Kirby developer pulls the plug on lewd fan-made card game starring Chef Kawasaki in a micro bikini

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If you're looking for a risqué Kirby card game, you're unfortunately too late

Kirby and the Forgotten Land
(Image credit: Nintendo)

A fan-made Kirby card game featuring Chef Kawasaki in a teensy bikini, striking a variety of rather suggestive poses is no more. 

As spotted by Automaton Media, the game, fittingly titled Chef Kawasaki's Microbikini Karut, has been removed from sale at the request of Kirby's developer. It appeared just a few days ago on the Japanese online marketplace Booth, with both physical and digital versions on offer. But yesterday, September 28, its creator KWSK Karuta announced that it's stopping distribution after receiving a notice from HAL Laboratory. 

The game is currently no longer viewable on the Booth store page, but the images below, from the official Chef Kawasaki's Microbikini Karut Twitter page, give you the idea.

Chef Kawasaki is a character who frequently pops up in Nintendo's Kirby series. He made his debut as a mid-boss in Kirby Super Star and has appeared in many of the series instillments since, including Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Kirby Star Allies. Looks-wise he's an orange egg-shaped fellow usually dressed in chef's clothing. 

As Kawasaki seemingly doesn't wear anything under his apron, fans took it upon themselves to add some skimpy clothing for the chef to wear beneath his regular cooking attire. This gave rise to the micro bikini memes, which in turn led to the creation of Chef Kawasaki's Microbikini Karuta.

The rather risqué imagery aside, Nintendo and its partner studios are known to be extremely protective of their properties and likely would have cracked down on the use of the Kirby IP, whether Chef Kawasaki was in or out of a micro bikini. 

For altogether more family-friendly adventures featuring the pink puffball, take a look at our guide to the best Kirby games.

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.