One night Kirby awakes atop a giant beanstalk which has sprouted beneath his home. The beanstalk has carried his home and other landmarks of Dreamland to the land of Floralia. The pink puffball must now explore this new land, rescuing his friends, and save his homeland from the six-armed caterpillar Taranza.
The thirteenth game in the series,
Kirby: Triple Deluxe is a 2.5D side-scrolling platformer. Like many previous games, Kirby can copy abilities from inhaled enemies. Growing a rhino beetle horn to charge enemies and donning archery gear are two abilities new to this entry. After eating the rainbow colored Miracle Fruit, Kirby enters Hypernova mode which allows extremely large enemies and landscape objects to be eaten. While levels are predominately side-scrolling, Kirby can sometimes move to background planes in order to solve puzzles or traverse the level. Enemies may also attack from background planes.
As the main story progresses, other game modes are unlocked. These include:
- Kirby Fighters, a multi-player fighting mode (supports Download Play)
- Dedede's Drum Dash, a rhythm game
- The Arena, a boss-rush time trial
- Dedede Tour which allows the player to play the main game as King Dedede. High scores are shared via StreetPass.