Kirby Conversations | Exploring Kirby, Nintendo, and More

In this episode, Sean interviews Given, the creator behind the YouTube channel Channel Kirby. Channel Kirby offers creative, thoughtful, and polished commentary on the Kirby series, and people have noticed, with some of the channel's most popular videos reaching over 100,000 views. In our conversation, Given shares how he got started with the channel, some of his YouTube strategies, his favorite Kirby games, and what kind of presence Kirby has in Germany, his home country. And of course we ask the question all listeners are wondering: could you make a hour-long episode or video about Kirby Slide?

Questions or comments about the show? Feel free to email us your thoughts at [email protected], and we may share them on a future episode.

We encourage listeners to watch and subscribe to Channel Kirby at https://www.youtube.com/@channel_kirby.

Kirby Conversations is part of the Sound Stone Podcast Network, a collective of independent podcasters covering video game history. Our shows include Darren Hupke's interview show Pixels and Polygons, Gooey and McKenna's Nintendo 64 history podcast Flashback 64, and Nic McConnell's game manual stream Instruction Derby.

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations
Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@KirbyConversations
IG: @kirbyconversations

Sound Stone Network
Bluesky: @soundstone.network

Bridget
Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass
Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Gigi
Carrd link
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know listeners have been asking for an episode on Kirby: Right Back at Ya!, so for this episode Sean and Gigi are finally unpacking the surreal charms of Kirby's anime series. Sean is relatively new to the show, while Gigi is more familiar and has watched it in multiple languages. Together they go over the history of the show's development, trivia, surprising connections between the animation team and other Kirby games, and their own thoughts on what it's like to watch this fun, if decidedly different, take on the Kirby universe in 2026.

What did you think of Kirby: Right Back at Ya!? Feel free to email us your thoughts at [email protected], and we may share them on a future episode.

Kirby Conversations is part of the Sound Stone Podcast Network, a collective of independent podcasters covering video game history. Our shows include Darren Hupke's interview show Pixels and Polygons, Gooey and McKenna's Nintendo 64 history podcast Flashback 64, and Nic McConnell's game manual stream Instruction Derby.

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@KirbyConversations
Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social
IG: @kirbyconversations

Sound Stone Network
Bluesky: @soundstone.network

Bridget
Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass
Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Gigi
Carrd link
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode, Sean and Bridget are hitting the streets and the slopes with more discussion of Kirby Air Riders and a batch of winter game recommendations. After breaking down some competitive strategies for City Trial, they consider other games that are a good fit for the winter months, including snowboarding games and the SSX series. (The earliest unreleased versions of Kirby Air Ride for the Nintendo 64 actually seemed to have a lot in common with snowboarding games, so the genres have some common connections.) And of course, they had to mention the Air Riders patch notes—because Rick was apparently just too powerful.

How do you feel about Air Riders so far? And what games are you playing this winter? Feel free to email us your thoughts at [email protected], and we may share them on a future episode.

Kirby Conversations is part of the Sound Stone Podcast Network, a collective of independent podcasters covering video game history. We are a founding show alongside Pixels and Polygons and Flashback 64, and we encourage you to check out those shows as well!

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/).

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations
Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social
IG: @kirbyconversations

Sound Stone Network
Bluesky: @soundstone.network
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network

Bridget
Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass
Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Gigi
Carrd link
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy holidays everyone! This is just a quick update to share that we are running a holiday giveaway with the podcasts Pixels and Polygons and Flashback 64, our fellow shows in the Sound Stone Network.

From now until January 1st, if you subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network, you'll be automatically entered to win a $100 Nintendo gift card. We will choose a random subscriber on 1/1/26 and contact you if you have won (so please make sure your profile is public or there is some visible way to reach you). We do plan to grow and expand our video content for that channel in 2026, and we'd love to have you join us there, too.

We also have a few other updates about what we hope to cover on the podcast next year. If you have any requests for what you'd like to hear on the show, please let us know on social media or reach out at [email protected].

Thank you for listening to the show this year, and we'll be back with more Kirby Conversations in January.

Links:

Kirby Conversations
Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social
IG: @kirbyconversations

Sound Stone Network
Bluesky: @soundstone.network
Other shows in our network: Pixels and Polygons and Flashback 64

Bridget
Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass
Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Gigi
Carrd link

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirby Air Riders is finally here, and Bridget, Sean, and Gigi are breaking down their early impressions. While it probably won't come as a surprise that we all really like the game, we have a lot to share about our first few days playing both solo and together in multiplayer. Since the game is still so new, we're avoiding spoilers in this one and just sharing our general thoughts on its signature Sakurai design elements, our favorite tracks, characters, and modes, and the appeal we think this game might have even for people who don't normally play Kirby games. Bridget and Gigi also share their thoughts on the impressive new Air Riders amiibo, and we reflect what the game might mean for the future of Kirby (and Smash Bros.?).

While we're excited to finally have the game in our hands, we're also curious about your impressions, too. How do you feel about Air Riders so far? Feel free to email us your thoughts at [email protected], and we may share them on a future episode.

Kirby Conversations is part of the Sound Stone Podcast Network, a collective of independent podcasters covering video game history. We are a founding show alongside Pixels and Polygons and Flashback 64, and we encourage you to check out those shows as well!

Our opening music is by Megan Kelz and arranged by Duncan "PixelTea" Smith (https://duncansmith.carrd.co/). This episode was edited by Sean and Flashback 64's Gooey.

Join us online:

Kirby Conversations
Bluesky: @kirbyconversations.bsky.social
IG: @kirbyconversations

Sound Stone Network
Bluesky: @soundstone.network
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@SoundStone-Network

Bridget
Bluesky: @kabulaqueen.bsky.social

Sean Douglass
Bluesky: @seandouglass.bsky.social

Gigi
Carrd link

Ky "Captain Dangerous" Parker
IG: @captaindangerous
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.