A couple of years have passed since Kirby last got a major new game. By this point, many fans were probably hopeful one would be announced soon, but odds are most weren’t expecting that game to be Kirby Fighters 2, or for Nintendo to release Kirby Fighters 2 on Switch almost immediately after its existence was leaked. At any rate, the game is here now, and Nintendo is marking the occasion with some new artwork.
The original Kirby Fighters began as a Super Smash Bros.-esque minigame inside the 2014 3DS platformer Kirby: Triple Deluxe, before being expanded into its own standalone title a few months after. Nothing has been said about the subseries since, until Kirby Fighters 2 was revealed via a leak on the Play Nintendo website last week.
It’s not immediately clear if Nintendo released the game this week in response to the leak, or if it was originally planning to surprise-launch the title. Either way, Nintendo of Europe has released a commemorative piece of artwork to celebrate the game’s launch, featuring several of the playable Kirbys and other characters that make up the fighting game’s roster. It’s a good way to highlight a game that, while not as deep as Smash Bros., still makes for a fun brawler according to reviews for Kirby Fighters 2.
Some fans may be less interested in the game itself and more in the evidence of a potential new 3D Kirby game that dataminers uncovered in its files. Considering the popularity of both Kirby and the Switch, it makes sense to assume Nintendo could have a new title in the works for the console, but for now it remains to be seen if it is a 3D game.
Kirby Fighters 2 is available for the Nintendo Switch.