Kirby: Planet Robobot director on increased story focus, returning abilities & more

Coming from a Nintendo Dream interview with Kirby: Planet Robobot director Shinya Kumazaki...

Q: There are more cut-scenes than in the previous game. Why did you decide to strengthen the story elements?

A: In the beginning of the development when the game was still “Kirby Triple Deluxe 2”, we came up with a story of new enemies emerging from the sky in order to enhance Hypernova ability, but I wanted to break away from the deja vu feeling of the previous titles while still being a succession in the series, so the world view was completely changed. Introducing various Robobot Armor improved the action feel from Hypernova, so the story was entirely a means for new action. We got excited and came up with a sci-fi story while making the world more in line with the Robobot Armor.

Q: How were abilities like Jet, Mirror, UFO and Smash Bros., which haven’t appeared in a while, selected?

A: Jet and Mirror are abilities that haven’t made an appearance in a long time, so we wanted to revive them in order to respond to hopes of fans. A reason for bringing UFO back is that it fits thematically well with the world of this title. The sense of speed has been increased overall for Jet, and UFO has also seen some fine balance tuning. The Smash Bros. ability is more special. We thought to have some ability that the biggest fans can agree on if Kirby inhales an amiibo from Super Smash Bros. series. This was also revamped from the old ability to the finest points.

The devs also made a 3D-printed model of the Robobot armor to use for reference when developing the game. Sadly, there were/are no plans to sell a model like this to consumers.