Kirby: Triple Deluxe

Genre: Platformer

Players: 1-4 Competitive (Local Wireless), Street Pass Support

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Review:

Kirby: Triple Deluxe, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2014, is nominally a Compilation of three family-friendly games… but two of those games kinda’ feel like an after-thought. However, the main portion of the game, its story mode, is a Platformer that manages to carry the weight of most of this package, and I would argue that it does so admirably.

The gameplay in the Story Mode will feel very familiar to anyone who’s played a Kirby game… well, ever. This formula has been pretty established ever since Kirby’s Adventure on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Yet, it is nevertheless in fine form here, with some truly well-crafted gameplay and a few tweaks that keep things interesting, even if they don’t do much to shake up the usual Kirby formula.

Most notably, Kirby: Triple Deluxe makes outstanding use of the Nintendo 3DS’ stereoscopic 3D. The gameplay here may still all be on a 2D plane, but players will often be jumping to other planes in the foreground and background, and dodging enemies from all directions. This is by no means a new idea – we’ve seen this sort of thing in other games like Donkey Kong Country Returns. However, it’s still done impeccably well here, and helps to keep this game’s levels fresh and exciting.

Another addition to the gameplay here is the new hypernova ability, a power-up Kirby can only acquire on some levels that supercharges his “inhale” ability to vacuum up massive portions of a level instead of just the area immediately in front of him. It’s a bit gimmicky, but it is nevertheless very satisfying to go around with this massive vacuuming power and gobble up gigantic enemies and parts of the terrain.

Heading more in the “gimmicky” direction are portions of the level affected by the gyroscopic motion control, usually just to tilt some element in the level to the left or right. These elements are fine, I suppose, but they don’t really add much to the gameplay. Likewise, this game’s Street Pass feature allows a helper character you encounter at rare points to toss better items to you that can be used at your discretion. A nice addition, to be sure, but hardly an impactful one, especially now that it’s less likely you’ll be passing other 3DS systems on a regular basis.

I suppose I should mention this game’s other game modes, Kirby Fighters and Dedede’s Drum Dash. Kirby Fighters is a Platformer / Fighting Game hybrid in the same vein as Super Super Smash Bros., but lacking that game’s well-crafted gameplay and massive variety of features (plus, this minigame got a sequel on the Nintendo Switch in the form of Kirby Fighters 2, making this even less of a selling point for a game on a soon-to-be dead platform). Dedede’s Drum Dash, on the other hand, combines Platforming and Music-Rhythm elements, but is so exacting in the timing requirements, and has so little content, that it’s more of a curiosity than a selling point. These extra game modes don’t detract from the overall package, but it’s clear that the main attraction here is the excellent standard Platforming gameplay.

There is one other thing to mention here – the presentation in this game is phenomenal, with some really excellent cartoony 3D visuals with great visual design that really do some creative things with some of the series’ traditional enemies that I won’t spoil here. In addition, this game’s soundtrack is top-notch, with great new mixes of classic Kirby themes, as well as some new music that fits the series perfectly.

In short, if you want a traditional Kirby game on the Nintendo 3DS, Kirby: Triple Deluxe is pretty much everything you could hope for. It looks great, sounds great, plays well, and adds a few nice twists that don’t shake up the series formula but still add to it. The other additional game modes here? Ehh, I could take ‘em or leave ‘em. But while they may not be as much of a draw as the Platforming here, the Platforming is so good that it’s more than enough to make this a must-have game on the Nintendo 3DS.

tl;dr – Kirby: Triple Deluxe bills itself as a “three-in-one package” of sorts, but the star here is clearly the primary Platforming game, which is an absolutely superb take on the traditional family-friendly Kirby formula that adds a few fun new elements, but doesn’t really shake things up from the established formula. However, what this game does, it does well, with great gameplay, beautiful visuals, and an excellent soundtrack. Consider this a must-have game on the Nintendo 3DS.

Grade: A

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