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Many Kirby titles in the series support online functionality and/or features. The series would first see online multiplayer with Kirby's Avalanche, a feature that would finally be reused 22 years later with Kirby Battle Royale and most installments thereafter.

This article lists all the online functionality that are present within the Kirby series, being able to affect gameplay directly, as well as indirect and/or related services involving the Kirby series such as SpotPass and other online services. Features that require a local connection such as local multiplayer and StreetPass are not listed.

Games with direct Online function[]

Kirby's Avalanche[]

See also: Super Nintendo Entertainment System#XBAND

This game features the series' first attempt at online multiplayer. As the base game does not come with an online multiplayer option, an external accessory for the SNES is required to access an online connection. This accessory known as the XBAND is a modem that is attached into the game slot of the SNES with the supported game connecting to the top of it. It connects to an online network that hosts a variety of services such as matchmaking and downloading the service’s daily edition of newspapers that displays high scores; high scores for Kirby’s Avalanche were also recorded by the XBAND.^[1] By manipulating the game’s memory, it essentially "unlocks" features that were not present in the original code thus allowing for games such as Kirby’s Avalanche to magically support an online matchmaking option.

Every online win using the XBAND would give the winner one tally next to their profile as a trophy of their cumulative wins in any game in general.^[2]

Kirby's Toy Box[]

Kirby's Toy Box was an online set of minigames accessed only by the Nintendo 64's accessory add-on the Satellaview. The Satellaview was able to access a satellite network in which Kirby's Toy Box was played hence its online capabilities.

Team Kirby Clash Deluxe[]

“	If you buy Gem Apples on Sundays, you'll get bonus Gem Apples!”
	— The Scoop on Sundays • Team Kirby Clash Deluxe tips

This game is the first in the Kirby series to feature microtransactions in the form of buying Gem Apples from Shopkeeper Magolor's Shoppe. Players can add funds to their Nintendo eShop account by tapping on "Add Funds" on the bottom right corner. Every Sunday, called "Magolor Day" by Shopkeeper Magolor, gives the player a 5% bonus for each respective purchase of Gem Apples.

The maximum amount of Gem Apples a player can buy is 3,000 which is the maximum number of Gem Apples to be bought to fully upgrade the Gem Apple Tree.

Amount	Bonus	Cost	Notes
50	2	$0.49	Sale bonus; one-time offer
50	2	$0.69
100	5	$0.89	Sale bonus; one-time offer
100	5	$1.29
200	10	$1.69	Sale bonus; one-time offer
200	10	$2.39
500	25	$3.89	Sale bonus; one-time offer
500	25	$5.49
1000	50	$9.99
1500	75	$14.99
2150	107	$19.99	Can virtually be bought only once
3000	150	¥3720	Japan-only offer; will fully upgrade the Gem Apple Tree

The player can select the blue "Wandering Adventurers" button on the Touch Screen and connect to the Internet to summon adventurers online. Wandering Adventurers can be summoned for free once a day. After that, if the player wants to use the feature again within 24 hours, five Gem Apples are required. In the Village, Kirby can visit the Shrine of Passwords to connect to the internet and input a code that would reward him with various items such as fragments and Gem Apples.

Kirby Battle Royale[]

Kirby Battle Royale introduces the series' first native online multiplayer mode known as Online Battle, where players can join in matches with others over the internet. "Ranked Matches" is the only option available in Online Battle, which automatically matches players with each other to compete for Ranking Points. Unlike in later Kirby games with online features, it is not possible for a player to host a room or create a lobby restricted to friends; players that enter Online Battle in close time proximity to each other are more likely to end up in the same room, however.

In Ranked Matches, after attaining a certain number of experience points, players will gain a Level. A completed match will always give some amount of experience points, though finishing in 1st place will produce far more than finishing in 4th. Each Level advancement awards a bonus of Battle Coins for unlocking items in the Collection Room. With more Levels, the Battle Coin prizes gradually increase in value, as do the point requirements for advancing a Level. When four players have been matched together, each player votes on one of three randomly selected Battle Modes. Using their votes, a roulette decides which game mode will be played. Ranked Matches lack any of the post-game special bonuses awarded in offline battles, possibly in the interest of fairness. Perhaps for the same reason, Boost Orbs are not available. On weekends, upon starting up Ranked Matches, the game will announce that a "Team Battle Frenzy" is taking place. During these events, all matches will be in the 2 vs. 2 team battle format.

There are also Ranking Points, which are intended to give an idea of how skillful and experienced a player is. They are displayed next to players' names before a match starts, visible to all others in the match. Until earning 1000 Ranking Points, even a 4th place loss will still award a small amount of points. After reaching that total, losses or poor performance will subtract Ranking Points. Players who disconnect from a match before it has ended are penalized by a more drastic subtraction of Ranking Points even before the player earned 1000 points.

Kirby Battle Royale is also the first in the series to include downloadable version updates. The game had three version updates, two of them were to add Mirror and Sleep and DLC Copy Abilities. The 2.1 version update came out in two separate dates, once for Japan, Australia, and Europe, and a second time for North America as the game finally released there which includes the updates for Ver. 2.0 as well.

Version	Date	Updates
2.0	Dec 13, 2017	Added new Copy Ability, Mirror. Various fixes made to improve play experience.
2.1	Dec 27, 2017[3] (JP, AU, EU) Jan 19, 2018[4] (NA)	Made it easier to gain Ranking Points in Online Battle. Made it so that you will gain Ranking Points even if an Online Battle is cancelled due to an opponent disconnecting. Fixed a bug that could cause the game to crash when a rocket is launched in Rocket Rumble.
3.0	Feb 1, 2018	Added Kirby’s Sleep Copy Ability. Adjusted balance of Copy Ability strengths. Several adjustments made to enhance gameplay. In Online Battle, a Battle Arena match will be terminated if it is taking unusually long due to attacks focused on one player. This will end as an incomplete game that won’t affect Ranking Points.

Super Kirby Clash[]

Super Kirby Clash is the first game of the Nintendo Switch Kirby games to feature an online mode, however a Nintendo Switch Online subscription is needed to use any of the following online features.

The Shoppe from Team Kirby Clash Deluxe returns in this game with Gem Apples once again being the only purchasable item. There is no limit amount so the player can buy as many as they please, however the game will discourage buying more than 5000. Occasionally, a gift icon will appear on the Gem Apples icon on the Shoppe's menu where players can receive three free Gem Apples.

The Shoppe has had four special real-time sales where prices were dropped by 20% or 30%. The New Years sales last from the beginning of the year until certain dates: the 2019 New Years sale ended January 13, 2020 where prices were 20%; the 2020 sale ended January 12, 2021; and the 2021 sale ended January 10, 2022, the latter two had prices dropped by 30%. Finally, there was the only summer sale which started early August 2020 and ended August 18, 2020.

Amount of Apples	Price (USD)	20% off sale	30% off sales	Notes
50	$0.69 ($0.49 sale)	$0.55 ($0.39)	$0.48 ($0.34)
100	$1.29 ($0.89 sale)	$1.03 ($0.71)	$0.90 ($0.62)
250	$2.99 ($1.99 sale)	$2.39 ($1.59)	$2.09 ($1.39)
500	$5.49 ($3.89 sale)	$4.39 ($3.11)	$3.94 ($2.72)
800	$8.39 ($5.99 sale)	$6.71 ($4.79)	$5.87 ($4.19)
1000	$9.99 ($7.49 sale)	$7.99 ($5.99)	$6.99 ($5.24)
2300	$21.49 ($15.99 sale)	$17.19 ($12.79)	$15.04 ($11.19)
2000	$18.99	$15.19	$13.29
3000	$26.99	$21.59	$18.89
4000	$33.99	$27.19	$23.79
5000	$39.99	$31.99	$27.99

Players can also buy stickers at the Shoppe to communicate with players online in the game's new Online Plaza when playing Party Quests. In this mode, players can join in with other players' quests or create their own match and fight together to help defeat bosses, clear Heroic Missions, and/or farm EXP as completing a match online earns 1.3 times more EXP than playing alone. Playing online also costs half the vigor than they usually do than playing alone. This mode is divided into three options: Find a Match, Create a Match, and Friend Match. The first two options have the player face quests with other random players online.

If the player selects Find a Match, they can sort through a variety of quests that are awaiting a full lobby (four players) in the Quest Selection menu. The player can sort quests by Recommended, based on random factors such as toughness, player level, or Heroic Missions; Number of Uncleared Missions; Recommended Level (High or Low); Number of Participants; and Star Quests. Once a player enters a lobby, they cannot quit. Online communication with other players ends the moment the boss is defeated; players’ inputs will not be registered and stickers will not be seen by others

If the player selects Friend Match, then they will only join and create lobbies that can only be seen by users on their Friends List. Besides this, online mode is the same as playing with random people.

The Adventurer Bell replaces the "Wandering Adventures" button as the Nintendo Switch does not have a bottom screen. With this bell, the player has the option to choose finding players offline or online. Selecting offline will have up to six CPUs with randomized stats with gear that will loosely scale with the player’s stats and level whereas selecting online will randomly summon players of varying stats and levels from across the world regardless of the player’s stats. Wandering Adventurers function the same as they did in Team Kirby Clash Deluxe. The Shrine of Passwords does return functioning the same way it did in its previous title.

Kirby Fighters 2[]

NSO allows access to Online Mode where players can play against other players in a Random Match or in a Friend Match. Random Matches are fought only in 2v2 battles; if not enough players can be found (4), then the match is abandoned. Players are given a winning streak for the number of consecutive wins. Earning first place earns 800 Fighters Points whereas getting second is only 500, however a 1.2 multiplier is given for playing an online Network Battle. In a Friend Match, players can play against friends who also own the game and set their own rules such as toggling team battles, stages, and handicaps.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land[]

While the game doesn't support online multiplayer, a NSO subscription is required for Wise Waddle Dee to relay facts to Kirby about certain in-game statistics from across the world. Kirby can still talk to him without a subscription, but accepting his request about "[hearing] the latest info from around the world" without one will result in him telling Kirby to connect online for him to share said info. The Wise Waddle Dee figure can still be earned without NSO.

Redeeming Present Codes at Waddle Dee-liveries also require a subscription. Present Codes are functionally the same as redeeming codes from the Shrine of Passwords.

Kirby's Dream Buffet[]

Online Mode requires a NSO subscription as it allows players to compete against each other online. Players can choose between a Random Match with random players or a Password Match to play in a private lobby with friends who also know the password online. Both options pit players in a Grand Prix with no other modes to choose from. A one minute timer is given in the waiting lobby for Random Matches and immediately starts when all four players are found whereas in a Password Match, the timer is increased to two minutes and can be immediately started whenever a second player joins. A 1.80 bonus for the Gourmet Rank is given for playing any online match, not including online Free Rolling sessions.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe[]

Similar to the Wise Waddle Dee and his worldwide facts, a NSO subscription is required to hear Manager Magolor's in-game facts about Merry Magoland from around the world. A subscription is also required to play Samurai Kirby 100 where a player competes against 99 other Kirbys to achieve the fastest time; without a subscription Samurai Kirby 100 cannot be played and thus the missions cannot be completed.

Games with indirect Online function[]

Kirby's Epic Yarn[]

When a player takes a screenshot in Kirby's Pad, the player can send the image over to the Wii Message Board where they can share the image with their registered Wii Friends over the internet.

Kirby: Planet Robobot, Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, and Kirby Battle Royale[]

Main article: SpotPass

Within these 3DS titles, the system's online feature, SpotPass, when enabled, was able to passively send user data to enhance the experience of other online features or moderate the way certain features were being used. SpotPass can be toggled off in all these games by selecting the respective button typically on a right corner in the Setting option.

Kirby Star Allies[]

An online internet connection is needed to download all the DLC and software updates. Below is a list of all version numbers. Note that with each update for each wave of Dream Friends, certain level aspects and other features were added/replaced; these changes are not mentioned in the official Nintendo website update report for this game.^[5]

Version	Date	Updates
1.1.1	March 16, 2018	Selecting Chinese (Traditional), Chinese (Simplified), or Korean in the Nintendo Switch language settings will now cause text to display properly in those languages. Issues have been fixed to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.
2.0	March 27, 2018	Added three new Dream Friends: Marx, Gooey, and Rick & Kine & Coo. Added one new celebration picture to complete by collecting Picture Pieces. Fixed several issues to enhance gameplay.
3.0	July 27, 2018	Added three new Dream Friends: Adeleine & Ribbon, Dark Meta Knight, and Daroach. Added three new celebration pictures to complete by collecting Picture Pieces. Fixed several issues to enhance gameplay.
4.0	November 30, 2018	Added the new mode, Heroes in Another Dimension, which becomes available after clearing Story Mode. Added four new Dream Friends: Magolor, Taranza, Susie, and the Three Mage-Sisters. Added a new hardest difficulty level to the mode The Ultimate Choice. Added new celebration pictures to be completed by collecting Picture Pieces. Issues have been fixed to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.

Other related online features[]

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection[]

Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is the name of the online service provider for the Nintendo DS and Wii systems. Below is a table that highlights the services and applications that use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection in the Kirby series.

Category	Nintendo DS	Wii	Summary
Communication		Wii Message Board	Players can send images to their registered Wii Friends via internet such as the ones send to the Message Board from Kirby's Pad in Kirby's Epic Yarn.
Shopping	Nintendo DSi Shop		The DSi line has its own online shopping service where users can purchase DSi-exclusive content for real life currency. Each purchase rewards the user credits if they have signed up with Club Nintendo.
		Wii Shop Channel	The Wii has its own online shopping service where users can purchase Wii-exclusive content, Virtual Console games, and game updates. Each purchase rewards the user credits if they have signed up with Club Nintendo.
Commercial	Nintendo Zone / DS Download Station		A Nintendo Zone is a download service only available by connecting to certain hotspots or when near a DS Download Station. Users could download demos and trailers straight to their DS or DSi systems via DS Download Play or receive online commercial news about other Nintendo-related news.
		Nintendo Channel	The Nintendo Channel was an online service where users mainly watched various types of video media such as trailers and interviews. Users could also send demos directly to a DS system via DS Download Play on this channel, the Kirby Mass Attack demo being one of them.
Entertainment		Kirby TV Channel	A Wii channel that provided a weekly schedule to air Kirby: Right Back at Ya! episodes chronologically. Ran for two periods and was exclusive to PAL regions.
		Wii no Ma	A multi-service Wii channel where users could watch videos, go shopping, and read news. Various Kirby-related content was provided in each of its services. Ran from 2009 to 2012 and was exclusive to Japan.
Loyalty Program	Club Nintendo		By purchasing content from the system's respective online shopping service, credits were added to the user's linked Club Nintendo account. With these Club Nintendo credits, users could participate in various Club Nintendo exclusive benefits and purchase goods and other items. Many Kirby-themed rewards could be redeemed such as game soundtracks and merchandise.

Nintendo Network[]

Nintendo Network is the name of the online service provider for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U systems. Below is a table that highlights the services and applications that use Nintendo Network in the Kirby series.

Category	Nintendo 3DS	Wii U	Summary
Communication	Miiverse		A social network service where players could join certain communities and post images and messages about certain games and interact with other people. Many "Behind the Scenes" posts about various 3DS Kirby titles hosted by members of HAL Laboratory were published using this network. Miiverse was discontinued on November 7, 2017.
	SpotPass		The systems' main online communication feature that was mainly used to distribute news and updates about specific games the player has data for.
Shopping	Nintendo eShop		The systems' shared online shopping network. Players could download games, videos, demos, Virtual Console software, and other media through this service before its discontinuation on March 27, 2023.
Commercial	Nintendo Zone		Nintendo Zone is a download service only available by connecting to certain hotspots such as McDonald's or Best Buy. Many videos, demos, and other exclusive in-game prizes were collected via these hotspots, as well as 3DS themes.
Entertainment	Nintendo Anime Channel		The Nintendo Anime Channel was a video-on-demand service that allowed users to watch licensed anime by Nintendo such as Kirby: Right Back at Ya!.
	StreetPass Mii Plaza		While StreetPass is a local communication feature, the built-in application StreetPass Mii Plaza uses SpotPass, an online feature, to send news about special Mii characters and new Puzzle Swap panels, a handful of the latter being Kirby themed.
	Nintendo Video		Nintendo Video was another video-on-demand service, however it only allowed the user to view four videos per week. It was updated regularly automatically via the internet; the special Kirby 3D episodes were the most popular videos on the service, even holding a sweepstake to download the episode directly to the winners' systems.
	Nintendo Badge Arcade		Nintendo Badge Arcade is an application where players could earn special badges to decorate their Home Menu. It was updated weekly via internet and includes many Kirby related media.
Loyalty Program	Club Nintendo		By purchasing content from the system's respective online shopping service, credits were added to the user's linked Club Nintendo account. With these Club Nintendo credits, users could participate in various Club Nintendo exclusive benefits and purchase goods and other items. Many Kirby-themed rewards could be redeemed such as game soundtracks and merchandise.
	My Nintendo		Successor to Club Nintendo, My Nintendo was a similar loyalty program where credits were earned in similar ways to be exchanged for more goods and rewards.

Nintendo Switch Online Services[]

The Nintendo Switch uses an open Internet connection as well as its own exclusive optional online service, however, unlike previous Nintendo gen consoles, this service is optional, but mandatory for online play. Below is a list of online services provided by the Nintendo Switch.

Name	Summary
Nintendo Switch Online	Also abbreviated as NSO, NSO is the online subscription required for any online multiplayer of any kind for every game. This subscription also features its own application at the bottom of the Switch's Home Menu where users can earn rewards such as profile icon elements. NSO also comes with a catalog of games from previous Nintendo consoles. A NSO Expansion Pack can also be purchased at a more expensive price, but is also bundled with extra game content for a few games as well as access to the Nintendo 64 and GBA catalog.
News Channels	The News icon/app is a built-in feature where users can view various Nintendo-related news from first, second, and third party companies about numerous games ranging from the user's featured content to recent content. From this app, the user can also subscribe to Channels which are essentially collections of organized news about a singular game. Three pieces of News is also displayed when the system is locked. Many Kirby games have their own News Channel: *Nintendo News Channel *Kirby Star Allies Channel *Super Kirby Clash Channel *Kirby Fighters 2 Channel *Kirby and the Forgotten Land Channel
Nintendo eShop	This shopping service is similar to its function on the 3DS and Wii U where users can purchase and download game content. Unlike its previous iterations, the Nintendo Switch eShop is strictly for shopping; promotional videos and news are moved specifically to the respective game's News Channel.
My Nintendo	Similar to how it worked on the 3DS and Wii U, users can now exchange Gold and Platinum points for various rewards and can be exchanged for legible digital currency.

In the Super Smash Bros. series[]

From Super Smash Bros. Brawl onwards, players could access an online mode to battle players from across the world and utilize other features such as player tag customizations and battle rulesets. In Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, players could participate in Conquests. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate introduces Online Tourneys and Event Tourneys where players enter a tournament of 64 random online players.

Other Internet Media[]

Copy Ability Global Poll[]

On September 14, 2017, Nintendo announced an online global poll about which Copy Ability would be the new DLC Copy Ability to appear in Kirby Battle Royale. Voting can be done once every day until it ended on October 2, 2017. The poll consisted of the following abilities with the following info:

Name	Image	Blurb
Animal		Dig and burrow with sharp claws!
Archer		Shoot foes with arrows and use camouflage to hide!
Backdrop		Grab foes—then slam them to the ground!
Ball		Turn into a ball and bounce into foes!
Balloon		Puff up to float upward, and pop to stun foes!
Beam		Shoot energy from a powerful rod!
Beetle		Grab foes with a beetle horn, and then toss them around!
Bell		Brawl with giant, clanging handbells!
Bomb		Throw lots of bombs at your enemies!
Bubble		Take care of foes with a spray of bubbles!
Burning		Burst into flames and blast into enemies!
Circus		Attack with circus-themed moves, like making balloon animals!
Cleaning		Attack foes with a broom!
Cook		Toss foes into a cooking pot to turn them into food!
Copy*		Scan foes to acquire abilities from them!
Crash		Take out all foes at once with a massive explosion!
Cupid		Fly around while attacking with a bow and arrow!
Cutter		Attack foes with boomerang blades!
Doctor		Make potions on the fly to use in battle. It's medical mayhem!
ESP		Use psychic powers to teleport!
Fighter		Attack with master's command of kicks and punches!
Fire		Attack foes by breathing fire!
Freeze*		Turn supercold to freeze foes!
Ghost*		Possess foes to control their actions!
Hammer		Swing a mighty hammer!
Hi-Jump		Jump extremely high and be invincible within the air!
Ice		Freeze enemies with frosty breath!
Jet		Jet into the air and body slam enemies!
Laser		Shoot laser beams that bounce off angled surfaces!
Leaf		Fight like a force of nature using leaf attacks!
Light*		Light up dark places!
Magic		Conjure lots of things from a magic hat!
Metal*		Turn into a hunk of metal. Merely touching foes will hurt them!
Mike		Use a microphone to deliver a powerful sonic attack!
Mini*		Shrink down to slip through small spaces!
Mirror		Reflect enemy attacks and make duplicates of Kirby!
Missile		Turn into a missile and rocket into foes!
Needle		Poke foes with sharp spines that sprout out of Kirby!
Ninja		Use ninja attacks to take down foes!
Paint		Splatter paint on invisible foes to make them appear!
Parasol		Jab foes with a parasol and spin them around!
Plasma		Charge up electricity for a powerful attack!
Poison		Attack foes with poison spray and toxic clouds!
Sleep		Zzz...
Spark		Shock your enemies!
Spear		Attack with spear thrusts, throws, and spins!
Stone		Turn into a stone and become invincible!
Suplex		Attack foes with a mastery of throwing and kicking moves!
Sword		Deliver swiping and slashing attacks!
Throw		Grab foes—then throw them hard!
Tornado		Turn into tornado to spin fiercely and be invulnerable!
UFO		Fly around while using various energy attacks!
Water		Ride a wave and control water!
Wheel		Turn into a wheel and roll around at high speed!
Whip		Crack a whip and use it to latch on to distant things.
Wing		Use wings to fly and attack!
Yo-Yo		Attack foes with yo-yo tricks and spins!

The winner of the first round was Mirror. A second poll was launched where Sleep won the majority.

Web Games[]

Many Kirby titles have official promotional web games that were found on the official Nintendo website. These web games were supported by Adobe Flash, however, with its discontinuation on December 31, 2021, all of these web games are unplayable through intended means. A majority of these games have been archived and are playable; the table below lists all the Kirby web games and the link to play them, if available.

Microsites[]

Microsites are promotional mini websites that promote a certain company’s product on a different domain. Many Kirby titles also received their own personal microsite along with a web game. Most of these microsite​​s have been taken down but have been archived by Flashpoint and can be visited by downloading it. Below is a table that lists all the Kirby microsites and whether or not they are still active.

Name	Active?
Kirby Air Ride	Yes[6]
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror	No[7]
Kirby Super Star Ultra	Yes[8]
Kirby Mass Attack	No
Kirby's Epic Yarn	No
Kirby: Triple Deluxe	No
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse	No
Kirby: Planet Robobot	No
Kirby Battle Royale	No[9]
Kirby Star Allies	Yes[10]
Kirby Fighters 2	No[11]
Kirby and the Forgotten Land	Yes[12]
Kirby's 30th Anniversary	No
Kirby's Dream Buffet	Yes[13]
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe	Yes[14]
Related
4KidsTV	No
Official Home of Kirby	Yes
Play Nintendo	Yes

Kirby Café[]

Reservations can be made on the Kirby Café website. At the bottom of the webpage are three links that lead to the Kirby Café merchandise and menu, Japanese Kirby Portal, and the Sound of Kirby Café. On August 2, 2023, the Kirby Café Twitter account made a public statement discouraging the use of buying online tickets and selling them.^[15]

References[]