"Rise! Oh, Dark Lord of Despair! Crush the stars! Lay waste to care! Rise and cover the land in sorrows! May your symphony of emptiness bring the end of all tomorrows!
Rise! Oh Dark Lord of Despair! Crush the stars! Lay waste to care! Upon your wing, dark judgement bring! May your symphony of tragedy cause the end of everything!"
Rise! Oh Dark Lord of Despair! Crush the stars! Lay waste to care! Upon your wing, dark judgement bring! May your symphony of tragedy cause the end of everything!"
- The Jambastion are not a race or full religion, so to speak. They are a cult, with all the horrors that entails.
- The leader Hyness himself, when you finally see him in person. Not only is he completely insane, but he's willing to absorb the life force of the Three Mage-Sisters to replenish his own, then use their bodies as weapons, and then sacrifice himself and his fellow mage-sisters to unseal Void Termina. His unsettling theme doesn't help.
- There's also his boss fight after you knock his mask off, beginning phase 2. His face not only looks really disturbing (if not quite goofy-looking), but he totally blows his lid at this point, screaming in rage after his face is revealed, then gibbering madly! The way his face is revealed is also quite the Jump Scare, as if to say "Alright! Time for phase two— OH DEAR GOD, WHAT IS THAT?!" And then immediately after that, he summons the Three Mage Sisters and sucks the life out of them to replenish his health.
- The rest of the fight isn't better. At first he started out just firing dark orbs at you and using the Three Mage Sisters' elemental abilities; but here, he just starts throwing the Mage Sisters around like a toddler who didn't get their dinner and just swinging them around like baseball bats. And later on, he even uses his own Friend Circle to flatten Kirby. That's not even mentioning his erratic body movements during this phase and generally how his head just twists in very bizarre and freaky ways.
- In the previous three main games in the series, the Big Bads are all Tragic Villains in a sense. Magolor seemed to be merely controlled by the Master Crown (and turned good in subsequent games), Sectonia went insane from the influence of Dark Meta Knight inside the Dimensional Mirror, and President Haltmann was also driven to madness from not just Star Dream's power, but also the grief of losing his daughter Susanna. Meanwhile, every last second Hyness is on screen, he is shown to be nothing resembling tragic (beyond his backstory of being banished by the Ancients despite having saved the universe from a certain "galactic crisis"). He is a Mood-Swinger, is completely disconnected from reality, and is a full-blown Omnicidal Maniac desiring to enact vengeance and destruction upon the entire universe after he was banished.
- The implications of their power get even worse when Hyness hints that they were once so powerful that they stopped a galactic crisis in its tracks, the results of which scared the all-powerful Ancients. Or more specifically, as per Hyness' Motive Rant, a "nightmare of a galactic crisis". It all but states they were able to subdue and exile Galacta Knight.
- In the Guest Star ???? mode, Hyness is doing something different — he's standing in front of a portal doing... something. Whilst it seems like he's trying to summon Galacta Knight, a series of tweets on the official Kirby Twitter hint that he's actually attempting to open a gateway to Another Dimension. Given the implied connection between Void Termina and the Master Crown, whatever he's up to can't be good.
- It's hard to catch during his rant, but Hyness describes his people as the "masters of a matter most dark" ("worshipers of the darkest matter" in Japanese). Additionally, the description for Void Soul reveals that the soul is fighting with the darkness Hyness used to summon Void. Yes, one of the few connections to something other than itself that Dark Matter has is to a psychotic cult.
- The Fortress of Shadows, Jambastion itself, is nightmarish in its design, its exterior looking unlike anything the Kirby series has ever seen, and the interior having scenery details that wouldn't look out of place in a cosmic horror story. There's also how, mere minutes after making landfall on Planet Popstar, its impact crater looks incredibly ominous and distorted in the likeness of the Jambastion, as if a disease is being spread throughout it. And even after it's destroyed by Zan Partizanne, there's still dozens more surrounding the Jambandra Base...
- Speaking of the Final Boss itself, it is in fact Void Termina (pictured above); and is most definitely the absolute scariest villain in the entire franchise — and considering what else this page has, that is saying a metric ton! He is explicitly said to be an Ancient Evil who knows literally nothing other than to destroy all things in sight, and he looks appropriately terrible — a gigantic humanoid creature with large arms, an eerie white mask, black feathers on his back, and 2 big black horns, as well as big red eyes that pop across different parts of his body. Then, as you beat him, his mask falls off, revealing a hole that leads into the fleshy insides of his body, where you get to fight his equally fleshy heart while harmful blood drips from the ceiling. During the fight, the Joy-Con controllers' HD Rumble emits a heartbeat, as well. Then you're spat out of his body. Then comes the third phase where he turns his arms into wings with white and red crystalline feathers and takes flight, and after you beat him again, his mask falls off again, and you have to reenter his body to fight his "true essence" that was covered by his heart. But what's more unsettling about him is the supposed connections to multiple things from previous games, which gives some rather unsettling implications:
- Said wings in the third phase looks like those of 02.
- His third phase has him attack with a silhouette of the Master Crown. In The Ultimate Choice's secret Soul Melter and Soul Melter EX difficulties, the colors are more accurate, making it into a full-on replica.
- His "true essence" takes the cake here — it looks like some spherical, pinkish blob with "holes" running along its surface... until those holes arrange themselves to look like Kirby's face. Throughout the battle, the blob contorts itself into many, many more shapes, including Zero Two's false face and Dark Matter itself. It also uses one of Miracle Matter's attacks (the Needle form).
- Also compare the mask his first form wore
to that of the Angel Sachiel.
- The pause screen info for Void Termina's final phase in The Ultimate Choice implies that he's starting to become sentient now, and that he no longer destroys anything because that's all his mindless impulses can fathom. He's doing it because he wants to. And not only that, but during his spike attack, he laughs. So not only is he growing sentience and consciousness, but he's already learning emotions. At the rate his mind is evolving, it would not be long before he gains full intelligence. Really think about that; he's already dangerous enough as a mindless entity of destruction, powerful enough to annihilate entire planets — so imagine what it could be capable of with the capability to learn.
- Morpho Knight, who is possibly Galacta Knight… except even more powerful, as a result of him getting killed by a mystical butterfly note . Yep, the knight that is one of the most feared bosses in the entire franchise, gets Eaten Alive by a seemingly defenseless butterfly without so much as a fight beforehand. When even a butterfly can casually eat one of the most deadly beings in the galaxy and absorb its prey's powers, Dream Land starts teetering from a Sugar Bowl to a world where Everything Is Trying to Kill You. In the Japanese version, his Flavor Text mentions that the butterfly flies from "paradise" on something's day of judgment, and that it's resonating with "pleas for life" from the "Galaxy's Strongest Warrior", which turned them into "a knight from the underworld". It also mentions that it's a "dream-like" battle, one that's meant to be impossible, either because the merge was something unthought of to begin with, or because of his sheer power. The implications that come from this are… unsettling, to say the least.
- In the update that added the Wave 1 Dream Friends, they also changed the arena that Marx, Gooey, and the Animal Friends fight Zan Partizanne, Hyness, and Morpho Knight in. The background shows the Jambastion fortress in ruins, with a "gates of heaven" sort of yellow glow to it, and the ground has a blue puddle with special ripple effects for walking over it and black shapes flowing through it. Reminds you of a certain place now?
- In the Wave 2 update, it changes again, this time to an unmistakable red murk with black barcode-like patterns streaking the sky.
- Wave 2's change is even scarier because it completely replaces the Wave 1 character's backgrounds in Guest Star. You're still able to play normal Helpers or base game Dream Friends to get a different background, but the Wave 1 Friends have had their arenas completely replaced with the corruption that came with Wave 2.note
- This really does need elaboration. Wave 2 is actually just Wave 1's barring the floor changes, but the surrounding purple crystals and flowers have grown much more, and the Jambastion fortress has been even further damaged. Which means that, after Void Termina, Hyness is now pulling a far more elaborate scheme to do… something, and it seems to involve Zero and Zero-Two at least. And whatever it is, it's slowly tearing apart the very fabric of his lair just from making preparations for it.
- Wave 3 tops it all off: this time, the floor is reflecting a celestial sky with planets in the background i.e. Another Dimension, which was Hyness' true goal and, if the tweets are to be believed, the place the Jamba Heart came from to begin with. And unlike the previous times, Hyness doesn't just fall off the platform, he sinks into the pool!
- In the Wave 2 update, it changes again, this time to an unmistakable red murk with black barcode-like patterns streaking the sky.
- Two Face from the first Kirby's Dream Land is back. While it wasn't really scary back in its debut due to Game Boy graphics limitations, its return in HD shows it in its full nightmarish glory. It first starts off as a simple white mask, that you can't even attack, and once you turn your back, it turns gold, gains glowing red streaks and a jagged mouth and evil, black eyes. The first time you encounter them is in Jambastion, where they act as wall ornaments, so you think they're just part of the environment at first. It's quite jarring, to say the least.
- The Soul Melter difficulty for The Ultimate Choice turns Kirby's face into that of◊ Devil Kirby. Anyone who's familiar with the anime probably just got a bad memory or two.
- The Harder Than Hard mode, Soul Melter EX, is more subtle about it — but in several ways, it's even worse. There, Kirby gains Void Termina's lifeless blank eyes◊ and turns to stare directly at the player; as if the devilish look wasn't scary enough.
- The Harder Than Hard mode, Soul Melter EX, is more subtle about it — but in several ways, it's even worse. There, Kirby gains Void Termina's lifeless blank eyes
- Failing in the Ultimate Choice results in an animation of whoever you're playing as (and teammates, if applicable) falling over unconscious. This isn't creepy on its own, but if you fail as Gooey, his eyes become blank. It gives a feeling that Gooey isn't just down and out; he's dead.
- Heroes in Another Dimension, the mode added in Wave 3, takes the nightmares from the main game and cranks them up a bit.
- All of the new Parallel bosses — and their locations — look absolutely terrifying. Parallel Big Kracko looks like a more dangerous version of Kracko's Revenge. Parallel Woods is fought in a dark forest that looks way more like a horror movie than they probably intend. Parallel Dedede's grey skin and red eyes make him look like a zombie. Finally, Parallel Meta Knight has the steel from Meta's original armor turned gold, making him seem more powerful.
- Worth mentioning is the backstory of the bosses: Most translations don't delve into much (outside of noting that Parallel Twin Kracko was partially formed from the scattered mists of their victims (which counts in itself) and that Parallel Dedede is the result of his original counterpart's spirit getting sent to Another Dimension alongside the Jamba Heart that possessed him), the Japanese, Chinese and Korean versions note that together they are the "Otherworldly Four Heavenly Kings" and that Parallel Kracko and Parallel Woods were created when the spirits of their various defeated counterparts ended up in Another Dimension, making them the physical embodiment of their respective owners' grudges against Kirby. Parallel Meta Knight's counterpart isn't explained as well in most foreign translations, but given that the Jamba Heart reverted him to his Revenge of Meta Knight characterization, it's not out of the question that his Parallel counterpart acts similarly.
- The conclusion in the "Final Dimension". Upon arriving, another Jamba Heart emerges from the floor. Good news: it's quickly shattered by the spears of heart you've been collecting throughout the mode. Bad news: inside is a now Corrupt Hyness, now more deranged and deadly than ever before. After you beat him, the Three Mage-Sisters show up. As if the idea of fighting all three of them at once doesn't sound terrifying enough, they look like they did when Hyness drained their life force earlier, except that their hair and face markings keep their original color, and their clothes are white instead of black. The Mage-Sisters rush Kirby and co. all at once in pursuit of revenge for everything that's happened to them and their master.
- All of the new Parallel bosses — and their locations — look absolutely terrifying. Parallel Big Kracko looks like a more dangerous version of Kracko's Revenge. Parallel Woods is fought in a dark forest that looks way more like a horror movie than they probably intend. Parallel Dedede's grey skin and red eyes make him look like a zombie. Finally, Parallel Meta Knight has the steel from Meta's original armor turned gold, making him seem more powerful.
- With the Wave 3 Update comes the ultimate True Final Boss of the game, locked behind Soul Melter EX: Void. All those hints about Hyper Zone and Dark Star? Leads up to this... thing. Much like Void Soul, Void starts out with a fight against an even further upgraded Void Termina, now titled Void Termina, The TRUE Destroyer of Worlds. As opposed to Void Soul's more Light Is Not Good colors, Void takes the Dark Is Evil aesthetic of the original boss and amplifies it to Red and Black and Evil All Over levels — complete with red glowing eyes in its 'head'. When you reach the fourth phase, however, the freeze-frame splash screen that introduces the boss gets the Boss Butch Hyper Zone background as it takes shape as a white sphere with a red "face;" the same basic design of Zero. The pause descriptions say that this is the original Void Termina the ancients wrote texts about, and it goes on to say that Void is omnipresent in all dimensions and can take many forms. It's all but outright stated that Zero, the big bad behind Dark Matter, was a result of this abomination incarnating in Kirby's home dimension, and what Hyness summoned in the main game was a much weaker version that had little time to fully incarnate. The fight against it is the hardest in the game, if not the series with the possible exception of Star Dream Soul OS, bar-none, even compared to the Three Mage Sisters, and when you finally do beat it? Instead of the look of terror that Void Termina had, it explodes with Kirby's smile on its face.
- Given the implied connection the Jambastion Cult has to the Dark Matter, such as the altar's pool changing into the background of Zero's arenas, and the visual cues Void borrows from other Dark Matter-related beings, it is very apparent that Void might actually be a canonical Zero-Three, 20 years into the making.
- Zero isn't the only final boss it references, though. Void Termina and Void Soul always had attacks from other bosses like the "Cutter Shooter" and the bouncing Drawcia Soul attacks, but Void introduces a whole new repertoire of attacks taken from none other than Dark Mind, mirrors and reflected lasers and all. If Zero is supposed to be the incarnation of Void in Kirby's world, it seems Dark Mind is its incarnation in the Mirror World. It seems that no matter how far away Kirby goes, Void will always be there.
- The final reward you get is unlocking the ability to swap between the modern Kirby design and the original Kirby design. Combined with the grey colour palette of Void, it might be implying that Void either grew from or into the original Kirby.
- Remember the unsettling scale of notes that play at the "bad" ending of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards? Guess what plays when you don't collect the minimum of 100 Friend Hearts for the perfect ending in Heroes in Another Dimension after defeating the Three Mage-Sisters. Kirby outright leaves them behind after beating them, with no indication to the Mage-Sisters's final fate as the music plays.
- The Mages' backstories are pretty messed up, as they were on death's doorstep before Hyness saved them — Francisca nearly freezing to death in a snowstorm, Flamberge almost being burned alive by a fire, and Zan Partizanne being a poor girl who was struck by lightning while climbing a tall tower — and granted them powers based on the respective things that nearly killed them.
- Dark Meta Knight is back as a friend and, while implied to be after the darkness of the Jamba Heart for his own personal gain, he at least sides with Kirby rather than Hyness and doesn't betray him - none of which may provide much comfort for anyone familiar with Triple Deluxe, which implies that he is consumed by a desire for absolute vengeance against Kirby. Sure, he didn't turn on him now...
