Good News Might Be On The Way For Kirby Fans
If you love that little round pink puff whose adventures have appeared on Nintendo gaming systems since 1992, you might have more reasons to be excited about 2021. A year-end round-up of comments from Japanese developers in the publication 4Gamer (translation via Siliconera) featured several names from Kirby's headquarters HAL Laboratory, Inc., some of whom hinted that new things are coming for Kirby next year.
Tadashi Kawai, a director at HAL Laboratory, noted the release of Kirby Fighters 2 in September 2020, then said, "In 2021, we will continue to deliver works that are filled with the 'surprise, fun, and warmth' that we value in HAL Laboratory's manufacturing." Now, this is a fairly vague statement, but his colleagues were able to expand slightly upon these words.
Director Teruhiko Suzuki responded to the question about aspirations in 2021 by saying, "I want to release a slightly different game from HAL Egg in 2021." HAL Egg is a newish division of the company that focuses on games for mobile devices such as smartphones. Suzuki's game Part Time UFO, which he also promoted in his comments to 4Gamer, was a HAL Egg game that was eventually ported to the Nintendo Switch in late 2020, so whatever mobile project Suzuki is referring to could eventually end up there as well.
Yumi Higashito, director, said, "We will continue to do our best in 2021 with the goal of having more people enjoy Kirby. In the future, there will be various developments such as goods, books, Kirby Cafe and other events as well as games, so I hope you will continue to support Kirby and HAL Laboratory in 2021!"
Yes, it's true, in case you did not know. There's a Kirby Cafe in Tokyo, Japan, which opened in 2018, and it sounds like HAL Laboratory has plans for it, along with expanding Kirby's universe to include more merch along with the games. The plans still seem about as amorphous as Kirby himself — the company hasn't released any titles, dates, or any facts solid enough to discuss — but at least fans have more information regarding Hal Laboratory's upcoming projects to look forward to.
In addition to appearing in Kirby Fighters 2 this past fall, Kirby and friends also showed up in Part Time UFO, which was released in late 2020 for the Nintendo Switch and is also available for iOS and Android devices. Other Kirby games from the last few years include Super Kirby Clash and Kirby Star Allies for the Switch and Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn and Kirby Battle Royale for the 3DS. There are also plenty of older games, such as the underrated classic Kirby's Dream Course, in case you need something to play while you wait for additional details.