I like games that feel fun to move around in, usually. There's a reason why Super Mario 64 and Odyssey are some of my favorite games of all time; why I have a small soft spot for racing games; and I can't often stand turn-based RPGs for too long.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 gets so many things right... but movement is not one of them.
It's a fun game to look at, but not so much to play. Kirby's air momentum when jumping is instantly halted when he puffs up, and his float speed is roughly as slow and aggravating as his walking speed is.
The camera often takes time to catch up when Kirby starts running, resulting in Kirby running to the right side of the screen and being more prone to getting blind-sided from enemies.
At least half of Kirby's animal buddies' default movement are not fun (Kine, Pitch, Chuchu), to add insult to injury.
It's a shame, because this is one of the Kirby games with the best, most unique art, Jun Ishikawa near his absolute compositional prime, and this almost melancholic undertone that really sells this game - and its entire trilogy - in terms of atmosphere, and makes its overarching antagonist easily one of the franchise's most interesting ones.
But it's just not as pure fun to play as Super Star or the Kumazaki-directed modern Kirby games. The missions within each stage are poorly explained, even if once you understand their general structure; the minigames get almost impossible without save states, and the boss rush is one of the series' worsts.
But it's really, really pretty. This game gives me mixed messages.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 gets so many things right... but movement is not one of them.
It's a fun game to look at, but not so much to play. Kirby's air momentum when jumping is instantly halted when he puffs up, and his float speed is roughly as slow and aggravating as his walking speed is.
The camera often takes time to catch up when Kirby starts running, resulting in Kirby running to the right side of the screen and being more prone to getting blind-sided from enemies.
At least half of Kirby's animal buddies' default movement are not fun (Kine, Pitch, Chuchu), to add insult to injury.
It's a shame, because this is one of the Kirby games with the best, most unique art, Jun Ishikawa near his absolute compositional prime, and this almost melancholic undertone that really sells this game - and its entire trilogy - in terms of atmosphere, and makes its overarching antagonist easily one of the franchise's most interesting ones.
But it's just not as pure fun to play as Super Star or the Kumazaki-directed modern Kirby games. The missions within each stage are poorly explained, even if once you understand their general structure; the minigames get almost impossible without save states, and the boss rush is one of the series' worsts.
But it's really, really pretty. This game gives me mixed messages.