Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
- November 24, 2000 14:47 PM PST
- Email this!
Nintendo's popular pink puffball is back in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. While Kirby's a bit of an old-school standby, the fun here lies in teaching the old blob some new tricks.
- GamePro Score
- User Score
- Write your review!
Silly Rabbit, Kirby's For Kids!
Longtime Nintendo fans will remember Kirby, one of the Big N's last-ditch NES heroes as the industry was being pulled out from under the 8-bit giant. Since then, Kirby's survived on the Game Boy and the SNES (with a whopping 4 SNES titles), and now he's made his way to the N64. Kirby is a sickeningly sweet, caustically cute little marshmallow man who gains power by devouring enemies and stealing their abilities. Let that dichotomy sink in for a moment, and then understand: Kirby's one of the coolest game heroes on the face of the planet.
Kirby's N64 excursion is a polygon-based 2D affair, with classic platform elements forming the landscape for all the ravenous destruction of people and property that takes place in the game. Along with jumping onto ledges and avoiding predictable enemies, you must also ingest certain monsters and combine their powers to turn Kirby into a big, poofy bad ass. Swallow a fire monster and a stone monster, and you gain the ability to turn into a Kirby-sized volcanic rock-cannon. Digest an ice creature and an electric bad guy, and Kirby can turn into a tiny icebox that pummels enemies with frozen treats. The combinations are endless, and the most fun in the game lies in discovering the best combos for specific areas of the game.
Looks Okay, Sounds Okay, Is Okay
Kirby is definitely designed for children, with typically sing-song sound and little real graphical complexity beyond a handful of cool 3D tricks. Enemies are simple and quite silly looking, while Kirby is just a small Goraud-shaded ball with feet. You won't impress your friends with Kirby's graphics, but there are a few little touches, usually related to Kirby's special powers, that are surprising because they look much cooler than the rest of the game.
The game controls fairly well, with a suitably simple approach to playing that reaffirms the title's younger target audience. Kirby floats when he jumps, and banging the jump button will give him limited flight, so jump puzzles aren't quite as frustrating as they could be. The awesome process for creating combo powers forces forethought and dexterity, as you have to either spit one enemy into another or throw the power star you have at the other enemy to create a combo power star. Some of the combo powers you'll get are just fantastic, while some seem utterly pointless.
Laugh All You Want
Laugh all you want, but Kirby 64 is a lot of fun, and the little hero himself will surprise you with his crazy moves and wild new powers. Small kids looking for some simple fun will enjoy this title immensely, but older folks with a sense of humor can enjoy Kirby just as much.
