Like of his past adventures, this leads Kirby through a series of self-contained 2.5D platforming levels to banish the maleficent force, fighting classic bosses like Whispy Woods along the way. In the set-up for Star Allies, Kirby awakes from a peaceful slumber and senses a mysterious evil threatening the universe. Unfortunately, the friends you make along the way are a bit too perfect, making Star Allies the easiest of rides in a series known for its overabundant accessibility. On the surface, this twist, which creates a wide palette of new moves for Kirby, would appear to nudge the series forward in terms of strategy. Throughout your journey from Dream Land to the cosmos, you turn enemies into friends and work together to solve puzzles and take on big baddies. Kirby Star Allies, Kirby’s Switch debut, maintains that tradition with yet another playable, but predictable, experience.
Even with a fresh mechanical wrinkle, each Kirby game winds up feeling not far removed from Dream Land circa 1993 in Kirby’s Adventure. That predictability has kept Kirby in games for more than 25 years, but held him back from earning the same reverence as Nintendo’s most iconic characters. For better and worse, the adorable creature-inhaling mascot has delivered a steady stream of familiar, yet charmingly cuddly romps fit for the whole family. There’s no denying that Kirby, the pink puff ball with an insatiable appetite, is a Nintendo staple. Suplex and yo-yo remain relatively unchanged from Kirby Super Star with yo-yo receiving a new walk-the-dog move, but cleaning now has a different moveset where the animal buddies from Kirby’s Dreamland 2 and 3 appear. Fan-favorite abilities long absent also return including cleaning (known as broom in Kirby’s Dreamland 3), suplex, and yo-yo (my personal favorite). Sadly, only the ally can use his other abilities. There are a few new abilities added such as Staff, where players can even pole-vault their way through the map, Spider, which can be used to trap enemies or bounce higher with friends using a trampoline-web, even Cook has more uses when a friend heart is used on Chef Kawasaki. In addition, having your friends cooperate with you to overcome a goal is about as frustrating and equally hilarious as herding cats. These powerups are used to solve unique puzzles and can be even more effective against already underwhelming bosses. There are even switches to secret levels!įinding different friend abilities is exciting, and there are even unique mixes such as being lifted up by someone using the psychic ability as a rock. But while it’s disappointing for single-player preferred players, the multiplayer aspect is well done. Each level is designed to have partners with you, creating fewer tight corridors where you would normally find secrets in the previous 3DS entries. The focus on the multiplayer aspect of Star Allies does create an issue with level design. There is an issue in that there is only one main collectible per level (rainbow puzzle pieces) instead of the standard several collectibles present in past games such as Planet Robobot and Triple Deluxe. However, to avoid spoiling the contents of these modes, I will save that for another day. Similar to almost every traditional Kirby game since Kirby’s Adventure in 1993, there are additional modes after you complete the main story, which I consider to be the best part of Star Allies. However, I’ve always found that the main game isn’t actually the meat of what’s available. At least Waddle Dee is happy with the painting ability of his ally.Īnother common complaint is the length of the game, where its main story can be completed in a few hours.