Kirby Mass Attack

Kirby Mass Attack
North American box art
Developer(s)	HAL Laboratory
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Mari Shirakawa
Producer(s)	Masanobu Yamamoto Yoichi Yamamoto Yasushi Adachi
Composer(s)	Shogo Sakai
Series	Kirby
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS
Release date(s)	JP August 4, 2011[1] NA September 19, 2011[2] AUS October 27, 2011[3] EU October 28, 2011 KO December 1, 2011
Genre(s)	Platformer, Real-time strategy, Beat 'em up
Mode(s)	Single-player
Distribution	ROM cartridge

Kirby Mass Attack, known in Japan as Atsumete! Kirby (あつめて！カービィ, Atsumete! Kābī, lit. "Gather! Kirby"),^[4] is a puzzle platformer game in the Kirby series developed by HAL Laboratory for the Nintendo DS. The game was released by Nintendo in Japan on August 4, 2011, in North America on September 19, 2011 and in Europe on October 28, 2011. The game was briefly mentioned at the end of the Nintendo E3 2011 press conference.^[5]

Gameplay

Like Kirby: Canvas Curse, the player does not directly play the game with a directional pad, face buttons, or shoulder buttons. Instead, the player only uses the stylus and touch screen on the DS to play the game. The game is played by using the stylus to command up to ten Kirbys on the screen. Tapping the screen creates a star that the Kirbys can follow or cling onto. By tapping enemies or obstacles on the screen, players can send multiple Kirbys to attack them, with the player also able to flick individual Kirbys as projectiles. By collecting pieces of fruit throughout the level, the player can gain up to ten controllable Kirbys, which allow players to tackle enemies and obstacles more easily than with one Kirby. Each level often requires a minimum number of Kirbys to enter, and some puzzles will require all ten Kirbys to solve. If a Kirby is hit by an enemy or obstacle, it will turn blue until the end of the level, or until the player finds a special gate which restores their health. If a blue Kirby is hit, it will turn grey and float away unless the player can drag him down and turn him blue again, with the game ending if the player runs out of Kirbys or fails a certain level objective. Hidden throughout each game are several medals, found either by exploring, solving puzzles or finding keys and treasure chests, which in turn unlock additional minigames and bonus features. Some levels also feature large lollipops that temporarily make all the Kirbys bigger, allowing them to break through barriers and reach new areas.^[2]

Plot

One day in Popstar, Kirby went to the Popopo Islands, an archipelago in the south of Popstar, to explore. After Kirby fell asleep in a field, Necrodeus, the evil leader of the Skull Gang, appeared from the sky. Using his magic staff, Necrodeus struck Kirby and split him in ten, individual Kirbies. After promptly defeating all but one of the ten Kirbies, Necrodeus leaves to continue his plans. As the last Kirby looks up in despair, he notices a star. The star, Kirby's heart, tells him to follow it so they can defeat Necrodeus together. Kirby follows the star and begins his adventure to defeat Necrodeus and get himself back together again.

Reception

Kirby Mass Attack has received positive reviews. The game has aggregate scores of 83/100 at Metacritic, based on 46 reviews, and 84.36% at GameRankings, based on 28 reviews.^[6][7] Bordersdown gave the Japanese version 9/10, stating that it is "one of the very best examples of stylus-based touchscreen controls on the system."^[11] Destructoid gave the game a 9.5 out of 10, affirming, "Cleverly designed, overwhelmingly cute, and devoted to fun, Kirby Mass Attack is a game that should become part of your handheld library without question."^[12]IGN and Game Informer both gave it an 8.5/10.^[9][10]1UP.com gave it an A- stating it was a "brilliant game".^[8]

References

External links

• Official website (USA)