Home

 › 

Articles

 › 

Kirby Mass Attack Review for Nintendo DS (DS)

Kirby Mass Attack Review for Nintendo DS (DS)

Tickled Pink Ten Times Over

If you’re the type of person who can’t get enough of playing with a little pink ball (whether you’d publicly admit that or not), try going crazy with ten Kirby’s. Developer HAL Laboratory always brings a new twist with every edition involving the hero of Dream Land, and Kirby Mass Attack multiplies the action tenfold. It makes for a frantic platforming experience with a satisfying array of stages, building to an epic showdown. There’s certainly plenty to do, and plenty more to collect and unlock, which should easily justify spending your allowance. However, the game is tarnished with some frustrating elements, such as outdated visuals and controls that redefine the phrase, “easy to learn, hard to master.” The gameplay is a mixed bag of pros and cons, but once you unlock the minigames, you’ll find a whole new reason to play.

The story starts out with poor Kirby minding his own business, taking a nap atop a hill, when the sky suddenly becomes ominously cloudy. Out of the darkness appears a foul undead creature called Necrodeus, who zaps Kirby with a bolt from his magical staff, splitting the pink puff into ten copies. With his power also torn, the Kirby’s are easily picked off one by one, until a single tenth is left. With the power of his heroic heart (shaped like a star), the lone Kirby fragment must collect fruit in order to beckon back pieces of himself. Building his ten-man team, he must pummel his way through four different worlds infested with Necrodeus’ minions, the Skull Gang, then battle the nefarious nightmare himself.

Kirby Mass Attack Screenshot

Four worlds to conquer may sound a little sparse, but each world includes ten levels plus a final boss level, and the stages themselves are quite lengthy. However, the extended stages come with some drawbacks. First is the fact that there are no checkpoints, so should your last little Kirby bite the dust during a mid-boss battle, you have to start right back at the beginning. There are shortcut doors halfway through each level, which allow you to warp to the end if you’ve previously cleared the board. These are designed for when you return to search for the hidden coins, which will unlock minigames and other features. The problem is that if you’re looking for a coin hidden in the latter half of the level, the shortcut doors are rendered superfluous. Also, the worlds offer some flexibility in choosing what order you tackle each stage, provided you have the prerequisite amount of Kirby’s. This also comes with a disjointed choice, since you are not required to complete every board in order to move on to the boss stage, and in turn travel to the next world, but when you’re ready to take on Necrodeus, you must have obtained the rainbow coin from every stage to do so. Yet despite these incongruences, each level is packed with its own flair, with several path options and some simple puzzles to mix things up.

Moving the pink protagonist around is as simple as you’d expect, with all the controls handled via the touchscreen. Walking, running, jumping, and pummeling are accomplished with quick flicks and cramp inducing tapping. For the most part, the Kirby’s follow your stylus like a horse with a carrot dangling in front of it, but things get a little trickier the more Kirby’s you have. Since they can’t squeeze together in a single space, you must keep an eye on any strays that may get caught at the bottom of a cliff side. Also, keeping them all out of harm’s way is an arduous task, and sometimes you’re simply not quick enough to stop one from getting squashed or evading an oncoming projectile. This is exceedingly frustrating when trying obtain a medal for each board, which consists of a bronze for keeping every Kirby alive, a silver for avoiding any knockouts, and a gold for a flawless run. Considering the lengthy boards and no handholding, going untouched through a level only to take a hit from a lowly Beanbon near the end will certainly cause you to damage the touchscreen with some belligerent stylus taps.

Kirby Mass Attack Screenshot

You’ll find the endgame ultimately satisfying, but will probably forgo returning to best your score and earn gold medals. What you absolutely must do, however, is find all the coins required to unlock the minigames. Though small in quantity, nearly each game is given its own spotlight, feeling almost like a full game unto itself. You may even find yourself losing hours on a single one without giving the campaign mode a second thought. A few are designed as quick forays using the touchscreen, such as a Whac-A-Mole variant called Field Frenzy, a sprint race called Dash Course, or Curtain Call, where you have a short time to count the increasing amount of Kirby’s onstage. After completing the game and collecting all the coins, you unlock Boss Rush, where you try to defeat each boss as quickly as possible without dying.

But then there’s a trio of real gems. First is Brawl Ball, a pinball game with loads of secrets, separate boss stages, and an addictive nature that will give you a constant itch to play just one more round. Next is Strato Patrol EOS, which fans of Xevious and other on-rails shooters will find familiar. But chaining together ten Kirby’s and watching the firepower rip through waves of enemies is infinitely satisfying. Finally, Kirby Quest fuses perfectly timed attacks into a mild RPG that manages to be robust enough, with several levels and boss battles, to make it a fun adventure.

Kirby Mass Attack Screenshot

As you’d expect, the visuals in Kirby Mass Attack have a cutesy appeal, which hasn’t changed much from past Kirby games. Kirby’s still the same shade of pink, and the bold color palette of each world reflects its environment, from the lush green forests to the tropical blue seas and the orange and red shades of a rocky volcanic world. What it doesn’t do though, is offer much variation. Each stage of Green Grounds has the same sylvan background, as do the islands of Dedede Resort, which after the fifth stage or so, just look redundant. It’s not that the game looks rough or underdone, but when put beside the exemplary displays of Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby’s Epic Yarn, it simply fails to impress.

Kirby Mass Attack Screenshot

The sounds and music are also what you’d expect, but this certainly isn’t a bad thing, as the different Kirby sound effects and whimsical tunes have all carried well through the history of the series. There is disappointing omission of a couple classic compositions which usually show up in Kirby’s games, but the new melodies will be quick to hold your ear, enough so that when you unlock the Music Player, you may find yourself using it more often than you’d expect.

It’s hard to call Kirby a child’s game, even though its aesthetic is obviously geared toward that demographic. The gameplay and charm has delighted many generations of gamers, and the series has become one that most gamers will never outgrow. Kirby Mass Attack may cause you some grief if you’re aching for a perfect score of gold medals, but the span of the campaign far exceeds most platformers, and the few sparkling minigames are almost worth the purchase by themselves.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.4 Graphics
The visuals are good, but in a series that highlights bold colors and a lasting appeal, it falls short of its expectations. 3.0 Control
The simple controls do fine for completing each board, but mastering them requires a whole new level of patience. 4.5 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
Aside from a few missing classic tunes, the score is memorable, and Kirby’s high-pitched vocals are as endearing as ever. 4.3 Play Value
You may not be compelled to complete everything, but the lengthy campaign and solid collection of minigames will surely suck up many hours of your life. 3.8 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend below for a final score breakdown.

Review Rating Legend
0.1 – 1.9 = Avoid 2.5 – 2.9 = Average 3.5 – 3.9 = Good 4.5 – 4.9 = Must Buy
2.0 – 2.4 = Poor 3.0 – 3.4 = Fair 4.0 – 4.4 = Great 5.0 = The Best

Game Features:

  • Use the stylus on the touchscreen to control a swarm of up to 10 Kirby characters at once. They can help you defeat enemies and find treasure. The number of Kirby characters under your control is important, as some challenges require a specific number of Kirby characters in order to be solved. When the number of Kirby characters is increased, you can gain the upper hand.
  • You can control each Kirby character in a variety of ways using a stylus on the touch screen. For example, a Kirby character can be launched into the air with a flick of the stylus, or you can make a swarm of Kirby characters dash to a given point by tapping on that spot on the touchscreen multiple times.
  • By collecting medals hidden throughout the various stages, you can unlock a wide variety of additional minigames, each with its own distinct challenges.

  • To top