How to win at the Colosseum in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

You can unlock the Colosseum in Kirby and the Forgotten Land by clearing the game's third area, Wondaria Remains. Meta Knight appears for the first time, and you can battle it out against past bosses in up to 12 consecutive fights. The best way to win is with skill—and your favorite Copy Abilities upgraded to the max. This guide goes into each of the Colosseum's cups with our tips for success.

Tips on how to beat every Colosseum Cup in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

The Colosseum's three cups and their general prizes are:

• Meta Knight Cup - 500 Star Coins and one Rare Stone
• Ultimate Cup - 1,500 Star Coins and one Rare Stone
• Ultimate Cup Z - 2,500 Star Coins and three Rare Stones

Meta Knight Cup

Six consecutive battles await you in the Meta Knight Cup. The first five fights are either Gorimondo, Tropic Woods, Clawroline, mini-bosses Wild Edge with Fleurina, and the other two mini-bosses Wild Frosty with Wild Bonkers. Meta Knight himself will always end the cup, but these first five battles occur in any order. Six Maxim Tomatoes are at your disposal on the benches to use between fights—the only way to replenish your life bar unless you have a useful item on hand to whip out in battle.

Whatever your progress through the game, make sure your favorite Copy Abilities are upgraded as high as you can get them. Upgrades to the final forms of each Copy Ability make a huge difference in the amount of damage you deal. For example, Storm Tornado is labeled with a "+Star" in its highest upgrade and will deal the greatest amount of damage possible with the ability.

If you're using "Tornado +Star" for the Meta Knight Cup, you can win in under a combined two-and-a-half minutes. Take advantage of every opening between the enemies' attacks to rush them with the tornado, building power as you hold down the action button, then releasing for lightning pulses that do residual damage.

Related: How to beat Meta Knight in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

The Ultimate Cup

The Ultimate Cup is unlocked once you clear one of the game's final areas, Redgar Forbidden Lands. This includes not six but 12 consecutive fights—that is, every main boss of the game's pre-credits story. You'll fight the six from the Meta Knight Cup again, as well as Sillydillo, King Dedede, Forgo Dedede, Leongar, Fecto Forgo, and Fecto Elfilis.

Whatever Copy Ability you have, it's vital that you remember how to defeat each of these bosses and can anticipate every one of their attacks. To win, you must use excellent timing and dodge well, knowing when to hover over or slide away from the attacks that require it. Know how to move around certain attacks, such as Leongar's huge energy beams or Fecto Elfilis's gargantuan space rock—none of which should be new to you.

The Ultimate Cup Z

Last, the Ultimate Cup Z opens when you've cleared Forgo Land, the last stage of the post-game area, Isolate Isles: Forgo Dreams. This Colosseum cup is the most difficult challenge of Kirby and the Forgotten Land and features the Phantom version of every boss you encountered in Forgo Dreams. You'll know the Phantom versions are much stronger than the originals, so your maxed-out Copy Abilities are a must for these brawls—especially Morpho Knight Sword, the strongest of them all.

However, Ultimate Cup Z contains a couple of exclusive encounters you won't see elsewhere in the game. Phantom Meta Knight can be any one of the first nine fights and throws flaming chunks of earth on you instead of the regular, non-flaming chunks. He does this three times—faster than before. You'll see Forgo Leon again for the tenth fight and Morpho Knight for the 11th, so try your best to keep from taking as little damage from them as possible.

Related: How to beat Fecto Elfilis in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Spoilers! Facing the true boss of Kirby and the Forgotten Land in the Ultimate Cup Z

Chaos Elfilis, first and second forms, is the other fresh encounter. If Morpho Knight was the real boss of the game when finishing Forgo Dreams, then this is the true one. Chaos Elfilis's first form is a more powerful version of Fecto Elfilis, the final boss of the main story. Attacks are more evolved and stronger than those of the original, encouraging you to attempt the Ultimate Cup Z multiple times. Remember that in its second phase, Elfilis will attempt to heal itself. It's imperative that you prevent this by attacking the real Chaos Elfilis after it makes five copies of itself.

Now, get ready to battle Chaos Elfilis' second form, the root of the trouble in the Forgotten Land. When you face off against the second form in this 12th Colosseum battle, never stop running in the opposite direction of the boss, or it will suck you into its black hole and damage what health you have left. Once you've evaded the black hole, dodge its laser attacks by running to the side or toward the boss. When it's time for the meteor attack, climb the pillars and do your best to hover, avoiding the blast.

Will you pay the cost of winning?

Suppose you still have a Maxim Tomato going into the last battle. In that case, you're not in the worst shape—especially since the Ultimate Cup Z only provisions you with seven regular fruits during twelve fights (one comes from a chest before facing Chaos Elfilis) that restore only small fractions of your life bar.

If you're defeated, you can try again, starting with the battle you lost and a full life bar—at the cost of 100 Star Coins the first time. Each time you die and decide to come back, this cost doubles each time you die, so it'll be 200 the second time. If you do this four times, you'd be paying a total of 1,500 valuable Star Coins. Or pay 1,600 to revive yourself a fifth time for a total of 3,100 Star Coins, if you feel so inclined. You can also consider changing the difficulty to Spring-Breeze Mode, which offers some players a more enjoyable experience but fewer Star Coins to collect along the way.

Interested in exploring the world of Kirby and the Forgotten Land and want to read more? Check out How to beat Fecto Forgo in Kirby and the Forgotten Land on Pro Game Guides.