The 10 Best Kirby Games
Blog Andrew Joseph 27 Nov , 2025 0
Since Kirby first came into our lives in 1992, he's been a lot of different things. In addition to his dozens of transformation-replicating abilities, he's been split into four different-colored Kirbys, turned into yarn, twisted into a ball that we control on the DS touchscreen, and more. Now that he's back in Warp Star with the release of Kirby Sky Rider on Nintendo Switch 2, we thought now would be the perfect time to look back at the pink puffball's history. Here are IGN's top ten Kirby games of all time.
10. Kirby and the Magic Mirror
Two iconic Nintendo heroes from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and Kirby from Kirby and the Magic Mirror are split into four different versions in Game Boy Advance: Link. The latter is a 2004 GBA platform game that uses the system's connection line function to allow four players to adventure together. If they are separated, they can call each other on their mobile phones to regroup. Just make sure the battery isn't drained! Even if you play Amazing Mirror on its own, it'll stand out for its stripped-down Metroidvania setting. The Kirby platformer does not adventure through linear levels like almost all other Kirby platformers, but rather through branching paths that allow players to explore levels in different orders at their own pace.
9. Kirby Dreamland 2
Before becoming an industry celebrity with the Super Smash Bros. series, Masahiro Sakurai directed the humble Kirby's Dreamland on the Game Boy. Back then, Kirby was white instead of pink (at least on the North American box art), and he had no copying powers! But the 1995 Game Boy sequel, Kirby Dreamland 2, improved on everything from the first game, incorporating Kirby Adventure's replication abilities and introducing iconic rideable animal friends like Hamster Rick. It's a classic example of a bigger, better sequel, and one of our picks for the best game in Kirby's original Fantasy Land trilogy, even though we really enjoyed the subdued art style of Fantasy Land 3 on the Super Famicom.
8. “Kirby: Triple Deluxe”
Kirby's 3DS debut takes full advantage of the handheld's screen, and Kirby: Triple Deluxe Edition (Kirby: 3D) sees Kirby's platforming foreground and background in a very unique way. Its main hook is the Supernova ability, which makes Kirby suck even harder than before, essentially turning his stomach into a black hole. This is used in a variety of clever puzzles, including a level where Kirby eats an entire train like a snack. It also introduces one of my favorite sub-games in the series: Dedede's Drum Dash, a rhythm game in which Kirby's best frenemies bounce to the beat on a stage set to familiar Kirby tunes.
7. Kirby: Dream Nightmare
Kirby's Adventure is an important entry in the series as it is responsible for the introduction of the copy ability. And it wasn't just two or three; when Adventure launched, Kirby had over 20 different abilities to steal from enemies, setting the blueprint for every Kirby game. It also established mini-games and Kirby's long-time rival Meta Knight as a staple of the series. The NES classic was remastered in 2002 on the GBA as Kirby: Nightmare, and we chose it as the final version because it improved controls and brought extra content, like an additional Meta Knight mode where you can play the entire campaign as Meta Knight – another new twist that will become commonplace in future Kirby games. But to the NES's credit, the Kirby Adventures cover has Kirby actually eating the box art and revealing the endless void beneath.
6. Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Kirby's Epic Yarn may be the simplest game on this list – which is saying a lot considering the general approachability of nearly all of the Kirby series – but it's also one of the most charming. Developed by Good-Feel rather than series administrator HAL Laboratory, Kirby's Epic Yarn transforms pink orbs into yarn that, you guessed it, completely changes the aesthetics and overall gameplay. There are no traditional copying abilities – instead, this Kirby simply transforms himself into a yarn submarine, car, or parachute to travel through arts and crafts-themed worlds with the adorable fluffy prince. It's effortless, beautiful, and on par with the best Kirby games, despite being so different.
5. Kirby Sky Rider
Kirby Sky Riders has only been out for a few days, but it's already become one of the greatest game series of all time. After an absence of more than two decades, Masahiro Sakurai returns to the series he created with another attempt at Kirby Sky Tour, an interesting but somewhat premature experiment on the GameCube. Sakurai didn't waste his second chance, creating a definitive sequel that feels like the ultimate realization of the simple one-button racing formula. Air Riders is packed with modes, unlockables, and tons of little details that show how much love and care went into its development. The matches are frantic and fun, but the star of the show remains City Trial; the battle mode/collectathon hybrid is a nice throwback to local multiplayer modes from the N64 and GameCube era. Its unconventional controls won't be for everyone, but if you're willing to get involved, you'll find a great Kirby game that's very unique.
4. “Kirby Returns to Dreamland” Deluxe Edition
Return to Dreamland on the Wii is the first Kirby platformer for a traditional home console since Kirby 64: The Shards (which we loved, but barely made our top 10). It delivers the classic Kirby adventure that fans crave, but introduces fun new copy abilities like leaves and water, has multiple hidden collectibles to track down in each level, requires players to master every copy ability in the challenge room, and more. Best of all, it's a highlight of local multiplayer, allowing up to four friends to play the entire campaign together as Kirby, Dedede, Meta Knight, or Bandanawa Deldi. Return to Dreamland gets the fantastic deluxe treatment on Nintendo Switch, adding a bonus epilogue and tons of returning sub-games from across the series, plus dozens of achievements to chase, so we've picked that version here.
3. Kirby Super Star Ultra
Sakurai is known for filling his games with rich side modes that are all built around the same gameplay foundation, and that tradition began with Kirby Super Star, a Super Nintendo classic packed with little adventures. This content has been repackaged and expanded in the excellent DS remake Super Star Ultra, which restores everything and adds more, continuing the tradition of Meta Knight campaigns established in Nightmare. Superstar's greatest strength, though, is its variety: Collect all the last treasures in the Great Cave Assault, race to eat more food than Dedede in a food contest, or sneak into Halberd while the terrified crew discusses the best way to stop Kirby. Each mode has its own style, and it all combines to create Kirby's most powerful early game.
2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Every game series takes a different approach when transitioning from 2D to 3D, and for this series, Kirby keeps things pleasantly simple by keeping the formula largely intact during the jump. Kirby and Oblivion is a wonderful implementation of the classic Kirby platformer in 3D space. Kirby jumps, floats and dodges just like you'd imagine, and the upgradeable copy abilities work seamlessly. One of the most memorable new features is “Mouth Mode,” which lets Kirby wrap his maw around cars, stairs, and even vending machines, creating a fun puzzle-platformer that proves this isn't just a rehash of Kirby's biggest hits. Forgotten Lands also takes some inspiration from 3D platformer masters like Super Mario and Banjo-Kazooie, with hidden collectibles and secret objectives scattered throughout each level, and for completionists it's a joy to hunt down the last Waddeldi and return to town.
1. Kirby Planet Robot
The best Kirby game of them all is Kirby: Robot Planet, a low-key sequel to Triple Deluxe on 3DS that turns out to be his most exciting adventure yet. This is largely thanks to the Robot Suit, the hulking mecha suit Kirby pilots throughout the campaign, which has its own unique copying abilities. While Triple Deluxe's Hypernova and Return to Dreamland's superpowers feel more like relegated to set-moment gimmicks, the Robobot armor blends seamlessly into the stage, resulting in some of the most deep, varied, and challenging fantastic puzzles in the series, especially if you want to collect them all. Robobot expands on Triple Deluxe's foreground and background platforming and features some of the coolest settings in the series, as the mechanized planet Popstar is a great idea to tie each world together. Robobot is an absolute delight, and we can only hope that Nintendo re-releases it on the Switch or Switch 2 soon so that more people can experience the best Kirby game.
Here are IGN's top ten Kirby games of all time. Will you inhale this list, or spit it out? Are we giving up on your favorite? Leave a comment and tell us. For more on Kirby, check out our review of Kirby Sky Riders, or our Nintendo Voice Chat podcast, which releases new episodes every Friday on the IGN Games YouTube channel and your favorite podcast apps. For everything else from Nintendo, stick with IGN.
Logan Plant is the host of Nintendo Voice Chat and the IGN database manager and playlist editor. The Legend of Zelda is his all-time favorite video game series, and he's patiently waiting for the day when Nintendo announces a new F-Zero. You can find him online @LoganJPlant.