Oil my gears up, its Kirby time!
Kirby is another one of the long standing franchises that come along every few years with a new iteration. I remember fondly my first time with Kirby on the Gameboy. It didn’t know what Kirby was; to this day it still seems a mystery. Yet one thing was absolutely certain, it had captured my heart and side scrolling platforming love. So many iterations and years later, some would think perhaps a person could grow out of Kirby or the gameplay mechanics behind it. I’m happy to report, Kirby still has it after all these years, and continues to have me smiling every time play.
Kirby is back and better than ever.
One thing that Kirby games continue to do over the years is innovate yet at the same time stay with the core ideas and mechanics they have built. Trust me, it sounds odd but I think anyone that has been around the Kirby block for years knows exactly what I’m referring to. For those that might happen to not know a thing about Kirby, just imagine a pink puff that can float, suck up enemies, and steal their abilities for use in combat.
MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: 3DS
Price I’d Pay:$39.99
Multiplayer: 1-4
How long to beat: 8+ hours
Kirby has been sucking in all the right ways for years, and it’s no different here. This time, we have a menacing robotic threat coming to Kirby’s Planet, implanting its robotic self into the world, and trying to take over. Kirby has to use all his normal and newfound abilities to take the battle back to the baddies. This theme not only permeates the world with its sometimes more metallic and robotic themes of levels, even the classic tree boss has a new robotic look and battle, which takes the classic moment we have seen many times and flips it up on its head.
Kirby continues to go through the various levels all the same, but this time the biggest addition is the robotic suit that he hops in and suddenly gets transformed into a mechanized machine of terror. It also happens have the ability to scan and copy enemies, creating unique moves for the vehicle. From changing into a car like racing machine, racing and bashing the way through the level to shooting ice to freeze enemies and complete puzzles involving ice cream snow men, variety is here, and it’s the biggest thing that keeps Robobot from feeling outdated, boring or repetitive.
Nano Machines not included.
It’s not to say that this Kirby game does anything insanely unique or different. It sticks to what it knows Kirby does right, adds in a few new elements and unique themes, and continues to impress with its visuals, soundtrack, and gameplay mechanics. The foundation they have built is anything but unique at this point, but everything else comes together to provide one of the best Kirby games I’ve ever played, and that’s saying something coming from a lifelong fan. Boss battles are exciting, the robot suit is a great new addition, and the variation just never seems to let up, culminating in one of the craziest end games of the franchise yet.
My one negative mention and it’s small, there tends to be some minor dips in framerate with 3D enabled, but otherwise this is an extremely well-polished game. Kirby fans deserve to play this game, heck anyone one that is fan of this genre needs to pick up Kirby Planet Robobot if they own a 3DS. It’s one of the best games released this year, and while not totally surprising, at the same time it is. All this praise and I’m mostly referring to the single player main story, but with its bevy of other cool unlockable modes and the multiplayer party like games available, there is so much content here, it’s a great price for an absolutely jam packed 3DS cartridge.
My favorite moment: When Kirby takes off into the sky in a plane like vehicle and it becomes a shmup type game, complete with boss battle wall o’ doom.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
