Post by nocturnal YL on Mar 17, 2018 5:42:43 GMT -5
I've been avoiding spoilers for a few weeks. Once it's out, I finished the game's Story Mode in twodays just so I don't have to fear about spilers anymore. Whew. I still need to avoid secret mode spoilers, though.
Anyway, what to say about this game…? Like reviews out there suggest, its main draw (and also its main weak point) is that it's Kirby, in the sense that it's largely what you'd expect from a game that comes after Super Star Ultra, Return to Dream Land, Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot.
As a fan, I'm so delighted. The stage and boss design obviously show that they still care about Kirby fans. I can easily spot a stage layout and tell that it's a homage to a certain past Kirby stage, but I doubt most casual players can see that. More generally, I can imagine someone who's not a dedicated fan to see this as just another current-era Kirby game.
The overall contents (thus far) seems weak-ish to me. It's still good, it's still Kirby, but maybe the last few games have set the bar way too high. And maybe (pure conjecture) there's competion for development resources between this game and Battle Royale, resulting in both games being suboptimal. Really, if they move Battle Royale to being a part of Star Allies instead, I'd have a far better impression for this combined game. Anyway…
Star Allies lacks game modes that feel like they can be games on their own, unlike the 3DS sub-games and the Wii challenges. This is somehow offset by the extra modes unlocked after the Story Mode taking more effort to truly 100%, but I still miss having that kind of content.
Unlike the last few games, the puzzle rooms don't always give rewards that must be collected for 100% collection (think Planet Robobot's Code Cubes and golden stickers). There are complaints that the puzzles themselves are too easy, but I think it's just fine. It's about the same level as what a Kirby game would have.
One thing I don't agree with the reviews is that this game is said to be too short and too easy. It's a main series Kirby game, and I expect to not lose lives at all. I lost 4 times (Friend Circle fail, advancing wall, and twice in a late boss battle). That's 4 times too many. It also has 40 stages, making it comparable to the NES, Wii and 3DS games, although a lot of them are boss stages.
The story is… well, I like both 3DS games' stories better.
There are parts it did right — most obviously the graphics, the music, the overall map layout, and the stage design with a lot of stages offering a unique "theme" in terms of game mechanics. Kirby has excelled at these for so long that it's easy to take it for granted.
Oh, and these do not take into account the update Star Allies is going to get later. I really look forward to playing as other characters, and I'm hoping to see two more waves of updates after the first.
The first wave:
- Default: Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede, Meta Knight
- Wave 1: Rick & Coo & Kine, Gooey, Marx
Update predictions based on the general trend of picking past games' characters, just for fun:
- Wave 2: Adeleine (with Ribbon moves?), Daroach (other Squeaks as moves?), um… Galacta Knight?
- Wave 3: Magolor, Taranza, Susie
- Wave 4 (?): Make the mage generals themselves playable (yeah, I wish)
Anyway, what to say about this game…? Like reviews out there suggest, its main draw (and also its main weak point) is that it's Kirby, in the sense that it's largely what you'd expect from a game that comes after Super Star Ultra, Return to Dream Land, Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot.
As a fan, I'm so delighted. The stage and boss design obviously show that they still care about Kirby fans. I can easily spot a stage layout and tell that it's a homage to a certain past Kirby stage, but I doubt most casual players can see that. More generally, I can imagine someone who's not a dedicated fan to see this as just another current-era Kirby game.
The overall contents (thus far) seems weak-ish to me. It's still good, it's still Kirby, but maybe the last few games have set the bar way too high. And maybe (pure conjecture) there's competion for development resources between this game and Battle Royale, resulting in both games being suboptimal. Really, if they move Battle Royale to being a part of Star Allies instead, I'd have a far better impression for this combined game. Anyway…
Star Allies lacks game modes that feel like they can be games on their own, unlike the 3DS sub-games and the Wii challenges. This is somehow offset by the extra modes unlocked after the Story Mode taking more effort to truly 100%, but I still miss having that kind of content.
Unlike the last few games, the puzzle rooms don't always give rewards that must be collected for 100% collection (think Planet Robobot's Code Cubes and golden stickers). There are complaints that the puzzles themselves are too easy, but I think it's just fine. It's about the same level as what a Kirby game would have.
One thing I don't agree with the reviews is that this game is said to be too short and too easy. It's a main series Kirby game, and I expect to not lose lives at all. I lost 4 times (Friend Circle fail, advancing wall, and twice in a late boss battle). That's 4 times too many. It also has 40 stages, making it comparable to the NES, Wii and 3DS games, although a lot of them are boss stages.
The story is… well, I like both 3DS games' stories better.
There are parts it did right — most obviously the graphics, the music, the overall map layout, and the stage design with a lot of stages offering a unique "theme" in terms of game mechanics. Kirby has excelled at these for so long that it's easy to take it for granted.
Oh, and these do not take into account the update Star Allies is going to get later. I really look forward to playing as other characters, and I'm hoping to see two more waves of updates after the first.
The first wave:
- Default: Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede, Meta Knight
- Wave 1: Rick & Coo & Kine, Gooey, Marx
Update predictions based on the general trend of picking past games' characters, just for fun:
- Wave 2: Adeleine (with Ribbon moves?), Daroach (other Squeaks as moves?), um… Galacta Knight?
- Wave 3: Magolor, Taranza, Susie
- Wave 4 (?): Make the mage generals themselves playable (yeah, I wish)
