Kirby remains probably the most unchanged Nintendo series still going today. Mario made a successful dramatic change to 3D, the same can be said for the Zelda series along with other changed gameplay over the years, Donkey went from Platforming to… everything else, so on and so on. Arguments could probably be made for other characters, but it’s always seemed that Kirby is perfectly ok moving in 2D Platforming levels and sucking up enemies as he’s always done. Any changes seem temporary, like games like Kirby’s Canvas Curse. As a matter of fact, he’s even gone 3D (or 2.5D) for a game, and even that was temporary. Today I’m going to look at that game, Kirby 64: The Chrystal Shards for the Nintendo 64.
The change to 2.5D wasn’t the only change made to Kirby in this game; he also had the abilities to have two powers at once. Now, I don’t mean he can store two powers at once and keep one in reserve, like in Kirby and the Squeak Squad, I mean that he can COMBINE two powers, making a new one. The 7 base powers you get in this game are Burn, Stone, Ice, Needle, Bomb, Spark, and Cutter. This means that you can have 7 abilities combines with 7 abilities, plus the original 7 on their own, making a total of 35 powers you can use in this game. Though I can’t help but frown that Wheel was left out…
The abilities HAVE always been the main attraction in the Kirby games, and with 35 powers to play with, this game is not an exception to that. But the one thing I really like it randomly combining the two powers to see what I come up. Sure, at this point, I pretty much know what I’m going to get, but the first time I combined Burn and Bomb to make fireworks, or turned Kirby into a curling stone with the Ice and Stone powers was more than pleasantly surprised(PS, curling rules, Silver and Gold medal for Canada!). This becomes a big part of the fun; finding new abilities and learning how to use them properly in your current situation.
Not only does Kirby get all these neat abilities, but he also has 4 friends to help him along the way. Though Waddle Dee seems just used a plot device, Ribbon just collects the shard and Adeleine will only give you the occasional life or tomato, the highlight of Kirby’s partner’s is actually his arch enemy King Dedede. Some levels, Kirby will hop on his back and go for a ride and he hops along and smashes anything in his way with his hammer of awesomeness. I had to mention this, cause some of the levels are worth playing over and over again just for these parts.
As with Pokemon Stadium (the only other N64 game I’ve reviewed so far), this game has a selection of mini-games. Though this time there are only three, they are still quite fun. There’s one where you collect fruit falling from trees and ram your opponents to get it, another where you hop along a path at either two spaces or one (depending on where the obstacles are places) and another where you try to remove the ground from below your adversary’s feet. The last one is my personal favorite because of how chaotic it can get while still having a sense of strategy to it, but they’re all pretty good, and once again like Pokemon Stadium, I can clearly recall times where my friends and I popped this in just to play the games. Though it’s better explained this time since it’s the only way you can get a two player mode.
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