Blair Loveday
Since the release of the Switch, a lot of people have been brought back to Nintendo’s home console eco system, some from the successful Wii, and others earlier. This means a lot of the iconic franchises are new to many players, and for me this included Kirby, so I couldn’t have been more excited to check out Kirby Star Allies.
For the most part, Kirby Star Allies is a generic side scrolling platformer. Most of your time will be running from the left to the right, occasionally going up or down, depending on where the platforms take you.
The only mechanic that makes the game unique, is Kirby’s ability to befriend enemies. Most can be befriended, and you can have three with you at any given time. This is important because they help you in battles, and more importantly help you with puzzles due to their unique abilities.
Befriendable enemies come with specific attacks, such as the sweeper who can attack with the broom, the bird which can fly, the fire and ice enemies that use their respective elements, and so many more. Their varied attacks are important depending on what suits your play style or opponents, but more importantly they are needed for puzzles.
Throughout Levels there are puzzles required to move forward where you may need to cut a bomb down, and then ignite its fuse. This means you need to find the two allies with abilities to achieve these requirements. There are also hidden areas where puzzles can be more complex, with some I never quite figured out.
Kirby can also take on the abilities of enemies, but only one at a time. Having these abilities makes Kirby significantly more offensive, as without one he can only suck in objects to shoot back out, or when floating do a tiny puff attack. This means when an attack makes you lose your abilities in a boss fight, it can be a royal pain.
The whole game drips with charm, thanks to its bright colours, simple yet beautiful styles, and the hearts you will see everywhere. The game feels like it has been built to be safe for the most conservative parents of a toddler, and yet because of this, it’s endearing.
The biggest problem is it’s repetitive. Sure, occasionally you’ll be thrown a Level where you get shot around in cannons, or fly around on a star, or roll as a ball of allies, but these quirky levels are in the extreme minority. Instead the bulk of the time is spent running, jumping, throwing hearts to befriend, and killing enemies by mashing the button.
There are also four extra game modes, two of which unlock when you beat the game which are The Ultimate Choice and Guest star ??? Star Allies Go. The ultimate Choice is a boss rush mode which is enjoyable, and Guest star ??? Star Allies Go is a time trial mode.
The two mini games available from the start are more enjoyable, with chop champs putting you at the bottom of a tree each and you chop chunks out. The tree keeps dropping and you need to switch from side to side avoiding threats. Most blocks chopped wins.
My favourite was Star Slam heroes which is a weird baseball mini game where you are tasked with hitting an inbound meteor away from earth. You need to get the timing right on the series of power up bars followed by when the meteor comes in to hit it as far as possible, the incoming meteor at the right time. Furthest wins.
Kirby isn’t going to blow as many people away as Mario or Zelda, but those were surprisingly high bars. Instead it is a fun family friend platformer that’s sweet and charming, and perfect for people to jump in and out of for multiplayer. It’s not the most revolutionary title, but I enjoyed my time with my new little pal Kirby.
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Released: March 2018
Rating: G
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Platformer
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo</p