It feels like video game character anniversaries are popping up left, right and centre right now. Mario and Luigi celebrated their 35th year in 2020, while Sonic turned 30 last year. Now it's Kirby's turn to celebrate 30 turns around the sun, and he's been given some awesome artwork to mark the occasion.
The official Nintendo art is a typically delightful cartoon affair, featuring Kirby, some friends and, of course, a cake. But it's nothing compared with one epic, character-filled fan-made offering, which Twitter is rightfully swooning over this week. (Not met Kirby yet? Check out the best Nintendo Switch deals available now.)
The artwork in all its glory (Image credit: @Suyasuyabi427 on Twitter)
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(Image credit: @Suyasuyabi427 on Twitter)
Close-up details from the artwork
(Image credit: @Suyasuyabi427 on Twitter)
(Image credit: @Suyasuyabi427 on Twitter)
(Image credit: @Suyasuyabi427 on Twitter)
It's not often you see an artwork so intricate and vast that it needs to take up a whole four photos in a tweet, but it's easy to see why @Suyasuyabi427 felt the need to split things up. There are a ridiculous amount of characters here, from various iterations of Kirby himself to, of course, Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach. It's the ultimate Nintendo love-in – and it's hard to imagine a busier birthday party than this.
The artwork is going down a storm on Twitter. "I want to print and frame this so bad and put it in my office," one user comments, while another adds, "I am at a genuine loss for words at the moment, this is genuinely the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen." Indeed, I have a feeling even non-gamers would have a hard time finding this anything less than utterly charming.
The official Kirby 30th anniversary artwork is cute – but hardly compares to @Suyasuyabi427's effort (Image credit: Nintendo)
This isn't the first piece of awesome Kirby art we've seen in 2022. Back in February we saw an ingenious ode to the character in the form of a Nintendo Switch case which looked like it had swallowed the console whole. If you're inspired to create a tribute of your own, take a look at our guide on how to download Photoshop.
Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
