"A solid Kirby Adventure that could have been much better."

I've loved Kirby games ever since Kirby's Dreamland was released on the Game Boy. Over the years, the pink copy machine's games have never ceased to be fun. From Kirby Super Star (my personal favorite) to newer games like Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, I don't think I've ever been disappointed.

Gameplay- 10/10

This Kirby game is very similar to Kirby Super Star in terms of gameplay. You suck up enemies and copy their abilities. Each ability, however, has a number of moves that you can pull off, which adds to the fun. There are several different abilities, (most of which can be upgraded when you collect copy scrolls), and a few of them can even be combined using the touch screen. Speaking of the touch screen, in this game it is used as Kirby's stomach. When you grab treasure chests or bubbles, (Which contain copy abilities and food you can use to heal), they are placed into his belly on the lower screen. Just touch a bubble to eat the food or to gain an ability. Kirby can only hold 5 things in his belly though, and with up to three treasure chests per level, you may have to get rid of something you were saving for later.

The enemies aren't very tough, and most of them will go down with a single touch of the B button when you have an ability. The mini-bosses can be a bit hard at times, but nothing too tough. Finally, a few of the bosses can be hard if you don't know what you are doing, and you may die a few times.

Story- 6/10

It's a Kirby game, so you can expect the story to be somewhat.... strange....

Kirby is about to enjoy his strawberry shortcake on a nice day, when someone steals it. He immediately suspects King DeDeDe and heads toward his castle.
After he beats DeDeDe, A new group called the Squeak Squad appears and steals all of the treasure chests from DeDeDe's Castle, one of which holds the shortcake. Kirby takes off throughout the land searching for that chest. >_>

Graphics- 8/10

The graphics in this Kirby aren't as good as in the previous Kirby DS game, Canvas Curse, but are slightly better than that of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, which had pretty nice graphics to begin with.

Sound- 10/10

I love the music in this game. All the classic Kirby themes are here, as well as some new, and remixes of old. The music in 1-1 seems to stick out as my favorite.
The sound effects are great as well, and makes the game feel like a classic Kirby adventure.

Controls- 9/10

The controls of Kirby are easy to learn if you're new to the series. Press A to Jump. Press B to eat enemies and then to use their copy abilities. Press up on the control pad to fly. The touch screen's usage is easy to learn as well, just tap an bubble to use the item inside or drag two bubbles together to make a new item or ability. My only problem with the controls was the difficulty it took to pull off certain copy ability moves because they were so similar to another.

Multi-Player- 6/10

The multi-player in this game is fun... for about 5 minutes. The lack of a co-op mode disappoints me.

Replay Value- 8/10

There are many collectibles(inside the game's many treasure chests) in Kirby Squeak Squad. Too bad that it's very easy to get them all in the first playthrough. However, beating the game does open a few other modes that you can play around with, like Boss Endurance. The game is also very short, but most Kirby games are.

Overall- 8/10

Gameplay-10/10
Story- 6/10
Graphics- 8/10
Sound- 10/10
Controls- 9/10
Multi-Player- 7/10
Replay Value- 8/10

It's a great Kirby game, but so many things could have been better. Increased difficulty, more varied multiplayer and many more mixed copy abilities are a few things that come to mind.

Rent or Buy?-

If you like Kirby, buy this game. If you've never played a Kirby game, this might be a good place to start, because most of the abilities from the other games are here.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06