Kirby: Triple Deluxe Review

The last twelve months of game releases for the Nintendo 3DS has seen some of the best games in terms of quality released on a Nintendo handheld in quite some time.

From The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds to Pokemon X & Y, the 3DS has turned into the must-own console of the Nintendo brand.

With Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Nintendo hopes to continue that trend of great titles for the handheld console.

Unlike its counterparts of Donkey Kong and Mario, Kirby has always seen its game be more of the relaxing platformer rather than one that truly challenges you. However, that changes a bit with Triple Deluxe.

The game boasts a brand new feature to the series with the ability to play in both the foreground and background of each level. Kirby can move freely from the background to the foreground, and vice-versa. However, the coolest feature is how the two elements interact with one another, and affect the game.

The foreground portion of the level could look like it’s a clear path, but in the background, there could be a gap in the floor that will cause you to fall if you aren’t paying attention. Even trees and walls can fall from one portion of the level, and caused you to completely change how you approach some areas.

Again, the game isn’t hard by any means, but it does provide a challenge never-before-seen by the series.

Kirby: Triple Deluxe also gives Kirby a number of new abilities to help the cute ball of pink make it through the world. The best of the bunch being the new hypernova plant that gives Kirby the ability to suck up giant blocks, bullets and large groups of enemies at one time.

The game gets its “Triple Deluxe” name because of the game modes it offers. In addition to the single-player campaign, players can play as King Dedede in a rhythm platforming game that, while only having three levels to play, is a nice change from the default story. The other game mode offered is “Kirby Fighters” which allows local 3DS players to fight in a Super Smash Bros.-like battle as Kirby with their choice of powerups.

The side modes won’t have you sitting there playing them for hours, but they are nice distractions to the campaign mode.

Overall, Kirby: Triple Deluxe fares much better in making the game more challenging as you progress. The foreground/background level design is a refreshing new take to platforming that gives players a new and unique challenge to overcome. Unlike previous Kirby games, I found myself actually using up my bank of lives late in the game, especially against the final boss, which was new for me with a Kirby game.

The refreshing take on platforming, and the fact that the game isn’t as easy as past Kirby games make this one of the best in the franchise’s history.