According to HAL Laboratory’s general manager, there is “no clear timeline” for Kirby’s game stories

HAL Laboratory director general Shinya Kumazaki revealed in a recent interview with The Washington Post that the Kirby series does not have “a clear timeline” when it comes to the stories in each game. Yes, that’s right – despite all the theories, there doesn’t seem to be any particular order.

The main reason for this, according to Kumazaki, is “not to be constrained by previous settings,” and it also allows the team to prioritize the “optimal gaming experience” for each entry. Here’s the full exchange:

Q: Would you say that there is a narrative thread that ties all of the Kirby games together, much like the “Zelda timeline” has become a concept at Nintendo over the years?

Kumazaki: There is no clear timeline for the game stories. This is to prevent us from being constrained by past settings and so that we can easily take on new challenges and prioritize the optimal gameplay experience for each installment – even in a series with a long history.

However, we can’t advance the story much if we let Kirby meet King Dedede for the first time at the beginning of each game, so new episodes inherit story elements that can be naturally accepted and easily understood by the players. For example, we use story elements that make every new game better, like when the character Magolor regretted his past deeds and went to dreamland, or when the Meta Knight took revenge on Kirby.

I also pay attention to the details when writing the text for the story. This is because if future installments are going to inherit these story elements, we must first prepare detailed settings for each installment. However, the main focus of the Kirby series is action and gameplay, so we prepare the settings necessary to make these elements more attractive in each game.

So, there you have it — there’s reportedly no complex timeline quite like it The Legend of Zelda Series. What are your own thoughts on this? How would you order the Kirby games? By release or otherwise? Tell us below.