Sakurai’s Famitsu Column Vol. 534: Letters from the Readers #49

Originally published July 12th, 2017.

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Question: After the Nintendo Presentation at E3, Kirby started trending on Twitter! Now that you’ve been away [from the series for awhile] and it’s been quite successful, are you proud? Or do you miss it?

From: Kitano Masayuki, Osaka

Sakurai’s Response:

Of course, I’m thrilled!

It’s the case with anything, but if nothing is produced then the series will fade away. Franchises aren’t as stable as they appear to the casual observer.

With Smash, I’ve been able to work a little bit with all of Nintendo’s properties, so I haven’t completely cut my ties with Kirby. I’m also on good terms with HAL Laboratories. I guess I’ve been blessed to have this position even after going freelance.

Personally, I feel that they should try a ton of new things with Kirby. [Kirby is a game] that is simple enough for anyone can play and is easy to remember, so anything is possible.

In that sense, I imagine other developers envy Kirby’s “wild card” status that allows for a wide range of possibilities.No matter who works on it, I look forward to seeing new games in the Kirby series and enjoying them from the sidelines.

Extra notes:

I provided model of Halberd that I made from Brawl for Kirby Super Star Ultra.