Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Released in North America on June 26, 2000 by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64, and developed by HAL Laboratory, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards sort of brings the pink puffball into the third dimension.

Nintendo has a reputation for releasing Kirby games for their systems after support for those systems has already died. Case in point, the company released the stellar Kirby's Adventure for the NES, two years after they'd released the SNES in America. I had to play Kirby's Adventure at my cousin's house because I'd already put my NES in the attic. By the times Nintendo released Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the SNES, I'd sold my SNES for a Nintendo 64 (you best believe, after a few years, I got another SNES). Nintendo showed the puffy pink dude a little more respect on the Nintendo 64, at least doing the courtesy of releasing Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards in 2000, a full year before the N64's successor, the GameCube reached shelves. Of course, by that point, I'd already bought a Sega Dreamcast. I'd moved on from a system before it had a proper Kirby game yet again. Of course, I eventually came back to my precious Nintendo 64, in the hopes of playing all the games I missed out on the first time. With Kirby 64, did I miss out on a hidden gem?

And why won't any of you look at me!?

One thing immediately stands out with Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards: it's got that Nintendo 64 charm. The game is colorful, cute, and accessible.  Watch or skip a quick cutscene, and a few seconds after booting up the game, you're Kirby, running across a sunny landscape, sucking up bad guys, and stealing their powers.

And trolling their sandcastles.

Developer, HAL Laboratory, wanted The Crystal Shards to be so accessible to kids, they removed the Nintendo 64's joystick from the game's control-set altogether. For experienced Nintendo 64 players, it's always an adjustment getting used to NOT using the joystick...however, HAL made the right call here. Kirby 64 is, at the end of the day, a 2.5D sidescroller, and the controllers D-Pad is the better choice here.

Though--and I am intensely curious about this--I don't even mention it in the review, I wonder what it would have been like to get a Mario 64 type game, starring Kirby with all of his powers intact. That would have been cool!

2.5D? Yes, instead of using the Nintendo 64 to launch 2D side-scrolling Kirby into a fully 3D world like Nintendo did for previous mascots, Mario and Zelda, Kirby is only eased into 3D realms (the series has generally remained a side-scroller to this day). Kirby and his allies and enemies are 3D, and the backgrounds and other objects are mostly 3D, but the game remains viewed from the side, except generally when Kirby is entering or exiting an area, and the camera moves behind or in front of him. The aesthetic here is completely Nintendo 64, without betraying Kirby's general style of gameplay.

That style in this case being "electrocutioner simulation."

That gameplay style is chill fun here, as long as the player is okay with Kirby 64's laid-back tone. For one thing, Kirby is extremely powerful. He can suck up enemies, and in many cases, steal their powers. He can also just spit them out at other enemies. Kirby can also float for quite a long distance (though slowly), and puff out damaging wind at any enemy that comes close when he's in the air. He can take six hits, though health-replenishing food is scattered around each level. Yellow stars, which act the same as coins in the Mario series, can be collected for extra lives, as well. If you do run out of lives, you get a game over, but the game autosaves to the cartridge frequently, meaning you'll just have to start back exactly where you were when you restart.

Think I'm just gonna float over this whole damn level.

The twist here from previous Kirby games is that once you've stolen an ability from an enemy, you can combine it with the ability of another, not only greatly widening the amount of differnt abilities in the game, but creating some very cool and inventive combinations. Everyone will have their favorites: mine include one where you can turn Kirby into a bouncing, nigh invincible firework, and another that lets him glide through levels, holding a drill on his head.

Note to self: come back here and use this caption to make a Katy Perry joke in the second draft.

The thing is, trying to play through the game with many of the different abilities actually makes it more difficult. There are some ability combinations that essentially make Kirby a super-being, like the fireworks or drill-head I just mentioned, but many are harder to wield and offer less of an advantage than being able to suck up and spit out enemies--an ability you lose once you've stolen an enemies abilities.

I guess it's less "drill-head" and more "Kirby gets pulled through the level by a giant drill, which he can also shoot from his hands for some reason."

Thankfully, though, if you don't like the powers you've ended up with, you can spit out your stolen abilities at any moment, and go back to normal old Kirby. You can also grab onto enemies, which proves particularly useful when you're underwater, and your enemy is a fish.

Nice to see a fish finally doing some work for a change.

Meanwhile, most enemies outside of bosses are killed in just one hit. Platform jumping is rarely over any kind of bottomless pit--I don't think I ever died during a platforming section. And yet, near the end, I must admit, I did get a couple of game overs. The game does get a little bit more challenging in the last few levels...but not by much. Indeed, the biggest challenge is again optional: the game's true final boss and ending cannot be unlocked until three blue stars are found in each of the game's levels.

Hey, orca boss, tell me where the blue stars are, or it's gonna rain pink all up in this cave.

Blue stars are sometimes hid well, and at other times, can only be accessed by solving a puzzle (not all of which are easy), or having the right ability. Getting all of them from the game's six worlds, and 30 or so levels, is a challenge. Indeed, you might go from five hours, which is about the max time it takes to beat the game ordinarily, to nine or ten to 100% it (your percentage is shown on the file select screen). Still, Crystal Shards is a short experience. Thankfully, there's some variety thrown in here to stretch it out.

Why isn't Kirby a mascot for breast-cancer awareness month? I mean, c'mon.

For instance, the game contains some fun multiplayer mini-games. Up to four players can either compete in a fruit bucket grab, a button tapping race, and a last-character standing bout over a bottomless pit. These are fun, even if you have no friends, as you can also play these three mini-games against computer bots. There's also the matter of collecting all of the enemy info cards (which can be obtained in an end level mini-game), as well as attempting to experience every one of the game's combo abilities (there are 28, total). These options stretch out the gameplay just a bit more.

Just like Kirby stretching out to launch a fire arrow, which I forgot to say, is my third favorite combo.

As short as this game is, it is undeniably fun. Controlling Kirby is intuitive and feels exactly as it should. There's a little diversity here too. For instance, at select moments, Kirby teams up with his pal, Waddle Dee, for some mine cart-style sections. My favorite is a downriver raft ride that amps up the game's energy levels just a bit.

Love those N64 waterfalls!

There are also sections where Kirby jumps on the back of his one-time enemy, Kind Dedede, allowing the player to take control of the massive penguin. King Dedede's sections generally involve smashing a lot of stuff with his giant hammer, and are an all-around good time. The game's graphics are also extremely pleasant, not necessarily pushing the Nintendo 64 to the extreme, but still featuring many diverse, colorful environments, and some cool atmospheric effects.

I mean, this looks pretty cool, right?

The music isn't great, but it's not bad either, featuring the kind of upbeat, energetic, positive tunes you'd expect from this type of game. Also, Kirby makes all the cute noises you'd expect, including when he explodes or vomits out enemies.

Also, if you beat the game, you get a sound check. Sound check makes Kirby happy. Don't you want to make Kirby happy?

Overall, though it's short and easy, and doesn't do much to break the mold, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards does have a singular quality: it feels like--and I hope this makes sense--as Nintendo 64 as Kirby can get. It's also better than the system's other cutesy mascot sidescroller showcase, Yoshi's Story. Crystal Shards' cuteness doesn't quite fall into Story's obnoxious territory, and the gameplay doesn't feel as simplified and dumbed down to a fault as Yoshi Story's, either. This review obviously isn't a head-to-head, but I'll take Crystal Shards over Yoshi's Story anyday. In fact, I'll take it anytime I want a charming, chill, no-stress platformer. Under those parameters, the pink puffball's Nintendo 64 adventure succeeds mightily.

8.5

Graphics

Not quite stunning, but very pleasing to the eye, featuring some nice 3D backgrounds, and 3D models for Kirby, his allies, and his enemies.

7.5

Music and Sound

High energy music and sound effects that get the job done, even if none of the tunes are very memorable.

7.8

Gameplay

Simple, relaxing 2.5D platforming, with some cool ability combos adding some challenge and diversity.

6.0

Lasting Value

Incredibly short, even when you collect everything, and wring all the juice out of the mutliplayer minigames. At least it's fun enough to bring you back for more.

7.8  FINAL SCORE