It’s time to feel old once again! Today, January 22nd 2023, marks the ten-year anniversary of when Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch was released on the PlayStation 3 in the US!
Developed by Level-5, Ni no Kuni was one of the most acclaimed games of 2013. Not only was Ni no Kuni my favorite game of that year, it was my favorite game on the PS3. The gameplay was like a cross between traditional RPGs like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest and Pokemon. It was also a collaboration with Studio Ghibli, the world’s greatest animation studio, who designed the characters, creatures and backgrounds of the game. It wasn’t Studio Ghibli’s first involvement with a video game (they previously collaborated on titles such as Jade Cocoon), but it’s perhaps the most prominent example of the studio entering the world of gaming, to the point that the soundtrack was composed by none other than Joe Hisaishi, the maestro who has scored all of Hayao Miyazaki’s films from Nausicaa onward (and also composed Isao Takahata’s final film, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya). Suffice to say the soundtrack is sublime.
A remastered version of Ni no Kuni was released in 2019 on the Playstation 4 (as well as the original edition being released on the Switch), so thankfully it’s still readily available even after a decade. And it’s a game that definitely needs to be experienced by more people. Not only does the title boast one of gaming’s more touching stories, it also proved that not every game needs to be some big open-world in this day and age, and that old school, turn-based RPGs can still produce truly great titles.
An absolutely charming and sadly underrated game, Ni no Kuni should be more widely embraced as a classic. Its sequel, Revenant Kingdom, was also good but couldn’t recapture the magic. There was even a spinoff animated film (sadly not produced by Studio Ghibli, but still). I hope there will be a proper third entry at some point.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m well overdue for another playthrough…
Happy 10th Anniversary: Ni no Kuni!
“Let’s not forget that Ni no Kuni introduced us to Drippy, Lord High Lord of the Fairies. The single greatest Welsh video game character in history.”
It’s time to feel old! Today, December 13th 2022, marks the twentieth anniversary of the original release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker on the Nintendo GameCube in Japan.
Like many of Nintendo’s franchises, The Legend of Zelda made the transition to 3D on the Nintendo 64. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was released in 1998 and became one of the most acclaimed games of all time. It was followed two years later by The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, which was similarly heralded. Zelda’s presence on the Nintendo 64 created one of the most impactful one-two punches in gaming history. As such, many fans were clamoring for what the third 3D installment of The Legend of Zelda would be like, especially since it was to be released on the (then upcoming) Nintendo GameCube.
Fans were taken aback when The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was revealed, with a heavily stylized, cartoony art style. Many gamers hated the look of the game, decrying it as being “kiddy” and referring to it as “Celda” in mockery of its cel-shaded art. Even Shigeru Miyamoto, the original creator of The Legend of Zelda, reportedly cringed when he first saw footage of the game (of course, Shigeru Miyamoto also thought removing the RPG elements in Paper Mario was a good idea. He may be the world’s greatest game designer, but he’s also been wrong a number of times).
Well, the joke was on them, because that same art direction has ensured that The Wind Waker has remained the most timeless of 3D Zelda titles. One of the most timeless games of all time really, which is saying something since 2002 was still relatively early in gaming’s rough 3D pioneering period.
Everything that made Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask memorable was still present in The Wind Waker. If anything, Wind Waker improved on its predecessors by making the combat more fluid and intuitive than ever, and added new elements such as stealth and sailing to the equation. Hell, the “Great Sea” of Wind Waker introduced an open-world to Zelda more than a decade before Breath of the Wild. And I’m just going to say it: Wind Waker has the best overall soundtrack in the series.
It’s true that, because of the GameCube’s less-than ideal sales numbers, Wind Waker was somewhat rushed in order to get another blockbuster game on the console. As such, a few ideas for the game had to be scrapped, including an entire dungeon or two. And Nintendo decided to add that Triforce fetch quest in there to pad things out a bit. So okay, Wind Waker isn’t perfect, but I would argue that it may very well be, on the whole, the best 3D Zelda.
Again, Wind Waker basically perfected the gameplay established by its N64 predecessors. Its massive open-world gave way to a sense of discovery and sidequests that are second to none in the series. It probably has the best story in the series (with the best versions of Zelda and Ganon to boot). The aforementioned soundtrack is sublime. And that cel-shaded art style – once so heavily derided by your typical gamer ignorance – have proven to be the best thing to ever happen to video game visuals.
“Let’s not forget that the same people who criticized Wind Waker’s visuals thought THIS demo looked good. It looks like total butt!”
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker was made even better with the release of an HD remake on the Wii U in 2013 (yes, the remake alone is nearly ten-years old). Although you could argue that Wind Waker was the Zelda in the least need of an overhaul, The Wind Waker HD did make some notable improvements, like the inclusion of a special sail that allowed Link to traverse the Great Sea faster, and that Triforce quest was trimmed down considerably. Not to mention the Wii U Gamepad actually managed to smoothen out the classic Zelda gameplay (no more constant pausing to swap items). The HD re-release made an all-time great all the greater. And now that a whole decade has nearly passed, I think another re-release of The Wind Waker is due.
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker may have had a rougher road to pave and a steeper hill to climb than most games that bear the Zelda name, but it – quite beautifully – proved the naysayers wrong as it continues to be hailed as one of the best entries in the revered series.
It may have taken a little longer to get there, but in the end, the game once ridiculed as “Celda” proved itself to be a legend indeed.
Fifteen years ago today, on November 12th 2007, Super Mario Galaxy was released on the Nintendo Wii in North America!
Of course, Super Mario Galaxy was first released in Japan, and in that case, its fifteenth anniversary was on November 1st. But since I only kind of mentioned that on a post the day after the fact, and because I’m American so the US release is more personal to me, let’s celebrate Super Mario Galaxy now!
Goodness gracious, where does the time go? I remember the buildup to Super Mario Galaxy more than most games: that 2006 demo that looked pretty different from the final game, checking the Japanese website for updates, hearing the Gusty Garden Galaxy theme for the first time from a making of video showing an orchestral recording session… I even remember when the game was at Wii kiosks at GameStop, I’d actually take a few minutes to nab a star or two (though the same star or two every time. Didn’t want to spoil too much of the game ahead of time).
Super Mario Galaxy was the third 3D Mario game, but it felt more like the proper successor to Super Mario 64 than Sunshine ever did. Like 64, Galaxy felt like the next evolution of the Mario series, combining elements of its 3D predecessors as well as elements from the 2D Super Mario titles, and using the idea of outer space to add its own bag of tricks into the proceedings, like spherical planetoids and gravity (it seems odd in retrospect that it took Nintendo that long to combine a series that so heavily features jumping with gravity).
Galaxy even expanded on Mario norms in fun and meaningful ways. After being toned down in 64 and entirely absent in Sunshine, Galaxy marked the proper return for power-ups in the Mario series. Not only did the Fire Flower make a long-overdue comeback (and for the first time in 3D!), but new power-ups such as the Bee Suit, Boo Suit and comical Spring Suit left an impression (I’m still wondering why the original version of Ice Mario seen in Galaxy hasn’t returned, being replaced by the less creative New Super Mario Bros. version thereafter). Super Mario Galaxy even brought back Luigi, after years of being sidelined from the main Mario series post-SNES. We even got a new addition to the Mario canon in the form of Rosalina, who has become a Mario mainstay ever since.
“Super Mario Galaxy even had a (relatively) stronger emphasis on story than other Mario games, including a genuinely touching sub-plot about the character Rosalina’s backstory.”
Combine all of these elements together with some absolutely stellar level design, pitch perfect gameplay, and one of gaming’s greatest soundtracks, and Galaxy proved to be one hell of a Mario game.
And what a game it was! Super Mario Galaxy not only succeeded where Sunshine fell short, it set the bar for the Wii, and was something of a new benchmark for not only the Mario series, but for Nintendo itself. It was one of the most fun and imaginative games of its day, and fifteen years later, age hasn’t effected it at all.
I also feel like Galaxy started something of a renaissance for the Mario series. Although the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games were great, for the most part, the Mario series hadn’t really seen the same critical heights as it once did after Super Mario 64 (though again, the Mario RPGs really deserved a bigger spotlight). Sure, the Mario Karts, sports games and Mario Parties were fun, but not exactly the defining gaming experiences Mario was once synonymous with. Super Mario Galaxy brought back the pedigree of the Mario series. Galaxy earned a critical reputation that very few games could hope to claim, and rightfully so! And since then, the Super Mario series has seldom looked back, being on perhaps a longer winning streak now than it ever had before. Games like Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Odyssey have continued Mario’s winning ways, and titles such as Super Mario Maker and Mario Kart 8 raised the bar for the spinoffs (it’s just a shame the RPGs seem to be the only aspect of the series that haven’t shared in this renaissance). Even the music of the series remains elevated post-Galaxy (Mario games always had great music, but I feel like now it has the most consistently great soundtracks in gaming).
Okay, so things may have looked like they peaked with Galaxy 2 there for a minute, seeing as 2011 and 2012 were extra safe years for the series, but then Super Mario 3D World was released in 2013 and the world was happy again. So those two off years were just little blips.
In short, Super Mario Galaxy was a special game that took the Mario series to new heights (literally! He was in space!). And even now, fifteen years later, this Wii classic is still one of Mario’s finest hours!
Happy Fifteenth (US) Anniversary, Super Mario Galaxy!
Yeah, it’s another celebratory anniversary post here at the Dojo. I will get back to reviewing movies and games as soon as possible. But I’m in the process of moving so I haven’t had the time to prepare and write something more substantial. Apologies.
Anyway…
Today, September 29th 2022, marks the twenty-sixth anniversary of the release of the Nintendo 64 in North America! And with it, the release of one of the most influential, innovative and revolutionary video games of all time, Super Mario 64!
The Nintendo 64 was Nintendo’s first console capable of polygonal, 3D graphics. And was the first console built around such concepts (the Playstation and Sega Saturn were originally designed as 2D consoles). While on the downside, that did mean many designers had to start over from square one, meaning that a number of N64 titles felt experimental and thus have succumbed to age over time, on the plus side, it opened the door to many kinds of games that just weren’t capable before.
Super Mario 64, despite being a launch title for the N64, is one of the console’s few truly timeless games. For the first time ever, Mario could roam around a 3D environment, had a new set of acrobatic moves, and levels now had a mission-based structure, as opposed to simply getting to the end of a stage. While I’m in the camp that believes some of Mario’s later 3D efforts bettered 64, there is no denying that Super Mario 64 has earned its place as one of history’s best games by being so forward-thinking in its day, that developers are still using its design for inspiration even today. And those opening words of “It’s-a me, Mario” are surely the most famous in gaming history. It’s a true classic.
As an added bonus, today is also (somehow) the fifth anniversary of the Super NES Classic Edition, the “mini retro console” built in the image of the N64’s predecessor that came with twenty-one SNES games built in (though sadly, Donkey Kong Country 2, Chrono Trigger and Kirby’s Dreamland 3 somehow weren’t among them). Though the mini-console craze has died down somewhat in the half-decade since, the SNES Classic Edition can still boast to be the best example of the mini-console trend of the past few years thanks to the classics it had bundled inside. I wouldn’t be mad if Nintendo announced an updated version of it or a mini-N64 or Wii down the road…
Happy 26th (US) anniversary, Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 And happy 5th anniversary SNES Classic Edition!
First thing’s first, I must apologize that the Dojo has slowed to a crawl as of late. I have a lot going on at the moment, and I haven’t had the time to write. Hopefully within the next few days and weeks I can get back to posting content more regularly.
Anyway, the world of video games has a lot to celebrate, as today marks the thirty-seventh anniversary of Super Mario Bros., and this month marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first commercially released video game console.
Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find an exact date for the Magnavox Odyssey’s release, and I’m not old enough to have experienced it firsthand. Still, the fact that video game consoles are now officially five decades old seems like the kind of thing to celebrate, even if I may not know the exact day in September 1972 that the Odyssey was released. But seeing as today is also the anniversary of Super Mario Bros’ release in Japan, now felt like a good time to write about it.
To say the games on the Magnavox Odyssey were primitive is an understatement. They were so rudimentary, so bare bones, that they consisted of little more than controlling lights on the screen. And since graphics and animation hadn’t been created for video games yet, each game came with an overlay to put on the TV screen to differentiate them from each other (seriously). And though the games had gameplay rules written in their manuals, there wasn’t really anything stopping the players from moving their respective lights wherever they wanted on the screen to just goof off. Again, it was primitive, but video games had to start somewhere. And you could say the system lived up to its name, as it began the odyssey of gaming itself. Oof, that was cheesy. But I meant it.
So here’s to the big five-oh of the Magnavox Odyssey and, by extension, video game consoles themselves! Thanks Ralph Baer!
Fittingly, the same month we celebrate the first commercial video game console, we also celebrate what is most likely history’s most impactful video game: Super Mario Bros.
Released in Japan on September 13th 1985, Super Mario Bros. revolutionized video games, lifted the medium out of a dark age, paved the way for Nintendo’s many franchises (and Mario’s many sequels and spinoffs), and continues to influence game design to this day. Simply put, the world of video games would be a whole lot less enjoyable had Mario (and Luigi! Can’t forget Luigi) not adventured through the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Peach from the villainous Bowser. It’s still a true classic.
September is apparently a very influential month for video games, and has given players many reasons to celebrate. Hell, just today Nintendo officially announced Pikmin 4 will be coming to the Switch next year! So throw that on the pile of video game things to celebrate today!
Happy Video Games, everyone!
As an added bonus, tomorrow, September 14th 2022, will mark the twentieth anniversary of when Kirby: Right Back at Ya debuted on the FoxBox block on Fox! And that means it’s been twenty years since the world was introduced to this little beauty…
Well, this makes me feel old. Today, May 23rd 2022, marks the twelfth anniversary of the release of Super Mario Galaxy 2 in North America! May is apparently a fantastic month for Mario, seeing as we already had the anniversary of Super Mario RPG earlier this month. That’s two all-time greats in the same month!
Yes, somehow, it’s been a full twelve years since Super Mario Galaxy 2 was released on the Wii. The first Super Mario Galaxy (released on Wii in 2007) was already one of the most acclaimed video games of all time, and it may seem odd to remember that when Galaxy 2 was announced, the hype was somewhat restrained, with many claiming it looked like more of the same, and that it couldn’t live up to its predecessor.
Boy, were those people wrong! Despite the lofty standard set by the first Super Mario Galaxy, Galaxy 2 managed to meet and even exceed expectations, becoming every bit as acclaimed and heralded as its predecessor. And to call it more of the same couldn’t be further from the truth. Similar to how Majora’s Mask would create an identity of its own while using many of Ocarina of Time’s assets, Galaxy 2 is structurally and philosophically its own beast, despite using its predecessor as a backdrop.
“The very first image of Super Mario Galaxy 2 I ever saw.”
It’s also important to note Galaxy 2’s impact because when it was released in 2010, the video game world was all in with the weird “games aren’t art unless they emulate movies” mentality. Unless something was a Mass Effect or a Red Dead Redemption or some “atmospheric” indie darling, it couldn’t be art. I can recall at least one major gaming website once IGNorantly claimed that Limbo was a better platformer than Galaxy 2 because Limbo “had atmosphere.” But who the hell talks about Limbo anymore? Then again, people thought Ken Levine was like gaming’s greatest auteur back then. It was a confused time.
Thankfully, Super Mario Galaxy 2 prevailed in showing that pure, unadulterated game design in itself can be art. Galaxy 2 is a game as perfectly structured as any, comprised of one imaginative idea after another, each one creative enough to be a game in their own right. It’s a game of no wasted energy.
Yes, even though Galaxy 2 went against what was seen as “highbrow gaming” at the time, it has stood tall these twelve years later, and outlasted the games that were “supposed” to be the new artistic standard.
In the years since, the Souls series and Breath of the Wild have reached a similar level of acclaim to the Super Mario Galaxy duo. But with all due respect (particularly to Elden Ring) it’s fitting that Super Mario Odyssey is perhaps the only game since to match the non-stop inventiveness and pitch-perfect execution of Galaxy 2. It’s been a hell of an act to follow.
The first Super Mario Galaxy was pretty much perfect, but Galaxy 2 somehow became something more. Twelve years later, it’s still – quite easily – one of the best video games of all time.
Happy twelfth anniversary, Super Mario Galaxy 2!
“One of Mario’s best-ever power-ups. And one that’s in desperate need of a comeback.”
Now, why wasn’t Galaxy 2 included in Super Mario 3D All-Stars again?
Today, May 13th, 2022, marks the twenty-sixth anniversary of the release of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on the Super Nintendo in North America (it was released in Japan two months prior). I know, you’re probably thinking “twenty-six is a random anniversary to point out for something like this.” And you may have a point. But last year I (of all people) failed to write about Super Mario RPG’s twenty-fifth anniversary! I wrote a bunch of anniversary posts for other things in 2021, yet failed to acknowledge the anniversary of what is most likely my favorite video game of all time. So consider this my recompence.
Come to think of it, I failed to mention Paper Mario’s twentieth anniversary in 2021 as well (and its twenty-first a few months back)… I’ve become everything I’ve ever hated.
Anyway…
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was released on the Super NES twenty-six years ago, and instantly became one of the most beloved Mario games and RPGs of all time. Although its release being so late in the SNES’s lifecycle – as well as the release of the Nintendo 64 and Super Mario 64 a few months later – may have affected its sales somewhat at the time, Super Mario RPG would still prove to be a success. And true to its name, it became something of a legend in the video game world, with word of mouth helping its reputation grow over the years.
“The best battle system.”
Sadly, Super Mario RPG seems to be the one Mario game that won’t get a sequel. Although it would inspire the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi sub-series (and influence many other RPGs outside of the Mario series), Super Mario RPG itself has only continued on through a few cameos and a couple of snippets of music in subsequent Mario games. Despite fans’ persistent yearning to see the characters and elements of Super Mario RPG make a return, their pleas continue to fall on deaf ears.
There is a glimmer of hope, as Chihiro Fujioka, the director of Super Mario RPG, has recently expressed his desire to create a sequel to the SNES classic as his last game before retirement. Fingers crossed that Chihiro Fujioka gets his way.
Even without a sequel, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars has left an indelible mark in Nintendo history and earned its legendary status. It’s the game that gave the Mushroom Kingdom a story, introduced the world to Mallow and Geno, made Bowser the most likable character ever, and made turn-based battles way more fun! A legend? Oh, you better believe it!
“In what other game can Bowser do battle with a giant cake?”
Happy Twenty-sixth anniversary, Super Mario RPG!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go listen to that godly soundtrack again!
Believe it or not, Kirby is 30 years old this year! The powerful pink puffball made his debut on the Game Boy in Kirby’s Dream Land in 1992, and has since become one of Nintendo’s, and gaming’s, most enduring characters.
While Kirby could inhale his enemies in Dream Land, it wasn’t until his second game, Kirby’s Adventure, that Kirby gained the ability to copy their powers by doing so. An ability that has defined the series since.
Over the past 30 years, Kirby has branched out to other types of games as well. whether adding new mechanics and innovations to his platforming romps or dipping his toes in other genres entirely, Kirby has proven to be second only to Mario as the most versatile hero in gaming.
Kirby has done so much over the years, that it seems a bit weird that he’s only just now getting his first-ever 3D platformer in the form of Kirby and the Forgotten Land. To celebrate Kirby’s milestone 30th year, as well as the release of Forgotten Land, I figured I’d compile my list of the top 10 Kirby games of all time!
I have to admit, this was a tough list to compile. Though the series may not have the same weight as Mario or Zelda, Kirby is arguably the most consistent of the lot in that he’s never really had a bad game (Kirby Battle Royal comes closest though). While this list is based on personal opinion, I did take into consideration which games were meaningful additions to the series as a whole, which ones were the most innovative, and things like that to help narrow it down.
And for those wondering, I will be counting any remakes as an extension of their original game. So, before you get upset that Kirby Super Star Ultra isn’t on here, it technically is by the fact that Kirby Super Star is (spoiler alert, I guess).
Because this list was so difficult to compile, I didn’t want to leave some of the extra games out entirely. So let’s give a brief shoutout to some honorable mentions before we get to the top 10 proper.
Honorable Mention: Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
A Kirby Metroidvania?! Up to four players?! Hot dog! That sounds, well… amazing!
And in some ways, it is. But Kirby and the Amazing Mirror’s world is less cohesive than other Metroidvanias (the in-game map hardly helps). Also keep in mind that this was 2004 on the Gameboy Advance, so the only way to actually get four players together was to make sure everyone had the game as well as link cables. It was difficult then, even more so now.
Still, you could argue that Amazing Mirror was ahead of its time with its concept. Kirby’s Return to Dreamland and Kirby Star Allies would eventually weave four-person multiplayer into classic Kirby gameplay. Now here’s hoping Hal and Nintendo decide to revisit the Metroidvania concept for the series down the road.
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is a good game, but doesn’t quite reach the potential heights of its concept. Further point deduction for being the only game in the entire franchise not to feature his exalted greatness, King Dedede.
Honorable Mention: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
I really struggled deciding whether Kirby Canvas Curse or Rainbow Curse would make the top 10 between the two similar titles. In the end, I went with Canvas Curse (spoilers again). But Rainbow Curse is certainly no slouch.
Kirby is no stranger to unique art styles, and Rainbow Curse’s clay-inspired visuals are among the best of the lot. It’s a gorgeous game! And the touchscreen/stylus focused gameplay remains as unique as it was in Canvas Curse.
On the downside, because the gameplay focused on the Wii U gamepad, you couldn’t always appreciate the visuals in all their glory (the gamepad obviously didn’t have the same quality as what was on the TV screen). And bizarrely, Kirby could no longer copy abilities, even though he could still do that in Canvas Curse. Also the game was released in 2015, that weird time period when Nintendo games had like three bosses that would just recycle over and over (like Captain Toad Treasure Tracker and Yoshi’s Woolly World), a trend that Rainbow Curse sadly fell into.
Still, the charm shines through. And the music is excellent.
Honorable Mention: Kirby’s Return to Dreamland
Controversy time! A lot of people these days seem to look back at Kirby’s Return to Dreamland on the Wii as one of the best games in the series, if not the best! It seems to have become maybe the second most praised entry by fans, after Kirby Super Star. Alas, it didn’t quite crack my top 10.
There’s certainly a lot to love about Return to Dreamland: it was the first traditional Kirby game released on a home console since Kirby 64 eleven years earlier, it featured pick up and play four-person multiplayer (play as either four Kirbies or different characters), and it doubled down on the series’ love of including a ridiculous amount of extra content. Oh, and it introduced the ‘water’ copy ability first seen in the anime into the games!
On the downside, Return to Dreamland is as by-the-books as it gets, adding very little to the Kirby experience that hadn’t been done before. At the time that may not have seemed too bad, given the whole “eleven years since Kirby 64” thing. But in retrospect it’s far more noticeable. It also doesn’t help that this was the early 2010s, when there was no shortage of retro 2D platformers. And the Wii and DS generation gave us much more innovative Kirby games.
A good Kirby game, but a safe one.
Honorable Mention: Kirby’s Pinball Land
Mario, Pokemon, and Metroid have all tried their hand at pinball games, but Kirby (quite logically, given the character) beat them to the punch.
The first-ever Kirby spinoff, Pinball Land saw Kirby play the role of the ball on three different pinball tables. Kirby’s Pinball Land is a very fun pinball video game on the Game Boy, though it is also pretty straightforward in its pinball-ness. Aside from the cute characters and boss fights, it doesn’t really introduce any Kirby themed gimmicks to the proceedings. Maybe some day, Hal Labratory will revisit this idea and find a way to implement Kirby’s copy abilities into the world of pinball.
A fitting “first” for Kirby spinoffs.
Alright, that’s probably enough honorable mentions. With that out of the way, let’s move on to the top 10!
10: Kirby’s Dream Course
Released: 1994
Platform: SNES
Kirby’s Dream Course is one of the earliest Kirby games, being the fourth released overall, following Kirby’s Dreamland, Kirby’s Adventure and Kirby’s Pinball Land. But for such an early entry, it is a wildly innovative deviation from the series norms that is still fun and original to this day.
Dream Course is always touted as a “mini-golf game.” While that’s technically true, the game is far more than just a golf game with a coat of Kirby paint, making it stand out compared to the more straightforward Pinball Land. Kirby even gets to use his copy abilities this time around!
The stages are set up like mini-golf courses, and players have to knock Kirby around like a golf ball, eliminating all (but one) of the enemies on a stage, with the last enemy becoming the hole. Get Kirby in there and it’s on to the next stage! But use up too many turns and it’s game over.
Ten of Kirby’s copy abilities from Adventure make a return and change up Kirby’s physics for how he moves across the courses and takes out enemies. It all sounds so simple, but in execution it’s just so fun and creative. It also happens to be one of the best looking SNES games, with colorful character sprites and surprisingly effective isometric stages. It even has a two-player versus mode!
The only real downside is that, for a game that’s so different, it has very little in-game instructions, making it a little hard to ease into. But once you do, you’ll find one of Kirby’s – and the Super Nintendo’s – unsung classics.
Add this to the pile of “Nintendo games that desperately deserve a sequel.”
9: Kirby Mass Attack
Released: 2011
Platform: Nintendo DS
The 2010s marked something of a reinvigoration for the Kirby series. Gone were the days of fun-but-vanilla entries like Squeak Squad and falling back on remakes of classics. Kirby was once again being used as a blank canvas for the folks at Hal Labratory to experiment with all kinds of crazy ideas, like in the early years of the franchise. And Mass Attack may be the weirdest idea of the bunch!
Kirby purists may lament that this is one of the entries where Kirby can’t copy abilities, but Mass Attack more than makes up for their absence by splitting Kirby into ten mini Kirbies, who have to use their combined numbers to overwhelm enemies, solve puzzles, and collect treasures. It’s basically like Kirby meets Pikmin!
Much like Canvas Curse did six years prior, Kirby Mass Attack is controlled solely by the touchscreen on the DS console. Players tap where they want the Kirbies to go, touch the enemies they want the Kirbies to attack, and can fling the Kirbies upward with a flick of the stylus. It’s another fun and innovative game that brings so much out of the seemingly simple concept.
As a bonus, Kirby Mass Attack includes a host of mini-games and side games, some of which could have been entire games in their own right. So in case the utterly charming main game wasn’t enough, Mass Attack has plenty more to offer.
8: Kirby: Planet Robobot
Released: 2016
Platform: Nintendo 3DS
As stated above, the 2010s saw some great experimental Kirby games. But they also brought us some great traditional Kirby titles as well. Return to Dreamland started things off for this direction for the series, which continued with Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot on the Nintendo 3DS, and Star Allies on Switch. All three are fun (though similar) additions to the franchise, but I think Robobot marked the peak of this generation of Kirby.
Kirby: Planet Robobot is your traditional Kirby platformer, filled with copy abilities for our overpowered pink hero to utilize. But the game features a fun mechanical motif, with the bad guys trying to convert Kirby’s world into a machine. Though the mechanical theme may not always reach its potential, it does bring a great new addition to the gameplay: Robobot armor!
Taking a page from Mega Man X, there are moments in Planet Robobot where Kirby can pilot Robobot Armor which, yes, combine with copy abilities to open up new gameplay possibilities. It’s similar to the Animal Friends from the Dream Land sequels, but since Hal seems hellbent on never giving us those guys again, the Robobot Armor is a great substitute.
There are also some fun new copy abilities, like Doctor Kirby and Psychic Kirby, the latter of which is one of the best in the series. On the downside, Poison Kirby, which should also be among the best copy abilities, is just a reskinned Water Kirby that deals continuous damage. That’s a missed opportunity. Maybe the series can bring back and alter Poison Kirby down the road and make it its own beast.
Kirby: Planet Robobot may be traditional Kirby through and through (never a bad thing), but the new copy abilities and Robobot Armor – in addition to some fun extra modes – make it the best traditional Kirby in a very long time.
7: Kirby: Canvas Curse
Released: 2005
Platform: Nintendo DS
Given the massive success the Nintendo DS ended up being, it may be hard to remember that it had a rough start. Aside from a mixed bag of a Super Mario 64 remake, it didn’t have much to boast about at launch, or for several months after. The two screens and touch screen were awesome ideas that just weren’t being well utilized.
Then along came Kirby: Canvas Curse. Behold, the first great DS game! Canvas Curse opened the door for DS greatness, and the console never looked back.
Kirby: Canvas Curse made me LOVE the DS! It took advantage of the dual screens and the touch-based gameplay to create a game whose inventiveness still makes me smile just thinking about it.
In Kirby: Canvas Curse, Kirby has been transformed into a ball (well, even more of a ball), and the player has to draw rainbows for Kirby to move across. Tap Kirby when he’s on the rainbow, and he does a little dash attack. Dash into an enemy with a copy ability, and Kirby gains that ability (something which was sorely missed in Rainbow Curse). Players can even track down medals hidden throughout the levels, which unlock all kinds of bonuses like music, extra characters, and even new paint colors!
The action is of course displayed on the DS’s bottom screen, given that everything is touch controlled in Canvas Curse. The top screen displays a map, giving the player a better understanding of the layout of the levels.
Canvas Curse has some critics, namely those who prefer the more traditional Kirby games, since Canvas Curse was the title that started the more experimental branch of Kirby titles. But the series has been better off for it. After all, Kirby’s earliest years tried their hand at some odd ideas (see Dream Course above). Canvas Curse simply brought that creative spark back in a time when Kirby games were beginning to stagnate.
You may have noticed a recurring theme on this list of games that have a simple, fun idea, and bring out the best in said idea. This is an area in which Nintendo (and Kirby specifically) excel, and few have done it better than Kirby: Canvas Curse.
6: Kirby’s Dream Land 2
Released: 1995
Platform: Game Boy
Kirby got his start on the Game Boy in Kirby’s Dream Land. It is only fitting that, after going to home consoles and deviating with spinoffs, Kirby would bounce back with a Game Boy sequel that is arguably the best game on the console to play today.
Although Dream Land 2 may be a small game by today’s standards, and lacks the ludicrous amount of extra content of contemporary Kirby games, the fact that everything Kirby’s Dream Land 2 managed to accomplish on the Game Boy remains so well executed and fun has to be commended. It wasn’t just a great game “for it’s time” or “for the Game Boy,” it’s still a great game despite its limitations.
Even though the title reads Dream Land 2, the game actually feels more like a sequel to Kirby’s Adventure. The copy abilities made their return (albeit condensed into what I like to call the “core seven” copy abilities). And Kirby once again had to face off with some demonic force after King Dedede was defeated (though this time, you had to uncover secret items to unlock that final showdown).
This wasn’t merely Kirby’s Adventure on a handheld, however, as Kirby’s Dream Land 2 introduced one of the series’ very best additions: the Animal Friends!
While Mario had Yoshi, Kirby gained three noble steeds in the forms of Rick the Hamster, Coo the Owl, and Kine the Sunfish. The best part was that each Animal Friend changed up the copy abilities, effectively quadrupling the number of powers at Kirby’s disposal. The fact that Hal has only properly brought back the Animal Friends for one other game is beyond perplexing.
Kirby’s Dream Land 2 may be a small game. But it’s one you can never go wrong with.
5: Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
Released: 2000
Platform: Nintendo 64 (obviously)
Speaking of Kirby games that had a great gameplay hook that for some reason has never been brought back, it’s Kirby 64!
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was the only Kirby game released on the Nintendo 64. Being released in 2000, it was pretty late to the N64 party (late-game additions were a common theme to Kirby back then, as you’ll see further on this list). But Kirby 64 was so good that none of that really mattered. Twenty-two years later(!!), it’s held up as one of the best Nintendo 64 games to play today.
Although the graphics took advantage of the Nintendo 64’s 3D capabilities, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was still played from a 2D perspective. But Kirby 64 had some fun with the hardware, with a more dynamic camera that would shift to more cinematic angles during certain moments (a little detail about the game that goes largely unmentioned, but that I love to bring up).
The big new gameplay hook was that Kirby could combine two copy abilities together! The aforementioned “core seven” abilities of the Dream Land series returned, only now when Kirby discarded a power, he could throw it at an enemy to make a brand new one (or just inhale two enemies at once)! It was an awesome feature then, and it remains awesome today. Why Hal Labratory never revisited the idea, I will surely never know (yes, Squeak Squad and Star Allies allowed some abilities to be put together, but to say it was a watered-down version of Kirby 64’s innovation would be an understatement).
While the Animal Friends may not have returned (Grrr!), Kirby did have some allies in the forms of Ribbon the fairy, Waddle Dee, Adeline the painter, and even King Dedede himself. Though only Dedede really changed up the gameplay, and only at certain moments. But these characters were all nice additions at any rate.
The game still looks great for an N64 title, and the soundtrack is one of the most beautiful on the console. The level designs stand out with how they seem to tell their own stories if you pay attention to the visuals. There’s even a trio of fun mini-games to play with friends. But it’s the combined copy abilities that give Kirby 64 some of the best gameplay in the series. I mean, one combination literally gives Kirby a double-sided lightsaber (being released relatively soon after The Phantom Menace, that’s surely no coincidence)! How have they never brought that back?!
4: Kirby’s Adventure
Released: 1993
Platform: NES
If you want the purest Kirby experience, look no further than Kirby’s Adventure. Oh sure, Kirby’s Dream Land may have been the first game in the series, but the fact it lacked copy abilities feels outright bizarre in retrospect, because they’ve become such an important element to the series since their introduction in Kirby’s Adventure.
It didn’t start small, either. Kirby’s Adventure features a whomping twenty-four copy abilities (okay, twenty-three if you don’t count the sleeping ability)! They range from the obvious mainstays like fire and ice, to powers that have become more obscure over time like the high-jump (which may seem superfluous since Kirby can fly, but it’s actually really cool). It even introduced one of Kirby’s rarest (and best) copy abilities right out the gate: UFO Kirby!
For an NES game, this is a staggering amount of gameplay variety. And while Kirby’s Adventure may seem limited by today’s standards, it has lost absolutely none of its fun factor or replay value. In fact, along with Mega Mans 2 and 3, Kirby’s Adventure is one of the few NES games to challenge Super Mario Bros. 3 for its 8-bit crown.
Kirby’s Adventure not only established the copy abilities as Kirby’s key gameplay feature, but also set other series standards as well: It made King Dedede a more misunderstood villain, and featured a greater evil as the final boss (in the form of Nightmare who, for my money, is still the coolest “big bad” in the series). It introduced many of the series’ most iconic tunes. And thanks to those copy abilities, set the tone for the level design for the series going forward, with areas that require certain powers to uncover all the secrets.
Some Kirby games have added to the formula, and others still have tried something entirely different. But for pure, unadulterated Kirby greatness, you just can’t go wrong with Kirby’s Adventure.
3: Kirby Super Star
Released: 1996
Platform: SNES
Everyone else’s favorite Kirby game is number 3 on my list. To be fair, it was also my favorite for a long time, but two others have won me over more in recent years. At any rate, Kirby Super Star is an excellent game, and one of the highlights of the Super Nintendo. And boy, is that saying something!
I remember back in the day, Kirby Super Star was advertised as containing “eight games in one cartridge.” Which was always a bit strange because Super Star features seven platforming games and two mini-games. If they were being honest they would have said “seven games plus two mini-games!” Or if they really wanted to fancy it up for marketing, they should have glossed over the fact that two of them were mini-games and said “nine games.” Whatever.
At any rate, none of the games are full-fledged games on their own. More like pieces of a greater whole, each of which bringing its own twist to the gameplay. But they are all exceptionally fun!
Spring Breeze is a remake of Kirby’s Dream Land, now with copy abilities! Dyna Blade features a Super Mario Bros. 3 style map. Revenge of Meta Knight sees Meta Knight act uncharacteristically evil and has a more cinematic approach. Gourmet Race is, well, a race between Kirby and King Dedede. The Arena is a boss rush mode. And Milky Way Wishes is kind of like the main event, needing to be unlocked and combining elements of the other included games. But the best of the lot is The Great Cave Offensive, which is something of a light Metroidvania in that it’s presented as one big world as opposed to individual levels and features hidden treasures that you may need to return to once you find the right copy ability.
Super Star doesn’t stop with the multitude of games themselves, however. But the core Kirby gameplay received two very important additions.
The first is that Super Star was the first game in the series where the copy abilities have their own movesets, as opposed to a single power. The second is that Kirby Super Star brought two player co-op to Kirby platformers. Kirby could now discard a copy ability by turning it into a friendly version of the enemy he got the power from, whom a second player could then control. At a time when Mario and Luigi still had to take turns, Kirby Super Star allowed two people to play at once! It remains a cool and innovative means for multiplayer, and strangely the feature didn’t return until Star Allies in 2018 (though it was planned to return well before then).
These elements, combined with the colorful visuals and kickass soundtrack, combine to make what is probably the most beloved Kirby game of all time. It may rank in third place here, but I can’t argue against the love Kirby Super Star continues to receive to this day.
2: Kirby’s Epic Yarn
Released: 2010
Platform: Wii
Kirby’s Epic Yarn is perhaps the most “huggable” video game ever created. A simple, sweet, always fun and endlessly charming little romp that’s as unique today as it was in 2010.
Epic Yarn is another entry in the “something entirely different” category of Kirby games. And dare I say it’s the best of the lot!
This is another game where Kirby is stripped of his signature copy abilities, but the gameplay that Epic Yarn introduces is so fun you really won’t miss them. Kirby is transported to a world where everything is made out of yarn (and other fabrics), and Kirby’s new yarn body simply transforms as the situation demands it: Instead of running, Kirby turns into a little car. He stomps on enemies by turning into a weight, swims by becoming a miniature submarine, and floats to the ground by changing into a parachute. There are other, more overt transformations during big moments in the game, like a robot tank and a snowboarding penguin! Kirby also comes equipped with a yarn whip, with which he unravels enemies.
It’s a constant delight to see the many things Yarn Kirby can do. This is a rare instance in which a video game’s art direction actually affects gameplay. Kirby can even interact with the environment, unzipping and unbuttoning parts of the world to uncover secrets. Kirby’s Epic Yarn features one of the most delightful art directions in video game history, and the game is every bit as fun to play as it is to look at.
As an added bonus, Kirby’s Epic Yarn even boasts a two player option, with the second player taking on the role of Prince Fluff, who has all the same yarn abilities as Kirby.
The game did receive some criticisms from – shall we say – “less cultured” gamers, due to its lack of difficulty, seeing as Kirby can’t die in Epic Yarn. But at what point did we decide every game hadto be difficult? No one ever complained when Wario couldn’t die in the Wario Land sequels! There’s room for all types of games, and Epic Yarn is proof of that. It isn’t difficult in any traditional sense, but players can lose their hard-earned beads if they aren’t careful. Kirby’s Epic Yarn is a soothing experience, key word there being “experience.” You can either get through the whole game at a leisurely stroll or go the way of the completionist and try to get the best score on each level, unlock all the hidden goodies, and build up Kirby’s apartment to get more tenants. If we can praise games that put cinematics before gameplay, we can certainly find the merit in games that display the beauty in the simple act of playing them.
As the icing on the cake, Kirby’s Epic Yarn includes one of the more underrated greats in terms of video game soundtracks, with a piano-centric score that is as warm and welcoming as the game’s visuals.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn is charm incarnate.
1: Kirby’s Dream Land 3
Released: 1997
Platform: SNES
To date, there is no Kirby game I love more than Kirby’s Dream Land 3.
This may come as a surprise to many, since a number of players see Dream Land 3 as more of an “upper middle tier” entry in the series. But I think such a reception is mostly due to the timing of when Dream Land 3 was released. Kirby Super Star was released late in the Super Nintendo’s life, but by the time Dream Land 3 was released, the Nintendo 64 had already been on store shelves for months! But Kirby has had something of a habit of being late to the party. Kirby’s Adventure was released on the NES after the Super NES had been on the market, Kirby 64 was late to the Nintendo 64, and both Epic Yarn and Return to Dream Land didn’t make it to the Wii until later on. Sadly, because of the emergence of 3D gaming on the N64, Dream Land 3 seems to be the one that was most affected by its late arrival. But to deny Kirby’s Dream Land 3 of the attention it deserves is doing a great injustice to one of Nintendo’s most underrated gems.
You could say that Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is like the missing link between traditional Kirby games and Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Obviously, it follows in the footsteps of Dream Land 2, complete with Animal Friends (their only other proper appearance. Though they’ve been making more frequent cameos in recent years). Like Super Star, it features two-player co-op (this time the second player controls Gooey, a dark blue blob who uses his tongue to eat baddies). And like Epic Yarn, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 features a stunning and unique art style and a gentler tone. It’s like the best pieces of Kirby games that came before, and some that hadn’t even happened yet!
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 featured gameplay similar to its predecessor but, along with the aforementioned second player, brought in some meaningful additions of its own. The “core seven” copy abilities of Dream Land 2 returned (rock, fire, ice, spark, spike, cutter and parasol), along with one brand new one, cleaning, in which Kirby wields a broom (a power that was unique to this game until it reappeared twenty-one years later in Kirby Star Allies). The three Animal Friends from Dream Land 2 all made a comeback, now joined by three new ones: Nago the Cat, Pitch the Bird, and Chu Chu the Octopus (though she looks more like a girl Kirby).
Once again, each Animal Friend combines with the copy abilities in their own way, giving the game immense variety. Pitch often makes for the most fun combinations, but I’d be lying if I said Nago wasn’t my favorite of the bunch (I love that darn cat). Sadly, the Animal Friends here have become even more forgotten than the originals and have only made cameos in Kirby 64 and Star Allies (via the cleaning ability) since. That’s a travesty that needs to be rectified!
Another great twist to the gameplay is how every level in the game features a special “mission” that can be accomplished. You see, in addition to simply completing the stages, there’s a different NPC at the end of each level who needs Kirby and his friends to do a certain action for them. You may have to find a secret room to find a toad’s lost baby or track down the missing pieces of R.O.B. the Robot. Some stages have goals as simple as making sure you have a certain Animal Friend by the end of it. Others are admittedly a little more vague, but in such a way that once you reach the end, you feel more like “oh, THAT’S what I was supposed to do” as opposed to angry at the game for being cryptic or something. It makes you want to try again and do it right. Naturally, accomplishing every mission rewards you with the proper final showdown and ending.
Combine all that with another winning soundtrack and beautiful visuals that took the crayon-inspired graphics of Yoshi’s Island and cranked them to 11, and Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is a Kirby game that at once represents the best of all aspects of the series while also feeling unlike any of its Kirby kin.
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is simply the very best of all the Kirby games.
Clockwork Aquario is something of a unearthed treasure in the video game world. Originally created in 1992 as an arcade title by the now-defunct Westone (creators of the Wonder Boy series) and to be published by Sega, Clockwork Aquario ultimately went unreleased. In 2017, Strictly Limited Games acquired the rights to the game from Sega. But some of the game’s code had been lost over time, so Strictly Limited Games teamed up with ININ Games to help fill in the gaps. After a few more delays, Clockwork Aquario FINALLY saw release on Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 at the tail end of 2021, nearly thirty years after the game was originally created (claiming the record for longest development time in video game history in the process).
On the plus side, it’s nice to know that such a game has actually been released after seemingly being lost to time. On the down side, the story behind Clockwork Aquario is more interesting than the game itself. Clockwork Aquario provides some fun, arcade-style platforming, but it’s short lived and lacks substance. It’s an entertaining novelty, if maybe not the arcade classic you may have hoped for, given its unique development history.
Clockwork Aquario is an action-platformer in which players can choose from three different playable characters: a boy named Huck Rondo, a girl named Elle Moon, and a robot named Gush. While all three characters have their own animations and sound bites, they all play identically. The goal of the game is simply to make it to the end of each level, defeat the boss, and ultimately defeat the evil Dr. Hangyo (an anthropomorphic fish, of all things) from taking over the world.
“Clockwork Aquario follows the Secret of Mana rule of a boy character, a girl character, and a non-human character.”
The stages are short and straightforward. There’s a time limit on each stage, but I’ve not had it run out on me yet. Each character can either jump on an enemy or slap them, with one hit stunning the enemy, and the second hit defeating them. What’s fun and different about Clockwork Aquario is that once an enemy is stunned, you can lift them up over your head and throw them at other enemies. It’s reminiscent of Super Mario Bros. 2 or Treasure titles like Mischief Makers or Dynamite Headdy in that respect. Also similar to Treasure titles are the big, ridiculous boss fights, all of which involve Dr. Hangyo piloting a crazy, animal-shaped robot.
Although the core gameplay is fun, there are some annoying aspects to it. Namely, there are numerous segments where enemies pop out of nowhere as soon as you’re on top of them, to the extent that it feels like you have to take a hit to move on. That would be an issue even if you had a health bar, but it’s all the worse since your character can only take two hits before you lose a life. Another issue is that it takes way too long to gain a single extra life. By defeating enemies and getting points, as well as picking up gems the enemies occasionally drop, you slowly build up a meter towards collecting a 1-up. But you’ll often lose all your lives and an extra continue before you fill the bar up, so it feels like the reward isn’t worth it. It’s also annoying that you can’t pause the game once you start. I get that this was originally made as an arcade title, but come on. It ended up released on home consoles. Surely they could have added the ability to pause.
You’ll also find that the game is incredibly short, even by arcade standards. Clockwork Aquario contains only five levels, each of which can be breezed through long before the clock runs out. The game features different difficulty settings, but the only real difference is that the harder difficulties give you less continues (seeing as this is an arcade game released on home consoles, you can’t keep giving the game quarters for more chances). There’s also a ‘training mode’ but that’s little more than playing the first two levels with unlimited tries (which is really weird now that I type it out). You’ll also probably feel that, unless you have a second player with you, there’s not a whole lot of replay value here.
If there are two areas where Clockwork Aquario shines, it’s in the visuals and music. The graphics, character animations and backgrounds have a fun, retro anime vibe. It all looks so smooth and colorful! Clockwork Aquario looks like a suped-up Sega Genesis title. The music is similarly enjoyable. So much so that the game even includes its soundtrack in the main menu (both as the tracks appear in game as well as remixes). Clockwork Aquario is very fun to look at and listen to. Unfortunately these aesthetic pleasures don’t translate to the menus, which are pretty basic and mostly just text.
Clockwork Aquario is decently fun while it lasts, but I do think you need two players to get the best out of it (there’s even an extra mini-game in between the third and fourth stages only when playing with two people). Given the game’s unique history, you do kind of wish there were more to it. But it’s still a fun, novel experience. And worth checking out as an odd little piece of gaming history.
Wizard Dojo 