When it comes to the many Nintendo IPs around, Kirby has always been one of the most fascinating. The concept of the pink fluff consuming enemies, assuming their powers and marching onwards into battle while has so many possibilities. Throw together Kirby’s unique movement and abilities and you have a sure fire winner. That said, Kirby has always felt like the “other” Nintendo character. Loved by some, and overlooked by many, despite strong outings in recent years. Hal Labs brings Kirby to the Switch for the first time, attempting to overcome this misguided perception.

Kirby Star Allies is a unique take on the Kirby world, and on the platforming genre. The game follows the titular character as he attempts to save his world, or something. Truth be told, as with so many of the Nintendo stalwarts, the plot doesn’t really matter, while the focus on design and gameplay is far more important. In terms of the latter two aspects, Kirby Star Allies has both in bucket loads.



Kirby Star Allies is not your standard Kirby-like platformer. In Star Allies, Kirby is able to recruit friends to assist him on his travels. To do this, Kirby throws hearts at enemies, who then join his team and with up to 3 friends to assist Kirby, very little stands in your way. The idea of throwing hearts at enemies certainly raised my eyebrow a tad, it sounds tacky and a little too childish, but once you get going in the game you hardly notice it at all, rather focusing on which enemy type to recruit so that you can get through the level accordingly.

The game is far more action packed than it is standard platforming. Each character has a skillset such a specific weapon or an elemental ability. Using these will allow you to traverse the levels, destroying all other enemies in your path along the way. What’s great is the ability, and necessity, to combine various powers and weapons into a powered up weapon. For example, if you have a sword from consuming one of the knights, and you have one of the little characters that throws or breaths fire, you can turn Kirby’s (and his friends’) swords into burning swords, applying different types of damage. While it seems like this might be pointless, there are parts of the levels you will find yourself in where you will need a specific combination in order to progress. This never becomes too difficult though, as the combination of characters you need is usually close enough to obtain.



Outside of the ability to combine powers, Kirby Star Allies also provides some excellently designed levels, with wonderfully in-tune music to back it up. At times it does feel a little too “cutesy” but never to the point where it becomes obnoxious. The levels have a number of themes (wind, fire, ice, etc.) and while getting through them might be relatively easy, there is a lot of reward in doing so as you make your way through the seemingly simple puzzles and platforming sections, and end off with the fast paced, almost Smash Bros.-like battle sections.

Kirby Star Allies is by no means the longest game in the world, with it taking approximately 6 hours to move through all the different levels. However, there is a fair bit of replayability with the hidden items through each stage, as well as playing around with the different combinations at hand. To be completely honest, the timing of the story mode felt near perfect, and while it wasn’t the most complex of games, it felt like the perfect time spent overall.

To meat things out a bit, Kirby Star Allies does have a number of other options. First, it can be played co-op and it’s here where the real fun shines through. Playing with friends (or in my case with my son) was an absolute blast, again benefiting from the simple (yet engaging) design, control mechanics and battle elements. Secondly, the game does have some extra modes for when you finish with the main campaign. None of the modes add anything overly different or impressive, but they are there as extras. Guest Star lets you take on some of the more interesting parts of the story mode, but without Kirby, which requires a change in tactic and actually makes the game a bit harder. The Ultimate Choice gets you to pick a team of characters and take on the various bosses of the game. Neither mode adds much in terms of variety, but it is variety nonetheless. The other two modes are really just mini-games where you cut down trees in the one, and get some batting practice on in the other. Neither is worth too much time, but again they do add something to the game.



All in all, Kirby Star Allies isn’t mind blowing, it’s not hugely different and certainly doesn’t push any boundaries. What it is, though, is a perfectly fun, simple gaming experience that’s enjoyable with or without friends, and near perfect for the Switch whether it be on the go, or on the TV. The bright colours and peaceful, festive music make it a blissful experience, if not an awe-inspiring one. It’s not going to wow everyone (or anyone) that plays it, but it’s not going to disappoint either.