right so here's a discussion topic of sorts!! Kirby games. As most of #tcod knows I have recently been on a Quest to beat all the Kirby games that I own in chronological order. (For those curious, that would include: Dream Land, Adventure, Dream Land 2, Super Star, Dream Land 3, 64, Nightmare in Dreamland, Amazing Mirror, Canvas Curse, Squeak Squad, Super Star Ultra, Epic Yarn, Mass Attack, Return to Dreamland, and Dream Collection (actually, I only own Adventure, Super Star and Dream Land 3 through Dream Collection).) As of this post I am on Canvas Curse.
My talkings about Kirby in #tcod led me to realize that a lot more TCoDers than I'd known about played Kirby games! I knew Adriane and Kiru were big fans but then a lot of other people were chiming in saying all the Kirby games they played and their favorites and stuff. So I felt like making this.
My thoughts on various Kirby games:
Most people laud Super Star as being one of, if not the, high points of the Kirby series. I disagree. As a game on its own, I find it excellent - the minigames are just long enough to be engaging, but not so long that beating all of them takes forever, and there's a lot to be said for the diversity of the minigames. But as an entry in the Kirby series, it doesn't stand out a lot to me. I find Kirby's Dream Land 3 to be a far superior SNES Kirby game, and even Kirby's Adventure (or Nightmare in Dreamland, if you prefer) is a far more replayable game, to me. (Though it could just be nostalgia talking - Nightmare in Dreamland was one of the first Kirby games I owned.)
My favorite Kirby game is a toss-up between Amazing Mirror and Epic Yarn. Amazing Mirror was the first Kirby game I owned and I still find it an absolutely excellent game (even if I do have the entire game's layout memorized and I can beat it in two hours flat...) and I'm seriously, seriously hoping HAL makes another exploration-based game like this one. As for Epic Yarn, it has the most replay value of any of the Kirby games I own as far as I'm concerned (though having just played Adventure for the first time, that title is debatable...), it's got a beautiful design and presentation, and it manages to balance fun and challenge in a great way.
I used to think Nightmare in Dreamland outclassed Adventure for the sole reason that it's a remake. But now that I've played Adventure for the first time, I find Adventure a much better overall game. Even playing it now its graphics and some areas of the game (Butter Building's spinning buildings, anyone?) manage to wow me - I can see how this game pushes the limits of what the NES was capable of! Nightmare in Dreamland sadly lacks the same sort of beauty (although, with GBA graphics, it does manage to be pretty in an entirely new way - just one that's not faithful to the original style of the game, I feel).
I played Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the first time only a few days ago. The art style was absolutely beautiful and the gameplay really complemented it, I felt. It had more than a few legitimately challenging platform sections and I loved every second of it. I don't have the same natural attachment to it that I do to Amazing Mirror and Epic Yarn, but it is a gorgeous game and definitely one of the best entries in the franchise.
That's all I have to say.
My talkings about Kirby in #tcod led me to realize that a lot more TCoDers than I'd known about played Kirby games! I knew Adriane and Kiru were big fans but then a lot of other people were chiming in saying all the Kirby games they played and their favorites and stuff. So I felt like making this.
My thoughts on various Kirby games:
Most people laud Super Star as being one of, if not the, high points of the Kirby series. I disagree. As a game on its own, I find it excellent - the minigames are just long enough to be engaging, but not so long that beating all of them takes forever, and there's a lot to be said for the diversity of the minigames. But as an entry in the Kirby series, it doesn't stand out a lot to me. I find Kirby's Dream Land 3 to be a far superior SNES Kirby game, and even Kirby's Adventure (or Nightmare in Dreamland, if you prefer) is a far more replayable game, to me. (Though it could just be nostalgia talking - Nightmare in Dreamland was one of the first Kirby games I owned.)
My favorite Kirby game is a toss-up between Amazing Mirror and Epic Yarn. Amazing Mirror was the first Kirby game I owned and I still find it an absolutely excellent game (even if I do have the entire game's layout memorized and I can beat it in two hours flat...) and I'm seriously, seriously hoping HAL makes another exploration-based game like this one. As for Epic Yarn, it has the most replay value of any of the Kirby games I own as far as I'm concerned (though having just played Adventure for the first time, that title is debatable...), it's got a beautiful design and presentation, and it manages to balance fun and challenge in a great way.
I used to think Nightmare in Dreamland outclassed Adventure for the sole reason that it's a remake. But now that I've played Adventure for the first time, I find Adventure a much better overall game. Even playing it now its graphics and some areas of the game (Butter Building's spinning buildings, anyone?) manage to wow me - I can see how this game pushes the limits of what the NES was capable of! Nightmare in Dreamland sadly lacks the same sort of beauty (although, with GBA graphics, it does manage to be pretty in an entirely new way - just one that's not faithful to the original style of the game, I feel).
I played Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the first time only a few days ago. The art style was absolutely beautiful and the gameplay really complemented it, I felt. It had more than a few legitimately challenging platform sections and I loved every second of it. I don't have the same natural attachment to it that I do to Amazing Mirror and Epic Yarn, but it is a gorgeous game and definitely one of the best entries in the franchise.
That's all I have to say.