GTV Japan | The Story of Kirby's Adventure: A 30th Anniversary Retrospective Gaming Documentary @GTV-Japan | Uploaded March 2023 | Updated October 2024, 4 hours ago.
Kirby was already a sleeper hit on the GameBoy, but in 1993 his (warp)star really took off, giving the Family Computer its final platinum game (Chapter Markers and more below…)
Episode information
GTV 145 “Full Color Kirby" Season 8 Episode 2
Original Airdate: March 22, 2023
Produced January 25-February 18, 2023
Recorded at Butsudan Studios and edited on my 14” MacBook M1 Pro! Edited and produced with Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Topaz AI. All paid for with Gainful Employment™
0:00 Up Next!
0:13 GTV ID: A Breath of Fresh Air!
0:20 Act 1: The Road to 1993
7:03 CM 1: Hoshi no Kirby - Yume no Izumi no Monogatari (Japan, 1993)
7:36 Act 2: To The Power of 8!
20:03 CM 2: Kirby’s Adventure (U.S., 1993)
21:22 Act 3: Kirby’s Worldwide Adventure
27:53 CM 3: Kirby’s Adventure (Quebec, 1993)
28:26 Act 4: After the Adventure
34:39 CM 4: Kirby’s Adventure (Mexico, 1993)
35:10 Epilogue: A Good Long Life
39:21 NG Scene!
Here are some other Nintendo videos from the GTV archives you’ll love!
What Was Yume Kojo? youtu.be/KL9o9zzCUsQ
Kid Icarus 30 youtu.be/ZGf6wIu9kEM
Double Identity youtu.be/sVx-e4obQc0
A Disney Afternoon (Let's Play Rescue Rangers in 1990) youtu.be/4dbvfJhTaMg
Justin Bailey youtu.be/x-e3BPF-qzw
The Perils of Pauline youtu.be/DKmJmAVXHgg
Evets Kainzow youtu.be/wJdlZUmZ_n0
Famicom Wars youtu.be/ba84r28pHRw
The Story of Punch Out !! Theme Song Look Sharp youtu.be/4iBeleAy5RE
Zelda 2 and the 1988 Chip Shortage youtu.be/H6zYKiueCEA
From B To A youtu.be/ZjZH9abJy0w
StarTropics: The American Game youtu.be/65F7xNqiZVA
Where is Chris Houlihan? youtu.be/Erytb_0MiQA
The History of Nantendo youtu.be/zBRtrrPk4zY
Partial transcript
On March 23rd, 1993, Hoshi no Kirby: Yume no Izumi no Monogatari, was released for the Nintendo Family Computer in Japan. A few months later the game went abroad as Kirby’s Adventure. Nearly three years after the Super Famicom had been released, many were surprised that such an impressive game could be made on such an old piece of hardware, and that anyone would bother doing such a thing at all, rather than going the 16-bit route.
At the end of 1990, with the 16-Bit Era in full swing, it seemed like the days of the Family Computer were numbered. Though the FC hung in there, doing so defied the odds, as Nintendo never expected the machine to make it to 3 years, let alone 10.
In 1990, Japanese game publisher, HAL Laboratory recruited a young graduate named Masahiro Sakurai. Having never created a video game before, he played around with the tools HAL had provided, including a makeshift toolkit built from a Family Computer and Disk System. Masahiro eventually created a peculiar game starring a floaty puffball, who could inhale enemies and use them as projectiles. He could also fly by inhaling the air around him. This offered a challenge, as while in flight, the character’s method of attack drops you to the ground. The choice of fight or flight offered a unique spin on the standard run and jump type of game common in those days.
Sakurai named this character Popopo, which sounds like the flutter noise he makes when flying. Popopo was initially designed as a simple placeholder character until something more sophisticated would replace him. Over time, Sakurai and the team at HAL grew to like the design. Popopo became permanent.
The game, titled Twinkle Popo was previewed and advertised across Japan, in early 1992. The response was disheartening as only 26,000 cartridges were pre-ordered from stores. Far less than what was required to break even.
HAL Laboratory reached out to Nintendo to publish the game, which led to Popopo being renamed to Kirby. Twinkle Popo was retitled to “Hoshi no Kirby” meaning in English, Kirby of the stars. Nintendo released the game on April 27th, 1992, backed with all of the resources Nintendo had at its disposal.
While the initial reception of Twinkle Popo was quite cold, Hoshi no Kirby became the #1 best game in Japan in May 1992, By the end of the year, the game had sold over one million copies in Japan, while also being released elsewhere in the world as Kirby’s Dream Land. Lifetime sales would exceed five million.
Kirby’s rocket ride to the top prompted immediate talk of expanding the Dream Land into a long running, proper series. With backing from Nintendo, not only was that possible, but now, for Sakurai and HAL Laboratory, the sky was the limit!
Some images came from Shmupulations. Some capture assistance courtesy of Raven XP. CMs by Vini64, Dario and Chris Aaron. Some footage courtesy of Masahiro Sakuari and Nintendo Co., Ltd. As for who sang the song on the GameBoy CMs... well, its still a mystery......
Kirby was already a sleeper hit on the GameBoy, but in 1993 his (warp)star really took off, giving the Family Computer its final platinum game (Chapter Markers and more below…)
Episode information
GTV 145 “Full Color Kirby" Season 8 Episode 2
Original Airdate: March 22, 2023
Produced January 25-February 18, 2023
Recorded at Butsudan Studios and edited on my 14” MacBook M1 Pro! Edited and produced with Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, and Topaz AI. All paid for with Gainful Employment™
0:00 Up Next!
0:13 GTV ID: A Breath of Fresh Air!
0:20 Act 1: The Road to 1993
7:03 CM 1: Hoshi no Kirby - Yume no Izumi no Monogatari (Japan, 1993)
7:36 Act 2: To The Power of 8!
20:03 CM 2: Kirby’s Adventure (U.S., 1993)
21:22 Act 3: Kirby’s Worldwide Adventure
27:53 CM 3: Kirby’s Adventure (Quebec, 1993)
28:26 Act 4: After the Adventure
34:39 CM 4: Kirby’s Adventure (Mexico, 1993)
35:10 Epilogue: A Good Long Life
39:21 NG Scene!
Here are some other Nintendo videos from the GTV archives you’ll love!
What Was Yume Kojo? youtu.be/KL9o9zzCUsQ
Kid Icarus 30 youtu.be/ZGf6wIu9kEM
Double Identity youtu.be/sVx-e4obQc0
A Disney Afternoon (Let's Play Rescue Rangers in 1990) youtu.be/4dbvfJhTaMg
Justin Bailey youtu.be/x-e3BPF-qzw
The Perils of Pauline youtu.be/DKmJmAVXHgg
Evets Kainzow youtu.be/wJdlZUmZ_n0
Famicom Wars youtu.be/ba84r28pHRw
The Story of Punch Out !! Theme Song Look Sharp youtu.be/4iBeleAy5RE
Zelda 2 and the 1988 Chip Shortage youtu.be/H6zYKiueCEA
From B To A youtu.be/ZjZH9abJy0w
StarTropics: The American Game youtu.be/65F7xNqiZVA
Where is Chris Houlihan? youtu.be/Erytb_0MiQA
The History of Nantendo youtu.be/zBRtrrPk4zY
Partial transcript
On March 23rd, 1993, Hoshi no Kirby: Yume no Izumi no Monogatari, was released for the Nintendo Family Computer in Japan. A few months later the game went abroad as Kirby’s Adventure. Nearly three years after the Super Famicom had been released, many were surprised that such an impressive game could be made on such an old piece of hardware, and that anyone would bother doing such a thing at all, rather than going the 16-bit route.
At the end of 1990, with the 16-Bit Era in full swing, it seemed like the days of the Family Computer were numbered. Though the FC hung in there, doing so defied the odds, as Nintendo never expected the machine to make it to 3 years, let alone 10.
In 1990, Japanese game publisher, HAL Laboratory recruited a young graduate named Masahiro Sakurai. Having never created a video game before, he played around with the tools HAL had provided, including a makeshift toolkit built from a Family Computer and Disk System. Masahiro eventually created a peculiar game starring a floaty puffball, who could inhale enemies and use them as projectiles. He could also fly by inhaling the air around him. This offered a challenge, as while in flight, the character’s method of attack drops you to the ground. The choice of fight or flight offered a unique spin on the standard run and jump type of game common in those days.
Sakurai named this character Popopo, which sounds like the flutter noise he makes when flying. Popopo was initially designed as a simple placeholder character until something more sophisticated would replace him. Over time, Sakurai and the team at HAL grew to like the design. Popopo became permanent.
The game, titled Twinkle Popo was previewed and advertised across Japan, in early 1992. The response was disheartening as only 26,000 cartridges were pre-ordered from stores. Far less than what was required to break even.
HAL Laboratory reached out to Nintendo to publish the game, which led to Popopo being renamed to Kirby. Twinkle Popo was retitled to “Hoshi no Kirby” meaning in English, Kirby of the stars. Nintendo released the game on April 27th, 1992, backed with all of the resources Nintendo had at its disposal.
While the initial reception of Twinkle Popo was quite cold, Hoshi no Kirby became the #1 best game in Japan in May 1992, By the end of the year, the game had sold over one million copies in Japan, while also being released elsewhere in the world as Kirby’s Dream Land. Lifetime sales would exceed five million.
Kirby’s rocket ride to the top prompted immediate talk of expanding the Dream Land into a long running, proper series. With backing from Nintendo, not only was that possible, but now, for Sakurai and HAL Laboratory, the sky was the limit!
Some images came from Shmupulations. Some capture assistance courtesy of Raven XP. CMs by Vini64, Dario and Chris Aaron. Some footage courtesy of Masahiro Sakuari and Nintendo Co., Ltd. As for who sang the song on the GameBoy CMs... well, its still a mystery......
