The Star Warriors

The Star Warriors (星の戦士, Hoshi no senshi in Japan) are a group of characters appearing in the anime, Kirby: Right Back at Ya!. They are heroes who fought against Lord Nightmare and his Demon Beast Army in the great war, thousands of years ago before the actual events in the anime.

Version differences
In the Japanese original, Star Warriors, alongside Galaxy Soldiers, formed the army called the Galaxy Soldier Army which fought against Nightmare. All it takes for someone to become a Galaxy Soldier is pick up arms and join the Army, but it is not clear what differences there are between regular Galaxy Soldiers and Star Warriors serving within the Galaxy Soldier Army. From the respect Kit Cosmos has for Meta Knight, Star Warriors might have been the elite among them. The Japanese names for "Star Warrior" (星の戦士) and "Galaxy Soldier" (銀河戦士) are also a lot closer to each other than the English translations, the first being "Warrior of the Stars", the latter being "Warrior of the Galaxy".

In the English dub of the anime, the Galaxy Soldier Army as well the Galaxy Soldiers were never given any mention. Instead, all of the warriors who fought against Nightmare are lumped together as Star Warriors. This may have been done to lighten the "war" aspect.

History
Meta Knight's flashbacks in several episodes revealed that Star Warriors and the Galaxy Soldier Army which they were associated with lost the struggle against Nightmare, and that he thought he was the only surviving Star Warrior veteran from before the great war. This is true for the Japanese original. In the dub, Kit Cosmos was found to be alive in the episode Island of the Lost Warrior, and later on, Sir Arthur and his band of knights revealed themselves. Since they are considered Star Warriors in the dub, it makes at least three surviving veterans whose age is at least several thousand years old.

It is not known whether "Star Warrior" is a given title, or a title the members give themselves, but among the surviving Star Warriors during the events of the anime, Kirby and Meta Knight are the most well-known. Despite Kirby's age and inexperience, Kabu already refers to him as one before he even lands on Pop Star, so it is possible that Star Warrior is something a character is born into. It is unlikely to be hereditary as well, since Knuckle Joe's father is a Star Warrior, but Knuckle Joe himself is not.

Star Warriors

 * Kirby
 * Meta Knight
 * Knuckle Joe's Father (Deceased - KIA by Meta Knight)
 * Yamikage (Former - MIA on Nightmare Enterprises)
 * Many unnamed warriors who did not survive the great war against Nightmare and his monster army.

Dub only
These members are considered Galaxy Soldiers in the Japanese original:
 * Kit Cosmos (alive, went MIA on an island on Pop Star)
 * Garlude (Deceased - KIA by Kirisakin)
 * Sir Arthur
 * Sir Dragato
 * Sir Falspar
 * Sir Nonsurat

Allies of Star Warriors

 * Silica
 * Knuckle Joe

Trivia

 * One of the Star Warriors have spiky shoulder pads and has a body like Knuckle Joe. This could be a reference to Iron Mam or Knuckle Joe.
 * An unnamed warrior, tall and wearing blue armor, is depicted at first with white hair and wearing a white cape. Later, in a flashback about Knuckle Joe's father, his cape is red as well as his hair.