Chachie
2011
Kirby Mass Attack has a lot of fun mechanics and a number of fun and creative stages. The music is great and the environments are well done (though a bit same-y to start). There's also plenty of meat on the bone for completionists, though I'd imagine 100%ing the game to be a frustrating challenge.
The only thing stopping me from recommending this game whole heartedly are the controls, and the level of precision the game asks from you in spite of those controls. The larger the number of Kirbys you have, the more awkward it becomes issuing commands. Kirbys will lag behind, they'll run on top of each other or spread too far out, and these little things can lead to one or more of your Kirbys getting hit. There are multiple enemies or obstacles in the game that can immediately KO a Kirby, which can lead to not being able to trigger a certain puzzle, or dropping a key, etc.
Now, I wouldn't mind all that too much if the only downside was a lower completion percentage, or not unlocking all the minigames, I'd be okay with that. But the game locks off the final world until you collect every Rainbow Medal (1 per stage) in the 4 worlds prior. Given that there are probably around 32 stages (something I can't easily confirm, because going from 1 world to another gets rid of all but 1 of your Kirbys) and I probably one had half, it means I'd not only need to replay half the levels, I'd have to be very thorough in exploring said levels. Now, maybe I'm not missing out on much (I don't know how many levels are in the final world) but I find the choice between "spend a lot of extra time replaying stages to collect all the Rainbow Medals in order to see all the content" and "spend a reasonable amount of time playing the game, but you don't get to see all the content" to be extremely shitty.
I spent much longer criticizing the game than I did praising it, because frankly I find it easier to elaborate on criticism than on praise in most cases. But Kirby Mass Attack is still a fun game at its core (Dedede Resort having a ton of really great levels especially) and if it clicks with you, I think you'll be really impressed.
The only thing stopping me from recommending this game whole heartedly are the controls, and the level of precision the game asks from you in spite of those controls. The larger the number of Kirbys you have, the more awkward it becomes issuing commands. Kirbys will lag behind, they'll run on top of each other or spread too far out, and these little things can lead to one or more of your Kirbys getting hit. There are multiple enemies or obstacles in the game that can immediately KO a Kirby, which can lead to not being able to trigger a certain puzzle, or dropping a key, etc.
Now, I wouldn't mind all that too much if the only downside was a lower completion percentage, or not unlocking all the minigames, I'd be okay with that. But the game locks off the final world until you collect every Rainbow Medal (1 per stage) in the 4 worlds prior. Given that there are probably around 32 stages (something I can't easily confirm, because going from 1 world to another gets rid of all but 1 of your Kirbys) and I probably one had half, it means I'd not only need to replay half the levels, I'd have to be very thorough in exploring said levels. Now, maybe I'm not missing out on much (I don't know how many levels are in the final world) but I find the choice between "spend a lot of extra time replaying stages to collect all the Rainbow Medals in order to see all the content" and "spend a reasonable amount of time playing the game, but you don't get to see all the content" to be extremely shitty.
I spent much longer criticizing the game than I did praising it, because frankly I find it easier to elaborate on criticism than on praise in most cases. But Kirby Mass Attack is still a fun game at its core (Dedede Resort having a ton of really great levels especially) and if it clicks with you, I think you'll be really impressed.
2007
Very generic story, really bland character designs, gameplay is a mishmash of elements from Advance Wars, FFT, Fire Emblem, etc. I'd write more about it, but the game just doesn't merit further thought.
2005
Meteos is a lot like Tetris (or more specifically, something like Tetris Effect) or Lumines, in that it's a very stylish puzzle game that I'm not very good at. I'd say my biggest complaint with Meteos is simply that it requires a fairly accurate touch, as you're asked to shuffle around blocks that are moving, often at quick speeds. I love the UI, I love that playing the game earns you currency to fuse into different things. It's a great game for killing a bit of time.
2005
The concept of Kirby: Canvas Curse is very interesting, and I think it wasn't far from being a real gem. However, the game just controls too poorly to be engaging. The water levels are especially tedious, and you often feel like you're fighting controls more than fighting enemies. I dislike that the boss fights are entirely uncoupled from the stages themselves. I think the games biggest strength is the visual design. Each stage is incredibly pretty. I wish the UI matched, instead of going for this technology look for some reason. There are several Kirby games for DS, I'd only suggest this one if you want to play them all.
Phantom Hourglass is an interesting mix of classic top down Zelda and the modern 3D Zelda games. I greatly enjoyed the touch screen combat, it has neither the rigidness of the 2D games nor the tedious locking and blocking of the 3D games. Most combat in Zelda games is kinda meh in my opinion, so a game that makes it fairly simple and quick is a plus for me. The early temples are a bit meh and I didn't find them all that memorable, but the temples with the Grappling Hook and Hammer are especially fantastic. The sidequests aren't all that compelling narratively (outside of Jolene's) but feel rewarding. I enjoy collecting the ship parts and trying to make a ship that looks great. There are enough diversions to make it feel like you aren't just blitzing through the story, but not so many that you are constantly sidetracked. It's no Ocarina of Time, but it's a thoroughly enjoyable Zelda game.
2006
The concept was promising, unfortunately I found this game failed to satisfy on any level. Sluggish gameplay, an uninspired shmup section, dull character design, grating writing. The pixel art itself was solid, and there were some interesting systems, but these did not do enough to warrant further play.
Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road's biggest selling point is its charm. I enjoyed seeing the reimagining of classic characters in a JRPG setting. However, the game itself felt like an exercise in tedium, and neither the gameplay nor story were rewarding enough to warrant slogging through it.
After reaching Oz, I found myself trekking through a labyrinth of pathways filled with enemies that could often deal 10-20% of your health. A particular fight ended with all of my characters at low health, after several missed attacks and an enemy attack that did about 60% of one character's health. By this point, I was out of healing items and had no way to get back to Oz to heal without going all the way back to the start. That was when I decided to bow out, not wanting to know how much progress I might lose if my entire party was knocked out.
It's a real shame that the first impression was such a poor one, as I think this could have been great as a "dip your toes into an RPG" type of game. The enemy affinity system is easy to understand and the game will select who targets who based on that affinity (though be careful, they'll use items mid-battle when you might not want it). I enjoyed the use of a virtual trackball to move, it was a unique little gimmick. Fascinating concept, subpar execution.
After reaching Oz, I found myself trekking through a labyrinth of pathways filled with enemies that could often deal 10-20% of your health. A particular fight ended with all of my characters at low health, after several missed attacks and an enemy attack that did about 60% of one character's health. By this point, I was out of healing items and had no way to get back to Oz to heal without going all the way back to the start. That was when I decided to bow out, not wanting to know how much progress I might lose if my entire party was knocked out.
It's a real shame that the first impression was such a poor one, as I think this could have been great as a "dip your toes into an RPG" type of game. The enemy affinity system is easy to understand and the game will select who targets who based on that affinity (though be careful, they'll use items mid-battle when you might not want it). I enjoyed the use of a virtual trackball to move, it was a unique little gimmick. Fascinating concept, subpar execution.