HAL Laboratory is a Japanese video game developer and subsidiary of Nintendo. The company has developed numerous games over the years for Nintendo consoles and handhelds, including the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series.
Founded in 1980 by programmers Hiroshi Yamauchi and Masayuki Uemura.
Initially worked on games for the NEC PC-8801 and MSX computers.
In the mid-80s, HAL Laboratory began working with Nintendo on games such as Kirby's Dream Land and EarthBound.
Became a subsidiary of Nintendo in 2012.
A Japanese video game developer and publisher known for popular franchises such as Resident Evil, Street Fighter, and Mega Man.
A Japanese video game developer and publisher known for popular franchises such as Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and Dragon Quest.
A Japanese video game developer and publisher known for popular franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star, and Yakuza.
A series of action platformer games featuring the titular character Kirby, who has the ability to inhale enemies and gain their abilities.
A series of fighting games featuring popular characters from various video game franchises, developed in collaboration with Nintendo.
A trilogy of role-playing games known for their quirky humor and unique storytelling, developed in collaboration with Nintendo.
HAL stands for 'Hiroshi and Associates, Ltd.' The name was chosen as a nod to HAL 9000, the computer from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Kirby is an androgynous character and does not have a specific gender. However, Kirby is often referred to with male pronouns in English translations.
Kirby was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who was a designer at HAL Laboratory at the time. Sakurai later went on to create Super Smash Bros.
It is not clear whether Kirby and Meta Knight are related or not. In some games, they are friendly towards each other, while in others they are portrayed as rivals.
HAL Laboratory has developed numerous other games over the years, including the Mother series, Adventures of Lolo, and various Pokémon spin-off games like Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Channel.