The Future of Hello Kitty Island Adventure: In-game events, easter eggs and more!

Hello Kitty Island Adventure, by Sunblink, has been out for a few weeks now and while me from a year ago would have raised an eyebrow at me saying this, it’s pretty great. I talked about it recently and it definitely tickles a lot of parts of my brain Animal Crossing left neglected when Nintendo decided to just stop doing anything with the game.

The world is bright and colorful with a lot of variety. There’s a lot of fun exploration, crafting, and puzzles, and it’s genuinely a nice way to kill a little time every day whilst giving yourself the gift of serotonin.

I’ve been unlocking a ton of stuff in the game recently and, to be honest, was worried there wasn’t going to be a lot left to do, but luckily I had the chance to talk to Sunblink’s Chief Product Officer, Chelsea Howe about what’s to come with the future of the game. Here are some questions I had the chance to throw to her.

Me (Eric Halliday):

As far as the future of the game is concerned do you have any particular plans for in-game events on holidays or for new areas?

Chelsea Howe:

"Yes and yes! We fully intend to release new areas of the game, new characters, and new features – about 6 weeks apart. There will be events coinciding with popular holiday seasons: keep your eyes peeled for our Spooky Celebration in October!Our first update goes live this Friday, where you’ll get a brand new area of the world, Cloud Island, and the chance to befriend Kiki & Lala, The LittleTwinStarsWith over 400 Sanrio characters, this game has the ability to provide new and exciting events and experiences for years, and we can’t wait to build out this world with our players."

Eric Halliday:

Sanrio has an exceptional amount of crossover with many major properties, (Gundam, My Hero Academia, Animal Crossing, etc) and I was curious if we’d ever see that reflected in the game. Hello Kitty wearing her Zaku armor from her Gundam model would be the highlight of my year. (Like the one shown below)

Chelsea Howe:

"Crossovers get into complicated legal territory, but it’s not something we’re opposed to!"

Eric Halliday:

This one isn’t a question about the future but just something I really can’t stop thinking about after my recent articles about the game, obviously the game is named after the 2006 South Park joke in which Butters says he mostly uses his computer to play a (at the time non-existent) game called “Hello Kitty Island Adventure”. Did the game happen because of the joke or did you create the game and then realize that joke would actually be the perfect title?

Chelsea Howe:

"We created the game and wanted the perfect title for it. It was about having an adventure on an island with Hello Kitty, and thus the title was born!"

Eric Halliday:

I was honestly thrilled to find Retsuko in the game (I love her) and was curious if her alter ego Aggretsuko will be making an appearance in the game (if it’s in the game and I haven’t made it there yet my apologies)

Chelsea Howe:

"Absolutely! In fact, Retsuko’s rage is a key component in helping restore a certain area of the island. Sometimes we all need to let off steam, right?"

Eric Halliday:

Are there any secrets or Easter Eggs in the game you feel like revealing?

Chelsea Howe:

"The finale of the game itself is one giant easter egg and love letter to Sanrio fans. I don’t want to spoil it, but if you reach the end, you’ll be delighted to see who we included in the game.We also have plenty of little jokes throughout the game: gudetama hanging from pairs of chopsticks, secret future characters shown in images around the island, and nods to pop culture (like Badtz-maru’s “Cakes on a Plane” reference in the introduction).If you look hard enough, you can also find a few nods to the Hello Kitty Supercute Adventures series."

Eric Halliday:

Right now the character creature is pretty impressive allowing you to make a character that’s a different type of cat, dog, or bird. Are there plans to add more animal types?

Chelsea Howe:

"Yes! Every few updates we plan on adding a new type of avatar to the game that players can unlock through story or friendship. Many of us at the studio have our favorites that we want to see make their way into the game, and we’ve been gathering feedback on our community Discord about which avatars are most exciting to players.https://ibb.co/dD9k7KR"

Eric Halliday:

What about multiplayer? It would be really interesting to be able to have some sort of multiplayer aspect, even if it’s just a friends list where you can see what your friends characters look like. It would be wonderful to see how other players express themselves.

Chelsea Howe:

"Right now you’re able to invite a friend over to your island and run around with them and collect, explore, and do lightweight quests. In our upcoming 1.2 Update, you’ll be able to do even more. We’ve always wanted to decorate alongside our friends, and can’t wait to let folks enjoy designing together."

Eric Halliday:

Closing this out, what would be one message you want people reading this to know about the future of the game?

Chelsea Howe:

"We want this game to be the ongoing, living world for Hello Kitty and Friends. We have plans far into the future, and are so grateful for the fans – old and new – who’ve made their home on the island with us."