Kirby Turns 30!

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the release of Kirby’s Dream Land on the Game Boy and, by extension, the thirtieth anniversary of Kirby himself!

Released in Japan on April 27th 1992, Kirby’s Dream Land introduced the world to Kirby, the pink puffball who would go on to become the mascot of developer HAL Laboratory, as well as one of Nintendo’s (and gaming’s) most enduring characters. Not to mention the cutest (sorry, Pikachu and Yoshi)!

With Sonic the Hedgehog being released the year prior, video game characters (particularly platforming mascots) were becoming “cooler” and “edgier” (or trying, at any rate. None of Sonic’s imitators ever actually matched him). So in retrospect, Kirby seems like a beautifully defiant act on Nintendo and HAL’s part. Doubling down on the cuteness of their character while everyone else was aiming for “attitude.”

Hilariously, it seemed because of that, Nintendo’s marketing didn’t know how to advertise Kirby to western audiences at the time, with Kirby’s Dream Land 2’s US commercial depicting Kirby and his Animal Friends as a bunch of mean looking tough guys who beat up a bunch of bikers during poetry night! Don’t believe me?

Or what about this other advertisement for the same game, which literally says not to call Kirby and his friends cute!

It’s like, what is the taboo here? Kirby IS cute! Embrace that and roll with it!

Thankfully, they did that eventually. But it certainly took a while for the marketing to have the profound revelation that people like cute things!

Anyway, Kirby managed to power through such questionable marketing due to the quality of his games. With Kirby’s Adventure (1993), Kirby gained his signature copy abilities, which would become the series’ staple mechanic thereafter. Kirby would go on to star in dozens of games over the decades, both his traditional platforming romps and in more experimental spinoffs, making Kirby second only to Mario as gaming’s most versatile character. The most recent Kirby release, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, is the first 3D platformer in the series, and has quickly been praised as one of Kirby’s best. So the little guy certainly isn’t slowing down.

Kirby even had his own animated series in the early 2000s which lasted 100 episodes, and “Kirby Cafes” which serve Kirby themed foods have become an actual thing in Japan. So even though Kirby may not be as recognizable as Mario, Sonic or Pikachu, he’s had a similar impact.

Thirty years ago, the world was introduced to the cutest of video game heroes. Today, Kirby is still going strong as one of gaming’s best, most consistent (and strangely underrated) series.

Happy 30th birthday, Kirby!

Just don’t beat up any more bikers, okay?