Waddle Dee Kirby - Nendoroid

The Kirby series of video games got its first start with Kirby's Dream Land on the Game Boy and has since grown into one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises along with Super Mario and the Legend of Zelda. While the series spans several different genres, the overall franchise is known for its cute designs and cheerful atmosphere. This cute aesthetic fits especially well with Good Smile Company's Nendoroid line, which takes characters from popular franchises and turns them into adorable figures for fans to collect. Nendoroids of Kirby are certainly more varied and popular, but other characters from the Kirby series have also had their time to shine. One notable example would be Waddle Dee, who received the "Nendoroid Kirby's Dream Land Waddle Dee" in September 2020.

Nendoroid Kirby's Dream Land Waddle Dee

Since characters from the Kirby series already have an adorable look to them, the small, chibi style that Nendoroids are known for is perfect for Waddle Dee. This figure wonderfully recreates its large, brown eyes and short, stubby arms and legs. While most other Nendoroid figures have points of articulation for posing characters, the arms and legs of this figure are simply attached with magnets, allowing for even more customizability. This set also includes additional parts like an apple and face plates to change its expression from neutral, to angry, to sad, to relaxed. A spear and blue bandana also let users turn this regular Waddle Dee into Bandana Waddle Dee.

Manufacturer: Good Smile Company
Sculptors: Shichibee
Specifications: Painted, non-scale, articulated ABS and PVC figure with optional parts and stand
Height (Approx.): 60 mm | 2.4"

About Waddle Dee

Waddle Dees refer to a common species that live on Planet Popstar, a major location in most of the Kirby games.

About Waddle Dee: Background

While not true for all Waddle Dees, many of them serve the selfish and self-proclaimed ruler of Planet Popstar, King Dedede. As such, they often act as little more than basic enemies that get in Kirby's way as they attempt to thwart King Dedede's plans. That said, some Waddle Dees act as Kirby's allies, with the most notable being the spear-wielding Bandana Waddle Dee. Bandana Waddle Dee often appears as a playable character in Kirby games, allowing them to fight alongside Kirby and other characters against whatever foes come across the party's way. While one Waddle Dee is rather weak on its own, Waddle Dees often join forces together in order to overcome obstacles that would be hard for an individual to accomplish alone.

About Waddle Dee: Abilities

As mentioned before, Waddle Dees are remarkably weak compared to other characters like Kirby, King Dedede, or Meta Knight and are not capable of much aside from simple grunt work. That said, Waddle Dees are capable of wielding items like parasols, spears, and bows to make them a bit more of a threat. Most Waddle Dees are around the same size as Kirby, though some can grow to gigantic sizes as well. Some Waddle Dees can also pilot some of the simple walker robots that appear in Kirby: Planet Robobot. Bandana Waddle Dee is particularly skilled with using a spear and is one of the few Waddle Dees who can keep up with Kirby in their adventures.

Other Important Kirby Characters

Some of the most important characters to Waddle Dees include fan favorites like Kirby, King Dedede, and Meta Knight.

Kirby

Kirby is the titular protagonist of the Kirby series. Although they seem cute and innocent, Kirby always seems to have an insatiable appetite and a bottomless stomach to match. That said, Kirby is always willing to help others, even if they have to go out of their way to do so. Kirby's origin is largely shrouded in mystery, but they simply appeared on Planet Popstar one day and made Dream Land their home. Kirby is fully capable of fighting on their own, but their unique Copy ability allows them to take the abilities of others and make them their own. As such, Kirby has an incredible amount of versatility and wields a wide range of weapons and attacks. Although the antagonists of each Kirby game change often, Kirby has a long-standing rivalry with King Dedede and Meta Knight, and the two often battle each other.

King Dedede

King Dedede is a large, blue penguin-like character and the self-proclaimed ruler of Dream Land. He is often portrayed as lazy and insatiable, resulting in Dedede using his authority to have others do things like steal all of the food in Dream Land for himself. Due to his greedy tactics, Dedede often ends up being a major antagonist for Kirby, resulting in the two facing off against each other, particularly in the earlier games in the series. While Kirby has his Copy ability to fight against Dedede, the King himself has his trusty hammer to punish the protagonist with. In later games, however, their rivalry became friendlier in nature and the two often joined forces to defeat greater evils.