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Kirby for Nintendo GameCube

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Template:Infobox-CancelledGame

Kirby for Nintendo GameCube[1] was the tentative title for an unreleased mainline Kirby game developed for the Nintendo GameCube. Announced in 2004, it featured a revamped Helper system based on that of [[Kirby Super Star|Template:KSS KFP]], alongside the camera perspective used in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. It began development in 2000, shortly after development for Kirby 64 concluded,[2] and was planned for release shortly after Kirby Air Ride in 2003.[2] However, due to issues designing levels to be playable in both singleplayer and multiplayer, it was canceTemplate:Led shortly after its announcement.[2] Had it been released as intended, it would have been the eighth game in the main series.

Three more builds of the game followed: one for the Nintendo GameCube and two for the Wii. Only the last of these was released, under the title [[Kirby's Return to Dream Land|Template:KRtDL KAW]].[2] The concept for this game would later be revisited in Kirby Star Allies for the Nintendo Switch.

Overview

The game was shown as a more traditional 2D adventure, but still containing 3D assets. It featured a Helper system similar to the one in [[Kirby Super Star|Template:KSS KFP]], but allowed up to 3 Helpers at a time instead of just one. Enemies and Mid-Bosses could be stunned by the attacks of Kirby and his helpers. The story would have seen Kirby on a quest to retrieve the Warp Star, which had been stolen by King Dedede.[3]

The game started development in 2000, shortly after the release of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and was intended to release shortly after Kirby Air Ride in 2003. It was announced in November 2004,[4] and a trailer was shown during E3 2005,[5] though it was canceTemplate:Led shortly after.

Enemies/Helpers

Enemies who appeared in this version included the following:

Enemy Copy Ability Notes
Babut No
Blade Knight Sword Spin Slash was first introduced in this version.
Blipper No
Bonkers Hammer
Bronto Burt No
Broom Hatter Cleaning The Cleaning ability didn't return until Kirby Star Allies.
Chilly Ice
Dale No Dale only appeared in Kirby Air Ride so far.
Flappy Wing Flappy only appeared in Kirby Air Ride so far. When only Kirby rode piggyback on Flappy, he wore a helmet similar to that of Wheelie Rider.
Golem Stone Golem only appeared in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror so far.
Heat Phanphan Fire Heat Phanphan only appeared in Kirby Air Ride so far.
Knuckle Joe Fighter
Parasol Waddle Dee Parasol
Plasma Wisp Plasma
Scarfy No
Sir Kibble Cutter
Waddle Dee No
Waddle Doo Beam
Wheelie Wheel When only Kirby rode piggyback on Wheelie, he wore a helmet similar to that of Wheelie Rider.
Unidentified enemy Bomb The enemy was a mini clown riding a relatively big jester ball.
Unidentified enemy Tornado The enemy resembled a fairy.
Unidentified enemy Water The enemy resembled three water drops. The Water ability would eventually debut in [[Kirby's Return to Dream Land|Template:KRtDL KAW]].

Abilities

Several different copy abilities were demonstrated in this title, though some were only shown through their Helper. In total, at least 16 abilities were confirmed or implied to appear.

Name Obtained from Notes
Beam Waddle Doo Never directly seen, but reasonably assumed due to Waddle Doo's appearance. Appears as a trophy in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
Bomb Unidentified enemy The ability's hat was redesigned to an orange party hat with yellow patterns, being the basis for its current design debuting in [[Kirby's Return to Dream Land|Template:KRtDL KAW]].
Cleaning Broom Hatter The ability's hat directly matches that of the anime, having a yellow kerchief with green stars.
Cutter Sir Kibble
Fighter Knuckle Joe Appears as a trophy in Brawl.
Fire Heat Phanphan The ability's hat was redesigned with a hexagonal gem matching that of the anime, which never reappeared outside of Brawl.
Ice Chilly Never directly seen, but reasonably assumed due to Chilly's appearance. Appears as a trophy in Brawl.
Hammer Bonkers The ability's hat was redesigned to resemble a construction helmet, which never reappeared in any future title.
Parasol Parasol Waddle Dee
Plasma Plasma Wisp Appears as a trophy in Brawl.
Stone Golem The ability's hat was redesigned to a crown of boulders, being the basis for its current design debuting in Template:KRtDL KAW.
Sword Blade Knight Appears as a trophy in Brawl.
Tornado Unidentified enemy Never directly seen, but reasonably assumed due to the helper that uses Tornado's moveset. Appears as a trophy in Brawl.
Water Unidentified enemy The only new ability to be showcased. The ability's design resembles that of the anime, with Kirby taking a translucent blue appearance.
Wheel Wheelie Never directly seen, but reasonably assumed due to Wheelie's appearance. Wheelie Rider also appears.
Wing Flappy Never directly seen, but reasonably assumed due to Flappy's appearance. Appears as a trophy in Brawl.

Bosses

Bosses who appeared in this version included the following:

The Three Lost Kirby Games

In an Iwata Asks interview for Template:KRtDL KAW, it was revealed that two more builds and concepts for the game existed before the final version; these two concepts alongside the one shown at E3 are collectively referred to as the "three lost Kirby games".[2] These two concepts are explained below.

Full 3D Platformer

Development screenshot of the full 3D platformer

The second game was a full 3D adventure allowing Kirby to freely move around, and looked very similar to Kirby Air Ride in graphical style. It was stated to have extremely challenging gameplay, and was canceTemplate:Led because it did not achieve HAL's quality standards.[2]

Due to the fullscreen proportions of the screenshot, it can be reasonably assumed that the game was developed for the Nintendo GameCube. If this is the case, then it likely had the shortest development span of the three concepts, due to being developed near the end of the GameCube's lifespan.

Full 2D Platformer

Development screenshot of the full 2D platformer

The third and final version was a 2D platformer done with clean 2D graphics, similar in art style to Wario Land: Shake It!. Only a few screenshots of this game were ever released, but the backdrop and layout looked very similar to Cookie Country from [[Kirby's Return to Dream Land|Template:KRtDL KAW]]. One noticeable aspect shown in this build is a counter for Treasures on the heads-up display, suggesting similar gameplay mechanics to [[Kirby: Squeak Squad|Template:KSqS KMoA]].

The game was developed for the Wii, judging by the widescreen proportions of the screenshot, starting development immediately after the cancellation of the previous build. It was canceTemplate:Led in early 2010 for unknown reasons.[2]

Legacy

Several aspects of the three canceTemplate:Led projects would eventually work their way into completed Kirby titles. Among them included the following points:

Gallery

Video

Kirby for Nintendo GameCube - E3 2005 trailer

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning
Japanese 星のカービィ
Hoshi no Kābī
Kirby of the Stars
German Kirby für Nintendo GameCube[7] Kirby for Nintendo GameCube


See also

External links

References

  1. https://web.archive.org/web/20071202061129/http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/e3_2005/gc_soft/
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Iwata Asks: Kirby's Return to Dream Land
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20120306183526/http://cube.ign.com/objects/716/716496.html
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ign
  5. https://youtube.com/watch?v=yy2l5BSBSL0
  6. "バルフレイナイトのデザインについては、実はゲームキューブ版の王道『カービィ』を考えていた時に敵の新型ナイトボスとして作られていたデザインなのですよ。" –July 2018 Issue (Nintendo DREAM), pg. 35
  7. Produktkatalog 2005, pg. 81