damage from a sharp or fiery attack, his yarn body will collapse on itself as Kirby puts on a worried expression for about 3 seconds before he recovers. During his burn animation, his yarn body will be charred a little black; this also applies to the Fire Engine transformation.

Breaking Guards

“	While you guard, a meter symbolizing your remaining defense power will appear and slowly be depleted. If it is totally depleted, you will be stunned and temporarily unable to move.”
	— Guarding and Being Stunned • Team Kirby Clash Deluxe manual

In the Kirby Fighters and Kirby Clash series, guarding has a gauge that determines how long a guard can be held before it breaks. If the guard is broken, Kirby will be knocked slightly upwards and become dizzy, leaving him stunned for a few seconds before he recovers.

Kirby Mass Attack

In addition to elemental damage, if any Kirby is deflected via a bouncy surface such as Whispy Woods' green mushrooms during his boss fight, then they will become dizzy stepping side to side in place while a small bird circles their heads as the bird chips to comically and audibly indicate dizziness.

Kirby Battle Royale

Whenever a character endures a powerful hit or a combo finisher, they will be launched a fair distance and then lie exhausted on the floor for a few seconds before getting up; however if the player presses the jump button when their character touches the ground, they will bounce off the ground to instantly recover. This maneuver works for both the 2D and 3D game styles.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

If Kirby or Bandana Waddle Dee take a hit that causes them to to land flat on their face, instead of slowly positioning themselves onto their feet, they can immediately act the moment they begin to stand up. They will also gain a couple seconds of invincibility after doing so.

Kirby's Dream Buffet

During Races and Free Rolling, players can be stunned in multiple ways which may cause other racers to overtake them: getting hit by any Copy Food ability (besides Burning Pepper) or by running into Gordos or Shotzo projectiles. In Battle Royales and Minigames, all Copy Food attacks will launch players instead with the exception of Tornado Frosting and Drill Carrot if a player is caught within the circle of Quake Surge. Falling bombs during the falling strawberries minigame will also stun unfortunate players that run into them.

When Kirby is stunned, he will position himself upwards as a dizzy ring of stars appears above his head as both his eyes pop out with a swirl in them. Sounds of birds chirping will also play to tie in with the comedic visuals. Being stunned lasts for approximately three seconds; being hit constantly, such as if a player keeps hitting a player with Tornado Frosting, will reset the stun time.

Stunning Enemies

Kirby: Canvas Curse

One of the touch controls the player can perform is tapping enemies to stun them. When they are stunned, Kirby can run into them to defeat them; a Tap Dash is not necessary to defeat a stunned enemy unlike if they were not stunned. Tapping enemies to stun them does not return in the game’s successor, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse.

Drawcia Soul can also be stunned if the player taps on her as she appears stationary on the foreground three times; the player can then use a Tap Dash on Kirby as she is stunned to deal damage to her. Each tap will also deal a very small portion of damage.

Kirby: Squeak Squad

Whenever Kirby obtains a large Treasure Chest, one of the members of the Squeak Squad will appear and chase down Kirby to steal it from him. If Kirby takes damage during this chase event, he will drop a chest where the squad member can steal it and take it to the stage’s hideout. However, if Kirby deals damage to the chasing member, he can stun them for a few moments, making them drop any stolen chest or food if he keeps attacking them during this state; the stunned member will begin to shake to indicate they are going to recover. Stunning a Squeak Squad member is useful for regaining any chest or allowing more time for a safer getaway. Uniquely, all of the larger Squeak Squad members will also take elemental damage based on what Kirby attacks them with.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

By using any evolved form of Ice and freezing a boss at a certain spot for a various period, Kirby can actually completely freeze the boss for a couple seconds making them vulnerable to other attacks before the ice begins to crack and shatters completely, dealing major damage to the boss.

In Team Kirby Clash, Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, and Super Kirby Clash

Every boss in Team Kirby Clash, Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, and Super Kirby Clash can be stunned via a Team Meteor when every member collects all Power Tablets. This leaves the boss stunned for about 10 seconds before it recovers leaving it vulnerable to an onslaught of attacks from Team Kirby. Any flying boss will be grounded when stunned making them easier to hit. Stunned bosses will also not give contact damage so players can get as close as they like to ensure their moves hit.

Stunning Bosses

Across all games, a boss may telegraph their attacks which can be dodged to stun them as a chance for Kirby to attack them. In most cases, the player must find a way to stun a boss to leave them vulnerable for attacking, however, in more recent entries such as Kirby Star Allies, attacking a boss or dealing enough damage to a boss’s weapon or shield during a specific attack may also cause them to stun themselves or have their weapon/shield break leading them being stunned when it explodes. The latter method is prominent with the Three Mage-Sisters and Hyness.

In the Super Smash Bros. series

Whenever a character shields for too long or has their shield take damage, their shield bubble will shrink in on itself. If the shield is destroyed, then the player will recoil upwards and fall back down where they will enter a stunned and dizzy state. This penalization for shielding too much may have been the inspiration for the similar shield/guard break mechanic seen in the Kirby Fighters and Kirby Clash series. Unlike in the Kirby series, however, the player can mash buttons to shorten the duration of the effect; the more damage the player has, the shorter the duration is.

Being stunned in the Super Smash Bros. series can happen in other unique ways other than the typical shield break such as via items, enemies and bosses, and other special moves. In Super Smash Bros. Melee, if Kirby were to copy Zelda’s neutral special, Nayru’s Love, and reflect a projectile that deals a significant amount of damage, the reflector will shatter leaving Kirby in a stunned state as if he had broken his shield. This applies to anyone with a reflector in that game (as well as the original Super Smash Bros.). While breaking reflectors can happen in installments after Melee, the user will not be stunned.

Kirby can also copy Zero Suit Samus' neutral special, Paralyzer to charge a gun that fires a paralyzing projectile that stuns opponents the longer it is charged. This projectile can also be reflected by King Dedede's inhale.

Below is a table showing all the stunned animations for Kirby, Meta Knight, and King Dedede across the Super Smash Bros. series.