I decided to provide some random thoughts on the Kirby Mass Attack demo available via the Nintendo Channel.
Nintendo’s seemingly most adaptable character in their franchise vault is Mario. He paints, play sports, rescues princesses, role-plays and, basically, does every other thing imaginable. But his main entries are usually limited to running and jumping. It’s hard to think of character that’s much more flexible than Mario, but Nintendo’s little pink ball has proved his software can be as adaptable as his pink stretchy body.
If you ever desired to play Pikmin from a side-scrolling view, Kirby Mass Attack is probably right up your alley. The title has players controlling up to ten Kirbys on screen at once. You tap, drag and even flick the Kirbys to victory as they brutally pummel everything in their path. The title still features traditional Kirby level design, never really making levels too spacious.
At least from what I could tell in the demo, there’s no traditional Kirby powers-ups to use in the title. Much like another Nintendo franchise character, the Kirbys have to eat fruit to produce more Kirbys. The more Kirbys you have the more effective you can be. Your little gang of Kirbys can become a bit cumbersome to control and the lack of an adjustable camera is a bit frustrating when your Kirbys spread out across the screen.
Much like Kirby’s early Nintendo DS’ title, Canvas Curse, Mass Attack looks to be building an experience entirely based around the touch-screen. We’ll wait and see if Kirby Mass Attack produces a title that not only pushes what the DS can do, but what Kirby as a franchise can do. If it is successful, hopefully it won’t be lost in the transition between Nintendo DS and 3DS.
Be sure to check out the demo yourself, which is available for download via the Nintendo Channel.
