Kirby Conversations | Exploring Kirby, Nintendo, and More

Delivery Waddle Dee has just dropped off a fresh stack of listener mail, so for this episode we're responding to your comments and questions. We cover a range of topics, from Kirby's 3D future to whether Masahiro Sakurai, Kirby's creator, would ever return to direct a new game for the series. (Apparently this could be a slightly controversial topic, so for what it's worth Kirby Conversations is a...

So Nintendo's hired you for a merchandise shoot and they've sent you a big plush Kirby. Now what? In this episode, Ky takes us inside her work as a photographer for Nintendo, going behind the scenes of some of our favorite photos involving Kirby, Zelda, and more. Then for Act 2, we're playing a game where we imagine new photo assignments for Ky by combining random themes, moods, and game series, w...

At Space World 2001, Shigeru Miyamoto presented a showcase for Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble 2, a cutting-edge Kirby title that demonstrated the power of the upcoming GameCube and its connectivity with the Game Boy Advance. Crowds flocked to the play the game at the convention, press covered it widely alongside other key GameCube fixtures like Luigi's Mansion or Super Smash Bros. Melee, and then it...neve...

Today we're looking back at Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble, a groundbreaking game that was the first handheld console software to include an accelerometer. While moving Kirby by tilting the Game Boy Color was novel at the time, we consider how it holds up in 2024 and which of the many methods to play it today works best. (If you're a speedrunner, that might even be the GameCube?!) As usual, we also cover h...

In this episode of Kirby Conversations, we're getting nostalgic with Kirby's Dream Land 2—or at least Sean and Bridget are, as Ky's playing this one for the first time. We consider how well this nearly 30-year-old title holds up today, from its introduction of Kirby's animal friends Rick, Kine, and Coo to its satisfying (and challenging) puzzle design. KDL2 was also a game designed for the Super G...

In 2022, Jake "Button Masher" Silverman and Charlie Rosen won the Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella. Their song was a new arrangement, performed by Button Masher and Rosen's 8-Bit Big Bang, of "Meta Knight's Revenge" from Kirby Super Star . In our episode today, Button Masher joins us to reflect on how this update of a classic Kirby song—the only Grammy-winning video ga...

The Kirby series often strives to be accessible for children and newcomers to video games. But are they too easy for everyone else? In this episode, Sean and Bridget discuss this classic question of Kirby difficulty and consider the intentional layers and inclusivity that Masahiro Sakurai and Shinya Kumazaki bring to the games they design. Then for Act 2, it's time for a funny and insightful refle...

Kirby Fighters 2 had humble beginnings as a lower-priced Kirby title released in the middle of a pandemic. But a community of dedicated players have embraced the game, continuing to hold tournaments, explore its deep meta, and even refine the game in a new Community Edition. One of those players is Lucy "Winters" Hayes, a co-owner of the Kirby Fighters 2 Discord, and in this episode she sits down...

For this episode, we take a look at Kirby's newest abilities: Ranger, Drill, Jelly, Mecha, and Sand. These abilities bring exciting new dimensions to Kirby's most recent games, and we consider how they may also help us predict what new abilities Kirby could have next. We also reflect on the bright future for Kirby games—especially given the over fifty unused ability ideas HAL has said they had for...

For this episode of Kirby Conversations, we're looking at the influence popular mecha series had on Kirby: Planet Robobot. To start, it's Mecha History 101, as Bridget and Ky teach Sean about the rich history of Japanese mecha films and TV shows like Mobile Suit Gundam, Gurren Lagann, and more. Then we consider how Shinya Kumazaki seems to have drawn on his personal interest in mecha shows when cr...

In this episode of Kirby Conversations, Sean and Bridget take to the skies for a look back at Revenge of Meta Knight, one of several games within 1996's Kirby Super Star. From its expertly-paced action to its engaging story, we consider all the things that make this adventure such a terrific example of short-form game design. We also explore some lesser-known aspects of its development, its influe...

This is a preview for a Patreon-only episode, where Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker describes how she became a professional merchandise photographer with Nintendo, Good Smile, Critical Role, and others. From her first invitation to E3, to an emotional experience at the Good Smile headquarters, this episode is full of stories you won't want to miss. We also speak with Bridget about her incredible col...

Welcome to Kirby Conversations! For our first episode, we dig into the history of Kirby's 1993 outing Kirby's Adventure—Masahiro Sakurai's sophisticated NES title that not only introduced Kirby's copy ability but also helped save HAL Laboratory during a time of financial crisis. We'll explore the background of its development, its timeless pixel art, Sakurai's unique ability concepts that he never...