As is always the case for our favorite pink puff, Kirby is just minding his own business, taking a nap, when the world turns to chaos and disrupts his peaceful day. This time dark shards rain down and corrupt anyone that they hit. Now, it's up to Kirby to save them! But there's more to it than that, since for some reason all Kirby games have a crazy dark twist once you find the big boss.
Visuals
Kirby Star Allies is super cute, which is to be expected. It's bright and cheery and colorful, even when it gets dark. It's just a delight to look at. Kirby games make my eyeballs very happy. It is 2D like all previous Kirby titles, but it looks great. The final boss arena was my favorite.
Kirby has plenty of cute costumes as he copies enemy abilities, and there are more variations of the enemies once you befriend them. For instance, if you befriend more than one Waddle Dee, they'll be different colors. Obviously, this is to differentiate them for multiplayer, but it's still a cute touch.
Sound Effects + Music
I always enjoy the music in Kirby games. This one doesn't have my favorite soundtrack, but I still liked it. I'm mostly just here for cute Kirby noises, which are in abundance.
Gameplay + Controls
Kirby Star Allies is different from previous Kirby games, because it's multiplayer whether you actually play with others or not. You control Kirby, of course, but then instead of inhaling enemies or destroying them, he can befriend them! Just throw a heart at them and they turn into an ally who will fight beside Kirby until the end. You can have up to three friends at a time, which are controlled by AI if you're a loner like me, or you can have live friends join you.
Making friends is not optional, unless you're a super speedrunner who knows how to find exploits to blow past challenges that require more than one character. There will be doors and switches that require more than one character to activate then, which is never a problem, because it's easy to pick up new friends. There are also these super moves in some levels which use all four characters to do some whacky transformation. These were fun, but extremely gimmicky.
Other than the friendship mechanic, Kirby controls exactly like he always does. He can walk/run, jump, float, inhale/exhale, attack and dodge. Although, I did find myself just letting the allies attack for me. Once you get close enough to an enemy, they'll jump at the chance anyway. Even in boss battles, I'd sometimes just have Kirby float around out the way and have the allies do the work. If they get knocked out, there's a period of time where Kirby can revive them so they can rejoin the battle. It only matters if Kirby dies, so feel free to sacrifice his friends.
Having allies makes this the easiest Kirby game. Not to say that I never died, because I did a couple times, but only from missing a couple jumps because I couldn't see where I was going. That was my main issue with the game. The screen was always so busy with four characters plus enemies and hazards, it was easy to lose track of Kirby.
Aisde from just making it to the end of the level and fighting bosses, you'll also be collecting puzzle pieces. Some are out in the open, but some are hidden. Some require some puzzle solving or certain abilities to access. The puzzle pieces build cute photos you can collect. There are also giant switches in some levels which unlock extra stages.
Replayability
Kirby Star Allies is a short game, so it would be easy to pick up and play again. I don't think I'll be doing so, since this is not my favorite Kirby game. I will continue to pop in every now and then on my way to 100% though. I also haven't explored the post game content yet.
Overall
I had a good time with Kirby Star Allies. It was definitely a downgrade from Forgotten Land, but certainly not a bad game. It was just too easy and too busy.
Visuals
Kirby Star Allies is super cute, which is to be expected. It's bright and cheery and colorful, even when it gets dark. It's just a delight to look at. Kirby games make my eyeballs very happy. It is 2D like all previous Kirby titles, but it looks great. The final boss arena was my favorite.
Kirby has plenty of cute costumes as he copies enemy abilities, and there are more variations of the enemies once you befriend them. For instance, if you befriend more than one Waddle Dee, they'll be different colors. Obviously, this is to differentiate them for multiplayer, but it's still a cute touch.
Sound Effects + Music
I always enjoy the music in Kirby games. This one doesn't have my favorite soundtrack, but I still liked it. I'm mostly just here for cute Kirby noises, which are in abundance.
Gameplay + Controls
Kirby Star Allies is different from previous Kirby games, because it's multiplayer whether you actually play with others or not. You control Kirby, of course, but then instead of inhaling enemies or destroying them, he can befriend them! Just throw a heart at them and they turn into an ally who will fight beside Kirby until the end. You can have up to three friends at a time, which are controlled by AI if you're a loner like me, or you can have live friends join you.
Making friends is not optional, unless you're a super speedrunner who knows how to find exploits to blow past challenges that require more than one character. There will be doors and switches that require more than one character to activate then, which is never a problem, because it's easy to pick up new friends. There are also these super moves in some levels which use all four characters to do some whacky transformation. These were fun, but extremely gimmicky.
Other than the friendship mechanic, Kirby controls exactly like he always does. He can walk/run, jump, float, inhale/exhale, attack and dodge. Although, I did find myself just letting the allies attack for me. Once you get close enough to an enemy, they'll jump at the chance anyway. Even in boss battles, I'd sometimes just have Kirby float around out the way and have the allies do the work. If they get knocked out, there's a period of time where Kirby can revive them so they can rejoin the battle. It only matters if Kirby dies, so feel free to sacrifice his friends.
Having allies makes this the easiest Kirby game. Not to say that I never died, because I did a couple times, but only from missing a couple jumps because I couldn't see where I was going. That was my main issue with the game. The screen was always so busy with four characters plus enemies and hazards, it was easy to lose track of Kirby.
Aisde from just making it to the end of the level and fighting bosses, you'll also be collecting puzzle pieces. Some are out in the open, but some are hidden. Some require some puzzle solving or certain abilities to access. The puzzle pieces build cute photos you can collect. There are also giant switches in some levels which unlock extra stages.
Replayability
Kirby Star Allies is a short game, so it would be easy to pick up and play again. I don't think I'll be doing so, since this is not my favorite Kirby game. I will continue to pop in every now and then on my way to 100% though. I also haven't explored the post game content yet.
Overall
I had a good time with Kirby Star Allies. It was definitely a downgrade from Forgotten Land, but certainly not a bad game. It was just too easy and too busy.