I'm not sure if I brought this up yet, but Kirby is my favorite video game franchise of all time. The characters, lore, music, action-platforming gameplay, boss fights, and art direction are always top-notch, resulting in a series that infamously never really had a bad game in its entire lineup. As we wait for a new game that's supposedly going to be the "next phase in the Kirby series", I wanted to write about what I love about every single one of this franchise's entries:
Kirby's Dream Land: Kirby's Dream Land is pretty infamously short even for a Kirby game, as most players will be able to beat it just a half hour. However, while it's nowhere near my favorite in the series, I have a lot of love for this one, and outside of its length, it's actually really hard for me to think of anything it does wrong. This is a densely-packed platformer filled with memorable setpieces, fun bosses, and levels that are impressively dynamic for a Game Boy game. Of course, this is the one Kirby game to not have any copy abilities, and while I definitely prefer having those, it means Kirby's Dream Land can focus entirely on inhaling enemies in and spitting them out. There's just a methodical feel to this whole game, every platform, enemy, and room feels purposefully placed to guide you through the game and teach you everything you need to know about controlling Kirby. Add in some beautiful graphics for the Game Boy and some of Kirby's most iconic tunes, and you get a strong first entry in the series, albeit one that does feel a bit too easy...
But that's where Hard Mode comes in. Many Kirby games have extra modes, but this one in particular is brutally difficult, almost to a trollish degree. Not only are the enemies more erratic but they deal more damage and are placed in spots that will be more likely to trip you up, and even the bosses are made so much harder. It's a difficult test of patience, but can also be very satisfying to complete and overall just makes the game better for me. While the main campaign is really fun, its short length is made even more noticeable by its easy difficulty. The added difficulty in the Hard Mode really forces you to take in the level design and scan all of the enemy placements to avoid getting hit, and it's overall a fantastic addition. I also like Hard Mode's big bonus unlockable, the Config Mode, which lets you change the amount of hit points and lives Kirby gets to make the game easier or even harder if you want it to be. So yeah, Kirby's Dream Land isn't one of the best games in the series. It's by far the shortest and least content-rich of the bunch, not to mention the lack of copy abilities. However, the strong and dense level design, fun bosses, methodical gameplay, and fantastic Hard Mode makes for a game that I find very replayable and easy to love.
4/5 Stars
Kirby's Adventure: Kirby's Adventure is one of the most important games in the series. It's bigger, bolder, and somewhat better than its predecessor... at least depending on the version. For starters, we have copy abilities, and over 20 of them at that! There are far more levels, with seven worlds each containing around six levels and a boss each. We have minigames, a boss rush mode, hidden collectibles, and hub worlds, it's incredibly ambitious especially for an NES game. I think that aspect in particular is especially worth noting, this game is probably my favorite NES game for just how modern it feels in a lot of aspects. The game manages to squeeze a ridiculous amount of content, diverse levels, vast copy ability system, and some really complex boss fights out of its cartridge. And even more, the graphics are stunning, with tons of unique-looking biomes and detailed backgrounds. The soundtrack is also an improvement, with tracks such as Grape Garden, Butter Building, Yogurt Yard, and Rainbow Resort in particular being really big highlights. And if all that isn't enough, Adventure has a fantastic final act, with a mini boss tower, a level-long homage to Kirby's Dream Land, a fantastic twist in the story, and a multi-stage final boss that sets the stage for all future final confrontations in the Kirby series. The Nightmare fight in particular is a ton of fun while also being super technically impressive.
However, while Kirby's Adventure is definitely spectacular especially as a sequel, it does have some problems that I don't quite have with the original, mostly because of the console it's on. While it being an NES game would naturally mean it has a lot of flickering, Kirby's Adventure in particularly is so graphically intensive for the system that it can end up lagging a lot, especially when there's a lot of enemies on screen. Compared to the buttery smooth Kirby's Dream Land, some segments can feel borderline unplayable due to the lag, and even when the game isn't lagging, it just isn't as responsive as it should be. And since you lose your ability after a single hit, this can make using copy abilities for combat incredibly punishing and not all that worth it. Thankfully, though, the remake and 3D Classics version both fix the lag issue and play a lot better in general. Outside of the lag, I think the levels can be a bit indistinguishable at times due to their short length and lack of consistent theming. However, there are some very memorable setpieces such as the blimp, pirate ship, and Dream Land homage levels, as well as some striking room designs like those Wheel and Laser segments, that bizarre garden in Rainbow Resort, and the rotating tower in Butter Building. Overall, I still think Kirby's Adventure is a fantastic game and an ambitious and worthy sequel that elevates the series into new heights, even if it might be a bit too ambitious for its system to handle.
NES Original: 3/5 Stars
3D Classics Version: 4/5 Stars
Kirby's Dream Land 2: I really like the Dark Matter trilogy (2,3, and 64), which was directed by the mysterious Shinichi Shimomura. It has a different vibe from the rest of the series with its focus on mixing abilities to solve puzzles, distinct soundtracks and visual styles, and dark final boss fights. However, DL2 is easily the worst of the trilogy, though it's not nearly as bad as I remembered it being. On a surface level, this game feels like another step forward for the series by combining the first game's stronger controls and less laggy engine with Adventure's copy abilities and longer length. While there aren't nearly as many copy abilities as there are in Adventure, this entry does introduce the animal friends, a gimmick I absolutely adore. It's always fun to experiment combining animal friends with the different copy abilities to see what you'll get, and it allows for some more replay value. There are also plenty of things this game categorically improves on over the first two. The bosses are fantastic, with some having multiple phases and pretty much all of them having a ton of attacks to keep you on your toes. In addition, I think the soundtrack is a big step up as well, containing some of my favorite themes in the series (Big Forest, Coo's Theme, Cloudy Park, and Dark Castle). And with collectibles, bonus challenges, a Boss Endurance mode, and other unlockables, there's a great amount of replay value here.
As for the level design, however, Kirby's Dream Land 2 is a bit of a mixed bag. Most of it is pretty solid, while still not on the level of the first game, DL2's levels do a good job of distinguishing themselves with their own unique setpieces without sacrificing length. However, some of the later levels do start to get really unfair, most notably Dark Castle with its luck-based autoscrolling segments. The most notable one though is Cloudy Park 2, the only level in the franchise that forces you to use a copy ability to progress, which is a big no no if you're familiar with Kirby. But the level design is definitely at its worst when the main collectibles are involved, the Rainbow Drops. The Rainbow Drops are by far the worst aspect of the game. While there's only one to collect per world, most of them are incredibly difficult to collect, not to mention obtuse The later Drops will have you swapping animals and abilities like crazy, and one mistake will force you to start the whole series over. It's brutal, even if you have a guide. Even outside of that, Dream Land 2 just has these minorly frustrating design choices, like the lack of a run button, the Animal Friends getting their own music that overrides the level themes, and the fact that failing a Bonus Chance means you have to play a level to give it another shot, and it all drags the game down a bit for me. While DL2 did end up being a lot better than I remembered it being, with fantastic bosses, an amazing soundtrack, the fun animal friends gimmick, and gameplay that blends together the best of the first two entries. However, the sheer amount of frustrating decisions, shaky level design in its second half, and awful core collectible still drags it down from surpass the first two for me.
3/5 Stars
Kirby Super Star: Kirby Super Star is probably the most iconic Kirby game in the whole series, and is a massive step-up from the first three entries due to the sheer amount of changes that were made. The copy abilities now have multiple moves and combos you can pull off, fleshing out the combat a bit. Kirby has a health bar rather than individual slices of health. There's a new mechanic letting Kirby spawn a helper enemy, allowing for multiplayer. Each level is unique and interesting, the boss encounters are easily the series' best to date, and the soundtrack is fantastic. This game also introduces series mainstays like The Arena (basically Boss Endurance from the last two games with breaks in between matches to let you regain health or swap abilities) as well as minigames that can be played from the main menu, in this case being Megaton Punch and a returning Quick Draw game. This all sounds fantastic (and it is), but I'll be honest and say that even with all these improvements, Super Star isn't one of my favorite Kirby games out there. For starters, there are some irritating design choices like you not being allowed to drop your ability without creating a helper and the frequently respawning enemies. It's also incredibly easy, aside from a few Great Cave Offensive puzzles, this might be the easiest entry in the entire series, especially to 100% (which of course leaves me confused when people criticize the modern games for being easy only to prop this one up over it). I also can't shake the feeling that the game looks and feels a bit... off. Maybe it's because I grew up with the modern games but Kirby feels a bit too slippery in Super Star, and while I still think the game mostly looks fine, some of the character designs and prerendered graphics don't look entirely right. All of these issues end up being corrected in the Ultra version of the game, but we'll get to that.
Kirby Super Star is known for basically being split into six different games, all of which are a lot of fun in their own ways. Spring Breeze is basically a remake of Kirby's Dream Land, albeit a much easier one due to the addition of copy abilities. It's a fun tutorial game, but the lack of Castle Lololo and Kabula means it very much feels like an inferior version of the original. Dynablade is a lot better though, with a ton of fun original levels and secret paths. While still not sure hard, every single stage in Dynablade is memorable and the final fight with the titular bird is a ton of fun. The Great Cave Offensive tasks you with exploring a big world solving puzzles to find treasures, basically a Kirby collectathon. While not one of my favorite games, finding these treasures can get genuinely challenging and there's a nice variety in biomes. Revenge Of Meta Knight is my favorite game, a high-octane action platformer filled with boss fights, crazy setpieces, and some entertaining dialogue between the Meta Knights. It's short and lacks replay value, and Meta Knight being a villain is kinda baffling, but it's a ton of fun, without a second wasted. Milky Way Wishes is the big finale with a lengthy campaign, a ton of collectibles, some creative levels, and an iconic final boss with Marx. However, I think it's one of the weaker modes as its reused level themes, assets, and boss fights prevents it from having its own identity. And finally, there's the fun but short Gourmet Race where you race King Dedede to try and get the most food, a classic mode that's always a good time. While I think splitting the game up like this made Super Star feel a bit disjointed, the sheer variety in things to do as well as all the gameplay improvements made for easily the best Kirby game yet (technically I like Adventure better, but only when it doesn't lag).
4/5 Stars
Random Kirby Spinoffs: Now, for a brief segue to the several spinoffs Kirby has gotten during the SNES/Gameboy era.
Kirby Pinball Land: So, I used to absolutely hate Kirby's Pinball Land, and was so close to ripping it a new one but honestly, it actually has a lot going for it. Kirby's Pinball Land is a pinball game with three different boards, each with multiple levels and a boss that you can fight if you get to the top of the board. When you beat all three bosses, you can fight King Dedede for a lot of points. If this game is solely level-based, I would hate it, since I don't think pinball controls works well for precision gameplay (just take a look at Mario Pinball Land). However, everything you do in this game, from beating bosses to goofing around in the board is worth points, and defeating King Dedede doesn't end the game, it just boots you back to the start. So fundamentally, Kirby's Pinball land is a high-score chaser, and that makes it really replayable and fun. It also helps that the pinball physics are shockingly good. It's hard to get pinball physics right, not even Nintendo can get it right all the time, but HAL nailed the feel perfectly. The boards are varied and filled with fun setpieces, the spritework is as charming as always, the music is typically top-notch, and the game even boasts some fun sidegames. There are even cheat codes that let you play the sidegames and bosses whenever you want! I do still have some gripes with Pinball Land, Kirby's sprite is a bit too big, bosses disabling your flippers is a cheap move, and there really isn't that much content, but overall, this is a fine spinoff even if it's still not one of my favorite entries in the series.
3/5 Stars
Kirby Block Ball: Kirby Block Ball is one of the greatest breakout games ever made, hands down. It takes a simple, fairly overdone concept and actually manages to do some creative things with it. For starters, this game actually has a bunch of copy abilities that you can use to manipulate Kirby (who functions as the breakout ball), as well as enemies scattered around most of the levels that you have to defeat. There are also bosses, bricks of different shapes and sizes, and a bunch of minigames to really add a lot of variety to the core arkanoid-esque gameplay. And if all that doesn't make for a standout breakout game, I'd also like to mention the amazing soundtrack. The music in this game is peak chiptune, it's some of the best on the Gameboy and way better than it ever had the right to be (Stage 5 especially, oh my god). I'm not even a fan of breakout games but Kirby Block Ball is absolutely fantastic and is definitely one of my favorite spinoffs in the series.
4/5 Stars
Kirby (Super) Star Stacker: I'm a big fan of arcade puzzle games, and Kirby's attempt at one is honestly pretty alright. You have to move around blocks to sandwich the star blocks between the ones based on your animal friends. It's not anything groundbreaking but there's a lot of potential for some great combos here. The original game for the Game Boy has a solid variety of modes including standard Endless and Time Attack modes, a Multiplayer Mode, and a fun Round Clear mode that can reward you with some really cute pictures. But even better is Kirby's Super Star Stacker... which I haven't played since it only came out in Japan. Either way, it looks like a big improvement on the original, with an artstyle reminiscent of Dream Land 3's pastel aesthetic, a full-on Story Mode with boss fights, and a great soundtrack with the original version of Masked Dedede's theme. It's a shame we didn't get this one, it looked like a fun time.
3/5 Stars
Kirby Dream Course: I'm a bit split on this one because I know Kirby's Dream Course is a good game... I just happen to be very bad at it. Kirby's Dream Course is a golf game where you have to take down every enemy on the course and get Kirby in the hole, and it's tough. Getting the highest scores requires near pixel-perfect precision, but even just beating the game is a bit too daunting for me. Granted, Kirby's Dream Course is still a fun time with tons of creative level gimmicks, a charming isometric artstyle, and a ridiculously entertaining multiplayer mode. However, as a whole, I tend not to play this one all too much as it's a bit too difficult for my tastes.
3/5 Stars
Kirby's Avalanche: Here's the thing about Kirby's Avalanche. I don't hate it in terms of its gameplay. As a fan of arcade puzzlers, I do really like Puyo Puyo and can definitely have a fun time playing. My issue with Kirby's Avalanche is mostly because of the fact that it's a Kirby reskin of an actual Puyo Puyo game that feels incredibly low effort and unfitting. Tetris Attack was a great reskin for Panel De Pon, as it meshes with the fluffy Yoshi's Island perfectly. Kirby's Avalanche on the other hand just feels off. Puyo Puyo's usual dialogue exchanges are now between Kirby and the cast, and outside of this being one of the few times Kirby speaks, he's uncharacteristically cold here, brutally insulting the rest of the cast in pretty much every cutscene. In addition, the presentation feels off as well, with certain characters looking a bit strange and the music being fairly rough versions of other Kirby music. I don't have a problem with a Kirby Puyo Puyo game, it's just that the reskin feels so off and uncanny in every single way.
2/5 Stars
Kirby Tilt And Tumble: Kirby Tilt And Tumble is the one Kirby game that hardly anyone has ever played, and that sucks, because it's actually a really fun game. Similarly to many of the other Kirby spinoffs, it takes the marble-rolling concept and adds its own unique spin, with good motion controls, the ability to jump, plenty of fun and creative level gimmicks, and the usual Kirby collectibles and very polished minigames. There are also boss fights, though with many of them being the same, they're a bit of a weak point for this one. Tilt And Tumble can be a bit difficult at time, but mastering it and its surprisingly complex scoring system can be very rewarding. It's a fun time, and I'd recommend trying to play it in whichever way you can.
4/5 Stars
Kirby's Dream Land 3: Kirby's Dream Land 3 is hands down the most underrated entry in the series. While fans tend to give it the short end of the stick for following Super Star, I actually think Dream Land 3 is an improvement on its predecessor. For starters, this rivals Yoshi's Island as the best-looking game on the system, with a stunning pastel look that's simultaneously beautiful and adorable. The soundtrack is also fantastic, generally being a lot more complex than what we've heard from Kirby music so far. But outside of aesthetics, the core gameplay of Dream Land 3 is just plain fun. Running around as Kirby feels pretty much perfect in this game, as the slipperiness from Super Star has been turned down without making Kirby feel sluggish. The addition of three new animal friends, all of which are fun to play with, completely blows Dream Land 2 out of the water in terms of experimentation. And all of the level design is colorful, varied, and a ton of fun. While I liked Super Star's unique structure, I still generally prefer how Dream Land 3 feels like more of a cohesive adventure, with a bunch of different worlds and boss fights punctuating each world. And speaking of which, the bosses are fantastic, each of them introducing a fun second phase that shakes up the battle halfway through.
Dream Land 3's most divisive aspect are the missions that you have to complete to get the game's collectibles in each level. While I'll admit that some of these missions can be a bit obtuse, I think they do a great job to shake up the level design and encourage you to experiment with all of the ability combinations. From freezing Metroids for Samus, to assembling Rob The Robot, to trying not to step on flowers, to completing an entire level by hopping across enemies with Rick, there is a fantastic variety to all of the missions on offer. The only real issue I have with these missions are the memory minigame ones that appear in every third level, those are legitimately really frustrating and force you to restart the whole stage if you mess up. Outside of those, however, none of the missions are nearly as tedious as the worst Dream Land 2 ones (outside of maybe that Rob The Robot one), and the final boss is absolutely worth all the effort. Kickstarting the trend of eldritch horror final boss fights in Kirby, Dream Land 3 ends with a battle against an eye that shoots blood at you before ripping itself out of its socket in a bloody display. Yes, this is a Kirby game we're talking about here, and it only gets crazier from here. Overall, I really like Dream Land 3 and think it deserves a lot more credit than it gets. The artstyle and soundtrack is phenomenal, the movement feels great, the level design is fantastic, the mission mechanic is full of variety, and the final boss must be seen to be believed.
4/5 Stars
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards: While not as consistently strong as its predecessor, Kirby 64 is a great cap to the Dark Matter trilogy with some high heights. Let's get the positives out of the way. Kirby 64 is a 2.5D game not unlike Klonoa, with winding paths and enemies and objects that can hurt you from the background. I'm always a big fan of 2.5D platformers like this, and it leads to some very memorable setpieces in Kirby 64, especially the incredible (and surprisingly difficult) boss fights. Speaking of which, the level design is easily some of the best and most varied yet, with each level focusing around a unique environment and gimmick, as well as fun vehicle segments with Waddle Dee and neat puzzle areas where you get to play as King Dedede. But best of all is 64's ability combination system, where you can mix and match copy abilities to create something entirely new. Just like with the animal friends, this allows for a lot of room to experiment and seriously boosts the replay value of the game. I also have to say that this one of the best-looking games on the Nintendo 64, with a colorful and dreamy aesthetic that hasn't aged a day. And the soundtrack is one of the best in the whole series.
However, with all the praise I have to give for Kirby 64, I do have a few issues that prevent it from being one of my absolute favorite entries in the series. Most obviously, Kirby moves so slow in this game. While you do get used to it after a while, I really do feel the game would be a lot better if his speed was bumped up even a bit. In addition, finding the main collectible in this game (the Crystal Shards) isn't all that fun a lot of the time. It's still way better than Dream Land 2's irritating Rainbow Drop challenges, but several of the Crystal Shards are placed in very obscure spots, and others force you to go to other levels to get the ability you need to retrieve them. Although, I will say that there are some really fun Crystal Shards as well, usually in Adeleine's challenge rooms where you have to use her drawings to solve a puzzle. And the final boss with Zero Two is iconic and so much fun that collecting all the Shards was still very much worth it. Back to the positives, Kirby 64 has a great story with charming and expressive silent cutscenes and a lovable cast that I wish returned to later games. I love how you're able to play as everyone in the cast for 64's three minigames, all of which are a ton of fun. It makes me want a "Kirby Party" game, I think HAL would nail it. Overall, despite the slow movement and some annoying Crystal Shards, I still really like Kirby 64. The 2.5D perspective gives the game a unique sense of identity, the level design is super varied and fun, the ability combination system is just genius, and the vibes the artstyle and soundtrack give out are immaculate.
4/5 Stars
Kirby: Nightmare In Dream Land: Nightmare In Dream Land is a pretty great port of Kirby's Adventure that fixes a lot of its issues, while also adding a few of its own. This game introduces an entirely new Kirby engine that would be used for pretty much all the main GBA and DS entries after this one, and it plays great. The lag and slowdown from the original Kirby's Adventure are completely removed, Kirby gets copy ability hats like in Super Star, and the game boasted multiplayer support that I never got the chance to experience. In addition, Nightmare In Dream Land added a whole new extra mode where you got to play as Meta Knight, as well as a main menu that let you play all of the minigames whenever you wanted, increasing the longevity of the game. However, this port also has a few downgrades, mostly in the general presentation. The rotating buildings effect in World 3 has been removed for some reason, the minigames aren't quite as good (I miss Egg Catcher!), and while the graphics look fantastic especially for a GBA game, the original's trippy and colorful vibe was really hard to match. Although, it is worth noting that this and every other future Flagship game (Amazing Mirror and Squeak Squad) has hands-down the best backgrounds in the series. Seriously, look at them outside of the context, they're stunning. One could argue that a lot of these gripes are fairly superficial, Nightmare In Dream Land is still a great Kirby game that's infinitely easier and more convenient to play than the original NES version. However, with the 3D Classics version removing the lag while keeping everything this port removed, I can't quite call Nightmare In Dream Land the definitive version of Kirby's Adventure.
4/5 Stars
Kirby Air Ride: I have an interesting relationship with Masahiro Sakurai. As a person, he's awesome. I watch his new YouTube channel pretty religiously, I loved him as the director of Smash and adored all of his charming little character showcases, and I highly look up to him as a game developer. As a Kirby director, however, he's probably my least favorite of the three. DL1, Adventure, and Super Star just don't quite have the same appeal as Kumazaki's games or the Dark Matter Trilogy for me. However, he did make Kirby Air Ride, and that makes up for all of it.
I adore Kirby Air Ride. It's not just one of my favorite Kirby spinoffs, it's not just one of my favorite games on the GameCube (one of my favorite consoles), it's one of my favorite racing games period. Air Ride is such an fantastic pick-up-and-play game, even compared to all-timers like Mario Kart, I still love to come back to this one and play a few rounds in its many game modes. Kirby Air Ride boasts a very unique one-button control scheme in which drifting, activating switches, inhaling enemies, braking, and using abilities is all tied to the same button. This sounds awful at first, but it actually feels surprisingly intuitive to play, and there's a lot of depth and strategy that goes into what is essentially just pressing the button at the right time. The presence of copy abilities, large bevy of shortcuts in all the race tracks, and the large roster of cars that all control differently add even more depth and replayability to the game, especially with the whopping 300 achievements (or challenges) that encourage you to really push the game to its limits. Kirby Air Ride is split up into three major game modes, all of which I found really fun!
Air Ride is the core racing mode, basically tasking you with getting to the end of the game's nine standard race tracks. Nine tracks doesn't sound like much (and its not), but most of them boast a lot of shortcuts and alternate paths making them slightly more replayable than your standard Mario Kart track. Each track also has plenty of unique gimmicks making each of them memorable and a ton of fun (except Nebula Belt, that one's kinda boring). While the challenges, many customization options, and unlockable carts do a decent job of keeping you playing, I do wish it had some sort of Tournament or Grand Prix mode for the single-players. Still, it's a good time. Top Ride is also a pretty fun party mode that has you go through top-down races on seven courses. While I do enjoy playing it and it's a ton of fun with friends, Top Ride suffers the most from a lack of content out of the three modes. With only one cart and very simple tracks, you'll probably end up seeing Top Ride the least.
And finally, there's City Trial, one of the most inventive modes in any party game ever. The premise is simple, you and your opponents are thrown into a large city and left to your own devices to search for items, powerups, and karts for five minutes. After the time has run out, you participate in a minigame where you have to hope that you got the right karts and stat pickups to win. With random events, a large variety of minigames, and too many hidden areas to scavenge in one go, each round of Air Ride feels completely different from the last, and it keeps me replaying over and over again to see what hijinks I'll get myself into. City Trial is fun in both single-player and multi-player, and will easily be the mode you play the most out of anything in Air Ride. It's that addicting. Without City Trial, Kirby Air Ride would be a decent kart racer with a lack of content. With City Trial, it's one of the most fun, replayable, and feature rich party games ever made. Outside of the gameplay, Kirby Air Ride boasts a stellar presentation, with typically slick UI by Michiko Sakurai, colorful and quirky art direction that feels quintessentially Gamecube, and a phenomenal and grandiose soundtrack made by Shogo Sakai at the top of his game. While I could definitely criticize Kirby Air Ride for a lack of content in some areas and a quirky control scheme, the game is just too much fun for me to really want to be all that harsh. I can always come back to Kirby Air Ride and play any of its modes with or without friends, and I just know I'll have an amazing time.
5/5 Stars
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror: I already reviewed this game quite a while ago, but I'll still sum up my opinions here. While I think the idea of an open-world Kirby game has a lot of potential, Amazing Mirror lacks a lot of quality of life mechanics and makes exploring its world a real slog, such as how easy it can be to lose copy abilities, the dead end goal rooms, and the irritating 100% completion requirements. The gameplay, boss fights, visuals, and soundtrack are still fantastic as per the norm, and I do have a lot of nostalgia and fond memories towards the game due to playing it a lot as a kid, but Amazing Mirror is ultimately my least favorite out of the main games in the series. I still stand by my position in the review that a remake which smooths out Amazing Mirror's rough edges would be incredibly welcome.
3/5 Stars
Edit: I ended up replaying Amazing Mirror and came away loving it way more than I had used to. It's definitely not my least favorite Kirby game anymore and now I'd give it at least 4/5 Stars. Here's my re-review if you're interested.
Kirby Canvas Curse: Many early DS games tried to make the most out of the touch screen, but none of them did it as well as Canvas Curse. This game forces Kirby into a ball form, so you have to move him around platforming stages while drawing rainbow paths with your stylus. Despite its gimmicky nature, it actually feels really satisfying to roll Kirby around and slam him into enemies. It also feels really exhilarating to roll Kirby around at high speeds, making for what should be a great speedrunning game. And outside of the odd controls, this feels like a fairly standard Kirby game in pretty much every other way. We even have copy abilities that Kirby can use, though how much fun I have with them depends on the stage. I adore the wide-spreading Beam, Wheel is as fun as always, and I even kinda like Balloon. However, you can't dash when you have a copy ability which can actually cause them to give you a disadvantage in certain instances. As a whole, I'd say Canvas Curse is easily one of the hardest games in the whole series. Some of the later levels really show their fangs, as they're filled with spikes, pitfalls, and enemies that can ruin your day. In addition, this game has a lot of bonus content, from hidden medals to customizable skins to Time Attack modes to challenge stages that utilize the copy abilities. It all makes for a really fleshed out game for what is essentially an excuse to show off the DS's central gimmick. To put it simply, Canvas Curse went way harder than it needed to.
Unfortunately, Canvas Curse isn't perfect. Instead of having subgames like most other Kirby games, Canvas Curse's subgames are also boss fights... and they're not that great. The frustrating aspect is that its sequel and the game's own final boss prove you can do a great standard boss fight with this gameplay style, so why did all of the standard boss fights have to be gimmicky touch-screen minigames? It's not that they can't be fun, I particular like the King Dedede one, but they really drag the game's momentum to a halt. Outside of that aspect, though, I still generally enjoy Canvas Curse's gameplay, even if the real star of the show here is the presentation. The soundtrack is composed of techno remixes of classic Kirby tunes that all sound really good, and the modern art-inspired visuals look fantastic. But then there's the final level, a sequence that signals a big shift in the series' direction. The moment you step into World Of Drawcia, Canvas Curse nearly becomes a horror game. The music becomes dark and distorted, the aesthetic looks like a witch's labyrinth from Madoka, and halfway through the fight with Drawcia, she turns into a disgusting, distorted, screechy, insane, five-eyed blob of paint, the series' first soul form. It's such a massive shift in tone that really sticks with you, but it's also a hallmark for many future Kirby games. One of the lead designers of Canvas Curse is Shinya Kumazaki, the current director of the series. He would continue to include eldtrich abominations, terrifying final sequences, and surprisingly creepy lore in many future games... and I wouldn't have it any other way. So while I do enjoy Canvas Curse as a unique platformer, the thing I will always remember it for is its influence on the franchise as a whole.
4/5 Stars
Kirby Squeak Squad: Kirby Squeak Squad tends to be a game that's often referred to as one of the weakest games in the series, unoriginal and lacking in anything that makes it stand out. And you know what? I kind of agree. It really does feel like more of the same for Kirby, and many of its new mechanics aren't explored as much as they could be. The ability scrolls are expanded upon in Forgotten Land, embuing copy abilities with elemental abilities is super limited compared to its use in Star Allies, and the Ghost ability is unlocked at the very end of the game rendering it pretty much useless. I also found the Squeak Squad chases, the game's main selling point, to get a bit repetitive by the end. The soundtrack is filled with remixes, many of the assets are reused from Amazing Mirror, the final boss is weak, the story is a bit of a mess, I totally get why Squeak Squad is considered to be one of the, if not the weakest games in the series. And I had that same exact sentiment for a while... until I replayed it again recently, and I didn't just like it. I liked it a lot. Squeak Squad may play things safe and may still be mid-tier by Kirby standards, but it's still a very well-executed entry in the series that excels in what matters.
For starters, this is the first game since Super Star to give the copy abilities multiple moves, and unlocking extra moves using Ability Scrolls is a really cool concept. But what's especially exciting is the fact that you can interact with the environment using your copy abilities, from cutting grass, to burning tree trunks, to freezing water, to digging through dirt and snow, to electrifying clouds and even the metal floor you stand on. No Kirby game has this much environmental interactivity, and it serves to make the level design more inventive and memorable. Speaking of which, the level design is great, constantly shifting settings and developing its level gimmicks throughout the course of the game. Stages like 3-5 and 8-1 in particular rank as two of my favorites in the series, the former introducing the aforementioned electrified clouds and the latter being a fun dash through the Halberd. I know some criticize the game for having some very short levels (1-5, 2-4, etc), but I like how they serve as bite-sized challenges that focus on a single mechanic. Similarly, the bosses are mostly pretty great too. The first and final bosses are underwhelming for sure, but the high points include Mecha Kracko, Yadogaine, Dark Daroach, and Meta Knight, all of which are fantastic boss fights.
And while most of the gimmicks in Squeak Squad don't work too well, I think the way collectibles work is fantastic. The game has 120 treasures, a decent amount of which are fairly easily missable and require genuine skill to collect. These treasures can unlock a laundry list of stuff, from life extensions to ability scrolls to customization options, and I was always super excited after beating a level to see what I would unlock. Even more, the game has a mechanic where Kirby holds items in his belly, including health and 1-up pickups, abilities, and treasures. However, he can only fit 5 items at a time, and most levels have three treasures, which requires a decent amount of strategy when it comes prioritizing and reorganizing what you want to hold on to. Finally, I do enjoy the game's presentation even if it's not the most original. Despite using similar assets, Squeak Squad looks a lot better than Amazing Mirror thanks to the upgrade in hardware and the game boasts some of the nicest looking backgrounds in the series. And while the soundtrack isn't one of the series' best, I did find it to be calming and many of the remixes ended up being improvements on the original tracks (especially in the case of the Amazing Mirror remixes). As a result, I enjoy Squeak Squad. It's not original in the slightest and wasted a lot of its potential, but the core gameplay and level design is so damn solid and the game as a whole is comforting, satisfying, and fun that I can't bring myself to consider it mediocre. Is Squeak Squad the most underrated entry in the series? No, that's Dream Land 3 for sure... but this is a close second.
4/5 Stars
Kirby Super Star Ultra: Kirby Super Star Ultra is one of the greatest ports ever made, improving on the original in pretty much every way possible and fixing all of my issues with the game. Creating a helper and losing your ability are tied to different button presses, the enemies respawn a lot less quickly, the camera is zoomed out (oddly enough for a handheld port), the artstyle feels more in line with the later games without changing what worked about the original's unique presentation, the movement feels better, bosses like Dynablade and Heavy Lobster get entirely new themes, and that's not even getting into all the quality of life improvements the DS's second screen provides. But that's not even it, Ultra practically increases the size of the game by two, with loads more content from more minigames, to a harder version of The Arena, to modes where you can play as Meta Knight or the helpers, to an unlockable blooper reel (this alone makes it a perfect 10). If you thought Super Star was too easy like I did, Ultra's additions will definitely give you a run for your money. But best of all is the new game mode Revenge Of King Dedede which is easily my favorite of the game. It's a harder version of Spring Breeze that brings back Kabula as a boss, introduces some charming dialogue between King Dedede and his lackeys, and ends on one of the most iconic boss fights in the whole series. I can't understate just how much of an improvement Ultra is, it elevates the original so much, with the only things I really like better from the SNES version being the uncompressed music and the more haphazard layout of the corkboard menu. I still think some of the other games left larger impacts on me especially in terms of their stories, but Super Star Ultra is easily the best DS Kirby game.
5/5 Stars
Kirby's Epic Yarn: Kirby's Epic Yarn is one of my favorite games of all time. It was also my first Kirby game, and what a first impression it was. To get the obvious out of the way, Epic Yarn almost entirely uses an artstyle made with yarn and other arts and crafts, and it looks stunning. GoodFeel, this game's developer, is an absolute powerhouse with these sorts of unconventional artstyles. In addition, the yarn aesthetic isn't just window dressing, it's utilized in the gameplay in a variety of ways. Kirby can pull on threads, unravel enemies, pop behind the cloth background, and transform himself for a bunch of incredibly fun and varied vehicle segments. As a whole, I think Kirby controls incredibly fluidly in this game. There's a really nice flow to his movements and it actually makes this one of my favorite games to speedrun. I know a lot of people tend to criticize this game for its lack of difficulty, as you can't die and getting hit makes you lose beads, but I actually like just how calming this aspect makes Epic Yarn. And if you really want some difficulty, getting 100% will definitely give you that, but I'll get there.
Even with a light difficulty, the level design in Epic Yarn is absolutely fantastic. Each world takes a fairly standard video game setting and uses the yarn mechanic to add a neat spin on the concept, and there really isn't a bad level in the whole game (except maybe Boom Boatyard). The boss fights are fantastic too, all of them are super creative and trying to figure out how to wring the most beads out of them is very fun. Epic Yarn has a lot of side content, from hidden levels to tons of collectibles to a slew of side challenges to a house that you can decorate however you want. But the best thing about Epic Yarn is the Bead Medals. These challenge you to collect as many beads as you can in a level, which only starts to become difficult when you realize that you can lose beads by getting hit or falling in pits. These Bead Medals (as well as the aforementioned challenges) do a great job at adding some much needed difficulty to Epic Yarn for those who want it. Whenever someone says this game is too easy, I just say they're not playing it right. Otherwise, I think Epic Yarn's soundtrack is also amazing. I know I sound like a bit of a broken record here but the piano-heavy tunes that comprise Epic Yarn's music are just so comfy to listen to. As a whole, I adore Epic Yarn. The visual style is obviously the highlight, but fluid gameplay, fun level design, tons of extra content, and great music make for one of my favorite video games ever made.
5/5 Stars
Kirby Mass Attack: I love everything about Kirby Mass Attack... except for the actual gameplay. The game starts with Kirby being split into ten small Kirbies who are all pretty ineffective against even the most basic enemies, so you have to use the stylus to lead them through platforming stages and beat the main antagonist Necrodeus. It's a solid premise and a good usage of the DS's stylus, but I don't think this gameplay style works quite as well as Canvas Curse did. While slinging Kirby at enemies is satisfying, having to rally together all of your Kirbies can get a bit tedious at times and the camera doesn't do the best job of keeping track of everyone. Still, the level design manages to be really fun and creative at times, with plenty of setpieces and minigames peppered throughout the game. The boss fights are also pretty impressive and fun, although Mass Attack does make the odd decision of locking the final boss behind collectibles. I was fine with this in the Dream Land games, but Mass Attack has a massive amount of levels and Medals to collect. Granted, you don't need every medal, just the Rainbow Medals, but there's no way to know which medals you need to find and which medals have that attribute feel a bit randomly selected.
So while the gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag, I absolutely love pretty much everything else about Mass Attack. In particular, the subgames in Mass Attack are fantastic. There's a whopping six subgames, and all of them are fun and replayable. Some of the games are fairly short like Field Frenzy or Dash Course, but there is some genuinely beefy stuff here. Kirby Brawlball is basically Kirby's Pinball Land but better (boss fights included), Strato Patrol EOS is a fun shooter that I ended up playing way more than the base game, and Kirby Quest is a simple one-button RPG that brings back a ton of characters from past games and even the anime. As a whole, Mass Attack feels like a love letter to this weird spinoff-heavy era of Kirby, with tons of references to games like Air Ride and Squeak Squad scattered around. In addition, the spritework is super charming and cute, and Shogo Sakai returns after Kirby Air Ride for another amazing soundtrack. While I don't think Kirby Mass Attack is a bad game, its gameplay and progression are definitely its weakest aspect. Thankfully, the subgames, presentation, and level design still make this a decently fun entry in the series.
3/5 Stars
Kirby's Return To Dream Land: Kirby's Return To Dream Land is a pretty important Kirby game in a lot of ways. It was my first non-spinoff Kirby game, as well as the start of the "modern Kirby" formula as we know it. Return To Dream Land didn't reinvent the wheel, but it refined the Kirby gameplay to an incredible degree, and ended up being my favorite entry in the series for quite some time. Gameplay-wise, Return To Dream Land is a lot similar to Kirby Super Star, as each copy ability has a ton of moves and Kirby has a health bar. The game controls a lot better than Kirby Super Star, though, and Kirby's attacks feel like they have a lot more impact than before. However, there are a few other additions like temporary items that Kirby can carry around ala Dream Land, Super Abilities that show up at the ends of levels that Kirby can use to destroy pretty much everything in his sight, and Alternate Dimension areas that challenge Kirby to get past an obstacle course while being chased by a purple all-consuming wall. While the modern Kirby games each has their own unique gimmick, the Super Abilities are still one of my favorite for their sheer spectacle and fairly short segment lengths, and the Alternate Dimension areas add a nice bit of challenge to the game. Outside of all this, Return To Dream Land also has one of my favorite multiplayer modes in any video game ever. You can play through the whole game with up to four players, with the first having to play Kirby and the other three getting the choice to play a different colored Kirby or King Dedede, Meta Knight, or Bandana Waddle Dee. Characters don't get in the way of each other as in something like New Super Mario Bros Wii, so Return To Dream Land's multiplayer has a bit more of a collaborative spirit to it.
While not boasting the best level design in the series, Return To Dream Land once again expands on the earlier games with some more memorable gimmicks and set-pieces, with the highlights being the hauntingly beautiful aurora level 4-5, the sky level filled with breakable platforms 5-1, and the Takeshi's Castle esque 6-5. The bosses also got a huge upgrade over the previous games, with far more attacks and a second phase after taking out half of their health bar. RtDL's main collectible are these Energy Spheres, 120 of total, that you can find in the levels. Some of these spheres can be legitimately devious to find and collect, and getting them can unlock the game's decent subgames, ability rooms, and the incredibly fun Ability Challenges which test your mastery in certain copy abilities. RtDL also boasts one of the series' hardest Extra Modes and brings back The True Arena from Super Star Ultra, though it's incredibly easy thanks to the Tornado ability. But for me, even with the great multiplayer, fun boss battles, and solid amount of content, the highlight of Return To Dream Land is easily the story. To keep things short, Magolor's betrayal of the cast at the end of the game is one of my favorite story beats ever and puts so much of the rest of the game into an entirely different context. It also leads to the greatest boss fight ever created, final or otherwise, whose outstanding gameplay is made even better by the added emotional heft spawned by that betrayal. Other Kirby games did certain aspects of the series' formula better than Return, but this was my favorite entry for so long because nothing ever hit me as hard as this betrayal. Finally, presentation-wise this game holds up phenomenally. It looks outstanding for the Wii, and the soundtrack is one of the series' best. Overall, Return To Dream Land doesn't really excel in much, but it just nails everything I could ask for from a Kirby game. With its fantastic gameplay, strong multiplayer, fluid combat, memorable levels, fun core gimmick, beautiful presentation, and one of my favorite video game stories, Return To Dream Land is easily one of the highest points of the whole series.
5/5 Stars
Kirby Triple Deluxe: Even with my love for Return To Dream Land, Kirby Triple Deluxe is very close behind in quality. As a matter of fact, if I put my nostalgia for the former aside, Triple Deluxe might actually be an even better game! Triple Deluxe takes the strong foundation created by Return To Dream Land and expands on it by making the game 2.5D. Now not only can enemies and obstacles attack you from the background, but you can even hop into the background yourself using Warp Stars. Needless to say, this leads to some of the, if not the best level design in the whole series. Every single stage in Triple Deluxe feels unique and memorable with a wide variety of inventive gimmicks such as a tank that follows you from the background, giant cobra statues that shoot fire at you, and walls with holes in it that threaten to crush you from behind. The puzzle rooms are especially memorable here, many of which having you use the 3D gyroscope in some very fun physics puzzles that I found myself really enjoying. Frankly, the Sun Stones might be some of my favorite collectibles in the series, they get genuinely challenging to find at points. The bosses use the 2.5D mechanic as well and are all the better for it, since their ability to hop into the background allows for a lot more unique attacks. As a matter of fact, I'd say this is the best lineup of bosses in the series, or at worst any of the 2D entries. In addition, despite what IGN may suggest, I actually found this to be one of the harder Modern Kirby games. The Sun Stones can be hidden in some pretty devious spots to the point where I actually had to replay a few levels because I missed some. And this game also introduces EX levels that mix all of their respective worlds' gimmicks together into some genuinely tricky segments.
Triple Deluxe isn't a perfect Kirby game, however. Royal Road has some of my favorite levels in the series but is also padded out with two dull boss rush stages, Triple Deluxe's new gimmick Hypernova does allow for some creative setpieces and mini-bosses but requires quite a bit of waiting around making it feel way more slow-paced than the Super Abilities, and the bosses having pitfalls can make the Arena and True Arena way too punishing in certain cases. All of these issues are fairly minor in the grand scheme of things, but compared to its predecessor, Triple Deluxe does feel like a case of higher highs and lower lows. On the other hand, Triple Deluxe's final boss is fantastic, easily one of the strongest in the series in terms of its presentation. The beautiful visuals, operatic tone, memorable villain in Queen Sectonia, and tragic backstory for side antagonist Taranza makes for a fight that really sticks with you. As a matter of fact, I think this game's presentation is fantastic as a whole, with a stunning visual style that makes for one of the best-looking 3DS games as well as my favorite soundtrack in the whole series. The postgame is pretty damn solid too, with two incredibly fun subgames that actually got expanded to full releases and a neat sidemode where you speedrun through the game as King Dedede. Overall, Triple Deluxe is easily one of my favorite Kirby games to date. While it has its small issues, Triple Deluxe shines so brightly in its phenomenal level design, boss fights, and overall presentation that it still manages to stand out as one of the highlights of the series.
5/5 Stars
Kirby Fighters Series: Knowing how Super Smash Bros's gameplay was pretty heavily based on the Kirby games, it only makes sense that a series as combat-heavy as Kirby would eventually get a fighting game, and it got two! HAL did have to make a few changes to the combat to accommodate, with many of the abilities getting seriously nerfed, but for the most part it's just fighting with Kirby abilities, and it's pretty fun. Are these games competitively viable? No, probably not. But it's definitely a fun time if you want a silly fighting game to play with friends. The first entry, Kirby Fighters Deluxe, was pretty much an expansion of the minigame from Triple Deluxe that it was based on, and is thus pretty light on content. There's a decent variety of abilities and stages, but the minimal single-player mode does hold it back, especially considering it's a handheld game. The 3DS would also get a 3D fighting game called Battle Royale, and while it's a fun novelty to see how HAL would adapt copy abilities into 3D, it is pretty light on content. The minigames Battle Royale has to offer are definitely fun and there's a solid Story Mode for single-player play, but overall there isn't much to this one.
Kirby Fighters 2 for Nintendo Switch, however, feels like HAL put a bit more effort into making a genuine fighting game. There are a lot of stages and abilities to use, as well as the introduction of playable characters such as Dedede, Gooey, and Magolor. The character balancing feels a lot more thought-out than in Deluxe, and being on the Switch means that couch co-op multiplayer is easier than ever. There is also a lot more single-player content this time around, with the addition of a story mode and XP system. The Story Mode is pretty cool, basically being a roguelike where you have to fight enemy after enemy while granting yourself perks and items after every match. The later stages get genuinely difficult too, I don't think I've ever had this much trouble beating a Kirby game. However, I hate this game's XP system, which barricades characters and stages behind what is essentially grinding. You get XP so slowly in this game, with the best method being the Story Mode, which is both difficult and lengthy. I'm also not a fan of how you can unlock alternate music for each stage, but aren't given the ability to choose the music before a match. Still, as a multiplayer game, Kirby Fighters 2 is great, and definitely one of Kirby's more memorable side games.
Kirby Fighters Deluxe: 3/5 Stars
Kirby Battle Royale: 3/5 Stars
Kirby Fighters 2: 4/5 Stars
Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe: With such great soundtracks, I'm surprised it took so long for us to get a Kirby rhythm game (no, the Taiko series doesn't count). Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe is a really fun spin on the rhythm game formula, feeling like more of a platformer where you have to time your jumps across drums to make it to the end of each stage. It's a bit unconventional but very intuitive once you get the hang of it. Unfortunately, while Dedede's Drum Dash is a really fun game, it's also painfully short, with only seven songs in the Deluxe version. Sure, there are extra versions of the stages, but I can't help but imagine the potential of a Dedede's Drum Dash game with songs from all across the franchise.
3/5 Stars
Kirby And The Rainbow Curse: Kirby And The Rainbow Curse is a pretty strong sequel to Canvas Curse that makes a lot of changes, though I think a lot of them was for the better. While the core gameplay of guiding Kirby around with the stylus remains intact, there aren't any copy abilities this time around. When taken in isolation, I don't quite love this change. I really liked how spinoffs like Canvas Curse and Air Ride created unique mechanics out of the copy abilities, so its removal here was a bit disappointing. Thankfully, Rainbow Curse makes up for this with level design that far surpasses the original in scope and variety. Rainbow Curse's levels are massive and filled to the brim with hidden areas, collectibles, and secrets, while all focusing around unique gimmicks ranging from digging through sand to avoiding one-hit kill ghosts to Kirby being split in two and having to guide both of them to the goal. Add in some fun vehicle stages scattered throughout the game and you get a much stronger sense of variety in Rainbow Curse's level design compared to its predecessor. Despite all this, however, Rainbow Curse still manages to maintain the difficulty of the original Canvas Curse and definitely isn't afraid to show its fangs either.
Rainbow Curse also improves on Canvas Curse in one other aspect, there are actual boss fights! Granted, none of them come anywhere close to topping the godly final encounter with Drawcia and several of the bosses are reused and repeated, but it's still a big improvement over those subgames. Another thing this game improves on significantly is the presentation. While I loved Canvas Curse's dip into horror, Rainbow Curse's adorable claymotion style makes for one of the Wii U's best-looking titles, and Shogo Sakai returns to make another absolute banger of a soundtrack filled with fantastic original themes and an entire library of remixes completely separate from the rest of the game. On the other hand, I don't think this game is quite as packed with content as Canvas Curse. While it has several in-level collectibles, a decently-sized Challenge Mode, and even multiplayer functionality, the removal of the Time Attack modes and lack of any customization options does hurt the replayability a tad. While it does kind of suck that Rainbow Curse removed some elements I loved from Canvas Curse, the stronger level design, greater sense of variety, and phenomenal presentation still probably makes this the better of the two games.
4/5 Stars
Kirby Planet Robobot: Kirby Planet Robobot is generally considered to be the high point of the Kirby series and the best of all the Modern Kirby games. Unfortunately, I don't quite agree with that. As a matter of fact, this is actually my least favorite of the four. Yes, worse than Star Allies. But let's start with what I do like. Kirby Planet Robobot takes its premise of a robot army roboticizing Dream Land and runs to the hills with it, allowing for some of the best and most inventive level settings in the series. From a casino to an ice cream factory to pretty much the entirety of Rhythm Route, easily my favorite world in the whole series. The new gimmick is a mech armor that Kirby can ride, which is already an awesome power fantasy on its own. However, the mech armor can also use copy abilities which not only gives the gimmick more depth but also allows for even more unique setpieces like the Jet and Wheel Robobot levels. Oh, and speaking of power fantasy, the base Kirby combat is more broken than ever in Robobot. Bosses lack i-frames now and you can spam moves in the air making like 50% of the ability roster utterly broken, it's awesome. Robobot also manages to expand on Triple Deluxe in a bunch of ways, such as giving the bosses circular battlefields ala Klonoa and Kirby 64, giving the Stickers (a replacement for TD's keychain collectibles) a more practical purpose by letting you place them on your mech armor, removing pitfalls from the boss fights, and using music from more games than just Return To Dream Land for its EX stages. Using Canvas Curse's electronic soundtrack especially was a stroke of utter genius and fit Robobot perfectly.The presentation and soundtrack is as great as it always is, and biggest of all, Robobot has one of the best postgames in the series. The subgames include an RPG/boss rush and a brief 3D Kirby tech demo, the extra mode features the return of Meta Knightmare, and the True Arena is easily the hardest in the series but in the best way possible. I've never beaten it yet, but one of these days, I will...
I'd say my fundamental complaint with Kirby Planet Robobot is the fact that it feels slow compared to most of the other Modern Kirby games. This isn't a new criticism, I've also said Hypernova feels slow too, but those are just parts of the game, not the whole thing. So... remember when I said Kirby's moveset is broken in this game and a ton of fun to use? Well, it's a shame you really can't utilize it much outside of bosses since Robobot has you spend 50% of the game in the mech armor. It's not even a gimmick anymore, it's a fully-fledged game mechanic, and I'm not really a big fan of that. At its best, the mech armor can be a fun breather, but a lot of the time, it just feels more sluggish than standard Kirby, with slower moves that come with more end lag. It also doesn't help that Robobot goes for more of a puzzle-platformer focus in its level design a lot, which means you have to spend a lot of time executing fairly slow-paced (and mindless) puzzles. It also doesn't help that the mech armor moves a bit slower than Kirby does alone, and stops in place for a lot of his attacks. As a result, I end up just settling for the Meta Knightmare mode whenever I choose to play Planet Robobot, since you can go through the game without using the mech armor at all, and your momentum rarely feels like it gets interrupted.
I have a bit more to complain about though, such as how the only original boss in the entire game is Susie. Almost every boss fight in Robobot is either a prior character or a harder version of the Susie fight in Haltmann's case, with even the final boss being another Nova fight. When Kirby Star Allies, the literal nostalgia trip, has more original bosses (Mage Sisters, Grand Mam, Hyness), that's when you know you have a problem. Speaking of the final boss, while shooting down Star Dream is the Halberd is a ton of fun and Gurren Lagann levels of badass, the fact that the entire fight takes place in an entirely new gameplay style and lacks any segments where you just play as Kirby does drag it down a bit for me. Star Allies would once again improve on this, but I'll get there. I also wanted to bring up that Robobot resembles Triple Deluxe in a lot of ways. Obviously, I'm fine with it using the same engine and all, but Robobot also has pretty much the same world and menu structure as Triple Deluxe and even a nearly identical story. A major Kirby character getting kidnapped, the side villain having a tragic backstory and ending the game helping Kirby, six worlds, 100 collectibles, exactly 41 levels, two subgames, an extra mode with the aforementioned kidnapped character, it's like Robobot can't stand on its own because it hinges so much on Triple Deluxe's existence. But despite those similarities, Robobot also feels lesser than its predecessor. Having played both back-to-back, I found Robobot to be a lot easier, especially in regards to its collectibles, the Code Cubes. Compared to the Sun Stones, these cubes were way easier to find, and I felt like I was blazing through Robobot a lot more easily. I did say Robobot felt slower-paced than Triple Deluxe, and yet despite that, I actually got through this game faster due to the lack of challenge and the fact that I didn't need to go back for any collectibles since they're all right in front of you.
I don't want all this complaining to make it seem like I hate Planet Robobot, I don't. This is a great Kirby game with strong level design, typically fun boss fights, a cohesive visual style, and one of the best postgames in the series. However, the slower puzzle-heavy pacing, the sheer abundance of the mech armor, the lack of original boss fights, and the much easier difficulty makes for the weakest of the Modern Kirby games, at least in my opinion. I get why everyone loves it so much, but I just can not feel the same way.
4/5 Stars
Kirby Clash Games: I should love these games, a Kirby RPG where the battles are basically just boss fights? That sounds awesome! Both entries in the Kirby Clash series are filled with boss fights from across the series, upgrades, fun missions, and a ton of charm. They should be some of my favorite Kirby spinoffs. Unfortunately, both of these games are free to play, which means they have a lot of in-app purchases. Between an energy system and a currency that you have to pay for, the free to play nature of the Clash games ended up putting me off playing them since they can be fairly grindy if you're not willing to pay up. Super Kirby Clash for the Switch is a small improvement over the 3DS original with a legitimately fantastic soundtrack and lore-heavy final boss, but it's also dragged down by being a free to play game. I wish I had more positive things to say, but overall, these are my least favorite games in the series.
Team Kirby Clash Deluxe: 2/5 Stars
Super Kirby Clash: 2.5/5 Stars
Kirby's Blowout Blast: This is technically the first 3D Kirby game in the series, and it's pretty decent. You can tell HAL took a lot of inspiration from the first game in the series, as Kirby doesn't have copy abilities and the levels and bosses are based off of those from Dream Land. The level design is also a bit basic and linear, which may put off those hoping for a standard 3D platformer. However, I think the simple level design is part of the point. Because more than it is a platformer, Blowout Blast is an arcade game, where you have to get through each level as flawlessly as possible to get the highest score. Collect every coin, defeat every enemy, and use Kirby's inhale ability to rack combos, while also making sure to make it to the goal as fast as possible. It's a pretty addicting gameplay loop and while I beat Blowout Blast very quickly, I got a lot of playtime out of trying to get platinum medals on everything. I also love the final Secret Path stage, a hard and lengthy gauntlet not unlike the Hard Mode from Kirby's Dream Land. If it weren't for that stage, I might not look back on Blowout Blast all that highly, but Secret Path is a grueling marathon that makes sure you've mastered all the game's mechanics, and is very satisfying to beat. Personally, I like Blowout Blast. It's a solid start for Kirby's time in 3D and a pretty fun arcade game, even if it can be fairly dull if you treat it as a standard 3D platformer.
3/5 Stars
Kirby Star Allies: I despise what Kirby Star Allies has done to the public perception of the series. This game was supposed to be an anniversary event, a celebration of the franchise that brings together the whole cast, revives some previously underutilized mechanics, and ties all of the lore together to end this current era of the series on a high. Instead it's known for being the most divisive Kirby game of all time, and is pretty much responsible for Modern Kirby games being considered to be repetitive, short and overly easy. And that sucks because I love the Modern Kirby games, I think they're the high point of the series, and while Star Allies does have its issues, I still think it's a fantastic game that deserves way more credit than it gets. On a gameplay level, this is easily the best 2D Kirby game to date. It uses an entirely new engine that feels very fluid, and it takes elements of previous games that I criticized and finally utilizes their potential. We can interact with the environments again just like in Squeak Squad, we can embue abilities with elements and use said combinations to solve puzzles in the level design, and we have helpers from Super Star but now they have way more functionality and you can have three of them. I really like the way helpers are utilized in Star Allies, at least for the most part. It can be a ton of fun to completely demolish bosses with your three helpers, the multiplayer functionality is the best since Return To Dreamland, the combat boasts a ridiculous amount of moves and combos, and the game has a bunch of Friend Actions that lead to some pretty entertaining setpieces. However, that's where my biggest complaint with Star Allies comes in, you can't go the whole game alone if you want to. There are certain areas where you need multiple allies and having to get some more can slow the pacing of Star Allies to a crawl.
As for the level design itself, yeah, it's a lot weaker than the last two games. It's not flat-out bad, I think the puzzles utilize all of the copy ablities pretty well and certain stages like Planet Towara and the EX stages still fare pretty well, but it does feel a lot simpler than usual to accommodate multiplayer. When even Squeak Squad has more diverse and memorable levels a lot of the time, you know you have a problem. However, this simplicity does actually works in the game's favor for its Extra Mode which has you race through Star Allies with every single helper. Doing all of that could feel like a chore with more gimmicky level design, but the simplicity makes this Extra Mode a lot more replayable. Speaking of side modes, I also love this game's version of the Arena, the Ultimate Choice, which has a whopping ten different difficulties that you can partake in giving quite a bit more replay value. I actually think that while the story is a bit basic, Star Allies is at its best in its postgame, especially with the DLC out. There's a harder campaign called Heroes In Another Dimension that really tests your mastery of the copy abilities, as well as helpers returning from other Kirby games such as Adeleine, Magolor, and Susie with entirely new movesets and levels in the Extra Mode based off of stages from their respective games. There is so much content in Kirby Star Allies that actually makes it one of my most-played games on my Switch.
Kirby Star Allies is a tricky beast because it feels like it's supposed to be a big event game, a nostalgia trip to celebrate Kirby's 30th anniversary. The priority was never the level design or being original, the priority was celebrating the series. That's why you can play as pretty much every single character in the franchise, it's why there's a ridiculous amount of copy abilities, it's why so many of the bosses are returning from previous games, and it's why the story's sole purpose is to tie every disparate plot thread from the series together. While the story itself isn't anything amazing, the lore implications of this game's final boss is insane. From the reveal that almost every antagonist in the series was Dark Matter, to Dark Matter and Kirby being two parts of the same whole, to the four heroes who trapped Galacta Knight, to the butterfly at the start of every game being a goddamn grim reaper, there's so much here. And it helps that the final boss is one of the series' best, fixing the one issue I had with Robobot's finale and giving Kirby one of his hardest battles to date. But here's the issue with Kirby Star Allies, despite being a nostalgia trip, it also had to be an entry game for a ton of new players due to launching on Nintendo's big new console, and those newcomers would end up getting a bad impression of the series because they didn't understand the things that made Star Allies great. I didn't even bring up all the phenomenal remixes (as well as original tracks) making for easily the definitive Kirby soundtrack! Kirby Star Allies does a lot of things right, from its great gameplay, to its lore-changing story, to its ridiculous boss fights, to its content-rich postgame. However, it works best as an anniversary game. If you haven't played pretty much every Kirby game prior to Star Allies, it's just a fairly easy and simple platformer with basic level design. I love Star Allies for the love it shows to the series, but it's not a good entry game, and it doesn't have much to offer for those who aren't Kirby fans.
4/5 Stars
Are All Kirby Games The Same?: Ever since Star Allies came out, I've seen this sentiment going around among people who aren't even really fans of Kirby to begin with. It's not like this is new for the series. After all, Kirby is the same franchise where people seem to think that Dedede is a villain, that Sakurai made every game, and that Kirby's only motivation is getting his cake back. But this misconception feels incredibly bizarre considering the majority of Kirby fans I know are perfectly happy with what we've gotten. So let me just clear things up before I get to the last game in this retrospective. Are all Kirby games the same?
- Kirby's Dream Land: First game, introduces swallowing mechanic and hovering
- Kirby's Adventure: Introduces copy abilities, hub, multi-phase final boss
- Kirby's Dream Land 2-3: Animal Buddies, puzzle focus
- Kirby Super Star: Combos, helpers, health bars, multiple modes with different structures
- Kirby 64: 2.5D level design, mixing abilities, limited hover
- Kirby & The Amazing Mirror: Open world layout, metroidvania-esque progression, multiplayer
- Kirby Squeak Squad: Imbuing abilities, environmental interaction, tummy mechanic, Squeak Squad chases, Ghost ability. You can argue that most of these mechanics were explored enough (and I'd agree), but Squeak Squad definitely brought some new things to the table.
- Kirby's Return To Dream Land: Power trip upgrades that can come at the end of stages, increased focus on lore, couch co-op, Super Star's combat but used on a standard platforming adventure, generally just established the Modern Kirby formula
- Kirby Triple Deluxe: Jumping between layers, hypernova, gyroscope mechanics
- Kirby Planet Robobot: The mech, which you play as for like 50% of the game
- Kirby Star Allies: More of a refinement of previous mechanics, the helpers from Super Star and imbued abilities from Squeak Squad are fleshed out way more here
- Canvas Curse, Epic Yarn, Mass Attack, and Rainbow Curse: Weirdass experiments that drastically change the controls or Kirby's abilities
Kirby And The Forgotten Land: I only had to play about an hour to decide that Forgotten Land was going to be my new favorite Kirby game. Despite being the first Kirby game, this entry in the series managed to capture the appeal of Super Mario Galaxy, my favorite game of all time. Despite being linear, these games are both filled with ridiculously inventive level design filled with secrets and hidden areas that constantly keeps the players on their toes. Forgotten Land makes a lot of changes to the formula, many of which are for the better. In terms of sheer gameplay feel, Kirby plays better than ever before even with the perspective shift, with HAL making a ton of creative decisions that prevent depth perception from being an issue. There did have to be a few compromises like Kirby not having unlimited flight and the copy abilities having less moves than usual, but they all work since the game feels built around them. And even with less moves, I found the combat to be the best in the series thanks to the improved dodge move, making for some of the best and most fluid-feeling boss fights in the series. It's genuinely hard to go back to previous games and their dinky little dodge knowing what it could be. Forgotten Land's new gimmick, the Mouthful Modes, is easily my favorite in the series too, as they allow Kirby to suck up large objects and use them in specifically-designed segments. These Mouthful Mode segments are plentiful but never all that long, striking the perfect balance between the Super Abilities and the Robobot Armor, and pretty much every Mouthful Mode object is just plain fun to use and interact with. I only really have two complaints with how this game plays. First, there are only 12 copy abilities here which is a big step-down from past entries, though the ability to upgrade copy abilities and give them extra capabilities does make up for that slightly. My much bigger issue is the fact that the game only has four mini-bosses who you have to fight a lot, and it can get pretty repetitive at points. Outside of that, however, Forgotten Land's core gameplay is some of the best in the series.
The level design in Forgotten Land is also fantastic, as the 3D-ness of this game allows for a lot more hidden secrets and exploration. The game taking place in what seems like a post-apocalyptic human world also allows for a ton of unique settings such as a mall, an amusement park, and a literal dried-up sea. The final world is straight-up Crisis City from Sonic 06 and I think that's awesome. Forgotten Land's most divisive aspect are the hidden Waddle Dees you have to find which make up the game's collectibles. Each level has a bunch of Waddle Dees in cages to find as well as three missions, each housing a Waddle Dee. I love these missions because they can encourage you to explore and even add some much-needed difficulty such as having to beat bosses without taking damage. However, I will admit that the missions not revealing themselves until after you beat a level does feel like pretty blatant padding, which feels extra unnecessary considering that this is already one of the lengthiest Kirby games to date. Still, it's hard to complain too much given how fun these levels are, and I can't say collecting Waddle Dees aren't worth it, as they can be used to expand the game's hub, Waddle Dee Town. I love Waddle Dee Town and how it's used as a diegetic menu, and there's so much fun stuff you can do there from fighting in this game's equivalent of The Arena to fishing to buying all manner of stuffs using your stars (finally!) to playing the incredibly fun subgames. And as per the usual for a Kirby game, the presentation and soundtrack is fantastic. As a matter of fact, this easily the best-looking entry in the series due to the sheer amount of detail in the animation, and while it took some time to warm up to me, Forgotten Land's music is now my second favorite in the series behind Triple Deluxe's. And the final boss is so ridiculously good. It's fluid and challenging and elegant and genuinely difficult, and don't even get me started on the story implications...
Spoilers: I also have to give my praises to Forgotten Land's story, which easily ranks as one of my favorites in the series probably because of how surprisingly dark and personal it is. Kirby tends to feel like he's stumbling into these world-ending plans a lot of the time, but when Elfilin (his companion for most of the game) gets captured halfway through the main campaign, it actually feels like he has a stake in the overall plot. Similarly, while Dedede does get possessed a lot, this is the first game to really take it seriously and illustrate how painful it is for the poor guy, and he even gets a fantastic character moment upon being saved. It also helps that this is the first Kirby game to really throw me for a loop with its finale since Return to Dream Land. I expected the final battle to be dark. I did not expect for Kirby to straight-up fight an SCP! Like where do I even start with Fecto Elfilis? His design is ridiculously badass, his relation to Elfilin is fascinating, his backstory is both scary and tragic, and biggest of all, he's cruel in a way most Kirby villains aren't. Sure he's not the embodiment of darkness or anything, but in the course of a single game, he enslaves every Waddle Dee on Popstar, kidnaps Elfilin, possesses the Beast Pack, amalgamates a bunch of enemies into a terrifying meat wall, and tries to crash Popstar into his own planet. Between Dedede's possession, the Elfilin stuff, Lab Discovera, Fecto Forgo, that terrifying "And Here We Are" music, and everything I just mentioned, this is easily the darkest Kirby game since Canvas Curse, if not darker. Forgotten Land has everything that I'd want from a Kirby story, hitting pretty much all the right notes. It's that perfect blend of light-hearted Saturday morning cartoon and legitimately terrifying cosmic horror, just as I like it.
Kirby And The Forgotten Land is my new favorite Kirby game. Actually, it's one of my new favorite games of all time. The gameplay and combat is so ridiculously fluid, the level design is so inventive and fun to explore, the sheer amount of content is staggering, the boss lineup is phenomenal, the presentation is one of the series' best, and the story hit me in a way no Kirby game has since Return To Dream Land. Forgotten Land is everything I could've asked for in a Kirby game, and feels like the Super Mario Galaxy of the series in the best way possible. I couldn't be more hopeful about the future of the Kirby franchise.
5/5 Stars
Here's my ranking of all the main Kirby entries:
- Kirby And The Forgotten Land
- Kirby's Return To Dream Land
- Kirby's Epic Yarn
- Kirby Triple Deluxe
- Kirby Air Ride
- Kirby Super Star Ultra
- Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
- Kirby Star Allies
- Kirby Planet Robobot
- Kirby's Dream Land 3
- 3D Classics Kirby's Adventure
- Kirby And The Rainbow Curse
- Kirby: Nightmare In Dream Land
- Kirby Canvas Curse
- Kirby Block Ball
- Kirby Super Star
- Kirby Squeak Squad
- Kirby Tilt And Tumble
- Kirby's Dream Land
- Kirby Fighters 2
- Kirby Mass Attack
- Kirby's Dream Land 2
- Kirby's Adventure (NES Version)
- Kirby's Blowout Blast
- Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe
- Kirby (Super) Star Stacker
- Kirby And The Amazing Mirror
- Kirby Battle Royale
- Kirby's Dream Course
- Kirby Fighters Deluxe
- Kirby Pinball Land
- Super Kirby Clash
- Kirby's Avalanche
- Team Kirby Clash Deluxe
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