Kyle’s Game Corner: Favorite Kirby Abilities

I was more than psyched to play Kirby and the Rainbow Curse when it released, and you can read my glowing review of it to know how much I enjoyed the game. Whenever a new game comes out in a franchise, I will often feel the need to go back and play the older games for a while– this was the case with Kirby and I’ve spent the last two weeks revisiting some old Kirby adventures (in between some Dark Souls. I couldn’t have chosen a starker contrast).

I went back to achieve 100 percent in Kirby: Triple Deluxe on 3DS. Since my initial playthrough last May I’ve come back to it every couple months to chip away at this, and I’m finally nearing completion. It seems that every time I revisit a game like this I find new things to appreciate. Triple Deluxe has such a clean and vibrant graphical style, and I love how the characters move and feel.

I’m also reminded of the vast repertoire of copy abilities Kirby has in his mainline games. These were absent from Rainbow Curse, but I didn’t miss their omission. Still, they are a staple of the traditional Kirby sidescrollers. They have certainly evolved over the years, gaining new powers with each game. Kirby’s Adventure introduced them, Kirby Super Star gave them full movesets, Dream Land 2 and 3 augmented them with animal friends’ abilities, and so on. After some consideration, I’ve decided to dedicate this edition of Game Corner to discussing a handful of my favorite copy abilities from throughout the series.

Ice

(First Appearance: Kirby’s Adventure – 1993)
Ice is one of Kirby’s essential powers, and it has been in every single game featuring copy abilities. It’s quite simple– Kirby freezes foes into blocks of ice. These blocks can be kicked around and used as a projectile, which is precisely why I love using this ability. This feature adds some nice versatility in earlier games where abilities only have one command. Ice is still fun to use in newer games, as Kirby gets a pretty cool crystal hat and is able to ice skate around.

Fighter

(First Appearance: Kirby Super Star – 1996)
Sucker punch! Fighter truly is one of Kirby’s signature abilities, and once you play with it you’ll know why. The sheer versatility of its moveset turns Kirby into a rough and tumbling warrior who can dispatch enemies in a myriad of ways. Grab enemies and pummel them into the floor. Shoot force energy from your fists like in Dragon Ball Z. Execute a hard-hitting combo. Kirby gets all up in your face with this ability to open up a whole realm of fun. In fact, many of Kirby’s attacks in Super Smash Bros. are based on the great Fighter ability!

Yo-Yo

(First Appearance: Kirby Super Star – 1996)
It’s a bit sad that this ability never appeared outside of Kirby Super Star and its remake– in fact a handful of powers never went outside the game. Kirby dons Ness’s hat and twirls a yo-yo up, down, and all around! This ability has decent reach and gives Kirby a few neat moves to boot. Now if only it would reappear in a newer game!

Needle

(First Appearance: Kirby’s Adventure – 1993)
It’s pretty self-explanatory. Pointy spikes come out of Kirby.

Magic

(First Appearance: Kirby & The Amazing Mirror – 2004)
In its debut game, Magic was a one-time use ability. However, in Squeak Squad, Magic became a normal ability with a moveset, and that’s the one I’m talking about here! Send out doves, throw playing cards, and surprise your foes with a jack-in-the-box! And when you press and hold B, a magic roulette appears which can grant you a random gift at the expense of losing the Magic ability. While this power hasn’t appeared since Squeak Squad, a spiritual successor in the form of the Circus ability made its debut in Triple Deluxe.

Spear

(First Appearance: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land – 2011)
It’s a bit like the sword ability, but it’s not a sword– it’s a spear! Kirby can poke and skewer baddies with a long pointy stick! You can throw spears to add even more range, or you can spin the spear around like a helicopter to fly around. Talk about a useful stick!

UFO

(First Appearance: Kirby’s Adventure – 1993)
Finally, here is truly one of Kirby’s greatest forms. The UFO ability is rare and powerful, and gives Kirby the ability to defy gravity! The beam can be charged up in various stages to unleash powerful beam attacks. And you can enjoy the freedom of flight! Just press any which way you want to go! Good luck going down ladders, though…

There are dozens of powers in the games, so it was rather tough to stop here. Missile, Suplex, Stone, Mirror, Tornado, the list just goes on and on! I am particularly taken with the way Kirby 64 handled abilities– there were only 7 base abilities, but each of these could be combined to create a different power! I really want the mixing mechanic to be revisited someday.

What are your favorite Kirby abilities? Until next time!