Kirby Blitz: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)

With the release of the Nintendo 64, it was time for the Kirby series to enter its second era, one that begins with what is technically its first 3D title. While the graphics are certainly 3D models, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards seemed sheepish about the prospect of Kirby walking around with complete freedom, so instead, the sidescrolling platforming of the original series was retained and just adapted to move through 3D worlds, making what people now call a 2.5D game. Kirby 64 wasn’t just taking the first steps into a new dimension though. As the start of a second era of the series, it also marked a change in the design direction Kirby games would take. The original titles focused on building more and more on the core ideas to figure out how best to express the ideas of absorbing enemy powers, but Kirby 64 would be the first in a line of games that would focus on introducing one central gimmick to play with that isn’t retained in future titles. For Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, it’s new idea was the concept of mixing powers.

Like the Kirby games before it, the pink puffballs main way of dealing with enemies is inhalation. By sucking in a foe or object, Kirby can spit them back out to damage other enemies, but certain things can be swallowed instead to give Kirby special abilities. There are seven basic powers to be had in Kirby 64, those being the fiery tackle of Burning, the body changing Stone form, a chilling Ice attack, the electric Spark ability, the ability to chuck explosives with Bomb, a quick and deadly Needle form, and the odd ability to turn some of your flesh into a boomerang with Cutter. While historically some abilities like Needle and Spark were fairly similar, here, they’ve been differentiated well enough, Spark allowing you to move and having a shorter range with its shock than the burst damage Needle can deliver. On their own, these powers are useful for fighting and breaking through level obstacles, but their real potential is realized by Kirby’s new ability to pull out his current power as a colored star and hurl it at other enemies. If that enemy has a power, it will combine into a new power, with every ability in the game combining with each other in some way, Kirby even able to combine a power with itself for a doubly effective form. There’s creativity abound in the ways these powers mix together, and much like how Kirby used to mix his powers with Animal Friends, there are some that are insanely useful, others that are cute jokes, and plenty of potential to mix up your play as the levels continue to throw powered enemies at you so you can always experiment with the system. Cutter in particular combines very well with other powers, pairing up with Burning to make a massive flaming sword, combining with Spark to make a double-ended lightsaber, and combining with Bomb to make explosive shurikens. Ice on the other hand plays a lot more into the humorous combos, with its Burning mix just having Kirby turn into an ice cube that immediately melts, Spark turning him into a refrigerator that spits out healing food, and Bomb turning him into an explosive snowman. Most of the skills balance their usefulness without being overpowered though, ensuring that while you may be able to clear out weak enemies easily Needle+Stone’s Drill power or tank damage easily with double Stone turning you into a giant walking rock Kirby, they both limit your movement and bosses often have the health needed to keep your on your toes and careful about making yourself vulnerable for too long while using your powers.

Kirby’s adventure this time around is actually the conclusion of his ongoing conflicts with the dark alien menace known as Dark Matter. Turning its attention towards another planet, Dark Matter tries to take the crystal found on Ripple Star, but a small fairy named Ribbon manages to escape with it, flying off to try and save it but not quite making it. Dark Matter attacks her, breaking the crystal into 74 shards that rain down around the galaxy. Ribbon herself lands near Kirby though, the pink puffball recognizing his frequent foe and moving to help Ribbon combine the pieces of the crystal and take down Dark Matter in the process. Kirby isn’t totally alone in his adventure though, a few familiar faces cropping up in the first world who will help him further down the line. The common weak enemy Waddle Dee will now help Kirby by introducing new segments to levels like a mine cart ride, a sled ride, and a ride down a waterfall-heavy river. Adeleine, the renamed version of a Kirby’s Dream Land 3 boss called Ado, can use her ability to make paintings come to life to give Kirby snacks or power-ups as well as give him clues on how to solve certain level puzzles. Kirby’s old enemy Dedede is also here to help, Kirby hopping on his back in a few levels to let him use his hefty hammer to break through walls and easily crush enemies. The game does focus a lot more on Kirby’s powers than these helpers, but they can lead to small breaks in levels that are designed mostly as straight shots from start to finish.

The different worlds of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards have pretty distinct level designs since they all have a fairly obvious theme to them. Aqua Star, quite obviously, leans towards levels with a focus on water, Shiver Star has some icy areas but also features factories, and Neo Star focuses heavily on natural landscapes. Very few levels look similar to each other save a deliberate instance of design repetition, but the various level designs means Kirby 64 has plenty of level themes, creating what is at least my personal favorite soundtrack in the entire series, with songs like Factory Inspection in particular adding some interesting variety to a mostly light-hearted and peppy music selection. The visuals are also bright and colorful to keep the Kirby series’s vibrant appearance going in 3D, although some characters like Dedede transitioned a little oddly into the new dimension. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards also is the first in the series to limit Kirby’s ability to fly, the pink puffball’s inflation ability not letting him just drift over levels endlessly if he so wishes, Kirby sweating and falling if you push him too far. This is likely done because of how high some ceilings go and how levels are bit sparsely populated at times, but enemies still are the main challenge in completing a level, trying to attack the pink puffball as he rushes to the exit. The levels do have some complex designs to make moving through them more interesting, but health and lives aren’t going to be too much of a concern if you complete the end of level game well and take the time to pick up helpful items.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards also continues the series’s new angle of giving an extra completion goal to more experienced players, the true ending and final boss requiring you to hunt down all 74 crystal shards. Each level in the game has 3 shards to find, but most of them aren’t too hard to uncover. Some are just hidden in areas of the level you might not normally look, others just require you to use the right mix of powers on an environmental object that is colored to clue you in to what is needed, and some are just handed to you out in the open or as prizes for the beating the game’s minibosses, who sadly aren’t unique enemies but just regular foes made big and not much more challenging. While simpler crystal shards are the norm, they do require you to be more observant during your adventure, and every now and then the game will throw a puzzle at you that requires some thought. While it doesn’t stack up to Kirby’s Dream Land 3 and its execution of its secondary quest, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards still enhances it levels by asking you to learn all the different powers so you can know what might be useful for a certain shard, as well as sometimes telling you to carry a power you might not use otherwise to an area where’s it needed, making the path there potentially harder or different from your usual approach. There is a strange case of a shard requiring you to know an odd detail about how Stone and Cutter’s power mix, but most can be figured out within the context of the game, even if there are a few tough ones.

Kirby 64 definitely gets its boss design right though. While bringing a good power mix to the fight will help you, each boss has plenty of health and at least two phases, meaning the fight can’t just be blasted through in an instant. Many of them also have a focus on movement, Kirby having to outrun attacks, circle around ring-shaped arenas, and focus on how he’s dodging during the battle. It takes a few hits to lose your power and you can reclaim it if its lost, but the bosses do supply some stuff to spit out at them for the battle, although that makes you have to wait more for moments of vulnerability than if you brought something of your own to the fight. The false final boss actually requires you to leave the comfort zone of just being able to use just your carried in power to win, so these fights do provide diverse challenges to cap off their worlds.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards also has a multiplayer mode that, while not connected to the main game, does provide a few small amusements. The highlight of the three available games is Checker Board Chase, a game where four players can shoot out vertical or horizontal beams of color to make blocks drop in a square arena, the goal being to make your opponents fall down enough times to run out of health, the arena shrinking with each elimination. Strategy and swift movement are important here, this game offering more potential variety and longevity than the two other decent minigames. 100-Yard Hop is a race done in little leaps, the player choosing whether to hop once or twice across 100 little platforms to the finish. There are gaps, enemies, and other considerations along the way that require you to mix up your hops to avoid losing speed, and there are a few difficulties to make things get a bit harder. Bumper Crop Bump is the last option for multiplayer play, the characters waiting below a tree as it drops fruits down for their baskets to catch. The goal is to grab the most, the players able to twirl around each other to push past them, but the twirling can feel a little off at times, especially since there’s a delay after you’ve been bumped before you can retaliate. While these aren’t the main focus of the game, these do add a bit more to do after, and you even have the option to play against computer-controlled characters on your own.

THE VERDICT: Kirby may have been hesitant with his first step into 3D, but the game still came out excellent despite not fully making use of that third dimension. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shard’s ability to mix 2 powers gives you plenty of extra powers on top of the basic 7, meaning there is plenty to experiment with in your battles against sturdy bosses and on your adventure through levels that urge you to explore for crystal shards. While a bit too many of the shards rely on just having the right power mix, there is enough variety to make the short but diverse levels last longer and it pushes the player to not just use the incredibly effective power mixes. Some decent multiplayer fun and an excellent soundtrack are just icing on the cake, the game only really needing to improve the danger found in its normal levels to really make it a consistently strong N64 title.

And so, I give Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the Nintendo 64…

A GREAT rating. Power mixing is a mechanic with so much potential it’s a shame it was only attempted once, but playing around with it does make Kirby 64 consistently interesting, the player able to figure out their favorites but asked to use new ones to complete the crystal shard quest. The crystal shard’s abundance likely lead to some of their easy placements, but it still gives the player more to do on their journey than just head for the end of a stage, meaning every stage lasts a bit longer as you search every nook and cranny and learn if you need a special ability to get that collectible. While some powers are deliberately duds, there’s plenty to work with effectively and the extra touches like an enjoyable multiplayer mode mean that the nice touches add up into something that can overcome some lapses in imagination like the underwhelming minibosses.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is an excellent start for the series’s move into more gimmick based territory, each area trying to give you something new to see, a new layout to engage with, and plenty of chances to toy around with power combinations. There’s potential for improvement if they do revisit the ideas found here, but it does succeed in keeping things interesting and diverse in a game that seems focused on the many potential ways you can engage with a Kirby platforming game.