Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Nintendo Switch Patch Arriving to Fix Game-Breaking Bug

Nintendo has announced that the beloved Nintendo 64 platformer, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, available to play via their Nintendo Switch Online service, will be patched early next week to remedy a game-breaking bug.

While they don’t specifically state what this bug is, several users have been reporting and sharing it online since the game’s digital launch. Essentially, if a player gets hit underwater, they become immobile, resulting in a soft-lock if Kirby ends up still. It’s a rather bizarre bug that really should’ve been discovered before release. But, eh, what can you do.

You can view Nintendo’s tweet announcing the upcoming arrival of this Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards patch below:

A bug has been found in #Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Switch Online that can prevent players from progressing under a certain condition. A patch will be released early next week to fix this. We apologize for the inconvenience.

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) May 27, 2022

An example of seeing this glitch occur can be viewed below, via Twitter user @ChazEevee:

In Kirby 64 on Switch there is a glitch where if you get hit underwater, you might completely freeze and be immobile. However in this case.. I was pushed to safety.

(My attempt to combine my Twitch world with Web3) x) used to full-time stream. reference: https://t.co/1cSpEG5mPT pic.twitter.com/BC55f9fV68

— Chaz | Techie Club 👩‍💻 (@ChazEevee) May 21, 2022

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the newest game in the franchise, bringing it to a new dimension. All previous mainline titles were 2D platformers, even when some of those featured 3D assets. As players get to explore abandoned areas from a past civilization, this will likely add new elements to the dark lore hidden in the series. (This is not a joke.)

Besides being able to move around freely through the stages, Forgotten Land includes the traditional copy abilities. By inhaling enemies, Kirby can copy their powers using distinct movesets to advance through the areas and beat down enemies on his way.