He is pink with red feet and he delights young children around the world. The Nintendo Kirby has made appearances in parades, video games and at children’s birthday parties. Conceived in Japan in the early 90’s, Kirby first appeared on the Nintendo Game Boy. There was talk of calling the furry friend, Popopo, the reason was he was named “Kirby” has been debated. No matter how he got his name, the Nintendo Kirby has guided thousands of children through their first video game.

The Nintendo Kirby is very small with a soft body. He speaks with a high pitched voice like a child but his true age has never been revealed. Not realizing that he is not a singer, Kirby loves to sing and will attempt to do so often. Instead of working out to achieve a superhero physique, Kirby loves to eat, sleep and play. Fruits and vegetables are his favorite foods, which sets a good example for the kids who love him. His favorite food is tomatoes—a good example for his young fans who may shun vegetables at the nightly dinner table.

According to Nintendo’s website, www.nintendo.com, Kirby was born on the planet Pop Star but now lives in Dream Land. As opposed to the often violent video games that are so popular, Kirby is a positive character. He has special powers that allow him to save the world. He is however the most unlikely superhero. He defeats his foes by inhaling them (his body expands so he can inhale anything). He spits out some enemies as stars. And when he gets an enemy inside, Kirby can copy their powers in some games. Kirby gets more powers by eating certain foods.

The Nintendo Kirby has appeared in many video games including “Super Smash Bros” and “Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards” since making his debut in 1992 in Game Boy’s “Kirby’s Dreamland.” He has even hosted an educational video for Nintendo in 1994.

Many kids identify Kirby with Yoshi from the Super Mario Brothers series. He has games on almost all Nintendo platforms including Game Boy, Nintendo DS, Game Cube and Nintendo 64. His enemies have been many but so far he has been able to defeat them all with the help of skilled players who love to help the popular character.

So far he has not appeared on other gaming platforms but there were rumors that there would be a Wii game involving Kirby. Those rumors were put to rest in 2008.

Kirby is so popular he has his own website, www.kirbykirbykirby.com. On this site, you can play games with Kirby and download others. You can also relive Kirby’s history on the site and purchase the games. You can also learn about Kirby at www.nintendo.com.

Kirby can be seen as a cute animal or a brilliant marketing ploy by Nintendo. His shape is perfect for replicating into a stuffed animal or a balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, where he has appeared often. He has been featured in cartoons, particularly in Japan where his is wildly popular among children, teens and adults. You will not find too many children who don’t know who Kirby is, even if they don’t have a Nintendo gaming system. Other gaming systems have yet to create a character as unique as the Nintendo Kirby.