Waddle Dee

A Waddle Dee from Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
Waddle Dee
Debut	Kirby's Dream Land

The Waddle Dee is a recurring creature from the Kirby series. They have most commonly appeared as the basic enemies faced in most games, but some games have featured Waddle Dees as friendly supporting (and sometimes playable) characters.

Information

The Waddle Dee is a small round creature that has a physical resemblance to Kirby. It has a red body with a flesh-covered face, which is usually blushing. They are primarily peaceful and harmless creatures that live carefree lives. The Waddle Dees appear commonly as enemies and have been seen as minions of King Dedede, but they do not consider themselves to be his followers. Waddle Dees also will merit no special abilities when swallowed, although in some cases they will wield accessories that Kirby can use after swallowing.

There have been various different versions of the Waddle Dee, but the majority are simply normal Waddle Dees wielding a different type of weapon. The most radically different is the Waddle Doo, which has an eye in place of a face and is much more deadly, as it can fire beams. There have also been several Waddle Dee characters. Meta Knight has a Waddle Dee with a sailor cap that has been shown as part of the Halberd's crew in Kirby Super Star and its remake. Other Waddle Dee characters include those who acted as partners for Kirby in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards and Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

Appearances

Waddle Dees appear as common enemies in Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Adventure (as well as Nightmare in Dream Land), Kirby's Dream Land 2 and 3, Kirby Super Star (as well as Kirby Super Star Ultra), Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, Kirby Canvas Curse, Kirby Squeak Squad, Kirby's Epic Yarn (although this game actually had yarn copies made by Yin-Yarn), Kirby Mass Attack and Kirby's Return to Dream Land. In Kirby's Avalanche, a Waddle Dee (said to be the cousin of Waddle Doo) is the first opponent in the Avalanche Tournament and acts as a tutorial for the game.

Waddle Dees also had different roles in different modes of Super Star; a more durable Waddle Dee appeared as an opponent in the Arena mode, while a Waddle Dee wearing a blue bandana was the first opponent within the Megaton Punch minigame. Super Star Ultra later expanded the role of the bandana-wearing Waddle Dee by having it replace the Waddle Dee in Arena mode and by also featuring it as a loyal adviser to Dedede in Revenge of the King. A Waddle Dee also had a role in the Japanese Super NES version of Kirby's Star Stacker, where it had stolen a star piece and had to be defeated.

In Kirby 64, a Waddle Dee found a Crystal Shard, but it was almost immediately possessed by Dark Matter, who transformed it into a Waddle Doo. It was fought by Kirby at the end of the first level of Pop Star. After being defeated, it reverted to a Waddle Dee and decided to join with Kirby. The Waddle Dee was not directly controlled, but it piloted vehicles for Kirby at several points in the game and also found hidden entrances for the group. In Kirby Air Ride, Waddle Dees appear as obstacles in several areas (but can still be inhaled) and sometimes ride mine carts to try to sabotage racers. In Canvas Curse, the Waddle Dee Ball was unlocked as a playable character after beating the game. It was slower than Kirby but bounced better.

In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, a Waddle Dee (which has a blue bandana and seems to be the same one from Super Star Ultra) appears as a playable character for additional players. This Waddle Dee wields a spear as its main weapon which it can toss at enemies and also spin like a helicopter's blade in order to achieve temporary flight. The Waddle Dee was initially helping Dedede to steal a piece of cake from Kirby until they were all distracted by the crash of Megalor's spaceship, and the group (the three of them plus Meta Knight) set off to help him fix his ship. They ultimately worked together (with the help of Landia) to defeat Megalor after he betrayed them.

Variations

• Big Waddle Dee - These are giant versions of Waddle Dees, but they are still unusually weak for their size. They originally appeared in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, and they have since appeared in Squeak Squad, Epic Yarn, Mass Attack and Return to Dream Land.
• Fluff Waddle Dee - The Fluff Waddle Dee is similar to the Parasol Waddle Dee, but it floats around with a spore-like piece of fluff instead. This fluff dissipates when they reach the ground. It gives no Copy ability and appears only in Canvas Curse.
• Golden Waddle Dee - This is a rare, golden version of the Waddle Dee that tries to flee when spotted and usually must be trapped or beaten in a race. It leaves behind a treasure chest if defeated. They primarily appeared in Squeak Squad, and afterwards they also made a small appearance in Mass Attack where one was found at Dedede Resort, and a Golden Waddle Dee could also be caught in a fishing minigame during the game's credits.
• Parasol Waddle Dee - This is the most common variation that appears in nearly every game that has normal Waddle Dees as enemies. These Waddle Dees have parasols which they use to float around. They are still harmless, but inhaling them will give Kirby the Parasol ability. It is also the Helper for the Parasol ability in Super Star and Super Star Ultra. The ones in Epic Yarn also double as platforms.
• Parasol Spear Waddle Dee - This is simply a combination of the above and below variants. It is a Waddle Dee that descends with a parasol while armed with a spear to attack Kirby within. Inhaling it will grant the Parasol ability. It appears only in Super Star Ultra within Revenge of the King.
• Spear Waddle Dee - These are Waddle Dees that are armed with spears which they try to throw at Kirby. They initially appeared in Canvas Curse (where a set of six where minibosses for a level of Reddy Land) and later appeared in Super Star Ultra (in the Revenge of the King segment) as well as Epic Yarn (where they did not throw their spears, and Kirby could swipe them with his yarn).
• Wapod - This is a ghostly version of the Waddle Dee that will appear from a jar. If the creature itself is beaten, another one will simply appear from the jar. The only way to beat a Wapod for good is to destroy the jar. It appears only in Dream Land 3.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• Waddle Dees appear in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in association with King Dedede. One of his attacks is to toss out Waddle Dees, which will walk across the stage and can hurt opponents by bumping into them. They will usually trip, stumble or jump into the air as well. King Dedede's Final Smash, Waddle Dee Army, has him deploying a large amount of Waddle Dees at a high frequency, which run across the stage. In both moves, Dedede has chance of releasing Waddle Doos and Gordos amongst the Waddle Dees. Waddle Dees also carry King Dedede into stages as his entrance, and some appear during The Subspace Emissary where they help King Dedede to ambush Wario. The Waddle Dee's appearance is accompanied by a trophy as well as a sticker using art from Kirby 64 (and a sticker of a Waddle Dee Ball from Kirby Canvas Curse).
• In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U, the Waddle Dees have been removed entirely from Dedede's moveset, and they only appear as part of his stage entrances and victory screens. In the 3DS version, Parasol Waddle Dees appear as enemies in Smash Run and they have their own trophy.

Other Media

• In the anime Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, Waddle Dees were shown as the staff working in King Dedede's castle. They were commanded by a Waddle Doo who translated their language. The Waddle Dees were very dutiful despite Dedede's harsh treatment of them (and occasional attempts to replace them). One episode implied that Waddle Dees traveled from across the sea and thanked anyone who gave them hospitality by staying to help them, which suggests a possible origin for Dedede's Waddle Dees.

Trivia

• Its name mostly seems to reflect its waddling movements.
• In Kirby 64, the Waddle Dee was shown to eat onigiri (a Japanese rice ball) at the end of levels.
• Prior to the creature's appearance in Brawl, a trophy of Waddle Dee appeared in Super Smash Bros. Melee.