Kirby Fighters Deluxe

Genre: Fighting Game / Platformer / Party Game

Players: 1-4 Competitive / Team Competitive (Local Wireless)

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Review:

Kirby Fighters was originally released as a minigame in the 3DS game Kirby Triple Deluxe in 2014, and then released separately as an expanded game later that year. In the time since this game’s release, the Nintendo Switch has seen the release of a so-called sequel, Kirby Fighters 2, which… well, it’s pretty much the same game, honestly. As such, much of this review will be copy-pasted from that review.

Kirby Fighters Deluxe is a family-friendly game that combines elements of Fighting Games, Platformers, and Party Games in much the same way that the Super Smash Bros. series does, with players controlling their characters in a manner comparable to a Platformer, but with the gameplay focused on fighting opponents in a variety of arenas with various hazards and randomly-spawning upgrade items.

Visually, Kirby Fighters Deluxe looks very nice and extremely polished, albeit not especially impressive. While the gameplay is in 2D, characters and stages are rendered in 3D with some nice animation. This is all backed a remixed versions of classic Kirby series tunes that works well enough for this game but doesn’t really distinguish itself from other great versions of these same themes throughout the series as well as in the Smash Bros. games Kirby Fighters Deluxe bears a strong resemblance to.

However, the problems here begin when you look at the roster of playable characters and see that it’s just… different versions of Kirby with various power-ups. What’s more, the move sets here are pretty much just the move sets from the Kirby games – there isn’t a varied and nuanced array of moves for the characters that you’d see in the Smash Bros. games.

To the game’s credit, each of the game’s fighters has a reasonably varied assortment of attacks, but these attacks could have just as easily been delivered by the long-running series enemies that Kirby copies these abilities from like Poppy Bros. and Sir Kibble, which would have made for a lot more variety.

Despite the lack of variety in the way the fighters look, there actually seems to have been some decent attempt made here to ensure that these characters do have some good nuance to their attacks and as far as I can tell things seem reasonably balanced. Having said that, movement here seems much more sluggish and floaty compared to Super Smash Bros., and just overall this game’s depth and variety simply does not hold a candle to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which will already undoubtedly be in the game library of many players considering a purchase of this game.

The stages fighters battle in are of course pulled from various entries in the Kirby series, and many of these feature stage hazards that protrude so much into the battles that half the fight becomes avoiding the hazards and collecting items that frequently appear. Thankfully, multiplayer matches allow you to turn off both of these distracting elements.

One more issue here needs to be addressed, and that is… there’s not really a good reason to get this game when the sequel offers an expanded character roster, more options, and… well, and also the fact that it’s not on a dead platform. Hey, is you’re looking to play with others, you’re just more likely to find people to play with on the Nintendo Switch.

I know this review seems like it’s just nothing but complaints, and it deserves to be said that Kirby Fighters Deluxe does have some enjoyable gameplay here, and the $7 price tag does help to position it as something of a “Smash Bros-Lite”. However, while it’s selling for a much lower price (much less than its sequel, even), it is so thoroughly outclassed by Super Smash Bros. that it’s hard to see much reason to bother with this one, with its terrible lack of variety, less-impressive visuals, and slower, more shallow gameplay. In a world where Super Smash Bros. didn’t exist… and the 3DS wasn’t staring down the barrel of the end of its life… Kirby Fighters Deluxe might be worth a look, but as it stands you’re much better off saving up to get the far, far better game.

tl;dr – Kirby Fighters Deluxe is a family-friendly game that combines Fighting Game, Platformer and Party Game elements much in the same way the Super Smash Bros. series does. The gameplay here is good albeit more shallow than Super Smash Bros. In fact, overall Kirby Fighters Deluxe doesn’t hold a candle to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in pretty much every area, and even its low $7 price tag can only do so much to make up for this game’s severe lack of variety, and the existence of better options on a current-gen platform. This is a decent game, but anyone interested in this game is much, much better off spending more to get a Smash Bros. game.

Grade: C-

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