What I Think of: Kirby: Triple Deluxe

When people talk about the main Nintendo franchise characters, several names come to mind: Mario, Luigi, Link, Donkey Kong, Samus, Fox, and so on. If someone mentions Kirby, the usualy response is "Oh yeah, almost forgot". This may have something to do with the fact that, outside of the main Kirby games, one of the only places you would find Kirby is in the various Smash Bros games.

We shouldn't forget about our favorite small, pink, ball of fun, especially now that there is another entry into his lineage, the thirteenth platforming game of the series: Kirby: Triple Deluxe. Here is what I think of it after spending a few days with it.

Side Note: Triple Deluxe is Nintendo's fancy way of saying "3D".

Triple Deluxe is everything fans of Kirby and his games remember from the old days: Suck enemies up and steal their powers while traversing luscious landscapes, collecting trinkets along the way. Pretty simple. Now Kirby is on the 3DS which adds a whole new dimension to what he can do and how he can traverse said landscapes.

The story starts out with Kirby asleep, during which, a giant beanstalk called the "Dreamstalk" grows underneath Dream Land and carries several structures, including Kirby's house and King Dedede's Castle, high into the clouds. When Kirby awakes, he realizes he's not in Kansas anymore (Toto), runs to Dedede's castle to check on him, only to find him trapped in a prism by Taranza, a six-armed, caterpillar- like creature. Kirby must save Dream Land again.

The same engine from Return to Dream Land (Wii) is used here, which means it looks great, plays great, and runs smooth.

Ding, Dong...y'all are dead!

The gameplay mechanics should feel very similar to anyone who has played a Kirby game in their life. For those who haven't (for shame), the game does a good job of quickly getting into the swing of things and once you have it down, you'll be flying, dashing, and inhaling in no time (trying to avoid the term 'sucking' if at all possible).

With this being on the 3DS, Triple Deluxe needed to use the 3D in someway. The end result is well worth talking about and a big reason why I like this game. Kirby can go between the foreground and the background with the use of a warp star and many collectibles and puzzles use this mechanic. Enemies also utilize the 3D by either jumping from the back to front, or by attacking from one end to the other. It looks really cool seeing an enemy charge at you from the background and figuring out how to time your reaction.

Keep rollin', rollin', rollin', rollin'.

Of course, the star of the mechanics show is still being able to inhale enemies and copy their powers. There are at least 20 powers that return from previous titles, including "Wheel" (pictured above) which was not in Return to Dream Land. The new ones here include: "Bell" (pictured even more above) which allows Kirby to use bells as clubs, defending with them, and attacking with soundwaves; Beetle, which gives Kirby a rhinoceros horn to impale enemies and slam them down with; Archer, which lets Kirby shoot arrows in any direction and the power to pull out fake trees and boulders to be stealthy; and Circus, letting Kirby run over enemies with a giant ball, juggle flaming bowling pins to use against foes, or even use exploding balloon animals.

I haven't had the chance to use all the powers yet, but from the few that I have, it is just as fun and satisfying as it always has been.

Kirby can also inhale the "Miracle Fruit" to turn Hypernova, which turns an already powerful pink vacuum into the small, pink version of Galactus, inhaling anything on the screen in a tornado-like fashion. This mechanic does get used in various puzzles and is a lot of fun.

It's a miracle.....I think I'll eat it!

There are 2 other modes that come in Triple Deluxe (since 'triple' does actually mean '3'): Kirby Fighters is a Smash Bros-style beat em up game which you can play solo or against your friends. You choose which copy ability you want to use, then beat the crap out of eachother on stages themed on previous Kirby stages. I like this mode a lot and it's a nice little diversion, as well as SOMETHING to hold me over until the proper Smash Bros 3DS release this summer.

The other mode is Dedede's Drum Dash (I hear they are already working on the 5DS version of this....see cause there are 5 'D' sounds in....oh c'mon). It's a rhythm game where you control King Dedede across bongo drums, collecting coins and building up a score. Again, a nice little diversion here, worth checking out a few times.

Can't I all just get along?

Along your travels you will collect keychains that depict characters from various Kirby games. The chains based on the older games look especially good in all their 8-bit glory. These are purely collectable items much like trophies in the various Smash Bros games.You can also collect more via StreetPass.

I have fond memories of my time with the Kirby games that I played, dating all the way back to 1993's Kirby's Adventure on the NES. This game brings those memories back while throwing in some new tricks. Sure, this is an easy platforming game (as many Kirby games are), but it is still an enjoyable experience If you own a 3DS you SHOULD have added 2 new great games to your collection with this and Mario Golf: World Tour. While Kirby may not be on everyone's immediate list when they think of Nintendo characters, this game ranks right up there with some of the best platformers on the 3DS.