Don’t Catch a Cold in Winter Horns
After finishing up his time in Wondaria Remains, Kirby needs to head into the frigid depths of Winter Horns. The whole area is covered by snow and ice, and it looks like the aftermath of some apocalyptic action movie. There are giant buildings sinking into the water, frost-covered subways, and so much more to catch your eye. And while it’s not as pretty as the neon-lit nightmare of Wondaria Remains, there’s a lot to enjoy here. So put on a warm coat and join me for HPP’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Winter Horns Waddle Dee guide.
Winter Horns Stage 1: Northeast Frost Street
Missions – Clear the stage; Save the hidden Waddle Dees; Destroy 4 animal sculptures; Find the side alley; Reach the clock tower.
Northeast Frost Street just sounds like a cozy place to live, doesn’t it? Unfortunately for Kirby, it’s not quite so idyllic as he might hope. There are a lot of angry beasty boys, gun-toting lunatics, and shifting buildings to deal with. Luckily, it’s not too hard to find the hidden Waddle Dees here. But, first, Kirby needs to take out his frustration by destroying some artwork.
There are 4 animal sculptures hidden in Northeast Frost Street, and the first one is hidden in the opening area. It’s right behind the Ranger enemy, to the right. Take it out however you please.
Hidden right next to the first Warp Star is the second animal sculpture. It’s right by the tree. Blast it and fly to the next area.
The third sculpture is easy to miss. It’s at the start of the area with all the swaying buildings. Before you start climbing them, take the little staircase detour down to the well-hidden pile of snow.
The final sculpture is in the area with the staircases, near the top. Just waddle on over and put the frosty pup out of its misery.
The side alley is really easy to find, so long as you don’t race through the level. It’s in the first part of the first area, before climbing up to the area with the vending machine. Look for a hidden alcove to your left.
Keep walking left, and you’ll find a nice little area with loot and a sleeping Awoofie. Grab the coins and leave. That’s all you need to do to fulfill this mission.
The final side mission is one of my favorites. First, you have to reach a clock tower that appears to be unreachable. But if you are careful, you can float over to it from behind the stage exit. Just go to the break in the fence and start hovering left, and you’ll make it there. Then ride the Warp Star that appears back to the exit, and voila!
Now, let’s catch some Waddle Dees, shall we? There are 4 total in this corner of Winter Horns. The first one will require the Vending Machine and some good aiming on your part. First, deal with the mad bombers to unlock the vending machine. Then transform and find the bomb block. Hit it with a can to open the path to the Waddle Dee.
There are a couple angry penguins rolling snowballs in your way, but they’re nothing a flurry of soda cans can’t fix. So keep moving forwards and break the wall behind them to get your first Waddle Dee.
The second Waddle Dee is in a hidden challenge room. You’ll need Ranger to hit a target to open it to the left of this area. Just follow the coins, jump, and fire quickly.
Once inside the room, use Ranger to hit the star switch. Then when the gate opens, hit the rapidly moving target.
Once you succeed, a pathway opens to the next Waddle Dee.
Towards the end of the section with the swaying buildings is a trio of angry penguins rolling snowy death balls. Behind them, inside the wall, is a bomb switch. Smash it to reveal the little Waddle.
For the final Waddle Dee, you’ll need a little help from Mouthful Mode staircase power. Above where you find the fourth animal sculpture is a staircase. You’ll need to transform, head left, and fall down.
Then waddle right and look for some suspicious cracks. Smash through them with the staircase to reveal a Waddle guarded by a bull. Make short work of the bull, spit out the staircase, and climb up to claim your prize.
Winter Horns Stage 2: Metro on Ice
Missions – Clear the stage; Save the hidden Waddle Dees; Stand on top of 2 trains; Find 2 secret passages; Check inside the shipping container.
Metro on Ice might sound like a musical, but it’s more post-apocalyptic. Think of any movie where the elements turn against humanity, and this is what was left afterwards. It’s strangely beautiful and also dangerous. There are lots of areas Kirby cannot touch, otherwise, he’ll freeze and instantly die. And there are a lot of holes in your path. First off, Kirby has to be a tourist and jump a couple of trains.
Both trains are helpfully in the same area. The first one is to the right after the second seal. Look for a platform with a Bomb walking on it. You can either destroy the bomb or gobble it up for later.
Once you reach that platform, hover over and stand on the train for a second until the achievement registers.
The next train is after the small battle arena you get locked in. Defeat all the foes, and make sure you grab a Hammer. Then walk a bit further and head left.
Jump up, and there is another train for Kirby to mark as his own.
Now, hold onto your Hammer, since you’ll need it to find one of the secret areas. In the section with the falling icicles, look for star switches that need to be hammered. The second group of them will reveal a secret passage once you hit all three.
Take note of this area, since you’ll find one of the Waddle Dees there later.
Barricades are no match for the floaty power of Kirby!
As for the second secret area, all you need is to find it. Look for a barricade on the right, and just jump over it.
That will reveal an area with some lockers and enemies, as well as an Invincible Candy.
Now, the shipping container mission will require you to have the traffic cone transformation. Walk over to the area with the moving wall of metal. Look for a crack in the floor, and smash it.
This leads up to a hidden back area with a pipe. Burst it and follow the water up.
Then move to the right, and you’ll find the shipping container with some cardboard boxes in front. Just smash them to fulfill this mission!
Now, the first Waddle Dee is at the end of the first area with the trains. You need to slam all 4 star switches there with the Hammer.
Then the floor will reveal a hole with the little guy inside.
Now, remember the area you revealed after finding the first secret area? Follow the stairs down, and you’ll be in a room with green crystals. You’ll just need to collect all of them.
Once you do, the little guy will be released from Waddle prison.
The third Waddle is in the vertical section after the second secret area. He’s guarded by a bomb-throwing seal, but if you grabbed that Invincible Candy, he’s no match for you. Open the chest, and inside is another friend.
The fourth and final Waddle Dee is unmissable if you went to the shipping container. He’s very visible on the route there, so just grab him.
Winter Horns Stage 3: Windy, Freezing Seas
Missions – Clear the stage; Save the hidden Waddle Dees; Find a cave that’s safe from the wind; Enjoy 3 meals at sea; Jump into the secret underground room.
Windy, Freezing Seas is a tricky Winter Horns stage. Mostly cause the wind likes pushing Kirby around, and it’s easy to miss some well-hidden side areas. But with our help, you shouldn’t have too much trouble navigating these stormy seas.
Firstly, to reach that cave, you’ll need Needle. In the area after you Mouthful Pipe crash into the wall, you can actually go all the way left.
If you want to be a monster, have Kirby ‘deal with’ these Awoofies…
But to beat the wind, you’ll have to Needle roll through, and then enter the cave full of goodies.
In the section with the boat and Ring-Mouth, you’ll find 3 meals as you glide around.
The first meal is right after you get on the boat.
Note I accidentally destroyed the destructible section before taking this screenshot.
The second is right before a destructible section near the angry seal.
The final meal is by the fan. Look for the group of happy orange psychopaths, and you’ll have a happy and full Kirby.
For the hidden area, it’s in the last part of the stage with wind blowing Kirby forwards. Use Fire to light the two lanterns. Keep in mind the second is behind a wall of ice on the left.
Follow the trails of coins. The first one will lead to a Waddle Dee.
The second trail will lead to a hole Kirby can jump inside. Now for the rest of the missions and capturing those hidden Waddle Dees!
The very first Waddle Dee is found in the first area. Just turn into a pipe and roll through the wall to find him.
The second one is right by where you found the final meal at sea. Just blow the fan to open the gate, and dog paddle on in.
The third Waddle is at the end of the boat section. Before climbing the ladder, look for a glowing spot. Touch it to reveal a pathway to the right.
Once you walk over, the camera will pan to reveal a icy wall. Use Fire to melt it away and save the Dee.
As for the final Waddle, he’s in the underground room. You’ll need fire to get to him. Light the fuse, and then transform into Scissor Lift and roll on over, careful not to touch the Gordo.
Extend and jump out to get into the cannon.
It’ll blow you up to a section with the final Waddle.
Winter Horns Stage 4: The Battle of Blizzard Bridge
Missions – Clear the stage; Save the hidden Waddle Dees; Remove 4 wanted posters; Beat Twin Wild Frosty without getting hit; Take a detour and find a Maxim Tomato.
The Battle of Blizzard Bridge is one of my favorite areas in the Winter Horns Waddle Dee guide. It’s full of mini-boss fights and some careful platforming. It’s also devious, sneaky, and fully of tricks. Case in point, the first mission we’re going after is the last one on the list – finding a Maxim Tomato.
I’ll admit this is one of the rare occasions I had to look online for guidance. And once I figured out where the tomato hid, I was utterly flabbergasted. Because it’s right at the beginning of the stage. You need to jump over the rubble on your left and float high above it.
Glorious!
Once you get over it, just keep walking, and you’ll find the hidden Maxim Tomato.
Now, as for the wanted posters, they’re all hidden in side rooms along with Waddle Dees. So we’re gonna combine those into larger sections for clarity’s sake.
The first hidden room takes place after the Wild Edge fight, so make sure you gobble up Sword, or hang onto Cutter from before the fight. To the left of the turkey is a hole in the wall. Walk on through.
Once you are in the room, cut the vine to release the Kraken…ahem, the traffic cone. Same thing. Go ahead and transform.
Maneuver using the moving platforms and get to the very bottom of the area. See that crack? Smash it.
That reveals a chest with the Waddle Dee hidden inside. But if you glance left, you’ll see the first wanted poster. Knock it down, grab the Dee and leave the area.
After you beat Fleurina, gobble up her Tornado and look to the right of the food. Enter the hole for the next hidden area.
Once inside, you’ll need to be on your toes. Kirby needs to tornado past the fan, and then enter the now unlocked room and hit the star switch, all in one go.
Leave the alcove with the switch and become a vending machine. Then run across the falling platforms to reach the area on the left. Break the shutter to get access.
Inside you’ll find the second hidden Waddle Dee. Don’t leave the area yet, though.
Look above the entrance and find some newly revealed blocks. Climb them to find the next wanted poster.
After dealing with Wild Bonkers and absorbing his Hammer, smash the giant Moai head. Behind him, you’ll find a switch to hammer, which opens another hidden door on the left. Walk on in.
Inside, you’ll find an angry hammer-throwing monkey, a switch to hammer, and a wanted poster. You know what to do. Once that switch is hammered, the clock will start ticking. Run to the left, climb up and transform into a car.
Race the clock heading right, and break through the gate to grab the next Waddle Dee.
I’m just gonna be honest with you. It’s nearly impossible to get the next Waddle Dee without taking some damage. He’s right before the final mini-boss fight. You need to fall down, grab him, and then immediately puff back up. If you don’t time it perfectly, Kirby will freeze and respawn up top. So just do your best.
The final Waddle Dee and wanted poster are in a fourth hidden area after the final mini-boss.
When you can see the stage exit, head right equipped with Ice. Use it to deal with the flaming blocks and gain entry to the room.
Inside, use your icy breath to freeze the Moai head and knock him forwards. He’ll loop right and hit the start switch, raising a waterlogged platform.
Transform into a pipe, roll using the platform, and smash into the wall. Then just deal with the final wanted poster and grab your last Waddle.
Now, the final mission is a doozy. Beating Twin Wild Frosty is challenging enough, with two enraged walruses attacking you simultaneously. But doing so without taking damage is another thing entirely. I suggest going into the battle with Fire, and carefully dodging their charge attacks and projectiles. Once they get dizzy, burn them and let the progressive burn damage whittle away their health. If they try and hug you, run and dodge until they tire out, otherwise, you’ll take a ton of damage. And don’t be ashamed if this takes you a few tries, cause it took me a handful of attempts as well.
Winter Horns Boss Stage: An Unexpected Beast King
Missions – Clear the stage; Swallow King Dedede’s hammer; Clear without guarding; Clear within 1:30; Clear without taking any damage.
The first battle against King Dedede is no joke. He’s not currently his jolly self, and he wants nothing more than to destroy the pink puffball. And even if you go into the battle with the right copy ability, some of these missions might prove quite challenging.
So before you even start the battle, I suggest grabbing 5 Rare Stones from Treasure Road stages and then going to Waddle Dee Town.
There, upgrade the Fire ability to Volcano Fire. It makes your fiery attacks hit harder and faster, which is quite helpful. Okay, back to the battle against frosty Dedede.
Once properly equipped, he’s hard but not unbeatable. Just keep dodging past his attacks (which incidentally fulfills the third mission) and don’t let up. After you get to the midway point of the battle, you can gobble up his Hammer. The second half Dedede swings around a giant column and uses ever more complex attack combos. Just do your best to keep dodging and attacking, and he’ll eventually go down for the count.
There you have HPP’s Winter Horns Waddle Dee guide. We hope you find this journey through the frost and snow helpful. And be sure to join us in the desert next time for our Originull Wasteland guide!
