How to beat King Dedede in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

King Dedede is the fourth main boss in Kirby and the Forgotten Land—he presents a dual to cap your journey in Winter Horns. Beating him is all you have to do to clear the stage, An Unexpected Beast King, and open the game's fifth area.

Tips on how to defeat King Dedede in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

When you land in the Danger under the Big Top stage and walk down a bit, you'll see a Maxim Tomato. This time, you can choose any one of the evolved versions of Drill, Ice, Fire, or Cutter. Take care of the two Awoofy guards and climb the stairs.

Dragon Fire may be your strongest Copy Ability to use against the King, his Royal Nemesis, at this point in the game. The purple fire will cling to Dedede and continue to deal massive damage even when you aren't attacking.

Once the fight begins, you can easily take out the King's guard with a couple of attacks while you see how the boss moves. He brings his hammer down both vertically and horizontally, so dodge or slide out of the way.

Soon, King Dedede will jump into the air a series of three times. He'll aim for you as he slams down and creates shockwaves that reverberate and damage you if you don't jump over them each time. The third jump will be much higher, but you'll see his shadow over you. Move when he lands, and you'll have a few seconds to attack while he's collecting himself.

Related: How to beat Clawroline in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Avoid King Dedede's column in phase two

Dedede will also rush and throw his entire body at you, only to fall face-down if you dodge with a slide. Phase two will begin when you deplete around half of Dedede's health, and he will ditch his hammer in favor of a huge building column. Inhale the hammer at this point and take on its Copy Ability if you want to complete one of the optional missions for this stage!

Dedede will slam the column onto the ground, creating a wide area of glowing cracks that explode after a few seconds. Get out of the way, and never stop moving! He will also aim the column down vertically two times in quick succession before he swipes it horizontally. Move to his rhythm for this attack, sliding first left then right to dodge the vertical hits, then simply jump the swipe.

The optional missions of the stage include:

• Swallow King Dedede's Hammer
• Clear without guarding
• Beat King Dedede within one minute and thirty seconds
• Clear without taking any damage

Beating King Dedede and accomplishing the other missions may require practice and multiple attempts. Try to perfect your dodging and timing, and consider using some of the Treasure Road stages to master your skills with each Copy Ability. Otherwise, think of bringing a Maxim Tomato with you to use in a pinch. And with that, congratulations on defeating the fourth main boss of Kirby and the Forgotten Land!

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