With the 3DS being out in the wild, it’s weird to see Nintendo release a Kirby game on the DS. While it may seem like an odd decision, DS owners should be thrilled to know they are getting a welcome addition to the other Kirby games on the DS. Kirby Mass Attack breaks from the usual copy mechanic for a whole new mechanic. Even though it isn’t a traditional Kirby game, Kirby Mass Attack still fits into the series proper.
The story is not going to win any awards, but it gets the job done. Kirby was basically minding his own business sleeping on the island of Popopo when all of a sudden the leader of the evil skull gang, Necrodeus, comes down and splits the cute puff ball into ten different Kirbies. Each Kirby only has a fraction of the power as the original, and Necrodeus defeats all but one of them. After getting his butt kicked, Kirby runs away to regroup and it’s your job to help him get back to normal and restore the island of Popopo to its nice, happy state. The multiple Kirbies come into play in the game’s main gimmick: managing different numbers of pink puff balls all at once.
The graphics and sound of Kirby Mass Attack are not exactly pushing the DS hardware to its limit, but they do serve their purposes well enough. They are very original to the style of Kirby’s past adventures, and are full of rainbows, happiness, and anything else that Kirby fans have come to expect out of Dream Land. Each stage looks and fits the styles of the overworld and the game has this old school Kirby feel about it. While graphics, sound, style, platforming, and the obligatory tree-boss battle are still there in tried and true fashion, the main game mechanic is – as mentioned above – from the classic copycat formula.
Kirby Mass Attack takes a risk by not following the well-established franchise conventions, and it could have easily turned out disastrous. At first I was worried that the game would feel too much like it was missing what makes Kirby such an awesome character; but after playing Kirby Mass Attack, my fears have been lifted.
Even though I miss being able to copy abilities, the multiple Kirby system works and works well. It was hilarious and fun watching the little guys pounce on the enemies and start wiggling their hands as if they were a gang of bullies beating up on a poor, unsuspecting victim. I almost felt bad for some of the enemies… Almost.
Players won’t instantly have ten Kirbies out of the gate, though; they have to work for those extra-cute pink puff balls. As players progress through levels they are required to eat fruit, and each fruit will raise a meter on the top screen. Once it reaches 100, another Kirby will appear and this will continue until you reach the max total of ten. Once you reach ten Kirbies and fill the meter up again you get a score boost.
Kirbies are able to die in the game, and if you lose one you’ve got to fill the meter again to get him back. Luckily Kirby can take two hits before he turns into an angel and starts to float off the screen. Even if a Kirby does go into angel form, the player can snag him and bring him back life. While controlling ten Kirbies sounds really complicated, the controls make it as simple as a tap on the screen.
The controls completely revolve around the touch screen. The Kirbies will move according to where you are tapping the screen, and when the screen is double-tapped, they will run. Attacking common enemies is as easy as tapping them, and when you do, the Kirbies will jump on them and start beating the ever-living cute out of them. The wannabe Hostess Snow Balls can also be thrown across the screen by flicking them with the stylus.
While the controls are well developed, there were some moments where Kirbies wouldn’t do exactly as I told them. I would tell them to run and then jump, but then one of them would get stuck behind a wall when all the others made it over just fine. Trying to get them all together again turned into a big hassle and slowed things down. These moments are rare but can be a little frustrating when some of the challenges require speed and precise movement.
The only other problem with the game is how repetitive some of the motions feel. The Kirbies don’t have a lot of options when it comes to attacks handling challenges. The game tries to vary things through different challenges, but your mob of puffballs will be doing a lot of the same thing throughout the stages. Their are also these sections of the game that require you to tap a part of the screen really fast to get past certain sections. They were comical, but in the end they slowed down the pace of the game and were pointless.
While a lot of games in the series are not known for their challenge, Kirby Mass Attack likes to dip its toes in the big kids’ pool. It never feels impossible or frustrating, but to complete the game 100 percent takes some diligence and thought. Each stage is well thought out and fun to replay through to find new things that you might not have uncovered the first time around. At the end of each stage you’re graded on whether a Kirby got hit or died, and some stages won’t open up unless you carry over a certain amount of the little guys. Players should keep their eyes out for the coins throughout the stage because the coins unlock mini games and other unlockables.
The mini games in Kirby Mass Attack are the cherry on top of the sundae. While they are not needed, they are still nice to have around and add to the replay-ability. Unfortunately some of them are kind of lame – like the wac-a-mole rip off, Field Frenzy – but there are some nice ones in there like Kirby’s Quest. There is also a hidden achievement list that will need to be finished to reach 100 percent completion; so that gives players something to work towards. The problem is that the list doesn’t give direction on where or what to do to complete these tasks.
Kirby Mass Attack is a welcome addition to the series. While it doesn’t exactly play like past games from the series, it is a welcome breath of fresh air. Controlling the Kirbies works well, and it is a lot of fun to manipulate the 10 Kirbies through the levels. The platformer is a little repetitive due to the lack of abilities the pink puffballs have, and it is a little bit short. Yet Kirby Mass Attack is another great addition to the DS library, and it should not be missed out by Kirby fans or any DS owner who enjoys a good platformer.
