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This week sees the release of Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush (Rainbow Curse to you North Americans) in Europe, and we thought it would be the ideal time to share some of our most treasured Kirby-related memories with you, our dear readers.

Since he bounded into our lives in his energetic Game Boy début, this pink power-puff has starred in many exciting adventures on a wide range of Nintendo formats. He might not be as internationally famous as Mario, but Kirby is clearly a major player in Nintendo's arsenal of characters - as his illustrious 22 game career proves beyond all doubt.

Have a read of our fondest Kirby memories and don't forget to share your own by posting a comment at the bottom of the page!

Kirby's Return to Dream Land

Dave Letcavage

For years I treated the Pink Puffball like a second-rate Nintendo character. I'd gone on a couple of his NES and SNES adventures but, honestly, was never all that impressed. It was the controls – to me they felt stiff and clunky compared to other platformers. So, for about a decade, I pretended that Kirby didn't exist, ignoring each of his new releases like Luigi typically avoids situations that require heroism.

Then Kirby's Return to Dream Land happened.

With Donkey Kong Country Returns and Rayman Origins having rekindled my obsession with traditional platformers, I was willing to give any game in the genre a shot. This was at a time when my wife and I had been dating for only a few months, and I was trying to sell her on a life rich with video games. Return to Dream Land ended up being the perfect game to ease her into things and for us to bond over. Instead of working through it in multiplayer, we each had our own single-player file. We'd take turns chipping away at the campaign, and I'd help her with hints and advice whenever she needed. Return to Dream Land ended up being one of the first games she ever beat from start to finish on her own, and it gave her a lot of confidence toward gaming in general. It's now one of my favourite Wii games, made even more special thanks to the many wonderful memories it's responsible for producing. Needless to say, Kirby and I now get along swimmingly.

Kirby's Dream Land

Damien McFerran

My first Kirby game was Dream Land on the Game Boy - a title I enjoyed at the height of my obsession with Nintendo's legendary monochrome portable. As Morgan says, it was a short and sweet experience - I think I may have completed it in a single evening - but what stuck with me was the unmistakable sense of quality. The Game Boy was a console packed with amazing games, but Dream Land seemed to possess a standard which was way above what I was used to seeing.

The visuals were bold and eye-catching, despite being limited to black-and-white, and the music was toe-tapping and charming. Ironically, I don't think any other Kirby game has had the same impact on me since then; Triple Deluxe boasted that same effortless quality and Epic Yarn looked amazing, but Dream Land sticks with me as being my strongest Kirby memory, and I've enjoyed playing it again - and its sequel, which I missed back in the day - via the 3DS Virtual Console.

Kirby's Epic Yarn

Morgan Sleeper

Kirby's Dream Land wasn't my first video game - the copy of Super Mario Land that came with my Christmas morning Game Boy Pocket and left its Hip Tanaka soundtrack stuck in my head for the next 20 years has that honour - but it was the first game I ever beat, and for that, it will always have a special place in my heart.

I still remember carefully opening the cardboard package, popping in the cartridge, and being transported to Dream Land, floating along the breeze to the tune of 'Green Greens' and hurling apples at a belligerent tree like it was the most natural thing in the world. I also remember being surprised at the time when, less than an hour later, Dedede was down and the iconic end credit sequence started rolling - Kirby's Dream Land was short and sweet, and I loved it for that. As a kid, it set off my love of bite-sized games that could be seen through in an afternoon, sat up in a tree with no power outlets in sight, and now, as an adult with less free time every year, I appreciate being able to relive Kirby's first adventure in the sleepy half-hour before bed even more.

Kirby's also given me some of the best co-op experiences I can remember: speeding through Air Ride with my sister, exploring Epic Yarn with my fiancée, running around Return to Dreamland with my family, and enlisting everyone I know to try and help me through the final stages of Kirby's Dream Course - and yes, I'm still stuck. Kirby's so inviting by nature that people who might otherwise never pick up a controller can feel comfortable jumping in, and low difficulty levels (Dream Course aside!) deliver on that promise. 'Short' and 'easy' might not be compliments coming from everyone, but for me, they're some of Kirby's best qualities - no matter the game or genre, I can always count on Kirby for quick, friendly fun.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Martin Watts

Amazingly, it wasn't until last year that I gave the Kirby series the level of attention it deserves. I had tried Kirby games in the past, but quickly grew bored with them because they weren't challenging.

Of course, as any real Kirby fan will know, this is completely the wrong mindset with which to approach the series. After a friend showed me a few screenshots of Kirby: Triple Deluxe (which looks beautiful on the 3DS), I expressed how I wanted to give it a go but just couldn't get into the series due to how easy it is. His sage response was some of the best advice on gaming I've ever received: "Just enjoy it for what it is."

I quickly downloaded the game from the eShop and received a free copy of Kirby's Dream Land 2, which I actually played first. I kept my friend's words in my mind as I worked through the earlier stages and quickly realised what I'd been missing out on. It was overwhelmingly easy and straightforward, but this was exactly why it was so enjoyable; Kirby games, as I quickly learned, are perfect to relax with, especially after a long, often tiring day at work.

I've since completed multiple Kirby games: Kirby Triple Deluxe, Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, Kirby's Epic Yarn and I'm currently working through Kirby's Return to Dream Land thanks to it being available via the Wii U eShop. I've come to adore the simplicity, and especially like when a Kirby game offers a co-operative mode that can be enjoyed with my partner. If anything, the Kirby series has taught me to be more open-minded about playing games before judging them; since last year I've tried lots of games I probably would have never considered playing had it not been for the pink puffball defying my expectations.

Kirby & The Amazing Mirror

Mitch Vogel

The first Kirby game I ever owned was Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. I still remember the feeling of triumph I got from saving up enough money by doing chores around the house and finally picking up myself a copy after the commercials had convinced me that this was a game that I needed. After spending the first hour with it, I knew I was hopelessly hooked.

The powers-based gameplay kept things interesting, with Cupid being my favourite power, but it was the light Metroidvania elements that kept me coming back. I had never played a Zelda or Metroid-like game up to that point, sticking mostly to platformers, so the concept of applying tools and abilities to solve puzzles and obtain rewards was refreshing and original to me. In hindsight, there was a little bit too much backtracking in this one and it hasn't aged nearly as well as, say, Kirby Super Star. However, it will still always hold a special place in my heart for being the first Kirby game I've ever experienced, and I hold out hope that Nintendo will put out another somewhat Metroid-like Kirby game one day.

Kirby's Pinball Land

Thomas Jones

I wasn't hugely into Kirby as a child - preferring my mascots to have a little more "attitude", missing out on many of the little guy's platformers the first time round. My first real exposure to Kirby was, strangely, from one of his many spin-offs - Kirby's Pinball Land for the Game Boy. My adoration for another Nintendo Pinball title (Pokémon Pinball) was partly why I tried out the pink blob's take on the genre and from the moment I tried it - I loved it. Everything about it was sheer fun, from climbing up the various levels of the machine, to mastering the Pinball Minigames (with the Soccer Penalty shoot-out being a personal favourite). All in all, a fun and interesting take on the pinball genre, that this writer feels is a little too harshly critiqued in our review.

Another rather unique title that wowed me was Kirby: Canvas Curse (Power Paintbrush) for the Nintendo DS. Like with Kirby's Pinball Land, the title made fresh use of Kirby's globular appearance, once again showing the Kirby didn't necessarily need to jump and flap his way through a stage. In an age when developers desperately tried to shoe-horn the DS's features into their titles, Canvas Curse took the ability to doodle on the touchpad and transformed it into a vivid, exciting and remarkable title which still feels just as impressive to this day.

Both of these experiences resulted in me sitting up and paying more attention to Nintendo's often overshadowed mascot, leading me to finally experience many of Kirby's original and timeless titles, such as the wonderful 3D Classics version of Kirby's Adventure on the 3DS. Kirby had won me over.

Want to have your say? Post a comment below and be sure to vote for your fave entry in our "History of Kirby" feature.