Forgotten Gems is a regular column about notable games that have moved out of the public eye and may not be easily accessible anymore. To see all the other games I've covered so far, be sure to check out the 12 previous issues of Forgotten Gems in our Columns section. In an alternate universe, HAL and Nintendo’s beloved Kirby series never made it out of Japan.
As the pink puffball conquered one platform after the other with his adorable pals, the Kirby games slowly emerged as the more forgiving, kid-friendly alternatives to Mario. If Mario missed a jump, he was a goner. Kirby? Just pump the button to float and you’ll get another chance at redemption.
Kids had no problems jumping into Kirby games and completing the main campaigns – but older players looking for a little more also found some surprisingly devious challenges on the path to 100% completion. But in our timeline, Kirby’s Dream Land hit Game Boy in the US and Europe a mere months after Hoshi no Kirby debuted in Japan in 1992. While the original game was a huge sales success that subsequent releases couldn’t quite replicate, Nintendo stuck with Kirby.
The faith it placed in the franchise designer Masahiro Sakurai (of Smash Bros. fame) built paid off. A full 30 years later, Kirby Star Allies and then Kirby and the Forgotten Land blew up on Switch, selling almost 12 million copies between them.
The Legend of Starfy: The Diminished Chap Which brings us to The Legendary Starfy. The series shares more than a pass.