A fan-made Kirby card game featuring Chef Kawasaki in a teensy bikini, striking a variety of rather suggestive poses is no more.
As spotted by Automaton Media, the game, fittingly titled Chef Kawasaki's Microbikini Karut, has been removed from sale at the request of Kirby's developer. It appeared just a few days ago on the Japanese online marketplace Booth, with both physical and digital versions on offer. But yesterday, September 28, its creator KWSK Karuta announced that it's stopping distribution after receiving a notice from HAL Laboratory.
The game is currently no longer viewable on the Booth store page, but the images below, from the official Chef Kawasaki's Microbikini Karut Twitter page, give you the idea.
年末年始はコックカワサキマイクロビキニかるたでこっそり楽しもう！「あ」から「ん」までの46種を一部加筆・修正して収録しました。専用ケース・Web未公開のオマケ札・描き下ろしポストカードもついてるよ〜🧡https://t.co/AKNKBohvQH pic.twitter.com/RvoJpFEjRASeptember 26, 2022
#コックカワサキマイクロビキニ部#コックカワサキマイクロビキニかるた も pic.twitter.com/J4arQjSGJ0June 27, 2022
Chef Kawasaki is a character who frequently pops up in Nintendo's Kirby series. He made his debut as a mid-boss in Kirby Super Star and has appeared in many of the series instillments since, including Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Kirby Star Allies. Looks-wise he's an orange egg-shaped fellow usually dressed in chef's clothing.
As Kawasaki seemingly doesn't wear anything under his apron, fans took it upon themselves to add some skimpy clothing for the chef to wear beneath his regular cooking attire. This gave rise to the micro bikini memes, which in turn led to the creation of Chef Kawasaki's Microbikini Karuta.
The rather risqué imagery aside, Nintendo and its partner studios are known to be extremely protective of their properties and likely would have cracked down on the use of the Kirby IP, whether Chef Kawasaki was in or out of a micro bikini.
For altogether more family-friendly adventures featuring the pink puffball, take a look at our guide to the best Kirby games.
