HAL Laboratory Game Reviews
Review Kirby Air Riders (Switch 2) - Incredibly Chaotic, But Satisfyingly Deep & Rewarding Racing
Air force one
Kirby Air Ride, I think it's fair to say, didn't receive all that warm a welcome when it launched back in 2003. With lucky GameCubers already marinating in the delicious driving juices of Mario Kart: Double Dash and F-Zero GX, Kirby's cute and chaotic style of racing just didn't seem to stick with the mainstream, and, as a result,...
Once more, with gear-mouth feeling!
Recently, I was back reading over my original Kirby and the Forgotten Land review to get a quick reminder of how I found the base game when it released in 2022 (what is time?) and, yeah, it seems I fairly enjoyed that one, now that I've rebooted my brain a little bit. I jest, of course, I fully remember the...
Dream Weaver
If you’ve had a gander at our list of the Best Kirby Games Of All Time lately (or read our original 9/10 review from back in the day, more to the point) you’ll know that we hold Kirby’s Return to Dream Land in high regard around these parts. A return to classic Kirby action after a few less successful deviations from the norm...
Review Kirby's Dream Buffet (Switch) - A Delicious Spread To Put You In The Party Mood
Waddle Dee-licious
What do you get when you take a generous helping of Fall Guys, add a pinch of Super Monkey Ball and then mix in a lovely big dollop of Kirby? Well, a great big dream buffet, that's what. Kirby's Dream Buffet is a bright and breezy party game that sees a whole field full of Kirby characters roll at speed down sweet treat-laden...
Review Pokémon Snap - Photo Fun That's Over Too Soon
Candid Camera + Pocket Monster
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the game's arrival on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. There are moments during Pokémon Snap where — upon finding a hidden path — the game ditches the first-person perspective to show your...
Review Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards - Kirby's First Brush With 3D Is Still A Charmer
Kirby Sixty-phwoar
Like many of Nintendo's properties during the transition from the SNES to the N64, Kirby underwent a shift from a flat 2D sprite to a fully rendered polygon rendition of himself. Rather than taking Kirby down the route of Mario and Link, however, the pink mascot stuck closer to his origins — mechanically, Kirby 64: The Crystal...
Review Kirby And The Forgotten Land (Switch) - A Breezy Delight With Mario-Level Invention
Once more, with mouthfeeling
Well. It's finally here. In celebration of 30 whole years (!) of 2D and 2.5D adventures — with a little 3D sprinkled in for good measure — Kirby's first proper fully three dimensional mainline escapade has now arrived and, as long as you know exactly what to expect from the little pink puffball, it's an absolute...
Review EarthBound - A Quirky, Cosmic Adventure Bound To Warm Your Heart
Mother!
This review originally went live in 2016, and we're updating and republishing it to mark the arrival of Earthbound in the Nintendo Switch Online Super NES library. Fuzzy pickles! Back in 1995, this second instalment of Shigesato Itoi's much-loved Mother series (as it's known in Japan) only received a western release in North America, where...
Review Part Time UFO (Switch) - A Game About Picking Things Up That You Won't Want To Put Down
Grab it right away
A lot of people may not realise this, but HAL Laboratory isn’t actually owned by Nintendo. It may have been responsible for the likes of the Kirby, Smash Bros and Mother series and its main office may even be located in Nintendo’s Tokyo building, but the developer remains independent and could make games for other platforms if...
Review Kirby Fighters 2 (Switch) - A Brilliant Bite-Sized Alternative To Super Smash Bros.
Kirby sucks, but this doesn't
You don’t need us to tell you this, but Nintendo makes some strange decisions sometimes. The latest example of this is Kirby Fighters 2, a digital-only fighting game that was stealth-dropped onto the eShop without any warning, promoted with a couple of tweets then generally abandoned (at least at the time of writing)...
Review Super Kirby Clash (Switch) - Monster Hunter Meets The Cute Pink Puffball
And it's free to play, to boot
When Kirby: Planet Robobot launched in 2016, one of the sub-games included was a neat little RPG-lite take on a boss rush mode called Team Kirby Clash. A year later, HAL opted to expand on the concept further in a free-to-play release on the 3DS eShop called Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, which added in several more bosses,...
Boxing clever
The original BOXBOY! trilogy proved to be one of the quiet triumphs of the 3DS era. These unassuming puzzle-platformers might have lacked the visual fireworks or the 3D gimmicks of some of their contemporaries, but they more than made up for that with a fresh concept and rock solid level design. We're delighted that HAL Laboratory has...
Review Kirby Star Allies (Switch)
Allies assemble!
The core Kirby series has seen something of a revival in recent years, after a long period of interesting yet different spin-off titles taking the main spotlight. Starting off with Kirby’s Return To Dreamland, this new era of mainline Kirby games has taken on a character of its own; almost standing apart as a distinct sub series...
Review Kirby Battle Royale (3DS)
With added cheese
When Nintendo confirmed a 'multiplayer-focused' Kirby title plenty speculated over the approach it would take, but Kirby Battle Royale ultimately delivers a rather predictable spin-off release. What we have, once you get past an initial introduction that suggests a different style entirely, is a minigame collection, one...
Review Kirby's Blowout Blast (3DS eShop)
A Past from the Blast
After 25 years, the Kirby universe has enough material to fill a Hyrule Historia-like compendium (hint, hint). Many games along the way have added little quirks and abilities to shake things up, but Kirby’s Blowout Blast takes a decidedly throwback approach by channelling the veteran hero’s first game. Blowout Blast strips...
Review BYE-BYE BOXBOY! (3DS eShop)
A fond farewell
Nintendo has been on something of a roll with surprise announcements lately, and one of them was the localisation of the third and final game in the BoxBoy trilogy, BYE-BYE BOXBOY! If you’ve already played the first two games, then this should come as no surprise — BYE-BYE BOXBOY is excellent. If you haven’t played another...
It's still hip to be square
Life may be good when you're a ninja block, but the original BOXBOY! possibly ended up doing a bit too much sneaking around when it released last year. The HAL Laboratory puzzle-platformer went completely under the radar for some people, never gaining widespread attention or shaking the eShop up with its monochromatic...
Review Kirby's Dream Course (New 3DS / SNES)
Kirby's Krazy Golf
Super NES title Kirby's Dream Course has made it to the New Nintendo 3DS, and we had to see how this non-conventional Kirby title has held up since its initial release in 1994. Kirby's Dream Course is effectively crazy golf with our little pink pal acting as the ball. Kirby has three lives with four attempts each, and unless...
Review Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS)
A new technological age for Kirby
While some franchises have a 'one per generation' rule, others seem somewhat more spontaneous - factors such as development progress and sales can be more important to their fate. So when Kirby: Triple Deluxe provided a strong 3DS début as a fairly traditional adventure with the Pink One, HAL Laboratory seemingly...
Review EarthBound (New 3DS / SNES)
This game smells lovely
Well here's a treat for New Nintendo 3DS owners: EarthBound! Back on the SNES, this second instalment of Shigesato Itoi's much-loved Mother series only received a western release in North America (where it sold poorly). Buying a second-hand copy for silly money was most people's only option until the Wii U came to the rescue,...
Review Pokémon Ranger (Wii U eShop / DS)
Gotta circle ‘em all!
Welcome to the Fiore region, a relaxed place where Pokémon are free from Poké Balls, able to roam around in the wild or stay as someone's pet if they've taken a liking to a particularly snug blanket. You are the newest recruit to the Rangers, a group of dedicated (but often dull) individuals who provide help to citizens or...
The Legend of Alen
When you think HAL Laboratories, you immediately think Kirby. This is natural since it is by a long shot the most recognizable character ever to come out of the Chiyoda-based software house. Yet with over three decades producing video games, it goes without saying that HAL has a diverse back catalogue going all the way back to...
Review Kirby Mass Attack (Wii U eShop / DS)
Safety in numbers
Known in Japan as Atsumete! Kirby, Kirby Mass Attack is the final title in the long-running HAL Laboratory series for the Nintendo DS. Originally released in 2011, Mass Attack moves away from traditional platform game design in preference of a completely touch-driven experience. Thankfully, unlike the original 2005 entry for DS –...
Review Kirby: Power Paintbrush (Wii U eShop / DS)
Time has passed
Kirby: Power Paintbrush – also known as Canvas Curse in North America – was originally released on the Nintendo DS in 2005. Following the trend of many other franchises during this new generation of handheld gaming, the HAL Laboratory-developed title moved away from traditional platform game conventions by utilising the defining...
Review Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Wii U eShop / N64)
Kirby Sixty-Phwoar
Like many of Nintendo's properties during the transition from the SNES to the N64, Kirby underwent a shift from a flat 2D sprite to a fully rendered polygon rendition of himself. Rather than taking Kirby down the route of Mario and Link, however, the pink mascot stuck closer to his origins - the mechanics of Kirby 64: The Crystal...
Review Kirby Squeak Squad (Wii U eShop / DS)
Squeaky Clean Fun
For a company so often associated as being at the forefront of innovative thinking in the video game industry, Nintendo can have a tendency to stick with a tried and tested formula. The Mario, Zelda and Pokémon franchises have all received their share of criticism for not drastically changing their instalments over the years, and...
Boxed in
BOXBOY! is Game Boy-era design and aesthetics reincarnated for Nintendo's latest handheld, picking up a few new ideas since the monochromatic minster's heyday. With plenty of polish and thoughtful puzzles to conquer, we were surprised to find ourselves so bored with it all. Just like the retro classics, BOXBOY! makes a simple request of...
Review Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U)
Clay achin'
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse is a sequel of sorts to 2005's Canvas Curse, which is considered to be among the top titles the pink puff has ever starred in. That's pretty high praise and a tough act to follow — but 10 years on, Nintendo and developer HAL Laboratory are giving it another whirl. The result is a video game equivalent to a...
Review Adventures of Lolo (3DS eShop / NES)
Bubbles and puzzles and DEATH
The fine folks over at HAL Laboratory have an affinity for protagonists who could double as pretty decent basketballs, and the often-forgotten NES puzzler Adventures of Lolo features our first example of a blob hero. Unlike the platforming cuteness of the Kirby series, arguably HAL's most famous creation, Lolo has a...
Review Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (Wii U eShop / GBA)
Full of promise, or just hot air?
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land is in fact a remake of Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's first outing on the NES from 1993. While it isn't his original adventure (that honour goes to Kirby's Dream Land), it is the first instance in which he was able to use his now classic copy ability. The remake — which originally...
