Nintendo and HAL Laboratory want to make more 3D Kirby games

In a developer interview posted on Nintendo’s website ahead of Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s launch, developers from HAL Laboratory and Nintendo discussed wanting to make more 3D Kirby games in the future. Much of the four-part interview series is focused on the development team’s struggles to adapt the mainline Kirby series‘ formula to 3D. Thankfully, their efforts were worth it as the game garnered critical acclaim (Digital Trends gave it four stars). Now that Nintendo and HAL Laboratory have cracked the code on how to make an enjoyable 3D Kirby experience, everyone involved seems pretty optimistic about the series’ future in 3D.  “To create Kirby’s first-ever 3D action game, however, there were still a lot of learnings, like how to manage stage density and direct 3D camera movement,” HAL Laboratory level design director Yuki Endo explained. “If we can apply the skills we gained from this title, I feel we’ll be able to come up with a lot of new gameplay ideas in future Kirby titles.” In response to the question about Kirby’s future, HAL Laboratory director Tatsuya Kamiyama focused on the idea that he wants to make games that appeal to players young and old and possibly “earn the attention of players who may have moved on from Kirby.” Meanwhile, HAL Laboratory general director Shinya Kumazaki promises that the development team will be “even more wild and free when we create future Kirby titles.” He also believes that Kirby and the Forgotten Land is both a masterpiece and “just another checkpoint in Kirby’s long history.” As for Nintendo’s perspective on the matter, associate producer Kei Ninomiya seemed bullish on continuing to make games of this style. “We were actually worried that Kirby’s most beloved qualities would have to be reduced to better fit a full 3D action game,” he said. “Once we completed creating the game, however, it became clear that this is a fun-filled title that still feels like Kirby and is easy to enjoy. That made me very confident. This title encourages us to keep making games that cherish the “Kirbyness” of Kirby, and it challenges us to do many new things in the future, in both 2D and 3D.” Kirby and the Forgotten Land launches for Nintendo Switch on March 25. If the developers’ comments are any indication, it also seems like this could be the start of a new era for the franchise Nintendo saved a big reveal for its final trailer in its Nintendo Switch 2 Direct. Donkey Kong is getting his first new 3D game since Donkey Kong 64 on the N64 in a new adventure titled Donkey Kong Bananza, coming on July 17, 2025 for the Nintendo Switch 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIddsPkdX9U&pp=ygUHYmFuYW56YQ%3D%3D Now that the Nintendo Switch 2 has had its formal reveal and will be arriving in 2025, we can finally shift our focus from all hardware leaks and rumors to the most important part of any console: the software. The Switch 2 was revealed with footage of Mario Kart 9 and details about its backwards compatibility, but that leaves a lot of room to hope and speculate for other games to fill the lineup of upcoming games. With a host of new features, as well as more power to keep up with games that wouldn’t be possible on the Switch, a world of possibility has opened up for games we would love to play on the Switch 2. These are our top seven games that we would love to see hit Nintendo’s latest console.
Crusader Kings 3 Hardcore strategy games have typically been a genre locked to PCs. While plenty of recent games have done an admiral job of adapting the complex controls and systems for controllers, the genre is clearly best played with a mouse in almost every example. The Switch 2’s new Joy-cons may look like a larger version of the original, but they come with a simple yet brilliant feature that opens the doors for these types of experiences to sing. By holding the Joy-con on its side and placing it on a flat surface, you can use it as a mouse pointer. This would be the ideal way to play a game like Crusader Kings 3, which is built on being one of the most dynamic and deep simulations set in the Middle Ages. Being able to take your empire on the go and still be able to easily manage all the systems without fumbling over the controls would easily get us addicted all over again.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Heading into 2024, we were convinced that we’d end the year playing games on the Nintendo Switch 2. We anticipated a light stream of final Switch exclusives that would send the historic console off in style, but figured that we’d get no major releases. Boy were we wrong.