Nintendo has had a lot of cause to celebrate recently. 2020 markedSuper Mario’s 35th birthday, inspiring a variety ofMario-themed products to celebrate the occasion. In 2021, Nintendo has two anniversaries to manage. It releasedSkyward Sword HDforThe Legend of Zelda’s anniversary, and it hasGeneration 4Pokemonremakes on the wayforPokemon’s anniversary. The anniversary train doesn’t stop next year, though.Kirbyis celebrating 30 years with Nintendo next year, marking a major milestone for the plucky pink protagonist of Nintendo’s famous action-platforming franchise, created by Masahiro Sakurai in 1992.
Although there’s still more than enough time for Nintendo to address it,Kirbyfans don’t know what the company is planning to do forKirby’s birthday, if anything.Kirbyisn’t quite as famous asSuper Mariothese days, but it’s still a very important IP to Nintendo. It offers a highly approachable alternative toSuper Mario’s traditional platforming and features some core mechanics that other Nintendo franchise’s can’t replicate. There’s two ways that Nintendo can celebrateKirby’s anniversary next year. One way is to release a newKirbygame in HAL Laboratory’s supposed next stage, but the more important way is to portKirbyclassics to Switch.
RELATED:What Kirby’s ‘Next Stage’ Game Should Look Like
The Importance of Kirby Ports on Switch
Nintendo has already proven thoroughly that ports, remakes, and remasters are fantastic ways to celebrate a franchise’s anniversary.Super Mario 3D All-Starsturned the heads of longtimeMariolovers and newer Nintendo fans alike, giving everyone a chance toexperience nostalgicMariogameplayand get a feel for how farMariogames have come.Pokemon Brilliant DiamondandShining Pearl,releasing in late 2021, serve a similar purpose. ThePokemongames have changed a lot since they first visited the Sinnoh region, soBrilliant DiamondandShining Pearlare a great way for players to go back to a simpler time in the franchise and to gain a new appreciation for all the changes Nintendo has made toPokemon.
Kirbygames on Switch could deliver a very similar experience. Many of the most recentKirbygames have explored new gameplay styles and introduced new mechanics that differed vastly fromKirby’s usual gameplay. For example,Kirby: Planet Robobotsaw Kirby pilot a wide range of mech suits, offering a notable alternative to his signature Copy Ability. Ports of older, more traditionalKirbygames would bothspeak to longtimeKirbyfanswho want to relive some of the classic games as well as newerKirbylovers who’d like the original games to be more accessible.
Kirbyports and remakes for Switch would also help enhanceKirby’s presence on Nintendo’s current console.Kirby Star Alliesdoes exist on Nintendo Switch, but it still has a bit of a mixed reputation for its simplicity, in spite of Nintendo’s free updates to the game. Remasters of olderKirbygames would pair nicely with older games that are available to Switch users who pay for Nintendo Switch Online, vastly increasing the variety ofKirbyexperiences available to Switch users.Kirbydoesn’t have nearly as many Switch titles available as someone like Mario,so Nintendo would be perfectly justified to bring tons of old titles to Switch.
RELATED:Kirby Spin-Off Games Tier List
Potential Kirby Remasters for the Anniversary
There’s plenty of old games thatKirbycould turn to for the 30th anniversary in 2022. One of them isKirby 64: The Crystal Shards,which marked the franchise’s switch from a 2D art style to 3D graphics. One ofKirby 64’s claims to fame is the introduction of Power Combos. While usually Kirby can only inhale one enemy to imitate their abilities with his Copy Ability,Kirby 64’s Power Combo lets Kirby combine two different ability types to make a new and unique ability. This clever look at Copy Abilities, as well as the introduction of 3D graphics toKirby,make it worth bringing to Switch.
A more recentKirbygame worth porting isKirby’s Return to Dream Landfor the Wii.Return to Dream Landmay have been a more recent title, but it was largely designed as a return toKirbytradition, focusing on standardKirbylevel design and abilities while introducing solid multiplayer and minigames for fans to enjoy. In itself, it’s a love letter to the olderKirbygames that got the franchise started. Although some ofKirby’s oldest adventures are available through Nintendo Switch Online,Return to Dream Landisn’t, so it might as well get a wholesale remaster for Switch.
If Nintendo wants to put a non-traditionalKirbygame on Switch, thenKirby’s Epic Yarnwould be a great choice. Eschewing Kirby’s usual Copy Ability for a yarn tether than can interact with a world designed to resemble a scrap book,Kirby’s Epic Yarnintroduced tons of new ideas to the franchise without sacrificing its usual low difficulty.Critics and fans alike lovedEpic Yarn,and the Switch’s Joy-Cons happen to be the perfect controllers forEpic Yarn’s two-person multiplayer.Epic Yarnseems like it would be perfectly comfortable on Nintendo’s current platform.
Kirby Could Get a Big Celebration
Again, though, a remake or port of a classicKirbygame shouldn’t be the only thing that Nintendo brings to the table for this anniversary. Ideally, Nintendo will also release a newKirbygame sometime in 2022. It only seems right thatKirby’s 30th anniversary gives fans a sense of where the franchise is going. HAL Laboratory comments suggest thatthe studio is looking atKirby’s future, potentially suggesting that there’s anotherKirbygame in the works at the moment. These comments suggest that a newKirbygame will try to unify many of the franchise’s best qualities to make something that tops everything that’s come before it. AKirbygame of that caliber would be a welcome, if ambitious, endeavor.
At the very least, a port or remaster of a previousKirbygame seems just about mandatory for theKirbyanniversary next year. Since it’s not completely certain that a newKirbygame is in development, a collection of remasters akin toSuper Mario 3D All-Starsmight be the way to go.Kirbygames sometimes get criticized for their short length, but in the case of a remaster collection, the small size ofKirbygames would probably be a boon. It’d enable Nintendo tomake the most of the mascot’sanniversarywith the help of a huge collection of nostalgicKirbygames, giving fans something to celebrate the special occasion.
MORE:January and February 2022 May Be Primetime for Nintendo
