Nintendo certainly knows how to create wonderful platformers. Mario, Kirby and the more recent Donkey Kong Country series have been staples in the Nintendo platforming repertoire. And, while Mario has certainly impacted platforming more than any other franchise for its crisp, creative gameplay, Kirby has innovated and perfected platforming in its own incredibly polished way. Everything from Kirby’s Adventure on the NES, Kirby: Superstar on the SNES, Kirby and the Amazing Mirror on the GBA, and Kirby’s Return to Dreamland on the Wii is built around wonderfully classic Kirby gameplay but differentiated by creative level design and gameplay (much like the Mario series).
Where Kirby’s Return to Dreamland marked a glorious return for the Kirby series after a hiatus of classic Kirby games, Kirby: Triple Deluxe feels like a spiritual successor to the game through its similarly beautiful art style as well as super Kirby ability. However, seeing as Kirby: TD was created on the 3DS, the game pulls ideas from the system’s other platformers by making use of the system’s 3D in its multi-layered level design; Kirby: TD is a 2D game that takes place in multiple layers of 2-dimensional planes. As you play through each of the game’s 30+ levels, you’ll constantly be moving backwards or forwards into the different planes, something that has been done before but is executed perfectly in this game.
Kirby: TD actually pulls heavily from recent Mario and Donkey Kong games through its progression as well. There are a total of 6 worlds in the game, each containing a number of levels as well as a boss. Each level has a certain amount of Sun Stones (A.K.A. Star Coins from Mario) and progression is dependant upon finding these stones (a certain amount must be found to access the boss and if all stones are found, a secret level is unlocked). Unfortunately, I never really found any of the Sun Stones to be difficult to find outside of the trek to the goal. In fact, there was only one level throughout the entire game where I didn’t find all of the sun stones in one bout, secret levels included.
Still, the variation in gameplay throughout the experience is what makes Kirby games so darn fun. In the game’s multiple puzzle areas, players will have to shoot arrows at targets through moveable obstacles, pull snowballs through cycling fire obstacles without getting them melted, and light cannons (with gyroscopic movement of the wick pieces necessary to solve the tile-style puzzles). I do wish the game had more puzzle elements ala The Great Cave Offensive from Kirby Superstar but nonetheless, the puzzles in this game are enough to break up the platforming gameplay.
Level variation is also a big plus in this game, though much of it is linear. One example includes ghost house-style levels where players must pay attention to both the background and foreground at the same time in order to prevent Kirby falling into a deceptive hole. Many of the levels draw inspiration from other platformers such as Galaxy and 3D Land but retain the colorful, lighthearted nature that is Kirby. Perspective is a trend throughout the game and it serves the game very well.
The main adventure isn’t the lengthiest but feels just long enough (isn’t every Kirby game?). To add replayability to the game, players are given four additional gameplay modes as well as a slew of unlockable keychains from throughout the Kirby universe (chronicling characters and items from the Game Boy to the Wii U). Street Pass and Play Coins also play a part in the keychain collection but are not necessary components to completion.
As for the other gameplay modes, his game stays true to the usual mix of gameplay variety we’ve come to expect from Kirby. Kirby Fighters is a veritable Smash Bros. Lite where up to four players can play via single cartridge, wireless download multiplayer. Players can choose from 10 different Kirby movesets featuring different copy abilities. Since Kirby’s movesets are very similar to those from Smash Bros. (and Hal create the original Smash Bros.), Kirby Fighters holds up pretty well as a fighting game and is very similar to the original Smash Bros. in style (it even has a 1-player mode similar to Arcade-mode as well as a training mode where you can choose up to 3 computer opponents with varying difficulties and movesets and from 7 different unique levels). Kirby Fighters may not be Smash Bros or as good as the original series but it’s a wonderful addition to the game and continues the trend of wonderfully polished add-on games.
The other three modes are less hashed out than Story or Kirby Fighters but are all enjoyable in their own right. The Arena is classic arena-style gameplay where you can choose from any of Kirby’s 24 different movesets and must fight through a gauntlet of bosses and mini-bosses. Your fastest completion times are recorded and can be compared with StreetPassers’ best times. Dedede tour is an unlockable game after you’ve finished story mode that meshes all of the levels from each of the 6 worlds together to create 6 speed run courses. Your overall total time is recorded and again, you can compare with StreetPassers. Finally, Dedede’s Drum Dash is a short rhythm based game that operates by bouncing Dedede off of drums. Your goal is to collect coins and race through the level quickly to achieve a high score (this was my least favorite of the extra modes but it’s still a welcomed change of pace).