SpoonySage
N3DS Community Ghost Gym Leader
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Let me begin this by saying I have recently beaten the entire story mode, as well as all but the final mini-game. I have also collected 90% of the hidden items in the game before writing this review.
The Story Thus Far...
In Kirby Mass Attack, Kirby's Popstar has been assaulted by yet another evil force, the dreaded Necrodeus, head of the Skull Gang and one of the darkest villains in the series to date. To defeat Kirby, he splits him into 10 Kirbies, all with a fraction of their former power (thus reducing inhaling powers to a normal amount, rendering the attack useless). However, Kirby's heroic heart (played by you!) can control and guide all of them as the Kirby Gang attempts to save Popstar.
Gameplay/Mechanics
In this game, you use only the stylus to guide and fling Kirbies at enemies from Popstar tradition and new breeds as well. As the Kirby guiding star, they all will follow Lemmings style wherever you point and can be told to run by double tapping. You start each world with only one Kirby, but by eating 100 points worth of food you spawn a new Kirby, each of which only able to take 2 hits (or one instant KO move) before turning into an angel. Hilariously, you can actually fling a living Kirby at an angel to drag it back to the ground and kiss it like in older Kirby games to bring it back to a 1 HP state. This may make battles sound easy, as all you need is one Kirby, but only with a mass attack can you deal decent damage, so bosses will take a long time if you are short on backup.
Other important gameplay mechanics are rapid tapping for tug-o-war events and tapping to pop bubble traps/ice/other ailments (I won't ruin that for you). You can choose from a variety of levels as long as you have the required minimum amount of Kirbies to unlock the pressure sensitive doors as only certain levels are needed to advance the plot. If you are worried you won't be able to maintain your gang, sometimes older worlds may change to offer better food to a weakened fighting force, though this only seems to happen when you cannot otherwise progress and cuts down on the amount of grinding you would otherwise have to do.
On the downside of all these tapping and flinging controls, my hands would tend to get tired playing, one from stylus cramps and the other from holding the 3DS one handed for so long. Despite other reviewers' claims of the player taking a more passive role in this installment, I felt more than ever that I was doing all the work.
Graphics
The animation style is reminiscent of the older Kirby games while keeping with current graphics. I found it adorable. There are small throwbacks, especially in Dedede's Resort (world 3) and even small things like the last Kirby through a doorway holding back to wave goodbye that would make me smile as I played. Of course, being one of the last big DS games, there is not an emphasis on 3D or high def graphics, but Kirby games have never really relied on those as they focus on a more simplistic type of gaming.
Each world has a theme that follows a traditional flow of difficulty interrupted by level-specific objectives and off-the-wall humor. I would like to object though that the theme of world 4 was somewhat disappointing, as it could have been three entirely different themed worlds, but was instead packed into one area making it seem disjointed at best to an observant gamer.
Music/Sound
While I generally play handheld games on mute while travelling, this game had several remixes of older songs as well as some great new tracks (Icy Realm was one of my favorites and in some ways fits into both categories I think). Early on you will unlock a music player should you wish to enjoy these songs later (though you must fulfill certain conditions to unlock each song). Oh, and Kirby will of course entertain you with his charming squeals like usual.
Checklist/Mini-Game/Replayability
In this game you will be able to unlock 6-7 hidden mini-games with varying lengths. They range from a Whack-a-Mole to a button masher, to an RPG and space shooter. These games contain references to a multitude of past Kirby games and constantly entertained me, though I found myself wishing they included a rough play time for each one (I would go into a mini-game thinking I could beat it in 3 minutes and end up playing for 15). There's also a game album and checklist for completionists. The checklist will give you extra objectives throughout the game to increase replayability of levels. Each level will have a certain number of hidden medals (indicated on the top screen) and will also evaluate your performance with Bronze, Silver, or Gold stars based on if you allowed Kirbies to die or took damage. All of which will encourage a more thorough playing than most Kirby games, putting my own file at around 20 hours right now (I believe. You are only told your stats upon beating the game).
Multiplayer
My biggest complaint about this game was that there was absolutely no multiplayer mode. In a game with 10 Kirbies not a one could be controlled by a friend. I feel a system of different colored Kirbies, each controlled by a different player (and hosted on one save file) would have been a simple way of adding more replay to this game. Not to mention the mini-games could have been geared towards two players, especially the race (where you only race the clock).
Rating
In all honesty this was my favorite non-eating Kirby game (with Epic Yarn's multiplayer and general cuteness being the only reasons it might outclass it). I feel it fits into the series well and is definitely worth a play if you are a fan of the Kirby series. If not, it is likely the last great DS game people will find until they upgrade to the 3DS. If most Kirby games deserve a 8/10 these days, I think this one is a class above due to the length and variety of play.
9/10
(All screenshots and above images are not my own but are from a variety of hosts online)
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