Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

"Kirby delivers... I guess. Shut up."

In the world of Nintendo ''Kirby'' is usually a swan song for their systems (Kirby's Adventure, Kirby's Tilt n' Tumble, Kirby Superstar AND Kirby's Dreamland 3) and Crystal Shards is no exception. I figure it's so Nintendo can give the system a ''proper'' farewell, which would make sense. Kirby very rarely fails to deliver, and Crystal Shards is no exception in that department either.

Remember, Nintendo can hardly be accused of letting their key franchise players grow stagnant. Crystal Shards continues this tradition by adding a weapon combining element. Sadly, favorites are left out (Suplex, sword, etc.) but some of the newer powers, like the double lightsaber are cool. There are also moments that you have the privelage and honor of riding aboard the king of dreamland himself, Dedede. But please, alow me to break the game down for you.

Sound: 9
For some reason later 64 games have a huge collection of songs in them. Mario RPG has around 100, and this game has it's fair share as well (well over 40 I'm sure). I really like the Kirby music style, I admit that I like it just a little more than Mario. There is one song that is sorely missing from this game though. I actually knocked a point off of it, because this one song was not in it. How could I do that? Because it's the song I assosiate with Kirby. There's even a teaser song in the game. Why would Nintendo do this to me? They put it in Smash Bros. Melee. It's in Superstar with at least three different remixes. It's not in this game once. My all time favorite videogame song is missing, and I wish to know who to blame.
But maybe I'm nitpicking…
The sound effects would basically have been the same if they had been on the Super Nintendo, as Kirby sound effects don't usually warrant change (some of the weapons have their own sounds). Effects are O.K. but nothing to special.

Graphics: 8
The colors in this game are all very bright and vivid, which generally works well with the Nintendo style, and more specifically, Kirby. Though I would have liked a more dark and scary factory level, I guess beggars can't be choosers.
There are between 80-100 characters in this game, but some rarely get used, like a witch that can be seen riding through the sky in one of the later levels. Levels all seem very different, and they all seem very well planned. The graphics really fit the game well, though I don't see why this game HAS to be 3d.

Gameplay: 9
This is basically classic Kirby gameplay, all be it too short. This game is, for unknown reasons, 2 and a half dimensions. It doesn't need to be like that, it just is. I figure it could have been much bigger, better, and faster 2D experience in the vain of Superstar. I guess Nintendo was just drunk on polygons when making this game.
Anyway, if you've never played a Kirby game before, here's how it plays: Kirby sucks in an enemy, then he can either spit them out at an enemy, or swallow them, and gain power. In this game however, he can also spit enemies at each other to combine their powers into new powers. Such is what makes Crystal Shards special, as I doubt they'll ever do the power combining thing again (Not that it's bad or anything, it's just that if they added another element, they'd have to add 9 powers, seems like it'd really be a pain to me). You can also fly for short distances. The rest of what goes into the game is just platformy goodness.
One problem I had with this game is the speed. Maybe it's the two and a half dimension thing, but this game seems slower than even ''Kirby's Dreamland,'' one of the earlier titles for the Gameboy. Even running doesn't seem to get you fast enough, but maybe that's just me.

Replay/Extras: 9

I kind of like one element of the game that I'd like to see repeated in future installments. At the end of each level, Kirby's positioned just outside a picnic blanket, where he has the choice of going after many objects, most notably ''enemy'' cards. I decided it was enough to go through the trouble to play through some levels three or four times to get them all. Or maybe I'm a fool for it. Who knows?
Another reason to replay the levels is to collect all the crystal shards (hence the title of the game). They are scattered about the level, and some you need specific powers to obtain. You can probably get them the second time around, as the powers are almost always in the same level. You also get a special ''treat'' if you get the every crystal (warning: ''treat'' not really worth it).

Overall: 8

I feel bad about this game. I really wanted it to last longer, this HAS to be the shortest console Kirby game (Kirby's Dreamland for the Game Boy was rediculously short). Those who are Kirby veterans can clear this game in an afternoon, those new should check it out, but also try to get one of the better Kirby games.
Overall there's a lot missing, and a bit to complain about, but all in all, it's a solid game, with rewarding scenes in between levels. I guess if I really feel empty regarding Kirby, I can start watching the cartoon soon.
At least it didn't end up as Kirby's Air Board.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/02, Updated 08/11/02