History VideoGame / KirbyAndTheAmazingMirror

''Kirby & The Amazing Mirror'' (known in Japanese as ''Hoshi no Kirby: Kagami no Daimeikyū'', or "Kirby of the Stars: The Great Labyrinth of the Mirror") is the eighth main series ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' game, and the second to be made for the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance, released in 2004. The game was published by Creator/{{Nintendo}} and developed by HAL Laboratory with assistance from Creator/{{Capcom}}, Akira, Creator/{{Dimps}}, and Flagship. The title is most notable for the shift from ''Kirby'''s typical style of a straightforward PlatformGame to a nonlinear {{Metroidvania}} with optional cooperative multiplayer. It is notably the first ''Kirby'' game to be made following the 2003 departure of series creator Creator/MasahiroSakurai from HAL; Sakurai would act as an advisor to the game's developers as his final piece of involvement with the series.

* AbsenteeActor: King Dedede doesn't appear anywhere at all, not even as a cameo appearance.

* ArtificialStupidity: Yellow, Red, and Green Kirby will not make any progress through the game, collect Treasure, and defeat major bosses for you unless they're human-controlled. They just collect abilities and go through the various rooms at random.

** ** [[spoiler:Dark Mind's first form is very similar to [[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Nightmare]], and its second form looks like a [[IncendiaryExponent fiery version of]] [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2 Dark Matter]] or [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3 Zero]].]]

* ContinuityNod: The ending scene is nearly identical to the ending of ''[[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Kirby's Adventure]]'' and its [[UsefulNotes/GameboyAdvance GBA]] remake, ''Nightmare in Dream Land''.

* ShoutOut:
** Master Hand appears as a miniboss in several places, and in combination with Crazy Hand is the boss of Candy Constellation. Inhaling him grants Kirby the Smash ability, which gives Kirby his ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' moveset (except for the standard special, which mimics his neutral-A).
** [[spoiler:Dark Mind's first form is very similar to [[VideoGame/KirbysAdventure Nightmare]], and its second form looks like a [[IncendiaryExponent fiery version of]] [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2 Dark Matter]] or [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3 Zero]].]]

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The Dimension Mirror, which is only accessable if you collect all eight mirror shards. [[spoiler:It consists of a rematch against [[TheHeavy Dark Meta Knight]] and [[TheManBehindTheMan the true mastermind]] behind the corruption of the Mirror World: Dark Mind.]]

* HundredPercentCompletion: In order to get the percentage on the screen to 100, you have to go through every single doorway and opening every single chest.

* HundredPercentCompletion: In order to get the percentage on the screen to 100, you have to go through every single doorway (which includes going back through the ones you just came in from) and opening every single chest.

* EndgamePlus: After defeating Dark Mind, you can re-enter the Dimension Mirror to fight him again, and [[InfinityPlusOneSword Master]] is placed in the HubLevel. It can get past all obstacles, encouraging you to [[HundredPercentCompletion get any collectibles you missed]].

* UnderTheSea: Area 6, Olive Ocean, has large sections where Kirby must swim against the currents to reach the area's UnderwaterBossBattle.

* BigFancyCastle: Area 5, Carrot Castle, appears to be literally made [[LevelAte from blocks of carrots]].

* IncredibleShrinkingMan: The exclusive "Mini" ability shrinks Kirby down to the size of a button. While he can only run and jump when such a small size, he can also fit into small passageways allowing him to reach the treasure chests.

** Dark Meta Knight and Shadow Kirby look just lie their counterparts, but are colored dark grey with purple shoes.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} One for all and all four Kirby!]]]]''

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[Tagline One for all and all four Kirby!]]]]''

* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/0b/Kirby_%26_the_Amazing_Mirror.jpg/250px-Kirby_%26_the_Amazing_Mirror.jpg American boxart]], shows Kirby frowning while in his Sword form. Contrast with the Japanese (see above) and European versions, where he is happily playing with his cellphone instead.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/katam.png]]

* MirrorUniverse: The Mirror World [[spoiler:subverts this. The game's first cutscene shows that Dark Meta Knight is a villain, and throughout the game Shadow Kirby is implied to be just as evil as him. However, the final battle reveals that Shadow Kirby was actually [[GoodAllAlong trying to protect the Mirror World all along]], and only attacked the other Kirbies because [[LockedOutOfTheLoop he believed they were intruders]]. Also, [[EldritchAbomination Dark Matter]]'s Mirror World counterpart turns out to be just as twisted and wicked as its original self, if not even more so.]]

* MirrorUniverse: The Mirror World [[spoiler:subverts this. The game's first cutscene shows that Dark Meta Knight is a villain, and throughout the game Shadow Kirby is implied to be just as evil as him. However, the final battle reveals that Shadow Kirby was actually trying to protect the Mirror World all along, and only attacked the other Kirbies because he believed they were intruders. Also, Dark Matter's Mirror World counterpart turns out to be just as twisted and wicked as his original self.]]

** The mini-game [[MegatonPunch Gigaton Punch]] became [[UnfortunateNames Crackity Hack]], despite the obvious "Giga" sign over the audience. Speed Eaters also had its meaning LostInTranslation, as it originally referred to [[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Samurai Kirby]] (which also relies on quick reflexes).

* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Smash ability, which gives Kirby multiple powers from his ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' moveset. While it's both [[RuleOfCool very cool]] and very useful due to having Stone, Hammer, and Final Cutter, letting you get past most obstacles (though it can't light fuses), it's also quite rare because the main way you get it is by swallowing [[GiantHandsOfDoom Master Hand]], who shows up in a cuple of miniboss encounters. Once you find all the shortcut switches, you can unlock the Copy Room (which has almost every ability in the game, including Smash), but that requires scouring the world to ''find'' all those switches first. (You can also [[EasterEgg swallow two Noddys and let the random ability selection stop itself]], which will always give you Smash.)

* BigBad: [[spoiler:Dark Mind]], who has seized the Mirror World for his own (presumably) dark machinations. [[spoiler:Dark Meta Knight appears to be it at first, but ultimately turns out to just be TheDragon.]]

* InfinityMinusOneSword: The Smash ability; it's rare because the rare encounters with [[GiantHandsOfDoom Master Hand]], except for two where he's joined by Crazy Hand, or if you [[EasterEgg swallow two Noddys and let the selection stop itself]] are the only opportunities to obtain the ability until the Copy Ability room is unlocked (which requires all doors connecting to the hub or doors connecting to such rooms to be unlocked, thus this method is only available late in the game without SequenceBreaking) since no plain mooks grant it, but as the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' moveset for Kirby it mimics has moves taken from the Stone and Hammer abilities, it's useful for both breaking silver blocks requiring certain abilities (and unlike other moves, regardless of angle needed to break the blocks) and pounding in wooden stakes, though another ability would be needed to light fuses. That, and, it's [[RuleOfCool cool]].
* InfinityPlusOneSword: The Master ability, which can be used if Kirby has Meta Knight's "Master" sword, is fittingly named because it can't typically be lost accidentally (when Kirby loses it, it doesn't disappear) and can get past any obstacle in the game, including ones that would require specific abilities (silver blocks, wooden stakes, and fuses). It's also quite powerful and flexible, having far more attacks available than the plain Sword ability. However, the only time it can be used before the credits is during the final boss battle, so its main use is either for easy access to missed treasures or for [[RuleOfFun just screwing around post-game]] if the file was 100% completed.
* InterfaceSpoiler: [[MyNameIsQuestionMarks ? ? ?]] should immediately indicate [[spoiler:that is ''not'' Meta Knight.]]

* OpeningTheSandbox: Hitting the large switch on the way to [[WarmupBoss King Golem]] unlocks a mirror linking the central hub to a location in Rainbow Route from where you can start freely exploring the rest of Mirror World. Before then, the game [[{{Railroading}} railroaded]] you through a small linear section of Rainbow Route and then through Moonlight Mansion before hitting said switch, although deviating is possible to a smaller degree if the player obtains and keeps a hold onto the Burning ability, such as being able to access Candy Constellation early from Moonlight Mansion.
* PaletteSwap:
** The three playable Kirbys are colored pink, red, green and yellow. You can collect spray paint cans in treasure chests to change your Kirby's color, including a black-and-white one that looks somewhat like a higher-resolution version of how Kirby looked in the [[VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand first game]].

** This is one of the few games where Whispy Woods doesn't show up in, but King Golem fights almost identically.
** Wiz is one for Paint Roller and [[spoiler:Dark Mind is one for both Nightmare and Zero.]] The only boss from a previous game to appear, besides Meta Knight [[spoiler:(in a sense)]], is Kracko.

* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The Dimension Mirror, which is only accessable if you collect all eight mirror shards. [[spoiler:It consists of a rematch against [[TheHeavy Dark Meta Knight]] and [[TheManBehindTheMan the true mastermind]] behind the corruption of the Mirror World...Dark Mind.]]
* WarmupBoss: King Golem fills this role as an {{Expy}} of [[WhenTreesAttack Whispy Woods]]. However, he is actually ''weaker'' than Whispy Woods, since this was the first game since ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'' to use a draining meter instead of blips, so he has roughly 25% less health than Whispy usually does.

* GuideDangIt: Clearing the game 100% can take some work without a guide. For example, you are supposed to use attacks that shake the ground to pull those big gray blocks out of the way, but the manual instead states that they can only be moved out of the way by three or four Kirbies inhaling it at once.

* SequelDifficultySpike: One of the more difficult ''Kirby'' games for several reasons:
** You start with very low health (six bars, thankfully one can find up to four health extensions by exploring and finding secrets).
** Enemy density is much higher than usual, and they are often placed in inconvenient spots, with a few ambushes thrown in. Many of them even attack much faster and more effectively than they do in previous installments.
** Many tight flying sections, with spikes or airborne enemies all around.
** You lose your ability after one hit from any attack.

* SceneryPorn: [[http://www.spriters-resource.com/game_boy_advance/kirbyandtheamazingmirror/sheet/40118/ And how!]] All areas have several colourful pixelart landscape backgrounds. Minus the [[SceneryGorn Dimension Mirror.]]

* EndgamePlus: After defeating Dark Mind, you can re-enter the Dimension Mirror to fight him again, and [[InfinityPlusOneSword Galaxia]] is placed in the HubLevel. It can get past all obstacles, encouraging you to [[HundredPercentCompletion get any collectibles you missed]].