Topic: Kirby: Star Allies

@MisterPi 1 helper seems to be enough for most puzzles but there are a few which require 4 like for friend transformations. There's an unfriend option too so there are ways for the game to be more difficult.

Honestly judging from the demo, the only really annoying part was the loading screens taking too long (for this reason, Tropical Freeze's problems may not be fixed on Switch).

Just played the demo today, and man, I have some mixed feelings about this game.

I have a strong feeling that I will dislike, or even hate, the helpers. It isn't just the helpers on their own that is the problem, it's the fact that levels are designed based on their existence. Those rooms with two sections where you and your partner pressed buttons to open each other's paths come to mind.

This game's speed feels somewhat slow. I'm not a fan of holding down the button to drop an ability and to defriend. I detest the controls, but you can apparently change them.

I think my final decision for purchasing the game, day one, will be based on it's run time.

@Tsurii Oh, there’s no doubting that Kirby is a great game for children and families!

Perhaps I am not the target audience, but a little bit of challenge and a little less shallowness would go a long way. The ‘hard’ mode is actually no different to the easy one IMO. I also put my Switch down during the Whispy Woods boss, and didn’t have to do a single thing to defeat the tree itself...

I replayed the demo again this morning, and I realised why the game itself feels slow to start with; the menu and loading screens are in 60fps, but the game itself is 30fps. It feels really, really jarring.

It was ridiculously easy, even for a Kirby game. Also, it's a little sad to see it running at 30fps on the Switch when the 3DS Kirby games even ran at 60 on vastly less powerful hardware.

And yeah, as I thought, the game is all about this troupe of helpers that you have to keep engaging with.

HARD, HARD pass for me.

I'm downloading the demo right now. We shall see... Either way I'm not planning to spend €60 on a Kirby game.

I can usually tolerate a solid 30 fps, but damn, this has got to be sub 30 most of the time. It looks and feels totally unnatural. I was looking forward to it honestly, my nieces love kirby

I love Kirby, I live in the US so I haven't gotten to play the demo yet but this game looks very underwhelming so far... even the boss fights we've seen so far look kind of boring. It kind of sucks because Kirby's been so consistent over the years, and now that Nintendo's been innovating a bit more and putting more effort in their games.. this happens to Kirby... the game better get much better after the first world...

I'm relearning why "American Kirby is hardcore" is a thing reading these posts.

Kirby games were never hard in the main modes to begin with, wait until you beat it and unlock the "Plus" version. I guarantee you Whispy Woods EX will give you a harder time then.

Also the True Arena always shows up in every game since Superstar Ultra, those are a nightmare to deal with.

I never did beat the True Arena in Planet Robobot. I think it's the only mode left in that game left incompleted, lol.

@RR529 If you've never faced it, out of all the "soul" bosses throughout the series, the one in Planet Robobot is the most apt at crushing yours.

If this game has anything like Helper to Hero, especially as this game's EX mode, that'll make Star Allies at least 20 times more replayable in my book. Mastering the abilities in arenas were how I spent the bulk of my time in past titles; did you know ESP has a counter that is the strongest attack in the game if timed perfectly?

I just like how it had extra bosses, even if they were mostly harder versions of existing bosses. Like in Helper to Hero's Wham-Bam Jewel.

As for Robobot, no idea why but I never bothered with that game. I think it was just because I wanted a normal Kirby game on the big screen instead. lol

Just finished up the demo, and it was a pretty good time.

It looks gorgeous (has a lot of neat little environmental effects), runs great (30 fps doesn't bother me at all), classic Kirby gameplay is as fun as ever, and the allies add a neat twist (I loved mixing up powers to solve puzzles and reach secret areas).

However, it IS a tad easy, even for a Kirby game (Mecha Woods, the first boss in PR, put up more of a fight than either boss in the demo), and more importantly, length may well be a real issue, if the second demo level is indeed a real level, and not a mix of rooms from various levels (it had cave, beach, confectionery, AND Dedede castle areas, each one of which should be it's own level or two).

I've already pre-order my digital version for this game. holding out on the demo, until NOA releases it. (not making an EU account for it. sorry,)

@Winklebottom, the demo is out in NA (that's where I got it from).

Yeah, the ad was correct (demo coming March 4th for NA).

I was considering skipping this due to the multiplayer focus but the AI is decent enough that Kirby can just supervise. Just keep Leo away from grass.

The homage to box boy was very adorable.

I played the game now... it feels a bit more choppy than I was expecting. It isn't just that it's at 30fps, it kind of feels like I'm playing a PC game that is barely able to handle the game.

Played the demo and it is fine in most regards everything I expected just a nice safe Kirby platformer looks good handles fine but to be honest everything feels a bit cramped and claustrophobic especially with all the allies. Talking of the allies they really do a lot almost to much. I'll give it another play sometime but at the moment this is feeling like something to pick up cheap to play on a bored Sunday afternoon when there's nothing else to play.

@Dev The helpers still seem to struggle with stage hazards somewhat due to their pathfinding conflicting with dodging, but you can always piggyback to reduce clutter. But yeah, it's a wonder they even know how to dodge attacks after all these years.

I find it supremely ironic that after years of complaining about friendly AI being stupid or otherwise unhelpful unless bossed around (and sometimes not even then), now we have AI that mostly knows what it's doing (can't always read player intention, is the main issue) and we're still complaining.

Also don't see these stutters or frame rate problems other people are claiming, outside it being 30. Maybe during Whispy's apple rain, but that seems more the apples just naturally falling slowly.