I picked up this cart a few weeks back and finally had the opportunity to play the local multiplayer this afternoon with a friend. And...

...Wow.

I thought the Singleplayer was fun, but I had no idea that the multiplayer is the main draw of the game. We played for hours and it was a blast. The rules are a bit complicated so bear with me:

Kirby's Dream Course is a bit like a cross between billiards and golf. Enemies are placed all over the table/stage and you must make contact with each of them with kirby to kill them. When all except one of the enemies are killed, the final enemy will turn into a hole. Sinking your kirby into the hole will end the round. Each kill grants you an additional stroke and you start with 5 strokes. You can kill multiple enemies per shot if you're good enough.

Shots are performed with combination of different types of spins, ground/air shots, a timed power meter, the ability to enhance bounces with the A button, as well as powers picked up from enemies which you can use to drastically change the trajectory of your shot. You sort of finesse all of these different techniques together with each shot and it takes a certain touch to pull off some tricky maneuvers. Sometimes, you would be shocked at all sorts of dipsy-doodle type trick shots you can pull off in this game.

This video (not by me) is an example of what you can do if you have absurd super human skill in 2 player mode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBn_3mU9yTE

(Trust me, it's a lot harder than it looks... in contrast to the video, on some shots, I'm lucky to make contact with any enemies at all).

When an enemies is killed, a star is left in your color to indicate it will be your point when the round is over. If the other player touches your star before the round ends, however, it becomes his color/point when the round ends instead. Sinking a hole is worth 2 stars/points and will end the round. You can also mess with your opponent by slamming your Kirby into his or using techniques picked up from enemies to paralyze the other player or push him into hazards.

The whole affair feels like a combination of strategy, finesse, sabotage and very nerve racking high-stakes shots. It's fantastic and I highly recommend it.

Anyone else dig the multiplayer in this game?

I never played this game 2 player .... and the video looks like what I remember from Single Player

So what is the 2 player deal ?
One death each ?

YES! My brother and I played Kirby's Dream Course for hours and hours back in the day. It's really special.

The way you can intentionally hit your opponent into a position of weakness is just an amazing thing, and I can't think of many other games that do anything like this games multiplayer.

I did play a bit of multiplayer ages ago, it was amazing.
I'm so glad Nintendo experiment this much with the Kirby IP.

I was thinking about playing this with my non-gamer girlfriend. Is it easy for beginners? I've never played it before.

I only just watched the GCCX episode on this 2 days ago.

Yeah, it is a blast. The amount of ways you can screw yourself or your opponent over makes it so funny

Fug Slanderson said:

I was thinking about playing this with my non-gamer girlfriend. Is it easy for beginners? I've never played it before.

Click to expand...

Yes my friend isn't a gamer and I am a beginner and we both picked it up very easily. It's the perfect level playing field between gamers and non gamers if you give them a few practice rounds and explain the controls. There are also tutorial videos within the game that do a great job of explaining everything.

Platy said:

I never played this game 2 player .... and the video looks like what I remember from Single Player

So what is the 2 player deal ?
One death each ?

Click to expand...

Nope. It's 5 strokes and if you run out, you sit out while your opponent gets to go twice.