Kirby Fighters 2

Genre: Fighting Game / Platformer / Party Game

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

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Review:

Kirby Fighters 2, released on Nintendo Switch in 2020, 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. This game follows in the footsteps of 2014’s 3DS game Kirby Fighters Deluxe, itself an expanded version of a minigame that was included in the Platformer Kirby: Triple Deluxe, released earlier that same year.

Visually, Kirby Fighters 2 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 and even some nice visual effects like some pretty-looking water and nice lighting. 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 2 bears a strong resemblance to.

However, the problems here begin when you look at the unlockable roster of playable characters and see that the overwhelming majority of them are just different versions of Kirby with various power-ups. There are a few other characters here that have been pulled from throughout the series, such as Bandana Waddle Dee, Gooey, and Meta Knight, but for the most part your choices will be Sword Kirby, Bomb Kirby, Yo-Yo Kirby, Cutter Kirby, Painter Kirby… you get the idea.

While this extreme lack of variety may have been somewhat forgivable in the original Kirby Fighters as that was clearly just re-using assets from Kirby Triple Deluxe for a minigame that was originally just a way to extend the life of that game, Kirby Fighters 2 doesn’t have the same excuse as it is a completely original standalone title. 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 the game’s online multiplayer. This is one area where Super Smash Bros. Ultimate really dropped the ball, and where Kirby Fighters 2 could have shined. Unfortunately, as of this writing the online lobbies are deserted, so this will only be worthwhile for players who have a friend that also owns the game.

I know this review seems like it’s just nothing but complaints, and it deserves to be said that Kirby Fighters 2 does have some enjoyable gameplay here, and the $20 price tag does help to position it as something of a “Smash Bros-Lite”. However, while it may be a third of the price of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, it is so thoroughly outclassed by that game 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. Ultimate didn’t exist, Kirby Fighters 2 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 2 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 2 doesn’t hold a candle to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in pretty much every area, and even its low $20 price tag can only do so much to make up for this game’s severe lack of variety. This is a decent game, but anyone interested in this game is much, much better off spending more to get Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Grade: C

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