In Kirby Star Allies, the gameplay possibilities are expanded even further with the ability to imbue allies with elemental abilities. Others, like the the web-flinging spider and the Earthbound-inspired ESP, are extremely fun to use and make the game all the more enjoyable. My personal favorite was the staff ability, allowing you to bounce around, and poke and jab at enemies at a medium range. There are fire, electric and water abilities and allies, but also more unique ones. I was a little disappointed that there weren’t some powers in this entry of Kirby, such as the leaf ability, but what this game offers is a sufficient roster. Star allies can throw hearts to change their powers as well, so you aren’t restricted to just one ability. Alternatively, up to three other players can join in on the fun and become one of the enemies or “star allies.” The throw of a heart from Kirby – a new mechanic in this game – will make an applicable enemy become an ally, allowing players to jump in and help out. Much like Kirby Super Star, each ability has a list of surprisingly complex combos. Player one controls Kirby, and Kirby can suck them up to gain their abilities, par for the course. The cream of the crop in Kirby Star Allies are the enemies that can become potential allies. In some segments, there will be swimming sections, or parts of the earth will move as you traverse your way to the end, but it all transitions smoothly and allows players of any skill level to maneuver it efficiently. The platforming itself is simple and doesn’t provide much of a challenge, but it is thoughtfully done, and I never thought that any area was superfluous or out of place. One problem is that the game plays in 30 FPS, but it never seems to dip below that at any time despite a barrage of particle effects and enemies filling the screen. The backgrounds of the levels are colorful and vibrant, and the foreground of the levels are delicately detailed. Each level is beautifully rendered in HD. You start out in the lush green hills of Dream Land, but as you go on, you venture into space and platform on different planets and other intergalactic objects. The game has four worlds total, each packed with increasingly more levels to puff and platform your way through. A robed baddie in a space station-like ship causes dark matter to fall on Kirby’s world. That’s about all you will get in terms of story for most of the game, but it doesn’t need to expand – it just works. The opening cutscene, which takes full advantage of the Switch’s graphical capabilities, is beautiful and sets the stage for the rest of the game. Kirby games aren’t typically heavy on the story in a traditional sense – they rely more on showing rather than telling, with deep lore, rich for the more observant. It’s a beautifully simple game that offers a good amount of content and tons of fun. Kirby Star Allies takes what works well from previous games in the series and meshes them together to make a top-notch co-op experience.
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