Developer: HAL Labs Publisher: Nintendo Release: 06/26/00 Genre: Action
The last year of the N64’s life was a slow death spiral. Unlike the PlayStation which saw a slew of outstanding releases in the year 2000 Nintendo’s black box saw few releases and many cancellations. However the few games that did come out were some of the system’s best. Majora’s Mask was a brilliant follow-up to the Ocarina of Time and Paper Mario spawned its own sub series. Kirby 64: the Crystal Shards follows in the pink puffball tradition of releasing at the end of a console’s life. And just like its predecessors it is one of the system’s best games.
The fairies have enjoyed a long era of peace on their home the Ripple Star. One day however a black cloud called Dark Matter invades their world in search of their secret treasure, the shining crystal. Before Dark Matter could take it the fairy Ribbon steals it away. But before she can get away Dark Matter shatters the crystal, with its shards scattering across the galaxy. Ribbon lands on the planet Pop Star and befriends Kirby, who decides to help her out.
All of Kirby’s primary abilities return with some slight modifications. One of the biggest changes is flight: you can no longer fly indefinitely. After about fifteen seconds Kirby will become winded and fall. This is because it would be game breaking otherwise. You can dash although it is so slow it is pathetic and still slide attack. His signature inhale attack returns allowing you to swallow and spit out nearly any enemy. The copy system is back with the different powers divided into seven categories: burn, stone, ice, needle, bomb, spark, and cutter. It sounds limiting however Kirby has a new power. Now Kirby can copy and combine two abilities to create new attacks.
With seven classes of abilities there are 49 possible combinations which is insane. Some only produce a slightly different variant of the base power like Stone + Stone. But then Stone + Needle will create a power drill. Needle + Cutter is one of my favorite combos: the giant claws it creates has a wide spread and is incredibly powerful. The fire arrows are the hardest to use but devastating if you put in the work. Combining burn + cutter gives Kirby a flaming sword which is too cool for words. And if you are a fan of Star Wars you can even make a double bladed lightsaber! The game provides ample opportunity to play around with its various combinations and with good reason. It is one of the most fun gameplay mechanics I have come across in a platformer in quite some time.
The Power Combo system is the heart of Kirby 64. As a 2.5d platformer the game requires a level of precision that would be lost if it were full 3d. Certain abilities would not work if accuracy were lost. But thanks to its setup Kirby 64 can throw you into one elaborate set piece after another. You have to consider the limitations of certain abilities no matter how good. The super boomerang is one of the most powerful in the game. But once thrown Kirby can only run left and right. I like the fire sword but you also cannot fly if it is active and it is easy to forget. The game is quite inventive at times and even makes King Dedede playable for a few brief segments. But even though it has enough variety for days it cannot overcome the fact that it is too easy.
The Kirby games have always fallen on the easy side with their difficulty. That is especially true with Kirby 64. It might be one of the easiest titles in the series. Many of the design decisions feel as though the developers were unsure of themselves while working in 3d and erred on the side of caution. Life restoring food appears every few steps and most enemies are not aggressive. There are many, many overpowered combinations that make boss battles trivial such as the super boomerang and fire sword. The game does not shower you in extra lives like Kirby’s Adventure because it is not necessary. The challenge ramps up toward the end and is welcome. In fact I found myself wishing the entire game fought as hard as its final levels and boss battles. The sheer fun and variety of the power combo system almost makes up for it. Almost.
The easy difficulty cannot hide the fact that
will be a short experience for most. There are five planets with multiple levels in each. Although each individual stage is long most reasonably skilled players will blow through them quickly. To see the game’s good ending and fight the true final boss you must collect all 74 crystal shards. While it sounds like a lot on my first run without really trying I found 71%. Many shards require specific powers to obtain and while it is does give the game some longevity it is not a lot. The rest of the game is so good it desperately wants more.
In Closing
Kirby 64 is a solid entry in the franchise and a borderline great game. It has more variety than two or three games put together and is insanely fun. Unfortunately the good times are brief. Because it is so easy it is over far too soon. I think the game is still worth it however, especially as it has been re-released multiple times dirt cheap.
