- Directs three Kirby games - Inserts multiple nightmarish implications into said games which would heavily influence the series going forward - Refuses to elaborate - Publically disappears
What I love about Kirby 64 is how it utilizes its low-poly art style. There's this kind of unfinished horror to a lot of 5th-gen games, this strange emptiness caused by the use of geometry to create empty space, these sort of implications that something might've happened but it's up to your imagination to figure out the rest. Kirby 64 distinctly does NOT have this problem - the camera shifts to focus distinctly on exactly what the game wants to show you, environments are littered with detail and effects, lighting and music and perspective is so much more advanced than most of K64's contemporaries using the 3D art style. And yet it's STILL this creepy, unsettling piece, something feels off as much as the levels feel lived in, basic geometric shapes are made to create facsimiles of familiar creatures like hippos or pyramids or giant attack robots. Everything that's made to feel "off" is done with intent and purpose, and the game feels like a truly lonely adventure at times exploring the ruins of worlds with friends so that you can save just one of them. Like you're so right on the money. But the video's bad because you bully Magman. He doesn't need that, he puts up with enough. You should REALLY apologize before you lose more respect.
I love the how low-poly models go together with typical anime face expressions. The other good example is Megaman Legends series. The faces are so lively and adorable, the modern games don't have the same effect.
In kirby planet robobot, it seems to reappear with a similar boss, the haltmann army seems to only take things from « eliminated » things, except for: meta knight, king dedede, and galacta knight (and maybe dark matter)
Kirby 64 was my introduction to the franchise. The clerk at Wal-Mart convinced my mom to purchase this over Super Smash Bros. and while I was a little leery as I'd played a demo of Smash and knew it was fun, I knew Kirby was cool and fun in that game so maybe he would be in his own as well. Long-term I am very glad for this interaction.
This was also my first proper Kirby game. I got interested in Kirby when I played the Planet Robobot demo, and I got into playing The Shattered Crystals since I downloaded some N64 games for my Wii.
Considering that there's a final boss that literally spits blood out of their eyeballs and Shiver Stars implied to be our planet, then the ESRB isn't lying about Kirby 64 getting a T Rating.
Having to get all the way through the stage with the Dynamite ability, where one of the two needed for it isn't even in the level. That's some nerve wracking effort that is.
@@devonm042690 Yup! That’s the one. I used like, 14 different copy abilities on that stupid bump in the ground before I found out I needed to use Ice. Doesn’t help that it’s one of the only levels (if not THE only level) that doesn’t actually have Ice in it. I guess it’s vaguely hinted that you need Ice to break it if you look at the cracks and know about erosion, but how tf is a 5-8 year old gonna know about that? On repeat playthroughs, though, I find the Dynamite shard to be worse. If you take Neo Star 4 slowly and carefully, you can get through it without too much difficulty. That isn’t the case with the Dynamite one.
An important thing of note: Some of the tracks in the game use microtonal temperaments. Those are known for feeling alien when most of what you listen to is in 12EDO.
My thoughts exactly, while my knowledge about music is not that deep, I always felt like there was something on this game's music that felt off and sometimes downright eerie
You know, a lot of Nintendo 64 games felt... not quite right. I mean, the first Super Smash Bros. freaked me out to the point that I was afraid to turn off the porch light at night, and while I haven't really felt it myself, a lot people have been freaked out by Super Mario 64.
On the topic of the city you fight the HR-H in. I always found it scary. The whole city is covered in darkness as if abandoned and shut down for a very long time, the distinct red lights from distant buildings give off an intimidating aura. The only inhabitant of this place seems to be a lone security robot or perhaps one of the things that drove out the people of this city.
@@Cri_JackalWhile it is creepy, it can be illogical since TVs have this timer thing where they can only be used for a set amount of time before the screen has to be replaced or smth, no idea how it works but tvs don't exactly work forever and they have to be manually fixed, so ye just felt like mentioning this lol
The pause menu for the Holo Defense 2.0 claims the system was built using blueprints found on another planet, and that it's still missing some of the original data. This tells us that A) we don't know who designed Pix originally (although it's safe to guess the same Ancients that built everything else HWC copies), and B) we don't know what Pix was fully capable of. I think it's super cool how Planet Robobot took the opportunity to reference this weird moment from 64 without actually ruining the mystery of it
Two things you might not know that I didn't know for decades thanks too bikdikonabus' playthrough. 1. You can slow 02 down by destroying it's wings mostly. 2. You can rotate Kirby and ribbon in the final battle which both helps with maneuvering and might be wildly disorienting
It's like how so many people found Ocarina of Time unsettling-to-terrifying as children, even the bits that *weren't* intentionally scary. I really can't word it any better than you, it was just: there was something.
It’s the uncanny valley look of early 3d models, the unnatural swapping of low poly textures in a primitive attempt to simulate emotions, and the general emptiness and loneliness of early 3d adventures, with a lot of them being solo adventures entirely, or not having more than 1 or 2 characters who stick around for more than a single section. It really is just the uncanny nature of early 3d games that disappeared sometime during the 6th generation, with more powerful hardware, all that jank and uncanniness to the models and the game itself disappeared, as developers mastered the art of making games in 3d
So about 0², not sure how the fandom at large sees it, but my headcanon is that 0² is the remnants of the body that 0 discarded during it's fight in Dream Land 3. The whole angel imagery, and the band-aid covering presumably where it's eye ripped out really sell the idea for me.
I think it was intentional! Since the guide makes no mention of Dark Star, it’s clear they wanted to keep this ending a surprise. But if they list every enemy and leave out 02, you would get suspicious (since all of the cards are numbered), especially since they come after Miracle Matter and before N-Z. So, they treat it as a special, benevolent rare occurance in Shiver Star to trick players into thinking “oh it’s a rare occurance, I just haven’t seen them yet because they’re rare.” Maybe I’m giving the writers too much credit, but I think it’s a brilliant way to keep the surprise of the final boss in tact, even if it has to lie to do so.
@@SilveryMP The simple answer is that Prima just made mistakes in the guide. It wouldn't be the first or last time they did something wrong without a specific reason. Brady also had a Kirby 64 guide at one point which had its own, different mistakes.
I’m surprised you didn’t play the sound effect that plays from the TVs in the mall. Aside from that. The factory theme, miracle matter theme, and the 02 theme are two of my favorite themes in the series. Also the background of the HR fight is really eerie for me for some reason.
It seems like some guys on the development team watched a bunch of _Evangelion._ The Rock Star pyramid is like Ramiel, the Mariel enemy is like Matarael, and a beta version of Needle-Needle had what looked like a Lance of Longinus. Plus the whole evil angelic design of Zero Two that wasn't there in Zero in _Dream Land 3._ Eva's twisted tone infecting Kirb'?
As a Kirby veteran (kinda, I played most of them), I know how much horror hides in a Kirby game Edit: also, I just realized that the image of ribbon in the credits will also change depending on the good or bad ending. I also think the the 02 image also goes away, but idk.
You know, I find Canvas Curse to be similar in that it doesn't have as much of a tonal whiplash. Something about all of the locations you go through feel...wrong. Desolate. Empty. Just plain unnerving.
The abstract designs of the locations really help too, it just feels like everything you interact with is nothing but moving husks. And it's stated throughout the entire game that all the enemies are just illusions created by Drawcia. The music feels abstract too with the techo remixes along with some other weird instruments. Even in the last 3 levels of the game Mad Mechanism feels oddly glitchier compared to the rest of the soundtrack, Spectacle Space is a garble mess of instruments remixed into Nightmare's theme. And of course Drawcia's level has this obvious eerie vibe even after we seen most of the game being somewhat lighthearted, it just feels like this is something we're not supposed to see.
Now come to think about it, if we allow (GAME) theories as well as bits of Kirby lore, Adeleine is gotta be the most tragic character to exist in the Kirby series (as well as Kirby 64 rated T for teens.) I mean Adeleine may well be the last human race in the known world of Kirby her home planet got mechanized by Haltman works company and earth slowly became the place we now know and Adeleine was the only one to get out and that's gotta have PTSD also getting possessed by dark matter (twice) did not help, she really sticks out among the folks in Kirby and Kirby's friends, she's not a round circle nor an orange circle nor an animal neither an alien, she's just a human and that's gotta be tough but she did made friends during the events of 64 and she did went off from planet pop star with ribbon which is said through her pause screens for both English and Japanese of her pause text, still though she's very much alone and that's said. There are so many things you can do with Adeleine as a character and i want to add so much to her in the future when i can do animation i really want to do a sonic and Kirby crossover and i want to have voice actors (but that's going to be a long time and gotta have a lot of people who can do best voice for everyone so i might have to figure out how to do that plus the payment) i am doing one right now but it's a one man job and.... well let's say that i can't draw bodies and fingers and i can't draw bodies without making them big nor ears (if they are not sonic type ears) and necks and just need to level up my drawing skills even more. Sorry for a long comment but i needed an exuce to talk about Adeleine and also to wanna share somethings about what i hope to do in the future.
@@crazycap2945 Well this is going by what i made (which is confusing and not good storytelling) a lone dark matter exists in the void of nothingness until Eggman did something to get easy way to to get the chaos emeralds but Dark Matter shows up and was going to possess Eggman but he makes a deal with the matter most dark to take over Sonic's world and he can get his revenge on Kirby, so Dark Matter did exactly that and took over Sonic's world and possessed Knuckles and Shadow. Sonic is running until he meets knuckles and attack Sonic, Sonic thinks Knuckles is tricked by Eggman, Tail's noticed the dark creature and shoots it with his gun from Sonic fighters and capture it and later on things happened that i can explain but it would be very long. I am a 16 year old, so expect not the best quality. If you want to check out my drawings then go ahead! it will be on my community tab.
@@Eskilo-to9up I will not give up on the project, it may be some random idea i came out with in school and summer but now it's become my goal to live long to reach the point of the Kirby and Sonic crossover and become a great animator in general!
I wouldn’t say the darker elements come out of nowhere in modern Kirby games, a lot of them feel like natural extensions of the already presented concepts. Sure, Robobot and Triple Deluxe are a bit weird, but you’re introduced to the darker aspects of Star Allies and Forgotten Land almost immediately with the early reveal of Hyness and the empty abandoned cities, they just make things more ominous towards the endings. Edit: I’m also fairly sure 02 is supposed to represent a fallen angel.
With that in mind, Zero 2 attacks with his thorny tail with fart clouds. I really don't know what's the whole thing behind the thorn tail, gonna be honest.
Everyone's probably seen this already, but Terminalmontage has a "something about" Kirby 64 video that very effectively touches on the horror of Shiver Star.
One of my favorite "scary" moments in Kirby 64 comes during the Catacombs level of Ripple Star. The game gives you so many healing items all throughout the level, as if it's saying "you're REALLY going to need full health coming up!" It built up a weird sort of tension the first time playing it.
@@coreyander286 She kisses him in the good ending. She is definitely intended as a love interest. She's not even the first one, there's also Chu from Dreamland 3.
We then found out about the zero 2 being a messenger of God is actually true almost 20 years later, actually way to true. The being is the manifestation of void's darkness side, a direct parallel to kirby's side. Ya let that sink in
Sort of. According to the Wiki, that was more in reference to the original Zero, who is treated as and considered a separate character from the original Zero. Of course, that doesn't 100% mean it's wrong though.
Just wanna say that the final boss is indeed very heavily implied to be a form of or servant of God in later games. And yes Kirby does end up killing the confirmed God (in Japanese at least) in cold blood, in fact he might've also killed a parallel version of God fused with the grim reaper the lore is kinda vague there
Cool video and all but calling it an horror game in my opinion is a stretch. Its an colorful and cozy adventure game with some elements of horror, and depict very tastefully and artistly the concept of the "Shadow that is lurking behind". But in the end, no one gets really hurt, no one died, and Kirby defeat and vanquish 02, for whatever transcendent being he might be. Also I always found the Kirby transformations to be goofy and funny, never have I seen them as creepy or horrific. I'd grant you that that one second of seeing the fairy queen with an evil smile in the bad ending was quite enough of a shock to motivate me to finish the game at 100% when I was a kid, because I knew that there was more to it. Fun video regardless, I like the discussion.
I'm speculating that the devs drew inspiration from Evangelion. This would explain the angelic themes around O2. Further, the floating octahedron in Rock Star bears at least some resemblance to Ramiel. I'll admit that the design is extremely simple, but combining that with the anti-gravity and size makes it seem like a bit more than a coincidence.
i played kirby 64 on a neighbor's old n64 once when i was a kid, i didn't know what a waddle doo was as i hadn't played a kirby before so suddenly seeing waddle dee's face turn into a giant eye was the scariest part of the game for me
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Kirby is my favorite Cosmic Horror franchise. Shiver Star has an official explanation, from an interview with one of the game's designers - it was actually meant to be Earth, long after its resources had been used up and climate change had left it in covered in ice, and its inhabitants have long abandoned it as a result. I like the theory that it's due to Haltmann Co. dropping by and ravaging the planet, mainly because it's less depressing than the idea that humanity really just let it keep going in that direction without trying to stop it.
@@carnage0685 I don't have a link and RUclips would delete my comment anyway. It was an interview I read either on a Kirby website or in a magazine at some point.
I do not consider it a stretch to say Kirby 64 is a horror game. That being said I think the most disturbing Kirby moment is the destruction of Star Dream, as despite Kirby's best efforts, he was unable to fully save the day and reunite father and daughter, as Haltman screams as his very soul fades away. While I don't think God was ever the intent with 0², (I thought it was Satan, as the Japanese understand hes supposed to still look like hes a angel of light) I guess with the new lore from Star Allies you could make that argument. That or Kirby is God in that verse.
Void Termina isn't so much meant to be THE God as much as a being of pure chaos from which lesser gods are born. Maybe it could be considered a titan instead. But Kirby isn't God either, because it's heavily implied that while Zero and Zero 2 are manifestations created by exposing Void Termina (or the Jamba Heart at least) to pure evil, Kirby may be a manifestation created when it was exposed to goodness instead.
Kirby 64 is underated in my opinion and deserves more respect. I love how you go in-depth into the horror aspects. I hope this game gets a remake, but they would probably have to turn down the body horror on Kirby.
7:35 I legit never knew you could RUN OUT OF BRIDGE in that fight, that's actually nutty. Also, just to note, ADORE Miracle Matter's theme theme and how the start of it lulls you into that "yeah yeah" kind of mentality, you're used to the normal boss theme, then Miracle Matter flips it. What a good game
I just realized: in kirby lore void/void termina is implied to be god, it also is implied to have created kirby and zero/dark matter/gooey/nebula, with the imagery zero is voids messanger
13:34 Debatably. All we see is that it's volcanically active; for all we know, this happens regularly. I wouldn't say the game as a whole is a horror game, but it has a lot more horror elements than usual. However, the vast majority of the game is just a fun and cute romp through various level themes and most of the cutscenes are of Kirby just hanging out with his friends.
Yes!! Something I've addressed about the game frequently is how excruciatingly painful a lot of the abilities and ability combinations look for Kirby! Like for one instance, he STRAIGHT UP SETS HIMSELF ON *FIRE* WHICH ENDS UP WITH HIM FRANTICALLY RUNNING AROUND AND IN BURNING AGONY!!!!
The most bizarre thing about Pix is that its not just a one and done boss, Haltman (if i recall) uses a similar security sistem (or was it the computer defence matrix thingie in superstar?) noe was it an ancient futuristic tech being repurposed or is it the origin of the black piramid?
I'm surprised that you didn't touch on that Rock Star ISN'T a desert world. Look at the second level, it's not a desert at all. The world's Japanese name is Ruined/Perished Star, and THAT's the world's actual theme. The first level is a temple sunken into the sand, the second is ruins, the third is full of fossils. All signs of life that's long gone. While the fourth could be the spacecraft of aliens that discovered the planet after the end, or perhaps one that crashed there long along and was lying dormant, judging by how it rises from the sand. Look at Rock Star itself, it's completely shattered. It's cool because this actually makes Neo Star the opposite. It's a planet in its infancy. The first level is a lush jungle where you first see the pterosaur-like Pteran enemies, some of the plantlife even has a prehistoric look to it. The second and third levels are rocky canyons and caves, and the 4th is full of volcanic activity. I doubt Neo Star was destroyed at the end there. It was probably just a regular eruption because the world is still young, although if you want to be more dramatic, you could say it was an extinction event like the Great Dying or something.
Thanks JJJack for recommending this! Great video man! 64 wasn’t my fave in the series but I loved the copy combining! I really loved Squeak Squad back in the day and was probably my first 100% ever ^^ Although Squeak Squad probably had the least amount of scary Kirby content haha
kirby 64 is my favorite kirby game, but is by far the scariest in my opinion. something about zero two is so unsettling that even with the low poly modeling for the game it still somehow throws me off. he's my favorite kirby boss and i often wonder how he managed to become so powerful, why he wants to take over ripple star, etc.
I remember seeing this game's ads on tv and in magazines. It was my first time seeing Kirby, and I didn't realize this was not his first game, so I thought all the body horror and creepiness of... Kirby himself, was intentional. Basically being something that looks cute but is really a menace. The fact that it looked to me like at any moment he could suddenly form several twitching spikes, a bunch of large needles and stingers, the massive jaws from his arms, or open his mouth the stab you with an impossibly large flaming sword didn't help things. All that from a tv spot where he blows up a cat with a missle to the print ad that just describes him with an evil grin in addition to several other informed attributes that can't be seen and zero further context.
Okay so I'm not the only one who used to obsess over that abandoned city during the HR-H fight, right? Like, I remember trying to draw what I thought this city looked like outside the skybox as a kid in school. What happened to it? Why is it like this? I kinda think this (combined with Wet-Dry World and the 'Mario 64 is personalized' videos that tried to add lore to it) led to some kind of weird obsession with creepy abandoned city/town settings in games. I really hope I'm not alone in feeling this way. What the hell is beyond that skybox?
I have never played kirby 64 but the imagery and this video alone makes me hope for more horror-esque kirby games. Even if hal doesnt do it, i hope that the community will. Theres already a kirby analogue horror series but it uses kirby as story telling device and not the kirby world itself.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
Kirby 64 is overrated
I beg ya damn pardon
lmao
go forth my brave warrior, bring me much engagement
Yesn't
hol up.
- Directs three Kirby games
- Inserts multiple nightmarish implications into said games which would heavily influence the series going forward
- Refuses to elaborate
- Publically disappears
yooooo it's kimi
What a Chad
he did also direct nightmare in dream land which started the trend of alternative playable characters in extra modes
What I love about Kirby 64 is how it utilizes its low-poly art style. There's this kind of unfinished horror to a lot of 5th-gen games, this strange emptiness caused by the use of geometry to create empty space, these sort of implications that something might've happened but it's up to your imagination to figure out the rest. Kirby 64 distinctly does NOT have this problem - the camera shifts to focus distinctly on exactly what the game wants to show you, environments are littered with detail and effects, lighting and music and perspective is so much more advanced than most of K64's contemporaries using the 3D art style. And yet it's STILL this creepy, unsettling piece, something feels off as much as the levels feel lived in, basic geometric shapes are made to create facsimiles of familiar creatures like hippos or pyramids or giant attack robots. Everything that's made to feel "off" is done with intent and purpose, and the game feels like a truly lonely adventure at times exploring the ruins of worlds with friends so that you can save just one of them. Like you're so right on the money.
But the video's bad because you bully Magman. He doesn't need that, he puts up with enough. You should REALLY apologize before you lose more respect.
Agreed. Sometimes just the art style alone scares me. It took a long time to get used to Kirby's design, among others in this game
I love the how low-poly models go together with typical anime face expressions. The other good example is Megaman Legends series. The faces are so lively and adorable, the modern games don't have the same effect.
but were they SUPPOSED to be scary?
the two black pyramids in the dark matter trilogy are really weird and i want to know more about them
Kirby Universe is full of Cosmic Travelers and other nameless horrors.
They used to be colored like Ramiel from Evangelion I think.
The little electric enemies inside the K64 Octohedron ship are blue like Ramiel.@@Mike14264
In kirby planet robobot, it seems to reappear with a similar boss, the haltmann army seems to only take things from « eliminated » things, except for: meta knight, king dedede, and galacta knight (and maybe dark matter)
Two? I know, Kirby 64, but where’s the other?
Kirby 64 was my introduction to the franchise. The clerk at Wal-Mart convinced my mom to purchase this over Super Smash Bros. and while I was a little leery as I'd played a demo of Smash and knew it was fun, I knew Kirby was cool and fun in that game so maybe he would be in his own as well. Long-term I am very glad for this interaction.
W clerk
This was also my first proper Kirby game. I got interested in Kirby when I played the Planet Robobot demo, and I got into playing The Shattered Crystals since I downloaded some N64 games for my Wii.
Considering that there's a final boss that literally spits blood out of their eyeballs and Shiver Stars implied to be our planet, then the ESRB isn't lying about Kirby 64 getting a T Rating.
Shiver Star isn't Earth itself, but rather a second Earth after humans left the original which is seen in Forgotten Land
@@TotherKoala That's never been stated.
@@TotherKoala They're likely both Earths, with the Forgotten Land probably being from a seperate universe.
The scariest thing in this game is the third shard in stage 2 of Neo Star
Having to get all the way through the stage with the Dynamite ability, where one of the two needed for it isn't even in the level. That's some nerve wracking effort that is.
Arguably worse than the one in stage 4 of Neo Star. God, I really don’t like Neo Star.
@@carnage0685 Do you mean the one that breaks the convention of color-coding breakable stuff hiding a shard?
@@devonm042690 Yup! That’s the one. I used like, 14 different copy abilities on that stupid bump in the ground before I found out I needed to use Ice. Doesn’t help that it’s one of the only levels (if not THE only level) that doesn’t actually have Ice in it.
I guess it’s vaguely hinted that you need Ice to break it if you look at the cracks and know about erosion, but how tf is a 5-8 year old gonna know about that?
On repeat playthroughs, though, I find the Dynamite shard to be worse. If you take Neo Star 4 slowly and carefully, you can get through it without too much difficulty. That isn’t the case with the Dynamite one.
An important thing of note:
Some of the tracks in the game use microtonal temperaments.
Those are known for feeling alien when most of what you listen to is in 12EDO.
My thoughts exactly, while my knowledge about music is not that deep, I always felt like there was something on this game's music that felt off and sometimes downright eerie
Kirby's occupation is Eldritch slayer
You know, a lot of Nintendo 64 games felt... not quite right. I mean, the first Super Smash Bros. freaked me out to the point that I was afraid to turn off the porch light at night, and while I haven't really felt it myself, a lot people have been freaked out by Super Mario 64.
It’s the creepiness of early 3D video gaming.
Im one of the mario 64 people
On the topic of the city you fight the HR-H in. I always found it scary. The whole city is covered in darkness as if abandoned and shut down for a very long time, the distinct red lights from distant buildings give off an intimidating aura. The only inhabitant of this place seems to be a lone security robot or perhaps one of the things that drove out the people of this city.
"The TVs that only display static"
That detail is so unnoticeable yet so fucked.
_We know exactly why they aren't displaying anything._
Why?
@@agentepolaris4914
TVs can't receive any signals.
_If no one's sending any._
@@Cri_JackalWhile it is creepy, it can be illogical since TVs have this timer thing where they can only be used for a set amount of time before the screen has to be replaced or smth, no idea how it works but tvs don't exactly work forever and they have to be manually fixed, so ye just felt like mentioning this lol
Yep! We stopped doing analouge TV broadcasting in like 2009. So naturally those old POS boxes can't display anything.
Oh btw Pix is a security system; it's an earlier version of the Holo Defense API from Robobot. It seems Haltmann Works set up a base on Rock Star.
The pause menu for the Holo Defense 2.0 claims the system was built using blueprints found on another planet, and that it's still missing some of the original data. This tells us that A) we don't know who designed Pix originally (although it's safe to guess the same Ancients that built everything else HWC copies), and B) we don't know what Pix was fully capable of. I think it's super cool how Planet Robobot took the opportunity to reference this weird moment from 64 without actually ruining the mystery of it
Two things you might not know that I didn't know for decades thanks too bikdikonabus' playthrough.
1. You can slow 02 down by destroying it's wings mostly.
2. You can rotate Kirby and ribbon in the final battle which both helps with maneuvering and might be wildly disorienting
I had forgotten about rotating. I also never want to try it, lol
I didn't know about rotating, but DID know about the wings
JJJack was right, Kirby sure is a game
Wow, I didn't know that H-RH's boss fight would end if you took to long on the second phase!
Waoh
I had it happen exactly one time.
Yeah who would know
get in loser, we're fighting god
Tbh there's ALWAYS something unsettling about old games.
I just can't put my finger on why...
It's like how so many people found Ocarina of Time unsettling-to-terrifying as children, even the bits that *weren't* intentionally scary. I really can't word it any better than you, it was just: there was something.
It’s the uncanny valley look of early 3d models, the unnatural swapping of low poly textures in a primitive attempt to simulate emotions, and the general emptiness and loneliness of early 3d adventures, with a lot of them being solo adventures entirely, or not having more than 1 or 2 characters who stick around for more than a single section. It really is just the uncanny nature of early 3d games that disappeared sometime during the 6th generation, with more powerful hardware, all that jank and uncanniness to the models and the game itself disappeared, as developers mastered the art of making games in 3d
No there isn't. You've read too many creepy pastas in your youth.
@@mallow2902 dude you don't know anything about me.
The only old game I've played that didn't at all feel creepy is Kirby's Adventure.
So about 0², not sure how the fandom at large sees it, but my headcanon is that 0² is the remnants of the body that 0 discarded during it's fight in Dream Land 3. The whole angel imagery, and the band-aid covering presumably where it's eye ripped out really sell the idea for me.
I just love the fact that in Glitchwave Kirby 64 is marked as a 'Lovecraftian horror' game
Kirby 64 is my favorite game in the series because it’s so unique.
As a kid in 1999 ripple star scared, the crap out of me, I always thought kirby 64 was creepy
As soon as I saw this in Jacks video I was like “omg Kirby I gotta watch that!” I’ve fully 100% this game and I love the creepy stuff about it
The scariest part of this game is the Nintendo 64 D-Pad
REAL
A great d-pad that just doesn't get used by anything. It's a real shame too.
12:15 why was this the most intimidating delivery of the word “god” I’ve ever heard
Also, giant claws Kirby FTW. Favorite ability in the series.
still don’t know how the OFFICIAL prima guide managed to mess up zero2 that badly by thinking it was kiki
I think it was intentional! Since the guide makes no mention of Dark Star, it’s clear they wanted to keep this ending a surprise. But if they list every enemy and leave out 02, you would get suspicious (since all of the cards are numbered), especially since they come after Miracle Matter and before N-Z. So, they treat it as a special, benevolent rare occurance in Shiver Star to trick players into thinking “oh it’s a rare occurance, I just haven’t seen them yet because they’re rare.”
Maybe I’m giving the writers too much credit, but I think it’s a brilliant way to keep the surprise of the final boss in tact, even if it has to lie to do so.
@@SilveryMP the prima guide saying the game has 100 crystal shards:
(there’s around 72 in game.)
@@teaoftraffic Yeah I don’t have an answer for that one. 100 looks better for marketing maybe? That was definitely a blunder haha
@@SilveryMP The simple answer is that Prima just made mistakes in the guide. It wouldn't be the first or last time they did something wrong without a specific reason. Brady also had a Kirby 64 guide at one point which had its own, different mistakes.
@@teaoftraffic I thought there were 64 /j
I’m surprised you didn’t play the sound effect that plays from the TVs in the mall.
Aside from that. The factory theme, miracle matter theme, and the 02 theme are two of my favorite themes in the series. Also the background of the HR fight is really eerie for me for some reason.
It seems like some guys on the development team watched a bunch of _Evangelion._ The Rock Star pyramid is like Ramiel, the Mariel enemy is like Matarael, and a beta version of Needle-Needle had what looked like a Lance of Longinus. Plus the whole evil angelic design of Zero Two that wasn't there in Zero in _Dream Land 3._ Eva's twisted tone infecting Kirb'?
As a Kirby veteran (kinda, I played most of them), I know how much horror hides in a Kirby game
Edit: also, I just realized that the image of ribbon in the credits will also change depending on the good or bad ending. I also think the the 02 image also goes away, but idk.
You know, I find Canvas Curse to be similar in that it doesn't have as much of a tonal whiplash. Something about all of the locations you go through feel...wrong. Desolate. Empty. Just plain unnerving.
The abstract designs of the locations really help too, it just feels like everything you interact with is nothing but moving husks. And it's stated throughout the entire game that all the enemies are just illusions created by Drawcia. The music feels abstract too with the techo remixes along with some other weird instruments. Even in the last 3 levels of the game Mad Mechanism feels oddly glitchier compared to the rest of the soundtrack, Spectacle Space is a garble mess of instruments remixed into Nightmare's theme. And of course Drawcia's level has this obvious eerie vibe even after we seen most of the game being somewhat lighthearted, it just feels like this is something we're not supposed to see.
5:58 Nice jab at the infamous Prima Guide!
Was it a bad guide?
It's a god of destruction, but it isn't capital G God. Which Kirby may be related to. As a sentient black hole, it kind makes sense.
Now come to think about it, if we allow (GAME) theories as well as bits of Kirby lore, Adeleine is gotta be the most tragic character to exist in the Kirby series (as well as Kirby 64 rated T for teens.) I mean Adeleine may well be the last human race in the known world of Kirby her home planet got mechanized by Haltman works company and earth slowly became the place we now know and Adeleine was the only one to get out and that's gotta have PTSD also getting possessed by dark matter (twice) did not help, she really sticks out among the folks in Kirby and Kirby's friends, she's not a round circle nor an orange circle nor an animal neither an alien, she's just a human and that's gotta be tough but she did made friends during the events of 64 and she did went off from planet pop star with ribbon which is said through her pause screens for both English and Japanese of her pause text, still though she's very much alone and that's said. There are so many things you can do with Adeleine as a character and i want to add so much to her in the future when i can do animation i really want to do a sonic and Kirby crossover and i want to have voice actors (but that's going to be a long time and gotta have a lot of people who can do best voice for everyone so i might have to figure out how to do that plus the payment) i am doing one right now but it's a one man job and.... well let's say that i can't draw bodies and fingers and i can't draw bodies without making them big nor ears (if they are not sonic type ears) and necks and just need to level up my drawing skills even more. Sorry for a long comment but i needed an exuce to talk about Adeleine and also to wanna share somethings about what i hope to do in the future.
Do tell how the crossover goes! As a fan of both I'm incredibly interested!
@@crazycap2945 Well this is going by what i made (which is confusing and not good storytelling) a lone dark matter exists in the void of nothingness until Eggman did something to get easy way to to get the chaos emeralds but Dark Matter shows up and was going to possess Eggman but he makes a deal with the matter most dark to take over Sonic's world and he can get his revenge on Kirby, so Dark Matter did exactly that and took over Sonic's world and possessed Knuckles and Shadow. Sonic is running until he meets knuckles and attack Sonic, Sonic thinks Knuckles is tricked by Eggman, Tail's noticed the dark creature and shoots it with his gun from Sonic fighters and capture it and later on things happened that i can explain but it would be very long. I am a 16 year old, so expect not the best quality. If you want to check out my drawings then go ahead! it will be on my community tab.
@@sage64thecrystalDon't give up with trainning you will become a great animator and do this epic crossover
@@Eskilo-to9up I will not give up on the project, it may be some random idea i came out with in school and summer but now it's become my goal to live long to reach the point of the Kirby and Sonic crossover and become a great animator in general!
Let's not forget that Zero 2's wings are supposed to be its arteries...
I wouldn’t say the darker elements come out of nowhere in modern Kirby games, a lot of them feel like natural extensions of the already presented concepts. Sure, Robobot and Triple Deluxe are a bit weird, but you’re introduced to the darker aspects of Star Allies and Forgotten Land almost immediately with the early reveal of Hyness and the empty abandoned cities, they just make things more ominous towards the endings.
Edit: I’m also fairly sure 02 is supposed to represent a fallen angel.
With that in mind, Zero 2 attacks with his thorny tail with fart clouds.
I really don't know what's the whole thing behind the thorn tail, gonna be honest.
Everyone's probably seen this already, but Terminalmontage has a "something about" Kirby 64 video that very effectively touches on the horror of Shiver Star.
Personally...
0² being a Messenger of God could work with the angle of Void. They both steal Kirby's trademark smile, after all.
One of my favorite "scary" moments in Kirby 64 comes during the Catacombs level of Ripple Star. The game gives you so many healing items all throughout the level, as if it's saying "you're REALLY going to need full health coming up!" It built up a weird sort of tension the first time playing it.
I think Kirby 64 is a love story between Kirby and ribbon
Such a romance would be blasphemy against God and Nature
@@coreyander286 She kisses him in the good ending. She is definitely intended as a love interest. She's not even the first one, there's also Chu from Dreamland 3.
We then found out about the zero 2 being a messenger of God is actually true almost 20 years later, actually way to true. The being is the manifestation of void's darkness side, a direct parallel to kirby's side. Ya let that sink in
Sort of. According to the Wiki, that was more in reference to the original Zero, who is treated as and considered a separate character from the original Zero. Of course, that doesn't 100% mean it's wrong though.
It was almost 20 years later actually lol
@@carnage0685 thanks for correcting me
Huh, I think you explained why this game captivated me as a kid, child friendly horror is SO important!
I feel like the poor n64 graphics somehow make it even more unsettling…
Just wanna say that the final boss is indeed very heavily implied to be a form of or servant of God in later games. And yes Kirby does end up killing the confirmed God (in Japanese at least) in cold blood, in fact he might've also killed a parallel version of God fused with the grim reaper the lore is kinda vague there
Cool video and all but calling it an horror game in my opinion is a stretch. Its an colorful and cozy adventure game with some elements of horror, and depict very tastefully and artistly the concept of the "Shadow that is lurking behind". But in the end, no one gets really hurt, no one died, and Kirby defeat and vanquish 02, for whatever transcendent being he might be. Also I always found the Kirby transformations to be goofy and funny, never have I seen them as creepy or horrific. I'd grant you that that one second of seeing the fairy queen with an evil smile in the bad ending was quite enough of a shock to motivate me to finish the game at 100% when I was a kid, because I knew that there was more to it. Fun video regardless, I like the discussion.
"Kirby 64 is a horror game."
Earthbound: gee, ya don't say anything about me?
I'm speculating that the devs drew inspiration from Evangelion. This would explain the angelic themes around O2. Further, the floating octahedron in Rock Star bears at least some resemblance to Ramiel. I'll admit that the design is extremely simple, but combining that with the anti-gravity and size makes it seem like a bit more than a coincidence.
Needle + Needle in the beta version of Kirby 64 had the Spear of Longinus as one of the sharp objects.
The zero two is the type of angel that accompanied ophinum
i played kirby 64 on a neighbor's old n64 once when i was a kid, i didn't know what a waddle doo was as i hadn't played a kirby before so suddenly seeing waddle dee's face turn into a giant eye was the scariest part of the game for me
I've said it before and I'll say it again - Kirby is my favorite Cosmic Horror franchise.
Shiver Star has an official explanation, from an interview with one of the game's designers - it was actually meant to be Earth, long after its resources had been used up and climate change had left it in covered in ice, and its inhabitants have long abandoned it as a result. I like the theory that it's due to Haltmann Co. dropping by and ravaging the planet, mainly because it's less depressing than the idea that humanity really just let it keep going in that direction without trying to stop it.
??? Source?
@@carnage0685 I don't have a link and RUclips would delete my comment anyway.
It was an interview I read either on a Kirby website or in a magazine at some point.
The bad ending scene just gave me one of the nastiest shivers I have felt in forever! I think the narration definitely made it impact more.
Same man. Kept me up all night...
I do not consider it a stretch to say Kirby 64 is a horror game. That being said I think the most disturbing Kirby moment is the destruction of Star Dream, as despite Kirby's best efforts, he was unable to fully save the day and reunite father and daughter, as Haltman screams as his very soul fades away. While I don't think God was ever the intent with 0², (I thought it was Satan, as the Japanese understand hes supposed to still look like hes a angel of light) I guess with the new lore from Star Allies you could make that argument. That or Kirby is God in that verse.
Void Termina isn't so much meant to be THE God as much as a being of pure chaos from which lesser gods are born. Maybe it could be considered a titan instead. But Kirby isn't God either, because it's heavily implied that while Zero and Zero 2 are manifestations created by exposing Void Termina (or the Jamba Heart at least) to pure evil, Kirby may be a manifestation created when it was exposed to goodness instead.
7:09 Yeah hal Laboratory Please explain to us What that creature is
Kirby 64 is underated in my opinion and deserves more respect. I love how you go in-depth into the horror aspects. I hope this game gets a remake, but they would probably have to turn down the body horror on Kirby.
7:35 I legit never knew you could RUN OUT OF BRIDGE in that fight, that's actually nutty. Also, just to note, ADORE Miracle Matter's theme theme and how the start of it lulls you into that "yeah yeah" kind of mentality, you're used to the normal boss theme, then Miracle Matter flips it. What a good game
Miracle mater holds a special place in my heart
oh HELL yeah. we LOVE a new silvery upload. already liked, i can tell it's gonna be a banger
Random theory: shiver star is the forgotten land from Kirby and the forgotten land melted
I like how 02 is just staring at the crystal in the Fairy Queen's body.
The Magman disrespect was uncalled for… 😢
I just realized: in kirby lore void/void termina is implied to be god, it also is implied to have created kirby and zero/dark matter/gooey/nebula, with the imagery zero is voids messanger
Think void more like an eeve, just like it evolving to different forms it's the purest form, both Kirby and dark matter etc come from void
13:34 Debatably. All we see is that it's volcanically active; for all we know, this happens regularly.
I wouldn't say the game as a whole is a horror game, but it has a lot more horror elements than usual. However, the vast majority of the game is just a fun and cute romp through various level themes and most of the cutscenes are of Kirby just hanging out with his friends.
Yes!! Something I've addressed about the game frequently is how excruciatingly painful a lot of the abilities and ability combinations look for Kirby! Like for one instance, he STRAIGHT UP SETS HIMSELF ON *FIRE* WHICH ENDS UP WITH HIM FRANTICALLY RUNNING AROUND AND IN BURNING AGONY!!!!
The most bizarre thing about Pix is that its not just a one and done boss, Haltman (if i recall) uses a similar security sistem (or was it the computer defence matrix thingie in superstar?) noe was it an ancient futuristic tech being repurposed or is it the origin of the black piramid?
Kirby....Kirby 64 I need to play it..
The thing is Kirby straight up destroyed all evil in the universe and does a little dance
Shiver Star is not actually Earth. It just looks like it. The real Earth is currently not frozen over and inhabited by sentient sea life.
I'm surprised that you didn't touch on that Rock Star ISN'T a desert world. Look at the second level, it's not a desert at all. The world's Japanese name is Ruined/Perished Star, and THAT's the world's actual theme. The first level is a temple sunken into the sand, the second is ruins, the third is full of fossils. All signs of life that's long gone. While the fourth could be the spacecraft of aliens that discovered the planet after the end, or perhaps one that crashed there long along and was lying dormant, judging by how it rises from the sand. Look at Rock Star itself, it's completely shattered.
It's cool because this actually makes Neo Star the opposite. It's a planet in its infancy. The first level is a lush jungle where you first see the pterosaur-like Pteran enemies, some of the plantlife even has a prehistoric look to it. The second and third levels are rocky canyons and caves, and the 4th is full of volcanic activity. I doubt Neo Star was destroyed at the end there. It was probably just a regular eruption because the world is still young, although if you want to be more dramatic, you could say it was an extinction event like the Great Dying or something.
Thanks JJJack for recommending this!
Great video man!
64 wasn’t my fave in the series but I loved the copy combining!
I really loved Squeak Squad back in the day and was probably my first 100% ever ^^
Although Squeak Squad probably had the least amount of scary Kirby content haha
NEW SILVERY BANGER!!!!
kirby 64 is my favorite kirby game, but is by far the scariest in my opinion. something about zero two is so unsettling that even with the low poly modeling for the game it still somehow throws me off. he's my favorite kirby boss and i often wonder how he managed to become so powerful, why he wants to take over ripple star, etc.
I remember seeing this game's ads on tv and in magazines. It was my first time seeing Kirby, and I didn't realize this was not his first game, so I thought all the body horror and creepiness of... Kirby himself, was intentional. Basically being something that looks cute but is really a menace. The fact that it looked to me like at any moment he could suddenly form several twitching spikes, a bunch of large needles and stingers, the massive jaws from his arms, or open his mouth the stab you with an impossibly large flaming sword didn't help things. All that from a tv spot where he blows up a cat with a missle to the print ad that just describes him with an evil grin in addition to several other informed attributes that can't be seen and zero further context.
3:48 it’s not those two it’s a digital 3d being which is the POWER SOURCE to the whole digital pyramidic ship!
Okay so I'm not the only one who used to obsess over that abandoned city during the HR-H fight, right? Like, I remember trying to draw what I thought this city looked like outside the skybox as a kid in school. What happened to it? Why is it like this? I kinda think this (combined with Wet-Dry World and the 'Mario 64 is personalized' videos that tried to add lore to it) led to some kind of weird obsession with creepy abandoned city/town settings in games. I really hope I'm not alone in feeling this way. What the hell is beyond that skybox?
Kirby fans when they see a factory and some eyeballs:
I have never played kirby 64 but the imagery and this video alone makes me hope for more horror-esque kirby games. Even if hal doesnt do it, i hope that the community will. Theres already a kirby analogue horror series but it uses kirby as story telling device and not the kirby world itself.
5:58 Where? All i see is the cleaning enemy from KDL3
Needle + Cutter is tprobably why I created a monster named Armjaw, a monster that has jaws that can used as fingerless arms.
I finished this game very recently, and I love the vibes. I don't love some of the Shard requirements, but aesthetically its excellent.
It’s theorize that shiver Star became that way when it was taken over by the halt man enterprises
Alright, jarvis pull up the spongebob rollercoaster meme
That's where Kirby 64 peaked in story.
the disturbing elements are based on esoteric/ occult symbolism
If you really need to know what is going on in Shiver Star's Factory. They were able to produce a cat girl.
HE GAVE US A SPOOKY VIDEO JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN!!! GO TEAM SILVERY!!!
As always, Kirby lore always starts off looking innocent only to reveal itself as the most creepy and unhinged shit to ever come out of Nintendo.
What an AMAZING video
THANKS SOOO MUCH FOR THIS !
Bomberman hero for n64 is weird to me. Such a weird unsettling atmosphere
I mostly agree with what's said in the video, but summation at the end really giving that one "Mario, the Idea vs. Mario, the Man" essay
I’ll take being compared to the greatest misunderstood thesis of our generation any day, thanks boss.
Kirby 64 is a Nice Game for pretty people
OFF reference? :O
The key to make me subscribe: Subscribe for more Kirby content.
i never beat kirby 64 100% so the "bad ending" is all i ever got.
i was flabberghasted - to say the least when i found out there is a "good ending"
Kirby games in every year expect this: ........
Dark themes do not neccesitate horror. Cant imagine how you guys would react to real adversity if kirby is enough to make you feel uneasy.
PEAK VIDEO PLEASE NEVER DIE
Is it just me or shiver star looks like it has gone through radiation activity
12:30 Kirby: it's lunch
i agree.
I think you'll find that all of them are horror to a degree.
I thought I didn't like horror, but turns out one of the first games I ever played and the only one I ever completed 100% is a horror game!