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The Washington Post had the chance to do a massive interview with some of the big minds behind the Kirby franchise. In particular, Nintendo’s Kei Ninomiya, and HAL’s Shinya Kumazaki, Tatsuya Kamiyama, and Yuki Endo gathered to answer a series of questions about Kirby and the Forgotten Land, as well as the Kirby series in general.

Throughout the interview, some particularly interesting topics were discussed. First off, both Nintendo and HAL made it clear that future Kirby games won’t necessarily be in 3D. While Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a major achievement for the franchise, just because this title is the first fully-3D installment doesn’t mean all future Kirby titles will follow in step.

Along with that, the dev team confirmed that Kirby games have no real timeline to them. While it might seem like some titles naturally flow together, Nintendo and HAL don’t have a Kirby timeline planned out. They simply create games that are fun to play, and sometimes those titles build off of what appeared in previous Kirby installments.

Finally, if there’s going to be any DLC released for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Nintendo isn’t ready to share those details. When directly asked about the potential for post-game updates, HAL said there’s nothing they can share at this time.

You can read the full Washington Post interview here, or read our bulletpoint summary below.

  • it was a challenge to provide surprises while maximizing unique characteristics
  • the team aimed to create levels that are easy to play, but also provide dynamic scenes
  • the basic premise of Kirby games are to be approachable yet deep
  • Kirby’s design is always cute, and the first stage is always a bit fairy tale-like
  • level designs purposely increase enemy and puzzle density while retaining ease of play
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a game anyone can play and reach the end of
  • the story direction in this game aims to show that Kirby games have a lot more depth than people might expect
  • Kirby stories are written with the goal of surprising children with shocking developments
  • no matter how serious the story, Kirby will always remain cute and mysterious
  • Kirby game stories have no clear timeline
  • the main focus of the Kirby series is action and gameplay
  • for Mouthful Mode, the team chose shapes that would be interesting and surprising
  • Nintendo feels what was achieved in Kirby and the Forgotten Land opens up more possibilities for future Kirby titles
  • the team hopes to explore new genres and new ways to play Kirby games going forward
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land being a 3D title doesn’t necessarily mean this will be the standard going forward
  • HAL hopes to go beyond what is currently imaginable and challenge themselves to create new and innovative Kirby games
  • HAL also says they won’t limit themselves to 3D in future titles
  • that said, this 3D installment is considered an important “milestone” for the franchise
  • Heroes in Another Dimension, the DLC for “Kirby Star Allies,” was well-received by players despite it being more challenging
  • the reception to this DLC was one of the reasons why the team decided to sprinkle in more advanced elements in Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • HAL has nothing to share at this time on future updates for Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • as the team sets forth to create a new Kirby game, they examine every element as much as possible
  • the team debated whether to include copy abilities in Kirby and the Forgotten Land

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Comments (3)

sligeach_eire

2y ago

I can well believe it. It's far easier and quicker for them to release 2D Kirby games than having every one of them being 3D. And bear in mind Kirby and the Forgotten Land is somewhat linear and isn't on a scale of the likes of Mario Odyssey. Something like that would take even longer.

Kirby games are almost an annual thing, sure, there's been a couple of gaps, but by and large there's something nearly every year, sometimes 2 games a year. You can see why HAL said what they said here.

Edit: Have a look at the Kirby Release Timeline.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirby_(series)

Edited 1 time

kingbroly

2y ago

The Kirby timeline sits somewhere between bedtime and snack time


socar

2y ago

Good news to me! I mean I'm good with 3D Platformers but that would just be silly for them to adapt to 3D. Its kinda like Super Mario. For a while Nintendo made the 3D ones but people wanted the 2D ones back and so the New Super Mario series showed up.