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Recommend me a Kirby game...

S

sfried

Member
I've gotten a little bit of burnout over March madness and really need to finish up Strange Journey and Fragile Dreams just before the June rush.

I needed to take a break from all of those "epic" titles for something that's a little bit more light and relaxing. I have Super Star but don't intend to get Ultra just yet because I know it will be one hell of a burnout, and I have Air Ride, but I'm looking for something more traditional.

It comes down to three games in the series (Adventure, Dreamland 3, and 64), and the fine folks at Talkingtime recommended me Adventure for just about all of its aspects.

So what do you guys think? I'm slightly partial to Dreamland 3 because I wanted to experience the whole "Dark Matter trilogy" and until they offer it for DSiWare or something, I could settle for a pretty SNES game.

Length and easiness do not bother me. In fact, the shorter/easier it is to get 100%, perhaps the faster I can get back to finishing my backlog.
 
entremet

entremet

Member
I'm actually a big fan of Kirby 64. It's wonderfully overlooked gem. The whole power up system was genius.
 
D

D-Pad

Member
Kirby's Adventure! Just played through it again the other day. Amazing game, second on my list of "traditional" Kirby games.
 
Dacvak

Dacvak

No one shall be brought before our LORD David Bowie without the true and secret knowledge of the Photoshop. For in that time, so shall He appear.
D-Pad said:
Kirby's Adventure! Just played through it again the other day. Amazing game, second on my list of "traditional" Kirby games.
Click to expand...
If you're not doing Kirby's Ultra Star, then Adventure is your best bet.

Do it and don't look back.
 
R

Rafaelcsa

Member
Kirby's Adventure is the game that made the series finally "click" with me. Not Super Star Ultra nor Canvas Curse, although I found them both to be enjoyable games. I think Kirby's high point is in its energy. Sakurai's games tend to have such a high amount of energy in them (Smash Bros included). Kirby's Adventure is the game that best captures that for me with its extremely fast and short-ish levels. I still haven't played the 2 gameboy Kirby's Dreamlands, though, so I'm not sure how those compare.

Upon completing Kirby's Adventure recently, I immeadiatly went on to Kirby - Nightmare in Dreamland and I almost never do this kind of quickly replaying a game, even if the second one is a remake. I might have become a big Kirby fan now. :D

Make sure to go for 100% completion (by finding all secret rooms) and I'm sure you'll enjoy Kirby's Adventure very much.
 
S

sfried

Member
I also noticed a lot of people seem to really love Kirby 64. Why is that so?

(And why is it that the more I watch vids of Dreamland 3, the more I want to be rolled by a huge cat?)
 
H

Haly

One day I realized that sadness is just another word for not enough coffee.
Kirby Canvas Curse is, while a great, game not the most indicative example of the Kirby experience.

It'd be like suggesting MMBN (even though MMBN isn't nearly as good) to someone who wants a Megaman recommendation.

My vote goes to Kirby Super/Ultra Star.

The reason people like kirby 64 is because, despite being a very slow and easy game, it had an interesting ability system with a lot of funny effects. And it was generally a relaxing and entertaining game to play.
 
Allan Holdsworth

Allan Holdsworth

Member
My top 5:
1. Super Star/Ultra (SNES/DS)
2. The Amazing Mirror (GBA)
3. Canvas Curse (DS)
4. Adventure/Nightmare in Dreamland (NES/GBA)
5. Dream Land 2 (GB)

So yes, out of those, Adventure.
 
S

sfried

Member
There's a lot of strong secondary responses towards Canvas Curse. I've never played that nor the other games (Amazing Mirror, Squeak Squad). I've heard varying levels of acclaim/criticism for those games.
 
A Black Falcon

A Black Falcon

Member
Kirby games are great... but of those three, Adventure is the best. Dream Land 3 and 64 are decently good games, but compared to the previous ones they feel slow and somehow not quite as good. Kirby 64 disappointed me back when it came out, I was hoping for an amazing game the equal of Kirby 2 but it wasn't even close. It's not even my favorite 2.5d N64 platformer, I like Goemon's Great Adventure more. In retrospect it's not actually horrible, and it probably is worth playing (though getting all of the crystal shards is a huge pain! So frustrating!), but it was disappointing. Dream Land 2 is still my favorite game in the series. Adventure is exceptional, though... very, very good game. It's got challenge (sure, for a NES platformer it's easy, but for a Kirby game it's got challenge), some of the best graphics on its system, stuff to unlock, a bunch of fun minigames, great levels, a feel that reminds me a lot of Kirby 2 (which came out later of course) but with color... it's without question one of the best platformers on the NES, and pretty much the only one with battery save too, which I definitely think is a good thing.

... On that note, I did love the Kirby 64 minigames... the Hundred Yard Hop and block-dropping minigame were both fantastic, particularly in multiplayer. The pick-up-the-apples one wasn't nearly as good, but the other two were so good that I didn't mind.

As for Kirby 3, I've only played a bit of it, and it seemed okay but with that same oddly slow-paced feel of Kirby 64... it does look very nice and play well, but the slow gameplay just isn't that fun, in my opinion.


As for some of the other games...

Canvass Curse is a great idea, done pretty well.

The original game (Kirby's Dream Land) is really short and easy, unless you play in Expert Mode with limited health, but it's a pretty good game even so... it won't last long at all, to say the least, but still, it is a good game. It does have nostalgia value for me which helps, too. The later platformers are mostly better, certainly, but that doesn't mean it's bad.

Kirby Pinball is exceptional, one of my favorite pinball games ever and Nintendo's best pinball game. Amazing work! Graphics, music, gameplay, design... just outstanding stuff, I have nothing bad to say about this game. Great for many hours of fun.

Air Ride would have been good if they'd remembered to include an actual single player mode, but they didn't, so unless you're playing it multiplayer it's pretty much worthless. Very disappointing game as a result. The tracks are great, the graphics good, the three modes all interesting, there are a lot of vehicles to use... but the unlocking system is horribly badly designed and really annoying, and there's NO ACTUAL GAME HERE! It's just single race with enemies of selectable difficulty level! Unbelievable... this stuff was barely acceptable in 1995, never mind 2004. The control system wasn't great either (brake and attack on one button issometimes annoying). It does work and isn't the worst thing about the game, though... the missing single player mode is that, and that's why the game's so incredibly disappointing.

Block Ball's pretty good, some clever new ideas for Breakout gameplay there that would have been awesome to see again in more games in the genre. Definitely a must-play game for all Breakout or Arkanoid fans.
 
S

sfried

Member
People keep saying Canvas Curse, but I was looking for more of a console installment than a handheld one. And my pocket backlog is stacked (that brings me to another game not mentioned here: Kirby's Star Stacker and its SNES counterpart that was never released outside Japan).
 
FrostuTheNinja

FrostuTheNinja

Member
Kirby 64 is surprisingly getting some hate, which it shouldn't. It's one of the best in the series. Canvas Curse is a great Kirby spin off but so is Kirby's Air Ride.

Adventure will forever remain king, though.
 
Z

ZeoVGM

Banned
FrostuTheNinja said:
Kirby 64 is surprisingly getting some hate, which it shouldn't. It's one of the best in the series. Canvas Curse is a great Kirby spin off but so is Kirby's Air Ride.

Adventure will forever remain king, though.
Click to expand...

Not sure how Canvas is a spinoff, as it's a platformer. It's just unique.

Air Ride is shit, however.
 
S

sfried

Member
omg rite said:
Air Ride is shit, however.
Click to expand...
Ah, but THAT is where you're wrong.

I have this game, and Air Ride is pretty much "Kirby Super Star Racing". Don't let the one-button setup fool you. Challenges can get surprisingly difficult. City Trial is king.

Though I'm not in the mood for it right now as it can get incredibly fast paced.
 
Y

yencid

Member
sfried said:
Ah, but THAT is where you're wrong.

I have this game, and Air Ride is pretty much "Kirby Super Star Racing". Don't let the one-button setup fool you. Challenges can get surprisingly difficult. City Trial is king.

Though I'm not in the mood for it right now as it can get incredibly fast paced.
Click to expand...

kirby air ride was fucking awesome! it was so much fun playing MP against my friends... its really under appreciated but i found it amazingly fun.
 
S

sfried

Member
yencid said:
kirby air ride was fucking awesome! it was so much fun playing MP against my friends... its really under appreciated but i found it amazingly fun.
Click to expand...
My GC even has a broadband adapter for some funtime LAN action, abeit I am in need of looking for people with a GC setup such as mine (GC, KAR game, bb adapter).

Going back on topic, I think I'm now double-obligated to get Adventure, but I really wanted to try out the animal helpers (especially the cat!), not to mention the added benefit of have co-op, so I settled for Dreamland 3 for now.

Of course, now I regret not having a Classic Controller (I have a Hori GameCube SNES pad), so having to jump and suck up/use power can be a pain at times. Maybe I should've just gotten Adventure in the meantime.
 
L

Llyranor

Member
Canvas Curse is fantastic. First game to really sell me on the stylus controls.

Superstar is great fun in co-op too.
 
S

sfried

Member
It seems plenty of people haven't read the first post.

Super Star's a great game, believe me, but completing it is no relaxing matter (not to mention I've played it to death). I was looking for a more laid-back kind of game that lets you relax, sort of like Soul Bubbles. Only my eyes need a rest from the portable screen after hours of Strange Journey-ing. Oddly enough, I'm also playing Fragile, but find myself trying too hard to try to finish it (mainly because the sappyness is turning me off). That's where the trio I listed appears, and it seems for the first time, I should've listened.

That said, how's Canvas Curse compared to, say, Squeak Squad and the GBA games?
 
S

Sciz

Member
sfried said:
So I have some slight hesitance before getting Adventure. Does Dark Matter appear in this game?
Click to expand...
No. Dark Matter
and by extension Zero
is restricted to the Dream Land branch of the series, though similar entities exist in the Adventure branch.
 
S

sfried

Member
So I got the best ending, but the file only says 97%. I noticed the two new modes available. Do I have to beat both? I tried the mini games, but could only get 3 out of 5 perfect.
 
C

Cow Mengde

Banned
I recommend Kirby 64 and Kirby's Dreamland 3 more only because these 2 deserve more credit. I found both of them to have some of the more devious and creative puzzles out of all the Kirby games.
 
S

Shig

Strap on your hooker ...
Adventure has a really super-iconic vibe to it that the rest of the series never attained as well, imo.
 
S

sfried

Member
Cow Mengde said:
I recommend Kirby 64 and Kirby's Dreamland 3 more only because these 2 deserve more credit. I found both of them to have some of the more devious and creative puzzles out of all the Kirby games.
Click to expand...
I've just finished Dreamland 3 on my VC (okay, maybe 97%. It's still close). My god, those mini-games where fustrating (the guess the number of coloured/faces Gordo, Chef Kawasaki's note memorization), but the final true boss and music make up for it.

And that painter girl...Doesn't she also appear in 64?
Shig said:
Adventure has a really super-iconic vibe to it that the rest of the series never attained as well, imo.
Click to expand...
They mentioned it had something to do with the powers and their placement in the levels, as well as having better balanced/well thought of powers.
 
M

MMKirby

Banned
braves01 said:
Canvas Curse

/thread
Click to expand...


This.

Canvas curse is the most difficult kirby game I've ever played, and I've logged over 22 hours into that game trying to 100% it. I still can't, I've only reached 99.2%. The sub games are fucking difficult.
 
P

Poyunch

Member
I had a lot of fun messing with the different powerups in Kirby 64. Exploding ninja stars and dual lightsabers were the best.
 
S

sfried

Member
Jroderton said:
Kirby's Dreamland 1 and 2. Gameboy. My faves.
Click to expand...
How does Dreamland 3 compare?

Speaking of which, which games in the series have the best soundtrack. I could already tell that perhaps Super Star (Ultra) would have that credit knowing the number of people who have remixed its tunes, but are there others?
 
D

Doorman

Member
Some of this is admittedly nostalgia talking, but I think that Kirby's Adventure has a fantastic soundtrack. I can recall most of the music from that game instantly from memory, and it's probably still my overall favorite game of the series. I'd agree with the folks that have said that it's faster-paced than the other games being discussed here.

Dreamland 3 and 64 are similar in the sense that they put a lot of focus into combinations of abilities and using them to solve specific puzzles. There's a bit less of that "you need X power to get to this" in Adventure, but the levels are interesting and the way the game plays just feels right. Definitely play it if you get the chance.
 
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