Kirby / Tear Jerker

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Even when the times are kinda rough, moping won't be enough.

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The Bad Ending music from Kirby's Block Ball. Listen to it, we dare you.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 has a Sad Ending if you did not collect all the Rainbow Drops. Although Kirby succeeds in defeating King Dedede, there is no indication that Dark Matter has left the possessed Dedede — whom they still assume is the main threat — nor is he able to form the Rainbow Sword without all the Rainbow Drops. With that, Parasol Kirby and his friends are shown walking back in the rain with sorrowful music playing throughout; ending with Kine hesitating, looking to the sky, and sensing that something is not right.
The downbeat song that plays at the end of a level when you fail a Heart Star task in Kirby's Dream Land 3. Sure, you can just finish said level to come back and try again, but the music — combined with the sad/disappointed faces of the characters you couldn't help — can be a real Player Punch together. Especially so when it's the first time it happens, or if you genuinely can't work out what to do for them.
Kirby Super Star — in Revenge Of Meta Knight, after the heavily-damaged Halberd begins to crash and the former captain abandons ship, Meta Knight tells the rest to leave for their own sake. But they refuse, saying they will try to finish off Kirby and then all escape together afterward. In the non-Japanese SNES version, Meta Knight thinks about it and agrees, thanking them for their loyalty.
Meta Knight: Hmm... it's dangerous, but it's worth a try. Thank you, guys.
- In the Japanese version and the DS/Virtual Console localization, however:
Meta Knight: ...you are all about to perish. Do as you please.
Meta Knight: (...I'm sorry.)
- The ending to Revenge of the King in Ultra was an Alas, Poor Villain moment for King Dedede. Even after losing to Kirby, the Waddle Dees followed him. Dedede was still their king.
- Not to mention... the awesomely somber rendition of Dedede's theme playing in the background.
- While playing throughout the last level (The Revenge), King Dedede gets increasingly desperate and furious as he throws mini-boss after mini-boss at Kirby — with each one being taken down in fairly short order — until he eventually becomes eerily calm and detached. Bandana Waddle Dee, who has been accompanying Dedede at this point, is considered to be sent up next; but the King has second thoughts and offers to let him go unharmed. Regardless of his own intentions, the dialogue says it all:
King Dedede: (...we're done for... only one option...) ...O-okay then. I guess it's your turn.
Bandana Waddle Dee: B-but, Great King, I can't do it alone!
King Dedede: ...fine, you can go. You've been spared.
Bandana Waddle Dee: Don't go, King!
King Dedede: (...I'm sorry.)
- Despite this fact, Bandana Waddle Dee still chooses to battle Kirby. Sure, he's super easy, but it's a sure sign of loyalty when he goes into a battle he knows full-well he can't win for the sake of his king.
- In Meta Knightmare Ultra, it's pretty hard to get a game over with Meta Knight because of his strength and healing abilities, but if you do... he's got his back to you, the player. If you select "Quit", he doesn't even move as the hand lifts him and places him on the Moon, and he gives off this aura of shame and anger, that he was too weak. It's pretty guilt-inducing, especially if you're a MK fan.
In Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, your Fairy Companion, Ribbon, ends up going through a lot; she loses her home planet of Ripple Star to Dark Matter, who also ends up destroying the very MacGuffin that can defeat them. When she wakes up, all she sees for a brief moment is a single small Crystal Shard, with the remaining ones scattered across the galaxy. Until Kirby offers to help, as far as Ribbon was concerned, she'd most likely failed.
- This hits hardest as the group is finally about to head to Ripple Star; the entire place is engulfed in Dark Matter, which sends Ribbon to the brink of crying. Sure, it's immediately followed by a heartwarming moment with Kirby and the rest of her new friends (including King Dedede) all vowing to help her regardless, but that doesn't change the fact that she saw her entire planet in such a decimated and frankly wrong state; with those whom she cares about on it likely either destroyed, possessed, or forced into hiding. Poor girl...
- Shiver Star. Just... everything about it. The overview somewhat resembles Earth, complete with a single, solitary moon orbiting it. The place is perpetually covered in snow and ice, the clouds are thick enough to be their own level, and there's an abandoned city with a still-operating shopping mall and factory, the latter of which comes with very somber music compared to the rest of the planet. This could draw the tragic conclusion that Shiver Star suffered from a nuclear winter due to its over-reliance on technology, and this is the result.
  - The only inhabitant of Shiver Star that isn't a standard enemy is the HR-H/HR-E, a giant robot that serves as the world's boss. Due to the implications that Dark Matter can't possess inorganic beings, it's likely that it was just protecting its city from any intruders; even after it's been forgotten and the people it was made to watch over have long-since vanished without a trace, reminiscent of the Ikana Canyon soldiers. It's almost a mercy for Kirby to absolve the poor thing of its now-pointless programming.
- The encounter against 0². Even though it's the big bad behind the entire game, the music, combined with its constant Bloody Tears, makes you feel like it's sad about something — but we'll never know exactly what.
  - If you subscribed to the "Gooey is 0²" theory, this ends up making the final battle essentially being an "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight where Kirby tries to bring Gooey back to his senses by reminding him of happiness by purifying him with the Crystal Shards, only for the blue blob to decide that Redemption Equals Death, exploding in a fireball of raw positive energy to kill the remaining Dark Matter while Dying As Himself. Fortunately, Gooey does end up getting better if his reintroduction in Star Allies is any indication.
  - Speaking of Star Allies, we finally find out where all Dark Matter came from, where 0 itself came from, and more importantly, why 0² has a face similar to Kirby during the false credits and before the battle begins. The whole encounter becomes a lot more somber once you realize that Kirby is effectively fighting one of his own kind... or just maybe, even straight-up another version of himself.
The ending of Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. It's a Happy Ending, as in all the other Kirby games, since the Big Bad Dark Mind has been defeated and the four Kirbys go home, but the music...
- It's much more melancholic than anything. Sure, we could say it's showing the sadness that the adventure is over, but... it isn't really over... is it? It's not, as elements from this game return in Triple Deluxe and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. It goes to show that there really is a buried story, here.
While The World of Drawcia is mostly known for being Nightmare Fuel, knowing Paintra exists and applying some Fridge thinking turns it sad; given how dark the world is and that it has no enemies aside from the creepy paintings, the world reflects how empty Drawcia feels without her sisters.
Kirby Mass Attack:
- The Game Over screen. Whilst the other Game Over screens in the series tend to be relatively tame, showing Kirby still alive and with a relatively upbeat "come on, just one more try!" feel to them, this one pulls no punches. After all your Kirbies die, the heroic heart fades away — and it cuts to a scene of one lone deceased Kirby (complete with angel wings and his usual bright colours faded to a dull grey) in a dark void, floating motionlessly in a column of light with very forlorn, mournful music playing. With the general light-hearted, positive tone of the other Game Over screens in the series, it's quite the Player Punch to see Kirby's broken and lifeless form just floating there, really driving in the sense that you've failed.
  - The worst part of all being, that since this game is centered around death, it's an implication that Kirby has well and truly been killed off; this time, for good.
Kirby's Return to Dream Land — Landia's battle theme is a surprisingly slow and somber track for such a hyped-up boss that really gives off the vibe of a battle that shouldn't be happening. Which is fitting, given that you're essentially beating on an innocent guardian dragon who's only fighting you to protect the Master Crown from falling into Magolor's hands.
- It's even worse when you're fighting Metal General EX, where the theme kicks in as HR-D3 enters its second phase^note. Combined with how this is the final phase of a three phase boss fight and HR-D3 starts to fall apart and spark over the course of the fight, it gives a real sense of desperation on Metal General's part that's hard not to sympathize with. He just won't give up until one of them goes down... and Kirby just won't die. And it gets even worse if you consider that, if Metal General's job is to protect Egg Engines and we already know Kirby is playing for the wrong side here, you may very well be trashing another genuine protector for a terrible cause. Doesn't feel so great to be an unstoppable pink ball of power now, does it?
- It also plays, perhaps most shockingly, during the first phase of Galacta Knight's battle before he Turns Red and starts busting out his old techniques and rock theme. It's temporary, but when you put it together with his comparatively slower and less ferocious attacks compared to his debut, it really gives the feeling the once-strongest warrior has lost his desire to battle.
- There's the fact that the first part of the final battle in Return to Dream Land is against the Lor Starcutter itself - aka the ship you spent 5 entire worlds working to repair, and the area that worked as something of a Hub Level to return to throughout the game. Being betrayed by Magolor is bitter enough as-is, but having him sic on you and having to personally re-destroy the very thing you spent most of the game fixing is kind of depressing. Thankfully its destruction is temporary, though, as the final cutscene shows it working properly again.
- Even for Magolor himself, it's implied throughout the game (and by his appearances in later titles) that his friendship with Kirby was not all merely an act, and that much of his malevolence upon obtaining the Master Crown was due to it possessing him. The pause bio listed Magolor Soul as merely a sad shell acting as a vessel for the crown's manifestation. His death cry as he changes back even sounds like him mournfully screaming Kirby's name.
  - One concept artwork for Magolor's final form◊ is even sadder: it looks like Magolor is upside down, almost as if it's the Master Crown wearing him, and when flipped right-side up, it looks like Magolor is crying.
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse has a quick but powerful one. After defeating Claycia, she is released from her possession by Dark Crafter and collapses to the ground, and as Kirby moves in to take a closer look, Elline appears and cries over her body. Fortunately, Claycia wakes up a few seconds later.
- Kirby doesn't look particularly happy when he finds that his beloved apple has been drained of all its color and life in its opening.
Kirby: Planet Robobot:
- The ending. After defeating the Final Boss for good by drilling through it with his Robobot Armor, Kirby is unconscious and his own mech moves its arm to grab Kirby and throw him back to Pop Star, while it floats aimlessly in space and sheds tears. It sacrificed itself for the safety of its driver.
- What ends up happening to President Haltmann doubles up as both this and Nightmare Fuel:
  - After reactivating the ancient supercomputer and Galactic NOVA Star Dream, he wishes for it to resurrect his daughter Susie, who died in an accident many years ago. Although it apparently brought her back to some extent, he's not aware of it, and he's ultimately driven mad by his own grief and loneliness, from then on only focusing on the prosperity of his company and his machines.
  - After he does reveal Star Dream to Kirby and is about to activate it himself, Susie betrays him by stealing the helmet he uses to control it — causing him to be assimilated into the supercomputer, which takes his other wish for eternal prosperity of his machinery and company as a command to erase all organic life in the universe. Then, Star Dream Soul OS eventually proceeds to completely erase him from existence after it's done hijacking his consciousness. There's literally nothing left of him. It's particularly exemplified by the tragic, hopeless-sounding boss music, and his last monologue in the Flavor Text screen for the final boss, when he's fully aware of what's going on.
  Haltmann: Why did I reactivate such a terrible machine? Oh, I remember... I wanted to see her just one last time. How foolish! I should have known that no machine could make such a dream come true.
- Perhaps the worst part? The problem wasn't with Susie. She wasn't dead, merely trapped in Another Dimension. Star Dream may have had limited capability to recreate life, but it can teleport things just fine. The problem was that Haltmann had tried wishing on Star Dream so much that his own memories were being wiped out, to the point where when she actually does return, he doesn't even remember having a daughter.
- It gets a lot worse when you battle Star Dream Soul OS in the True Arena. If you listen closely when each of the pillars holding its "heart" is destroyed, you can hear Haltmann wail in pain. Not only is he fully aware of what is happening, but he feels the pain the Mother Computer is feeling. And at this point, he has no control of dodging or blocking the shots fired, so he just has to sit there and die painfully, as part of Star Dream's Operating System.
- Alternatively, Star Dream's fate is tragic since it was all for nothing. Upon gaining Haltmann's soul, it becomes sentient and tries to accomplish its goal in the way that its system can understand. Once it inhales Kirby during its Soul OS fight, it eventually loses its new-found sentience and regresses back into a mindless killing machine.
The ending image from Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. While Bandana Waddle Dee, Magolor, and the Kirbys are happily waving to the player, Taranza is sadly looking at and holding a flower from the Dreamstalk in his hand — as if he's contemplating how nice it would've been if things had been different between himself and Queen Sectonia.

Tear Jerker / Kirby

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