Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
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| Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards | |
| Developer | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| System | Nintendo 64, Virtual Console |
| Release Date | Nintendo 64 JP March 24, 2000 US June 26, 2000 EU June 22, 2001 Wii Virtual Console US February 2, 2008 EU March 7, 2008 JP April 15, 2008 |
| Gallery | GH Gallery |
| Rating | ESRB: E |
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is the first foray into 3D for Kirby, despite the game still being a side scroller. The game is notable for being the first to allow Kirby to mix multiple powers, creating the largest diversity of abilities in any game thus far.
Story
Ripple Star is a peaceful planet populated by fairies and home to the Crystal, a magical device of great power. One day it is taken over by Dark Matter who plans to use the Crystal to conquer the universe. One fairy, Ribbon attempts to escape, but is pursued by Dark Matter. He slams into her and the crystal slams. These pieces land on Pop Star while Dark Matter's projection is divided into three parts that land on the planet.
Ribbon teams up with Kirby to reunite all the pieces. Along the way they recruit the help of Waddle Dee, Adeleine, and King Dedede after defeating the Dark Matter pieces that had been controlling them. They set out to collect all 100 pieces of the Crystal Star and to defeat Dark Matter and his evil master, Zero Two.
Gameplay
Kirby's Copy ability is greatly expanded over previous games. He gains the ability to spit out his current ability and then toss it at other enemies. If the targeted enemy has an ability, then they will fuse into once. It can either be an upgraded version of the power if they are both the same, or a mixed power. With Burn, Stone, Ice, Needle, Bomb, Spark, and Cutter abilities available, there are 43 combinations of powers available.
Though Kirby is the main character throughout the levels, he is assisted by his friends are various stages. Adeleine will often appear in the background to supply an item. When Waddle Dee shows up, he and Kirby will jump into some kind of vehicle and go through a part of the level at full speed jumping over hazards. Lastly Kirby can hop on Dedede and the player takes control of the penguin king and uses his powerful mallet to break through walls that Kirby can't break.
Legacy
Sequels
The next Kirby game was Kirby and the Amazing Mirror for the Game Boy Advance. Despite that, the ability to fuse abilities was not used until Kirby Squeak Squad, though very few combinations of abilities create anything new.
Ports and Remakes
- Kirby 64 was rereleased on the Wii's Virtual Console in February 2008 in the US, March 2008 in Europe and finally April 2008 in Japan.
- In 2012, it was included in Kirby's Dream Collection, a compilation of classic Kirby platformers for the Nintendo Wii. Kirby 64 was the last game covered in this collection.