The most gluttonous little pink ball in video games, 30 years since Kirby entered the industry, it has dazzled with its charismatic design and gameplay that has managed to evolve to continue to attract first-time and experienced players.
On April 27, 1992, Hoshi no Kirby (which can be translated as Kirby of the stars), a platform action game developed by HAL Labs for Nintendo’s Game Boy handheld console, was released in Japan in August under the name Kirby’s Dream Land.
In its first year of marketing, the game sold more than one million copies, an extraordinary number for the time, and would continue to reach 5.13 million in the following years.According to data provided by Nintendo, it does not count digital units distributed through the Wii Virtual Console, 3DS, and Wii U.
Today, the franchise has 37 published games (including several compilations) of various genres, such as pinball, puzzle, golf or driving. 44.57 million copies of it had been sold by last September.
The figure does not include sales of Kirby and the Forgotten Country, the latest game in the series and the first 3D game released on March 25, 2022 to commemorate its 30th anniversary. It will be updated in May after the presentation of the distributor’s annual financial report.
The franchise has built a multi-million dollar empire thanks to the character’s charisma, who has appeared in countless cameos in other games and even owned several themed cafes in Japan. and especially in the Asian country, his image is constantly reproduced in anniversary apparel, stuffed animals, collectibles and other proliferating items.
“I wouldn’t say that Kirby is going to ‘go under’ like Mario, but I always want him to be a character loved by everyone,” said the character’s lead architect, Masahiro Sakurai, in an interview almost three decades ago. On the occasion of the development of the second part of the series, while the phenomenon is still cooking.
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Kirby’s Dream Land was the first project directed by a precocious Sakurai who joined HAL Lab in 1989 when he was just 19 years old.
The concept was simple: developing a game that anyone can beat and an introduction to video games for young children and new players in general.
The game is designed in such a way that anyone can finish it without getting tired of it, as a first step into the industry that teaches you how to face other popular games of that time such as Super Mario Bros or The Super Mario Bros. The Legend of Zelda.
for him, They gave the hero the ability to soar through the air after inflating like a balloon and flying over their enemies. To go one-on-one with them, Kirby could suck them up like a vacuum to spit on other enemies and obstacles.
In order not to exclude more experienced players, the development team added an extra quest after completing the first round, with more difficult enemies and even less likely to complicate Kirby’s health and extra lives.
Kirby’s round shape was partly accidental. The developers started by testing a circular avatar that the team liked so much that they built on this idea. Over time, the small black eyes of the original design were enlarged to receive their bright blue irises, and blushed oval cheeks were added to stand out against their natural pinks to complete their sparkle.
The character’s original name was Popopo.A brainstorm from Nintendo’s US headquarters suggested that it would later be renamed Twinkle Butt, before attorney John Kirby tossed Kirby among his proposals.
In the mid-1980s, this attorney successfully defended Nintendo in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit with Universal film studio over the Donkey Kong game and its similarity to the movie King Kong.
The success of Kirby’s Dream Land was essential to recovering HAL Lab’s frayed finances and would unite key professionals in video game history such as Sakurai, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Satoru Iwata under the same label.
Kirby’s Adventure (1993), a direct sequel to the first game, would lay the foundations for one of the hero’s distinguishing traits, under the trio’s leadership. the ability to steal the power of absorbed enemies that evolves and leaves the door open to endless possibilities for their successors.
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Source: Exame
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.
