So this is what has become of Kirby Ball 64, the infamously delayed game that was the only playable demo of the Nintendo 64 at Shoshinkai '95 (the "back in the day" version of Nintendo Space World) other than Super Mario 64. Kirby sort of lost his bid to become the next 8-16 bit star to make the jump up to the 3D world. You can imagine the little creampuff wallowing away in his "Kirby Super Star" mansion rejecting offers left and right for five years later until a bit of genius strikes his fancy and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards turns out to be. . .a lot like the Game Boy games. In it's own little way however, the game feels fresh among the new glut of "hipper soundtracks than thou" extreme sports titles. It sort of brings out that fuzzy feeling that if Kirby had happened to you at about age six, this would've been the game that made you a believer.

This is brought out in a few non-overbearing ways. The most obvious is the unabashed cuteness of Kirby and pals whose adventure (like most "kiddy games" since Yoshi's Island) takes place in a storybook. Watch out hipster dudes,
we're talking seriously squeaky sound effects and hot pink and other vibrant colors from every angle possible. Even so, the game does look good, going for the 2 1/2 D look that's been the rage for games "just not quite ready for 3D." To go along with cutesy graphics are cutesy tunes that are quite catchy. There's also no slowdown (thank goodness!). Kirby moves a nice perky pace, which is supported by pitch perfect control. There's no rush to finish, but then, it's not like walking grandma either.

Since, I dunno, the second Kirby game, Kirby's Adventure (one of last good games for the original Nintendo Entertainment System) Kirby has had the ability to suck in enemies and acquire their abilities. Suck in a fire guy and you become a flaming fireball. Suck in a spiky dude and (gasp!) Kirby can grow spikes out of his fluffy skin at will (just imagine what that might do to his love life!). Then you can add more. Kirby can suck up to two enemies. Double them up and you get mega mondo powers. Combine them with other kinds of enemies, and (double gasp!) you get some kind of combination of the two powers. In discovering the various abilities that Kirby has is a lot of where the charm in Kirby lies, and this is probably where the kids might seem to dig the game. Much delight lies in finding out "what's next!" Losing sight of beating the level and simply sucking in enemies left and right is not a rare occurrence (My fave combination's the giant stone Kirby that comes with two stoney baddies).

The thing that will probably bring down most non-kids is the sheer easiness of the game. Every single Kirby game since the original takes about as long to play as it does to read Where the Wild Things Are or a good Dr. Seuss book. "Kirby Super Star" for the Super NES made up for that (sort of) by having about eight or nine games to plow through. No such luck here, only
one short quest of the Crystal Shards. The who Kirby franchise is faulted in that Kirby is just way too powerful for anyone whose has spent more than a half hour playing games. Kirby has the ability to suck in air and float over anything he wishes to. He can suck in enemies from afar. He has an incredibly long lifeline. He (you) can defeat the evil genius bad guy in less than two
hours. All the "gee ain't this fun" gameplay in the world's not gonna make it feel right to throw $40 at that.

The whole game reeks of "My First Brand Name Video Game Franchise" and by well it should. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is as fluffy a game as Kirby himself. I dunno about you, but I'd rather have kids playing this game (and others!) exploring the possibilities that their hero has to offer rather than just blasting guys left and right. I mean, that's gotta be better than those cheapo "only $20 kids!" games without souls. That Kirby, he be fun. Rent it over the weekend or buy it for your kids or younger siblings and discover the joy in just thinking "OK, now what if I push this button?" When was the last time you felt like that?

Highs: It's a fun little game that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside plus it's better that sitting through Thomas and the Magic Railroad no?

Lows: It only takes an hour and a half. Thomas and the Magic Railroad is only eight bucks a head.

Final Verdict: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards probably isn't the cheapest way to show how fun it is to play (you could probably pick up Kirby's Dream Land for Game Boy for less than ten buck), but it's definitely the newest.

Overall: 7.6

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