Ahh, Kirby.
Kirby’s Dream Land, way back on the Game Boy, was the first game I ever bought for myself. I used to sit down and play it from start to finish in one sitting, over and over again. The game holds a special place in my heart, as does its marshmallow protagonist. Three years after Kirby Mass Attack and Kirby’s Adventure, the little guy is back for some more candy-coated platforming in Kirby Triple Deluxe.
The story of Triple Deluxe is simplistic: Kirby is fast asleep in his house in Dream Land when a magic seed falls from the heavens and lands nearby. Out of it grows a gigantic beanstalk – sorry, Dreamstalk – which snags up Kirby’s house, only for him to wake up in the floating land of Floralia. Along the way, Kirby’s arch-enemy King Dedede also has his castle uprooted and is kidnapped by some form of flying spider-person. Basically it’s all a flimsy bit of reasoning for Kirby to go adventuring in entirely new levels, and that’s really all you need.
The game is gorgeous, featuring a unique Kirby twist on the fluffy visuals that have become the hallmark of Nintendo properties recently. Every level is vibrant and inviting, ranging from forests to cloudscapes, ancient tombs to dark castles. Every area looks distinct and detailed, with a real sense of progression of mood as you move through. The accompanying music features plenty of remixes and reprises from previous games in the series, which usually left me tapping my toes along as I played. I challenge anyone to play this game through and not walk away without at least one tune embedded din their head.
Gameplay itself is primarily the standard Kirby layout. The game is thankfully still a flat-plane platformer, but has artfully made the transition from 2D to 2.5D. You’ll find yourself running, jumping and floating your way as you’d expect to, all the while gobbling up your surroundings to access new and exciting copy abilities. The big change to the formula is the multi-layered format of the levels.
Scattered throughout each level are star launchers. Distinct from the usual chubby Kirby stars, they’ll move you from foreground to background and vice versa. This adds a really interesting dynamic to the levels, as whilst you are confined to one layer at a time, enemies and hazards often move between them. It’s a clever way to push the 3DS’ stereoscopic 3D functionality as a viable choice without going down the ill-advised route of moving Kirby into a fully-3D environment. Choosing not to use the 3D won’t put you at a disadvantage, as the transitions are clear even in 2D. Some of the harder obstacles – such as a meteor shower – helpfully colour the hazards on your layer slightly differently so you can spot them.
The ability to see both layers of the level also allows you a level of strategy and pre-planning that allows you to feel quite clever about your play style. The layer-shift stars often move you back and forth along the level rather than directly to the equivalent of your current spot, so you’ll often see parts of what’s ahead of you when you get there. Many levels also zigzag left-to-right and right-to-left, letting you take note of the placements of enemies, collectibles and health boost items. The interplay is also highlighted in puzzle sections where you can affect one layer from the other, such as levels where you can use missiles to blow away rocks in the way of a door or item on the opposite layer. Boss encounters also utilise the depth that multiple layers allow, moving between them to create more complex scenarios than those of earlier games.
On top of all this there are five new copy abilities to experiment with, including Circus (an agile moveset with a clown theme), Archer (good for keeping your distance), Bell (a musical moveset with wide attacks and a counter block move), Beetle (with unique flight abilities and a horn to impale enemies) and Hypernova. The last ability is another big change for the game, essentially super-powering how much Kirby sucks – ironically making him much more awesome.
Activated by eating a special Miracle Fruit that grows in specific locations, Hypernova pushes Kirby’s inhale abilities to eleven, allowing you to eat almost everything on screen at once as a cyclone-like vortex forms from his mouth. Enemies, blocks, even entire trees will be uprooted to feed the rainbow-glowing Hypernova Kirby as you move through portions of the game designed specifically for this mechanic. These are often a highlight as they push the game in new directions – Kirby can manipulate wrecking balls, power hoverboats, cause widespread deforestation and clear weather hazards with the greatest of ease. By the time you get towards the end of the game, you’ll find that encountering a level whose portrait features Hypernova Kirby will instantly put a smile on your face.
Alongside the combat and platforming, levels are dotted with collectible Sunstones – which unlock boss fights for a given number, and bonus levels for collecting all Sunstones in a world – and keychains, which feature characters and scenes from throughout the series’ history. While these keychains don’t really do anything, they do occupy a gallery which allows you to look back fondly at art from previous games. StreetPassing other players will also unlock improved power-ups in levels and special StreetPass-only keychains, a must for any collectaholic.
The card also contains additional minigames such as a rhythm game with King Dedede (not that fun) and a pseudo-Smash Brothers game called Kirby Fighters featuring a selection of Kirby’s copy abilities for up to four players (very fun!). Additional content is unlocked after completing the Story Mode, but I won’t spoil it for anyone.
As far as returning franchises go, Kirby Triple Deluxe has been one of the better outings on 3DS – outclassing Yoshi’s New Island by a decent stretch, in my mind. The game is fun and of an appropriate length to feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. The addition of Kirby Fighters and other post-game content help to round this out, further extending play time for the cartridge and making it a fun game to play with friends. It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s Kirby. Play it.
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