Halberd

A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 14th and 15th centuries. The word halberd may come from the German words Halm (staff), and Barte (axe). In modern-day German, the weapon is called a Hellebarde. The halberd consists of an axe blade topped with a spike mounted on a long shaft. It always has a hook or thorn on the back side of the axe blade for grappling mounted combatants. It is very similar to certain forms of the voulge in design and usage. The halberd was usually 1.5 to 1.8 metres (5 to 6 feet) long.

History

The halberd was inexpensive to produce and very versatile in battle. As the halberd was eventually refined, its point was more fully developed to allow it to better deal with spears and pikes (also able to push back approaching horsemen), as was the hook opposite the axe head, which could be used to pull horsemen to the ground. Expert halberdiers were as deadly as any other weapon masters. A Swiss peasant used a halberd to kill Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy—decisively ending the Burgundian Wars, literally in a single stroke. Researchers suspect that a halberd or a bill sliced through the back of King Richard III's skull at the battle of Bosworth.

List of Kirby characters

This is a list of fictional characters in the Kirby video game series developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo.

Main characters

Kirby

Kirby (カービィ, Kābī) is a pink "puffball" who has been the star of a number of namesake games developed by HAL Laboratory. Kirby has appeared in over twenty games since 1992 and has starred in his own animated series. The Kirby series has sold over 33 million units worldwide. The core games of the series are platformers. The villains he encounters typically threaten his home of Dream Land (プププランド, Pupupu Rando, "Pupupu Land") on the planet Pop Star, most often the greedy King Dedede or the mysterious Meta Knight. The main games always have Kirby with the same basic abilities; he can walk, run, jump, float, and inhale and spit out or swallow his enemies. Following Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby was able to gain the abilities of the enemies he swallowed, such as Fire, Sword, Fighter, and Cutter. Kirby also can spit water out of his mouth while underwater. Kirby also has had his own anime.

Kirby (series)

The Kirby (星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābī, "Kirby of the Stars") series is a video game series developed by HAL Laboratory and Nintendo, and produced by Nintendo. The gameplay of a majority of the games in the series consists mainly of action, platform and puzzle-solving elements. The series is known for its bright and artistic settings, simplistic gameplay, cute characters, upbeat, cheerful music, and the protagonist's in-game ability to inhale enemies, thereby gaining a characteristic ability from them. Currently, the Kirby series includes a total of over twenty games, and has sold over 34 million units worldwide, putting it in the top 50 best selling video game franchises of all time.

Overview

All of the games in the Kirby series feature a pink spherical creature named Kirby as the main playable character and protagonist. Kirby frequently saves the world he resides in from various powerful antagonists, the most recurring one being King Dedede, the self-proclaimed ruler of Dream Land (a region of Pop Star). King Dedede has appeared in every Kirby game except for Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. Another major character of the series is the enigmatic Meta Knight, a chivalrous warrior who often assists Kirby, but, depending on his intentions, will fight against Kirby to get things as he desires.