Ah, Kirby. Not only does he look like a marshmallow, he's probably as malleable as one. He suits any and all of HAL Laboratory's purposes, and keeps learning tricks! And I'm not talking about swallowing enemies and gaining their powers, here (he does none of that in this game). No. The pink hero who has previously been transformed into a pinball or had to roll around after having his limbs taken away, has now been split into 10, and has to team up with himselves to face the challenge ahead.
The game is played solely with the touch screen. You start off with just the one Kirby, until you can eat enough fruit to create another one, and then another, and so on. Whether you have one Kirby or ten, you tap on the screen to move him, or double-tap to get him to run. Touch the enemies or flick your Kirbys at them to attack. You can also, with a prolonged touch in the middle of the pack, get them to latch on to your stylus and make them fly for a limited time.
Don't expect tight platforming action in this game. With 10 Kirbys on the tiny DS touch screen, the levels had to be designed wide open to make sure you had the space necessary to move around and do your thing. There are no real puzzles in the game as it is always clear what you have to do: it's the execution that is challenging. Your time is spent mostly attacking enemies by swarming them. The more Kirbys are attacking, the faster the enemy will go down. But these enemies have means to counterattack, and so you cannot always be on the offensive. You have to know when to attack and when to retreat, otherwise your Kirbys might get stunned, and then crushed. In this respect, Kirby Mass Attack feels more like a small scale, 2D Pikmin game.
Don't think that the game is one tedious string of fights in a row, however. The developer couldn't dazzle us with level design, so instead they went all out with set pieces and unique gimmick stages. Almost every level has its own hook that clearly differentiates it from the last, making sure you don't feel like you are always doing the same thing.
There is also a need to explore each level, as there are many medals cleverly hidden. One unique Rainbow medal in each level is even required to access the last segment of the game: a boss rush, with the final boss waiting at the very end. One has to wonder what this padding is doing in an already meaty game.
Kirby games have a reputation of being easy, and playing through the first of 4 worlds, you may be forgiven for thinking "Oh, you earn Gold Stars for not getting hit once in a level, that must be where the challenge lies, just like getting gold medals in Kirby's Epic Yarn was the real challenge in that game". But the game is no walk in the park: your Kirbys WILL get wiped out, and to the people attempting a perfect run, I can only say: "Good luck". I wonder if attempting it would not be more frustrating than challenging, however. I find "perfect runs" to be more enjoyable with short levels, but KMA's are quite long, and its boss battles can be ridiculously multi-tiered and convoluted. No "hit the weak spot three times" here.
The variety that makes each level almost feel like its own mini-game and the
cleverness of the hidden medals scream "great Nintendo design", which is why it would be a shame if fans should pass on it due to a lack of hype. The game manages to make its gimmick feel fresh far longer than could be expected, so put any fear of it getting old to rest.
Kirby has never been a one-trick pony.
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The music is very catchy, especially the main theme! I'll probably continue playing for all the medals, but I'll probably not worry too much about getting gold stars.
