With twenty games under his belt and too many appearances to count, Kirby is undoubtedly among the most prolific icons in Nintendo history. A simple design and an even simpler power – eating – the brainchild of Masahiro Sakurai has had his little pink face plastered on everything from comic books to plush dolls. He’s even had his own cartoon, which has aired in more than half a dozen countries! There’s no stopping the puffball’s hunger, for enemies or for sweet, sweet cash.
In 1991, the young Sakurai was an employee of HAL Laboratory, was tasked with the creation of a Game Boy game. With a simple sketch he created the character known as Popopo, who, over time, would evolve into the famous Kirby. The character was send to Nintendo along with his first game - Kirby’s A number of spin-offs – Kirby’s Pinball Land, Kirby’s Dream Course, Kirby’s Avalanche, and Kirby’s Block Ball – were released soon after, helping cement the puffball’s imagine in Nintendo’s growing library. However, it wasn’t until Kirby’s Dream Land 2 on the Game Boy was released in 1995 that real progress in the series began. It introduced new enemies, new allies, and other new ideas that became staples of future Kirby games.