Kirby & the Amazing Mirror

"Kirby attempts to get with the times by getting a cell phone"

Kirby. Such a lovable character. Who doesn't like Kirby? Kirby is one of those video game characters that gets his popularity from his character- a strange balloon thing that sucks enemies up and take their power. With the exception of Kirby SuperStar, Kirby's games are nothing special at all. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is no exception. However, there are some differences that separate Amazing Mirror from your everyday Kirby game.

Storyline: A storyline without Meta Knight and King DeeDee? Can it work? Sure. The storyline is simple. Mirror World has been invaded! It is up to Kirby to stop Dark Mind and save the day. No, Dark Mind is not that cool of a villain. Sorry. Kirby won't be doing it alone though; he can now use a cell phone to call up 3 other Kirbies to help you. Because really, that's what Kirby is all about. Cell phones. Kirby now has to be a mascot for a cell phone company in addition to saving the world. But anyways, you can have up to 4 Kirbies going around the world helping you. Do they really help? Not really. But they can be useful as decoys.

Game Play: The game play is just the same as any other Kirby game. You play as Kirby who has the ability to inhale enemies and for some enemies you can take their power. You can throw bombs, use a sword, punch with your fists or cook. I mentioned earlier about using a cell phone. Well, you have 3 batteries for you cell phone, if you run out, you can't call your friends. Batteries are scattered all over the world so it shouldn't be a problem. The thing with this Kirby game is that this game is basically one big gigantic level connected by mirrors. It can get frustrating and annoying when you don't know where to go but it's still an interesting approach. Really, I think this game is evidence that the whole level-by-level system is dying off. The Kirby game before this was Nightmare in Dreamland which used the level system. Personally, I like the level-by-level system better but like I said, this was an interesting approach.

Graphics/Soundtrack/Replay: The graphics are what you would expect on a GBA, nothing new but they aren't terrible either. The backgrounds are what were really nice; you'll find they really add a lot to the game. The sound and music are both good. There is a whole bunch of new music and sounds that weren't in previous Kirby games which is good. We don't want every Kirby game to have the same music and sounds. The replay value is as good as any Mario game, good. After you beat the game you can go searching for treasures in order to have 100%. You can also hook up with your friends and play the mini games. There's stuff to in this game but it's doubtful that somebody is going to spend a lot of time trying to get 100% for a game like this.

Overall, this game is not bad by any means. But there is nothing this game does to separate it from any other Kirby games. Cell phones were an amusing twist but it's negligible in the long run. If you could rent this it would probably be best. I regret shelling out 30 dollars for this game. It wasn't like it wasn't fun, but shelling out 20-30 dollars for a game like this isn't really a smart investment. I enjoyed this game but it's just another mediocre Kirby game that's fallen into obscurity. I'll patiently await the next Kirby SuperStar.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/20/04, Updated 12/18/06