Kirby for Nintendo GameCube Kirby and threeKnuckle Joes fighting aScarfy on a bridge. Details Developer(s) HAL Laboratory Publisher(s) Nintendo Date(s) announced/showcased November 25, 2004[1] Platform(s) Nintendo GameCube

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Kirby for Nintendo GameCube^[2][3][4] was the tentative title for an unreleased mainlineKirby game developed for theNintendo GameCube. Announced in 2004, it featured a revampedHelper system based on that ofKirby Super Star, alongside the camera perspective used inKirby 64: The Crystal Shards. It began development in 2000, shortly after development forKirby 64 concluded,^[5] and was planned for release soon afterKirby Air Ride in 2003.^[5] Its initial announced release date was 2005, which was later pushed back to 2006. However, due to the difficulty of designing a game for both single-player and multi-player, it was eventually canceled, most likely sometime in 2006.^[5] Had it been released as intended, it would have been the eighth game in the main series.

Three more builds of the game followed, with development eventually transferring over to theWii. Only the last of these was released, under the titleKirby's Return to Dream Land.^[5] The concept for this game would later be revisited inKirby Star Allies for theNintendo Switch.

Overview[edit]

Much likeKirby 64: The Crystal Shards, this game would have been a side-scroller with 3D graphics presented on a 2D plane. It featured aHelper system similar to the one inKirby Super Star, but allowed up to 3 Helpers at a time instead of just one. Enemies andmid-bosses could be stunned by the attacks of Kirby and his helpers. The story would have seen Kirby on a quest to retrieve theWarp Star, which had been stolen byKing Dedede, who uses it to power his new robot,Dedede Robo.^[6] Official press releases seem to imply that the game would use a similar "compilation" format asKirby Super Star, with concept art for the main menu shown in the20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia depicting a variety of menu options formatted as a stack of boxes.^[7]

The game started development in 2000, shortly after the release ofKirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and was intended to release soon afterKirby Air Ride in 2003. It was announced in November 2004,^[1] and trailers and press screenshots were shown duringE3 2005,^[8], though nothing more would come of it.

Enemies/Helpers[edit]

Enemies who appeared in this version included the following:

Enemy	Copy Ability	Notes
Babut
Blade Knight	Sword	Spin Slash was first introduced in this version.
Blipper
Bonkers	Hammer
Bronto Burt
Broom Hatter	Cleaning	The Cleaning ability didn't return untilKirby Star Allies.
Chilly	Ice
Flappy	Wing	Flappy has only appeared inKirby Air Ride so far. When only Kirby rodepiggyback on Flappy, he wore a helmet similar to that ofWheelie Rider.
Glunk
Golem	Stone
Heat Phanphan	Fire	Heat Phanphan has only appeared inKirby Air Ride so far.
Knuckle Joe	Fighter
Parasol Waddle Dee	Parasol
Plasma Wisp	Plasma
Scarfy
Sir Kibble	Cutter	Sir Kibble's design in this game had spiral patterns on his armor and cutter that aren't present elsewhere.
Solite
Waddle Dee
Waddle Doo	Beam
Wheelie	Wheel	When only Kirby rodepiggyback on Wheelie, he wore a helmet similar to that ofWheelie 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 a group of three water droplets similar toPluid.

Abilities[edit]

Several different copy abilities were demonstrated in this title, though some were only shown through theirHelper. In total, at least 16 abilities were confirmed or implied to appear. A handful of abilities in this title appeared as trophies inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, using what seem to be the same assets; these are noted as appropriate.

Bosses[edit]

Bosses who appeared in this version included the following:

• Whispy Woods
• Dedede Robo
• Morpho Knight (designed, unknown if it was put into the game)^[9]

The three lostKirby games[edit]

In an Iwata Asks interview forKirby's Return to Dream Land, 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 lostKirby games".^[5] Each of the three lost games were said to be "fairly complete", with the third one in particular being "painfully close to completion".^[10] A general timeline can be estimated based on investor reports that give release dates for the project.

Release dates given in investor informational material forKirby for Nintendo GameCube and its successor projects between E3 2005 and the release ofKirby's Return to Dream Land
Report date	Release date	Title in Japanese report	Reference	Title in English report	Reference	Notes
2005/05/27	2005 TBA TBA	星のカービィ(仮称)	[1]	Nintendo provided no English versions of these reports.		First appearance ofKirby for Nintendo GameCube on any of the annual investor reports supplementary material. Listed under the GameCube release schedule.
2005/11/25	2006 TBA	星のカービィ(仮称)	[2]			While still listed for a GameCube release in Japan and the Americas,Kirby is no longer listed for a European release at all, when other games likeThe Legend of Zelda (working title) still are.
2006/05/26	2006	星のカービィ(仮称)	[3]			While still listed for a GameCube release in Japan,Kirby is now no longer listed for an American release either, whenThe Legend of Zelda (working title) still is (now for 2006/Q4). However, as the latter is also no longer listed for a European release, the omission ofKirby from overseas schedules could be a simple error, or an omission for brevity.
2006/10/27	TBA	星のカービィ(仮称)	[4]			This is the first time the game is listed under the Wii's release schedule, with GameCube releases no longer shown in these reports. This does not exclude the possibility ofKirby still being developed for the GameCube in addition to the Wii, asThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was.
2007/04/27	TBA	星のカービィ(仮称)	[5]	Hoshi no Kirby (Temp)	[6]	The game is still listed for a Wii release on a date TBA. This appears to be the first report where investors were provided an English version of the supplementary information via the Nintendo website.
2007/10/26	2008	星のカービィ(仮称)	[7]	Kirby (Temp.)	[8]	Nintendo assigns the game a release date of 2008, only to delay it to 2009 a year later.
2008/01/25			[9]		[10]
2008/04/25			[11]		[12]
2008/10/31	2009	星のカービィ(仮称)	[13]	Hoshi no Kirby (Temp.)	[14]
2009/01/30			[15]	Hoshi no Kirby(Temp.)	[16]
2009/05/08			[17]		[18]
2009/07/31			[19]		[20]
2009/10/30			[21]		[22]
2010/01/29	TBA	星のカービィ(仮称)	[23]	Hoshi no Kirby(Temp.)	[24]	Shinya Kumazaki's involvement inKirby's Return to Dream Land began in March of 2010, when "[t]he third attempt ... had been called off"[5] likely in the months surrounding this report.
2010/05/07			[25]		[26]	At this point,Kirby's Return to Dream Land would have entered the initial stages of development.
2010/07/29	n/a	n/a	[27]	n/a	[28]	Kirby is not listed as a future Wii release during this time; however,Kirby's Epic Yarn is, which may be the reason why it was removed from the schedule. Some press outlets believedKirby's Epic Yarn to be the manifestation of the canceledKirby title.[11] The lack of a public timeline afterKirby's Return to Dream Land began development contrasts with Kumazaki being explicitly given a year and a half to complete the game.[5]
2010/10/29			[29]		[30]
2011/01/28			[31]		[32]	While absent from the actual list of upcoming releases, the still-untitledKirby game that becameKirby's Return to Dream Land was quietly announced by Nintendo's then-President Satoru Iwata inthe actual investor briefing that the supplementary information accompanied. Iwata's presentation confirmed that it was separate fromKirby's Epic Yarn and that HAL Laboratory was working on the project for a 2011 release date.
2011/04/26	2011	星のカービィ(仮称)	[33]	Hoshi no Kirby (Temp.)	[34]	After the release ofKirby's Epic Yarn, the untitledKirby game returns to the lists of future releases, but without any indication of an overseas release. At this point, the game has not had any overseas release dates for seven years.
2011/07/29	2011 2011 Fall CY2011/Q4	星のカービィ(仮称)	[35]	Kirby Wii (Temp.)	[36]	Kirby Wii was publicly announced at E3 2011. The report indicates overseas releases for the first time since 2005. The distinction in turn strongly suggests thatKirby for Nintendo GameCube was in quite an advanced stage when it was scrapped.
2011/10/24	2011/10/27 2011/10/24 2011/11/25	星のカービィ Wii	[37]	Kirby's Return to Dream Land Kirby's Return to Dream Land Kirby's Adventure Wii	[38]	Kirby's Return to Dream Land gains its final regional titles and release dates, which Nintendo and HAL Laboratory would meet, over seven years after the E3 2005 showcase featuringKirby for Nintendo GameCube.

Full 3D platformer[edit]

Development screenshots of the full 3D platformer

The second lost game was a full 3D adventure allowing Kirby to freely move around. It looked very similar toKirby Air Ride in graphical style, though with thick outlines on the character models. It was stated to have extremely challenging gameplay, and was canceled because it did not achieve HAL's quality standards.^[5]

Due to the fullscreen proportions of the screenshots, it can be reasonably assumed that the game was developed for theNintendo GameCube, at least initially. This likely would have been developed between late 2006 and mid-2007, when investor reports changed the game's planned release date from 2006 to "TBA". As such, it likely had the shortest development span of any of the three lost games.

Full 2D platformer[edit]

Development screenshots of the full 2D platformer

The third and final lost game was a 2D platformer with clean 2D graphics, similar in art style toWario Land: Shake It!, though with 3D cel-shaded character models. Only a few screenshots of this game were ever released, but the backdrop and layout looked very similar toCookie Country fromKirby's Return to Dream Land. TheSuper Abilities were planned to appear in this build, and they ended up being included inKirby's Return to Dream Land.^[12] One noticeable aspect shown in this build is a counter forTreasures on the heads-up display, suggesting similar gameplay mechanics toKirby: Squeak Squad.

The game was developed for the Wii, judging by the widescreen proportions of the screenshots. This likely would have been in development from mid-2007 to early 2010; investor reports show that it was targeting a 2008 release date, then 2009, before eventually returning to a TBA release date by early 2010, when the game was canceled for unknown reasons.^[5] The development team was ultimately able to completeKirby's Return to Dream Land in a year and a half due to having materials left over from the three lostKirby games, with the third game in particular having the strongest influence on the final product.^[10]

Legacy[edit]

Several aspects of the three canceled projects would eventually work their way into completedKirby titles. Among them included the following points:

• The concept of a full 3DKirby game was likely the inspiration for the 3D environments in the sub-gameKirby 3D Rumble, and later inKirby's Blowout Blast andKirby Battle Royale, and would ultimately be realized fully inKirby and the Forgotten Land.
• Much of the music and other assets developed forKirby for Nintendo GameCube would be used inKirby's Return to Dream Land, most noticeably "Road to Victory" (used forThe Arena andThe True Arena). This track was first heard in theKirby for Nintendo GameCube trailer duringE3 2005, and shares the melody of the theme "Sky Tower" fromKirby's Return to Dream Land. These two themes were originally composed at the same time as "paired songs", a light and dark version of the same melody, which would play in a stage that would gradually fall to ruin during gameplay. This melody was intended to be an important motif inKirby for Nintendo GameCube, though it's also widely used inKirby's Return to Dream Land.^[13][14] Another track carried over from the GameCube game was "Exploring the Cave", which played in the footage shown at E3 2005.^[15] Furthermore, several themes inKirby's Return to Dream Land share a different melody that may have been intended as a motif for one of the later builds; this motif is most prominently heard in "Beyond the Hill", "Perfect Sledding Weather" and the unused trackKbyW_HEITI1, and somewhat more loosely in "A Stroll on the Ocean Floor". This exact motif first appeared in "Yin-Yarn" fromKirby's Epic Yarn. Excepting the unused track, all of the themes with said motif are known to be composed byJun Ishikawa.
• Several models and sounds inKirby's Return to Dream Land's files use the header "GCK", presumably for "GameCube Kirby", indicating that they were originally planned for use in this title.
• Various sound effects used in this title would later be used inKirby: Canvas Curse andKirby: Squeak Squad, including the sound for getting a Copy Ability, the inhale sound, and the sound of Water Kirby's bubble attack (for theBubble ability's attacks).
• TheKirby series trophies inSuper Smash Bros. Brawl appear to use assets from this title, with models such asGolem and theFire hat, which has a hexagonal jewel rather than the circular one inKirby Air Ride, being direct matches.
• TheWater ability was originally planned to debut in this game, with a different design more closely matching its appearance in theKirby: Right Back at Ya! anime; it ended up debuting inKirby's Return to Dream Land instead.
• Dedede Robo, which had initially appeared as aboss for this title, would later appear inKirby Mass Attack, and later with a new paint job inKirby's Return to Dream Land asHR-D3, piloted byMetal General EX.
• Morpho Knight, who had initially been designed as a boss for this title, would later debut inKirby Star Allies and subsequently reappear inKirby and the Forgotten Land.
• The concept of having threeHelpers, along with the return of theCleaning ability, would eventually manifest inKirby Star Allies, though taking a slightly different approach.
• The game was initially planned to have anExtra Mode titled "Save Kirby!", where Kirby would've been captured by King Dedede and the player would control a Helper to set out and rescue him. This concept appears to have become the basis forHelper to Hero inKirby Super Star Ultra andGuest Star ???? Star Allies Go! inKirby Star Allies.^[7]
• The art style ofKirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe may have been inspired by the art style of the second and third canceled projects, with them notably featuring a storybook-like art style with outlines around the characters.

Gallery[edit]

• 
  Artwork of Kirby
• 
  Artwork of Heat Phanphan, Golem, and Kirby riding onBonkers
• 
  Cutter Kirby facing Sir Kibble
• 
  Parasol Kirby andParasol Waddle Dee
• 
  Kirby inhaling a Waddle Dee
• 
  Kirby diving underwater (sans goggles) near twoBlippers
• 
  Kirby hopping around a rainbow
• 
  Kirby at a mountain range
• 
  Kirby, Bonkers, Chilly, and Knuckle Joe in an icy location
• 
  Kirby riding onFlappy
• 
  Parasol Waddle Dee, Waddle Doo, and Kirby riding on Heat Phanphan
• 
  Parasol Waddle Dee, Chilly, and Kirby riding on Wheelie
• 
  Kirby and Golem riding on Wheelie
• 
  Kirby (now having goggles) swimming from two Blippers
• 
  Kirby and Knuckle Joe fighting two Bonkers
• 
  Kirby riding Wheelie to a dark castle
• 
  Kirby with hisPlasma Copy Ability
• 
  Kirby attacking Golem with theParasol Copy Ability
• 
  Kirby with hisFire Copy Ability
• 
  Concept art ofMorpho Knight forKirby for Nintendo GameCube

Videos[edit]

Names in other languages[edit]

See also[edit]

• Kirby's Return to Dream Land
• Kirby Star Allies
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land

External links[edit]

• Iwata Asks: Kirby's Return to Dream Land - The Three Lost Kirby Games (interview with Satoru Iwata on Nintendo.com)
• Kirby's Rainbow Resort (fansite)
• Kirbytraum (German fansite) -1,2

References

• Featured pages
• Canceled games
• Games on Nintendo GameCube
• Games on Wii
• Main series games

• Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images
• Articles which list Japanese names
• Articles which list German names