4 Reasons Why Kirby Star Allies Isn’t Just The Same Old, Same Old

You Can Play as the Bad Guys

4 Reasons Why Kirby Star Allies Isn’t Just Another Kirby Game

Kirby is infamous for his wide range of varying enemies; after all, Kirby’s main ability is to suck in the enemies in front of him and use their own powers against them. But while Kirby Star Allies does have plenty of new bad guys to fight, its focus is less on fighting them, and more on teaming up with them. So you can recruit classic baddies like Waddle Dee’s and Meta Knights to fight alongside you through each and every level. To recruit enemies, you simply have to press up on the D-Pad and you’ll pick up a heart, throw that at enemies and they’ll join your squad. These enemies will work with you as a team to solve puzzles and defeat other bad guys in your path, so you’ve got some extra backup in difficult fights.

There’s a huge variety of allies that can join your team, including the games mid-level bosses, so it’s possible to have a team which includes Kirby, Mr Frosty, Meta Knight, and a Waddle Dee – all of which will fight for you like you’re part of an epic Kirby Rebellion.

This post was originally written by Dawson Roberts.

HD Graphics

4 Reasons Why Kirby Star Allies Isn’t Just Another Kirby Game

Kirby games have always had distinctively different art styles, from the oil painting backgrounds of Canvas Curse to the woolly world of Kirby’s Epic Yarn, most games have a signature style. Kirby Star Allies, however, is the first in the franchise to leap into full HD graphics and it looks stunning because of that. Returning worlds like Dreamland have luscious green backdrops and characters that pop out of the screen, which look crisp and vibrant. Kirby’s Epic Yarn (arguably the most stylistic in the series) had a gorgeous art style with its wool aesthetic, but this HD style makes Star Allies stand out as one of the best-looking games in the franchise to date.

You Can Create Entirely New Combo Abilities

4 Reasons Why Kirby Star Allies Isn’t Just Another Kirby Game

While the crux of Star Allies is recruiting enemies as companions to help combat the forces against you, they are not there just to tag along. Each enemy has the power to combine their ability with either another team member, or Kirby himself. This means if you recruit an enemy with the Flame ability as well as swallowing the power of Cutter, you’ll be able to combine them, create a Flaming Cutter which can be used to easily dispatch enemies and solve some environmental puzzles.

Combining powers is the key to defeating bosses and finding all the secrets the game has to offer. Some enemies may have big flaming shields that cover their weak spots, so you’ll have to use a water-based ability to put out the shield and weaken the tougher enemies. Pathways may also be blocked by elemental obstacles that could require any number of combos to get past. Combo abilities play a big part in finding all the collectibles Star Allies has to offer, so mastering what abilities can actually combine together can be a very useful tactic.

It’s Built from the Ground Up for Co-Op

4 Reasons Why Kirby Star Allies Isn’t Just Another Kirby Game

The Switch is a console that’s been built from the ground up with couch co-op in mind with titles like Mario Kart 8 and 1, 2 Switch just affirming its practicability. Kirby Star Allies is the next game to fully take advantage of the Switch’s great multiplayer facilities. It’s perfect for co-op as most of the game will have Kirby teaming up with three other allies in each level (but they’ll be CPU-controlled until someone else joins in). The system works off a simple drop in and out co-op system, so as soon as you manage to recruit one enemy ally to your team someone can quickly jump in and play as them.

This is slightly different from other entries in the franchise as most have you just playing as another different colored Kirby, but Star Allies will give you the chance to play as the enemy. Of course, you’ll still have access to the same recruiting mechanics as Kirby, so if you want to switch things up and play as someone different, you’ll be able to do so. The lack of Kirby’s signature flying and power sucking abilities also makes for some really interesting gameplay switch-ups that make this stand out as one of the best Kirby multiplayer experiences to date. Better yet, it all feels right at home on the Switch.