Kirby 1
Image: HAL Laboratory

Remember when the internet collectively lost its mind over the first images of mouthful mode from Kirby and the Forgotten Land? There was something about seeing everyone's favourite peckish pink puff-ball inhaling a car before proceeding to cruise the streets that seemed to provide a much-needed serotonin boost on a mass scale.

In a recent interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, long-time Kirby developer and Forgotten Land director, Shinya Kumazaki, shared the origins of the mood-boosting Mouthful Mode.

Thanks to a translation by Nintendo Everything, we can now learn that the newest Kirby mechanic has actually been kicking about for a while, as seen in the below quote from Kumazaki:

When making the game, we reconsidered the mystery and shape shifting nature of Kirby. The idea of Mouthful Mode has been about for a while. Once we knew this game would be something new in the series, we started with the conversation “What is Kirby?”. We wanted to allow Kirby to do things that existing human characters couldn’t. That idea combined with the challenge of making something new became the concept of Mouthful Mode.

But what about Kirby's now-iconic bloated look once he has sucked up these everyday objects? Kumazaki has an answer for that too:

As you see in the final result, there’s a certain charm to seeing Kirby’s simple shape walking as a circle or a triangle or a square, and the actions he can perform are all different too. This is a whole new world with real world items, but Kirby doesn’t care in the slightest, he’s as chill as ever!

Check out Nintendo Everything's translation to read the full interview where Kumazaki delves into even more Mouthful Mode information. We are always pleased to learn more about Kirby and The Forgotten Land, and you can also check out our glowing review of the game where we claimed it was 'a grand way to celebrate 30 years of Planet Popstar's finest.'

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Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Kirby and the Forgotten Land

What did you love about Kirby's latest adventure? Finish your mouth-full and let us know down in the comments!

[source ndw.jp, via nintendoeverything.com]