Ever wondered what happens when Kirby swallows his enemies? Well, he doesn’t eat them, at least in the traditional sense — that’s according to HAL Laboratory’s executive director Shinya Kumazaki.
In an interview with Polygon at this year’s GDC, the publication was dying to know the truth behind Kirby’s enemy-absorbing ability. Kumazaki was at the San Francisco-based conference along with expert director Tatsuya Kamiyama to celebrate the pink puffball’s 30th anniversary, and the two of them provided the goods (via Nintendo Everything).
So, what actually happens when Kirby swallows an enemy? They get teleported somewhere else in the world. Sounds way less scary, right? That’s what Kumazaki tells Polygon. If Kirby “digested” enemies, it might be a bit “jarring”, and apparently the more “approachable” approach is to have the enemies teleported elsewhere. Here’s Kumazaki’s response on what actually happens:
“Instead, we have this comical, funny depiction where the enemies poof. When an enemy or creature gets swallowed by Kirby, they may disappear but they do resurface somewhere else in the world.”
Kirby’s stomach is just a reality-bending dimension that has the ability to warp people anywhere, then. Not terrifying at all.
In other important — and slightly worrying — Kirby news, if you cut Kirby open, you’ll find out he’s “filled with dreams”. But in reality, it’s actually a mystery. We know Kirby is just pure joy in round, pink form, but if he’s stuffed with dreams… what does that say about his stomach, again? Can enemies be transported into dreams?