You haven’t been imagining that the sky has looked a little brighter lately. It’s because there are tonnes of Warp Stars flitting around alongside rumours of a new Kirby game, and while I’m no scientist, I think that can only be a good omen.
Ok, I made all that up, but can you blame me? I’m just as excited about the arrival of another new Kirby title as you are, especially after the success of Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Sure, we’ve had Return To Dreamland dropping on Switch, but it’s been 2 years since Forgotten Land first gave me the same feeling as when I played Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the first time, and as Kirby is more than just a go-to character on Super Smash Bros, I want to see more titles featuring the little fluffball!
In my opinion, Kirby’s games are just as good as Mario’s offerings. I know that’s going to be met with some shaking heads and tutting, but I love all of his previous titles, and I spent so many hours playing Kirby’s Pinball Land back in the day that the little pink peril will always have a special place in my heart. So, let’s take a look at all of the news, rumours, and speculation surrounding the next Kirby title and put the most adorable and unassuming hero of all time in the Retro Dodo spotlight!
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The Main New Kirby Game Rumours
The biggest rumour we have at the minute is that Kirby: Planet Robobot is getting a remaster for the Switch and that it will be dropping in 2025. Nintendo is currently in a streak of remastering old games from our favourite series to tie us over till new entries arrive, as well as tying us over to the Nintendo Switch arriving too. We’ve had Metroid Prime remastered, Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door, and Super Mario RPG, so I guess this isn’t too shocking.
The rumour was dropped by NateTheHate in a YouTube video. As I’ve said above, having a remaster of Planet Robobot would certainly be on brand, especially as we’ve already had 3DS title Luigi’s Mansion 2 dropping on the console recently too. Planet Robobot was an incredible game, and it would give gamers who didn’t play the game the first time around on the 3DS a chance to experience the magic, and for existing fans the chance to play it on a bigger screen with better graphics.
Back in August, there was also a rumour floating around about Kirby’s latest adventure being in space, with some images of some Kirby-esque characters (that was fun to write) on a spaceship along with some information about Kirby’s new abilities including Junk, Rabbit, and Ice Cream Kirby. This information came from 4Chan, however, so I’m thinking we can just send this information into space and hope that it disintegrates in the path of the nearest asteroid.
Image assets credit: Nintendo
One rumour I came across that I liked was that a title called ‘Kirby: Fire & Ice’ is in the works. Apparently, there is a full list of characters and the story has been laid out and is ready to roll. Initially, the rumour said that the game was coming out in 2024, but as there are only around 2 weeks to the end of the year at the time of writing, I think we can squash this one. After digging a little further into the origins of this rumour, however, it seems that it all comes from a fan fiction website.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘what a load of rubbish,’ but hold your horses, because fan fiction websites can sometimes hold more truth than we realise. We only need to listen to Brent Scotchmer’s story to know that officials from companies tend to hang out in fan sites and forums to scout for new talent, so while the idea of people working on the Kirby outing production team drip feeding information to us through fan channels might be a little far-fetched, it’s not entirely implausible.
Personally, I would love to see a direct sequel to The Forgotten Land with the same world style and explorations, just like Tears of the Kingdom following on from Breath of the Wild. The latest chatter is that Nintendo will be ditching the free exploration stylings of the previous title and going back to the side-scrolling formula in the next release, however, which favours the Planet Robobot rumours, so there’s a chance my hopes of a fully open-world Kirby title aren’t going to be happening any time soon.
What Platforms Will The New Kirby Game Be Released On?
Kirby is a Nintendo character through and through, so in my opinion the new Kirby adventure will be dropping on the Nintendo Switch’s successor and also be backward compatible with the original Switch.
If it’s set to be a remaster of a previous game like Planet Robobot, then I think it will arrive on the current switch around the same time as the new console is announced as a little something for the people who aren’t planning on upgrading. With the console being announced before the end of the Japanese fiscal year, it should only be a matter of time before we start to discover what games will be dropping with it too.
Let’s Talk Gameplay
This section is going to be split, just like the rest of this article, between what I think we’re going to see and what I’d like to see. As there’s no trailer or news of a new game and considering Planet Robobot is a side-scrolling game, it looks like we could be going back to side-scrolling gameplay that boasts level graphics with impressive depth, think Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and Yooka Laylee & The Impossible Lair. If my wildest dreams come true and we do get a sequel to The Forgotten Land, then I’m keeping everything crossed that Nintendo goes one step further from open-exploration to fully open-world antics.
Having Kirby run around open spaces like in BotW and Legends: Arceus would be incredible, and having the ability to swallow all manner of items in the same way that Link picks up and fuses weapons could lead to infinite possibilities. Can you imagine stumbling upon an old airplane hanger and being able to swallow all the parts of a plane to fly to a place up in the sky, or grabbing a submarine and finding a secret area under the waves? I know I’m dreaming here, but it would be incredible!
When Could We See The New Game Dropping?
As I’ve said throughout this article, any potential release date depends on the type of title. If NateTheHate is right and we’re getting a remaster of Planet Robobot, then I think we could expect to see it dropping on the Switch at the end of Spring 2025. If we are indeed getting a new 3D Kirby title, maybe an open-world title, then I think it might arrive after the Switch 2 releases, possibly in 2027.
Of course, this is all speculation and comes from a place of me being a big Kirby fan and wanting to see a new title sooner rather than later. If we take into account that The Forgotten Land came out in 2022, then a five-year gap for a brand-new title isn’t too bad, especially as we’ve waited about 200 years for the new GTA game. As always, I’ll keep this article updated with more information as and when I get it, and hopefully, we’ll find out whether Planet Robobot is heading our way soon!
