I'll start by looking at the basic gameplay. Kirby is a round, pink, balloon-like...thing, with a big appetite and a childlike nature, who goes on numerous adventures. He can inflate himself in order to fly, and fights by inhaling blocks or enemies and spitting them out. On top of that, some enemies can be eaten, and then Kirby can mimic their abilities. For example, Knuckle Joe is a martial artist who attacks with punches and kicks. If Kirby inhales him, he will become Fighter Kirby, and will attack with punches and kicks. He can also sacrifice this ability to spawn a helper; in this case, an allied Knuckle Joe who can be controlled either by the computer or by a second player. I think this might have been the first game I played to feature a co-operative mode.
As for story, the game's something of an anthology. The main games are as follows (Put the kettle on and get a comfortable seat, this will take a while):
- Spring Breeze: A villainous penguin called King Dedede has hoarded all the food in Dreamland, and it's up to Kirby to teach him a lesson. Intended for beginners, it's fairly linear. There are three levels, each with a boss at the end, before the final stage in which you confront Dedede.
- Dyna Blade: Kirby is going after a large and mysterious bird called Dyna Blade, who has been ravaging Dreamland's crops. Featuring a Super Mario Bros 3-style world map, there are four levels (not including the final stage), along with two secret areas with ability banks. The levels have a goal rather than a boss, and finish with a bonus game which can provide extra lives.
- Gourmet Race: Kirby learns of an area of Dreamland which is abundant in food, but King Dedede has arrived first. The rivals must race to collect as much food possible. There are three stages, and you can either race against Dedede across all three, or run the individual stages in a time trial.
- The Great Cave Offensive: Kirby is out rambling when he falls down a hole and ends up in a vast network of caves, which happen to be full of treasure. This game uses a Metroid-style open world, with save points scattered around, along with mine cart travel between areas following boss rooms (my favourite of which is the Computer Virus). The goal is to get as much treasure as possible and find a way out (I only managed to find half of them).
- Revenge of Meta Knight: Kirby's other nemesis Meta Knight seeks to invade Dreamland, and Kirby attempts to infiltrate his flagship, the Halberd. This is a linear one, with nine levels, but they now feature a time limit. You also get some humorous dialogue between Meta Knight and the Halberd's officers.
- Milky Way Wishes: The feature presentation, in which the sun and the moon are fighting, throwing Dreamland or Popstar's day and night cycle into chaos. Kirby's friend Marx suggests that he makes a wish to the "comet" NOVA, but to do so requires seven stars from seven neighbouring worlds. One of the big changes here is that Kirby cannot copy abilities from the enemies here. Instead, he finds "copy essences" around the place and can store them. There's a boss at the end of each world, but they're recycled from the earlier games in the collection, but there's still a great final stage which you don't expect.
There are also two mini-games:
- Samurai Kirby: A reaction-based game in which you must wait for a signal and then hit a button to defeat a series of increasingly faster opponents.
- Megaton Punch: A timing-based game in which you must punch a bigger crack in the planet than your opponent.
Finally, if you beat all the main games, you can unlock The Arena, which is simply a boss-run with a single life and limited health pickups. I'd do that but I've got other games to get through.
Anyway, I'm pretty much up to speed now, so my next write-up will be whenever I beat the next game. I've decided that this one will be Super Castlevania IV.
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