Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is available now on Nintendo Switch Online

“Some call it Puffball, some call it Marshmallow, but most just call it Kirby.” This was the beginning of Kirby 64. Back when Nintendo made an even trickier website, the teaser was for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards still rings true over two decades later. As a die-hard Kirby fan, the amount of people who ask me what exactly Kirby is never stops: let’s bet on pink puffball.

Starting today, May 20, the pink puffball is coming to Nintendo Switch Online members and expansion packs in the form of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Originally released on the Nintendo 64 in 2000, the game was HAL Laboratory’s first attempt at developing Kirby 3D.

It was only this year, with Kirby and the Lost Land, that we saw Kirby experience her first full 3D adventure. It hasn’t been an easy journey, however, and in this article, Paul Cecchini explores just how long and complicated Kirby’s journey to 3D was.

After the planet Ripple Star’s beloved crystal was destroyed by a force called Dark Matter, one of its fairy residents, Ribbon, needs help. With a crystal shard in hand, they fall to the planet Pop Star and even encounter the pink puffball Kirby. It then becomes Kirby’s task to recover as many crystal shards as possible and restore peace to Ripple Star.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is the fourth installment in the Kirby’s Dream Land series, and this isn’t the first rodeo featuring Nintendo’s modern consoles. Since its initial release for the N64 in 2000, the game also became available for the Wii in 2008 and for the Wii U in 2015.

If you’re not already a member of Nintendo Switch Online and the Expansion Pack, there’s more to it than just Kirby 64. The pack also includes games like Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Yoshi’s Story, Paper Mario and other titles from Nintendo and SEGA.