Kirby, Nintendo’s pink puffball of concentrated cuteness, arrives on 3DS with a big bumper of a package, promising a trifecta of portable happiness. And it’s sure tough to not smile at the game’s chirpy demeanor and cheery world as the little guy floats and bops his way along his first 3DS adventure. But for a mascot often attached to experimental gameplay, Kirby Triple Deluxe is conservative in its construction and seldom veers far from its comfort zone.
Triple Deluxe’s trident pokes in three ways with varying force. Story Mode is the clear star here, but the two extra games — Kirby Fighters and Dedede’s Drum Dash — are each strong enough to stand as an eShop download. Story Mode is a platforming jaunt cut from the same mischievous cloth as Kirby’s side-scrolling adventures have been since 1992. Kirby wakes to find his home on Popstar lifted up into the clouds by massive vines, the origin of which he hasn’t the faintest clue. Kirby heads to Dedede’s also-vined castle and watches as new foe Taranza carries the blundering King Dedede off to a new land in the sky. That land is Floralia, where Kirby sets off on a quest to save his despot.
Story Mode doesn’t seem particularly interested in re-inventing the puffball — its fundamentals are sound and its mechanics time-tested — but instead on building a top-notch Kirby platformer. On one hand, Triple Deluxe’s adventure is many nice things: elegant, charming, and delightful to play. HAL Laboratory has done a bang-up job forging a rock-solid, consistent journey on which to take new players. But on the other, it is simplistic, a touch too familiar, and not always interesting to those who may have seen this all before.
Kirby’s flavor of platforming is pretty straightforward: run, jump, float, and inhale all manner of objects and baddies in the name of reaching the end of the stage. Hidden around each stage is a number of Sun Stones for Kirby to nab. While not all must be found, a certain number per world — which usually comes in at a little over half of them —are required to unlock the boss stage. Collecting all Sun Stones in a world unlocks a special stage in each. The Sun Stones aren’t always particularly well hidden, with many able to be found by poking around just a tad.
Key Chains are strewn about as well. These have no impact on progress, but are fun to collect as each one is a character from Kirby’s sprite games. Up to five Key Chains can be bought with Play Coins between stages; once five are bought, another stage has to be cleared to be able to buy more. Rare ones are hidden in more devious spots, but, like the Sun Stones, moderate prying should reveal their locations.
Intact is Kirby’s signature ability to swipe the attributes of his foes, with a total of 24 copy abilities at his disposal. Most have done the rounds already, like the Sword or Beam powers, and new ones like the Beetle or Archer fit right in to his repertoire with specific environmental puzzles tailored to them.
Story Mode does little flashy in the way of mechanics, with its big gimmick being the lack of big gimmicks. Sure, there are some novel elements, but they come off as rather pointless and worn — tilting the 3DS to move a cart is no shocker, and is in fact a mechanic that Kirby himself built an entire game around years ago. Jumping between the foreground and background to solve puzzles and fight enemies is an organic extension of — and, dare we say, required justification for — the 3DS’s auto-stereoscopic display, but brings nothing of grandeur to the table. Friends and complete strangers can get in on the action by way of StreetPass, offering up a helpful health item to redeem later at the touch of the bottom screen — but if there are none around, the rogue Waddle Dee from Kirby's Return to Dream Land will chuck some help anyway.
That leaves the new Hypernova ability, force-fed to Kirby at curiously opportune times, which paints him a neat rainbow chrome and allows him to inhale or influence creatures and objects of a screen-filling size. There’s a nice friction associated with going Hypernova as Kirby then has the ability to rip up the world in a way never really possible. The “puzzles” that use it only have the one solution, though, and the ability only appears when required. There’s no rushing around all Hypernova-like just for kicks, so it loses some of its luster as the game progresses.
Floralia’s six floating islands don’t initially pose much of a challenge, offering a relaxing — if simplistic — platformer filled with foes and abilities both new and old to the franchise to breeze through. The game’s gentle nature will play well with its intended audience of younger players, but those well-versed in platformers will find little in the first half to be of any significant threat. The heat is gradual, almost unnoticeable, until revealing itself in the latter half. Perhaps not all of the Sun Stones were found, or maybe Kirby didn’t quite clear that obstacle as intended. Before you know it, you’re relying on that StreetPassed health item you’re holding to get through a couple of boss fights in quick succession. Challenge sneaks up on you in a way that always feels manageable, as if to kick off the training wheels and trust that you know what you’re doing. Even though Story Mode does eventually demand quicker reflexes, not much thought at all is required to progress. The game is nice enough to give you the exact tool needed to progress at the moment, and the needed Sun Stones are seldom too far off the beaten path. Completionists will find more challenge in acquiring all of them, but that isn’t saying much.
Triple Deluxe’s main adventure has something of an identity crisis. The game is pretty, but its rounded edges are no match for the tactile charm of Kirby’s Epic Yarn or powerful simplicity of the sprite adventures. The solo tour is enjoyable, but feels lonely in the wake of Return to Dream Land. Its attempts to do something new are often not new at all, or underwhelming in their predictability. Story Mode is likely not what Triple Deluxe will be remembered for, no matter how pleasant it may be.
Multiplayer mode Kirby Fighters reveals itself to be the true draw of Triple Deluxe, allowing up to four players to smash the cute out of each other in an arena-based brawler. It’s a simplified Super Smash Bros, really: Players pick one of 10 copy abilities for their Kirby to take into local multiplayer battle, and duke it out on themed stages, with the occasional item thrown into the mix. The controls are the same as in Story Mode, which means that combat commands come down to one button and a directional input. Getting the proper timing down can be hokey at first, but in the right hands Kirby can slay. Solo players can go up a traditional ladder with increasingly difficult opponents, and the title supports Download Play for multiplayer bouts.
Dedede’s Drum Dash is a rhythm/score game where you bounce the blue penguin king through a hazardous stretch of drums, collecting coins and smacking a tambourine to the beat along the way. Each of the three stages is two minutes long and the challenge ramps up quite drastically: Where the first track is a nice and gentle introduction to the mechanics, soon enough Dedede is dealing with moving and destructible drums off which to bounce, as well as mobile enemies and a quicker tempo. Taking too long, bopping into too many enemies, or landing in the void will end the run.
At first blush it appears that the designers have skimped in this mode a bit with only three stages to best, but these stages are no pushovers: completing them is one thing, but netting gold medals and completing each’s four achievements will require plenty of patience and a keen sense of rhythm. But primarily patience, as they can be downright devious in the deeper ends. Nabbing golds in all three will unlock an Extra stage that should keep the beat going for a while.
Dedede’s Drum Dash is the weakest link in the chain, but still serves as a pleasant diversion from the rest of the game and challenges an entirely different set of skills. It will likely drive you up a wall as you try to time your bounces to the beat, collect coins, and avoid members of the franchise rogue’s gallery.
While the box may say “triple”, conquering the seven-ish-hour Story Mode opens up two new ways to play. The Arena’s boss rush pits Kirby against a string of the game’s big bads, in case you haven’t had enough of them already from the campaign. Dedede’s Tour is a time trial of Story Mode that swaps out Kirby for Dedede. Playing as Dedede offers an entirely different experience as it emphasizes speed and thus encourages wrecking-ball strategies with his giant hammer. Each world is done in one go and the times for these can be shared over StreetPass.
Conclusion
Kirby Triple Deluxe is a pleasant package that doesn’t push the envelope very far. The Story Mode is an elegant but conservative adventure that trades too greatly in familiarity and simplicity, the same type of neo-nostalgia that Nintendo has seen success with on the Mario side of things: it’s sure to scratch that Kirby itch — or create one for new players — but fails to move the franchise forward in any meaningful direction. However, the rest of the package holds its own quite well: Kirby Fighters is a great time-sink sure to provoke new rivalries among friends, and the post-game content offers a second competitive wind to the adventure. Come for the cute platforming, stay for the battle royale.
Comments 151
I'm planning on getting Mario Golf World Tour first but this is definitely on my list as a future purchase.
I saw this coming. Nintendo's been playing it pretty safe so far with their key franchises, which is a shame, but I'm sure it'll be a fun rent nonetheless. Great review by the way!
The 3DS sure is heading downhill... Fast
Hmmmm, sounds good, but I think I'll bite later on in the year.
I mean, I played almost every single Kirby game to date, and this just sounds recycled. Sigh, guess Squeak Squad still remains my top Kirby game aside with SuperStar and 64.
From what I can tell we have another NSMB2 on our hands.
The main game sounds solid and enjoyable, but doesn't do enough new things and the real draw of the game is the multiplayer side-game. In this case it's Kirby Fighters playing the Coin Rush of Triple Deluxe.
I can certainly see myself enjoying Kirby Fighters, unfortunately I'm incompetent when it comes to rhythm games so I doubt I'll be pouring plenty of play time into Dedede's Drum Dash.
Personally I'm absolutely fine with this. I don't overly care about innovation when it comes to platformers, I just want to enjoy myself. Yoshi's New Island was certainly a disappointment, let's hope Kirby: Triple Deluxe is better!
A absolute must buy for me I've been in love with Kirby since Super Star and 64 and Return To Dreamland was just to perfect shame the multi player adventure isn't returning but hopefully we'll see it again
@MAB
Kinda surprised there are only three Drum Dash stages, but I'm glad to know that I'll still be picking this one up on Friday.
I'll definitely pick it up soon. I've never played much Kirby so it's not like the lack of "new" stuff is going to bother me.
Sounds good!
@MAB
No no no no... I own the japanese version of the game of this game and I can say that this one is wonderful !!!
Got this preordered. Can't wait!
A score of 2 couldn't stop me getting this game.
What's with all of these super-conservative games Nintendo's been making? NSMB2, 3D World, MK7, Mario Tennis, Yoshi's New Island, all the remakes, and now this too. Every game promises to do something new, but it does just that one new thing and nothing else. I'd rather they try and fail than not try at all.
If it's "more of the same" then count me in! I never got to ay Kirby's Epic Yarn or even Return to Dreamland, so the last traditional Kirby title I've played was Super Star Ultra. I'm really long overdue for some Kirby goodness.
This review's main gripe seemed to be how safe it is, so for me this sounds like a 9 rather than a 7! I'm getting this the moment it goes live on the eShop!
"Dedede’s Tour is a time trial of Story Mode that swaps out Kirby for Dedede. Playing as Dedede offers an entirely different experience..."
SOLD. And it still sounds more creative than NSMB2 or Yoshi's Rehashed Island.
Even though I'm a huge Kirby fan I think I'll wait to get this and get SSB4 and Mario Golf first.
Easy and recycled like Yoshi...sigh. Mario Golf to the rescue I guess
Gather round children, and I shall tell you of a time when Nintendo took risks, and all you see here was just fields...
Very excited for this game. Im always in the mood for a solid platformer. I never played Return to Dreamland, so it should feel new enough to me.
@sinalefa Agreed. Playing as Dedede has me wanting this game much more than before...
Edit:Hmm should I get this or Mario golf though? I've never played a Mario golf game, so i want to try it.... Then again I know what to expect from Kirby....
Hmm...
Let's see, I haven't played Mass Attack, Epic Yarn, Return to Dreamland.....so everything will seem new to me.
I played this at Wondercon and its awesome! It has the same vibe as Return to Dreamland.
@Phantom_R I agree. Non of them (except Yoshi's New Island which I don't own and don't plan to) left me satisfied.
The only 3DS Nintendo game that left without the feeling that it could have been better was Fire Emblem: Awakening and maybe A Link Between Worlds.
I like the console and I enjoy it but it is not on par with the DS (and don't bring up the years on release argument please, it doesn't hold up).
It's disappointing that this game does nothing new, really kills my excitement for the game. I'll probably still get it, but I have a feeling this might be my breaking point as far as overly safe sequels with Kirby, I'd like to see the next one do something more original.
Well, shoot. Guess my 3D Kirby will be the SSB incarnation.
Nothing wrong with some good ol Kirby fun for me, can't wait to try this and Mario Golf.
Im not gettin anything except smash bros.
@MAB
@MAB ♪
I don't trust reviews of 2D platformers any more because Yoshi's New Island got horribly underated. It's probably the same with this game.
What about the framerate ? I still think it is 30 (Same as NSMB2). They have always mentioned it when it is not the case (Smash Bros and Link Between Worlds).
@DarkCoolEdge Fire Emblem could have been better for me if it was better balanced (No DLC and closed like the earlier ones were). A Link Between Worlds could have been better if the Hero Quest was how it started. (1 decent puzzle per dungeon is not enough and now I have played it then it is spoilt no interest in playing that yet).
Maybe they keep having the wrong reviewers for the 2D platformers!
Trading in infamous second son for this game. At least there's more things to do and have a replayable value than second son which is the weakest in the series with crap like paper trails and it garbage rewards.
I'm grabbing this and Mario Golf Friday.
Cool. Looking forward to this. Can't wait to pick it up Friday.
Is it Friday yet~? So ready to pick up my copy as soon as GS opens in the morning
7/10 is a bit harsh. I get it's not some really revolutionary entry in the series, but surely being extremely fun and well-constructed with a well-done difficulty gradient and two strong game modes outside of the main adventure counts for something.
I just want a fun, traditional Kirby adventure, and I expect it will deliver in spades.
The last Kirby game I liked and played was Superstar Ultra. Although the main game was easy, it was challenging to get all the treasure. Sometimes there were traps that would lock away the treasure, or not make it visible for the entire level.
Is it at least challenging to collect treasures or key chains in this game?
Well I think I will reconsider this, at least a little... I've still yet to play Return to Dreamland so I should probably just get that instead.
A bit disappointed, but I will still pick this up.
New levels, abilities, interaction between the foreground and background to a larger extent than many other games in the genre, and some new modes aren't enough? It's ridiculous that even with a lot of new content, a game can still be criticized just because it didn't reinvent the series.
Not so much the score as it is the actual content of the review that's disappointing.
While Gamexplain did a better review , i Think this a good review. Ign did a horribe review .
@Storytime7 There is nowhere I have seen that rates this higher than the Wii version (Which it shares the engine with).
@May_Nyan From my understanding, they are still good games, just don't do anything that's groundbreaking or new
Its really weird for me.....
people claim that 3D Land is a game that plays safe and it gets critical for that but this game for it being safe gets a 7?
I was afraid Nintendo was going to play it too safe again.
I am a Kirby fan but I'd like them to advance the series more.
And for the people who are saying, "but the Mario games play it safe too", I don't think highly of them, either. I was never a fan of "2D Mario and Donkey Kong are back!", and nor was I a big fan of the "3D World" games with a fixed camera. I want a completely free roaming environment in actual 3D environments, I want to see that for Kirby too.
@unrandomsam So? I didn't mention that game (mostly because I never played it) at all. My complaint about the content of the review highlighting a few issues like the game not pushing the series forward with innovation and downplaying many of the game's strengths isn't just limited to this one review, it was more of a general statement.
@Ralizah I guess that's how reviews work. If it doesn't do anything different compared to others, then its just being safe. But if it does something new and if it isn't good, its bad. Other M and Mass Attack are fine examples of this.
So which one to get? This one or Yoshis new story?
@Guovssohas. Definitely this one. While it may be easy, it will be at least a little fun.
Jon, you're so handsome. I mean: Good review! A "7" is a positive score, people! I do wish there were more Drum levels, but as a bonus side game, I guess that's hard to complain about. Will be considering this once I exhaust my time with Mario Golf...
@Artwark If something raises the bar then that is what I want. (Deserves a high score).
Sounds good - I have never played a Kirby game before so this one is for me. Got to wait until the 16th though as I'm in the UK. On the plus side that gives me plenty of time on Mario Golf first
Having played the Mario Golf : Demo I think it is similarly uninteresting.
Its a Kirby game, I'm gonna buy it. Need I say more.
still excited for this.....do not care if it is much of a challenge. i have had enough of that for right now. i want something a little easier to play. i am not all that great at platformers anyway. But i do love me some Kirby. I have not played a kirby game since super star ultra so this will be new to me.
So the consensus is that this game is average. Meh, that's disappointing, being a huge Kirby fan...I'll save my $40 for something else. No thank you Nintendo.
@Pokefanmum82 That's the whole point of Kirby games, they are suppose to be made easy to play. I didn't like Mass Attack because of its ridiculous difficulty. If it was something like Canvas Curse, then fine, but it isn't.
Seriously though, when was the last time that a kirby game was criticized for it being too easy?????
@simonsskidor
IGN does a horrible review? No... that's never happened before... (sarcasm)
GameXplain does a good review? Nothing new there,
Does the game has a Hard Mode? Kinda like the game on Wii did, shorter health, slightly revamped bosses (and a new one as well). Just curious.
@Ralizah "Playing it safe" is a pretty valid criticism in a video game, actually. You're buying it to be entertained, and repeating the same thing over and over diminishes the entertainment. It's basically saying that the game is kinda boring in a way, so 7/10 is pretty appropriate.
@ChoppedLiver
What are you? Chopped liver?
I do want this game, but not for the £30. But the problem with leaving it to buy later is that Kirby games normally go up in price after a few months. KIrby's Adventure Wii/Return to Dream Land is now over £50 new and £40 used on Amazon, and if I leave Triple Deluxe till later who knows how much it will go up buy...
As much as I love Kirby I saw this coming. It's not meant to be difficult--it never was--therefore I don't know why so many reviews have focused in on the difficulty being so easy. I'll be picking this up later just because Mario Golf has sold me with the demo.
Don't believe every review u read. Play the game and find out yourself.
I think I'll get this game soon. The mode that lets you play as Dedede sounds interesting...if only it let you play as Meta Knight! I love the two Kirby games that let you do that (not counting RtD that lets player 2-4 play as him).
Perhaps Nintendo plays it safe because the safe games often sell better anyway? New franchises often bomb miserably.
I dunno, it just seems like people criticize game companies such as Nintendo for being too safe, and these games often take a lot of undeserved criticism. Yoshi's New Island for instance...It's actually very fun and completely functional (I would know. I played it unlike a lot of those who claim it's a bad game), but it got bad reviews for being a "rehash" (Though it really isn't anything new, but it is fun, and it works.) And yet, it's often the safe games that sell best like NSMB 2 or especially Call of Duty.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-super-mario-bros-2-sells-240k-in-first-week/1100-6394807/
http://www.gamesradar.com/call-of-duty-black-ops-becomes-best-selling-game-in-us-history/
Then new experimental games like The Wonderful 101 sell awfully.
http://wiiudaily.com/2013/08/wonderful-101-japanese-sales/
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/72209/the-wonderful-101/
It seems like no matter what they do, they can't please the majority of us.
@Yorumi those games don't come anyway hard as Mass Attack. Granted I've not play Return to Dreamland but that probably doesn't compare to MASS ATTACK! the Dream Land series aren't really that hard. Amazing Mirror didn't have much of difficulty either. Canvas Curse is the one that has the most replay value in a Kirby game at the very least and that what I love about that game.
I'm still gonna get this game cause why not? its Kirby after all!
Its been a while since there's been a real classic-style Kirby game on portable, so I'm really looking forward to this!
"It's much of the same thing."
So that means it's great and wonderful?
I already got my Kirby "fix" with Amazing Mirror. I'm just gonna keep saving for MK8 and SSB.
No online multiplayer... That isn't a good move in my opinion. Playing with others online expands the community, hopefully online multiplayer could be a free DLC in the future... It will never happen so I guess the wait for smash bros will be even more hectic.
@MAB
<(^ ^<) <(^ ^)> (>^ ^)>
<(^ ^<) <(^ ^)> (>^ ^)>
I don't care what this game got. I LOVE KIRBY.
Did I read free download multiolayer? Havent seen that in too many 3DS games comoared to the DS games. My 9 yr old is gettibg this Friday, free multiplayer would be a really nice family bonus.
@Phantom_R Mario Tennis (Camelot did that, though they also developed the highly rated Mario Golf) wasn't developed by Nintendo. Nor was Yoshi's New Island (it was developed by Arzest, which in turn had members from Artoon). Though it looks like Arzest, as a company, doesn't have much experience in development, they seem to be focusing more on outsourced duties (like model creation).
The New series for Mario were more meant to train a new team in regards to the series. The original developers aren't going to live forever and chances are having been at the helm for so long, they probably want to work on other projects. It's also problematic if the game fails spectacularly, especially with a brand like Mario and the abundance of inexperienced developers.
What about the music? That's always an extremely important part of a Kirby game.
@Xtremetdifan get kiby and download mario golf for n64 on club nintendo
Can't wait to play this. Kirby games are always totally fun, especially the platformers.
TBH I only wanted this game because of Kirby Fighters, but super smash bros for 3ds is coming in Summer so I can wait a little longer.
Kind of a bummer seeing Nintendo not care that much about some of their franchises
Ya, that 7/10 doesn't scare me. My eyes do not deceive me- I know better lol. I've watched plenty of gameplay vids to know exactly what this game is offering, and I'm ALL IN.
What's up with IGN giving Yoshi's New Island a 7.9 and Kirby TD a 6?
New Island was a piece of dog poo, only reinforced by playing the original Yoshi's Island on the VC. Kirby on the other hand, while rarely ground breaking, is always enjoyable.
Kirby's always a fun game to play, I'll probably get the game in the next few weeks.
I'd give this a 9/10. I played the Japanese version months ago and loved it.
@Bolt_Strike
Not really. It's not like this sort of "Return of Dreamland" type of game happens very often. Most of Kirby's recent portable outings have been somewhat experimental, and many people, myself included, have wanted a portable return to the older style for a while now.
It's not like this game does nothing new. It has unprecedented interactivity between the foreground and background. It has new power-ups. It has multiple new gameplay modes. I'm objecting to this idea that there is something wrong with this game because it's not as experimental as games like Epic Yarn or Canvas Curse were. It's not meant to be, and the reviewer should take that into consideration when assigning his grade. It'd be like giving Bravely Default a lower rating because its plot and gameplay are reminiscent of older Final Fantasy games.
@Senario And yet it's still a positive score with reasonable doubts lowering the score.
@Ralizah The last entry was pretty recent as far as I am concerned. (The delay between Yoshi's Island releases was much more reasonable).
Regardless of the score it i would have bought this either way.
@sub12 Nintendo forgot to pay ign on time, so thats why ign gave it a bad score.
It still sounds pretty good when all is said and done. Too bad I've never been much of a Kirby fan, though.
OH MY GOSH. 7 IS NOT A BAD SCORE.
From the previews I thought it would score better! Ah well, I still buy it!
It's a bit disappointing to see KTD not getting higher scores. I suppose it's understandable if the main game feels unmemorable. I do love the classic Kirby formula, though, so I'll pick it up. I think it hasn't quite been overused like the NSMB series has been. I was at least wishing for a 12 hour story mode. For some reason the stages looked longer than other Kirby game stages. Guess there aren't many of them....
Surprised to see it have a decently low score, still very much looking forward to this game though.
Unfortunate, I was highly anticipating about this game.
Day one. Friday is gon be good~
@MAB
Just because the game scored 7/10 doesn't mean the 3ds is going down hill usually from spring till June that's when we have a weak game front coming
This is actually going to be my first Kirby game. Not a day one purchase, but certainly later this year. It looks good enough from all I have seen. It's no secret hat Nintendo has been milking their franchises since the NES era, though. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In such a saturated market we have, it's difficult to call something truly "new".
I'm still getting it because...
1) It's the first game I decided to get coming May.
2) It has the traditional gameplay mechanics that made Super Star and RTDL my two favorite games in the series.
3) KIRBY FIGHTERS!!!! (...though I'm still getting Smash 4)
7/10 isn't even that bad of a score. I won't be buying this game, however I will be renting it. Seems like a fun little game.
Seldom play Kirby, don't know why, just never appealed to me. Yet...I think I'll give this a try at $20-$25ish more of the same, won't bug me at all...kinda like it that way actually
Of course people will still buy it... There isn't anything else until Smash Bros 3DS hits
Other Kirby games have gotten similar reviews and I still ended up liking them. I plan to get Mario Golf first, but I'll probably get it eventually.
@FalconPunch
I've been waiting a long time for someone to say that
I want this, but I'm keeping my money for SSB
Be lying if I said the score isn't a little disappointing. Had high hopes for both Yoshi's New Island and this and neither really delivered that killer game like pretty all of last year's big 3DS releases did. Oh well... Mario Golf it is.
Wow i thought this game was going to get better review scores then this, I'm still going to get it. but i would be lying if i didn't think think these scores aren't a little disappointing
@Gamer83 I think if it was reviewed by Thomas Whitehead this would have got a higher score.
(Interestingly the text of the Yoshi's Island review could have been put next to NSMB2 without me having a problem with it potentially saving me £60 in the process (I got it as a download with all the DLC straight away)).
@unrandomsam
Well, when it all comes down to it, the number is just that anyway, doesn't mean as much as the text of the review does. This definitely sounds like a fun game, and one I'll get a some point, but I'm spending a lot in May as it is with Watch Dogs for PS4 and Mario Kart 8 for Wii U. Thinking about it, I probably won't even have the time to play Mario Golf either so I'll likely skip that game as well eventhough the reviews I've read for it have been pretty damn good.
@ChoppedLiver
Well, you're welcome.
@OdnetninAges Even if 7/10 is not a bad score, many here have more than one console, that meaning many games look more interesting than this. And if you consider that this is 3 times more expensive than Child of Light, you realize that Nintendo must try harder.
For everyone that says IGN's review is terrible:
it is.
Case closed! If you want a good review, just go to GameXplain.
Sounds like the same old stuff. Bit I still want it sometime down the line.
ugh whatever, kirby games dont need to push an "envelope' for me.
This is cool!
7/10? EEEEEHHHHHHH. Not what I was hoping for at all.....D:
Can't wait for this game! So excited!
This is frustrating. If a company changes a game in a series, the whole community flips out, saying it's the most horrible abomination to ever set foot on the earth. But when they don't change anything, the review takes a nasty hit. Pick your poison, I guess. I love every single Kirby game in existence, so I'm definitely getting this the day it comes out. And I will love it.
@Bulbousaur You do realize that eShop prices never go up, right?
Hmm, I don't know about this one. I hope they give us a demo. I'll definitely be waiting for Smash Bros. over this game at the very least.
On one hand, a Kirby game that's "more of the same" of such an excellent gameplay system sounds just find to me (and quite a pet peeve of mine when reviews call it a negative factor, well unless the previous games also suck, pun not intended), and Kibry Fighters and playing as Dedede in story mode sound quite fun.
On the other hand, I don't like it when platformers have the character jump between fore/background layers, the Hypernova ability does sound pretty underused (at least compared to Giant Kirby in "Return to Dreamland"), and Drum Dash sounds really boring.
Nintendolife has gotten really negative lately. Every time I make the mistake of checking the comments section for a game, I see an almost overwhelming amount of negativity and complaining.
Guess what folks? This Kirby game... IS A KIRBY GAME! I know, shocking right? Anyone who didn't see this coming is shortsighted as they come. I'm just amazed that all it takes for a game (or entire system in this case) to get a flood of negative comments is a 7/10 score, which isn't even a bad score to begin with. Had this game got one point more the comments section would be full of people talking about how great the game is going to be. The ultimate irony is that the majority of the people here are just parroting the reviewer and have most likely never even touched the game. Sad.
@OnionOverlord Yeah, that's the way it is with most games for some reason. Somewhere down the line, 8 became a magic number and anything below that is "disappointing" or "awful." Anything at or above it is "great!" or "awesome!"
"The ultimate irony is that the majority of the people here are just parroting the reviewer and have most likely never even touched the game." Also true. It seems when a game gets even a slightly negative review, we tend to just jump on the bandwagon of negativity.
Me, I kind of saw a 7 coming from the way the review read. It did not in any way deter me from getting this, however. I'm still eagerly awaiting this game, especially for the mode that lets you play as Dedede! If only it had a Meta Knight mode as well...
For gods sake people.... A 7 IS a good, sort of, score, BUT FREAKIN KIRBY DESERVES SO MUCH MORE!
@MAB
>Forgetting Tomodaichi Life and Conception 2
I can't believe people would rather be playing Golf than Kirby.
I remember a time when a "review" was based off of how the cover or title of a game looked lol. But in all seriousness, I think gamers these days rely to heavily on reviews to determine how we feel about a certain game. Every review is based off of pros and cons and how it performs in a number of categories, but at the end of the day they're based on opinions. Even though I respect the opinions in this review, none of the so called "cons" in this game bother me. I'm getting this Friday and I'm going for 100%! Which I'm sure is the "challenge" in this game.
@CrabGats I know, I know...Golf would bore me to death...
On Metacritic it gets a average of 80%, wich is pretty good! This is just a semi-sequel to Kirby's Return to dreamland. It doesn't do much new, and I don't think many people will be wowed by the foreground/background hopping mechanic. It has been done before.
But it still looks like a fun little platformer with great graphics. Maybe easy, but still fun. I'll buy it.
And who knows: Maybe Kirby can be innovative again in the future!
@CrabGats Why not both? ;D
@Spakiness Because golf is boring. And not to mention, the most pointless sport in the universe.
I like how people expect every game that comes out to be nearly perfect.
7? Thats still not a fair rating for this game! DX
@MAB And you are getting stupid fast
@ash1250
I don't usually respond to blatant insults, but that made me chuckle. xD
@Giygas_95 and @DestinyMan
Thanks. I don't disagree with the review itself, just the amount of people responding to it. I believe the best way is to form your own opinion rather than mimic something someone else says. That along with the fact pointed out by Gartcat. Not every game is perfect. 7 sounds quite reasonable to me.
@OnionOverlord Yeah, I understand. The review is plenty reasonable, but people getting upset just because it didn't hit the magic number isn't. I actually beat this game over the weekend and would give it more of an 8 or 9 personally so yes, it is good to form your own opinion.
Looks to me you rated it 7 only because you were looking for something new out of the game..
So how would you rate this if you are totally new to the franchise? (like me)
@OnionOverlord I AGREE 100% OF THE WAY! Just be happy they're trying to give us a game to enjoy. I mean come on, what do you guys want from them everything you want in a game for your tastes? Well guess what?! It's not what you want, it's what "MAJORITY OF FANS WANT!" Stop bandwagoning, Buy the game, Play it & then you what?! REVIEW IT! Gosh you people are ridiculous! Have a mind of your own already! If you don't like it, keep it to yourself and let others enjoy it that enjoys it!
I take it all back. I love this game to pink pieces!
I think 7/10 is a good score for this game. The production values are excellent - it looks and sounds great and the controls are excellent. However, somehow it also felt a little tired - in the same way NSMB2 did. I also felt the mini-games didn't add much value. A good game, but it made me once more feel Nintendo should try something new.
I disagree so strongly with this article. In yhe ways of game sequels and if you like mario games thisbis tue NSMBU of kirby. An AWESOME follow up. The author feels its novelties aremt something new? I think cod's new tweeks arent new butbthat doesnt make it bad game as is being implied. It is more of the same but ifbwere being honest this is one of two kirby games to actually play out this way in the last 3 generations
I kinda want to get this game because of it's multiplayer, but i'd rather save up for ssb 3ds and the pokemon sapphire/ruby remake.
This is an awesome game! Best release for the 3DS this year, I really enjoyed this one.
It's simple but very fun to play. I like it a lot.
Outstanding game to play, my favorite next to Smash Bros.
Kirby's games mostly consist of sucking and blowing, but I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that.
@TeeJay and others..
Having played (and possessing) every Kirby DS and Wii game, I have to agree with the reviewer. The world feels hollow compared to Epic Yarn and Return to Dreamland, and the level are very uninspiring. Even the extras are a big letdown compared to Mass Attack (my favorite handheld Kirby ever), and even Super Star Ultra had very childish games, but fitted the time it was released (haven't aged well).The only I thing I found that is really an innovation from the other games, were the bosses.
@H_Hunter
I still rated 7. A much more valuable experience would be Mass Attack (makes a heavy use of the stylus, so be warned), which I'd rated a 9.5.
Just recently finished the game. Very good I thought. I'd give it an 8.5 out of 10.
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