Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble

"Before the Nintendo Wii, there was Tilt 'n' Tumble. And it rocked."

In this particular day and age, there seems to be a fixation on motion control. One can look no further than Nintendo's Wii for an example of how motion-based gameplay can be innovative and fun. Before the Wii, though, Nintendo experimented with motion-based games on its handhelds. There were Warioware and Yoshi games that involved moving your actual Game Boy around to control the game. The genesis of these sorts of games was a little Kirby title released on the Game Boy Color; Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble. It was a unique title for its time, and holds up well today.


The story starts with Kirby taking a quick nap on a puffy cloud in Dream Land, when something suddenly awakes him. He looks up and sees Waddle Dee and King DeDeDe running off somewhere, looking busy. Curious, Kirby rides a Warp Star to investigate, finding out that DeDeDe has stolen the stars from the sky. Kirby sets off to get them all back.


The main gameplay innovation is the manner in which you control the game. Rather than move Kirby with the directional pad, you physically tilt your Game Boy around to make him move. A quick little jerk upwards causes him to jump, which you'll need to get over pits and other obstacles. As you roll through the level, you'll notice little stars on the ground; collection 100 of these grants you an extra life. If you jump, you flip the stars into tiny clocks, which add a second or two to the time limit you have for each level. Obstacles include spikes, bumpers, and a few enemies. One must have good tilting control around these, or they'll find themselves ricocheting into a pit and losing a life. There are 8 worlds and 32 levels to explore, with a boss battle upon the end of each world. 5 bonus games exist that you can play, from a Simon-like dance off to an archery game requiring you to tilt your bow around. Secret stars exist in each level to be found, and only the most careful players will be able to tilt their way to them. One complaint, though, is a fault not with the game itself, but with the hardware. The Game Boy Color has no backlight, so you may find yourself looking at an angle that makes the screen hard to see, but is necessary for Kirby's survival. Regardless, the control works well as the backbone of the gameplay.


The sound and music are minimalist, but they work well enough. You have a handful of level music which speeds up when you're running low on time (a la Mario), as well as a boss theme and unique themes for the bonus games. There are fun little digitized voices, like people saying the game's name at the title screen. Kirby has varied noises too, which is cute.


This game is in a unique class; few games of its kind exist for handhelds. It's fun to play, although one little twitch of your arm could send Kirby to his doom, depending on how precarious the portion of the game. With lots of secrets to find, the game has good replay value. Kirby Tilt ‘n' Tumble was a fun little experiment, and it seemed to work well for Nintendo, given the few motion-controlled GBA games and the Wii's controller. It's an enjoyable game, and comes well-recommended. Rolling the little pink Kirby about is an interesting experience that everybody should try at least once.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/27/07

Game Release: Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble (US, 04/11/01)