Kirby & the Amazing Mirror

"So, does this cell phone reach Pizza Hut by any chance?"

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror certainly isn't the first Kirby game ever, and most Kirby fans out there know that. I knew that, even though I've never played any of the other Kirby games before. Mirror being my introduction to Kirby, I must say that I was initially impressed, but in the end dissatisfied.

So, Mirror shows a dark figure present in Mirror Land. Meta Knight goes off to help. Soon, we see Kirby getting attacked by a shadowy Meta Knight, and Kirby is split into 4 Kirbies of different color! Meta Knight disappears, and Kirby follows him (you play through this part). Then Kirby sees Meta Knight fighting the shadowy version of himself! The shadowy Meta Knight forces Meta Knight through the mirror, and then the mirror is sliced into 8 pieces. These pieces disappear and spread out around the world. Then the shadowy Meta Knight disappears through a mirror, followed by, a shadowy version of Kirby!? It's Kirby's (and the clones') job to collect the mirror pieces and see what happens!

Now that the story has been set, you are places next to your clone brethren in a cloudy area with many mirrors, one which is missing the eight pieces that were shattered earlier. You can travel through the other mirrors and explore through the world looking for those pieces now! But be wary, there is many bad creatures that will try to stop you along the way!

But how will you fight off these creatures? You're just a little pink pile of bubble gum, right? Well, using Kirby's amazing sucking powers you can suck up the enemies, and sometimes take on their traits. Suck up a warrior, and you have your own sword now with fighting skills, suck up a fire-spitter and spit fire yourself. If you get damaged you will lost your ability and also lose one health bar, but fear not, the ability will bounce off of you in the shape of a star, simply suck the star back up, and you regain your ability. As for the health issues, simply keep your eyes open for some food or other power-ups lying around to regain health.

So basically the game lets you figure out what to do from here. You have lots and lots of world to explore. Aside from the creatures you have to fight off, you also have many puzzles to solve along the way. The entire game is like a maze; a large labyrinth with nearly no markings telling you where you've been. This will become annoying very quickly, and you'll find yourself in the same area you've already been to. You have a map, but it's confusing and often doesn't really tell you much at all.

And this is the largest problem in Mirror, the difficulty of finding your way. Playing through battles and stuff is fun, but not really that hard. The real challenge in this game is trying to figure out where to go next. It can take a very long time to find out where you've been and haven't been, and if you don't have a lot of patience, you'll find yourself getting bored of playing the same rooms over and over again quickly.

At least you do have some computer help however, remember your clones from earlier, well, they can help you! Press R to use your little Kirby cell phone to give them a call. They'll appear in a few seconds, and will help you battle through whatever area your in. Unfortunately however, they can't tell you where to go either, they can only follow you and help you beat the enemies.

One fun thing to do in this game is, go for a little swim. Yep, several areas are underwater. Unfortunately, the enemy variety really drops out in these areas, and you find yourself battling the same two or three enemies over and over. But, there's also interesting things like currents and random spikes that will keep you on your toes. Kirby can fight enemies underwater either by blowing water at them, or with a sword or other ability (only a few work underwater though).

The game also has mini-games included. A cool idea, except the games are pretty lame. There's only 3 - one wear you have to quick hit A when the game prompts you to, one wear you have to press A at the right timing to get the power and accuracy right, and one wear you are surfing. The surfing one is fun, you get speed boosts for hitting A right at the top of a wave, but the game is way too easy. Even on the hardest setting you can get first without a problem at all. The other two games are just boring and they are also too easy.

At least the graphics are great, as the game features detailed level backgrounds and well-designed enemies. I particularly liked the forest areas, as the trees and jungle-like backgrounds are very nice to see. The underwater levels that I mentioned are also a sight to see; you even see air bubbles a lot, which are a nice touch. The developers seemed to spend a lot of time on detail, and it shows in the game.

Now in my opinion, the sound is perfect in a game if you don't realize that it's there. It should fit in perfectly, setting the tone of the level, but not being disruptive. Now, this game's sound isn't perfect, and sometimes it is just plain off. The different instruments are noticeable, but they get too repetitive too quickly. All in all, the music isn't bad in Mirror, it doesn't greatly effect anything, but after a while, you'll want to turn it off.

So basically, Mirror is a solid game in most categories, and the only problem with it is the directional issues. It's too hard to tell where you've been and where you haven't been, and that is a major problem since it makes beating the game a real challenge. Had there been an easier way to tell where you were, whether it had been a more detailed map or some kind of number system on the doors, the game would have been great. But without a clearcut way to see where you're going, the game gets old fast, and you'll get sick of not knowing where to go quickly. Most probably will give up before actually finishing the game, unless you are a hardcore Kirby fan. Anyone with a GBA should give this game a try however, because it is indeed fun and impressive while it lasts.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06