Superhero Media: Kriby Star Allies

The very first video game I owned was Kirby's Dreamland 2 on Game Boy, I don't know how many hours I would have played it for, but the game and character stuck with me, and to this day, I'll play every Kirby game I can get my hands on. When the Nindendo Switch was announced, I promised myself that I wouldn't buy one until there was both a Kirby and a Smash Bros game on it, as they were likely the only games I'd play enough of to make the investment worthwhile. Well, the drop of Star Allies and Smash Bros Ultimate announcement meant I picked up my Switch and, of course, got stuck into Kirby Star Allies right away. Our adventure starts with dark crystal hearts raining down upon the planet of Pop Star and corrupting the inhabitants, once again it is up to fledgling Star Warrior Kirby to save the day. Most Kirby games since Dream Land 3 focus on a gimmick, a new mechanic to tempt in new players, in Star Allies, it is the ability to befriend enemies and run around with a team of allies to help in the adventure. 

The main story of the game is a little on the brief side, but by the end, Kirby has taken down an ancient doomsday cult and battles what can only be described as an Elder God in an epic boss fight unlike anything in any Kirby Game I've ever played. There's enough replay value there with the other game modes and needing to collect all the items, but I can see why non-fans may be a bit miffed by paying full price for this one. Personally, I'm happy with my money spent, because I know I will replay it again and again. An ex-girlfriend of mine had a theory that if you broke the price of a video game down into a price rate based on hours played, you'd get a better idea of what you had actually paid. Say I paid $60 for a game and played it for 30 hours, that's $2 per hour, which is really pretty cheap when you compare it to the cinema, theater or live sports. Personally, I think the price of admission was worth it for one element alone, the Spider-Hat: 

Kirby has spider-powers now! And the hat is, itself, a spider! What more could you want? Actually, the Spider-Power is one of the best in the game when you hit the bosses, spinning the one big or three small webs around the boss will tick their health down nicely. I've been chewing through "The Ultimate Choice" sub-game with the Spider-Powers as a major boost. As good as it is, Kirby Star Allies is never really going to win over a lot of fans, it's a bit too easy, it's not the best thing on the Switch and it's not as good as the previous few Kirby games. I, however, really enjoyed the game and will be drawing a lot of inspiration from it, especially the villains and the expansion to the Kirby "universe". I'd wish for a Kirby game that explores the origins of the protagonist and the mysteries of the setting a little more, but I've seen enough examples like Batman Zero Year and Wolverine Origins to know that such things are always better in my imagination than the reality. Pick this one up if you can, though maybe wait for a price-drop.