February's Nintendo Direct brought with it new footage from Kirby and the Forgotten Land, an 3D platformer starring the titular character as he ventures through an overgrown civilization rescuing captive Waddle Dees. The gameplay featured in the Nintendo Direct trailer introduced a mechanic appropriately dubbed Mouthful Mode. Kirby can inhale real-world objects like traffic cones and vending machines to take on new shapes and abilities distinct from his typical copy powers. One segment of the reveal showcased Kirby swallowing a car, and Nintendo fans were quick to latch onto it, spawning dozens of "Karby" memes across social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land was first announced during the September 2021 Nintendo Direct, following plenty of rumors and even alleged leaks regarding a new entry in the Kirby franchise. From the get-go, Kirby and the Forgotten Land seemed to hold quite a few similarities to other recent Nintendo games like Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild, ambitiously seeking to lead the series in a new direction more akin to open-world RPGs. At the time of its announcement, the game was only given a broad release window of Spring 2022, but it was subsequently confirmed to be coming out on March 25.
Kirby's Mouthful Mode will enable him to get around the world in unique ways, whether by driving in car form or gliding through the air. It also allows for dynamic new attacks against enemies and bosses in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. For example, Kirby can shoot soda cans out of his mouth in his vending machine form at enemies. The environments utilized in Kirby and the Forgotten Land could pave the way for Kirby to interact with dozens of real-world objects not seen yet, though whether any of them will capture the hearts of players as much as Karby has remains to be seen.
Nintendo Questions How Kirby Would Eat A Car
Kirby's Car Mouth form sees the little pink blob extended horizontally over the roof of the car, with his eyes acting as headlights and his feet flapping along behind him. It seems that quite a few Twitter s were surprised by this design choice, expecting Kirby to inhale The Forgotten Land's car sideways like a sandwich instead, and it quickly prompted memes in the style of the infamous question of whether a dog would wear pants on all four legs or just his back two.
Given how unique Karby looks, it will be interesting to see what other forms Kirby will take in Kirby and the Forgotten Land's Mouthful Mode and how the game's developers will surprise players. It isn't anything new for Kirby to change his appearance based on what he inhales, but it's rare that his shape becomes anything other than the distinct little ball fans are so used to seeing.
Karby Won't Be Stopped From Inhaling Everything
A surprising amount of people the anti-piracy ads of the early 2000s, and they were quick to link them to Kirby given Nintendo's strict anti-piracy practices and lawsuits. The ments argued that "you wouldn't steal a car" by comparing ing music and movies online to other common crimes. The ad campaign in and of itself has become something of a meme in recent years, so it's no real surprise that even Karby got involved with the format not too long after his introduction.
Given the wide range of objects he utilizes in the trailer, from living enemies to large parts of the environment, it looks like there's nothing Kirby wouldn't inhale. In fact, utilizing quite a few different objects might even be a requirement to traverse through some regions of the game. It could be a unique way to tie Kirby's special powers into the story and setting of Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Outside of the overall goal of rescuing the Waddle Dees, the narrative of the game has been kept almost entirely secret.
Kirby's New Game Is Actually Karby Fully Loaded
There's no shortage of car-based movies and racing games out there so, of course, Twitter s were quick to tie Karby and his Mouthful game mode in with them. One dedicated fan even went so far as to add Kirby's car form into Mario Kart, something that might even end up becoming canon if Nintendo's tendency to crossover its other properties is anything to go by. For instance, The Legend of Zelda has received a nod or two in the Animal Crossing series in the past.
From the Fast & Furious franchise's vehicles to the fastest cars included in Forza Horizon 5, Kirby can be found inhaling just about every car imaginable across social media. However, one of the more surprising crossovers was between Karby and Herbie Fully Loaded. It seems like a natural fit upon closer examination, of course, given Herbie and Kirby both effectively serve the same purpose as a living vehicle. That said, it's unlikely Kirby will find himself a driving partner in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, as many are speculating that the game will be vaguely post-apocalyptic.
How Would King Dedede React To Karby
For quite a while following the game's initial reveal, it wasn't clear whether Kirby's iconic nemesis King Dedede would appear in Kirby and the Forgotten Land at all. Thankfully, February 2022's Nintendo Direct trailer cleared up any confusion surrounding that. While it's still not entirely apparent what his role might be in the newest game, Kirby fans can at least rest assured that he'll serve as a boss in some capacity
Almost immediately after his appearance, Twitter s began to speculate how exactly he'd react to Kirby's new Mouthful Mode abilities. One even drew out a recreation of the famous car salesman meme. It features King Dedede marveling at how much Kirby can manage to inhale just in the trailer alone.
The Bus Meme Meets Kirby & The Forgotten Land
Another popular meme format sees two figures sitting on a bus. One looks despondently at a cliff face while the other looks out toward the scenery through the window. Thanks to the introduction of Karby and the memes he inspired, though, now both of them see nothing but pink. If there ends up being other vehicles introduced in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, it's likely only a matter of time until he starts going after those, too. It would be an exciting way to provide players with multiple ways to get around quickly, allowing them to choose between cars and trucks or perhaps even busses.
The Transformers & Kirby Crossover No One Expected
As far as Kirby and the Forgotten Land crossovers go, another unexpected one sees Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise running into Kirby. The encounter's outcome isn't all that surprising given the direction most Karby memes tend to play out, and it raises questions of whether Kirby's Mouthful Mode could be used to interact with enemies and other NPCs in unique ways rather than just defaulting to his usual form changes.
It's clear that Karby has managed to connect with Nintendo fans despite his relatively brief appearance in the trailer, and perhaps developers will take advantage of that and push him more into the spotlight in future gameplay previews. Either way, Kirby enthusiasts won't have to wait long for Kirby and the Forgotten Land to release, meaning soon they can ditch the Car Mouth memes in favor of playing as the real thing.
