Footage of cancelled Kirby GameCube project has emerged

By Anne-Marie Ostler
published

The brief video gives us a rare glimpse of what might have been

Kirby and the Forgotten Land
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Footage of a cancelled Kirby project has been uncovered, showing what the series could have looked like on GameCube.

Nintendo’s beloved mascot Kirby has had many adventures, but sadly, not on GameCube. The company had initially planned for Kirby to have a bigger presence on the platform, but sadly this never happened. The pink puffball starred in the 2003 racer Kirby Air Ride but didn’t get a fully-fledged platformer during the console’s lifespan. 

Announced back in 2004, the ill-fated project, simply referred to as Kirby for Nintendo GameCube, began development way back in 2000. It was planned to launch shortly after Kirby Air Ride but ultimately ended up getting cancelled. Now new footage of Kirby’s lost GameCube adventure has resurfaced, giving us a glimpse of what might have been. 

Twitter user ObscureKirby posted a brief gameplay video that was uploaded to YouTube by Foulowe59. The video, lasting only 9 seconds, isn’t the best quality, but you can just about make out Kirby battling enemies and using power-ups in what looks like a mix of 2.5D and 3D levels.

Thankfully, Kirby’s latest adventure on Nintendo Switch did manage to see the light of day and has been quite a hit. In her Kirby and the Forgotten Land review, Heather Wald describes the game as “a delight from start to finish”.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is just one of many great switch games you can play right now, check out our guide to the best Switch games for all the other gaming greats that the console has to offer. 

Anne-Marie Ostler
Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.