Rick
| Rick | |
|---|---|
| Species | Hamster |
| Eye color | Blue |
| Debut | Kirby's Dream Land 2 |
Rick is a hamster who has been featured as an ally in several Kirby games. He was initially featured as one of the Animal Friends in Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3, and he returned with the other two original Animal Friends, Coo and Kine as a Dream Friend in Kirby Star Allies. He has also made a number of cameo appearances, typically with Coo and Kine.
Background[edit]
Rick was a large hamster resisiding on Popstar and a friend of Kirby's. He would carry Kirby on his shoulders and specialized in moving around on land. He was first featured in Kirby's Dream Land 2, where he was the first Animal Friend who could be encountered. He was featured in the opening scene for Grass Land and first appeared in its second stage. Rick could be found in stages throughout the game and usually had to be freed from a bag that he was trapped in. In some instances, the Animal Friend in a bag was randomly-generated. Rick and the other Animal Friends returned in Kirby's Dream Land 3 along with several new companions, including Nago. In this game, Rick could act as a mount for Gooey as well.
In Kirby Star Allies, Rick made a playable appearance with both Kine and Coo as one combined Dream Friend. The three of them would tag out depending on the environment and move being used, but Rick was the one who was out by default.
In Other Kirby Games[edit]
In the "Star Breaker" minigame of Kirby's Toy Box, a pair of Ricks appeared acting as the game's equivalent of a paddle, holding up a trampoline for Kirby to bounce off of. They would make reactions whenever the player cleared a stage or got a game over. Hamster-like robots were also featured as the playable characters of the "Cannonball" minigame. Rick, Kine and Coo were later featured in Kirby's Star Stacker, where the likeness of the three of them was featured in the game's Friend Blocks that were used as the basis of the gameplay. Scenes of Rick playing with his friends could also be seen in scenes shown between rounds and in images that could be unlocked throughout the game. In the Super NES version of the game, the Animal Friends also accompanied Kirby for his journey in Story Mode. Within the "Kirby Fighters" game of Kirby: Triple Deluxe, as well as Kirby Fighters Deluxe and Kirby Fighters 2, Rick appeared as a stage haard in the Coo's Forest stage, where he would appear from one of the doorways and breathe fire that could damage fighters.
Cameos and Non-Storyline Roles[edit]
- A statue of Rick has appeared as one of Kirby's randomly-generated Stone forms in several games: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (specifically with the Stone-Cutter Power Combo), Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby: Planet Robobot and Kirby Star Allies. In Return to Dream Land and Star Allies, instead of being his own statue, he was part of a combined statue that also included Coo and Kine, with the statue in Star Allies and Kirby's Return to Dream Land DX showing them in a bag. In Return to Dream Land DX, a gold statue of the three Animal Friends in the same pose from the original Return to Dream Land could be unlocked in Merry Magoland after completing ten missions.
- Rick has also been depicted as part of collectible items in some games: two keychains in Kirby: Triple Deluxe, two stickers in Kirby: Planet Robobot, a sticker in Super Kirby Clash and two Character Treats in Kirby's Dream Buffet.
- In Kirby: Canvas Curse, Rick could appear as one of the paintings made by Paint Roller within the "Paint Panic" sub-game.
- In the Kirby Card Swipe minigame of Kirby Super Star Ultra, Rick was pictured one of the cards.
- In the "Kirby Quest" sub-game of Kirby Mass Attack, Rick made a cameo appearance on the game over screen alongside Kine and Coo.
- In Kirby's Dream Collection, Rick was depicted within the Kirby's History hallway.
- Elline briefly sculpts Kirby into Rick's form before transforming him into the Kirby Tank in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, reflecting the transformation's association with moving along the ground, and drawings of the Animal Friends were also seen in Elline's Secret Diary.
- In Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, Rick made a background cameo appearance sitting on a bench in the Village after beating Taranza. Rick made another background appearance in Super Kirby Clash at the Port Village after beating the first Parallel Nightmare Story Quest.
- In Kirby Battle Royale, Rick made a cameo appearance in the audience of the Slam Hockey battle mode when playing in the Normal Arena.
- Kirby's Dream Buffet had both a color (Rick Cream) and costume that could be used by Kirby to dress up as Rick.
- In Return to Dream Land DX, there was a Dress-Up Mask of Rick, and Rick himself could be seen in a post-credits image for the Magilor Epilogue, which showed him and the other two original Animal Friends in the Dream Kingdom with Magolor, Bandana Waddle Dee and Broom Hatter.
Abilities[edit]
Rick is skilled at moving around on land. He can walk faster than Kirby and can maneauver normally on ice without any slipping. The main downside is that Kirby cannot use his floating ability while riding Rick. He is also capable of hurting enemies by stomping on them. Beyond that, his abilities have differed based on the game. He could inhale like Kirby in Dream Land 2, but in Dream Land 3, he lacked this ability and could only swallow enemies that were directly in front of him. Dream Land 3 also gave Rick a wall-jumping ability. In Star Allies, the Animal Friends automatically have access to Copy Abilities without needing to inhale anything, so instead they use different abilities based on the button input.
When Kirby has a Copy Ability active, a different variation on it will be used by Rick. The following are Rick's Copy Ability variations, only two of which appeared in Star Allies:
- Burning: Rick breathes out flames, with a very short range. This appeared as one of his abilities in Star Allies.
- Clean: Rick will use a feather duster to wipe directly in front of him, which can harm enemies and clean some surfaces.
- Cutter: Rick will throw Kirby in the shape of a boomerang, with greater range but slower speed than the normal Cutter move.
- Ice: Rick will lay down, and pieces of ice will appear around Kirby, freezing nearby enemies. Rick cannot move while using this move. Rick appears to be frozen while using this move in Dream Land 2, but only Kirby appears to be frozen while using it in Dream Land 3.
- Needle: Spines will protrude from Rick's back while using this move, providing damage only behind Rick.
- Parasol: Rick balances the parasol on his nose, and Kirby balances atop that in the shape of a ball, which can harm enemies above.
- Spark: Rick utilizes a whipe of electricity to attack enemies.
- Stone: Rick transforms into a round boulder that Kirby rides atop. This appeared as one of his abilities in Star Allies.
Other Appearances[edit]
Video Games[edit]
- In the Super Smash Bros. series, Rick has been featured as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Melee and an Advance-rank Support Spirit (which raises stats after eating) in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. When fought against in a Spirit battle, Rick's Spirit would possess a Pikachu accompanied by a yellow Kirby in a battle with frozen terrain in which the enemy had increased movement speed and started off equipped with a Fire Flower.
Other Media[edit]
- Rick appeared as a recurring character in the Kirby anime, where he was shown to be capable of speech. Living in the Eastern Forest, he was shown to look out for children often. The English dub of the anime depicted him with an Australian accent.
Trivia[edit]
- His name is spelled "Rikku" in Japanese, which can mean "land", in reference to him being a land-based Animal Friend.
- Kirby's Toy Box is the only game in which Rick has appeared without Coo or Kine also appearing. This also establishes Kirby as the Animal Friend with the most appearances.