Q 01/05

On many North American game covers, how does Kirby famously differ from his Japanese box art?

A) He carries a sword

B) He looks angry

C) He is coloured red

D) He wears a crown

Answer · why

B) He looks angry

He looks angry: Nintendo of America's market research suggested that a tougher, battle-ready Kirby would reach a wider audience there than the smiling...

Q 02/05

Which HAL programmer, who worked on the early Kirby games, became Nintendo's president in 2002?

A) Shigeru Miyamoto

B) Gunpei Yokoi

C) Satoru Iwata

D) Hiroshi Yamauchi

Answer · why

C) Satoru Iwata

Satoru Iwata was put in charge of HAL when the studio was close to bankruptcy in the early 1990s, and turned it around. In 2002 he was chosen to succe...

Q 03/05

Kirby's Avalanche, a 1995 SNES puzzle game, is a Western re-skin of which Japanese series?

A) Columns

B) Panel de Pon

C) Dr. Mario

D) Puyo Puyo

Answer · why

D) Puyo Puyo

Puyo Puyo was barely known outside Asia, so Nintendo dressed Compile's puzzle game in Kirby characters for the West, just as Sega had done with Dr. Ro...

Q 04/05

What was Kirby called during development, when the first game had a different working title?

A) Puffy

B) Popopo

C) Pinky

D) Bouncy

Answer · why

B) Popopo

Popopo was only a round stand-in sprite, drawn until a proper hero could be designed. The team grew so fond of the blob that it stayed, and the game w...

Q 05/05

Shigeru Miyamoto says Kirby was partly named for John Kirby, the lawyer who beat Universal in court over which game?

A) Donkey Kong

B) Super Mario Bros.

C) The Legend of Zelda

D) Tetris

Answer · why

A) Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong: Universal claimed the ape copied King Kong, and John Kirby won by showing the studio had itself argued King Kong was in the public domain...