Kirby and the Forgotten Land’s Japanese launch is the biggest in series history

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has enjoyed the biggest Japanese launch in the history of the franchise, according to sales data.

As reported in Famitsu, the game has sold 380,000 copies in its first week.

The game topped the Japanese charts during the week of its launch, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Pokémon Legends Arceus making up the second and third spots.

According to Japanese game sale data site Game Data Library, its sales figures make it the best opening week for any Kirby game in Japan.

As reported earlier this week, Kirby and The Forgotten Land is also the biggest launch in the history of the franchise in the UK.

According to GfK’s physical-only sales data, the game sold more than double that of the next best selling entry in the franchise, 2018’s Kirby Star Allies, during its launch week.

Based on physical sales alone (GfK’s figures don’t take digital sales into account), the game is now the fifth best selling game in franchise history in the UK, behind Kirby’s Adventure on the Wii. The game has already outsold Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush for Wii U.

In a recent interview on Nintendo‘s own website, Kirby and the Forgotten Land general director Shinya Kumazaki explained how it took HAL Laboratory and Nintendo around 20 years to make a 3D Kirby game.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has received widespread critical acclaim, with a current score of 85 on review aggregation site Metacritic.

VGC’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land review calls it “another accomplished charmer from HAL’s inhalatory hero,” adding: “The platforming won’t give Mario any restless nights, but the exuberant creativity around it makes for a bold, buoyant adventure.”