We Recommend - Post Your Top 5 Kirby Games

[Deleted]

Some of you will remember I recently had a thread in order to find the forums favourite spooky games ( hg101.proboards.com/thread/14812/hg101-boards-horror-spooky-results ). This thread is like that one in that I am again looking to collate the boards recommended games in the same format, but this time I am looking at the Kirby series.

For this thread to contribute to the overall list you can create a list of your favourite Kirby games, up to a maximum of 5. Entries will be given points based on their placements to calculate their position. (0.5pts for positions 4 and 5, 1pt for 3, 2pts for 2 and 3pts for 1). I also prefer to see reasons for your entries, since not only does that aid discussion more but it also fits my results format, but they can be as little or detailed as you like. It is not a necessity however, if you prefer just to list the games. Please ensure your entries are clearly numbered.

To be eligible the games must be Kirby series entries. Guest appearances or crossovers (Smash Bros) are not included.

This thread won't have a deadline for entries, but instead I will aim to keep a results list reasonably up to date, so the list may change over time if people want to join in down the line.

Of course also, discussion of related games and lists is encouraged. I look forward to seeing your choices. Also, since this is planned as a series of 'Our Favourites' threads, please feel free to give feedback as to how I can make improvements in future.

[Deleted]

Results Updated 3 Dec 20





Please feel free to join in the vote

[Deleted]

I'll start the ball rolling with my entries:

5 - Kirby’s Avalanche/Kirby’s Ghost Trap - 0.5pts
Similarly to how Panel de Pon was given a Yoshi coat of paint to release in the west back in the day this Puyo Puyo Super Famicom entry had Kirby injected into it for Super Nintendo releases. Whilst this isn’t the best of the Puyo releases for the time the puzzle gameplay is all intact. Defeating the game requires a decent amount of challenge and there is of course plenty of charm.

4 – Kirby’s Dream Course - 0.5pts
One of the more unusual spin off games has Kirby as the ball for a miniature golf setting. The gameplay takes some getting used to since you need to learn to apply the right amount of power, but once you get used to it this is quite an addictive game. Kirby can take down enemies in his path and take on the abilities, as you’d expect, which adds so me nice gameplay variety.

3 – Kirby’s Triple Deluxe - 1pts
The first Kirby game on the 3DS is really quite the looker on the system, bringing vibrant visuals and with areas that can be accessed in the background takes full advantage of the 3D effect. This is probably the most standard Kirby entry I’ve chosen, but it’s Kirby done well. Level design is really nice and the levels hide plenty of secrets. I found it well worth exploring to find them all.

2 – Kirby’s Pinball Land - 2pts
Perhaps unusually, this was my introduction to Kirby, rather than one of the standard platforming entries. I think it’s shaped my appreciation for the series since I enjoy the spin offs often the most. This is a fairly easy pinball game, so I think won’t please pinball enthusiasts, but there is a tonne of personality in the tables and I think the music and sound effects do a lot to elevate the play style.

1 – Kirby’s Epic Yarn - 3pts
This is a game that didn’t start life as a Kirby game, and that shows, with Kirby not having his trademark sucking/copying ability. The actual platforming is actually quite basic, with a lot of focus instead being on environmental interaction as a means to explore. As we pull at the threads of the yarn based levels, secrets are uncovered, and whilst the standard playthrough is incredibly easiy, this sense of discovery is the games strength. There are some really nice transformation based levels and boss battles too.

[ommadawnyawn2]

5 - Kirby's Dream Land
4 - Kirby's Adventure
3 - Kirby's Dream Land 2
2 - Kirby's Adventure Wii/Kirby's Return to Dream Land

1 - Kirby Super Star/Kirby's Fun Pak
Kirby isn't a series I'm crazy about; they are generally pretty solid and of course very cute, but not on par with Nintendo's main franchises in terms of overall polish, how all the mechanics work together and creativity. I haven't played most of the more recent ones nor most spinoffs, plus most of the ones I listed I haven't played in years so I'll just comment on this one. From memory, Super Star had the best overall mix of abilities with the only important omission being the UFO, good bosses, pretty solid levels, some of the best visuals and music, and it introduced co-op to the main series. Return to Dream Land/KA Wii is better in some ways (no slowdown IIRC), though it does have some mechanical issues related to co-op that I don't think were there in Super Star, and was too easy/simplistic in the beginning and various other parts as well as a bit drawn out in parts.

[dsparil]

5 - Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (0.5)

It's been a while since I've played it, but I always liked some of the weird ability combos like the fridge and Swiss Army knife.

4 - Kirby's Dream Land 3 (0.5)

DL3 brought the Broom, the greatest of all the copy abilities! So many people seem to hate it, but it's always been my favorite. The extra animal friends were a good addition too.

3 - Kirby's Adventure (1)

This was the first one I ever played, and I think it was even new at the time. Spent a lot of time playing this at my best friend's house which felt like it was halfway across town but wasn't even a full mile away.

2 - Kirby: Planet Robobot (2)

Kirby + robots, what's not to love?

1 - Kirby Star Allies (3)

SA is just flat out amazing. It brought back the Broom in even better form! So much post launch content too, and the news channel for it was very active for quite a long time. There's so much good stuff all over the place. I follow the director on Instagram, and he literally only posts Kirby content or sticks a figure into it if isn't.

[spanky]

There's a lot of Kirby games I haven't played but here goes...


5. Kirby's Avalanche

This one is cheating kinda....because it's just Puyo Puyo. But I didn't know what that was at the time and you really can't go wrong with it.

4. Kirby's Dream Course

Very challenging and pretty original to boot. The multiplayer is tons of fun - lots of ways to sabotage your opponent.

3. Kirby's Pinball

A damn fine pinball game. I think it's the best pinball game on the GB (better than Pokemon Pinball even!). Incredibly addictive and replayable.

2. Kirby's Adventure

The last great NES game? Such a huge improvement over KDL and several times the length with tons of secrets, mini games etc. It looks and sounds amazing too. I've never played never played the GBA remake.

1. Kirby Super Star Deluxe

One of my favorites games ever. I know some people prefer KDL 3 but this one is sooooo much better in my book. Just an overstuffed toybox of a game. I love the concept of having a bunch of smaller games, each with their own plots, gimmicks and even HUDs. I kinda prefer the SNES version for small aesthetic reasons - Like how the cutscenes are done with spritework instead of CG like they are in the DS game. I do have have a lot of personal fondness for it. It was one of the very last SNES games and I hadn't upgraded to a new system yet so I devoured everything that was still coming out for it. Buuuut to be objective, the DS version is better because it has a few additional games.

There's a bunch of Kirby games I still haven't played. Of the ones I have played...KDL 2 and 3 are very good but didn't leave the impression on me that Adventure and Super Star did. Kirby's Block Ball is fun but not as good as pinball. Kirby 64 is a very welcome game on a system that didn't have many 2D platformers - I just found it incredibly dull for some reason.

[Deleted]

There are a few I haven't played either. Apparently I skipped over the broom power up entirely.

A couple of things I like about the Kirby franchise are the diversity in playstyles and it's inclusiveness to inexperienced players and children. My partner can play the games even though he would normally shy away from action based gameplay. There is a bit of a nasty habit of a big difficulty leap for the end bosses though.

[🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀]

Nov 22, 2020 22:22:16 GMT -5 excelsior said:

Also, since this is planned as a series of 'Our Favourites' threads, please feel free to give feedback as to how I can make improvements in future.

Was just about to post a general Top XX games thread since I don't think there has ever been one.

Anyway, as for my Kirby favs:

5 - Nightmare in Dream Land
Probably the most straightforward Kirby game to ever exist, but that's kind of why I like it.

4 - Kirby's Epic Yarn
Very fun and creative, even though it's even more toothless than other Kirby games.

3 - Kirby's Dream Course
Probably the ideal golf game. A good balance between skill and planning. And fantastic in multiplayer. It's great that this seems to be more and more recognized as a great game these days

2 - Kirby: Planet Robobot
I really like Return to Dream Land and Triple Deluxe as well, but for the sake of redundancy I've left them out. I really like the modern Kirby games, but I'd like to see them mix things up now (though I haven't played Star Allies yet).

1 - Kirby's Dream Land 3
Part of the reason why it's my favorite is the soundtrack (best on the SNES? possibly) and the amazing graphics, but it's also just really fun to combine each animal buddy with each ability, and the buddies also make it impossible to just fly around everything, which I like.

[Deleted]

Nov 25, 2020 14:56:07 GMT -5 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 said:

Nov 22, 2020 22:22:16 GMT -5 excelsior said:

Also, since this is planned as a series of 'Our Favourites' threads, please feel free to give feedback as to how I can make improvements in future.

Was just about to post a general Top XX games thread since I don't think there has ever been one.

Anyway, as for my Kirby favs:

5 - Nightmare in Dream Land
Probably the most straightforward Kirby game to ever exist, but that's kind of why I like it.

4 - Kirby's Epic Yarn
Very fun and creative, even though it's even more toothless than other Kirby games.

3 - Kirby's Dream Course
Probably the ideal golf game. A good balance between skill and planning. And fantastic in multiplayer. It's great that this seems to be more and more recognized as a great game these days

2 - Kirby: Planet Robobot
I really like Return to Dream Land and Triple Deluxe as well, but for the sake of redundancy I've left them out. I really like the modern Kirby games, but I'd like to see them mix things up now (though I haven't played Star Allies yet).

1 - Kirby's Dream Land 3
Part of the reason why it's my favorite is the soundtrack (best on the SNES? possibly) and the amazing graphics, but it's also just really fun to combine each animal buddy with each ability, and the buddies also make it impossible to just fly around everything, which I like.

Thanks for joining in. Please don't refrain from creating a thread you want to talk about on my account. I was only thinking about posting one of these every couple of months or so anyway.

[windfisch]

5. Kirby's Block Ball (Super Game Boy)
One of the most fun and original Breakout-variants I've ever played and further proof that any genre benefits from the Kirby-treatment. Like all Kirby titles with Super Game Boy functionality it features some classy color palettes.

4. Kirby's Star Stacker (Super Game Boy)
Probably my favorite "falling block"-puzzle game. It manages to get my mind into a state of Zen: Achieving to land a large combo-chain feels deeply satisfying, even though those will happen just as much by accident as by careful planning ahead. And cute Kirby aesthetics are the icing on an already tasty cake and ensure that I won’t get bored. The Super Famicom version (Kira Kira Kids) is equally fun.

3. Kirby's Adventure (NES)
One of THE defining Kirby games, introducing features like absorption of enemy powers, a fairly large overworld and *gasp* actual color to the series. It still looks and sounds beautiful and while the GBA remake runs more smoothly, I prefer the clean and elegant graphics of the NES version.

2. Kirby's Dreamland (Game Boy)
It may be short and straightforward, but at the same time it may also be the most pure and focused Kirby experience ever. Being designed from the ground up for the tiny GB screen, the titular character's design is simple, yet utterly charming: Every frame of animation is carefully chosen, Pac Man-style intermissions and cheerful dancing after each completed stage further add to Kirby's personality. Even better is the music: Each track is oozing with joyful energy, the compositions and instrumentation make the Game Boy sound chip sing in ways rarely heard on the system. Pacing-wise the game is also excellent: Stages are brief, yet intense, every couple of minutes there is something fresh to do and see, it never gets dull and cutscenes act as welcome breathers in between. There is just so much attention to detail given to even seemingly minor elements. In many regards Dreamland feels like a more focused cousin to Sunsoft’s Trip World, released around the same time. Dreamland’s brevity and easy difficulty make it an an ideal "pickup and play" kind of game, accessible to all ages. It’s simply one of the most satisfying half hours one could spend. And naturally the developers didn’t stop there: Once the game is completed, a hard mode is revealed, which adds more enemies (and some slowdown) and attack patterns to spice things up. The remake found in Super Star is neat, but feels a bit overblown by comparison.

1. Q Boy (NES)
Speaking of relatives, here’s an unlicensed Kirby clone by the infamous Sachen (aka Commin), who’s games can range from utterly terrible to surprisingly good. Q Boy falls somewhere in the middle. Aesthetically it does a good job mimicking HAL’s efforts: The titular hero in particular pretty much looks the part ("Q Boy" even kinda sounds like “Kirby”), only is he wearing a nightcap of sorts. Music-wise it’s a bit strange, but I find there is some raw charm to it. Laudably, the good people at Sachen weren’t content to just lazily copy a Kirby game and call it a day. No, they actually added new mechanics and a bit of their own flavor to the mix: Q Boy has an air meter, which will deplete by either blowing clouds of air to push back enemies or to propel him further into the air up to three times (in addition to his regular jump). I’m fairly certain he is meant to be farting, but it’s depicted in such a cute manner that it comes across as inoffensive. Depleted air will refill over time, so far so good. However, once all of Q-Boy’s air has depleted, he will not only have to wait until it has refilled to attack or multi-jump again, he will also stop and catch his breath, making him immobile for short moment and a sure target for enemy sprites. That last bit alone makes the game far more frustrating and complicated than it needed to be. One further thing of note is that one can actually swap the player character to a Mario-lookalike and some enemies to Goombas and Koopas via the Select button. God bless Sachen and their cheeky sense of humor!

So yeah, it’s not a great game, but the novelty factor alone makes it worth checking out. Therefore it clearly deserves my number one spot!

SPOILER: Click to show

Okay, I won’t get away with Q boy, will I? So here’s my real but boring number one:

1. Kirby’s Dreamland 2 (Super Game Boy)
Similarly to what Adventure did, it takes Dreamland as a basis and adds a great deal of depth. It looks and sounds just as good as its predecessor, if not better, due to less slowdown. While notably larger in scope it still allows to be played in bite-sized chunks due to an auto-save feature. The newly added animal buddies somehow make an already impossibly cute game even cuter and invite experimentation with different play-styles. Finding all the hidden items to unlock the true last boss also adds some mild but welcome exploration and puzzle elements. In short: It’s got all I could ever ask for from a Kirby game.

[Deleted]

I have added the first results. Thank you to ommadawnyawn2 , dsparil , spanky , 🧀Son of Suzy Creamcheese🧀 and windfisch for voting. Also please let me know if I need to make any corrections.

I have also updated the title to 'we recommend' since I think this better fits the goal of these threads being for recommendation lists. All future threads of this sort will carry the same title. In the spirit of recommendations, windfisch , though I cannot include Q Boy in the Kirby countdown I have found a place for it as an honourable mention.

If anybody would like to add some words for the recommendation of Kirby's Return to Dream Land please feel free.

Also, if anybody else wants to join in, the vote will remain open.

[ommadawnyawn2]

Oh, nice. I plugged the thread in a few discord channels now, let's see what happens.

[windfisch]

Oh, very nice work excelsior - I love it!

I really appreciate that Q Boy got an honourable mention. However, I do hope people won't take my quote as a glowing recommendation

[jorpho]

Hmm.

1. Plant Robobot – What is there to say? It is a refined and polished product building nicely on everything that came before. Plus The True Arena is one of those freakin' sadistic challenges that flirts with impossibility.
2. Super Star Deluxe Ultra - There is just too much here not to like. It is packed with variety.
3. The Amazing Mirror - Like Super Star Deluxe Ultra, but just not as much of it.
4. Mass Attack - Sad not to see more votes for this one. It's a unique experience with some interesting challenges, and the variety of included minigames is a nice touch. But going for no-damage in every stage is just a little bit too tedious.
5. Dream Land 3 - Another refined product with a great art style, though it's more of an action-oriented puzzle game, and some of the solutions are really quite inscrutable. (Using Rick's Broom power to cure flowers is just utter nonsense.)

[Deleted]

Thanks for joining in jorpho , I'll be sure to update the main list before the end of the week. Afraid with Mass Attack, I found the game way too long for what it was, so I was bored long before the end. There was even something where you had to find all the collectables in each stage before being able to unlock the final world, which frustrated me a great deal. The mini games were very nice though so I'm glad you mentioned them.

ommadawnyawn2 - thanks for highlighting the thread on discord. It does seem to have gained a lot of clicks since I posted it so if people are reading the list that is the main thing I think. At least this way we can tric....err, I mean convince people into playing Q Boy.

For clarity I will combine results for Super Star Saga and Super Star Saga Deluxe so the vote does not get split.