There’s a distinction between being easy - something every Kirby game that’s ever released has been, to some degree - and being repetitive. Young people appreciate novelty and creativity, though, and other games in the series have provided that abundantly. These systems are all great, and none of them take away from the experience of learning how to navigate Kirby through the world. Unlike Nintendo’s other major franchises, which teach you their intricacies through repeated mistakes, Kirby is always like playing with pillow armor on, and Deluxe is no different: There are systems upon systems to ease the difficulty down, from multiplayer with more skilled friends or family to a “Helper Magolor” who gives you health potions and carries you across pits (something I would have appreciated when I was learning how to jump in platformers for the first time). Complaining about their difficulty is a little like sitting at the kids’ table and wondering why the chairs are so small. Kirby games have always been marketed toward children and families. Image: HAL Laboratory/Nintendo via Polygon Though stages are very straightforward, it seems as if the designers are worried that players will get lost: After beating a boss, a giant blinking arrow pops up to point to the end of the level, as if the one available exit would leave any doubt. It has collectibles, but they don’t gate anything in the story, instead unlocking challenge levels and rooms in which to play around with copy abilities. It has end-of-stage minigames, world hubs, and a recurring portal (in about a third of the levels) that leads to the same boss with minor differences. I was fascinated by that game, particularly its preference for humanmade settings like malls and carnivals, its deservingly hyped Mouthful Mode, and its bountiful collectibles, some purely aesthetic (like the gacha machine for minis) and others tied to progression in the story.īy contrast, Deluxe is traditional - as remasters are wont to be - but it’s also, in many aspects, dated. Perhaps it’s inevitable that I mentally compared Deluxe to last year’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land, the main franchise’s first fully 3D entry, which is another firm example of the series pushing things forward. Kirby’s Epic Yarn, the crafts-themed Wii game that came out just a year before the original Return to Dream Land, is an example of the latter. The Kirby series tends to vacillate between classic and experimental. The moments I most enjoyed in Deluxe were the ones where I experienced some friction, usually when the game tossed a new mechanic at me and I had to readjust
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |