Drumroll please...it's time for an episode on drumming to Kirby music in non-Kirby games. Music class is in session as Bridget introduces Sean and Ky to the history of the Taiko no Tatsujin series, some of which contain Kirby songs and cameos. They also reflect on the iconic DK bongos and the Kirby songs that were playable in the GameCube's Donkey Konga series.

The 2000's saw a surprising boom of rhythm games with instrument peripherals, from Taiko no Tatsujin to Guitar Hero. Would you want to see this trend return? And what instruments would you want to see reimagined in video game form? Let us know at mail@kirbyconversations.com.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

YouTube (for our longform episodes): www.youtube.com/@KirbyConversations

Bridget

Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Sean and Bridget are joined by special guest Nic McConnell, Age Ratings Manager at Riot Games, to discuss his favorite Kirby game: Kirby Canvas Curse. Together they reflect on Canvas Curse's amazing visuals and level design, the enduring appeal of the DS's touchscreen controls, and the unique background of the game's director Motomi Katayama (who worked on a surprising range of series from Ridge Racer to Tekken). Then for the latter part of the show, Nic describes his work in the age ratings space, with fascinating insights on what it's like to help Riot navigate the distinct cultural perspectives of audiences and ratings boards around the world.

You can find Nic on Bluesky at @mcconnell.bsky.social or watch him read video game manuals on Instruction Derby at https://www.twitch.tv/nicmcconnell and @instructionderby.bsky.social.

Are there other DS platformers you thought made great use of the touchscreen? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

We will also now be uploading a version of the podcast to YouTube. Subscribe to us, and you can expect more visual versions of our longform episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker has been away from the podcast for a bit, so in this episode we're catching up with her on her latest miniature projects, current photography work, and what it's like to be a Nintendo Ambassador during the quiet period before a new console launch. Speaking of which, the Switch 2 was just revealed, so we've got some thoughts and reflections to share on that as well—particularly when it comes to those potentially mouse-like new Joy-Cons.

This is a shorter episode, and for the time being our schedule going to start alternating episodes of Kirby Conversations between these shorter, more accessible episodes and longer "featured" episodes.

Want to reach out? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

We will also now be uploading a version of the podcast to YouTube! Subscribe to us, and you can expect more visual versions of our longform episodes to be posted there a few days after they release in the podcast feed.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode, Sean sits down with composers Megan Kelz (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/) for a conversation all about the music of Kirby. They go in-depth on the artists behind Kirby's famous songs, highlighting many of their favorite tracks along the way, and explore the actual music theory and instrumentation behind what makes that signature Kirby sound.

Megan composed "Winds of Change," the music we use as our theme music, and Duncan provided the new arrangement you hear at the start and end of every show. We are very grateful to have them as a part of the podcast, and you can hear the full extended version of this theme at the end of this episode. You can also check out their other music and several upcoming games they composed for in their links above.

Want to reach out? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

Kirby Conversations is now regularly active on YouTube as well, and we invite you to subscribe to the video version of the show.

Find us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Threads: @no1kirbyfan

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As you gather with friends and family for the holidays, you may consider returning to 2022's Kirby's Dream Buffet—a budget-friendly party game that packs a lot of fun into $15. While not a traditional Kirby game (he's just rolling in ball form here), Dream Buffet still has tons of unlockables and more than twenty food-inspired stages of racing, battles, and mini-games. For this episode, Bridget, Sean, and Gigi dig into the feast of secrets and trivia both within and surrounding the game, including details from its related Japanese light novel and the unique way it was marketed in Brazil as the first Kirby game translated into Brazilian Portuguese. And if you do decide to go head to head this holiday season, they've also got some strategies to help you triumph over your family in sweet victory.

Want to reach out? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

We will also now be uploading more visual versions of each episode to YouTube! Subscribe to us there, and you can expect new uploads a few days after each new episode releases.

***Also--want to win $300 in a special holiday giveaway we're doing with our friends at Flashback 64? Check out our audio scavenger hunt, where you can win gift cards by answering trivia questions about our two podcasts. Check out all the details here.***

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Threads: @no1kirbyfan

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our opening music is by Megan Kellough (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode we're heading back to 1990--and forward to 2056--for Kabuki: Quantum Fighter, a pre-Kirby sci-fi platformer that marked the first time HAL Laboratory published a game they did not develop themselves. Sean and Bridget are here to discuss this bizarre adventure, in which a kabuki actor (actually a colonel who got uploaded into Earth's main defense computer) flips and hair-whips his way to defeating an evil virus. It might not be one of HAL's greatest hits, but if you're into classic NES platformers, Kabuki: Quantum Fighter is still a good time today (although you might want to make use of that level select cheat to help dull the difficulty).

Along the way they also look back on its appearance in Nintendo Power issue 21 (https://archive.org/details/nintendo-power-issue-021-february-1991/page/26/mode/2up) and its "bodacious" 90's commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVgIJqadh5w).

Our outro music is a little different today--the Round 1 music from Kabuki: Quantum Fighter.

Want to reach out? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

We will also now be uploading more visual versions of each episode to YouTube! Subscribe to us there, and you can expect new uploads a few days after each new episode releases.

***Also--want to win $300 in a special holiday giveaway we're doing with our friends at Flashback 64? Check out our audio scavenger hunt, where you can win gift cards by answering trivia questions about our two podcasts. Check out all the details here.***

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Threads: @no1kirbyfan

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our opening music is by Megan Kellough (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's almost 2025, and while the biggest announcements for the Switch's successor are still shrouded in mystery, there's already a lot we know about what's coming for Kirby next year. In this episode, Sean and Gigi break down what for sure is coming, what is likely coming based on our best estimates, and even a few more wild predictions toward the end.

Want to reach out? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

We will also now be uploading more visual versions of each episode to YouTube! Subscribe to us there, and you can expect new uploads a few days after each new episode releases.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Threads: @no1kirbyfan

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our music is by Megan Kellough (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Did you know Kirby's Avalanche is the only Kirby game never to release in Japan? That's because it's the Western version of Super Puyo Puyo, redesigned with Kirby characters instead of the usual Puyo Puyo crowd. (This also explains why Kirby is a little sassier in this one, as his personality is modeled after Puyo Puyo protagonist Arle Nadja.)

For this episode of Kirby Conversations, Sean, Bridget, and Gigi are going through the history of this classic Kirby puzzle game, with an avalanche of trivia, history, other puzzle games we recommend, and even notes on the XBAND, an early modem licensed by Nintendo that made Kirby's Avalanche the first Kirby game with online multiplayer! Whether you're a Puyo Puyo pro or just looking to try one of Kirby's more overlooked titles, Kirby's Avalanche is a tough but fun entry in the series that is still worth checking out almost thirty years later.

Want to reach out? You can email us at mail@kirbyconversations.com and we may read your letter on a future episode.

Want to enter our Bluesky giveaway to win a $50 gift card of your choice? Follow us there and repost this post to enter.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations

Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social

IG: @kirbyconversations

Threads: @kirbyconversations

Bridget

Threads: @no1kirbyfan

Sean Douglass

Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker

IG: @captaindangerous

Gigi

Carrd link

Our music is by Megan Kellough (https://diamondthorns.bandcamp.com) and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Liking Kirby Conversations? Then you may also enjoy another retro gaming podcast we recommend, Flashback 64: https://flashback64pod.podbean.com/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.