Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe

Genre: Platformer / Music-Rhythm

Players: 1

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Review:

Dedede’s Drum Dash, first released as a bonus minigame in Kirby Triple Deluxe on Nintendo 3DS in 2014, and then expanded and released separately as Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe on Nintendo 3DS later that same year. This is a game that combines elements of Platformers and Music-Rhythm games, with players taking the role of Kirby series villain (and sometimes ally) King Dedede as he bounces on drums, with players moving the character horizontally and pressing a button in time with the beat to make Dedede bounce higher.

First, the good news – this version of Dedede’s Drum Dash is much more forgiving than the absurdly exacting version found in Kirby’s Triple Deluxe. The timing needed for hitting beats here seems a little less precise, the health bar doesn’t take as much of a hit when you touch an enemy, and missing a drum and falling off the stage no longer results in an instant-fail. This makes for a much more playable, and more enjoyable, game.

The downside? This is still a fairly simple game, and a pretty short one too. There are only 6 regular stages, one bonus stage, and then alternate hard versions of those stages. Oddly, some of the songs from the Kirby Triple Deluxe version of the game aren’t included here, which would have stretched out the length here at least a little bit. And while the game’s low $7 price tag offsets ths short length somewhat… it still feels like this is a pretty bare game, even at that price.

Another disappointment here is the selection of songs. The Kirby franchise has some truly excellent music, but most of the music here is only decent at best, with most of the selected songs coming straight from Kirby: Triple Deluxe. They’re fine, but when so much of the Kirby franchise’s music is incredible, “fine” seems like a horrible missed opportunity. Additionally, the graphics here are fine, but nothing special… which is also disappointing, given how beautiful Kirby Triple Deluxe was.

It’s a real shame this game wasn’t truly expanded on here to make it stand out in its own right – the gameplay fixes in Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe over what was in the version of the game in Kirby: Triple Deluxe are a huge improvement… but when the game is this lacking for content, and when it’s a game so heavily reliant on music and the music here is so underwhelming, it’s still hard to recommend despite those improvements.

tl;dr – Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe is an expanded and improved version of the Platformer/Music-Rhythm minigame from Kirby: Triple Deluxe. The improvements here really do make for a better game, but the terrible lack of content and underwhelming music make it hard to recommend this one, even at the low $7 price tag.

Grade: C

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