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Man, what can I say! I did not expect this game to knock it out of the park as far as it did. Way to go HAL! I am eagerly anticipating a sequel game already. If you're on the fence about this game, I recommend you jump right in, and I don't think you'll be disappointed!
I've been a Kirby fan for a long time, not as long as the series has existed, but I have fond memories of Crystal Shards, Super Star, Nightmare in Dreamland, Air Ride, and even Canvas Curse. I love how there's a lot of Kirby games that have the same core, but they experiment with different gameplay ideas and themes, and with each new Kirby title you can tell that the devs had fun making the game, and put their heart and soul into it, and KatFL is no exception! It's another breath of fresh air into this long running pink dude, and it deserves to live right up there with all of my nostalgic favorites.
The thing that initially turned me off from the game was the lack of abilities... I think the first thing I'm always interested in when it comes to Kirby games is what kind of unique and interesting abilities there are, so when I went into the shop to upgrade an ability for the first time I was a bit bummed! But the ability upgrades definitely make up for that! I think it's such a cool idea to be able to upgrade your abilities, and not just that, but many of them start by mimicking the regular enemies, and after the first upgrade, the abilities mimic the bosses, and some go beyond that, and mimic other bosses, or just get even cooler. And unlike previous Kirby games, every single one of these abilities is fun to use. Even needle! A welcome thing for sure.
It's such a joy to look for and find secrets in this game. You might be curious about going to a certain spot, or standing on a specific object and I swear, every time the developer puts something there. Sometimes it's just coins, other times it's a gaacha capsule, other times it's a waddle dee. But it's just so much fun to hunt for these secrets and find everything that needs to be found.
The level designs are amazing and the theming for each area is on point. I also think the length of the game is really nice, and while at first I was wishing for an even harder difficulty, I think the difficulty ended up being just fine, and landed in a place that was surprisingly challenging (especially for some of those harder to get Treasure Road times). I was also NOT ready for the Ultimate Z arena. That was KILLER. It was really fun defeating all of those amped up bosses.
The only gripes I can think of: I don't like gaacha. But that goes for any game lol. But like, in the end game, after I've completed everything, why can't I buy them in bulk? Or outright "buy" the whole machine? Lol. I also wish there were more ways to earn those Rare Stones in the post game beyond the arena. Beyond that, I guess it's just a few of my own personal bias's I guess? I love the abilities and their upgrade trees... but I still would have loved to see MORE haha.
Man. It is just such a good time. Super well done. The mini-games knocked my socks off. I just can't believe we have a 3D Kirby game and it's this good. It makes me really excited for a sequel. Could they go full blown, non-linear open world a-la Super Mario Odyssey? Could they add more abilities like I was hoping for? I don't know! But if it's anything like this, it's going to be amazing. NameBrand.
Man, what can I say! I did not expect this game to knock it out of the park as far as it did. Way to go HAL! I am eagerly anticipating a sequel game already. If you're on the fence about this game, I recommend you jump right in, and I don't think you'll be disappointed!
I've been a Kirby fan for a long time, not as long as the series has existed, but I have fond memories of Crystal Shards, Super Star, Nightmare in Dreamland, Air Ride, and even Canvas Curse. I love how there's a lot of Kirby games that have the same core, but they experiment with different gameplay ideas and themes, and with each new Kirby title you can tell that the devs had fun making the game, and put their heart and soul into it, and KatFL is no exception! It's another breath of fresh air into this long running pink dude, and it deserves to live right up there with all of my nostalgic favorites.
The thing that initially turned me off from the game was the lack of abilities... I think the first thing I'm always interested in when it comes to Kirby games is what kind of unique and interesting abilities there are, so when I went into the shop to upgrade an ability for the first time I was a bit bummed! But the ability upgrades definitely make up for that! I think it's such a cool idea to be able to upgrade your abilities, and not just that, but many of them start by mimicking the regular enemies, and after the first upgrade, the abilities mimic the bosses, and some go beyond that, and mimic other bosses, or just get even cooler. And unlike previous Kirby games, every single one of these abilities is fun to use. Even needle! A welcome thing for sure.
It's such a joy to look for and find secrets in this game. You might be curious about going to a certain spot, or standing on a specific object and I swear, every time the developer puts something there. Sometimes it's just coins, other times it's a gaacha capsule, other times it's a waddle dee. But it's just so much fun to hunt for these secrets and find everything that needs to be found.
The level designs are amazing and the theming for each area is on point. I also think the length of the game is really nice, and while at first I was wishing for an even harder difficulty, I think the difficulty ended up being just fine, and landed in a place that was surprisingly challenging (especially for some of those harder to get Treasure Road times). I was also NOT ready for the Ultimate Z arena. That was KILLER. It was really fun defeating all of those amped up bosses.
The only gripes I can think of: I don't like gaacha. But that goes for any game lol. But like, in the end game, after I've completed everything, why can't I buy them in bulk? Or outright "buy" the whole machine? Lol. I also wish there were more ways to earn those Rare Stones in the post game beyond the arena. Beyond that, I guess it's just a few of my own personal bias's I guess? I love the abilities and their upgrade trees... but I still would have loved to see MORE haha.
Man. It is just such a good time. Super well done. The mini-games knocked my socks off. I just can't believe we have a 3D Kirby game and it's this good. It makes me really excited for a sequel. Could they go full blown, non-linear open world a-la Super Mario Odyssey? Could they add more abilities like I was hoping for? I don't know! But if it's anything like this, it's going to be amazing. NameBrand.
Reviewed on May 27, 2022