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Thursday 21 February, 2008
Gameplay:
As I got further in the game, the levels started getting a lot harder. It was nothing I couldn't handle, but there were a bunch of secrets I walked right past so I could finish the game. :( I'll need to go back and get those now.
When I did fight Meta Knight at last, I noticed that he didn't attack me until I picked up a sword that was flashing "GET IT!" in the middle of the room. I thought back to the other games I'd fought him in, and how that sword had been there every time. I never noticed the implications of this. Suddenly, his character became clear to me: his dialog with his crew in Super Star, his seemingly contradictory roles: Meta Knight may play the role of a bad guy, but he isn't really that bad of a person. Sorry if I kind of went off on this, but that was a real "whoa :o" moment for me in the game. Also, you get to see his face when you beat him, and that's always cool. :D
Anyways, after beating all 8 levels and getting the last piece of the star rod, (and watching a funny cutscene) I got to fight NIGHTMARE, a new entity to me. I honestly didn't see him coming, either, I guess I was still expecting the game to do something wrong. It disappointed me in that aspect. :D
Design:
So, I beat the game, and had a great time along the way. But what makes it so great?
The move arsenal is huge. While most of the extra moves seem like they're making up for an inability to change dynamically (throw and backflip were two different abilities, even though they could have been one) but they did make for a good reward system! One of the reasons I kept going was to see what all the different and new abilities were. And getting a new one was always exciting (especially UFO, I wasn't expecting them to have that yet)
The controls are great. This game is really unique in that Kirby can jump infinitely, so in the level design it's important to find ways to lure Kirby back to the ground. You really need to keep a lusory attitude to stop yourself from just skipping over a level sometimes, but having that option makes it hard to get stuck.
The puzzles, although short, are pretty ingenious. In one level, I think Orange Ocean, there was a boss I had to fight in kneedeep water; too shallow to swim in and too deep to inhale in. The only way to get the freeze ability was to inhale this miniboss, or get it from a different level and bring it all the way back. The only plausible way to get the freeze ability and get to the switch was to get the sword and kill it with that, throw the sword away and suck up the miniboss. This struck me as particularly cool. With so many different abilities and combinations of abilities, it holds the potential for some pretty cool, if short, challenges. I think Kirby used that potential pretty well.
This is probably one of the better Kirby games, which was surprising to me since so many NES games don't age that well. Not only was it great by itself, but it set the mythos and gameplay for all the Kirby games to come. i <3 kirby :D
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