Hiii! I come here on this Funky Friday bearing a very splashy dude, Floaty the Cell Core! From that name alone you can expect great things, it’s such an endearing name, this is not any Cell Core, this is Floaty, everyone loves Floaty!
They are a blob with conjoined eyes for most of its face, and they’re floating in a water bubble! which itself also floats around, I guess this is a “Cell”, Floaty being its core.
So from this name we can assume Floaty is just one from multiple Cell Cores right? Well in-game they are the only one, bur fortunately, HAL Labs released a TON of concept art for this guy! And most of the beta designs are SO drastically different, but they all are creatures inside a bubble of water, so I like to think those are the other non-Floaty Cell Cores! This post will be about this lovely family!
Starting with this guy! A funny octopus with two tiny tentacles, they look crossed, I assume this means they’re constantly moving to keep them afloat, swimming at all times, must get tiresome! They also have a big siphon that looks like a cannon, a classic Funny Octopus Enemy trope! this design is also very reminiscent of Gushen from Super Mario Odyssey! Being another Funny Octopus Enemy inside a water bubble.
This little cutie has a sleepy face, which seems to peek out of the water bubble a bit! and two funny ears
This guy IS the Cell water bubble, they’re shaped like a propeller and have a silly mouth, their Core seems non-sentient, and like some sort of amoeba!
This cutie is one of my faves!! They look so excited to be here! two tiny arms and a tip on the bottom! As for the Cell, the funny ears are back, and it’s shaped like a pacman ghost!
Also there are a lot of these guys, big family of Cell Cores! So the rest will be inside a Read More ==:) Hopefully You’re already convinced they are all so lovely you’ll want to meet them all!
This one has got to be one of the most beloved ones, it’s a little green Blipper that’s controlling the Cell through some funny levers! He looks like he’s doing his best in there, he must’ve trained hard to learn how to control this
This one is very interesting, the Cell is a fishie! and the core is a surprisingly realistic heart! it also kinda looks like a butt hehehe
This guy means BUSINESS, they’re clearly a veteran Cell Pilot, they’ve been doing this for years and they’re very confident, also the Cell looks like a Mamanti which is awesome!
The Cell in this one is another propeller, but it’s the Core that’s an absolute revolution! There’s a silly little bean guy inside! Just smiling! Happy in the knowledge they are floating inside a funny bubble, Kirby is shocked by the incredible energy of their presence.
The Propeller Cell is EVIL now, and the Core is a mischievous spiky little guy to match!
A Blipper inside a Cell shaped like one! and it has some sort of breathing apparatus!
And a matching set for Bronto Burt! This one’s specially funny because Bronto Burts have bug wings, what are you doing underwater! They gave them goggles though and they seem rather content!
This was the first concept art sheet, the next one has a LOT more and with more developed art, which means there really was so much love and effort put into the Cell Core enemy, and I’m glad.
This innocent little guy is peeking from within the Cell, which has little bumps around, I also love the funny dangly bit they have on top of the head, really important feature
Another one of my favorites! Sweet little tadpole friend, they have a cute snout, and a bobbly! Everyone loves bobblys! The bobbly seems to be enveloped in a different kind of water, which is interesting
The Cell shapes are really getting interesting! they got wavy patterns too! and the Core guy here reminds me of Victini, a very compressed Victini
UFO Alert!! UFO Alert! Everyone loves UFO enemies, and one made out of water?! With a little shark-looking guy inside? Delightful!!!
These guys decided the Cell was too big for just one little guy, so they share one! One of them is happy and green, while the other is red and sad, but I’m sure they love each other regardless of their different emotions, look! They’re holding hands!
The Cells kinda became shapeless blobs, but that is ok because the guys inside are still so so delightful! Look!!! This is one of my big big favorites, little dish-shaped fishy with cool-looking long fins! And their colors! So pleasant!
WOW what a cute little guy inside! little ‘w’ face, nubby little arms, and their head has the shape of a fat chocolate chip! They also seem to have some floating limbs in little compartments of the Cell, another one of my fave ones! Such a delight!
This one is very much a Metroid! But shhhh they’re sleepin! They don’t mean any harm they just want to nap inside their Cell
A Puffer Fish! Very reminiscent of Fatty Puffer Jr. from Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, They’re back and they found a cool H2O-shaped Cell to live in!
Another Pufferfish! but this one has 4 stubby little legs which are very adorable! And their Cell is covered in spikes! I doubt spike-shaped water would do anything but it’s the aesthetic that’s important for them
This one is so silly! Look at that jolly smile! This is a fish that would make silly jokes and laugh with a charming chuckle
What’s wrong little guy? Is your mushroom-shaped Cell too tight for your mushroom-shaped body? I’m sure you can get more water in there for a bigger space, I love you, everything’s gonna be ok.
Oh it’s you again! But what’s this! your funny stubby legs got removed! This is so tragic!
ooghooghoghough THIS ONE! Such a good one! They’re a Mola mola! With very charming eyes and expression, their Cell has a hole in it shaped like a pair of goggles for them to see better! So cool!
Look It’s dish-shaped fishie from before! But they’re angry this time! Oh no! Is it because their fins became shorter? Or perhaps they don’t like their new pink stripes, I think they look wonderful on you!
The Core is identical to the Metroid one! But the Cell has the shape of a Clione! a Sea Angel! The color of their core and their horns really make for a good fit!
Oh god Realistic Eye hello there! This guy’s Cell is a blob with cute little ears, they reinvented the basic Slime enemy!
Oooh look at this! Getting closer to the Floaty we got in the final game! Their face is the only thing that’s drastically different
And there’s what we were missing! It’s the same face from the official Floaty! It seems they fused these last two guys to end up with our beloved Floaty!
And finally, to wrap things up, the final member of the Cell Core family, Butt Frog! They’re an angry green dude with 4 stubby limbs, and REALLY big buttcheeks, they’re almost their whole body! The artist really wanted to emphasize this with a very illustrating rear-end view, lovingly shaded to look shiny. Absolutely incredible
And that’s it! Really big family huh! I really wish we had gotten all of them in the final game, maybe randomly picked every time they spawn, they’re all so full of personality and charm! I’m very happy we got to meet them all! Thank you for coming with me in this splashy journey of Cells and Cores! Hope you found some you can dearly cherish!
