Nintendo has brought back the popular pink puffball in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. While Kirby’s a bit of an old-school standby, the fun here lies in teaching the old blob some new tricks.
Although the Crystal Shards is Kirby’s shift into 3D , the game kept the 2D style of previous Kirby games and is the conclusion to the Dark Matter trilogy.
Kirby has always had his vacuum-suction “inhale” attack ability, which sucks enemies into Kirby’s gaping maw and then lets him spit them back out as projectiles. That approach is unchanged in this adventure. The alternative to spitting out an inhaled foe, though, is to completely swallow them and thereby copy their special powers and it’s this part of the formula that’s been altered in Kirby 64.
There are seven basic abilities. Kirby can copy one ability at a time as normal, gaining the properties of Ice, Burn, Stone and more from the appropriate enemies. But in Kirby 64 he can also mix and match different powers together, creating combinations of two different abilities that result in more powerful and impressive attacks. In total, there are 35 abilities to combine and stand-alone. Usually, combined ones are stronger or have added effects. This is the only game in the Kirby series where Kirby can directly combine copy abilities.
The Crystal Shards is a family-friendly gameplay that can make it a hit with kids and parents.
This game is suitable for all age groups, as all Kirby games are. Kirby walks and attacks more slowly and enemies aren’t nearly as aggressive in Kirby 64. Many mid-stage mini-bosses simply stand in one spot and block your path, for example, waiting patiently for you to attack and defeat them at your leisure. It’s incredibly easy to run through and complete to 100%. Once you’re at the end of the game you may have to backtrack and replay a handful of stages to grab the Shards you missed on your first run-through, but that task won’t take very long.
Kirby 64 has nice graphics and animation. The characters are well modeled with a very lifelike look when they move. The entire game is extremely colorful, and it really jumps off the screen. The sound fits the colorful nature of the game perfectly, with lots of playful music and nice effects. However, Kirby 64 isn’t exactly a long game. Clocking in at 22 levels and a sub 5-hour story mode, Kirby 64 is short. Even if you’re trying to collect every single shard, the game can be completed within a three-day rental period , a knock that can make some gamers feel disappointed and be initially put off by it.
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
$25.75
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Kirby 64 has a much smaller pool of abilities, and even lack the Smash Brothers-esque fighting controls of Super Star, but the former comes out swinging with a killer feature.
