That was a hilarious and slightly troublesome conversation starter that Nintendo of America brought into the Kirby community with a very witty and pun-filled tweet. The picture shared by the official Nintendo account from the game Kirby Air Ride had the caption, ‘That’s one stuffed bird. Happy Thanksgiving! #KirbyAirRiders’. The image shows King Dedede, the main antagonist to Kirby, looking very much…done and roasted on a gigantic plate along with the vegetables. This instantly set off a huge reaction of players who had mixed feelings of laughter and upset about the very implication.
A playful tweet meant to be shared among the holiday greetings very quickly turned into a question among the gamers if Nintendo was hinting at the idea of eating the self-proclaimed king of Dream Land. The reply section was full of a mixture of panic and classical internet humor. One user, Mr. Flabbergasted, was yelling ‘NOOOO DON’T COOK DEDEDE NOOOOOOO’ which more or less expressed the initial shock of many people. Another user, EdoVro, even raised the question that everyone was thinking: ‘…Are you telling us to eat King Dedede, Nintendo?’.
The confusion went on. The user kiberSix even transformed the discussion into a seriously funny skit, when he wrote ‘They want to cook Dedede for the menu… Looks like we will have to travel back in time to the first Air Riders Thanksgiving to remove him from the menu. That’s right! WE’RE GOING BACK IN TIME TO THE FIRST AIR RIDERS THANKSGIVING TO TAKE DEDEDE OFF THE MENU’. This kind of fantasy, meme-inspired response is really what makes gaming communities so entertaining to watch; they can easily transform a simple concept into something absolutely fantastic.
Instead of being horrified at the idea of having a favorite character eaten, some players took the situation as an opportunity to spread the joy of the holiday. xRyuAsh and many others simply said ‘Happy Thanksgiving Nintendo! ❤️🦃’. Others took the opportunity to voice their own requests, with FightInDaDog riding the viral hype to ask for news: ‘Give us a Black Friday Gift Show Us The Next Mario Game’. It’s a classic tactic, trying to sneak a request into a trending topic, it is mostly not going to work but you still have to respect the hustle.
Moreover, the whole incident served as a starting point for some deeper Kirby folklore discussions, which is always fun. User SteelThane asked a question that has definitely occurred to long-time fans at least: ‘Has Dedede ever been confirmed to be a Penguin canonically?’. It’s a valid argument! He looks like a penguin, he often has a blue color, but has it ever been explicitly said? The truth might remain buried forever. Meanwhile, JoeyNator3000 revealed, ‘…I keep forgetting that Dedede is a penguin. >.>’, which represents an entirely different character’s mood.
Furthermore, only absurdity was seen by the users in the post. ZURC_99 even stated that it was ‘One of the Nintendo tweets of all time’, which is a very accurate description of something that is at the same time totally fitting for the bizarre world of Kirby and completely off the rail for a corporate holiday message. HanaSuki was riding the same festive wave with the words, ‘Stuffed and speedy! That turkey’s in turbo mode! 🍗’, very cleverly bringing it back to the Air Ride game with a funny connection.
This is the type of event that make us remember that a following an official gaming account is a treat. It’s not always about the big news or proclamations. Sometimes it could just be a weird, funny post that makes the community engage in conversation, jokes, and memes. The post turns a holiday blessing into a shared inside joke among thousands of players. The screenshot that is included, which is from the 2003 GameCube title Kirby Air Ride, has also created nostalgia for the fans of the cult classic party racer.
So what is the deal with King Dedede? Is he a turkey? A penguin? Just a ‘stuffed bird’ in the most literal sense? Nintendo did not make it clear and let the players ponder and create memes endlessly. The whole thread is a lovely and chaotic mix of gratitude, fear and new game requests, which is basically the gaming internet in a nutshell. Eventually, no one is really afraid of Dedede, but the collective pretend panic was a humorous way of celebrating the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving, you silly bird!
Kirby Air Riders is a beloved franchise, and the gaming community continues to show its passion for PlayStation and other platforms. Meanwhile, the recent release of Xbox Crocs has gamers excited about new merchandise.
