Kirby Star Allies Review
Kirby Star Allies was one of first few games in our library of Nintendo Switch games. We tried the demo first and then the full game because we loved it so much. It’s a 4 player side scrolling game, similar to Sonic or Mario games. Only this 4 player game is incredibly colorful and not as difficult. Kirby Star Allies is no less fun though. It has plenty off boss battles, secret passages to discover, items to collect, and most importantly, friends to make along the way.
The friends aspect sets Kirby apart from the Mario and Sonic worlds. Not that Sonic or Mario don’t make any friends along the way, just that Kirby’s friend making abilities are second to none. Healing, revival, and special abilities are part of being friends. Kirby even turns several bosses into allies after the battle.
Kirby Star allies is a lighthearted side scroller with plenty of action. At times, there’s so much going on during the battles it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on. I noticed when the three mage sisters are doing their special attack it takes up the entire screen. It’s both hilarious and frustrating.
Why Kirby Star Allies?
If you like side scrollers with boss battles like Sonic or Super Mario Bros, then you’ll love Kirby Star allies. This game may seem to be geared toward the younger crowd but it’s still an incredibly rich game. There’s as many attacks and special abilities as Super Smash Bros.
The levels themselves are fairly easy and the bosses don’t require memorizing difficult attack patterns. Mostly, you just keep up an attack while occasionally dodging strikes. If you like uncomplicated games, then Kirby Star allies is a good choice.
Kirby Star allies is meant to be played with friends. Even if you want to play solo you can add 3 more computer players. Kirby needs allies for certain parts of the game so it’s necessary to have at least one ally on your journey.
If you’re looking for an incredibly challenging game such as Sonic Frontiers or Mario Oddessy, then I don’t think Kirby Star Allies is a good option. Kirby Star allies is a fun game, but I don’t consider it a challenging game. My challenge is mostly staying awake.
We tested Kirby Star Allies with 1 player, 2 players, 3 players, and 4 players. In my opinion, this game is best with 4 players and no computer players.
Comparable Games
Kirby Star allies is similar to other popular side scrolling games. Sonic Superstars and Super Mario Bros Wonder being the latest of many side scrollers. Kirby has the basics for any side scroller, such as jumping and attacking. However, Kirby also has floating, eating, healing, and many, many special attacks.
Kirby isn’t as fast paced as the Sonic games, but that means all the players stay on the screen. Sonic Wonder routinely loses other players off screen, which isn’t a problem for Kirby.
The bosses or levels in Kirby aren’t as difficult as either Sonic Superstars or Super Mario Bros Wonder. The only hard bosses in Kirby are the final boss and the mage sisters. But you can revive players during the battles in Kirby.
Kirby seems simple compared to the complexity of Mario Wonder. It doesn’t make Kirby less fun, just different. Kirby just keeps the levels and bosses simple.
One thing about Kirby, there’s no shortage of characters and special attacks. Depending on the character, they can also upgrade their attacks with fire, water, wind, or electricity from an ally. Players can also “stack” on each other for an additional attack.
Unlike Sonic Superstars or Mario Wonder, Kirby brings in a lot of the fighting aspect. I noticed the boss fights are remarkable similar to Kirby Fighters. If you’ve played Kirby Fighters and are familiar with all the different attacks then you’ll be at home during the boss fights in Kirby Star allies.
Pros and Cons
The best part about Kirby Star allies are the variety of characters and their attacks. For example, Magalor seems to have more than the average amount of special attacks and dodging abilities. Suzie can transform into a heavy attack robot. The mage sisters are great player characters too. One of the few examples of a player character that’s just as intense as the boss version.
While the attacks are colorful and great, they also fill the screen sometimes. It can be hard at times to track your character. This is both funny and annoying at times. For example, we usually play as all three mage sisters plus Magalor. When those sisters all use their special attack plus Magalor’s giant sword it’s hard to see anything else. There’s some serious damage being inflicted amongst all that chaos.
Review Summary
For this review, Kirby Star allies gets a 8/10 stars. It’s a great game to play with friends. This game isn’t as difficult as Sonic Superstars or Mario Wonder. However, it has as many characters and attacks as Kirby Fighters or Super Smash Bros.
Kirby Star allies combines a fighting game with a side scroller. It isn’t the most challenging game but is loads of fun.
Kirby Star Allies Review brought to you by: David M.
I’m David M. I’ve been playing video games a long time, my pong game was fire. Now, my kids run circles around me but we always have a good time. We mostly play party and family games. Strategy and battle games are still among my favorites. I like writing about games almost as much as I do playing them. My favorite games are: Moving Out 2, Out of Space and Overcooked All You Can Eat.
