“Kirby: Star Allies” is going to be released on March 16, 2018. The demo came out in Europe on Mar. 1 while it came out in the United States on March 4. The game will only be available for the Nintendo Switch and, in fact, is the first Kirby title for the system.
The game will have an E 10+ rating from ESRB, joining the ranks of only a handful of other Kirby games with that rating. “Kirby: Star Allies” is a traditional platformer Kirby game in a 2.5D format, which means that the character moves in a two-dimensional plane while the environment is 3D.
A brief summary of the story’s plot has been translated based on a Famitsu article. “In a part of space far away from Planet Popstar, countless Dark Hearts scatter as a result of a mysterious ritual. Many of them fall down to Dream Land, where they turn anyone they touch evil. When one dissolves into Kirby, however, it grants him the ability to throw hearts that befriend anyone they touch. He notices some Waddle Dees carrying a large amount of food to King Dedede’s Castle, which has become surrounded by dark clouds. Kirby sets off to investigate this mysterious phenomenon.”
The Kirby series began in 1992 with the release of “Kirby’s Dream Land” for the original Gameboy in April. The game sold 1.3 million copies by May of 1995 and is ranked as the 17th best Gameboy game.
Since then, Kirby games have been coming out almost yearly. Within the last 26 years, the only years that didn’t have an official release within the franchise are 1998, 1999, 2001, 2007, 2009, and 2013.
Moving forward to 2000, the series gets its first game with 3D graphics with the title “Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards” that came out in June. This is the first Kirby game to have a compound ability feature, allowing the player to combine two abilities in the game to make a new one. Along with that, “Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards” marks the first time King Dedede (a main antagonist) is playable.
In Oct. 2003, the only Kirby game to be released for the GameCube was “Kirby: Air Ride.” As opposed to the previous installments, this game is a racing game. However, it does keep series staples such as copy abilities and the enemies.
Two games were released for the Gameboy Advance: “Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land” which was a remake of 1993’s “Kirby’s Adventure” and “Kirby and the Amazing Mirror,” released 2002 and 2004 respectively.
March 24, 2005 saw the release of the first Nintendo DS Kirby game titled as “Kirby: Canvas Curse” and unlike many of its predecessors, the player does not control Kirby while playing. Instead, they draw paths using their stylus to guide Kirby (who has become a helpless ball) throughout the levels.
Late 2006 gave us “Kirby: Squeak Squad,” another Nintendo DS release. It brought back the traditional gameplay of the franchise while introducing new features such as ability scrolls.
The game series has since expanded to all Nintendo systems, though it’s not just a game series. An anime ran from Oct. 6, 2001 to Sept. 27, 2003 with the name “Kirby: Right Back At Ya!” with 100 episodes to its name.
Erika Brandenburg
Staff Writer