1997
Better than Dream Land 2, though that doesn't mean much. Beautiful aesthetics and great music unfortunately aren't enough to save this game from its stilted controls and subpar copy abilities. The completion metrics for each level felt arbitrary at times.
1990
Lots of neat things it was doing, especially compared to its contemporaries at the time, but it hasn't aged great since then.
Occasionally unfair, but still great almost 30 years later.
A vast improvement on the first game in many ways.
I mean, it's Picross, that's for sure.
An ambitious entry in the Kirby franchise, but unfortunately ambition can only take you so far.
It's a pretty obtuse Metroidvania that requires multiple players for the progression to not be a complete annoyance. The multiplayer features are pretty good (NSO-induced lag nonwithstanding), but if I wasn't playing with my friends I'd be stuck endlessly backtracking to get a power needed for progression or to go back to a spot that I accidentally locked myself out of because of a one-way door that I didn't mean to enter.
Also, a seven-stage final boss where dying at any given stage sends you back to the start? FUCK that. It's bad enough in multiplayer when there aren't enough lives to be distributed around, but in single player it must be a nightmare.
A remaster of the game with some QoL features (storing abilities, removing one-way doors, etc.) could do wonders for this game, and I'd love to see the Kirby franchise attempt the metroidvania format again.
It's a pretty obtuse Metroidvania that requires multiple players for the progression to not be a complete annoyance. The multiplayer features are pretty good (NSO-induced lag nonwithstanding), but if I wasn't playing with my friends I'd be stuck endlessly backtracking to get a power needed for progression or to go back to a spot that I accidentally locked myself out of because of a one-way door that I didn't mean to enter.
Also, a seven-stage final boss where dying at any given stage sends you back to the start? FUCK that. It's bad enough in multiplayer when there aren't enough lives to be distributed around, but in single player it must be a nightmare.
A remaster of the game with some QoL features (storing abilities, removing one-way doors, etc.) could do wonders for this game, and I'd love to see the Kirby franchise attempt the metroidvania format again.
Canas is so broken; he's the true MVP of this game. Might try the Hector route sometime later, but after almost 35 hours with this runthrough, I need a break.
2019
An incredibly solid entry in the franchise. One of the best endgames too. There's still some unsavory elements from 3 (cough cough Hostess Maker) that rear their head here, but otherwise, it is an improvement in most regards. The underground and rooftops are also incredibly fun to traverse, and it's a shame they didn't play into that more with future entries.
5:36 for my Unlimited replay (finished March 9th), 6:58 for my Unmasked replay (Finished March 10th)
Unlimited (3.5/5):
Simple, fun, yet also repetitive to a fault. Didn't spend nearly as long on this replay and didn't bother going past the 60 required starites. Wish there were QoL changes added to this rerelease (namely having a saved set of nouns/adjectives) but otherwise I found the onscreen "keyboard" to be pretty fluid. It's one of those games where you don't realize just how insane some of the programming behind this game had to be when you played it as a kid.
Unmasked (1/5):
Legitimately one of the worst games I've ever played. Takes everything about Unlimited and makes it incredibly restrictive, repetitive, and anodyne to fit with WB's DC branding. The Mr. Mxyzptlk challenges were barely thought through (oftentimes making some tasks impossible to complete because of the bullshit restrictions) and attaching point counters to every move the player makes is just plain awful. This game somehow punishes you for even daring to be creative. It's a shame this one sucks so much because it brings things down for the whole package.
Unlimited (3.5/5):
Simple, fun, yet also repetitive to a fault. Didn't spend nearly as long on this replay and didn't bother going past the 60 required starites. Wish there were QoL changes added to this rerelease (namely having a saved set of nouns/adjectives) but otherwise I found the onscreen "keyboard" to be pretty fluid. It's one of those games where you don't realize just how insane some of the programming behind this game had to be when you played it as a kid.
Unmasked (1/5):
Legitimately one of the worst games I've ever played. Takes everything about Unlimited and makes it incredibly restrictive, repetitive, and anodyne to fit with WB's DC branding. The Mr. Mxyzptlk challenges were barely thought through (oftentimes making some tasks impossible to complete because of the bullshit restrictions) and attaching point counters to every move the player makes is just plain awful. This game somehow punishes you for even daring to be creative. It's a shame this one sucks so much because it brings things down for the whole package.
Cute, short, to the point. Kinda loses its charm if you manage to figure out the cipher. Could use a bit more meat on its bones narratively too.
2021
Very cute game. Environmental storytelling at its best.
2021
Really fun puzzle game. Gets a tad frustrating at the end on first time playthroughs if you don't know what to do.
2012
I want smaller games with less exposition and more polished game mechanics made by developers that don't get their studio shut down months after a game's release, and I'm not fucking joking.
I'd probably have a much higher opinion of this game if it didn't tire me out by the time it got to its second act.
I'd probably have a much higher opinion of this game if it didn't tire me out by the time it got to its second act.
2019
A cute, charming game. Fairly quick to beat as well.