Kirby

Makiko Ohmoto has a done quite a few Nintendo characters. Along with Kirby and Viridi, she also does Ness' voice in Smash Bros., a number of other Kirby characters including Sectonia and Susie, and Lyn and Nephenee in the Fire Emblem crossovers and Smash Bros.

What is universally regarded as the worst Kirby game?

Kirby’s slide.

The answer is probably a spin-off game, but if we limit the question to just mainline Kirby games then usually Squeak Squad gets brought up the most, followed by Star Allies.

Though personally I would answer the very first game for being so short and unpolished, but people are often more forgiving towards a first game being kind of rough than they are towards a later game being lesser than the games right around it.

Tilt ‘n’ Tumble I get the impression is the Kirby game liked the least.

In all honesty there really isn’t a generally agreed upon worst Kirby game.

Let's ask the most recent three US Presidents for their opinion.

I actually almost completely agree with the list, except that I'd put Return to Dreamland in S+ tier right behind Robobot.

I would assume that it would be Kirby: Squeak Squad, although the fun with Kirby is that there really isn't any game that is outright dreadful.

Squeak Squad and Dreamland 3 are the ones I usually see floated as the weakest.

That's why they're the best.

I largely agree with KuroBaraHime.

If you hold every game to the same standard, then it's obviously the original Kirby's Dreamland for being so short, simple, easy, and generally unremarkable. However, I don't consider that a fair comparison.

Judging the games by the standards of their respective times and how well they met expectations, the worst are Squeak Squad and Star Allies, IMO. Neither are very remarkable compared to their immediate predecessors in the same gameplay engine.

Calling Star Allies the worst is insane to me even if you do find it disappointing in some respects. The game still feels really fun to play moment to moment.

Dreamland 1 is short and simple, but as a tight little gameplay experience I can't call it bad. And not having copy abilities does give it some novelty as a different experience from most of the franchise.

I really don't think it feels particularly fun to play at all once the superficial charm wears off. The level design is just awful, the bosses are misbalanced, and the titular Star Allies mechanic is the worst part of the game but omnipresent. The deepest lore, OST, and Dream Friends are really the only awesome things it has going for it.

I'm not saying I'd rather play Dreamland or Squeak Squad over Star Allies, but as a Switch title and capstone to the RTDL games, it's a massive letdown to me.

Mind you, even then I wouldn't call it a bad game, Kirby has no bad games. It's just way below standard for Kirby.

Edited by Anomalocaris20 on Apr 12th 2023 at 6:25:12 AM

Alright, so how would you all rank the Kirby games you've played? I think almost all the mainline Kirby games are nearly equal in quality to the point that ranking half of them is both difficult and sort of pointless, but here's what I come up with.

1. Planet Robobot
2. Return to Dream Land
3. Triple Deluxe
4. The Forgotten Land
5. Super Star Ultra > Super Star
6. The Amazing Mirror
7. Dream Land 2
8. 64: The Crystal Shards
9. Dream Land 3
10. Adventure > Nightmare in Dream Land
11. Star Allies
12. Epic Yarn
13. Squeak Squad
14. Dream Land

Edited by KuroBaraHime on Apr 12th 2023 at 8:21:41 AM

i don't know if i'd call it the worst but it's definitely one of the worst, imo

the base game is abysmally boring and easy even for a kirby game, "puzzles" literally solve themselves, there's only four worlds and the last one makes up nearly half the game, and the final boss is the worst rail shooter of the kirby series, which is saying something.

that isn't to mention how the game is a visual mess- it can be incredibly difficult to parse what's happening during some boss fights, especially if you have three allies.

heroes in another dimension isn't much better, but i'll gladly admit that Guest Star was a huge step up and i genuinely enjoyed it, especially with the dream friends, mostly because it actually included puzzles and the capability to play as the Dream Friends as player 1.

the ultimate choice is a mixed bag for me. on one hand its legitimately difficult and i always love kirby's arena modes, but on the other hand it's chock full of issues with visual clarity and long fights if you don't have allies.

though i can't be too upset with the game, letting me play as Adeline and Ribbon (with the crystal gun no less!) makes me so so very happy. easily the best aspect of the game, even if the dream friends are abhorrently unbalanced with some^note the three mage sisters especially being absurdly broken and basically constantly invincible.

Also the bosses are really misbalanced. Almost every single boss hovers in the air, giving a tremendous advantage to copy abilites that have strong air or anti-air games, while grounded abilities are rendered helpless and cumbersome.

The only bosses who don't constantly float above the ground are Whispy Woods, Dedede, Pon & Con, Meta Knight, and Morpho Knight, and even then Pon & Con are best attacked with anti-air abilities anyway due to their striated arena, while Meta Knight and Morpho Knight still spend long periods of time in the air themselves even if they're not perpetually flying.

Every Kirby game has bosses like that, but nowhere is it as aerial-biased as Star Allies, which makes the Ultimate Choice a chore with around half the abilities and an effortless breeze with the other half.

I don't think it's a coincidence almost all the Dream Friends have absurdly strong air games.

1. Planet Robobot
2. Return to Dreamland
3. Forgotten Land
4. 64 (I'm biased toward it, sue me)
5. Super Star
6. Triple Deluxe
7. Dreamland 3
8. Star Allies
9. Amazing Mirror
10. Dreamland 2
11. Squeak Squad
12. Adventure
13. Dreamland

Edited by Anomalocaris20 on Apr 12th 2023 at 8:57:54 AM

oh, my favorites list is

1. 64: The Crystal Shards (i fully admit that this being number 1 is pure nostalgia)
2. Return to Dreamland
3. Superstar Ultra
4. Planet Robobot (though rankings 2-4 are completely interchangeable)
5. Forgotten Land (its very good but slightly below the rest, imo)
6. Triple Deluxe
7. Amazing Mirror
8. Squeak Squad
9. Dream Land 3 (i love love LOVE it aesthetically but its so boring)
10. Epic Yarn
11. Star Allies
12. Canvas Curse

I think the only Kirby games I've really played are Super Star Ultra, Triple Deluxe, Planet Robobot, Star Allies, and Forgotten Land. Honestly, ranking those is basically impossible. All I can say is that Forgotten Land is my favorite and Robobot is my second favorite. I can't rank Super Star Ultra, Triple Deluxe, and Star Allies, they're interchangeable in my mind.

Stuff like this would've made for a bit more creative missions, this a really cute secret...

It also seems like the type of thing that would've led to a HAL room.

The Kirby GDC talk from last month been uploaded to Youtube:

Forgotten Land is up to 6.46 million and Rt DLDX sold 1.46 as of March 31st.

how much did the original sell?

You know what I'd like to see in a future Kirby game? An orange Soul boss. We already have red (Chaos Elfilis/Marx Soul), yellow (Star Dream Soul OS), green (Magolor Soul), blue (Void Soul) indigo (Soul of Sectonia) and violet (Drawcia Soul).

A Black Soul would be cool too.

Unless Magalor Soul counts.