It’s always neat to play a new Kirby game and especially when there’s one that you hadn’t even heard of before. I definitely didn’t know anything about this game but I have to say that it holds up pretty well. I do wish it was translated though because it can be hard to find the mode that you want to play. I ended up spending most of my time in some kind of unlimited survival mode. I made it all the way past 600 matches there which was cool but naturally the story mode is more fun.

It’s hard to say what the plot is per say but it seems like some kind of dark spirit is taking over all of Kirby’s friends. The young hero must now defeat each and every one of them in order to bring them back to their senses. It won’t exactly be an easy feat and yet it is something that has to be done. Without the powers of Kirby the world is doomed. Are you ready to put your matching skills to the test?

I’d always have a bit of a hard time describing exactly what the gameplay is but the best way for me to describe it is that it’s sort of like Tetris but instead of fitting shapes together, you’re matching blocks based on color. They are all in the same shape though. The more connections you make, the higher your opponent’s tower goes. Whoever is unable to keep up with the rise and has the tower go past the top of the screen first loses. This is definitely not for the faint of heart for that reason as the speed will continue to increase as the game goes on. There is no safe area! You really have to make sure you keep up.

The soundtrack is pleasant and charming enough as you go through the game. I feel like Nintendo kept giving this their A game even though it’s not exactly one of the mainstream titles. Additionally the visuals are solid and have held up well over the years. I definitely had no issues there.

In theory you’ll easily complete this game since you can rewind and use access points but the rounds are fast enough where you never feel tempted to do so. With all the RNG running around and how much of a good time you will be having regardless, you’re just ready to dive in and have some fun. One thing to note is that in the Kirby version of this gameplay there are stars running around in addition to the usual colors. Think of the stars as a wild card, they can help you connect to any color. So if you have two reds, if you have a star in the middle it will connect them for you.

It’s a bit of a tricky dynamic to get used to compared to the normal rules but it does help this one stand out. There are also bombs around but personally I actually found those to make things a little more difficult. They would ruin combos I was getting ready to use rather than actually helping me out of a pinch. That’s the way that I saw it at least. Still, just go for those combos and ignore the gimmicks around you. Eventually you’ll be where you want to be, at the top of the rankings taking down all opponents!

Overall, Kirby’s Star Stacker is a pretty fun game. There isn’t a whole lot to say about a game like this because it’s all pretty straight forward but that doesn’t take away from the experience. I had a good time with it and it would be even better if the game was translated. I can’t believe this didn’t come to America sooner. If it was in the mobile age then I think things would have been different because this kind of game sells really well on the phone. The gameplay is easy and addictive so all you need is a quick story and you’re set. There’s a good amount of content here and since it’s free if you already have the Switch Online, I recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10