Nintendo has had a lot of cause to celebrate recently. 2020 marked Super Mario's 35th birthday, inspiring a variety of Mario-themed products to celebrate the occasion. In 2021, Nintendo has two anniversaries to manage. It released Skyward Sword HD for The Legend of Zelda's anniversary, and it has Generation 4 Pokemon remakes on the way for Pokemon's anniversary. The anniversary train doesn't stop next year, though. Kirby is 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, Kirby fans don't know what the company is planning to do for Kirby's birthday, if anything. Kirby isn't quite as famous as Super Mario these days, but it's still a very important IP to Nintendo. It offers a highly approachable alternative to Super Mario's traditional platforming and features some core mechanics that other Nintendo franchise's can't replicate. There's two ways that Nintendo can celebrate Kirby's anniversary next year. One way is to release a new Kirby game in HAL Laboratory's supposed next stage, but the more important way is to port Kirby classics to Switch.
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Nintendo has already proven thoroughly that ports, remakes, and remasters are fantastic ways to celebrate a franchise's anniversary. Super Mario 3D All-Stars turned the heads of longtime Mario lovers and newer Nintendo fans alike, giving everyone a chance to experience nostalgic Mario gameplay and get a feel for how far Mario games have come. Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, releasing in late 2021, serve a similar purpose. The Pokemon games have changed a lot since they first visited the Sinnoh region, so Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are 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 to Pokemon.
Kirby games on Switch could deliver a very similar experience. Many of the most recent Kirby games have explored new gameplay styles and introduced new mechanics that differed vastly from Kirby's usual gameplay. For example, Kirby: Planet Robobot saw Kirby pilot a wide range of mech suits, offering a notable alternative to his signature Copy Ability. Ports of older, more traditional Kirby games would both speak to longtime Kirby fans who want to relive some of the classic games as well as newer Kirby lovers who'd like the original games to be more accessible.
Kirby ports and remakes for Switch would also help enhance Kirby's presence on Nintendo's current console. Kirby Star Allies does 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 older Kirby games would pair nicely with older games that are available to Switch users who pay for Nintendo Switch Online, vastly increasing the variety of Kirby experiences available to Switch users. Kirby doesn'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.
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There's plenty of old games that Kirby could turn to for the 30th anniversary in 2022. One of them is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, which marked the franchise's switch from a 2D art style to 3D graphics. One of Kirby 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 to Kirby, make it worth bringing to Switch.
A more recent Kirby game worth porting is Kirby's Return to Dream Land for the Wii. Return to Dream Land may have been a more recent title, but it was largely designed as a return to Kirby tradition, focusing on standard Kirby level design and abilities while introducing solid multiplayer and minigames for fans to enjoy. In itself, it's a love letter to the older Kirby games that got the franchise started. Although some of Kirby's oldest adventures are available through Nintendo Switch Online, Return to Dream Land isn't, so it might as well get a wholesale remaster for Switch.
If Nintendo wants to put a non-traditional Kirby game on Switch, then Kirby's Epic Yarn would 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 Yarn introduced tons of new ideas to the franchise without sacrificing its usual low difficulty. Critics and fans alike loved Epic Yarn, and the Switch's Joy-Cons happen to be the perfect controllers for Epic Yarn's two-person multiplayer. Epic Yarn seems like it would be perfectly comfortable on Nintendo's current platform.
Again, though, a remake or port of a classic Kirby game shouldn't be the only thing that Nintendo brings to the table for this anniversary. Ideally, Nintendo will also release a new Kirby game sometime in 2022. It only seems right that Kirby's 30th anniversary gives fans a sense of where the franchise is going. HAL Laboratory comments suggest that the studio is looking at Kirby's future, potentially suggesting that there's another Kirby game in the works at the moment. These comments suggest that a new Kirby game will try to unify many of the franchise's best qualities to make something that tops everything that's come before it. A Kirby game of that caliber would be a welcome, if ambitious, endeavor.
At the very least, a port or remaster of a previous Kirby game seems just about mandatory for the Kirby anniversary next year. Since it's not completely certain that a new Kirby game is in development, a collection of remasters akin to Super Mario 3D All-Stars might be the way to go. Kirby games sometimes get criticized for their short length, but in the case of a remaster collection, the small size of Kirby games would probably be a boon. It'd enable Nintendo to make the most of the mascot's anniversary with the help of a huge collection of nostalgic Kirby games, giving fans something to celebrate the special occasion.
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