Published in 1993 by Nintendo, Kirby’s Adventure features Kirby—a pink, round, ball-like creature with huge eyes and an unyielding spirit—in its adventure to find the stolen Star Rod. Advancing through seven levels, with each level containing multiple individual sections and mini-games, Kirby needs to find its way through all the enemies and bring sweet dreams back to Dream Land. Created and presented in the context of a post-Cold War Japan, Kirby’s Adventure reflects a dominating sense of anxiety shared by the Japanese public at the time.
One fundamental game mechanic in Kirby’s Adventure is Kirby’s ability to inhale enemies and take on their skills. Throughout the game, Kirby will encounter enemies who possess distinct skills. By inhaling these enemies, Kirby can acquire those skills and, in turn, use them to attack the next enemy. The image below illustrates Kirby inhaling a Waddle Doo, one of the earliest enemies Kirby encounters.
Alternatively, Kirby may float past enemies and refuse to fight. Born with the ability to inflate itself and navigate in the air, Kirby can fly past many of the enemies on the ground and avoid confronting them. The game is not designed to punish such a choice. In later worlds, enemies may fall from the sky and hit Kirby, and cannons can track Kirby’s movement and shoot a flying Kirby despite being fixed to the ground. But so long as Kirby can evade these attacks, it could remain in the air for any length of time the player wishes.
Although Kirby could inhale almost anyone it desires, the number of skills Kirby can possess is limited to one. Unable to combine different skills or “power up” the skills through inhaling more enemies, Kirby must abandon its current skill should it prefer another one. While some specific skills could have a larger attack range than others, they are mostly the same in how powerful they are, as all common enemies will be eliminated alike upon one attack. Those that can give Kirby a significant advantage are usually limited in the number of times they can be used. For example, Kirby will encounter Mr. Tick-Tock, a recurring mid-boss, in Level 2. Inhaling him will grant Kirby the ability “Mike”, which can eliminate all enemies on-screen. However, “Mike” can only be used three times. Such designs maintain the balance of power dynamic between Kirby and its enemies, keeping them on fairly equal grounds as Kirby cannot easily overpower others. Kirby’s Adventure is hence not about becoming the most powerful, defeating everyone in the path, or conquering the virtual world. The process of Kirby stumbling through all the difficulties and managing to survive all the problems thrown at it is what matters and defines success in this game.
The historical and societal context for Kirby’s Adventure is a Japanese society in its post-Cold War anxieties. In his article “After the Cold War—Views From Japan; Tokyo in the New Epoch: Heady Future, With Fear” written in 1992, David E. Sanger presents the post-Cold War anxiety faced by the Japanese society. With the end to the rivalry between America and the Soviet Union, the Japanese public was unsure of what America’s next move would be; they feared that America would initiate war against them. “[I]t is a measure of Japan's insecurity on this point that books with titles like ‘The Coming War With Japan’ are always much bigger sellers here than in the United States, and a recurrent theme in manga…is an American military once again at battle with Japanese forces” (Sanger). This sense of insecurity led to “continuing debates” over whether Japan should “create a peacekeeping force that could be sent on United Nations missions, violating a taboo” (Sanger). In turn, this created new anxiety and worries for the Japanese public, in that they feared the return of “the expansionists militarism that got the country into World War II” (Sanger). Such a concern for Japan’s future and a desire for security were largely present in Japanese media and constituted the mentality of the Japanese society at the time when Kirby’s Adventure was created.
Kirby’s Adventure, like other media of its time, exemplifies this mentality. The concern for Japan stepping back into imperialism parallels Kirby’s limitation in power growth. The public was afraid that once again Japan would fall into expansionism, driven by the sole desire to acquire more power and wealth to make itself a dominating force in the world. Reflecting this concern, Kirby’s Adventure avoids making Kirby the most powerful dominating figure, pushing against the notion of greed and expansion at the cost of others. The interactions between Kirby and its enemies also reflect the public’s concern for the future of Japan. Kirby is not strong enough to defeat every enemy it encounters with ease and could be harmed by the next one it encounters. It can choose to fight, which will lead to a prolonged struggle involving turning enemies’ weapons against them, or it can fly through the whole scene, which allows Kirby to avoid some of the conflicts but not all. Kirby’s choices in its journey resemble the different paths Japan might take and the uncertainty underlies them.
Apart from concerns, the hope for a peaceful future is also echoed and implied. Despite the challenges and difficulties, Kirby is constantly advancing. After stumbling through all the difficulties, Kirby will find itself successful in retrieving Star Rod and defeating Nightmare, and sweet dreams once again will return to the people of Dream Land. With this happy ending, the designers and the public’s visions for a brighter future are embedded into the game, in that Japan could find its way through the problems and difficulties it was undergoing, walk out of the nightmare and shadow of war that had haunted it, and restore peace and harmony in their country.
Kirby, with its unyielding spirit, embarks on its adventure. It is not the strongest; nor will it become the strongest. Along its way, troubles, problems, and difficulties are thrown at it incessantly in the form of enemies. Kirby must find its way through, either in a full-of-struggle manner or a slightly more peaceful one. But so long as it can make it through and defeat the Nightmare, all the beautiful dreams will return. To some extent, a post-Cold War mentality within Japanese society is embedded in this adventure. At least in this game, the public’s fear of imperialism will not come true, and their concerns for security and future may be dispelled.
Work Cited
Sanger, David E. “After the Cold War—Views From Japan; Tokyo in the New Epoch: Heady Future, With Fear.” The New York Times, The New York Time Company, 5 May 1992, https://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/05/world/after-cold-war-views-japan-tokyo-new-epoch-heady-future-with-fear.html#