History Trivia / Kirby64TheCrystalShards

** Early NOA previews weren't much better, one called Kirby an "it", another called Adeleine "him".

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:

* NamesTheSame: In case the newer fans are wondering, the true final boss is ''[[FandomEnragingMisconception not]]'' to be confused with a [[Anime/DarlingInTheFranxx pink-haired dinosaur girl.]]

** A 1999 build shows a different HUD. Kirby's health is shown in half-circles and there was a star counter. The same build shows Stone Kirby had a slightly different palette and could jump, the Snowman+Bomb ability had Kirby explode, and the Stone+Spark ability had Kirby turning into a computer chip. Screencaps show Rock Star Stage 2 with more grass and an intact wooden bridge.

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In this game, Kirby has the following powers (the effects described here and in all subsequent sections only occur when active; none of the powers have passive abilities):
* '''Bomb''' - Color-coded black; generates a CartoonBomb.
* '''Burning''' - Color-coded red; Kirby turns into a fireball and shoots forward.
* '''Cutter''' - Color-coded green; part of Kirby becomes a small BattleBoomerang. Kirby can only jump once when Cutter is deployed.
* '''Ice''' - Color-coded blue; Kirby stands in place and exhales a circle of freezing air all around himself.
* '''Needle''' - Color-coded orange; Kirby stands in place and becomes spiky all over.
* '''Spark''' - Color-coded yellow; Kirby is surrounded by a small electrical force-field that zaps enemies.
* '''Stone''' - Color-coded brown; Kirby turns into stone, but he can slowly walk as a golem and the stone covering can be shot off as a short-ranged projectile.

The above can be combined as follows (and the order of powers acquired doesn't matter):
* ''Bomb'' + ''Bomb'' = Shoot guided missiles from Kirby's mouth.
* ''Bomb'' + ''Cutter'' = Throw exploding ninja stars.
* ''Bomb'' + ''Burning'' = Kirby "explodes", generating fireworks. Can be done up to three times in succession.
* ''Bomb'' + ''Ice'' = Turns into an animate snowman that explodes on contact with the enemy.
* ''Bomb'' + ''Needle'' = Turns into Gordo, floating in the air for a while, and then sends the needles flying.
* ''Bomb'' + ''Spark'' = Turns into a lightbulb that burns out quickly.
* ''Bomb'' + ''Stone'' = Throws dynamite that explodes (also harming Kirby unless he hides under the hardhat that comes with this power), either on contact, or after the fuse runs out.
* ''Burning'' + ''Burning'' = Becomes a giant phoenix that flies forward.
* ''Burning'' + ''Cutter'' = Draws a giant FlamingSword that can be thrown.
* ''Burning'' + ''Ice'' = [[JokeWeapon Turns into an ice cube that melts rapidly, sending harmless steam out in a circle around Kirby.]] It's entirely useless; [[ViolationOfCommonSense what did you expect to happen when you mix fire and ice]]?
* ''Burning'' + ''Needle'' = Turns into a bow that can shoot ArrowsOnFire in an arc.
* ''Burning'' + ''Spark'' = Uses static electricity to set Kirby's head on fire, at which point he runs forward and destroys enemies on contact.
* ''Burning'' + ''Stone'' = Turns into a rock-spewing volcano.
* ''Cutter'' + ''Cutter'' = Bigger boomerang.
* ''Cutter'' + ''Ice'' = Becomes an ice-skater capable of quadruple axles.
* ''Cutter'' + ''Needle'' = Extends the arms, now covered in teeth, which are then clapped together.
* ''Cutter'' + ''Spark'' = Generates a yellow double-bladed LaserBlade.
* ''Cutter'' + ''Stone'' = Carves Kirby into a statue of one of his previous animal companions, some of whom have special abilities (Pitch and Coo fly for a short amount of time, and Rick has WallJump). [[JokeCharacter Kine is totally useless though, even underwater.]] At least the weight, carving and breaking animation are still helpful?
* ''Ice'' + ''Ice'' = Turns into a self-propelling HumanSnowball.
* ''Ice'' + ''Needle'' = Turns into a giant snowflake that freezes enemies on contact.
* ''Ice'' + ''Spark'' = Turns into a refrigerator that crushes enemies underneath it and shoots food that hurts enemies as well as heal when eaten.
* ''Ice'' + ''Stone'' = Turns into a curling stone that shoots forward and freezes enemies on contact.
* ''Needle'' + ''Needle'' = Becomes immobile and turns into a Swiss Army knife full of sharp implements.
* ''Needle'' + ''Spark'' = Turns into a lightning rod that gets struck with individual bolts of lightning on command.
* ''Needle'' + ''Stone'' = Gains a self-propelling drill; can also shoot an infinite number of drill bits forward.
* ''Spark'' + ''Spark'' = Creates a bigger force-field than regular Spark; it slowly shrinks down to nothing unless re-generated.
* ''Spark'' + ''Stone'' = Creates a boulder tethered to Kirby via electricity, which bounces around, destroying obstacles until the line breaks.
* ''Stone'' + ''Stone'' = Turns into giant stone, with the same basic ability.

And Kirby has one more super special EleventhHourSuperpower [[spoiler:if he can collect all of the titular Crystal Shards]].
* [[spoiler:Ribbon + Crystal]] = Unlimited flight and ammunition.

** The writers of the Prima Guide apparently never got all the crystals, as Dark Star is left out entirely and the final boss's description in their enemy list is way, ''way'' off.

* GameBreakingBug: If Kirby gets hit while carving himself with Stone + Cutter, he’ll freeze up. Exiting the level or resetting the game is the only way to unfreeze him.

* SameContentDifferentRating: The Nintendo Switch Online re-release was given a T rating for "Blood and Violence", when the original N64 version and the Wii/Wii U Virtual Console releases were previously given an E rating. This can likely be attributed to the game's TrueFinalBoss, who bleeds when its eye is hit.

** The Bradygames guide is more competent, but still contains an obvious error in Shiver Star: HR-H is called HR-E, and HR-E is misnamed HR-V.

** Rather than just being being playable in mini-games, Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Adeleine were, at one point, [[http://www.unseen64.net/2008/04/04/kirby-64-the-crystal-shards-beta/ all fully playable in actual levels]] as late as June 1999. This explains why they appear so often despite being bit characters. In the final game, you can only play as Kirby and Dedede (in select levels). It's known that they had special abilities, but the only one known is Waddle Dee. He was meant to lift and throw characters as well as hide in objects.

* FanNickname:
** The game is sometimes dubbed ''"Kirby's Dream Land 4"'' by some, due to the game sharing its director and many elements with ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand2'' and ''VideoGame/KirbysDreamLand3''. Most notably, Dark Matter as the main villain.
** The [[NoNameGiven queen]] is often called the [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Fairy Queen]]. Alternatively, some fans call her [[LordCountry Queen Ripple, after her homeland.]]
** Spark + Cutter gives us [[Franchise/StarWars Darth]]/[[Film/ThePhantomMenace Maul]] Kirby.

* ImageSource: CutsceneViewer