This year marks the 30th anniversary of Nintendo's fan-favorite pink blob Kirby, and celebrations are already underway. Nintendo treated fans with a long-anticipated trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land yesterday, revealing this title is slated to release on March 25 - just over a month shy of April 27 when Kirby's Dream Land released in Japan in 1992. To further bolster the celebration of Kirby, Nintendo released an official wallpaper to commemorate the game's 30th anniversary.
A new trailer and an official wallpaper is a strong start, but it hardly feels like enough for one of Nintendo's most iconic characters. Luckily, the series' official Japanese Twitter has seemingly confirmed a larger 30th anniversary celebration for Kirby. Even though the Kirby series has been immensely popular since its inception, it has been largely overlooked in favor of other Nintendo properties like Super Mario, Legend of Zelda, Pokemon, and the like. For his 30th anniversary, it's about time for Kirby to take center stage.
Nintendo Should Release a 30th Anniversary Kirby Collection
When Kirby celebrated his 20th birthday in 2012, the event was commemorated with the release of Kirby's Dream Collection for the Wii. While it was a well-received collection, the last decade has seen a handful of outstanding Kirby releases that make a convincing argument that it's time for another. Unlike Kirby's Dream Collection, a new collection would do well to include more quirky Kirby titles like Kirby and the Amazing Mirror or Kirby's Epic Yarn, since the majority of fans have already played the foundational titles like Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby Super Star.
Although it's unlikely to sell as well as a similar anniversary collection like Super Mario 3D All-Stars, a new Kirby collection could be a success by riding a similar wave of nostalgia. Fans are eager to revisit tried-and-true games if they're done correctly, and 3D All-Stars also proved that the perfect recipe for any collection is a mix of old and new. Now that Kirby has recent releases as well-received as the titles from its Game Boy and SNES roots, an updated collection is a no-brainer.
Nintendo Should Remake a Classic Kirby Game Again
It's a tricky endeavor to remake or remaster any classic game, primarily because developers are battling against nostalgia. However, when updating games in the Kirby franchise, Nintendo and HAL Laboratory have a strong track record. For any future remake, Nintendo needs to follow the blueprint laid out by Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land and Kirby Super Star Ultra. In both of these titles, the original games were completely intact, implemented only minor, innocuous changes. They also managed to add popular game modes like Meta Knightmare Mode, which introduced a more hardcore take on normally forgiving games.
With any future remake, Nintendo has a myriad of exceptional choices. While it may be the riskiest endeavor to remake Kirby's Dream Land, which has already received a 3DS and Wii port, it may also be the most fitting choice to update for the Nintendo Switch. With the right changes and additions, a remake of Kirby's Dream Land could also double as the perfect strategy to bring new fans to the franchise. For a more outside-the-box choice, Nintendo could go the route of remaking the aforementioned Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, as it would be familiar yet unique enough to capture both veteran and new Kirby players alike.