Well, little pink puffball, now. Kirby's first outing on the colorless Game boy was limited to a somewhat pale palette, but the power of the NES allowed him to show his true colors- shades of pink and red, all.
By far the most important addition to the series, however, was the ability to copy inhaled enemies' powers (Kirby, if you didn't know, is quite the insatiable omnivore). The "copy ability" system has become the backbone of all Kirby games that came after, and is what truly distinguishes it from all the other platform games out there.
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KIRBY'S ADVENTURE
Original Platform: NES
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Original Release Date: 05/01/93 (US)
Genre: Platformer
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Players: 1
Save: Yes (three files, auto-save)
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Reviewed Version: Virtual Console
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Kirby is, just about any way you look at him, one of Nintendo's stranger creations, and that's saying a lot. And his curious techniques differentiate him quite a bit from other platforming heroes. Rather than taking out enemies by jumping on them (possible in-game, but ineffective due to the fact that Kirby needs to spend nearly a second in free-fall before he can hit an enemy without getting hurt), the Pink One's primary means of attack is... inhaling... his foes.
Once you've sucked up a critter, you have two options. Either spit it out as a star-shaped projectile that travels in a straight line(by pressing B, the same button used for inhaling), or swallow it(press down). Swallowing a basic foe will simply get rid of it, but gulping down an enemy with special powers will allow Kirby to utilize them -and this is where it gets pretty cool. Snack on a fire-breathing monster to breathe it yourself, ingest a sword-wielder to get a sword of your own, and eat a wheel to roll around as one, crushing all in your path. There are over twenty abilities in all, and strategic use of them is instrumental to your success. While it's quite possible to defeat the game's bosses and minibosses using standard suck-n'-spit techniques, choosing the right copy ability for the situation -as illustrated by the ending credits- will give you the upper hand, and will prove an asset in the game's many puzzles. Just guard your powers carefully- a single hit from an enemy will send it bouncing away as a star (Kirby games sure are fond of those, huh?), leaving you a scant few seconds to chase it down and gulp it before it vanishes.
Another perk of Kirby's balloon-like structure is the ability (by pressing up) to take in air and float around. This, as you might expect, makes playing as the little guy considerably easier. Indeed, bottomless pits are much less intimidating when you can just float over them without a care, and while the game compensates a little by forcing you to occasionally deal with large numbers of enemies at once, Kirby's fairly large chunk of health (he can take six hits before fainting) prevent the game from being anywhere near as hard many other games of the NES era. Bosses are a good deal tougher, but as the game saves after the completion of each level, running out of lives doesn't carry any worse ramifications than having to choose "Continue" on the "Game Over" screen.
Which is fine by me. Traditional Kirby platformers have never been about difficult gameplay, and it's nice to finally play a VC NES game that doesn't constantly make me want to throw my controller at the wall.
That's not to say that Kirby is without it's rough spots, either.
As in most Kirby games, the true challenge is not in getting through the game, but rather in finding all of the secrets and unlockables. In this particular outing, these are accessed by finding and pressing hidden switches placed in secret locations throughout the levels of the game. These unlock a variety of things, including a trio of simple minigames played for points and/or lives and a bunch of "Museums" that grant easy access to several copy abilities.
There aren't many switches in the first few worlds, but are quite abundant in the later stages. And some of them are extremely well-hidden; you'll have to keep your eyes open for the slightest graphical irregularities if you hope to find them all, and even if you do it will probably take a good number of return trips to find the hardest of the bunch. This really balances out the gameplay, and provides a considerable amount of replay value.
Scores
Visuals: 9.5
Crisp, colorful characters. Well-defined backgrounds. Kirby's Adventure was developed near the end of the NES's lifespan, and it shows. Not just a technical achievement, the game world overflows with the cute, playful look that is Kirby's forte.
Sound: 9.0
It's not a bad listen, either. The peppy, well-composed music fits the little pink vacuum's style perfectly, and is a joy to the ears. Here's to the triumphant return (in level 7-6) of the Green Greens theme!
Gameplay: 9.0
Later Kirby games added complexity and versatility to the copy ability system, but Kirby's Adventure, for whatever reason, feels more balanced and fun than his recent outings. It's perpetually enjoyable and imaginative, a real classic in game design.
Length/Replay Value: 9.0
The game isn't too difficult to just blaze through, but you'll need tenacity and a good deal of spare time to find all of the secrets. And after you finally unlock everything, you can play through the whole thing again with a halved health bar and no saves!
Final Score(not an average): 9.0
The more I play Kirby's Adventure, the more I like it. It's robust and approachable, well presented and cute. It's also quite fun, and the copy abilities add a nice element of strategy and versatility. If you've been trying to decide which NES game to download next, there are few I'd recommend more. If you haven't yet, get it as soon as you can.
I can just about guarantee you'll enjoy every minute of it.
-Smashing Brother
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