Heavy Lobster

"This time, we will succeed! Heavy Lobster, AWAY!"

- Captain Vul

Heavy Lobster is a strong, mechanical, lobster-like enemy who has so far appeared in Kirby Super Star, Kirby Super Star Ultra, Kirby Mass Attack, and also in the anime. It is a large, gold robot lobster that usually serves under Meta Knight. Equipped with flamethrowers in its claws and jets near its feet, Heavy Lobster is a force to be reckoned with. Heavy Lobster is one of the most powerful foes Kirby has come across in his journey, and it is also one of the few providers of the Paint ability.

Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra


Heavy Lobster first appears in Revenge of Meta Knight, where he is fought twice throughout the course of the sub-game. The first time is on the engines of the Halberd, which blows Kirby and Heavy Lobster away (the whereabouts of Heavy Lobster after this is unknown). The second time it is fought in the cabins of the ship, where Heavy Lobster chases Kirby through a maze which Kirby must navigate through. When the maze ends, Heavy Lobster jumps up and the chase is turned into the standard boss battle, giving Kirby a chance to counterattack. As with the rest of the sub-game, though, the two battles with Heavy Lobster are timed so Kirby must deal with it quickly. Its attacks range from ramming Kirby, sending out Mini Lobster projectiles, blowing out fire, and jumping in place attempting to stomp on him.

Heavy Lobster may also send out living paint blobs. If Kirby eats it, he gets the Paint ability. If he uses Paint, Heavy Lobster will be entirely covered in red paint, thus blinding it and heavily damaging it. When Heavy Lobster goes blind, it will obviously be helpless, move around unpredictably, and attack erratically. In Revenge of Meta Knight, doing this results in humorous dialogue from The Meta-Knights as they are astounded by Kirby's new-found ability and know that Heavy Lobster no longer stands a chance. When defeated in Kirby Super Star Ultra, Heavy Lobster falls into pieces rather than disappearing in an explosion.

Later on, the player must contend with Heavy Lobster in both Milky Way Wishes and The Arena, again serving as a boss in both instances. In the DS remake its gold plating is replaced by silver in Milky Way Wishes, which is the same for its appearance in Helper to Hero. In Milky Way Wishes Heavy Lobster is fought on Mekkai. These encounters omit the brief chase sequence from the Halberd.

In Kirby Super Star Ultra, Heavy Lobster, alongside Kabula, Galacta Knight, Masked Dedede, and Dyna Blade/ Wham Bam Rock, now has its own exclusive boss battle theme as opposed to the regular boss theme.

Kirby Mass Attack
Heavy Lobster appears as the penultimate boss in the pinball-based sub-game Kirby Brawlball. Its attacks are slightly modified versions of its attack from the previous game. A Wheelie also appears at the bottom of the arena, darting around and serving as an obstacle.

Instead of utilizing the fire cannons in its claws, Heavy Lobster shoots out encapsulated bullets that burst into flames when they hit the ground. Heavy Lobster still releases Mini Lobsters and fires missiles in-between sets. It also charges from one side of the screen to the other. Additionally, the paint balls it fires are now oil-colored and will splatter and obscure part of the screen if Kirby hits one, making it tough to see.

Heavy Lobster has high Defense, and it takes a lot of hits to take it down. Heavy Lobster is the fastest foe in the sub-game, and will jet around the arena using its rocket boosters. These fast-paced movements also allow Heavy Lobster to dodge attacks.

Kirby: Right Back at Ya!
In the anime's second-to-last episode, Combat Kirby, Nightmare sends Heavy Lobster to track down and rip apart the Halberd. When Heavy Lobster goes on a rampage attacking a trio of several Cappies and Kit Cosmos, Meta Knight orders Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby to track it down, and they have a remote that can open and close metal barriers. He also sends Sword and Blade after it, who take with them a bazooka. Heavy Lobster is among Nightmare's stronger creations, managing to best Kirby's Cook ability and Sword Knight's bazooka without a scratch and destroy the solid metal walls in a few seconds with his lasers. As it reaches the engine room, Chef Kawasaki gives Kirby ice cubes, allowing him to become Ice Kirby, who freezes it with his ice breath. While it was frozen, Sword and Blade shoot the bazooka at it, destroying it once and for all.

In the anime, Heavy Lobster is exactly the same in the games in terms of its physical appearance and movement, but it attacks primarily using pink energy beams rather than ramming and using projectiles and its flamethrower in Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra.

Trivia

 * If the player beats Heavy Lobster in the short time it first appears in Revenge of Meta Knight, its body explodes and the pieces lie there until Kirby and the debris are blown off the Halberd. This doesn't occur the second time it's fought, however.
 * Heavy Lobster's role in the anime can be seen as ironic, as it originally cooperated with Meta Knight to defend the Halberd in Kirby Super Star, and attempted to destroy the Halberd in the anime.
 * Heavy Lobster is mentioned in the Halberd trophy's description in Super Smash Bros. Brawl where it refers to "a shrimp-like robot called Heavy Lobster."
 * Heavy Lobster is the last monster to be sent by Nightmare in the anime.
 * In Kirby's Return to Dream Land, a remix of Heavy Lobster's theme from Kirby Super Star Ultra can be heard when Robo Dedede is in critical mode in Level 3 of Scope Shot. However, Heavy Lobster itself does not appear.
 * The background used for his battle in Milky Way Wishes and The Arena in Kirby Super Star Ultra seems to have been based on Level 4 from Shiver Star in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and his theme also sounds similar to the song used in that stage. Also, a robot resembling the hammer-headed enemy in said stage can be seen in the background.
 * Not only that, but the remake also adds what appears to be a factory assembling more Heavy Lobsters and/or mini Heavy Lobsters that can be seen in the background. In addition, the paint blobs that Heavy Lobster uses can be seen being created and moving along on a conveyor belt.
 * Heavy Lobster is one of the few monsters in the anime not to come with its original Copy ability, similar to Bugzzy and Kracko (among others).
 * In Kirby Super Star Ultra, multiple Heavy Lobsters are seen being manufactured in the background of its arena on Mekkai during Milky Way Wishes. This may explain how Kirby re-fought it on the Halberd.

Sprites
ヘビーロブスター