Review: Kirby’s Adventure Wii

Kirby’s Adventure Wii
Wii
Developed by: HAL Laboratory
Published by: Nintendo

Suck out

There hasn’t been a traditional Kirby platformer on a home console since Kirby 64 in 2000 so when Nintendo announced Kirby’s Adventure Wii (or Kirby’s Return to Dreamland as it’s known in the US) long time fans of the series were full of excitement. However, is this game really what fans of have been waiting for? 

As always, the story is simple. Kirby and his friends witness a huge spacecraft crash and it’s their mission to track down all the missing parts so that the alien Magolor can return home. The game spans 7 worlds, from meadows, oceans, mountains and factories and also includes a number of challenge modes, mini-games and ability rooms which are unlocked by collecting some of the 120 gears littered around Popstar. For those that beat the game, there is also an ‘Extra Mode’ which provides another challenge for Kirby vets.

The gameplay is pretty standard of any classic Kirby game. The game is a 2D platformer where you control the pink puffball whose primary attack is sucking up enemies and absorbing their abilities. The developers were really creative with some of the new abilities such as the whip and leaf powers along with new super abilities which give Kirby devastating powers for short sections of certain levels. These powers are especially fun the use and surprisingly don’t get old at all. As previously mentioned, extras are unlocked by collecting gears in each level. Some are much harder to find than others, whilst some require you to solve small puzzle to obtain. The game includes mini-bosses in most normal levels and a main boss at the end of each world that must be defeated to gain access to the next world. 

The game includes 4-player co-op play as well and players can join or drop out of the game at any time during gameplay. Extra players can play as a Kirby clone or other characters from the series, Meta Knight, King Dedede and Waddle Dee. The only disadvantage to not playing as Kirby is that you can’t such up abilities from the enemies you encounter and you also don’t have use of super abilities, some of which pause the game momentarily which n be frustrating at times.

The graphics of the game, whilst reflecting the cute and cuddly atmosphere of the Kirby universe look categorically GameCube-y. You can almost tell that this game was originally supposed to be released in 2005 simply by the graphical style and minor frame-rate issues. I am aware this is a Kirby game and of course, I’m not exactly expecting photo-realism, but I definitely think that the developers could’ve pushed the hardware a little further. By no means are the visuals bad, on the contrary, they are bright, colourful and really add a lot of charm to the game. The soundtrack of the game features plenty of memorable tunes from the series back-catalogue along with plenty of new tracks that really suit the tone of the game. 

Many would consider this game to be quite easy, but the challenge rooms and extra mode are there for any more experienced players and the perfectionists that want that extra challenge from the game. That said, the collectables, bonus games and 4-player multi-player add a lot of replay value to this game.

In short: yes. Kirby’s Adventure Wii is pretty much the Kirby game that fans were hoping would come to the GameCube in 2005; in every sense of the phrase. This game seems very ‘last-gen’. However, playing Kirby is as fun as ever (especially with friends), and although the game isn’t always that challenging there is plenty of extra content that adds difficulty for more experienced players.

7.5/10

MotD #9: Butter Building - Kirby’s Adventure

‘Butter Building’ from Kirby’s Adventure (1993)
Composed by Hirokazu Ando

MotD #7: Animal Crossing - Title

‘Title’ from Animal Crossing (2001)
Composed by Kazumi Totaka

MotD #5: Super Mario Kart - Rainbow Road

‘Rainbow Road’ from Super Mario Kart (1992)
Composed by Soya Oka

MotD #3: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - Dark World

‘Dark World’ from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1991)
AKA ‘Dark Overworld’
Composed by Koji Kondo
I love music on the SNES and this is definitely one of my favourites. Excellent music for an excellent game!
Alternate versions:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

MotD #10 - Kingdom Hearts II - Dearly Beloved

‘Dearly Beloved’ from Kingdom Hearts II (2005)
Composed by Yoko Shimomura

MotD #8: Resident Evil Code: Veronica - A Moment of Relief

‘A Moment of Relief’ from Resident Evil Code: Veronia (2000)
Composed by Takeshi Miura, Hijiri Anze, and Sanae Kasahara

MotD #6: Silent Hill 2 - Theme of Laura

‘Theme of Laura’ from Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Composed by Akira Yamaoka

MotD #4: Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - Theme of Love

‘Love Theme’ from Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008)
AKA ‘Theme of Love’
Composed by Nobuko Toda

Alternate versions:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

Past-Gen Review: Trip World

Trip World
Game Boy/3DS Virtual Console
Developed & Published by: Sunsoft

Trippin’?

Trip World for Game Boy is actually a really rare find. As of today, an unboxed cartridge is going for $129 on eBay. It must be a good game to be worth that much, right? Well, with it’s release on the Nintendo eShop you can find out for yourself for a mere £2.70.

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