Thanks to the successful transition to 3D in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the development team HAL Laboratory has claimed that it wishes “to do many new things” with the series, “in both 2D and 3D.” Kirby’s first mainline 3D platformer has given HAL the platform to kick on and expand ideas developed to make better games in both dimensions.
In an “ask the developer” interview on the official Nintendo site, four of the key people behind Kirby and the Forgotten Land explained that, following the pink puffball’s transition to 3D, “Kirby still has unlimited potential.” General director of Kirby Shinya Kumazaki claimed that The Forgotten Land “was the biggest project of the entire Kirby series thus far.” He adds that following the completion of the game, the development team now has “an environment” in which it “will be able to further take on new challenges.”
HAL Laboratory wanted Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which includes two-player co-op, to be “wild and free” and can now use the game as a base to go even further in that direction when creating future Kirby titles according to Kumazaki. HAL Laboratory level design director Yuki Endo agrees and adds that if the development team “can apply the skills” gained from creating The Forgotten Land, it should be able to innovate all kinds of new gameplay mechanics for future games.
We’re always happy for more Kirby, whether that be in 2D or 3D. The Kirby series is in an exciting period and how HAL Laboratory plays its next hand will be worth watching. Whatever happens, though, the company is clear in its vision, as stated by Kirby and the Forgotten Land associate producer Kei Ninomiya, “to keep making games that cherish the ‘Kirbyness’ of Kirby.”
