Club Nintendo

[Mar1217]

KLXVER said:

JWeinCom said:

Complaining that Kirby games are too easy is like complaining that Call of Duty has too much shooting. Kind of why I think those games are underrated. Because the type of crowd that would be discussing 30 year old games (holy shit I'm old) are probably not the target audience.

Personally, the Kirby games were a huge part of me getting into gaming. It always seemed like something fun, but playing games were more often frustrating than fun. Partially because my mom would just buy games based on what she thought a young boy would like, so I wound up with games like Batman for NES, or Ninja Gaiden which really weren't right. Kirby's Dream Land was the first game I was able to beat completely on my own. When my little brother was growing up, he saw me playing games alot (I'm 14 years older than him) and wanted to join in, so I started him off on the Kirby series. 

If you compare Kirby games to other games made to be enjoyed by younger kids at that time, the Kirby series is head and shoulders above all of them in balancing accessibility, variety, and challenge. It is simple enough that pretty much anyone can play, and while not the hardest games, they're challenging enough that there is a sense of accomplishment in beating them. And the abilities system keeps the gameplay from getting stale along with, in the better entries, pretty good level design. For more expereienced gamers, it's probably not ideal, but sometimes you just want something you could mellow out and play. Sometimes if I'm tired from work or just really high, I kind of don't want a huge challenge, and the Kirby games are just right. Enough to keep your brain active, but still relaxing. Also a great game if you have non-gamers in your household. 

Return to Dreamland is one of the weaker entries in the system. It was designed with co-op play in mind, which gives the levels a sort os stretched out feeling. It's probably a bit easier than other entries and a little less variety than the better games. The megapowers were a nice idea, but they didn't do much of interest with them. But it's a pretty decent representation of what the series is like, so, if you played that and didn't like that, maybe the series is not for you. If you really want to give it another chance there are rumors that they'll be remaking Planet Robobot from the 3DS, which is generally considered to be one of the best entries in the franchise.

Well the game being easy is not the biggest problem. Mario Wonder is pretty easy as well and that game is great. Its the boring and uninspired level design. Kirby has so many abilities, yet the levels are so limited. I feel the same with the Yoshi games and Princess Peach Showtime!. Just made for very young children just beginning their gaming journey.

I didnt play Kirby as a kid though, so I have no nostalgia for the series. I started off with Mario, Mega Man, Contra, Ninja Gaiden etc. So I was kind thrown in the deep end at the beginning.

I mean, I was technically of a similar mind of yours back when I had basically no experience with the series when I got my 3DS. Played Kirby Triple Deluxe, found it middling.

That all changed when I got to play Kirby Planet Robobot. Arguably of the best action 2D platformer of all time imo. Levels creativity is arguably even better than Forgotten Land. The set of abilities there are also more fun to play it( Hi ESP, Mirror, Smash, UFO, Jet, etc ...). Whilst the game difficulty isn't far from the usual Kirby fair. It's post game content is low key brutal(The True Arena I mean).

It changed my perception of the series and made me even go back to play Triple Deluxe, which is a much better game than I gave it credit for. 

As for your take on Return to Dreamland, I'd argue it only suffers from the fact it was the first mainline game in the 2D modern era, which lead to mostly uninspired theming and pretty standard Super Star like gameplay. Game's good though. 

The additions of the Deluxe edition are pretty great though. Magalor's Land is a fun break up pace to the main game if you wanna dwelve into mini games and such.

But it's crown jewel achievement is the post game campaign after you finish the main story. You get to play a new character with easily one of the best moveset in series history. 

 Though since you didn't really hammered it on the difficulty because you also Mario games, then I don't understand most of your points. Kirby offers a similar entry point to its games, while peaking it's difficulty by the end. Might possibly be that your just not into the fact that Kirby does not prioritize pure platforming challenges in comparison to Mario ? 

Anyway, it sounds like if you were not convinced by Return to Dreamland Deluxe, I'd argue the possible Planet Robobot remaster could change your perception like it did mine. It really is just that good.