Not child’s play
Kirby Stars Allies may look like a children’s game but it’s fun for all ages, writes Aiman Maulana
THE latest videogame console Nintendo Switch does not have a lot of games in its library but it has a number of critically acclaimed games.
Some of these games may look like they are intended only for the younger audience but you’d be surprised at how much fun they are.
Let’s dive into one such game called Kirby Star Allies.
KIRBY’S ADVENTURE
The storyline in Kirby Star Allies starts off on a faraway planet called Jambastion. Due to an imperfection in a mysterious ritual, a dark crystal heart explodes, sending its numerous fragments, called Jamba Hearts, hurtling deep into space.
Many characters, including series veterans King Dedede and Meta Knight, are possessed while investigating the Jamba Hearts that land on Popstar.
One Jamba Heart hits Kirby but it does not manage to corrupt him.
Instead, it grants Kirby the ability to befriend any enemy simply by throwing hearts. With not much choice left, Kirby sets out on an adventure to not only fix the root of the Jamba Heart problem but to also liberate his friends and former enemies.
Little does Kirby know that the “heart” that corrupts people is a sentient being capable of planetary destruction.
VERSATILE MULTIPLAYER FOCUS
At its core, Kirby Star Allies is a platformer game just like those in older Nintendo consoles.
If you’re not familiar with it, just consider the gameplay somewhat similar to Mario with a major exception — how you deal with enemies.
Kirby can absorb enemies in order to steal their abilities, which grants it a unique attack move. For example, if Kirby absorbs a Blade Knight, it will gain the ability to wield a sword and attack enemies with it.
This is classic Kirby as it is an ability that it had possessed from the very first entry of the series. What’s new this time is the ability to turn enemies into allies by throwing a heart at them using the “X” button.
If the heart hits, it will instantly become an artificial intelligence-controller ally that help you in your adventure.
What makes this ability more interesting is that you can have friends join in anytime when you have an ally on-board.
With a limit of up to three allies, you can turn it into a four-player multiplayer adventure.
The downside to this is that the one playing Kirby will get to dictate what ally characters will be available.
Certain stages will have specific obstacles that will require specific abilities and if it cannot be solved by Kirby absorbing the said ability, there is no choice but to swap an ally character with what is needed at the time.
While you can always regain the lost character, it can be a bit troublesome if another player is adamant on sticking to a particular character.
FUN FOR ALL AGES
Kirby Star Allies is a straightforward game. You travel through a number of world maps in a semi-linear fashion just like in older Mario games, collect star coins which can grant extra lives after reaching a certain amount, find puzzle pieces to complete special artwork, and get through the obstacles that have been set up in each stage.
As mentioned earlier, the obstacles are usually focused on a particular character’s ability and isn’t entirely difficult but can require a little bit of outside-the-box thinking.
Most of the time, the characters and abilities that are required for an obstacle are nearby so you won’t waste time backtracking to find what you need.
All you have to do at that point is to put the pieces together to overcome the obstacle.
There are optional portions available in plenty of the stages, usually accompanied by some form of puzzle, which can yield players extra star coins, puzzle pieces and other hidden collectibles.
These make the game more enjoyable when you find them. Keep in mind that some of these can be very well hidden but players familiar with the adventure/ platformer genre shouldn’t have much problems discovering them.
What’s surprisingly fun in Kirby Star Allies are the boss battles, which usually happen in bonus and important stages.
There will be an enemy with a visible health bar that you will need to take down together with your allies. At such moments, the game starts to feel a lot more like Nintendo’s all-star brawl game, Super Smash Bros.
Boss battles help the multiplayer feature of the game shine as you will need to work together and combine all your abilities in order to take the boss down.
The difficulty varies greatly for different bosses. Most of them can be taken down easily by pummelling on them endlessly but there will be some that are capable of complete annihilation.
For the mini-boss battles, Kirby can either steal their abilities or make them join as an ally so don’t be too quick to send them flying away.
CONCLUSION
When I first got this game, I thought that no adult would enjoy it. It has the most adorable-looking mascot and the design clearly caters to the younger audience. But you’d be surprised how entertaining it can be for everyone.
It is a good game if you need something to pass the time if you take your Nintendo Switch outdoors; it is a great game if you’re going to play with friends; but it is the perfect game for families to play together.
It’s family-friendly content makes it a game that parents can use to bond with their children.
With that in mind, Kirby Star Allies gets an eight out of 10 rating.