Even those who have never played a game in the series can recognize the beloved and iconic pink character design of Kirby could easily as a Pokémon, he is the hero of many titles in his own series. Kirby has been through many perils in his numerous games, but one thing has never changed: his glowing pink-hued orb design.
The first Kirby game, Kirby’s Dream Land, was released by Nintendo for the GameBoy in 1992. There are now over 30 different Kirby titles, from main games to spin-offs such as Kirby Fighters and Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Kirby is one of the handful of characters who have been with Nintendo throughout every generation of console, too. The most recent release came for the Nintendo Switch, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which has proved to be one of the best co-op games to play with kids. Kirby games typically require the player to platform through different brightly-colored, and often themed, terrain to save whatever planet Kirby is on, whether that is a new planet, Dream Land, or Planet Popstar. Kirby often faces enemies such as King Dedede or Meta Knight. In all games, Kirby appears as an amorphous though spherical, pink mass with strange, yet captivating abilities.
Kirby possesses special abilities that are vital to gameplay, as they are the unique contributions that make Kirby his very own character, unlike anyone else in the video game universe. The mouthful mode ability introduced in Forgotten Land turned out to be one of the most popular abilities Kirby has, though Kirby already turned into a car during the Wii era. His most well-known ability is still Kirby’s copy ability. Kirby’s abilities are vital not only to gameplay, but to understanding his character design. Designed by Japanese game designer Mashiro Sakurai, the now iconic and innovative design of Kirby was originally just placeholder graphics for the original Kirby game while in the early stages of development. Sakurai ultimately decided to keep the round design as the final character, as he believed the design suited the protagonist better than any other design.
Kirby's Roundness Increased In Dream Buffet
According to Kirby’s Dream Buffet features unlikely Smash Bros. cameos, as well, making the game that more intriguing to players. Perhaps it’s because Kirby eats so many strawberries, or maybe it's just advances in video game designs, but Kirby’s main body design in Kirby’s Dream Buffet is rounder by roughly seven thousand vertices than in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Also, Kirby’s body and expression meshes in Dream Buffet are greater than Kirby in Forgotten Land by eight thousand vertices and fifteen thousand faces. After looking at Kirby mathematically and comparing the character designs from the latest two games, it’s clear that Kirby is only getting rounder and better.
Released on August 17, 2022, Kirby’s Dream Buffet is adorable fun for players of any age. It comes at a perfect time, following a switch online release where players could relive Kirby’s evil era. Kirby’s Dream Buffet is focused on a multiplayer experience, where everyone can battle and collect rewards. Gobbling up strawberries not only creates a rounder Kirby, but also unlocks more levels and surprises along the way in Kirby’s Dream Buffet.