Played through Dream Collection because most emulators suck at running this game.

For being the finale of the dark matter trilogy, Kirby 64 goes above and beyond the scope of the other games, for better and for worse. I really don't want to give this game 3.5/5 but because I think it's better than that but it's not 4/5 IMO. Let's say uh maybe 3.75/5?

The game already interested me with the double copy mechanic it introduces, and it's a pretty freakin' cool idea. Being able to mix & match copy abilties is similar to the animal friends having adding onto the copy abilities of DL3. Unlike DL3 with its 8 copy abilities, we've regressed back down to 7? It's not a big deal, but losing out on Cleaning & Parasol is kinda a bum deal. At least Bomb was added. I really like the weird transformations Kirby can do when using certain combos like Freeze & Spark turning him into a literal refrigerator (which is also the most broken combo btw), double needle turning him into a giant swiss army knife, or Needle Cutter turning his hands into a giant fucking bear trap. Now that's cool. It's so cool I wish the series brought these weird little details back, but I know the hats are here to stay.

One thing I thought was pretty cool too was the dynamic 2.5d camera. Having the camera go from different angles & directions and having Kirby not move in a complete straight line really helps bridge the gap between 2D and 3D. There are a couple of consequences I've noticed though. Sometimes the camera can make it hard to see where exactly you're going or how far you are from X but this didn't come up too much. The much bigger issue is what it does to the level design. It really didn't do a whole lot different from DL3, hell in some cases I think it regresses from DL3. A lot of the levels boil down to "Hold right". Some levels don't do this, however, and a lot of those are my favorites, Shiver Star especially having more variety I noticed.

We also lose out on animal friends, which I'm not too hurt over because of how cool the double copy abilities are, but you have Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Adeline (Who I wish they just kept her name as Ado) help Kirby out through the journey. Waddle Dee pilots whatever psuedo vehicle you're riding on, Adeline gives Kirby health & extra lives and can give hints for certain Crystal Shards, and Dedede will help Kirby destroy certain obstacles Kirby couldn't break alone. It's not much, but I really think it's cool having friends help you out, and I especially would not disregard more Dedede.

Graphically, I think the game holds up. There's a few ugly models here & there (the venus flytraps especially). A lot of the 2D sprites are inspired off of Dream Land 3's style & it's a style I think blends well with the low poly aesthetic. I especially love Shiver Star & Ripple Star the most graphically. The music is also very similar to what Dream Land 3 did, and I appreciate it a lot. It's got a lot of great tracks, although it does have some forgettable ones too.

Now here's where I really start to have some issues: The crystal shards. They're the collectibles like in Dream Land 2, except there are 3 in every stage and 1 you get after beating the world boss. Not a bad idea. Some of these are pretty fun to find, but the ones that REALLY suck are the ones that require you to use a certain copy ability combo. A lot of the times that specific combo you get you might only have 1 chance to get it before you can't get it anymore, and sometimes you can't even get that combo in the level, so that means you gotta go to pop star (1-2), get the specific combo and go all the way back to the level you need. It's very fucking stupid and it pissed me off a lot. Brownie points if I died or lost the ability in the middle of the stage, having to do the whole cycle again. Neo Star is VERY guilty of this, which is why it's 100% my least favorite world in this game. This is the third & final game where you need to collect things to get the good ending in the series, and all three of them have flaws in various degrees. I'm not sure if I hate this method more or Dream Land 2's method. I really don't know. Either make the copy ability shards easier to get or just make said copy abilities available in the level & there you go. I can't tell you how many times I had to leave a level just to get another shot at collecting those stupid shards. It's even more annoying when backtracking is sometimes LOCKED out, so sometimes you only get 1 shot to get the shard before you're locked out. What a nightmare.

It doesn't help either when Kirby is slower than before. He doesn't run as fast (at least it feels like he doesn't) and his float is just shit. It's even worse considering you can only float for a limited amount of time. Really? Did that really need to be changed? The only other game I'm aware of that does this is Forgotten Lands, which I mean that game is 3D so makes sense. This game is still 2D at heart so why change it?

The bosses in this game are also a joke. Even with 1 copy ability you can make mince meat out of them easily, which is a stark contrast from DL2 & 3. The ripple star boss though is a jump in difficulty with how fucking LOOOOONG it takes to beat it. Seriously, it takes way too long to beat him. The final boss is something else indeed. It's not too different from DL3's final boss, but this time it's a different angle, and you're facing 0². This is cool until you realize that Kirby's fat pink puffball ass is in the way, making it harder to dodge projectiles. It also wasn't clear wtf i was supposed to do. It took me a couple of tries til I got an idea and 1 google search later I understood exactly what to do. The shards Kirby shoots are pretty slow and can be pretty inaccurate, which makes hiting the band aid kind of a chore unless you hug the top of the screen. Same with shooting the cactus thingy but hugging the bottom of the screen. Wasn't really a good final boss at all honestly.

Overall, it's a pretty cool game to play, but completing it can be tedious & frustrating. It's better than Dream Land 2, but I can't say I enjoyed it more than Dream Land 3 or Adventure. I still think it holds up just because it's not 3D for the console it came out on, but the sluggish nature of it got me a little bored of it sometimes.