The series centers around the adventures of Kirby as he fights to protect and save his home on the distant Planet Popstar from a variety of threats.

The series is intended to be easy to pick up and play even for people unfamiliar with action games, while at the same time offering additional challenge and depth for more experienced players to come back to.

As Kirby, the spherical pink protagonist, the player must run, jump, and attack enemies while traversing a number of areas, solving puzzles, and battling bosses along the way.

The series' main protagonist is Kirby, who resides in the kingdom of Dream Land on a five-point-star-shaped planet called Popstar.

However, when the peace in Dream Land is shattered by threats both terrestrial and alien, it is up to Kirby to save his home and those who reside there.

Besides Kirby, many characters appear throughout the series as both allies and enemies, such as King Dedede, a gluttonous bird resembling a blue penguin and self-proclaimed ruler of Dream Land.

[6] The second game, Kirby's Adventure, was released in Japan on March 23, 1993, in North America on May 1, 1993, and Europe on September 12, 1993.

This game sets Kirby's core color as firmly pink, which was also translated to the North American box art.

As one of the 1st party last games created for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Kirby's Adventure featured advanced graphics and sound that pushed the hardware's capabilities to the limit, including pseudo 3D effects on some stages.

Kirby's Dream Course, released in Japan on September 21, 1994, North America on February 1, 1995, and Europe on August 24, 1995, for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, is a golf-based game which features an isometric graphic design.

Kirby's Dream Land 2, released in Japan on March 21, 1995, in North America on May 1, 1995, in Europe on July 31, 1995, and Australasia on November 22, 1995, for the Game Boy, brought the Copy Abilities from Kirby's Adventure to a handheld system, but due to system limitations lowered the number of abilities to seven.

The game introduced three rideable animal companions: Rick the hamster, Coo the owl, and Kine the ocean sunfish.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 was the first game in the series to be directed by Shinichi Shimomura instead of Masahiro Sakurai.

Kirby's Block Ball, released for the Game Boy on December 14, 1995, in Japan, on March 13, 1996, in North America and on August 29, 1996, in Europe, is a variation of the game Breakout, featuring multiple levels, some of Kirby's Copy Abilities, and various enemies in unique boss battles.

The game features "Helpers", which can be created by sacrificing the ability in use, to help the player dispatch enemies.

There was also a planned game called Kid Kirby that was to be released on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

It is considered a direct follow-up to Kirby's Dream Land 3 due to the reemergence of Dark Matter and the final boss, albeit in a different form, called 02 (Zero Two).

Tilt 'n' Tumble is the only Kirby game to have a special cartridge color (transparent pink) in North America.

Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2 on the GameCube, which was supposed to use a combination of motion-sensor technology and connectivity to the Game Boy Advance via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance Cable, was presented during Nintendo Space World 2001 and scheduled for a May 2002 release in Japan.

At a later point, the game was concepted as a full 3D platformer visually similar to Kirby Air Ride, but also canceled because it did not achieve HAL Laboratory's quality standards.

[17] In late 2002, Nintendo released Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, an enhanced remake of Kirby's Adventure for the Game Boy Advance (GBA)[18] featuring updated graphics and sound, multiplayer support, and a new mode starring one of the game's bosses, Meta Knight.

Also unique was the in-game phone, which can be used to summon up to three additional copies of Kirby to fight enemies and solve puzzles.

Instead, Kirby is a helpless ball, and can only move when he gains momentum, the player painting paths with the stylus to direct his movement.

[22] A fourth game for the Nintendo DS was released in North America on September 19, 2011, Kirby Mass Attack.

[24] Unfortunately, Mass Attack would become one of the worst selling Kirby games of all-time due to being very late for the DS' release.

The unique multiplayer mechanic originally to be incorporated in the GameCube build became the special attack in Return to Dream Land (where all players stack on each other, hold A and release at the same time).

[28] Similar to the Super Mario 25th Anniversary packaging in 2010, a booklet and a soundtrack containing music from the various games in the series are released alongside the disc.

Many items from the Kirby series also appear in Super Smash Bros. such as the Maxim Tomato (all games), Warp Star (since Melee), Dragoon (since Brawl) and Star Rod (all games) as items, and Knuckle Joe (since Brawl), Nightmare (since 3DS/Wii U) and Chef Kawasaki (Ultimate) appear as characters summoned by the Assist Trophy.

Kirby has also made cameo appearances in other games as well, such as The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, EarthBound, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Stunt Race FX, Arcana, Pokémon Stadium.

Not yet ready to achieve his destiny, Kirby must learn how to use his incredible abilities with the help of his friends, and sometimes with the help of the enigmatic Meta Knight, who, while claiming to be loyal to King Dedede, will often work behind the scenes in order to aid Kirby or train him in the use of his abilities.