Kirby Conversations | Exploring Kirby, Nintendo, and More

Discover the fascinating history of Flagship, the studio behind classics like Resident Evil and Kirby. Learn how Yoshiki Okamoto's leadership and collaborations with HAL influenced Kirby's evolution. Dive into Flagship's eclectic game catalog, ranging from Zelda to Dino Crisis, and hear about the studio's ultimate fate and closures. Plus, explore the surprising success of Okamoto's later venture, Monster Strike, and get a glimpse into his YouTube channel that's full of intriguing insights!

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker, a passionate product photographer and dedicated Kirby fan, shares nostalgic E3 experiences, highlighting impressive Nintendo exhibits and unforgettable reveals. She reflects on the magic of in-person events, lamenting E3's decline in favor of online announcements. The conversation shifts to exciting upcoming indie games, including cozy horror titles and unique action-platformers. Gigi adds a twist with her quirky cross-continental plan for acquiring a Switch 2, rounding out their summer gaming discussions.

Bridget shares her first impressions of the Switch 2, highlighting its impressive performance boost for older titles like Kirby Star Allies, which now runs smoother. She also explores the sleek design of the console and discusses the new GameCube app featuring rare titles. The duo debates the value of replaying classics and dreams up a wishlist of desired GameCube games. Overall, they agree the Switch 2 feels like a superior version of its predecessor, packed with charm and enhanced experiences.

The hosts dive into the fascinating world of early Smash Bros. culture, exploring emails from 1999 that reveal hilarious and heartfelt interactions with fans. They discuss surprising character requests, including Baby Mario and James Bond, highlighting how player preferences influenced game design. There’s laughter over parents seeking strategies to beat their kids and Sakurai's witty responses to fan queries. They also touch on test characters, local rule variations, and reflect on the nostalgia of a gaming era that forever shaped fan communities.

In this engaging discussion, the hosts tackle listener questions about the hardest Kirby games to speedrun and 100%. They dive into their top three favorite Kirby games and explore some unusual titles in the series. The panel reflects on the surreal nature of Kirby games, comparing spin-offs to mainline entries. Plus, they share their all-time favorite games beyond Kirby, including classics like Sekiro and Majora's Mask. A delightful mix of insight and nostalgia awaits!

How well does the original Super Smash Bros. hold up today? Who better to help us answer that question than our friends Gooey and McKenna of Flashback 64, the chronological Nintendo 64 podcast. Together we reflect on the game's development history (did you know one early idea for it was to make all the characters dogs?) and our own history with the game, which continues to be one most of us return to again and again. Despite the slowness and certain technological limitations compared to other entries, it turns out there's still a lot to love about the game—and we can't wait to play it online when it finally joins the Switch's Nintendo 64 library.Questions or comments about the show? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.Listen to our guests Gooey and McKenna on their podcast Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/. (Since we know of some parents who listen to Kirby Conversations with their children, please note that Flashback 64 is more for older listeners.) We will also now be uploading a version of Kirby Conversations to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect select episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.Join us online:Kirby ConversationsBluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.socialIG: @kirbyconversationsBridgetBluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.socialSean DouglassBluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.socialKy "Captain Dangerous" ParkerIG: @captaindangerousGigiCarrd linkOur opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thank you to everyone who visited our booth at the Midwest Gaming Classic this month! It was great to meet you, and thank you for submitting such thoughtful, creative, and funny questions to the show as well. It'll take several episodes to respond to every question, but for now here's a mailbag episode where we answer the first batch, about Smash Bros. characters, potential future Kirby gameplay ideas, and even one notorious recent indie game antihero.If you don't hear your question in this episode, don't worry--we promise to get to it soon!Want to reach out with your own questions or comments about the show? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.We will also now be uploading a version of Kirby Conversations to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect select episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.Join us online:Kirby ConversationsBluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.socialIG: @kirbyconversationsBridgetBluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.socialSean DouglassBluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.socialKy "Captain Dangerous" ParkerIG: @captaindangerousGigiCarrd linkOur opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After all the news from the April 2nd Nintendo Direct, we had to put out a bonus episode with our reactions and some of the additional information we've found about the Star-Crossed World upgrade for Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Kirby Air Riders, GameCube games on the Switch 2, and more. Who is this mysterious new Waddle Dee with a telescope in Star-Crossed World? Could Sakurai and Bandai Namco be bringing some of their sensibilities from Smash Bros. into Air Riders? And while the Switch 2 may be expensive, do the hundreds of dollars in rarer and pricey GameCube titles they're adding to the Nintendo Classics library make it an oddly affordable option for GameCube fans? We know lots of people have done immediate responses to the Direct already, but a few days out, here's where we're at with a little more info and a lot more questions about this exciting new era for Kirby and Nintendo.-----Want to reach out with a question or comment about the show? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.We will also now be uploading a version of Kirby Conversations to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect select episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.Join us online:Kirby ConversationsBluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.socialIG: @kirbyconversationsBridgetBluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.socialSean DouglassBluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.socialKy "Captain Dangerous" ParkerIG: @captaindangerousGigiCarrd linkOur opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

First announced in 2004, Kirby for Nintendo GameCube (which never received an official title beyond that) looked to be an ambitious Kirby adventure for a new console generation. But despite several exciting announcements, screenshots, and trailers that had Kirby fans of the 2000's eagerly anticipating its arrival, the game was quietly canceled, and it would be years before Kirby saw another non-handheld release. What happened to Kirby for GCN, and what kind of game would it have been? There's actually a lot we can piece together, so for this episode Sean, Bridget, and Gigi are going through all the information we can find to assemble a clearer look at a Kirby game that never was.You can watch the trailers for this game and see screenshots on WiKirby: wikirby.com/wiki/Kirby_for_Nintendo_GameCubeYou can also see incredible concept art for the menu screen and other screenshots from the 20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia here and here.And here is an impressive mod for Kirby's Return to the Dream Land, by creator Niment, inspired by Kirby for GCN: https://gamebanana.com/mods/247764Come visit our booth at the Midwest Gaming Classic this weekend (April 5th to 6th, 2025). Details about the event are at www.midwestgamingclassic.com!-----Want to reach out with a question or comment about the show? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.We will also now be uploading a version of the podcast to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect select episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.Join us online:Kirby ConversationsBluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.socialIG: @kirbyconversationsBridgetBluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.socialSean DouglassBluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.socialKy "Captain Dangerous" ParkerIG: @captaindangerousGigiCarrd linkOur opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gigi, one of our co-hosts and the Editor-in-Chief of WiKirby, is back from a long trip to Japan. During the last episode we talked with her about her more Kirby-centric experiences, like the Kirby Cafes, and for this show we're moving the conversation more generally to the other Nintendo things she saw--including the Nintendo Museum. There are some parts of the museum they don't let visitors photograph, so we enjoyed hearing this inside account of what all the museum has to offer. There's also time to discuss Japan's Pokémon locales and, of course, the Kirby arcade game.Want to reach out with a question or comment about the show? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.We will also now be uploading a version of the podcast to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect select episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.Join us online:Kirby ConversationsBluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.socialIG: @kirbyconversationsBridgetBluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.socialSean DouglassBluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.socialKy "Captain Dangerous" ParkerIG: @captaindangerousGigiCarrd linkOur opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.