HAL Laboratory

HAL Laboratory (formerly HALKEN) is a Japanese video game developer founded on 21 February 1980. It is best known for its long lasting relationship with Nintendo on the Kirby series, as well as the Mother games and the first two Super Smash Bros. games.

Why They're One Step Ahead Of IBM

 * 1) They created the famous Kirby series, almost all of which have been positively received, which is quite rare for a video game franchise.
 * 2) *It also kickstarted the legacy of several video game directors such as the late Satoru Iwata, Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai and Mother creator Shigesato Itoi.
 * 3) *Kirby also managed to achieve success with their anime series, Kirby: Right Back At Ya!, which garnered internet memes among the Kirby fandom.
 * 4) They add in a lot of addictive and fun gameplay mechanics.
 * 5) Their other video game series such as Mother and Super Smash Bros. have been a cultural impact in the video game community which is what made them popular.
 * 6) Their logo is very cute and heartwarming, thanks to the idea of Shigesato itoi. Named Inutamago (meaning dog eggs), it consists of a dog bonding with three eggs.
 * 7) Other work on games such as BoxBoy!, Part-Time UFO and the Pokémon spin-off series have been otherwise decent, showing that HAL is more than capable of stretching for more ideas other than Kirby.
 * 8) HAL Egg, their new brand, exceeds in some amazing concepts likewise.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) While their Kirby games have not experienced any form of downfall whatsoever, they consistently rely on sequelization which led to Masahiro Sakurai to resign from the company in 2003 after completing production on Kirby Air Ride, which was his final work on a Kirby game.
 * 2) Some of their games under the HAL America brand weren't well-received.
 * 3) They released a lot of computer games that have faded into obscurity, much like with Hudson Soft's library.

Trivia

 * According to Iwata, the company apparently got their name from each letter putting them "one step ahead of IBM".
 * Similar to The Pokémon Company, Nintendo and HAL formed a joint venture in 2001 called Warpstar, Inc. to manage the Kirby brand.
 * They designed the CG tool for the anime film mh:greatestmovies:Pokémon: The Movie 2000.
 * The creation of the logo originated from an idea by Shigesato Itoi & was designed by Mr. Akiyama of HAL. It has been in use since 1998.
 * As of 2020, the studio has 2 locations in Chiyoda, Tokyo & Kai, Yamanashi.
 * There was an unlicensed NES game titled mh:crappygames:Kirby: Red Diamond which was notorious for its low-quality cover art, rushed artwork and stiff gameplay in general. Thankfully, this was not by HAL.