Kirby Battle Royale

Genre: Top-Down Action / Party Game

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Wireless, Online)

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Review:

Kirby Battle Royale is a family-friendly Party Game with Top-Down Action mechanics released on the Nintendo 3DS in 2018. This multiplayer-focused game has players fighting it out in ten different minigames with the same basic core gameplay, but different goals.

This game’s existence is odd, and honestly seems ill-conceived to me. The Nintendo 3DS is not the first system that comes to mind when I think of the ideal platform for a Party Game, and that this game was released on Nintendo’s aging handheld one year into the Nintendo Switch’s life without going to that newer platform instead is all the more puzzling. Surely, that would have been the better place for a genre that’s usually best with multiple players all gathering around one TV screen?

While one may question the choice of platforms, I will say that the gameplay here is sound, if a little on the shallow side. Players can play with Kirby using one of a number of his usual abilities, and depending on the game mode there are different goals, and attacking other plays may be the primary goal or something you merely do to interfere with the other side. It’s nothing a pro scene is going to gather around, but it’s fun nonetheless… if you can get together a group of friends with 3DS game systems. Alternately, you could try playing this game online, but suffice it to say at this point you’re not likely to find much competition.

There’s one other issue here I haven’t addressed yet – the $40 price tag is just absurd, especially when the game only has 10 different minigames/game modes. Even if you happened to have the right circumstances to play this game the way it was meant to be enjoyed, the amount of content here simply does not justify this price.

In terms of presentation, this is nothing special, either. Certainly, Kirby: Triple Deluxe set a high bar for the way Kirby games on the Nintendo 3DS look, but Kirby Battle Royale doesn’t even attempt to come close to that. It looks fine, but isn’t going to impress anyone. Similarly, the music here works for the sort of energetic lighthearted affair this is, but none of it is especially memorable.

What really frustrates me about Kirby Battle Royale is, I can sense the seeds of something really great here – the foundation is solid, and if it was done well, this could have been an awesome Party Game. Unfortunately, this game was released on the wrong platform, at the wrong time, with the wrong price tag, and with a terrible lack of content. I hope this game receives a sequel on the Nintendo Switch with a more reasonable price and greater array of content, but as-is, it’s just not worth the asking price.

tl;dr – Kirby Battle Royale is a family-friendly Party Game and Top-Down Action game where players battle it out in various game modes. The core gameplay here is fun, but this isn’t the right platform for a Party Game, and even ignoring that the price point here is too high and the amount of content way too low. This isn’t a bad game, but it’s just not worth it.

Grade: C

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