Kirby GCN

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	There is no official information available about its title, so it has been given a fitting one.

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	Information is likely to be incomplete, and may be self-conflicting. Added information should have verifiable sources, as otherwise it may be deleted.

Kirby GCN (also referred to as Kirby: Legend of the Stars and Kirby Adventure) is the common unofficial title referring to any of the three 3D Kirby titles for the Nintendo GameCube that were silently cancelled; of the three, only the first incarnation was widely documented.

Nintendo had not released any further info about this game's status for a long period of time, as well as having removed the game's page from their website.

Some aspects of each of the three individual developments carried over into Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and it wasn't until the release of Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition that it was revealed that Kirby's Return to Dream Land was the successor to Kirby GCN. Some of the elements, like befriending three enemies at once and stacking with each other, were later used by Kirby Star Allies; and the 3D open world environment was later used by Kirby's Blowout Blast, Kirby Battle Royale, and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Story[]

All that was revealed about the original storyline is that King Dedede stole Kirby's Warp Star and he is trying to get it back. The story bears no similarity to the story in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, Kirby Star Allies, or Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which instead featured aspects of the GameCube game's gameplay.

Gameplay[]

The original version of the game in development featured a variation of the Helper System from Kirby Super Star. In Kirby GCN, up to three Helpers could be created at once. They could then be controlled by up to three players or by the computer. It is possible that the game had a 3D playing field. A stacking system had also been revealed where Kirby and his Helpers could ride on each other's backs (possibly creating new attacks). Looking at screenshots, it is discernible that the Helpers created by the player would have been yellow, green, or blue color variations of their respective enemies. These color variations would have denoted different players. Presumably, yellow denoted Player 2, blue denoted Player 3, and green denoted Player 4. These exact colors were later used to denote multiple Kirbys in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, and were once again used to represent befriended enemies in Kirby Star Allies.

Copy Abilities[]

A total of 16 Copy Abilities were known to have appeared in this game, but it's likely more were planned to appear during development. Some abilities would have had updated designs, a feature that was passed on to Kirby's Return to Dream Land.

Helpers[]

Waddle Doo
Blade Knight
Bonkers
Golem
Broom Hatter
Unnamed Tornado enemy
Unnamed Bomb enemy
Unnamed Water enemy that looks similar to Pluid
Unnamed Needle enemy
Chilly
Flappy
Parasol Waddle Dee
Sir Kibble
Wheelie
Heat Phanphan
Plasma Wisp
Knuckle Joe

Non-Copy Ability Enemies[]

Bosses[]

Trivia[]

The large robot resembling King Dedede (later named HR-D3) that Kirby was seen fighting against in the trailer makes a surprise appearance in Kirby Mass Attack, at the end of Chapter 2 in Kirby Quest. It is possible that its appearance was meant as foreshadowing, but it was more than likely a nod to the trailer for Kirby GCN. It also makes an appearance in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, but in a nearly complete red facade and a Metal General EX-Logo on its chest in place of the King Dedede-Logo.

The Kirby game that was shown off at E3 2005 was actually one of three lost Kirby games, all completely built from the ground up. Eleven years were spent creating and abandoning these games.^[1]
- The second iteration of Kirby GCN would have been the first Kirby game in the main series that was a 3D platformer. It was canceled because it hadn't reached the quality Nintendo was expecting.
The music that played in the trailer is reused in Kirby's Return to Dream Land for regular battles in The Arena and The True Arena. Its official name is "Road to Victory." The theme has been featured and remixed in several other games since.
The Kirby: Planet Robobot sub-game Kirby 3D Rumble, and the games Kirby's Blowout Blast and Kirby Battle Royale appear to be greatly inspired by the second Kirby GCN game.
- Kirby and the Forgotten Land also shows great similarities to it.
Kirby Star Allies shows similarities to the Kirby GCN game shown at E3 2005; a resemblance is made more striking due to the appearance of the returning Cleaning, Plasma, and Water abilities, with Plasma resembling its appearance in Kirby Air Ride, and the return of both Helpers and the four-player co-op.
- Kirby Star Allies uses all of the helper-related gameplay of Kirby GCN, including the different colored friends.
In a Nintendo Dream interview with Shinya Kumazaki, the design for Morpho Knight was planned to appear in this game.^[2] Its design remains unaltered in Kirby Star Allies, though its sword slightly differs.
In the files for Kirby's Return to Dream Land, there is unused music that uses the same music found in the game, but with an older soundfont. The soundfont used is reminiscent of the default one used for the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube consoles, possibly meaning that Kirby GCN had similar music to its successor.
Giant Flotzo was initially going to appear in this game, but appeared very different to how he does in Kirby's Return to Dream Land. In Kirby GCN, Giant Flotzo appeared to have been a boss, and had a more intricate ship design and had arms, as evident by concept art showing the enemy. This is further backed up by the internal name for Giant Flotzo being “BsGhostShip”, with the prefix “Bs” being used for bosses, so it could be inferred that Giant Flotzo initially would of been a boss.
In concept art, a cactus enemy can be seen in the shape of a ball standing next to Kirby. It can been theorized that in-game, this unnamed enemy gave the Needle ability and was the helper for it. This is reinforced by files related to Needle being present in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, alongside a plethora of other Kirby GCN leftovers. It is unknown if this cactus enemy was in the game, however.
Like the cactus enemy, some concept art showcased other unused enemies. One such enemy was some type of ball, which had leaves (or something similar) sticking out of it. The enemy appeared to have came in various colors, though any other info is unknown.
- Another piece of concept art depicted a giant train-like entity. If viewed closely, Kirby can be seen standing in front of the train's "face", firing a cannonball at the monster.
The concept for King Dedede's Jet Hammer may have come from this game according to concept art, though it wouldn't make its appearance until Super Smash Bros. Brawl as one of King Dedede's special-moves.
Some footage ^[3] reveals that King Dedede uses the Warp Star to power the HR-D3, further supporting the original story.
- The footage also revealed possible inspiration for Friend Abilities, as the first few seconds show Kirby and Broom Hatter knocking an enemy back and forth.
- Kirby and Chilly are also shown moving across platforms on a battleship-like stage, most likely the Halberd.
- The footage features a snippet of music that would later be used in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
The designs in-game show various abilities, such as Stone and Water to change Kirby’s color, like in previous titles. Likewise, the design for Water in-game looks very similar to the one seen in Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, and as a result could be presumed to be based off of that design.

This box contains speculation that should not be taken as fact.

It could be inferred that various models from Super Smash Bros. Brawl are taken from GCN. Some perfectly line up, such as Golem, but some like a model for Kracko are up for debate. It is also implied via these files that Sleep, Mike, Crash, and Needle were slated to appear somewhere. A cactus enemy has also been seen in some concept art, which may of been the helper for Needle. Multiple modes are also known to of been in the game, and it’s implied a mode with Dyna Blade and Meta Knight were planned and made. Along with that, the internal name for the Water helper might be “AAA” as evident by the files in Brawl, though this might be a temporary name for Pluid as well, which appeared to be a reimagined version of the Water helper.

End of speculation

Trailer[]

Kirby Wii Trailer

Artwork[]

Concept Artwork[]

Gallery[]

References[]

[1] Iwata Asks : Kirby's Return to Dream Land : The Three Lost Kirby Games

[2] Nintendo Dream Interview (Japanese)

[3] Nintendo E3 2005 - Kirby GCN

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[2]

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