Helper to Hero is a remix of the classic Arena mode. Instead of fighting a plethora of bosses with Kirby and a helper, you're faced with the task of taking down 13 bosses with just one of 20 helpers; Kirby's nowhere to be found. This mode can be unlocked by clearing Meta Knightmare Ultra.
There's a 2-player option, in there are two helpers of the same type taking down foes. If the second helper isn't controlled by another player, the A.I. will take control, as if it was following Kirby. If the second helper dies, they'll be revived on the next rest-area visit with half health.
The Basics
Unlike in Arena, there's only 13 bosses, and they're always in the same order:
- Whispy Woods
- Mid-Boss All Stars 1 (Chef Kawasaki, Bonkers, then Bugzy)
- Kracko
- King Dedede
- Dyna Blade
- Fatty Whale
- Chameleo Arm
- Mid-Boss All Stars 2 (Poppy Bros. Sr, Mr. Frosty, Iron Mom, then Jukiddo)
- Twin Woods (Two Whispy Woods simultaneously)
- Heavy Lobster
- Computer Virus
- Meta Knight
- Wham Bam Rock / Wham Bam Jewel
Between each fight, you'll be transported to a rest area of sorts. You'll have a preview of who you're fighting next, the doorway to the next match, and a tree adorned with three Maxim Tomatoes. If you eat a Maxim Tomato, it'll be replaced with a regular tomato, and if you eat that, you're out of Tomatoes. Once all the tomatoes are gone, you won't be able to heal yourself until the game ends, so conserve them whenever possible.
You'll eventually need to clear this with all 20 Helpers if you want 100% completion, but you only need to beat it once to unlock The TRUE Arena. Bonkers (Hammer ability) can deal immense damage, killing most bosses in a handful of hits, which makes him the one of easiest to clear this mode with. Rocky (Stone) is perhaps the better choice if you're more defensive and patient, as opposed to a berserker like Bonkers is.
The Helpers
Knuckle Joe (Fighter)
Although he's featured in the cinematic opening, he isn't too special. He doesn't excel anywhere particularly, but doesn't have many drawbacks either. Rather, he is the basic fighter from which all other helpers are measured against. Rising Break (Up+Attack) is powerful, but risky against anyone except Whispy Woods. You'll mostly be using hold-B moves, and his throw when you get the chance.
Parasol Waddle Dee (Parasol)
Parasol is kind of odd; the parasol usually isn't handy for defense... but he excels where he can use Circus Throw, and fails everywhere else.
As far as you're concerned, he can now only use Parasol Swing and Circus Throw. His other moves tend to make him charge straight through the boss, taking more damage than he deals. The little "sprinkles" that fly off Parasol Swing are incredibly weak, so you'll want to get close enough for the enemy to be hit by the umbrella--unfortunately this is still not too much damage for its proximity. You can use Circus Throw to toss a target up or forward, but more important than that, you automatically toss them up and down a few times on your umbrella. While you're dancing them on the umbrella, they can hit nearby bosses... HARD. Kracko or Dyna Blade can go down in one move if you circus Kracko's Waddle Doos under him, or Dyna Blade's stars directly next to her. Unfortunately, moss bosses than you can't circus throw (Chameleo Arm, Fatty Whale, and Heavy Lobster most notably) are rather difficult, especially considering you can basically only fight them with Parasol Swing.
Chilly (Ice)
He's... pretty weak, most often. His dash is rather slow, and doesn't stop easily, which can end up crashing you straight into the boss. His snow attacks are weak and lack much range too. You're basically coasting on his throw, Ice Suction (which you should use WHENEVER possible), and kicking blocks of ice at your foes. When those options aren't available, his Ice Storm (dash attack) is your best option--Chilly bounces away after he strikes with this, which helps you keep range, and it's apparently more damaging than the more snow-like attacks.
Chameleo Arm, Kracko, and Wham Bam Jewel are arguably his most difficult adversaries. On Chameleo, try to avoid attacking him while he's in the air--his legs always seem to reach out to strike when you least expect it. With Kracko, hide in a corner and wait for him to spit out a Waddle Doo--then Ice Suction it or freeze it, then wait for Kracko to spiral down. When he does, unleash the suction or kick the ice cube. If that doesn't seem to be working, Super Ice Sprinkle can defeat Kracko... just not as efficiently.
There's no foolproof way to take care of Wham Bam, but whenever he drops rocks on you, freeze as many of them as you can, then wait nearby them, holding down Guard. When the big guy slams his fist down, he'll hit the ice blocks, which can do a decent amount of damage. Chilly's guard knocks down the fist-slam to only a couple points of damage anyway. Just be careful he isn't winding up for a grab, a cross-screen punch, or bomb-dropping, as any of those can break your guard.
Blade Knight (Sword)
Hes... kind of not that great, but is decent. Although his standard chop can be effective, it can also be risky. The hop he takes on the second swing advances him closer to the enemy, so you'll want to avoid using it repeatedly. Most bosses only take damage for one one for every few frames--and this usually means they won't take any damage from the second chop (the most powerful of the entire combo) if you mash in the button. Instead, pause a split second after the first chop before pressing the button a second time for the second chop. If you're doing it right, you'll be able to hear the slashing "twing!" for both strikes. The third part of the combo isn't that powerful, and can leave you vulnerable since it lasts so long, so you might want to stick with the one-two and forget the three.
His aerial chop and down-stab are pretty effective and safe, considering he bounces away from the target after the attack lands. The dash-Stab and dash-jump Sword Spin don't seem very effective, and often having you running straight into the boss for damage anyway.
Simirror (Mirror)
Man. This guy isn't too hot, at least not damage or speed-wise. His standard Mirror Cut is the most powerful, but it has practically no range, making it tricky to use sometimes. His dashing Mirror Body by contrast is the safest, but also not too strong. Reflect Force (hold B) isn't too strong, and can have dangerous duration as well--not normally your first priority.
However... Simirror can reflect projectiles with his guard and Reflect Force, so he excels in that regard. In fact, that's the reason he's the only Helper aside from Rocky who can easily escape Computer Virus completely unscathed.
Sir Kibble (Cutter)
Plasma Wisp (Plasma)
Waddle Doo (Beam)
Poppy Bros. Jr (Bomb)
Bomb is a pretty straightforward ability. Take out a bomb, aim it, repeat. Poppy Jr has no real frills. It can be used effectively on any boss, but unfortunately, these Bombs aren't too damaging for explosives, so you'll probably spend more time fighting--which also means you'll spend more time taking attacks.
Gim (Yo-yo)
Like bomb, Yo-yo is mostly straightforward. Just toss it in the direction of your enemy. Break Spin is worthless against these bosses, but Gazer Spiral is a fantastic move. It deals the most damage, and simply slaughters the airborne bosses (Kracko, Chameleo, and Wham Bam) that other abilities tend to have problems with. It also makes Gim invincible, and can be used straight through Wham Bam's pounds. His throw, Hammer Drop, is incredibly damaging and can make up for the weakness of Gim's other moves. Although Gim's easy to use, he won't be getting the fastest time anytime soon.
Birdon (Wing)
At first, Birdon might not seem that great. But once you start spamming Condor Dive (Template:Air+Dpad down+
) and it's produced waves, this bird actually becomes an impressive fighter. This one move is moderately-to-incredibly effective against everyone... except... unfortunately, Wham Bam Rock and Wham Bam Jewel. Against them your only real option is Condor Head (dash+B).
Feather Gun (B) isn't a great move, but it can be used between Condor Dives and Condor Heads. Although Shuttle Loop is a powerful throw that covers a wide area, Birdon unfortunately has a tendency to run into the boss unguarded after she uses it, which makes it more risky than its worth. Notably, Kracko seems to be vulnerable to the throw if you can time it right.
Biospark (Ninja)
Biospark has a rapid-fire long-range projectile, a bounce-off kick, a powerful throw with huge range, Quad Shock, and he has the fastest dash of all. He kicks ass, second only to Bonkers. His only real "weakness" is Chameleo Arm, but if you can grab one of his paintballs and Air Drop it back onto him, you'll take away a chunky portion of his health. Air Drop is amazingly powerful, and can take out nearly any boss in three hits. It's also a perfect move for when Kracko or Wham Bam Jewel drop things on you.
Bonkers (Hammer)
Forget strategy. Bonkers can hammer anything to death in a matter of seconds. Use his Hammer Flip (
+) properly, and make that milliseconds.
Burning Leo (Fire)
There's two basic ways to play Leo: speedy or safe.
Leo has two amazing moves that deal a ton of damage, at the cost of being the shortest-range moves in the game. These would be Fireball Inferno and Fireball Spin, the two attacks that make up "speedy" play. When used properly, they can kill as fast (if not faster) than Bonkers, especially on static bosses like Whispy Woods, Twin Woods, and Computer Virus.
The safer way to play borrows the invincibility of his Burn dash, and Fireball Roll. When those can't be used, Fire Breath is a pretty handy move as well, especially considering it can be aimed with 
. It can even block most of Computer Virus's projectile attacks.
Although Leo's still pretty easy to use against anyone, he has slight problems with Fatty Whale and Meta Knight. The Whale is a problem because he moves around a lot, and he's too large to Burn-dash through. He can still be defeated just as well, but it takes more patience and Fire Breath than other bosses. Meta Knight involves a lot of luck. Ideally he'll dash to the edge of the stage before charging up his screen-covering Tornado move, at which point you'll be able to jump behind him and unleash a few hits of Fireball Inferno. But when that opportunity doesn't present itself, Burn-dashes and Fire Rolls seem to be your best bets.
Capsule J2 (Jet)
Capsule J may not be a fan favorite, but he's pretty decent boss-killer. His fully-charged jet dash provides invincibility, does a good amount of damage, and is effective on just about everything. His fully-charged throw is... bluntly... epic. It covers a massive area and tosses the grabbed enemy a decent distance. Even if it hit once, it would be powerful, but you can usually hit once on the loop and a a second time after you land.
Wham Bam Jewel is his only problematic opponent, and unfortunately you have to fight him twice (more or less). Still, his dash is effective enough to kill. When Wham Bam gets low on health and starts attacking faster, jetting is a pretty fast way to escape being squashed, while also doing damage.
The real trick to Capsule J is charging his jet wherever you can, then saving it by guarding. Jumping out of a charge works too, but it takes much more time.