Why Nintendo Cancelled Rockstar's Kirby Game

DidYouKnowGaming takes a look at a lost Kirby game originally developed by Rockstar games back when they were called DMA design. This Super Nintendo title would've been called Kid Kirby, and was aimed at a younger audience with the SNES mouse as its main method of control.
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Special thanks to Meeper12346, Patrick Kerr, Paul Reeves, and Sean Hicks.
Research/Writing by Dylan Mansfield
Video Editing by TheCartoonGamer
Narration by Tony of @hard4games
Thumbnail art by JetPackBraggin
Sources/Further Reading:
Wallis, Alistair. “Playing Catch Up: GTA/Lemmings' Dave Jones.” Game Developer, 21 Dec. 2006, www.gamedeveloper.com/pc/play...
Dailly, Mike. “The Complete History of DMA Design.” Mike Dailly, 2004, www.javalemmings.com/DMA/DMA1_...
@snap2grid. “DMA stood for Direct Mind Access, when Dave announced the name at the computer club. He then apparently immediately forgot he said that. Then it (officially) didn't mean anything. Then (officially) stood for Doesn't Mean Anything, after a night out when he yelled it to a barman.” Twitter. 25 Apr. 2022, 11:32 a.m., / 1518629097227927558
Stanton, Rich. “The Making of Lemmings.” Read-Only Memory, 2015, 7 Jun. 2015, readonlymemory.vg/the-making-...
Kushner, David. Jacked: The Outlaw Story of Grand Theft Auto. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. pp. 20-26.
“Timex Man Set to Make a Million.” Daily Record, 4 May 1994, p. 19.
“NINTENDO AND UK-BASED DMA DESIGN ANNOUNCE PROJECT REALITY AGREEMENT” Nintendo, 2 May 1994. Press Release.
"SOFTWARE INNOVATIONS AND HOT DEVELOPER ALLIANCES HELP NINTENDO OFFER TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY FOR TODAY’S SYSTEMS." Nintendo, 23 Jun. 1994. Press Release.
Watson, James. “Games” DudleySoft.org, 21 Apr. 2009, web.archive.org/web/200904211...
Watson, James. “Kid Kirby - a real blast from the past for me.” GiantBomb, 25 Sept. 2008, www.giantbomb.com/profile/Dud...
Kerr, Patrick. Personal Interview. 10 Dec. 2022.
Anonymous. Personal Interview. 25 Apr. 2023.
Meeper12346. Interview with Steve Hammond. 9 May 2022.
“An Interview with David Jones.” NEXT Generation, Apr. 1997, p. 103-104.
Hammond, Steve. “Feature: The Making of Body Harvest.” Nintendo Life, 4 Jun. 2015, www.nintendolife.com/news/201...
Reeves, Paul. Personal Interview. 20 Jun. 2023.
Meeper12346. Interview with Mike Dailly. 30 Nov. 2017.
@snap2grid. “I'm the Steve mentioned in the article! I didn't work in the game directly, (I was part of DMA Design's Design Department), and I created the instruction booklet, including the writing and typesetting/layout and some overwrought graphic design! 3D renders came from the artists.” Twitter, 15 Jun. 2022, 12:33 p.m.,
/ 1536960073745973248
#kirby #nintendo #rockstar #snes

[@pixellord2370]

"The vehicle stealing mechanics were later incorporated into Planet Robobot."

[@Evilriku13]

that makes more sense the more I think about it.

[@BlinksAwakening]

Fascinating to think how for better or for worse, Nintendo is indirectly responsible for the likes of the rise of the GTA series or the entire PlayStation brand.

[@zigslotheon]

Sadly their 90s bullheadedness created their own worst enemies.

[@_G.C]

​@@zigslotheonThe fierce competitiveness drove them to success. If it weren't for ps and sega who knows where nintendo would be right now. The thing is now companies are a bit too chummy, they've sort of settled in and it makes their games stale and predictable

[@pablocasas5906]

The video made it seem like there wasn't any bad blood between Nintendo and DMA, but I find it very weird that a mainline GTA game never came to a non-portable Nintendo console until the Switch (which is hybrid) with the GTA Trilogy (I know that there were some GTA games on the GB and DS)

[@Slenderquil]

@@pablocasas5906 the last Nintendo console with about as much power as its competition was the GameCube, and Nintendo seemed to be morally against the GTA games during the GameCube era. I believe something said in an E3 of that era was "Link will keep on adventuring. Donkey Kong will remain a lovable ape. And mario will never start shooting hookers." So they definitely had something against gta

[@pablocasas5906]

@@Slenderquil but a GTA clone, True Crime, did appear on the GameCube

[@Goldtiger142003]

So, all of those controversies and crimes attributed to Grand Theft Auto were the fault of Kirby? I knew that little puffball was dangerous, but this is a whole different level.

[@Canadian_duck31]

Rockstar and Kirby is something I never thought I’d hear used in the same sentence.

[@mattwo7]

Well for what it's worth, it was pre-Rockstar. Back when they were better known as the company that made Lemmings.

[@Jade3381]

Same

[@SpongeBobsTikiLand]

Grand Kirby Auto, lmao.

[@TheRealRidley12]

Same.

[@dnmstarsi]

​@@mattwo7True but now I just wanna see a GTA clone for Kirby. But still make it Kirby if possible.

[@ThatGirlYouForgot]

The internet has gotten so good at finding lost media, I'm confident we'll have Kid Kirby within 2 years.

[@sixdegreesofcrispybacon]

"Let the past die. Kill it if you have to." 😉

[@nafofella6002]

With the gigaleak that happened a few years ago the chances of the public seeing kid Kirby doesn't seem to be that bad.

[@MegaNancyLover]

​@@nafofella6002gigaleak?

[@MegaZeta]

Unfortunately, what the Internet is often good at "finding'' is images like the ones mocked up for this video, mysteriously bereft of the context provided here. A pitch for an unfinished product is often 50% unreliable song-and-dance about how the product will change everyone's life, and its corporate audience knew it.

[@Magenta_Nimbat]

I'm so happy to see Kid Kirby finally be more talked about

[@TheWillrocks51]

I’m not. Fuck that bullshit

[@Josuh]

@@Philyutuberwhat

[@yeeoof1995]

@@Philyutuberwe've got massive finds coming up and you complain about kid kirby?

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

​@@Philyutuber Woah, someone needs to calm down

[@brandonwilliams6119]

The fact that GTA exists from the cancellation of a Babified Kirby game is so ironic, would things be any different had Kid Kirby seen the light of Day? I was reminded of Starfox 2 which eventually got to see the light of day in 2017 on the SNES Classic and now Shantae Advance is coming soon.

[@me-xz8zf]

Had Kid Kirby been released and had Nintendo been happy with the final result then I can see them buying part of DMA's stake, much like they did with Rare, and if things went nicely then maybe DMA or Rockstar would still be a developer for Nintendo today, instead of being sold to Microsoft. Of course, it's very unlikely they'd still make Grand Theft Auto or any game series like it, but I wouldn't say it is completely out of the table since at the time Nintendo was starting to cater for older and more mature audiences (with titles like Perfect Dark and Conker's Bad Fur Day). I will say that the idea of something like GTA being a Nintendo IP is incredibly funny and cursed.

[@rickydargence5948]

Mother 3 (N64) soon...

[@spongebobfan78]

@@me-xz8zf For all we know, GTA could've still existed at that timeline but less developed and underbaked and being just an interesting footnote as "Did you know that the guys who made Kid Kirby made this obscure game called Grand Theft Auto?".

[@beauwalker9820]

​​@@rickydargence5948don't get your hopes up. Only reason some cancelled Nintendo games like StarFox 2 and Earthbound Beginnings were released is because they were actually finished, unlike Kid Kirby and Earthbound 64 which were barely half done, and likely deleted. Granted, the notorious Nintendo Gigaleak proves Nintendo does archive many unfinished games concepts and projects.

[@opalander]

​@@me-xz8zfIn that alternate timeline, CJ made it to Smash Brawl.

[@rjstanley89]

“ DreamLand… Home, At least I thought it was ‘til I fucked everything up”

[@dylanmansfield3960]

So if Kid Kirby has hair, does that mean he’s bald now?

[@jennasloan396]

What if not hair, but actually an umbilical cord

[@Emmariscobar]

​@@jennasloan396But if it's an umbilical cord, where's Kirby's mom?

[@MrTheMasterX]

maybe he can just "suck it in" now that he's older, like how you can suck in your gut.

[@sotnosen95]

@@Emmariscobar Maybe living in a cute little cottage somewhere in Dreamland, getting visited off-screen by her son between games.

[@ghostdatamedia]

It's an exposed nerve ending 😂

[@steveluvscows2490]

"All we had to do, was follow the damn train, Kirby!"

[@DarkCloudVA2]

I'm hoping there's a rom out there somewhere. I really wanna see this. I've heard about kid Kirby for years but I never knew about its story.

[@primrosevale1995]

“All we had to do, was follow the Waddle Dee Train, C(apsule) J!” Seriously tho, found out there was more to Kid Kirby discovered some time ago, was wondering why I hadn’t heard a channel talk about it. Great to see coverage on an obscure area of Kirby history! Happy to see those sprites and level designs were featured here, and to know that the most unhinged violent game series all started with an even littler pink puffball!

[@ParanoidThalyyMVS]

I've always been interested in Kid Kirby, much thanks for this deep dive.

[@jamilfrost6217]

I clicked immediately the second I saw Kirby and CJ on the thumbnail.

[@bryanvelazquez2836]

Same thing. I used to play GTA PSP from my other related family from years ago. I don’t owned it, though.

[@Ihartwalrusguy]

If I were CJ I would bat Kirby to the next town

[@Chaos89P]

"All you had to do was follow the damn train, Kirby!"

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

@@Chaos89PThe Dededamn train.

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

@@IhartwalrusguyNaw, dawg; Kirby's too G for dat. He be slayin' whole-ass gods and dancin' on their graves. What's more, you F wit' him, you F wit' his whole Dream Posse. He got mo' sidekicks than a Bruce Lee flick and they WILL wreck ya. One of them will even lick ya for good measure.

[@goldenyoshi924]

Damn, this actually sounds really fun! It sounds like a combination of Kirby Canvas Curse and Mass Attack. This would've been really interesting for the system considering both were for the DS. Kudos to Sean for such amazing mock ups! Honestly makes me want to play this lost game.

[@CiromBreeze]

When Mass Attack released, the Kirbies' running animation in that game always reminded me of Kid Kirby.

[@SuspiciousScout]

The idea on it's own sounds pretty cool, but I have to wonder if the difficulty would've been extremely easy, maybe too easy for most adults, considering they say it was made for an audience even younger than the other Kirby games.

[@MegaZeta]

We don't really know how interesting it would have been, though. It _sounds_ interesting, but that's the job of the pitch for a project, and to some degree, the job of anyone who worked on it who wants to work in the industry or be remembered well after leaving it. Mock-ups probably weren't the way to go here.

[@MegaZeta]

@@SuspiciousScout And this is the problem I'm talking about above. The discussion has now veered from a game that no one's seen into presuming that a general statement about that game can tell us precise information about a hot topic for the audience (whether Kirby games are "too easy").

[@hard4games]

Thanks so much for having me on! 😊

[@Meeper12346]

Glad to have been a small part of this! Great job with the research and presentation on this one :)

[@UOAPlays]

It's crazy how much effort you guys put into these videos. Tracking down people for exclusive interviews and making custom art to convey what they're talking about is such a tremendous amount of work.

[@Probably_JENOVA]

The thumbnail and title is going to give both Kirby and GTA fans crossover ideas. I can already imagine how the fan art would look like. Sounds like a potential meme.

[@KeebeThePlush]

It’s crazy to think that kid Kirby could of been the from the same devs as the gta series

[@dampking]

*could have been

[@solagovideos]

it’s crazy to think that the GTA series could have been from the same devs as Kid Kirby

[@Recovery305]

@@dampking Insane how many people make this error

[@spartanq7781]

Kirby: "aw shit here we go again."

[@danielpersing4106]

​@@Recovery305who gives a shit

[@TheShiningYoshi]

Kirby is too gangster for this world.

[@LewtwoYT]

insane audiovisual combo to start the video with

[@DaNintendude]

I've always been glad that Kid Kirby never released, because I was never a fan of how the game looked-- or even the very idea of the game. Kirby is already supposed to be young, and his backstory is laid out in Kirby's Dream Land and Spring Breeze. I also hated the idea of Kirby having cartoonish hair like he is depicted to have. My least favorite part about what we knew was Dedede's design, which I absolutely despised. I frequently thought "I'm glad Kid Kirby didn't happen, because then that horrific Dedede would have been canon" ...So when I got to 10:41, I nearly laughed out loud. I really appreciate being able to learn more about the project. Even if I'm glad it never came to be, it's still a very interesting idea. The gameplay seems like it would've been fun, despite my issues with story and design! Sean Hicks did a fantastic job with his mockups. They definitely look very real, and help give a better understanding of what the game could've been. The game has always given me heavy bootleg vibes. It reminds me of stuff like the classic Archie Sonic comics and DIC Sonic Cartoons, which similarly made up their own stories and ideas that are incompatible with the mainline games.

[@Gnarfledarf]

"I'm glad Kid Kirby didn't happen, because then that horrific Dedede would have been canon" Then Forgotten Land and Return to Dream Land DX happened.

[@shadegaming2038]

​@Gnarfledarf there's no way you're comparing forgotten land dedede to THAT

[@-lord1754]

​@@GnarfledarfMangs guy still alive?

[@DanT12204]

ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS FOLLOW THE GODAMN WARP STAR CJ

[@dustL00P]

I remember when my brother was a tester for Gremlin and they had some DMA testers in doing QA on body harvest and I found a bug while checking it out when he took me in overnight. Stayed up all night playing the Sin multiplayer demo, looking round the QA section and the security guard opened the vending machine and gave me a shit ton of chocolate 🤣

[@Luma2802]

I've been watching this channel for several years now and I just wanted to say that the way it has evolved over the years is genuinely amazing, and videos like these are really showing off, from posting what basically was trivia compilations to now making well-researched mini-documentaires about obscure games containing mostly exclusive info. Great job

[@HeisenbergFam]

Imagine Rockstar makes GTA: Kirby edition and they incorporate San Andreas soundtrack

[@FH4Player6397]

Awesome content as always DYKG!

[@ancel4452]

I love how this channel atarted as a silly little trivia thing, andthen evolved into real valuable journalism and historical preservation lmao

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

I always heard about Kid Kirby, but I never found out much about this obscure little thing online other than the surface-level information on it. It's awesome to see some more light being shed on this mysterious project!

[@Benjamillion]

Kirby's from planet Popstar, but can he be a..... Rockstar?

[@Ginrikuzuma]

clearly never seen him on the Mike ability

[@Benjamillion]

@@Ginrikuzuma True, but I have yet to see a guitar on him in official work 😏

[@davebob4973]

not until he reaches level 2

[@polar-star64]

Damn, the lead that started the whole idea was let go before the end. That's really sad..

[@JoeDouglas]

It's crazy to me that we've reached a time where you can say "Lemmings" and not everyone immediately knows what you're talking about.

[@SmurffNationn]

DYKG’s passion for getting facts straight is incredible and greatly appreciated. I wish everyone took citations so seriously!

[@toast2110]

Does this mean that CJ in smash is hypothetically possible?

[@zelenpixel]

i think i was more surprised about them making lemmings than kirby

[@jaybeans981]

Imagine if future games had to write around the fact that Kirby used to have hair

[@xRocketzFighterx]

I wonder how Masahiro Sakurai feels about this.

[@Foulowe59]

I am not ready

[@AntFaiellaArt]

No wonder Master Hand antagonizes Kirby & his fellow Smash Bros. Crew. He holds a grudge that a game he could've debuted in got cancelled. All Master Hand wanted to be was Kirby's babysitter.

[@TramiNguyen-oi3kp]

I love these Kirby lost games!

[@weshuiz1325]

Oh god, "Kirby with a gun"

[@OnizenArt]

The more we dive into the history of these games and companies, it's crazy to see how many unintentional rivals Nintendo created 😂

[@NetBattler]

Nintendo copyright my brother named Mario again dammit

[@juanin200]

They're like the Ferrari of videogames

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

​@@NetBattler That has nothing to do with the main comment

[@ausgod538]

What rival? rockstar dont even create consoles

[@OnizenArt]

@@ausgod538 there's more to a game company than the console they make... business is business

[@Plasma-Pal]

you guys keep getting better

[@dannyboots]

Thank you 🙏

[@angelac.e.589]

"what are you worried about? It's planet Popstar, not Rockstar!" Lol

[@sterlingkart9562]

Kirby looking like kid buu

[@Introbulus]

Today I learned that Rockstar Games was not only once attached to Kirby, but created The Lemmings.

[@JsYTA]

They eventually took the project off the shelf, just replaced the kirby character with John Marston, and it became RDR.

[@virtualboy2558]

It's so bizarre to think about... more or less, the same people that worked on the mature hit series GTA, the same series where you gun and run over people in violent ways... those people were working on a title for the squeaky clean franchise Kirby... and making it for even younger kids. How very polarizing. XDDD

[@whiteraven1992]

(Kirby blazing through hordes of Waddle Dees) King Dedede: _"Aw shit, here we go again..."_

[@Jessikapus]

People always remember of rockstar/DMA for grand theft auto, but I will always remember them for shaping my childhood with the original Lemmings

[@TheCartoonGamer8000]

Here we go again…

[@heitorsant1759]

Oh damn we know way more about this game than i thought we did

[@resetsurvivor]

I had no idea they did Lemmings. That's crazy.

[@Rd_Kil]

I still have Body Harvest, as well as the other DMA N64 game I think they were alluding to: Space Station Silicon Valley.

[@mrshmuga9]

I was surprised it wasn’t mentioned.

[@TomMcD71]

Kirby video with GTA music 🤣😁🤣

[@abrealgaming5649]

I am now championing the idea that Grand theft Auto wouldn't exist without Kirby and I reject any other narrative moving forward. 😂

[@RogersBase]

I've always wanted to know more about this! Well done!

[@JoelTheParrot]

that attenna is gross whoooa cool mockups this is wild because they gave kirby's origin specific lore in the anime later and it's so very different also funny that this gameplay is not dissimilar to mass attack, though with a bit more lemmings and just one kirby.

[@Kaybeeguy]

Kid Kirby walked so GTA could run

[@ImAFatNerd90]

Over pedestrians, gang members, prostitutes, cops

[@KARLOSPCgame]

The Kirby Lore ....

[@Typman2000]

Meeper in the Special Thanks of a DYKG video... Common Meeper W. Great video!

[@GreenSwede]

I had to double check if my playback speed on KZbin was increased, because the pace of this presentation made me feel nervous.

[@TheBlahblah86]

I'd still like to see more Lemmings games. Those were a frustrating blast.

[@joebullard7613]

Kirby with a Superman curl looks cursed af

[@Nintendown]

Very happy to see Tony repping H4G here! I feel like he was a perfect fit for this video, considering how H4G has been heavily involved with preservation as of late. Love to see them get more attention!

[@DT-xp6ig]

I laughed my ass off seeing the intro of kirby with the san andreas music

[@littlefox_100]

Someone should try to replicate this as a fan game! It seems like it could be a really fun game!

[@GuuDz]

RockStar DMA Design must plays ! BodyHarvest top underated Rockstar DMA game.

[@KARLOSPCgame]

Still having a fisical copy, so good

[@arin4395]

y'all are always doin the most . we seriously appreciate the content n hard work everyone puts into these videos !! such fantastic insight always !!

[@dicapriodelorean2888]

man i love the art of Kid Kirby, Kirby himself esp cute

[@Hopalongtom]

Thank you for reminding me of "Blood Money" on the Amiga! I thought I dreamt that game.

[@CalebRazzleberry]

I totally thought this was just a normal Hard4Games video once I started watching, totally forgot it was DYKG lol

[@ItsNep]

oh shit, super cool to see h4g narrating one of these!

[@hard4games]

Thanks! 🙂

[@ItsNep]

@@hard4games wow! didn't expect a reply from you haha. been a big fan of the channel for years.

[@xnamkcor]

"A kirby game would not be complete without copy abilities". Kirby's Dreamland will remember this...

[@stephencheney9811]

The prequel reveals the most significant Kirby lore plot twist yet: Kirby and Master Hand used to be partners until that fateful Kirby spinoff game, Super Smash Bros. Not only does Kirby turn enemies into friends, but he turns friends into enemies. What a soap opera.

[@lizardguyNA]

I dunno how I feel about this suggested story for Kid Kirby. I mean, he's young anyway, right?

[@NTBXP1]

>Cake is stolen or some [beep] happening. Kirby: Oh [beep], here we go again...

[@mattwo7]

2:01 MOOD KINDRED! I mean I don't think I've ever been in a school with only one computer (I don't really remember much of my childhood) but other than that.

[@james441]

Now this is great content

[@mrshmuga9]

It’s kinda funny, because the “commanding Kirby” premise for the game sort of returned with Kirby Mass Attack.

[@kirbyofthestarsfan]

5 years since the last Kirby one, glad I made it to the 3rd ever DYKG Kirby video

[@isleling5191]

Man it's been that long

[@garlandstrife]

we need another giga leak

[@IPvsTW]

The opening to this video is so good

[@AmazingFrenchman]

Cool to hear Tony. Great job!

[@MatterMorph]

Pretty cool! I didn’t know this game existed

[@SullySadface]

Maybe Rockstar can collab with DICE and we can get a Lemmings pinball game

[@scottpilgrim2]

Thanks DYKG

[@Demanufactur3r]

Never knew, cool video!

[@gracekim25]

Ooo sounds like a crazy crossover

[@blueknightskeleton8424]

Kid Kirby could still work. Obviously with some changes, specially the kid part, since, you know, Kirby is already a kid-

[@loszhor]

3:22 They helped make Lemmings!? *Mind blown*

[@Absbor]

this explains the complicated lore

[@LordTchernobog]

If Rockstar would make a Kirby game:_ Kirby sleeps. The earth is shaking, storms coming. Kirby wakes up. "Aww shit.... here we go again!"

[@WIImotionmasher]

Can we all appreciate the opening shot of Kirby footage set to the San Andreas theme

[@usermcskull4713]

8:24 I'd say the sea anenome boss is somewhat similar to Capamari from Epic Yarn and The Claykken from Rainbow Curse. It's also a bit similar to the regular enemy Squishy and it's mid boss equivalent

[@marsbitrona5920]

The fact that it was necessary to explain Lemmings means there are people who play video games now who haven’t heard of Lemmings. I find this very disconcerting.

[@jlev1028]

To be fair, it's a very old game that doesn't have any sequels, at least not directly.

[@vicgc96]

What's bizarre about the first GTA is that it shares the same day and month of launch with Super Mario Land 2 if you live in the UK.

[@philipmurphy2]

We finally found Kid Kirby, Thats great.

[@SpikeJet2736]

A Rockstar style Kirby game doesn't sound too far fetched. Just run around, devouring people, using powers from said enemies to cause destruction everywhere. Just unmask and turn Kirby into the lovecraftian monster we all know he is