Emoji Lover 12345·4/29/2024in Theories
Here's the evidence:
Because Masahiro Sakurai is the creator of both Kirby and Smash Bros, both of these game franchises have very similar 2D gameplay styles. This reason alone may not be enough to qualify these theory, but don't worry, because there's more!
While Kirby is said to be 8-inches tall, Smash Bros isn't the only game that doesn't measure Kirby's height accurately, as Adeleine (who is a human-being, mind you) appears to be no more than double the height of Kirby in comparison. Ain't no way Adeleine could be 16 inches tall, even though I know that Kirby is just a fictional video-game franchise where nothing has to make sense, but still.
Having multiple replicas of Kirby and King Dedede coming in different colors isn't just a Smash Bros only thing, there are many home-series Kirby games where Multiplayer includes many replicas of Kirby in different colors! King Dedede and Meta Knight also share this trait too, albeit in a less common way. Now you could argue that in the Amazing Mirror, there's a storyline explaining specifically why there are Kirby Clones to exist, but speaking of the Amazing Mirror...
Master Hand and Crazy Hand both appear as mid-bosses and regular bosses in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror, despite being characters original to Smash Bros. If that wasn't evident enough, they also grant Kirby the Smash ability, which directly references his Smash Bros moveset. Speaking of Kirby games referencing Smash Bros...
Kirby never had a voice until Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 64. The first Kirby game to come out after the first Smash Bros game was Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards, where his voice-clips are recycled alongside a few new ones, and then starting with Kirby's Epic Yarn, all Kirby games would continue to have Makiko Ohmoto reprise her voice-role as Kirby.
Aside from Kirby's voice, Kirby games also reference Smash Bros by Nightmare in Dream Land remixing Melee's cover of Gourmet Race at the Fountain of Dreams, that remix also getting remixed by Kirby Air Ride as Nebula Belt's alternate theme, all 5-6 of Kirby's palette-swaps from Smash 64 & Melee are retained in Kirby Air Ride, the Melee Remix of Green Greens is re-used in Kirby Air Ride, and the Kirby Hat when he swallows an Ice Climber is Popo's violet parka, which is re-used in both Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby Air Ride as the hat for the Freeze ability (before it was eventually merged with Ice).
I know that audio-references might not directly indicate evidence that Smash Bros is canon to the Kirby Universe, but the fact that the Kirby games approve of Smash Bro's approach of adjusting Kirby music and/or characters could say otherwise. Furthermore, there are very likely some more Smash Bros references in Kirby games that I am probably forgetting to mention, which are probably even more effective reasons to believe this theory than the previous two listed above.
Several Mario characters make cameo appearances in Kirby Super Star (and Ultra) as members of their physical audiences in the background, including Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toad, and Birdo (Wario in Ultra) on Mt. Dedede and Megaton Punch. Not only that, but both a Metroid and Samus Aran herself appeared in Kirby's Dream Land 3, even before Smash Bros was a thing. Crossover Guests from other iconic Nintendo franchises appear in Kirby Games as well, not just limited to Smash Bros only.
In The Great Cave Offensive, several items from other Nintendo franchises (which are also repped in Smash) can be found as Treasure Items, including Green Shell, Mario & Wario's Bucket, DK Barrel, Triforce, Screw Attack, and even Mr. Saturn! Suggesting that they co-exist in the Kirby universe outside of Smash Bros as well.
In Kid Icarus Uprising, Smash Bros is actually confirmed canon to the Kid Icarus Universe when Pit acknowledged his experience with SSBBrawl, proving that Smash Bros being non-canon to the franchises it represents can be exceptional.
Evidence that makes this theory so complex, it could debatably get debunked:
In Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 64, all playable characters are shown to be dolls that come to life in Master Hand's imagination, including Kirby. And in Brawl's Subspace Emissary, the playable characters are shown to be trophies that get summoned to life, which isn't seemingly the case for any represented video-game character in their home-series games. However, keep in mind that this factor doesn't affect Kid Icarus, so it doesn't really need to make Kirby any different either.
Since Super Smash Bros was actually created by Masahiro Sakurai (the Kirby creator, mind you), the bosses Master Hand and Crazy Hand, despite being Smash-original characters, appear to be based on the floating gloves in Kirby's Adventure and other Classic Kirby games, which also reappeared in Kirby's Dream Buffet, proving that while The Amazing Mirror directly uses Master Hand & Crazy Hand from Smash Bros, they appear to be normal creatures in the Kirby Universe since white floating-hands, like I just mentioned, are actually considered a naturally common part of the Kirby franchise, while the Smash ability could potentially be just an out-of-universe reference, but again, that is also just speculation.
In Kirby 64 The Crystal Shards and The Forgotten Land, it is revealed that Kirby lives in a post-apocalyptic Earth timeline, while in Smash Bros, it is a timeless crossover where Kirby can still experience pre-apocalyptic earth. Then again, Pit was confused when he heard when Inklings come from, even though Smash Bros is canon to the Kid Icarus universe, so hopefully this mix-up doesn't debunk it for Kirby's case either.
Minor detail, but Maxim Tomatoes heal Kirby's whole/entire health in the Kirby Series, while in Smash Bros they only heal 50% damage (except Smash 64, where they heal up to 100% damage, which you have to keep in mind that it's actually just arbitrary percentage). Then again, the Kirby Series has no consistency for which enemies grant a specific copy-abilities, as same Kirby enemies do often change the abilities they grant to Kirby, so maybe continuity errors are also part of the Kirby headcanon as well, therefore Smash Bros still has a chance of being canon.
Kirby is poorly underpowered in SSBMelee, very low-tier, even though in Kirby games, he is strong enough to take down many different dark purple villains in Gamble Galaxy that are supposedly like god-powered. However, Kirby's in-gameplay strength on both Smash and Kirby games may not exactly reflect his story-based strength regardless of what game we're looking at, so this is probably another weak method to debunk the theory, as such: Smash Bros could still be canon in the Kirby Universe after all!
Conclusion: Do I believe that Super Smash Bros is actually canon to the Kirby Universe? Well my answer is just a big maybe! The video-game community is no stranger to speculating the secret realities of popular gaming series/franchises that exist, and since Nintendo and/or Sakurai has never confirmed nor denied whether Smash Bros is canon to the Kirby series or not, I'd love to believe that there is a little over 50% chance of Super Smash Bros actually being secretly canon to the Kirby Universe. But remember, this is all just a theory! A GAME THEORY!
What evidences of both lists can you think of that I didn't mention at all? If you have anymore to add, feel free to let me know! And remember, let's not argue about this theory at all, just debate it! Debating about this theory is okay as long as it doesn't become an argument.
I officially rest my case now, time to post this thread once & for all!
UPDATE: Apparently a lot of y'all don't seem to understand what a theory even is! Please read my own follow-up replies for further clarification!
(Edited by Emoji Lover 12345)
