The Adventure of Kirby
Kirby is an action-platform video game series developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. The series centers around the adventures of Kirby as he fights to protect and save his home on the distant Planet Popstar from a variety of threats. The majority of the games in the series are side-scrolling platformers with puzzle-solving and beat ’em up elements. Kirby has the ability to inhale enemies and objects into his mouth, spitting them out as a projectile or eating them. If he inhales certain enemies, he can gain the powers or properties of that enemy manifesting as a new weapon or power-up called a Copy Ability. The series is intended to be easy to pick up and play even for people unfamiliar with action games, while at the same time offering additional challenge and depth for more experienced players to come back to.
The first game in the Kirby series, Kirby’s Dream Land for the original Game Boy, was released in Japan on April 27, 1992, and later in North America, Europe and Australasia in August that year. It consists of:
- Five levels
- Introduced Kirby’s ability to inhale enemies and objects
- Not yet able to use Copy Abilities
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a 2022 action-platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the thirteenth mainline installment in the Kirby series, second on the Switch, as well as the first game in the series in full 3D, excluding spin-offs. It consists of:
- 7 Worlds
- Introduced 3D terrain, allowing Kirby to not be limited to side-scrollers
- 35 Copy Abilities
The Kirby games have received reception that ranges from mixed to very favorable reviews by players and critics. According to Metacritic reviews: Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby’s Epic Yarn are the most acclaimed games in the series, while Kirby Battle Royale and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe are the lowest-rated. Kirby and the Forgotten Land and Kirby: Squeak Squad are respectively the highest-rated and the lowest-rated mainline series games.