The Kirby Encyclopedia:Chronology

This page is a guideline to help contributors organize the information surrounding the events of Kirby-related video games, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, and other related media to place in articles, specifically under a "History" section. In most cases, articles must be written according to these guidelines in order to maintain consistency throughout The Kirby Encyclopedia.

Articles must list information about a subject according to the release date of the sources. Different sources may have different release dates in different regions, especially before the Nintendo Switch era, but sorting the subjects should be done according to the first release, which for most Kirby-related media is in Japan. "Background" sections can be made to cover events that are known to occur before the subject's actual first appearance. Links between games can also be mentioned in the sections, but the section order itself should not be changed to reflect the events from an in-universe perspective.

Although information from one source may be listed after another source, that does not mean the events depicted literally occurred after, and writers should not make such an assertion (unless HAL Laboratory of Nintendo has established a connection between the two sources). While information may be divided into different sections based on the series they are from, this does not reflect that certain media products are more or less canonical than any other source.

Guidelines
Here are the specific guidelines to be followed when organizing historical or biographical information in an article.

Release dates
Information in articles should be ordered according to the release date of the video game, television show, comic, and so forth. If the article is divided into various sub-sections, such as "Main series" or "Spinoffs," all information from sources that fall under that sub-section should be organized according to the release date. This type of organization does not mean that events listed earlier necessarily occurred earlier in the Kirby timeline; only if a source specifically establishes a chronological relationship with other titles should writers indicate as such. For example, there is no specific indication that the events of Kirby: Squeak Squad (first released in 2006) occurred after Kirby: Canvas Curse (first released in 2005). Regardless, the articles should still be sorted according to release date order. Also, if a title does reference earlier Kirby media, this should be mentioned in that later title's section, not the earlier one.

Direct sequels
The Kirby Encyclopedia chronology guideline also accounts for direct sequels in that they are usually released sequentially within their series, meaning their information is almost always placed back-to-back without further efforts being taken. For example, Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3 were released a few years apart, during which time some other games, such as Kirby's Block Ball and Kirby Super Star, came out. Because Kirby's Block Ball does not fall under the Kirby series, its section should not be placed between Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3. However, Kirby Super Star is a main series title, released in 1996, which is after when Kirby's Dream Land 2 was released but before Kirby's Dream Land 3, so Kirby Super Star's section would go between the two games, even if this does not list them in numerical order.

It is important to note that not all sequels are meant to be sequential, and ones having events that take place before their predecessors are known as prequels.

Discontinuities
As with most fictional media, there are bound to be inconsistencies between sources regarding the canon of the Kirby franchise. While many sources work well together and establish a (mostly) coherent narrative, other sources appear to take greater liberties with the content established by previous sources, including completely re-working character biographies and changing other pre-established conventions. Despite any differences, they are as official as any other source and should be treated as such.

Again, returning to the Kirby: Squeak Squad/Kirby: Canvas Curse example. There is no explicit connection between the two games, so we cannot speculate when each event occurs. Similarly, there is no explicit explanation for how the Kirby franchise is connected to the Super Smash Bros. series, so we cannot speculate on their relationship. Like remakes, diverging sources may simply represent different versions of the same events, or represent completely different events in the same timeline (or even something else entirely). In several cases, there is not any official evidence to establish the relationship between many sources.

As such, contradictory information surrounding the same basic event should still be presented equally and simultaneously, if possible. For instance, if there is contradictory information surrounding a character's backstory between different series or media, the information can all be put together within the "Background" section, without one source of information taking precedence unless it is backed by more official sources. If there is a contradiction that does not fit into the History's "Background" section, the information pertaining to the different sources should be kept within the separate sections.

If editors want to speculate in an attempt to rectify the discontinuity between various sources, they must do so under the collapsible template, which segregates it from official, sourced information. However, editors may draw attention to any discontinuities or plot holes, outside of the Speculation template, as these are factual.

Remakes
Generally, information regarding a remakes of a game should be included within the original release's section unless the remake has a lot of information that warrants it its own paragraph. If the subject of the article appeared in the remake but not the original game, the section should have the remake's title and be placed in the History according to the remake's release date. Remakes often include differences in plot and gameplay, which is usually when the remake should be separated into its own section, unless all of the differences can be covered within a single paragraph under the original game's section. Again, remember to sort the sections under History by release-date order, even if several sections are placed between the original release's section and the remake's section.

Examples of notable remakes include Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby Super Star Ultra. Direct ports or re-releases, such as on the Virtual Console, do not have to be mentioned in most cases.