Tag Archives: Kirby

Kirby’s Star Stacker Review

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It’s time for one of those Kirby games that is so obscure nobody has heard of it. I didn’t think this was even possible but sure enough, it was a whole new experience. I could finally see what the retro Kirby was like. The game is fun enough but a bit on the limited side. It adds a new dimension to the stacking type of games with how the gameplay works but once you’re past that gimmick there isn’t really anything else left. At that point you’ve really seen everything that the game has to offer. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but it does mean the gameplay really needs to impress you.

There are 4 difficulty levels here. The first two are super easy, the last one is super tough. So you could say the third one is the best level to get familiar with things. Basically you need to make matches with at least two items of the same type. When you match enough of them, you summon stars to defeat King Dedede. Additionally there are stars scattered throughout the level and matching two items across from a star will automatically use it as well. This is where the main gimmick comes in. It’s not enough to be making basic matches here, you need to get really creative and make matches from long distance. If you can pull this off then you will be able to beat the levels easily.

The first difficulty has 8 levels and each level takes around 25 seconds so this is fast. The next one has 16 levels and they take around a minute so that’s a bit longer. Then the final one presumably has 32 with the third being 24 but I don’t know for sure. With the final one I just had fun doing a few levels here and there but by the end it definitely got old. Not the kind of game where I felt like I absolutely had to complete everything.

There is no story here after all so you’re just playing for the love of the game at this point. You go through all of the levels to prove to yourself that you still have what it takes. While there is some repetition, it’s not like the game is super long or anything. I can see why this one wasn’t remembered very well though because ultimately it’s just not going to last very long. I imagine even if you bought the game for full price on day 1, you probably wouldn’t stick with it for more than a week. Even that is probably an overly cautious estimate. There’s also just not a whole lot to say about the game in general either because the gameplay is so simple. Not in a bad way but it means that everyone knows what you are talking about right away.

The graphics aren’t bad but of course there are no colors for the Game Boy titles when playing on the Switch. Kind of removes any charm the game might have had there. The soundtrack wasn’t bad though. Nothing particularly memorable I gotta say but it still gets the job done well enough. Ultimately this is a Kirby title after all and you’re just happy to see the little guy running around. The game has a very calm atmosphere about it.

At least with the highest difficulty there is a real challenge here if you want one. If they ever announced a sequel I would be interested but it would definitely be conditional on their adding more content to the game. Throw in a story and I’ll have fun no matter what the gameplay is like. Trust me, that’s really all I need there. At least if you want me to spend money on a game. Now the next Kirby game for me to play might be the elusive Planet Robo.

Overall, Kirby’s Star Stacker is a good game but it doesn’t really bring a whole lot to the table. Nowadays you would expect this to be the kind of game that you would find on the app store for free. Buying it as an actual paid title is just crazy. Even if you really enjoy the Tetris type gameplay, there is a real lack of content here. Ultimately I would not be able to defend it. Of course you tend to be a little softer on it when you end up playing the game for free. At least that’s the way I see it.

Overall 6/10

Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble Review

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It’s time for my next Kirby experience. Typically these games are always a lot of fun. Kirby makes for a good lead and the platforming genre is always on point. Well, this time it’s a bit different because this isn’t your classic Kirby title. It’s actually using motion controls and we already know how that tends to pan out. It’s unfortunate…but I’m afraid that Tilt n Tumble is really not going to be able to stick with the all time greats.

The basic plot is that King Dedede seems to be off to some mischief so Kirby decides to stop him. We have no proof of any wrongdoing mind you, but Kirby has seen this guy around a lot before and he’s usually getting into all kinds of trouble. So why wait for the trouble to arrive when you can do something about it now right? Unfortunately the game’s ending doesn’t give much closure either, we get a handshake but that’s about it. So you’re not playing the game for its story but I suppose in a way it’s rare that you would be doing that.

So lets talk about the gameplay. Basically it’s like Monkey Ball. You have to roll Kirby past a bunch of obstacles so that he can get to the goal. This should be a pretty easy proposition right? Just focus up and get the job done! Unfortunately this is where the motion controls come in. You have to tilt your controller in order to move him and so you can’t even use the pro controller. The motion controls are super sensitive and tilting backwards too quickly will have you use the jump command by mistake.

The game is definitely harder than other Kirby games as a result. I found myself using the rewind feature as needed in several instances. It’s a game you could definitely beat without the rewind, it’ll just take a bit longer for the random points where you roll off the map. That’s always my problem with motion controls, I don’t mind losing because I messed up. But to lose because the controls weren’t precise and I rolled too far off the map? Nahhhhh that’s not satisfying at all. That just feels bad in the end. Whether I win or lose it should all come down to my own gaming skills.

So the gameplay itself had some potential with a proper control setup. I really liked the classic Monkey Ball games for Gamecube after all. They were the right balance of being really difficult and satisfying without ever being cheap or annoying. These were games that always kept you wanting to play no matter how many times you died. It took a ton of skill and you had nobody to blame but yourself. This game is different because half of the times you die, you will feel like you should have lived and the game messed you over. Yeah that might be you being a little on the salted side. I can’t argue with that but we will never know for sure.

The soundtrack is nice and pleasant though. It has all of the fun Kirby themes that you will recognize because of how iconic they always are. Then you have the graphics which are pretty good. The colorful vibes work well with the title as they always do. So I have no issues there and the technical elements really help to balance out the gameplay really well. At the very least it helps to mask my issues with the motion controls a little bit since I have less time to dwell on them. Instead I’m having fun listening to all of the tunes.

One last complement I will give to the game is that all of the boss battles are fun. The ground ones are all reskins so it’s the same boss over and over but I liked how you had to try and jump on him using your motion controls. It’s the one time I thought the style was actually rather clever. Then you had the aerial boss battles where you had to fly around and blast away at him with your air buster. That was a lot of fun and you had to balance being aggressive with grabbing another balloon so you could stay in the air. A lot of balance right there.

Overall, Kirby Tilt is a game that I won’t soon be forgetting but it’s too bad because it could and should have been way better. Motion controls don’t always have to automatically hurt a game but it does feel like more often than not they do a whole lot of damage. Just give me the traditional controls and I’m all set. Check this one out if you have the Switch Online but don’t expect that it’ll be all that great for you. It’s a unique experience but as with many other unique things, it’s a nice way of saying that it’s not as good as the standard option.

Overall 6/10

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe Review

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This is one of the few Kirby games that I hadn’t gotten around to playing earlier so it was nice to finally dive in and get to experience this adventure with the DLC included. It certainly is nice to get to experience a brand new epilogue thanks to this and I feel like adding extra story content is really a must for any big remake/remaster. It helps give the game its own identity as opposed to just being a port of the original title.

The story starts with Kirby and friends hanging out until a ship crashes. A guy named Magolor comes out of the ship and explains that he needs some serious help from Kirby and friends in order to make his ship whole again. The parts of scattered across the planet and without a ship he will never be able to go home to confront the big fire dragon. Kirby is eager to help because his heroism is only matched by his endless hunger. Is there more to Magolor than what meets the eye though?

There isn’t much of a story beyond that though. I’d say that it’s a bit smaller of a narrative than most of the other Kirby games as that is pretty much it for story progression until the very end of the game where you launch into the final bosses and the truth of the matter. Still, you’re playing this game for the gameplay and that’s where the game does well. You have your classic 2D gameplay here as you fly across the worlds and take on all kinds of enemies.

You have lots of power ups to grab and many different special abilities at the ready. Every level has a bunch of collectibles to grab which help you unlock minigames and continue to progress through the adventure. You can also choose to not use the power ups and fight the boss with your normal suction ability. Some abilities feel weaker than your base form but it all comes down to what kind of fighting style you are able to use best. I like being a brawler so any power ups like the sword, spear, or punch is what I’m looking out for.

The game is fairly short but not unreasonably so. You should be able to knock it out in under 10 hours and since it’s not a game that is super difficult you can actually shave off some time if you decide to speed through instead of worrying about collectibles. I grabbed a bunch just in case they would be needed later on but fortunately that was not the case. Collectibles should always be optional items to grab after all.

As for the epilogue , I liked that it actually goes for a completely different gameplay style here. I mean it’s still 2D but you are using energy blasts and other kinds of attacks at all times rather than needing a power up. Magolor also uses an EXP system so you level up using points which was also cool. I think a Kirby leveling up game could be fun one of these days. I wouldn’t replace Kirby’s gameplay with this full time but as a change of pace I do think that it would fare quite well. It keeps in the core Kirby aspects while doing something new and I can definitely appreciate that.

Meanwhile the graphics are solid as always. Nintendo spares no expense on their titles and you can feel that in each of the level environments. The whole game looks really good and shines on all sides. Then you have the soundtrack which is also really good as you would expect. The boss theme also sounds a whole lot like the Ridley boss theme from Metroid which was cool. You can feel that Nintendo connection there and it works really well. It also increases the suspense levels for when you’re approaching the boss because you know that things are about to get interesting.

I would say the main thing to remember while going up against bosses is to not get sloppy. It can be easy to completely rely on your powers as you go in but that’s the easiest way to lose because you also need to dodge their attacks. In a battle of attrition you will always lose so dodging the boss attacks is extremely important. If you don’t do that then you are going to run out of health really fast and you will be down for the count. Slow and steady is often the way to win this one.

As always the game gets out there for the final bosses as the title suddenly turns into a cosmic epic. I always appreciate how the Kirby series does this because the final boss should feel grand. I would be on board for a whole game against cosmic monsters with all kinds of destruction in the background but I understand that this isn’t Kirby’s style even if it would make for a very effective game. I know that I would have a blast with it after all.

Overall, This was a fun Kirby game. Ultimately the only thing you can really say against it is that this one doesn’t stand out among those. For example you could call this your basic run of the mill Kirby title and that may sound like an insult, but at the same time that’s really what it’s going for. There aren’t any big gimmicks here or really memorable aspects to the title. The story is also barebones as just another adventure. So you’ll have a good time with this one but you probably won’t recommend it above some of the more influential Kirby titles. This one just isn’t the next all star hit from Kirby but all of the fundamentals are in place so it’s pretty solid. You will have fun all the way through the game and at the end of the day that is the main point to any title. So pick this one up when you have a chance and you won’t regret it.

Overall 7/10

Kirby’s Avalanche Review

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Kirby is back in action and in top form I must say. He gets a lot of quality dialogue here and I wish they had let him continue to talk in the future games. Kirby’s really got a lot to say and he isn’t afraid to show it. If Nintendo had kept him like this for future games then I think he would have a similar rep to Sonic the Hedgehog as a fairly sassy character. Ah well, it wasn’t to be but I do like Kirby well enough as is anyway, it’s just fun to see this side of him. I guess he just takes Avalanche very seriously!

There isn’t much of a plot per say but Kirby keeps on challenging a bunch of fighters at Avalanche. Some of them try hurling insults but Kirby shuts that down real quick. He’s very direct to the villains that they need to train a whole lot more if they ever want to defeat him here. I love that confidence and it really shows why Kirby is the universe’s hero! There are around 13 levels or so here so this is a short game. Well…short if you are good at it! The game is impressively difficult and unless you’re familiar with this style of gameplay then you’re going to be in for a world of hurt.

It’s sort of like Tetris but I think this exact game is called something else. Basically you have a lot of gels falling at you and you have to match 4 pieces of each color together in order to get a match. That breaks them which opens up more space on your screen. The idea is that you never want to let your screen fill up entirely while filling up your opponent’s screen. When you match a lot of these gels then you will be able to throw stuff at the opponent’s screen. There is a strategy element here where you may feel that it is better not to match something right away so you can match a longer combo later but it is risky. If the opponent throws some gels at you then it can wreck all of your plans.

The game is fun enough but for me it’s not enough to hold up a whole game. I wouldn’t be playing this one much longer than the time it would take to have a good basis for this review for example. With a few more cinematics or something like that then it’s definitely possible that this game would be engaging enough but that’s not the case here. I did appreciate that we got a little voice acting and a fun script for the cutscenes though. I really can’t ask for much more than that.

The game is free with the Nintendo Switch Online so there really isn’t any reason not to check it out. Put in a little time here and if you end up liking it a lot, well now you have something to play and have fun with. So it’s a win/win decision all the way through. The graphics hold up well too and are nostalgic while still being fairly detailed. The game doesn’t feel low budget at all or anything like that. The soundtrack is also on point and it’s always a lot of fun to hear the classic Kirby tunes.

If it had a few more modes or things to do then I’d like it more. Of course you can’t expect it to have more than the normal mode so that’s just me. Considering how incredibly difficult the game is, you’ll be getting a good amount of content here and you get unlimited continues so you never have to worry about going all the way back to the beginning. I definitely like that since being sent back always feels like a waste after you’ve put so much time into the game. This is easily the best way to handle this gameplay.

Overall, There isn’t much more to talk about though since this is really a one mode game. How much you enjoy it will depend on how much you enjoy the gameplay. If you’re really talented at the machine and strategy then you’ll get to enjoy all of the fun Kirby cutscenes. They really don’t make quick Nintendo titles like this much nowadays and it’s too bad because they could dominate the market with tons of free to play app games in this kind of style. It doesn’t seem like that’s in Nintendo’s plans but they could really make bank this way. I’m closing in on finishing all of the SNES online titles, just 3 more left now!

Overall 5/10

Kirby vs Bishop

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Suggested by Destroyer Kirby is back in business and ready for some wins. Bishop is a really good shot and can use his energy projection well but Kirby has fought stronger foes. I may not rank Kirby quite as high as some do, but I would still put him as a formidable foe with a very large variety of attacks up his sleeve. Defeating him is no walk in the park and his defense is enough to stay in the game until Bishop falls. Kirby wins.

Kirby vs Wigglytuff

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Suggested by Destroyer This fight goes in a very similar way to the Clefairy battle. Wigglytuff is strong and has a lot of techniques but lacks the speed needed to close in during the battle. Without speed you just won’t go far and Kirby certainly won’t let Wigglytuff get close enough to land any mega punches. Kirby’s Warp Star is really his secret weapon here and it’s quite effective. Kirby wins.

Kirby vs Clefairy

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Suggested by Destroyer This is another tough battle for Kirby. Clefairy has a wide range of attacks up his sleeve but isn’t super fast either. Kirby should be able to dodge while on the Warp Star and counter using a lot of different techniques. Clefairy can hang in there for a while but ultimately I think this is Kirby’s fight to win or lose. He has the spirit and the drive to stay ahead in this battle. Kirby wins.