Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Available Now On Switch Online's Expansion Pack

Finally! I’ve been waiting for this one.

Ah, the fun memories when I was a child. The trauma and therapy sessions because of the final boss.

Good times. :3

I'm always ready for more Kirby

excitement intensifies

Nintendo: let's celebrate by freeing up some N64 Controllers in that warehouse of yours. We give you money you give us the controllers. Deal?

Nintendo, don't convince me to buy the Expansion Pack please, I need to look cool on front of my friends.

Ah so this game is where the refrigerator transformation idea came from.

It's a farcry from a celebration. If you find one further retro Kirby game being added to a limited rental service something worth celebrating over than say a collection of Kirby titles like the physical release of Kirby's Dream Collection (that includes this N64 game) for its 20th anniversary, then standards are a real low. Keep up the trend of releasing a Game & Watch themed after Kirby while they're at it..

This game should've been (re)released in March 2022 (though F-Zero X is good) to conincide with Forgotten Land, but...better late than never...

@StephenYap3 I genuinely thought they were gonna do that because it was so obvious. But hey I’m glad that f-zero fans got thrown a bone.

I’m curious about what will happen after Pokemon Snap… it will be June… perhaps they announce the next batch during their next Direct?

More Kirby goodness

@Sonos
There were controllers in stock earlier today, but they are sold out now.

https://youtu.be/1_6jZV8imb4

Oh hey, Kirby

Nice! Just finished Forgotten Lands so the timing is perfect.

This is a fine addition.

Nice. One of the few Kirby games I never got around to playing.

Ah, my memory of this game. I still remember July of 2000, getting home from a week away at summer camp and having a sleepover with my neighborhood friends. I begged my mom to let me rent Perfect Dark (I was 13 and my friends 11) and she strangely conceded. But one of my friends also rented a game to bring... Crystal Shards. We fought over which game we would play, and despite being the host I lost. Longest couple hours of my life waiting for them to get "bored" of it (I don't think they were actually done) and then I forced them to play 6 hours straight of PD. A decade ago I tried to play this game again in the Kirby Wii collection but then got so nostalgic that I went to PD again.
... Alright this monologue no one asked for has gone on too long

Sure would be nice if Nintendo restocked those N64 controllers. Kirby 64 doesn't need it, but it just seems ridiculous that half a year since this yearly subscription service's launch, Nintendo still hasn't restocked them, or at the very least updated the N64 app to offer in-app button mapping that saves your preferences on a game-by-game basis. But here, have the jumbo Genesis pads that aren't as highly sought after, have no rumble and fewer buttons, can't be used across many other titles, and still cost just as much as the N64 controllers anyway.

@CANOEberry finally SOMEONE with critical thinking (I’ve seen some of your other comments too).

I don’t even know why I read these comment sections anymore, I must hate myself. Reading a Nintendo Life comment section does the same thing to your brain as smelling gasoline

I figured Snap would be first to put more space between this and Forgotten Lands, but I've been wanting to play some 2D Kirby for a long while and it's been a very long time since I played Kirby 64 so not complaining.

@RubyCarbuncle emulation on all current 64 games has been up to par for a while now

Rated Teen in the US for Blood and Violence B)

I have the original Pal Australian game complete in mint condition.
Worth a fortune these days, not as much as my mint copies of Starcraft 64 or Snowboard Kids 2 but still up there.
Glad others who missed it get to try it.
Glad I didn't have to wait to play it and my kids can sell it in the future for stupid amounts.

@itslukec Boy is there egg on my face. Maybe by the time you get charged another $60 you might have another list of 7 games to look forward to over the course of another year. Think of the possibilities!

Kirby and the Forgotten Land has been a true delight on the Switch. I'll look forward to revisiting this one at some point in the near future.

I almost want to buy the expansion pass for this game alone.

It's nice they keep adding games for the expansion but at the end of the day you're still renting them.

Nice.

I'm looking forward to playing this one.

Since when was Kirby 64 T-rated?

Give me Wave Race 64 you cowards!

@Reploid Same. Don’t know why it’s the second last. I love this game.

@Hank_Scorpio how does it compare to the wave race storm? As I kid I only played the GC game. But I loved it uns wouldn’t mind to play again. (Or it’s prequel)

@KayFiOS You’re not going to like hearing this, but the N64 controllers were back in stock today for what I believe is the first time since October 2021. I have been checking in at least once per day since October. Today I did a spit-take when I visited the store and saw they were in stock. Quickly purchased a pair and it appears as of this writing, they are out of stock again. I don’t know why Nintendo won’t do a pre-order system for these in-demand items. I am happy to finally have mine ordered, but I definitely feel your pain.

Underrater game. Loved it.

Looking forward to this game- I never played it on the N65. It’s good to see the expansion pack improved over time and silenced some of the (understandable) whining about it early on

@CANOEberry cmon you have to admit that it's a bit ironic that you call someone out for being rude and then proceed to be rude

Sweet, one of my childhood N64 games is coming!

@ClamDown so true though, it really is depressing to see how heated people get over videogames when real life issues exist. Sucks to see that people cant just accept that opinion is opinion and shouldnt be genuinely fought over. I just want to have civil fun discussions here, but i get hate or see hate too often

@HotGoomba oh please as nintendo fans our cool privileges are automatically revoked

@AlexanderDaniels honestly, fair. But i do like me the game and watch line.

man, i miss when videogames were fun

@KnightsTemplar Paper Mario's still pretty shoddy. Better than it was but still has some (for some reason deliberate) notable lag, particularly on menus and some strange crashes.

@Lizuka its still playable......

Well I'm doing the Kirby dance already.

As someone who lived the N64-drill and the whole rise of early 3D, this might look OK. But if I look at it with a more objective eye, then this is insanely dull. It looks a bit like the example for what can happen if you translate something into 3D without really having enough ideas to do so.
M64 really did a lot of new things and revolutionized the genre. This sorta stays in 2D in terms of gameplay while having low poly as a selling point on N64. I mean all of that is absolutely logical and I'm not asking WHY. But the N64 could have served as a decent 2D machine at some points, delivering pretty cool experiences. Mischief Makers and Yoshi's Story proof that (at least on a visual level) yet they sometimes had to force polygons into everything even if it barely makes sense.

Of course I understand I'm being a bit too harsh here. It definitely looks like something I'm gonna dig into whenever I'm getting my expansion+. It just gives me these vibes some games give me when now looking back. Asking me what would have happened if 2D wouldn't have been uncool for 2 decades after 3D consoles were announced? Today its totally cool to have a new sidescroller, back then it literally felt like something of an antique era.

Today whe don't just get great 2D experiences, we also have a Kirby game that actually works in 3D

@PBandSmelly
the graphic visualization of a creature swallowing other lifeforms alive and the metaphor for Genghis Khan's warriors eating the brains of their foes to gain their strength displayed through Kirby's abilities is definitely not suited for younger folks! Even parental guidance would have been sloppy.

Still the best Kirby game!

@Jmjfrank I liked reading your memories...thats a big part of Nintendo I think, nostalgia!

@TKundNobody Ooooh, for me I think Blue Storm is the more polished experience but 64 is the better game, I enjoy playing it more at least and I prefer the music and commentary (the original, not the changes made to the Shindu edition). It’s definitely the earlier version but I prefer the rough edges.

Coolio! Never played it back on the original N64, so will be fun to give it a try.

So! We have one more N64 game left from the trailers they showed us of NSO+Expansion.... Pokemon Snap!
Wonder if Nintendo will show off a new wave of upcoming N64 games? Or is that it!?

Will start playing this once it arrives.
Interested to see what happens after Pokemon Snaps added. It seems to coinside with the likely June direct. Fingers crossed for a N64 game a month up until the end of the year. The next Mario Kart track pack should be added soon too with another after that before Christmas I would hope.

I’m wondering if the lack of future n64 titles possibly means…..maybe another format coming ???? Gameboy!!! Probably completely wrong of course 😂

Rated T for blood and violence???

@PineappleLake

The rating applies to the whole N64 app and not just Kirby.
It is really funny though.

I mean there is blood in this game but I think it's for the app in general lol

Anyway I've been meaning to replay this game. Even tho single power moves later on annoyed me and the gane is on the slower side, It does have a nice atmosphere, great music, and the combos are interesting to investigate first-time around. It's a solid game even if it wasn't the REAL 3D game ppl wanted. Thankfully we finally have Forgotten Land now tho.

Yes. Def a good time to release with Forgotten Land riding high.

@Ralizah The ESRB finally caught on that Kirby is nude.

Fantastic game. I wonder if they will announce a new list of upcoming games after pokemon snap or if we will go back to not knowing if or when we get new games

I hope we get diddy kong racing and donkey kong 64! Banjo tooie as well, though I think it's less likely even though we got banjo kazooie.

Other than the rare stuff what else is there? Wave race? Pilot wings? Smash bros? (that'd be great with online).

Maybe they'll just go straight to game boy after pokemon snap since there aren't many n64 games left. Though I guess they could squeeze it out until the end of october to keep people interested in the expansion subscription and announce game boy before that expires

Finally, been waiting for this one!

@Scapetti

I think there's plenty still, but they'll have to start including deep cuts or more Rare titles.

You know, stuff like Silicon Valley, Mischief Makers, or Body Harvest, or Rare games like Blast Corps, Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark, Banjo Tooie, Donkey Kong 64, Conker... Many of the N64's heavy-hitters were, admittedly, Rare games, so they'd have to continue what they started with Banjo Kazooie for the service to feel complete.

I don’t know why I never got around to playing this one, I remember trying it one time at someone’s house when I was a kid.

@Beaucine yeah, mostly rare titles. There are plenty but none made it to the virtual console either. I really just hope for diddy kong racing. I hope there's not an issue with conker being in that game. Conker itself would be great too but I'm not sure how they'd handle that as a mature title

Next to Paper Mario, this is probably my most desired game on the service. I'm hopeful we'll get Banjo-Tooie some day as well, but I love Crystal Shards, my second favorite Kirby game.

Do you think Nintendo could bring 3ds games to the expansion pass?

I need one of those N64 controller asap.

@shoeses just admit that you love the expansion pass. And wipe that egg off your face, it’s gross.

Kirby is a T rated game apparently

I know it's because it's applied to the whole app, but seeing Kirby rated T is probably as weird as when you realize Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie are CERO rated B in Japan, which would make them also ESRB T.

What a waste of time this service really is.

Nintendo are an accidental company. They bumble through everything.

The Switch 2 will be 2 years away once they realise sales have collapsed and people outside of their desperate fans aren't impressed with half assed emulation. 2025.

The global shortage is over and they are still restricting supply of all their items thinking it will increase demand. This is a new market Nintendo... Time to grow up.

My main problem with this is that next week is later than this week.

@Sonos I feel the exact same way. Kicking myself for not grabbing controllers in the fall when they were available.

I am checking daily now, just waiting for the chance to buy 4 of these beauties. Money is your Nintendo if you want it.

@HexagonSun I haven’t played a single N64 game yet, precisely because I don’t have one of those controllers. I made the mistake of not immediately jumping on their two fall controller sales and well, 7 months later and still not a single controller available yet? WTF Nintendo?

Money in hand over here. Please release some more controllers. I will take 4.

@Reploid when?! Through Nintendo of America or Europe?

@grovertheblue I'm holding off on playing the 64 games until they come in. I bought the SNES ones to play them the way they were meant to - and I'm enjoying the experience.

I'm hoping they make a huge batch when they are finally released. I panicked bought the SNES ones but they are still available a few months after release. That makes me hopeful they are going to make a slew of these things. GL!!

Oh heck yea.. I loved this game growing up!

Haven't played it yet. But I don't have the expansion so I might just buy it on wii u.

@AzzyC Kirby Super Star is still my favorite Kirby game but Kirby 64 is a childhood title for me.

I played it for a bit, first time playing it. It feels... Slow compared to Kirby Superstar and the NES game. I'll stick with it though

I’ll be honest, I’ve never played this (like the vast majority of N64 games) and upon seeing the NSO trailer for it my first impression was WOW that is a slow, primitive-looking bunch of soulless polygons. I guess I’ll have to try it in action before forming a final opinion, but I fear Forgotten Land has spoiled me!

@Clyde_Radcliffe it's definitely super slow and sluggish compared to previous games. It's more a continuation of DL3 then KSS. It unfortunately pales in comparison to even titles older than it but as an N64 game it overall has aged fine. Not my favorite Kirby game but still interested in revisiting.

@Teksetter oh it's NO Forgotten Land. You will have to dial your expectations MUCH lower.

Have never played and looking forward to trying it out this weekend.

I adored and still adore the N64 era. It’s probably my second favorite system ever. I’ve never played or owned this game but that’s about to change!

Back in the day this game blew me away! Need to revisit

@somebodyelse
Let's see if/when Nintendo brings GB/GBC, GBA, and NDS games to NSO before we worry about 3DS games.

I have this game on like four systems an I have yet to beat it. Perhaps I should get on that.