It looks like this year will be a big one for the Kirby franchise. Nintendo has spent the last few months eagerly advertising Kirby and the Forgotten Land, a bold new entry in the series that opts for 3D over Kirby's traditional sidescrolling adventures. Kirby and the Forgotten Land looks like it'll profit off that change as much as it can, making major changes to classic Kirby Copy Abilities in order to give them more uses on a 3D plane. Aside from Forgotten Land, Kirby fans also have the franchise's anniversary celebration to look forward to. Nintendo hasn't outlined specific contents of the celebration yet, but there are supposedly multiple things planned for Kirby's 30th birthday.
It wouldn't be surprising if at least one of Nintendo and HAL Laboratory's anniversary items was a remaster or remake of a classic Kirby game. After all, lots of Nintendo's recent anniversaries have involved remakes and ports of well-known Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon games. If Nintendo wants to keep that pattern going, then it ought to remake Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards in particular. Kirby 64 is a classic entry in the franchise, so it's more than worthy of a revival. What's more, its relationship with 3D design makes it ripe for a fully 3D remake that follows in Kirby and the Forgotten Land's wake.
A 3D Version of Kirby 64
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards famously introduced the franchise to 3D graphics after years of 2D style. However, the game wasn't wholly 3D like its N64 peer Super Mario 64; instead, it was a sidescrolling game as usual. Kirby 64 was packed with memorable locations like the post-apocalyptic Shiver Star, and these settings have tons of further potential in a fully 3D remake. Freely wandering around the mysterious cityscape of Shiver Star sounds like a compelling new way to look at Kirby 64's settings. This kind of exploration could provide some extra difficulty to Kirby 64 too since HAL would have more ways to hide the game's titular collectible Crystal Shards.
There's another core aspect of Kirby 64 that could be improved in a 3D remake: Copy Ability mixing. There are only a handful of Copy Abilities in Kirby 64, but by picking up two of them, Kirby can create a unique Copy Ability called a Power Combo. A fully 3D version of Kirby 64 could make Power Combos even more engaging thanks to improvements in Kirby combat that have happened in recent years. Instead of each Power Combo having a single form of attack, a remake could introduce multiple attacks for each Power Combo that offer different ways to control a 3D battlefield.
3D Kirby Experiments
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a major step in a new direction for the Kirby franchise, thanks to its 3D world, but HAL Laboratory should push itself to continue experimenting with the model, rather than returning to 2D platforming in the next Kirby game. Nintendo pushed the limits of 3D platforming over several generations of Mario games, and Kirby ought to do the same thing. Kirby and the Forgotten Land looks great, but as the franchise's first foray into 3D, it probably won't get everything perfectly right. That's why a 3D remake of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards seems worth considering. It would allow HAL to get additional practice with 3D platforming without needing to come up with an entirely new game concept.
Admittedly, such a drastic Kirby 64 remake doesn't seem like it'll see the light of day in 2022 when HAL is already so busy crafting Forgotten Land. Nintendo and HAL Laboratory may have many Kirby anniversary plans in mind, but if Kirby 64 is among them, a Switch port is probably more likely than a total remake. The game would certainly shine on Nintendo Switch Online. For now, fans will just have to wait and see if Kirby 64 plays some role in the franchise's anniversary.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land releases March 25, 2022 for Nintendo Switch.
