McDonald's Reveals Kirby Happy Meal Toys, But There's a Big Catch

For now, the Kirby toys are only set to release in Japanese McDonald's locations.

By Marc Deschamps

McDonald's Happy Meals have had a lot of video game promotions over the last year, including tie-ins to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Crash Team Rumble, and MultiVersus. It seems Kirby is the latest icon getting in on the craze, with a promotion that's set to begin on February 23rd. The promotion features 8 plush toys in total; 7 out of the 8 are based on Kirby himself, with one plush modeled after Waddle Dee. Unfortunately, there is a catch, as the promotion has only been announced for Japan at this time. 

A trailer for the Kirby promotion was shared by the official McDonald's Japan Twitter account, and can be found in the Tweet embedded below. 

The promotion does not seem to be centered on one specific Kirby game, instead acting as a celebration of the character in general. That said, one of the eight designs is directly inspired by Kirby and the Forgotten Land, as it features Kirby's Cone Mouth. Given the international appeal of Kirby, and the success the series has seen in the Switch era, it seems like a safe bet the promotion will come to the U.S., but fans should temper their expectations just in case. There have been plenty of times where cool Happy Meal promotions remained stranded in the region, and a lot of fans are bound to be disappointed if this one does as well. 

The Future of Kirby

The Kirby franchise is co-owned by Nintendo and developer HAL Laboratory. The Nintendo Switch era has seen several games in the series released, including the highly-regarded Kirby and the Forgotten Land, as well as titles like Star Allies and Kirby's Dream Buffet. It's pretty rare for Nintendo to go a few years between Kirby releases, but nothing has been announced since 2023's Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. With a new Nintendo system reportedly releasing in late 2024, or early 2025, it's possible we might not see the character again until then. If that does prove to be the case, fans will have plenty of games to keep them busy in the meantime!

Nintendo Switch 2

Nintendo has yet to officially announce a new video game console, but fans and the media have been tentatively calling it "Nintendo Switch 2." The new system will reportedly offer greater technical abilities than the current Switch, and there's been several questions about whether it will feature backwards compatibility. So far, Nintendo's announced first-party games for 2024 have mostly centered on remasters, remakes, and ports of older titles. That's likely due to the company focusing on bigger titles for the new system, and it's possible a new Kirby game could be planned for the first year. 

Are you hoping to see these Kirby toys come to North America? Which one would you most want to see? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Nintendo Life]

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