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Mint Leaf

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Mint Leaf
Model of the Mint Leaf from Kirby Fighters 2
Details
UseCausing Kirby to continuously shoot Air Bullets.
ObtainedVarious points in stages or randomly generated.
Game(s)Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Pinball Land
Kirby: Triple Deluxe (Kirby Fighters)
Kirby Fighters Deluxe
Kirby Fighters 2
Comparable toSuperspicy Curry
Balloon (item)
Theme music

Clip of the theme that plays when using the Mint Leaf in Kirby's Dream Land.
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The Mint Leaf is an item in the Kirby series that first appeared in Kirby's Dream Land. It lets Kirby use his Air Bullet attack in the air without falling afterwards, essentially allowing him to rapid-fire his enemies. The item's effect is a reference to real-life mint leaves giving better breath.

In the Japanese versions of the games, this item is not a leaf, but a Sweet Potato,[1] in reference to real-life sweet potatoes often being the cause of hiccups; the reason for the name mismatch may be due to cultural differences, as the association between sweet potatoes and hiccups is not as strong outside of Japan. Regardless, the regional difference has been solidified in Kirby: Triple Deluxe onwards by making the item distinctly different in appearance between versions.

Game appearances[edit]

Kirby's Dream Land[edit]

The Mint Leaf first appears in Kirby's Dream Land, and can be found within the Float Islands, Bubbly Clouds, and Mt. Dedede stages. It is most notably used during the battle against Kaboola, where it does not run out until after the battle is over. When Kirby is under the effect of the Mint Leaf item, the "Shooting" theme plays, much like when he is using the Superspicy Curry.

Kirby's Pinball Land[edit]

The Mint Leaf appears as one of the items which Kirby can eat in the bonus game for Kracko Land. When a Mint Leaf is eaten, it confers 1000 points, and has no additional effects.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby Fighters Deluxe, and Kirby Fighters 2[edit]

Model of the Sweet Potato from the Japanese version of Kirby Fighters 2
Screenshot of Kirby using a Mint Leaf to attack his opponents in Kirby Fighters
This lets you attack with Air Bullets for a little while.
— In-game tip from Kirby Fighters 2

In Kirby: Triple Deluxe, the Mint Leaf appears as one of the keychains, resembling its original sprite from Kirby's Dream Land.

In the Kirby Fighters games, the Mint Leaf returns as an offensive item with a similar function, appearing at random during most battles. Notably, it now clearly resembles a sweet potato in the Japanese version and an actual mint leaf in international versions. After picking up this item, instead of puffing manually, the fighter shoots out Air Bullets automatically, pausing briefly after five puffs, with each bullet dealing 10 damage for the first hit and 5 thereafter. After firing 20 of these bullets (or enough time passes), the fighter puffs out one last giant Air Bullet which deals 24 damage. If the player holds the B button while under the effect of the Mint Leaf, the current direction they are facing will be locked, allowing them to move backwards while firing.

In Story Mode: The Destined Rivals, there is a story item called the Mint Leaf Sticker, which doubles the attack power of the Air Bullets the player's fighter fires after picking up a Mint Leaf.

Kirby's Dream Buffet[edit]

While the Mint Leaf does not appear directly in Kirby's Dream Buffet, it is depicted on a Character Treat, using its sprite from Kirby's Dream Land.

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya![edit]

The baked potato sushi from Dedede's Raw Deal

In Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, it appears in the Dedede's Raw Deal episode in its original form as a baked sweet potato. However, its hiccuping powers come as a hindrance rather than a help to Kirby this time around. In the episode, Kirby eats it off of a sushi revolver. He is then attacked by an overgrown Squishy, and his inhaling powers are prevented by the hiccups that result from eating the potato sushi. As such, he starts off on the losing side of the battle. However, Tiff scares his wits out by saying he'll starve if his hiccups don't cease, which makes Kirby (who is known for his gluttonous nature) jump in fear and release his hiccups.

Trivia[edit]

  • Despite being based on a real-life food item, the Mint Leaf does not restore any health when consumed. As such, it does not count as food in the Kirby series.
  • The Mint Leaf is only referred to as a sweet potato in the Japanese version of the series (and looks the part in Kirby Fighters); even the Korean and Chinese localizations, which normally are literal translations from the original Japanese version in many ways, refer to it as a Mint Leaf and have the item look like such in Kirby Fighters.

Gallery[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

Mint Leaf[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese ミントリーフ[2]
minto rīfu
Mint Leaf
Traditional Chinese 薄荷葉
Bòhé yè
Mint Leaf
Simplified Chinese 薄荷叶
Bòhé yè
Dutch Muntblaadje Mint leaf
French Feuille de menthe Mint Leaf
German Minzblatt Mint Leaf
Italian Foglia di Menta Mint Leaf
Korean 민트 잎
Minteu Ip
Mint Leaf
Portuguese Folha de menta Mint Leaf
Spanish Hoja de menta Mint Leaf


Sweet Potato[edit]

Language Name Meaning
Japanese さつまいも[2]
Satsuma-imo
やきいも[3]
Yaki-imo
Sweet potato
Roasted sweet potato
French Patate douce[4] Sweet potato
German Süßkartoffel[5] Sweet potato
Italian Patata dolce[6] Sweet potato
Korean 고구마[7]
goguma
Sweet Potato
Spanish Batata[8] Sweet potato

References

  1. "Sweet Potato/Mint Leaf in Kirby Fighters
    Did you know that in the Japanese version of Kirby's Dream Land, the Mint Leaf item was a Sweet Potato? When we decided to bring this item back in Kirby Fighters, we had a lot of trouble creating a convincing 3D model of a Sweet Potato. Of course, it stayed as the Mint Leaf in the non-Japanese versions. I think it gives quite a nice image of Kirby puffing out gust after gust of minty-fresh breath!
    " –Tadashi Kamitake (Kirby: Triple Deluxe Miiverse)
  2. 2.0 2.1 "カービィファイターズのさつまいも
    さつまいもは初代カービィで登場するアイテムです。3Dモデルにする際には、さつまいもにみえず苦労しました。ちなみに、海外版の初代カービィでは、「さつまいも」が「ミントリーフ」という名前に変わっています。空気弾を連続して吐くところが、ミントを食べたときのさわやかな息を吐くイメージだったのでしょうね。トリプルデラックスの海外版でも、「さつまいも」はもちろん「ミントリーフ」になっています。
    " –Tadashi Kamitake (Kirby: Triple Deluxe Miiverse)
  3. In the Japanese title for "Shooting", and the anime.
  4. Kirby: Triple Deluxe French Miiverse
  5. Kirby: Triple Deluxe German Miiverse
  6. Kirby: Triple Deluxe Italian Miiverse
  7. TCRF article documenting an early Korean translation for Kirby: Triple Deluxe
  8. Kirby: Triple Deluxe Spanish Miiverse