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Franchises

Kirby

33 titles in the catalog ⏱ 1992–2025 13 platforms
Kirby – obaly dílů série

Kirby debuted in 1992 on the Game Boy with Kirby's Dream Land from HAL Laboratory, the studio behind the series under the guidance of Masahiro Sakurai. From the start, the small pink creature could inhale enemies and either spit them out as a projectile or swallow them to gain their power. The game was deliberately designed as an entry point for less experienced players, offering simpler controls than the platforming competition of its time. The Copy Ability system was fully realized just a year later in Kirby's Adventure on the NES, still regarded as one of the finest games on that console, which also introduced Kirby's long-running rival King Dedede.

The series has always been defined by the contrast between its pastel, childlike visuals and surprisingly dark moments in its final stretches and boss fights. Accessibility for newcomers sits alongside deeper challenges for veteran players, who get tougher optional modes and arenas. Beyond the main platforming line, Kirby branched into pinball with Kirby's Pinball Land, a golf spin-off in Kirby's Dream Course, and its own racing game. Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Kirby's Dream Land 3 continued this tradition with animal companions such as Rick, Kine, and Coo, who lent Kirby additional movement abilities.

Key chapters of the nineties and 2000s show how the concept kept expanding. Kirby Super Star on the SNES offered a collection of shorter games plus a helper mechanic controllable by a second player, while Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards introduced combining two abilities into one. Kirby Air Ride on the GameCube turned the series into a deceptively simple but deep racer with one-button controls and the beloved City Trial mode. Kirby: Canvas Curse on the Nintendo DS then built an entire game around stylus-only control, turning Kirby into a ball rolling along drawn paths, while the cooperative Kirby & the Amazing Mirror sent four Kirbys at once to explore a connected world.

The Wii brought two very different takes on the series - the visually distinctive Kirby's Epic Yarn, made with studio Good-Feel, where Kirby cannot die and loses scraps of fabric instead of taking damage, and a return to the classic style with four-player co-op in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. On 3DS, Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot followed, adding among other things a controllable mech suit, while the touch-based Kirby: Mass Attack let players control up to ten tiny Kirbys at once. Kirby Star Allies on Switch then brought back recruiting friendly enemies as companions.

The turning point of recent years is Kirby and the Forgotten Land from 2022 - the first mainline entry set in a fully three-dimensional world, famous for its Mouthful Mode, in which Kirby swallows and wields giant objects like cars or vending machines as weapons. The game earned some of the best reception in the series' history. Kirby has also been one of the original eight fighters in Super Smash Bros. since 1999 and the star of his own anime series, confirming that even after more than thirty years, Kirby remains one of Nintendo's steadiest and most approachable franchises, delivering fun for the youngest players while offering enough depth for veterans.

Entries in the series (33)

  1. Kirby's Dream Land · 1992

    The debut of the pink puffball who swallows anything — Masahiro Sakurai's brilliantly simple concept.

    GB

  2. Kirby's Adventure · 1993

    Visually stunning on the NES; the birth of Kirby's ability copying.

    NES

  3. Kirby's Pinball Land · 1993

    Kirby himself becomes the pinball; an unusual detour from the series' classic platforming.

    GB

  4. Kirby's Dream Course · 1994

    Mini golf with Kirby; unexpectedly deep.

    SNES

  5. Kirby's Avalanche · 1995

    Actually a reskinned Puyo Puyo with faces from Dream Land.

    SNES

  6. Kirby's Block Ball · 1995

    Kirby as a bouncing ball smashing blocks - closer to Arkanoid than a traditional platformer.

    GB

  7. Kirby's Dream Land 2 · 1995

    A cute but surprisingly rich platformer with animal companions and ability combinations.

    GB

  8. Kirby Super Star · 1996

    Eight games in one + co-op; great value.

    SNES

  9. Kirby's Dream Land 3 · 1997

    The last Kirby platformer on the SNES; a pastel style unusual for the genre.

    SNES

  10. Kirby's Star Stacker · 1997

    A puzzle game where you stack falling stars into rows to shoot down a whale named Fatty Whale.

    GB

  11. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards · 2000

    Kirby's ability-copying got a new layer — combining two abilities at once.

    N64

  12. Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble · 2000

    Tilt controls via a motion sensor in the cartridge; a one-of-a-kind.

    GBC

  13. Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land · 2002

    A loving remake of Kirby's very first adventure in a bright, modern coat of paint.

    GBA

  14. Kirby Air Ride · 2003

    An unconventional racing game from the creators of Super Smash Bros., controlled with essentially a single button.

    GCN

  15. Kirby & the Amazing Mirror · 2004

    Kirby with an open, interconnected map; a metroidvania flavor.

    GBA

  16. Kirby: Canvas Curse · 2005

    You don't control Kirby directly, you just draw his path with the stylus; an elegant use of touch controls.

    DS

  17. Kirby: Squeak Squad · 2006

    Classic Kirby on the hunt for a cake; new combinations of abilities with items.

    DS

  18. Kirby Super Star Ultra · 2008

    A remake of a collection of several standalone adventures in one, a so-called game full of games.

    DS

  19. Kirby's Epic Yarn · 2010

    The most visually distinctive Kirby; the entire world is made of fabric, yarn, and buttons.

    Wii

  20. Kirby Mass Attack · 2011

    Instead of one Kirby, you control up to ten of them at once with the stylus - unique in the series.

    DS

  21. Kirby's Return to Dream Land · 2011

    A return to traditional inhaling and copying abilities after the fabric experiment.

    Wii

  22. Kirby: Triple Deluxe · 2014

    For the first time, Kirby uses the depth of the 3D display - moving between the foreground and background of the scene.

    3DS

  23. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse · 2015

    A successor to the DS hit Canvas Curse; you draw rainbow lines entirely on the GamePad.

    Wii U

  24. Kirby: Planet Robobot · 2016

    Kirby takes the wheel of the Robobot Armor mech suit; a sharp, well-tuned platformer.

    3DS

  25. Kirby's Blowout Blast · 2017

    Built from the 3D Rumble bonus minigame from Planet Robobot, expanded into an eShop title.

    3DS

  26. Kirby Star Allies · 2018

    Expands sucking and copying abilities with the Friend Heart — befriending enemies.

    Switch

  27. Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn · 2019

    A port of the wool-and-yarn Wii game with added content and its own extra challenge mode.

    3DS

  28. Kirby Fighters 2 · 2020

    Up to four copies of Kirby in an arena, each with a different ability sucked in from across the series.

    Switch

  29. Kirby and the Forgotten Land · 2022

    The series' first truly three-dimensional levels; Kirby wanders overgrown ruins of civilization.

    Switch

  30. Kirby's Dream Buffet · 2022

    A party game where ball-shaped Kirbys race down tracks made of cupcakes and jam for points.

    Switch

  31. Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe · 2023

    A remake of the beloved Kirby platformer from Wii; a return to horizontal action.

    Switch

  32. Kirby Air Riders · 2025

    Sakurai's sequel to Kirby Air Ride, with deliberately simplified, accessible controls.

    Switch 2

  33. Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World · 2025

    An expanded edition of the first 3D Kirby, set in a melancholic world overgrown with nature.

    Switch 2