Kirby and the Forgotten Land marked the franchise’s first foray into 3D but fans shouldn’t assume its the new normal.

Developer HAL Laboratory’s general director, Shinya Kumazaki. told The Washington Post that 3D Kirby games won’t necessarily “be the standard going forward”.

He added: “Nintendo is on the same page as us, and this is something we talk about often. We hope to go beyond what is currently imaginable and challenge ourselves to create new and innovative Kirby games.

“This game was one of those challenges coming to fruition. We will continue to explore via trial and error and not just limit ourselves to 3D.”

The leaps taken in Kirby and the Forgotten Land should not be understated though, Kumazaki said, and it can certainly be considered an “important milestone” in the franchise.

As the Switch exclusive only released a few days ago on March 28, it’s unlikely that HAL Laboratory will release information on what these future games might be anytime soon. That being said, Nintendo has promised that a variety of Kirby announcements are coming in 2022 as the franchise celebrates its 30th anniversary.

In our 8/10 review, IGN said: “Kirby and the Forgotten Land successfully warps the series’ classic mix of ability-based combat, platforming, and secret hunting into the third dimension.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.