6. For Love of Kirby

Lastly, I would like each of you to say something to the fans regarding the release of the first Kirby game in the main series in 11 years. Yamagami-san, would you start?

Okay. I’m incredibly pleased that we were able to achieve a Kirby game with four-person gameplay, but HAL Laboratory has really outdone themselves in a lot of details as well. For example, when your Kirby’s hit points run low, the other players can help you, and the gesture for sharing HP is a kiss! That’s so cute it’s unbearable! I hope everyone will play with their friends and have their characters kiss each other. Everyone will immediately fall for the game the first time they see how cute that is! (laughs) And then there are all the different challenges in order to collect

They’re just the right balance - neither too easy nor too difficult. They’re right where you think you can get them with just a little more effort.

I want everyone to experience the moderate difficulty and detailed aspects of playing together with their friends.

All right. Hattori-san?

For me it’s the way the words “Anything is possible” symbolise this game, I think anyone can play and equally enjoy this game. New players as well as those who are returning to the series after a while can both enjoy it. If you want to play it in depth, you can, and players who aren’t good at action games can also thoroughly enjoy clearing it. It has a perfect balance, so I hope people will play it and each person will find his or her own distinctive idea of Kirby.

Okay. Kawase-san.

Well, it’s been 11 years, so…

Uh-huh. (laughs)

For 11 years, we wanted to deliver a Kirby game to the fans, and I’m terribly sorry that we couldn’t. A lot of people at the company were frustrated as well, but this time we properly completed the game. HAL Laboratory will continue to challenge itself. I want to release many more Kirby games.

Those 11 years weren’t a waste. Without the previous attempts, this game would never have been born. Okay, Kumazaki-san?

All right. I hope players will enjoy to their heart’s content this high-power canonical Kirby game in which you can enjoy for the first time in a while inhaling, copying and performing new command moves. As for something I recommend, I really like making bosses. When it comes to the last boss in particular, we’ve prepared something for the climax that will blow your mind.

You are a director whose love for bosses never ceases! (laughs)

You know it! (laughs) I think the key ingredients of an action game are devices, maps, and tough boss battles. I worked with the programmer mentioned earlier on the last boss and was able to present the climax the way I wanted. If you play to the end, exciting developments await that will make you think, “This is great!” So please, enjoy it to the end!

Nakano-san?

Well, the first Kirby game that I played was Kirby’s Adventure. I started liking Kirby then, and I eventually found work at HAL Laboratory. As a fan of the Kirby series, I was able to throw in all kinds of elements for a Kirby game that I would like to play. When it was done, I thought, “So many of my dreams have come true!” But aside from me, we had lots of developers feeling that way, so - in a good way - we were able to pack in all this mischief and excitement. I hope as many people as possible, including fans of the series of course, will enjoy those things.

Whew! Everyone’s love of Kirby is incredible. I’m very grateful.

(laughs)

When I first started making Kirby, there was a kindergarten right next door. I’ll never forget how moved I was the first time I saw doodles there of Kirby. That may have been the first time I realised that the world would recognise what we had made. Because of that feeling, Kirby is special to me. But listening to you today, I feel my love for Kirby doesn’t even come close to yours. All right, finish us off, Kamitake-san.

Okay. When I first heard about players being able to join anytime, I thought I wanted to play it with my family. And because you can join or quit anytime, mum and dad can easily pop in and out of the game. For a little while now, my kids have been asking me to buy them a game, and I’ve been saying, “Just wait a little longer and I’ll buy one for you.”

(laughs)

Not “I’ll buy one for you” but “I’ll finish making one for you.”

Yes. (laughs) Now I can finally give it to them. This only pertains to myself, but I’m looking forward to playing this game with my kids soon!

(laughs loudly)

That does only pertain to yourself! Oh well, hopefully people will project it onto themselves and feel the same way. (laughs) In today’s “Iwata Asks,” we talked more than usual from the customer’s point of view. That made quite an impression on me. It is deeply moving that the pupils of my pupils would make something like this. I think it is a game that shows that all the hard work and blood and sweat of the last 11 years hasn’t gone to waste, so I hope anyone who is even a little interested will check it out. I’m sure you will be able to enjoy it in line with your skill level. Again, thank you all for coming today.

Thank you.

I’m glad you completed it.

(sighs)

I still can’t believe it. (laughs)

(laughs)