In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a number of guest fighters from various games appeared, including Kazuya from the Tekken franchise. The villain’s reveal trailer was a memorable one, with Kazuya dropping Ganondorf from off a cliff into a lava flow. Kazuya tried to do the same with Kirby at the trailer’s end, but the denizen of Dream Land simply floated away, unscathed. With Tekken 8 releasing next year, director Katsuhiro Harada was asked on Twitter if Kirby might end up appearing, in exchange. Harada revealed why that won’t end up happening, and noted that the scene in the trailer was all Sakurai’s idea.
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“You want me to negotiate such a difficult deal with Nintendo? By the way, the scene where Kazuya drops Kirby in the Smash Bros. trailer came about because Mr. Sakurai had always wanted to do it. I rather insisted that I didn’t want to antagonize Kirby’s fans lol,” Harada wrote on Twitter.
As noted by Dexerto, the likelihood of Harada getting approval to use Kirby would have been quite unlikely, given the fact that Tekken 8 isn’t slated to release on Nintendo Switch. Nintendo has allowed guest characters to appear in games before, and has a close relationship with Bandai Namco; the company is responsible for development on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, with Masahiro Sakurai directing. Unless Tekken 8 ends up on Nintendo Switch or the company’s next system, the chances of Kirby appearing in the game are basically nonexistent.
Tekken 8 Release Date
Tekken 8 will release January 26, 2024 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. So far, Bandai Namco Studios has announced 24 fighters that will be available in the game’s base roster, including Kazuya. The villain will play a major role in the game’s narrative, as Kazuya’s son Jin seeks a final battle between them. With just a few months to go until the game’s release, fans of the series should expect to learn a lot more info in the near future.
Kirby Games on Nintendo Switch
While Kirby won’t be appearing in Tekken 8, fans of the character can find him in plenty of other video games on Nintendo Switch. In addition to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Kirby has also appeared in games like the excellent Kirby and the Forgotten Land. There’s also Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, which released on Switch earlier this year. Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can also find a lot of the character’s earliest appearances through the service’s various retro apps. Recently, Nintendo has added Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble and the Super Nintendo version of Kirby’s Star Stacker. The latter game had previously never been made available outside of Japan, so its appearance on Nintendo Switch Online is pretty notable!
Would you like to see Kirby appear in Tekken 8? Do you think he’d make a fun inclusion? Let us know in the comments or sharedirectly onTwitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
