The Kirby franchise is one that has stood the test of time. One big reason for this is Kirby's ability to consume an enemy and copy their abilities. This game mechanic was pretty innovative when Kirby first appeared in Kirby's Dreamland for the Game Boy back in 1992. In modern gaming, it's a game mechanic that many games have tried to copy, but none of them seem to do it as well, or have the charm, of the Kirby games.
There are 12 basic abilities Kirby can copy; though, each of the 12 have upgrades. This list will rank primarily on the base copy ability, but the power's upgrades will also be considered. If a particular upgrade is one of the best copy abilities in the game it will improve the ranking of the base copy ability.
12 Crash
The Crash copy ability is ranked last only due to its long charge time, and the fact it can only be used once. Using Crash, Kirby charges up then explodes. This does an incredible amount of damage to all enemies caught in the blast, but after the explosion Kirby is in his normal form.
The upgraded version of Crash is the Time Crash; this ability stops time. While time is stopped Kirby is free to move around and damage nearby enemies. The Time Crash is also limited to one use.
11 Sleep
The Sleep copy ability may be ranked low, but that doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, there will be many moments playing Kirby and The Forgotten Land when this will save Kirby's life. This ability causes Kirby to fall asleep, and while asleep Kirby's wounds are healed. This game's version of the Sleep copy ability allows Kirby to sleep walk instead of immediately falling to the ground.
The upgraded version, called Deep Sleep, causes Kirby to stop and sleep in a bed. When he's finished sleeping, Kirby is healed and given a temporary boost.
10 Bomb
The Bomb copy ability gives Kirby an unlimited amount of bombs to lob at the enemy. The player can aim where the bomb will land. If these bombs dealt more damage this ability would be ranked higher, but they're a little underwhelming - for bombs anyway.
The Chain Bomb upgrade lets Kirby lay out a group of bombs held in formation by a chain. When one explodes, they all explode. The Homing Bomb upgrade is actually pretty useful. These bombs have wheels and seek enemies.
9 Fire
The Fire copy ability has been in Kirby games for a while, and is consistently one of the more useful. This ability spews flame out like a flamethrower. The damage is continuous and leaves a burning effect that continues to deal damage. The problem with this ability is it doesn't do as much damage as one would expect from a flamethrower.
With the Volcano Fire upgrade, Kirby sends out lava covered rocks to strike enemies. This does a ton of damage, and is a huge improvement over the base Fire copy ability. The Dragon Fire works like the base ability; however, its flames are pink, and it does more damage.
8 Needle
With this copy ability Kirby transforms into a sea urchin-like ball and rolls over the enemy. This does decent damage, but is ranked high due to giving Kirby protection while in the air, whether flying or jumping. This ability also gives Kirby some protection while ducking.
The Clutter Needle upgrade looks like a Katamari Damacy game featuring Kirby, but operates like the base version. The Crystal Needle upgrade operates like the other two; except this version gives Kirby crystal projectiles to throw.
7 Tornado
This copy ability is highly ranked because it does good damage while letting Kirby stay highly mobile. Using the Tornado ability causes a tornado to begin spinning around Kirby. This tornado protects Kirby from harm, does not slow Kirby's movement, and damages nearby enemies. Not bad.
Other than looking a bit different, the Fleur Tornado upgrade operates like the base version. The Storm Tornado is why this copy ability is ranked so high; this ability pulls enemies in and deals massive damage to them.
6 Drill
This is one of the two new copy abilities introduced into the series with Kirby and The Forgotten Land. Using this ability lets Kirby burrow underground and move about. When under an enemy Kirby can erupt from the ground to cause damage. If Kirby burrows in a circle it will cause a violent eruption within the border.
Kirby can shoot pencils at a nearby enemy when launching out of the ground with the Pencil Drill upgrade. The Twin Drill upgrade does a lot more damage than the base version and can damage enemies while burrowing underneath them.
5 Hammer
This copy ability gives Kirby a giant mallet as a weapon. The player needs to get close, but there are few weapons that do as much damage as the Hammer. The Hammer has two charge powers; a weak and strong charge attack. The Hammer is simple, but effective.
The Hammer has three upgrades; the Toy Hammer, Wild Hammer, and Masked Hammer. The Toy Hammer attacks faster than the base version. The Wild Hammer is a stone mallet that's slower, but does more damage. The Masked Hammer gives Kirby twin hammers; these hammers attack extremely fast and can shoot a narrow wave of energy toward the target.
4 Ice
The Ice copy ability operates like Fire; instead of fire Kirby blows a freezing breeze at the enemy (like Superman). This does more damage than Fire. The Ice ability freezes the target after a few seconds of continuous use. When the enemy busts free of the ice they lose a huge chunk of their life bar. This copy ability also lets Kirby slide across the ground. This causes ice shards pop up from the ground in his wake.
Frosty Ice operates like the base version. The only difference is it summons damaging snowmen around the enemy. The Blizzard Ice upgrade is possibly the best copy ability in the game. It spews sharp ice shards at the enemy, can leave ice walls or spiked ice shards on the ground, and it has an overpowered charging attack.
3 Cutter
Besides giving Kirby a cool winged helm, the Cutter ability gives him spinning throwing blades that return like a boomerang. These blades do a lot of damage and can be thrown is rapid succession. This has a charge power that causes the spinning blade to stay by the target and deal additional damage.
The Chakram Cutter variant gives Kirby two projectiles to throw at once. The third upgrade, the Buzz-Saw Cutter, is definitely in the top three best copy abilities in the game. It fires spinning saw blades that zigzag around the immediate area.
2 Ranger
The Ranger is the other new copy ability introduced in Forgotten Lands. This ability gives Kirby a gun - a blunderbuss to be more specific. The standard shot has great range but is a low-damage attack. The level one charge attack is still a fairly fast attack and does a lot of damage. The level two charge attack does an insane amount of damage and has a laser sight to help aim.
A huge increase in attack speed is gained if the Noble Ranger upgrade is used. The Space Ranger upgrade is insanely overpowered. It gives Kirby a plasma gun whose projectiles knock enemies back. The level two charge attack sends out an energy wave that turns into a large singularity sphere that damages enemies trapped within.
1 Sword
The trusty Sword is still one of Kirby's best copy abilities. It gives Kirby a powerful melee attack with two levels of charge attacks. One of the charge attacks is a useful spinning attack. The Sword is also very flexible when mixing copy abilities - like creating a Fire Sword.
For a larger sword that does significantly more damage, the player can switch to the Gigant Sword upgrade. The Meta Knight Sword is better than the base version in every way, and has a Batman-like theme. The Morpho Knight Sword+ upgrade might be the best copy ability in the game. It shoots powerful energy projectiles with every swing of the sword.