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Kirby is the most underrated franchise ever (LttP Kirby Super Star Ultra)

BiggNife

Member
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is probably the best Kirby game that no one ever played. The mix of kirby platforming with metroid-style exploration works surprisingly well.

Also, I played a SHIT-TON of Kirby's Block Ball on the Game Boy. Also underrated, definitely my favorite Breakout clone.

939200-kirbysblockball_large.jpg


And oh shit I almost forgot about this one

Kirby_Tilt_'n'_Tumble_Coverart.png


My favorite Kirby game will always be Super Star, but some of the spinoff games deserve more respect than they get.

Also, Kirby 64 is a good game but it hasn't aged well. The framerate is noticeably slow. Loved the concept of combining powers, though.
 

NeoForte

Member
Gravijah said:
Whoa, that's a Metroidvania? I should pick it up.

It lacked a map so getting lost was very very easy to do but still a very fun game~

Aside from the Megaman Games, Kirby is my favortie franchise. They are so charming and fun. The music, the scenery, the cuteness, it's all fun and I just can't get enough of it~

On it being a B-rate series: Kirby games always come in in the top 10 (usually top 5) when released in Japan and here in the states Kirby sells a lot. He's one of Nintendo's favorite mascots worldwide (not near Mario's level but he's very reconizable)
 

farnham

Banned
BiggNife said:
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is probably the best Kirby game that no one ever played. The mix of kirby platforming with metroid-style exploration works surprisingly well.

still sold more then metal gear solid 4 in Japan
 
I've played many Kirby games since the 90's, but only own a few.

Kirby Canvas Curse
Kirby Squeak Squad
Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby's Adventure (VC)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (VC)
Kirby's Dreamland 3 (VC)

I could see them making a new tilt and tumble game for the Wii or DS w/ a motion sensor. I would welcome it greatly.

I really wish we would hear something about Kirby for the Wii. Right now it seems to be vaporware, as it was originally set for GC and we haven't heard anything about it in many years. >_>;

I remember wanting Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland for the GBA but couldn't find it anywhere back then. Then I found out it was a remake of Kirby's Adventure, lol. Amazing Mirror I borrowed from my friend, and got lost a lot. I also played the 1st two games on the Game Boy that my bro had.
 

BitchTits

Member
This thread made me wanna go back and play some of the older games I've missed.

The platform games are easy to the point of not holding ones interest, but I like the design and play style.

What are the best non-platformers? Any system except N64. (unless it's wiiware)
 
farnham said:
he was never pink

thats just a wrong boxart

the japanese boxart shows a pink kirby

http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/51P91YF92YL.jpg[IMG][/QUOTE]
Then how do you explain that he's white in the commercial?

Booyah!
 
Comparing Kirby to Sonic??

Sonic??:lol :lol


This is just ..bureghh, even the spinoffs are great, well made games.

And who labeled it as a B franchise?? it is a multi-million selling series, one game can cross the 2 million barrier.
 
Does the DS version of Super Star still have the guard position that was mapped to the shoulder buttons of the snes version? It would be my perfect game if not for that cheap crap. It's only near perfect as is.
 

Oli

Registered User
I love anything Kirby, even Kirby Air Ride, which many considered to be terrible. I love that game.

Not to mention Kirby's Adventure, Kirby 64, Kirby Squeak Squad, Kirby Canvas Curse, Kirby Superstar, etc.



Ah, such a great series.


But underrated? Ehhhh, not really. The only time I think it was short changed was with Air Ride, but otherwise I never really got the impression that people didn't appreciate the Kirby series.
 
farnham said:
It isn't a really worldwide franchise though. The sales exclude Europe.

Why? Kirby Super Star Ultra wasn't out in Europe at the time of the article (May 2009, it came out September). Though judging in its UK chart and retail presence (and lack thereof) it probably hasn't even sold 10,000 copies in Europe (which I think makes it the biggest contrast out of all of Nintendos million seller franchises, Rhythm Heaven being another one)
 

farnham

Banned
Starwolf_UK said:
It isn't a really worldwide franchise though. The sales exclude Europe.

Why? Kirby Super Star Ultra wasn't out in Europe at the time of the article (May 2009, it came out September). Though judging in its UK chart and retail presence (and lack thereof) it probably hasn't even sold 10,000 copies in Europe (which I think makes it the biggest contrast out of all of Nintendos million seller franchises, Rhythm Heaven being another one)
dragon quest is a multi million seller that only sells in japan.. so is it a b rated franchise...? probably not
 

fernoca

Member
The are many things that GAF usually ignores, yet are well received/accepted and sell millions of copies.

Kirby may be "underrated" around GAF, but that doesn't mean is ignored everyplace else. Heck, there are many Kirby fans aroudn here still looking /waiting for the Wii game.
 

K.Sabot

Member
My friend would definitely agree, but I don't see the appeal outside of Kirby 64 (best game on N64 outside of Bomberman imo).
 

OMG Aero

Member
Neuromancer said:
Then how do you explain that he's white in the commercial?

Booyah!
NOA didn't want to market a pink character and since the Gameboy was black and white they just made him white.
If you play Kirby's Dreamland on a Gameboy colour the default setting makes him pink.
 
I always thought the Kirby games I've played were perfect examples of "good but not great" games. While they are usually enjoyable and have tons of abilities to play with, they're missing the depth of, say, Mario with its cool physics and metric ton of secrets that make it so fun and rewarding. The almost feel as if the developers weren't really shooting for a great game and were content with making a good game instead. The Amazing Mirror could have been an exception, if its level design weren't so scatterbrained and while Superstar has its moments of brilliance, I always found the minigame approach behind it strange and would have preferred a more unified game. What's Squeak Squad like, by the way? Is it a platformer or more akin to Canvas Curse?

By the way, comparing Kirby to Sonic really is a low blow: Sonic 2006 is a complete trainwreck of a game and I really don't think there's ever been a Kirby game this crappy before...
 

GCX

Member
Kirby Wii boggles my mind. Every year we see it on Nintendo's release schedules yet the last time we got any media for it was when it was coming for GC. You know, like 5 years ago.
 
Kirby's Dreamland - Amazing game. It got me into the franchise. I was in 5th grade I think.

Kirby's Adventure - HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!! Awesome! GBA remake = awesome in my pants.

Kirby's Dreamland 2 - Looking back, I'm kinda disappointed with this one. These were less powers despite the animal friends, and the level design was pretty bland. The rainbow drops were hard as hell to fine though, and the last boss was pretty tough.

Kirby's Pinball - Cool pinball game. Nothing special, but damn fun.

Kirby's Block Ball - Awesome twist on a classic game.

Kirby's Dream Course - I find this game incredibly fun yet hard. I never got past the first world. I solute anyone who can bet this game.

Kirby's Super Star - A gift from heaven, and the DS remake is a gift from heaven in my pants.

Kirby's Star Stacker - Very cool puzzle game. I'm not counting the Puyo Puyo reskin because... it's a reskin.

Kirby's Dreamland 3 - Very underrated IMO. Much better than Kirby's Dreamland 2. While it's more of the same, the levels are just more fun. The new friends and power are awesome.

Kirby 64 - Another underrated game. Combining powers and finding all the different possibilities alone was fun. The powers were very creative too. Darth Maul Kirby. Kirby CAN'T FLY in this game. At least not forever. His flight is limited in this game so it's a bit trickier. Of course, it's not that hard either. The mini-games are incredibly fun too. I spent hours playing the block smash game.

Kirby's Tilt and Tumble - Never played it.

Kirby's Air Ride - Never played it.

Kirby's Amazing Mirror - Here come Capcom to crap up another Nintendo franchise. Boring Metroidvania clone with a horrible map and stupid gimmick. The level design's ok, but there's very little to discover. Kirby Super Star's Great Cave Offensive was much shorter, yet packed with 3x as much hidden treasure to discover. The awful map just kills the exploration. The half-assed powers also sucked. They wanted to make it like KSS, but didn't go all out with it.

Kirby's Squeak Squad - Crapcom... need I say more?

Kirby's Cursed Canvas - I got it at launch, and at first, I didn't know how I feel about it. Getting used to the controls took longer than I thought. I stopped for a while to play other games and had to relearn the controls again. Once I mastered it, IT'S FUCKING AWESOME!
 
farnham said:
once again.. nintendo of america or nintendo of europe messed up..

the gameboy was black and white and therefore they thought kirby was white.. he was always pink in japan
OMG Aero said:
NOA didn't want to market a pink character and since the Gameboy was black and white they just made him white.
If you play Kirby's Dreamland on a Gameboy colour the default setting makes him pink.
OK fair enough but I liked white better. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it!
 
Sure Kirby is great, especially the older games (Dream Land got my sister into games) but man has the series really stalled for me. It probably started around the time of Kirby 64, a game I would have purchased had I not beat it so quickly at my friend's house. The offshoot Kirby games like Canvas Curse were cool, but the 2-D main Kirby style games do not interest me any more.
 

MMKirby

Banned
Einbroch said:
Curious...how?

Kirby now has retarded spinoffs like Air Ride and Squeak Squad.

They need to pull a Project Needlemouse for Kirby.


I'd hardly call Squeak Squad and Air ride retarded; both were pretty fun even though they lacked difficulty and long length.
 

BiggNife

Member
farnham said:
still sold more then metal gear solid 4 in Japan
At the very least, it was overlooked in the US. I rarely hear anyone ever talk about it, online or otherwise. I think it got overshadowed by DS hype, since it came out only a month earlier. I don't have any actual numbers though, since Wikipedia doesn't have any and I didn't follow NPD numbers when it came out.
 
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror was trash. Flagship had no idea what to do with the Kirby license. Amazing Mirror was unnecessarily difficult and the Metroidvania mechanics don't work when you have the potential to lose the power required to open up the next area just by taking damage from a single enemy. FUCK that game.

Squeak Squad wasn't much better. Flagship nerfed all the best powers and added a bunch of new ones that were really awkward to use effectively. It also retained Amazing Mirror's frustrating "one hit and you lose your power" mechanic. Who thought that was a good idea? Did somebody at Flagship hear everybody saying "Kirby games are so easy" and tried to change that?

Unfortunately, some of the nerfing from Squeak Squad was retroactively implemented in Super Star Ultra (two separate flame powers being consolidated in to a single power). :(
 

Soloist

Neo Member
This topic made me realize that I forgot for awhile that Kirby existed(Kirby Wii needs to be released soon :lol )

The OP is right though. Kirby gets overlooked. Canvas Curse + Kirby Tilt n Tumble are love. The rest of the games are fun too despite being easy.
 
Squeak Squad wasn't much better. Flagship nerfed all the best powers and added a bunch of new ones that were really awkward to use effectively. It also retained Amazing Mirror's frustrating "one hit and you lose your power" mechanic. Who thought that was a good idea?

In all the games before Kirby Super Star, Kirby DID lose his powers with one hit. You can't blame Crapcom for that. The rest though, I agree. These guys just have no talent at intricate design.

Unfortunately, some of the nerfing from Squeak Squad was retroactively implemented in Super Star Ultra (two separate flame powers being consolidated in to a single power). :(

That was also like that in the original Kirby Super Star. The fire breathing and fireball abilities were merged into one.
 
Cow Mengde said:
In all the games before Kirby Super Star, Kirby DID lose his powers with one hit. You can't blame Crapcom for that. The rest though, I agree. These guys just have no talent at intricate design.

That was also like that in the original Kirby Super Star. The fire breathing and fireball abilities were merged into one.

Was it? I don't remember it being that way.
 

Hiltz

Member
I used to play Kirby's Dreamland and Adventure all the time. Out of the traditional games, Super Star is my favorite. As far as the unconventional titles go, Kirby's Canvas Curse was the best of bunch in my opinion.

IT would be great to see Hal Labs and Nintendo revive the franchise on the home console.
 
My first Kirby game was Kirby Tilt'n'Tumble. It was pretty fun, and the tilt controls make me want a WiiWare version where you tilt the Wii Remote. The only regular Kirby game I've played was Squeak Squad, which was my first DS game. It was pretty short, but it had replay value. Also, it's fun to watch little kids play it.
 
It's Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. I thought it was awesome - better than even Super Star in some ways - but I never got 100% because the exploration was frustrating.
 
This thread is proof that we need a Kirby Wii. Sure, everyone here doesn't think much of the franchise now, but a lot of the posters in here would be interested in a new console game. I'm hoping Project Sora has something to do with it.
 

Salaadin

Member
faceless007 said:
What's the name of this game? Didn't know there was a Kirby Metroidvania.

Im pretty sure thats Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. And it was awesome.


I love the Kirby games. Ill buy them for as long as they keep making them.
 

leroidys

Member
It's kind of strange - kirby seems to be at his best when he is doing something drastically different, like that Pinball, star stacker, tilt n tumble, canvas curse, dream course, air ride, etc.
 

XenoRaven

Member
I'd say Kirby is very properly rated. A lot of fun. Some great games. But no appearance on a "greatest of all time" list isn't really a snub to me.

Also, I loved Kirby's Adventure to death when I was a kid. I played it almost as much as I played Sonic 2. Maybe more. However, it's boring now. It hasn't aged well at all in my eyes.

Kirby Super Star is still pretty fun though.
 
Sega1991 said:
Was it? I don't remember it being that way.

That's an easy problem to solve. Just play the game again. Pic any of the pre-KSS Kirby games and get an ability, then take a hit. You can also check the fire ability from KSS by looking at some walkthru/ability FAQ on gamefaqs for the SNES version to see there's only 1 fire power-up.

Palmer_v1 said:
588427_40261_front.jpg


My favorite Kirby game.

Has anyone here ever beaten this game? It's hard as fuck for me.
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
Kirby games are awesome. Bought Canvas Curse at launch and I still consider it one of the best platformers I've ever played.

I still have to try out SSU, but I'll surely do it soon. The old games, Kirby 64, Air Ride, Tilt 'n Tumble The Amazing Mirror, Nightmare in Dreamland, Squeak Squad - all of them are awesome and fun.
 

Sciz

Member
The Kirby series is about as much a platformer as the Mega Man series is. Navigating the environment is occasionally the central focus, but dealing with the enemies that litter those environments is the greater challenge.


The series has two main strengths that play off of each other, aside from the consistently strong aesthetics and music:

1. It's wildly inventive at its best, throwing new level design quirks at you every step of the way from start to finish.
2. It's wildly replayable thanks to Kirby's customizable nature, forcing you to approach familiar situations in a new way.

It's not the sort of gameplay that appeals to everyone in the way Mario does, but it's no second-rate formula (except when executed poorly, e.g. Squeak Squad, KatAM).
 

upandaway

Member
Cow Mengde said:
Has anyone here ever beaten this game? It's hard as fuck for me.
The golf one? I beat it on VC. I loved it but after failing hard at the outset I gave up on 1-hole shotting the courses.

I love it mainly because of that moment where you think for an hour and then you go 'eh fuck it' and you end up with an insane chain that ends in a hole in one. There were a lot of tricky stuff like getting an ability, using it, getting another ability then using it like 5 times in the same shot, in order to get a hole in one.
 
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