Kirby And The Forgotten Land’s Co-Developer Is Shutting Down

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Kirby and the Forgotten Land marked the fantastic return of one of Nintendo’s beloved IP titles. Our own George Foster gave Forgotten Lands a rating of four out of five, praising it for its charming setting and how it provides a blueprint for future Kirby games to follow.


Unfortunately, one of the Forgotten Lands developers won’t be around to work on the new Kirby game. Vanpool Inc., the supporting studio that helped HAL Labs create Kirby and the Forgotten Lands, has announced that it is closing its doors for good starting today.

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“Vanpool Inc. will be dissolved on May 31, 2023,” the company wrote on its website (translation provided by ResetEra). “We have decided to disband the company due to various reasons after continuing to develop games thanks to your kind support. We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the patronage we have received and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause .”

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Kirby from Kirby and the Forgotten Lands

Founded in 1999 in Tokyo, Vanpool first started making games for the PlayStation 2. It soon moved into Nintendo’s sphere of influence, creating and supporting games for the Wii and Nintendo DS. Vanpool has helped with titles such as Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash and the story of the Little King. As of 2019, Vanpool has worked with HAL Labs on several Kirby titles, including Super Kirby Clash, Kirby Fighters 2, and Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe.

Vanpool gave no explanation for the sudden closure. Users on ResetEra expressed their sincere condolences and hopes that everyone at Vanpool will get back on their feet.

Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai recently described a strange coincidence between Super Smash Bros. and Kirby, which explains why both games have a very similar damage system. Just like in Smash Bros., you can send Kirby flying towards the edge of the screen after taking damage in Kirby’s Dreamland, but Sakurai said in a recent YouTube video that he didn’t realize the similarities between the two systems until recently. He actually completely forgot about Kirby’s Dreamland while he was working on Smash Bros., but apparently Kirby made a bigger impression on him than he thought.

Kirby, Waddle Dee and Elfilin's Victory Animation from Kirby and the Forgotten Lands

Meanwhile, Forgotten Land director Shinya Kumazaki admitted in a recent interview that he was worried that the final boss would be too difficult for players. Kirby has historically been aimed at a younger audience, but those players may find Fector Forgo’s difficulty a bit jarring.

“The steep upward curve toward the end of the game, especially the final boss, was maybe something that was maybe a little too steep,” Kumazaki said. “Maybe we can think about maybe balancing it out a bit. It’s something I want to continue to explore.”

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