30 years of Kirby: Ranking Kirby's mainline games
Closing out a month of celebration with a look at the best Kirby has to offer.
August 1, 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the North American debut of Kirby. Throughout the month, I’ll be covering Kirby’s games, creating rankings, and thinking about the past and future of the series. Previous entries in this series can be found through this link.
I’ve already ranked the Kirby spin-offs: now it’s time for the main event, as it were. There are quite a few of them on the list, so let’s just get to it after a couple of brief notes. Games with remakes and enhanced ports are slotted together, in part because it just makes sense to operate like that, and also because I didn’t want to have to write three separate entries for Kirby’s Adventure. I’ve written many, many words about Kirby, and I have to stop myself somewhere.
Unless otherwise noted, you can assume that HAL Laboratory was the developer. Of course, even on the titles with another developer, HAL was still involved with their mascot. These are the mainline games, after all, and HAL had a similar situation with the spin-offs going, anyway. With that, let’s rank.
18. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64, 2000, Platform)
Before you yell at me, I think it’s important we revisit a concept I discussed back when I wrote about The Crystal Shards in full earlier in 2022: there is no such thing as a bad Kirby mainline game. Kirby 64 is not a bad game. It is a good game! It is also the one I have decided is the worst of the 18 mainline games. One of them had to come in last, that’s how these things work. Anyway.
The Crystal Shards’ issue is that it is kind of the inverse of Squeak Squad: whereas that game lacked an innovative central hook but was saved by tight level design that makes it a pretty good “traditional” Kirby platformer, Crystal Shards has its excellent hook, and a mediocre Kirby game within which you get to play around with that.
That hook, though. In The Crystal Shards, Kirby gets to combine powers… If there is a complaint to be made about them, it comes back down to the level design. You should, in theory, find most of your fun experimenting with combining powers and seeing what happens… The problem is that you kind of need to decide between constant experimentation over the game’s fairly brief runtime — there are just five worlds with four non-boss stages each, many of them on the shorter side, and a sixth with three non-boss stages — and whether or not you want to collect all 75 of the titular Crystal Shards in order to unlock the true ending and true last boss fight.
It’s a good game! I’ve played it twice in the last year! It just could be better, and other games that are better actually exist instead of hypothetically so.
17. Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble (Game Boy Color, 2001, Action/Puzzle)
All that said, if you want to swap these two, I wouldn’t blame you. Tilt ‘n’ Tumble feels just wonderful when it works as planned, and is probably the most frustrating Kirby title in existence when it does not. Points for the innovation and ambition, though, especially since it translated into enjoyment often enough for the “there is no such thing as a bad mainline Kirby game” axiom to remain undefeated.
Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble is fun, but occasionally frustrating given the limitations of the hardware — seriously, flicking your non-backlit screen can be a real downer when it doesn’t work out for you as intended. It’s kind of a lost game in many ways, despite being popular at the time: the more traditional platformer Kirby 64 sold 1.77 million copies one year prior, while its peer, Tilt ‘n’ Tumble, still managed 1.23 million. Which put it in line with successful mainline games of the day (2004’s Amazing Mirror would sell 1.47 million on the GBA, 1996’s Super Star had sold 1.44 million on the SNES) as well as the spin-offs it was originally considered to be part of (Air Ride’s sales totaled 1.34 million, only Pinball Land managed more sales among Game Boy-family spin-offs). It didn’t do well enough to guarantee a direct sequel, but it was at least convincing enough for Nintendo to continue to go down this motion-controlled road.
16. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U, 2015, Platform)
I want to like Rainbow Curse more than I’ve been able to muster. It improves on the Canvas Curse formula in a number of ways, but there’s something missing from it. Some “it” factor in its design and how it makes me feel — maybe it’s that the clay look of it all isn’t integrated into the gameplay in a meaningful enough way, like in Epic Yarn or the pair of Yoshi craft-based games. Rainbow Curse is really a looker that took full advantage of the Wii U’s HD capabilities, but it doesn’t do anything with that besides look good, which is a shame given the above comparison points.
Rainbow Curse feels a little empty at times because of this, and like a bit of a slog at others: Canvas Curse’ superior pacing helped it secure a loftier place in the rankings than its only spiritual sequel, as did the fact that this style of game feels a lot better to play on the much snugger Nintendo DS dual-screen setup than on the Wii U, where you’re using the stylus on the GamePad while looking at what is truly a beautiful art design on your television. Or trying to, anyway: you will probably find yourself blocking your own view with your stylus hand as you look at the inferior screen on the GamePad, because you need to see what your hand is doing.
Still, there is enough to like here for it to not be ranked at the bottom, but again, we’re not quite out of the realm of these rankings being somewhat interchangeable depending on what issues annoy you more.
15. Kirby’s Dream Land (Game Boy, 1992, Platform)
This is where I draw that line, by the way: it might not fully resemble the Kirby we’d come to know, but it’s also clearly not in the running for the worst mainline game. Dream Land is fun for what it is, which is to say, if you want to barrel through a Kirby in 20 minutes and feel content, or you want to try to do a short Kirby game sans powers with the difficulty ramped up, this will scratch the itch.
The music is great, too, which helps, but yeah, it is what it is, which is basically a proof-of-concept for Kirby that wouldn't even add his most identifiable trait until the next outing. The short length and bounciness of it all still keeps it fun, though, and as you can see, better than a few outings that came years or even decades later. There's something to be said about never being a slog for even a second.
14. Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy, 1995, Platform)
Not as breezy as the original, and the level design isn’t quite as good as in that of its peers like Adventure or Super Star, never mind what HAL managed to come up with after. Still, though, Dream Land 2 is a good time with some meat on it that’s also notoriously difficult to achieve a 100 percent completion rate in, and I’d have more appreciation for what the introduction of the animal friends did for the game if not for the superior (and more expansive) deployment of them in later installments.
Great soundtrack for this game, by the way. Which is pretty standard for Kirby, sure, but if you love the real old-school Game Boy sound chip, Dream Land 2 is going to scratch your particular itch.
13. Kirby: Triple Deluxe (Nintendo 3DS, 2014, Platform)
If all of Kirby’s 3DS debut played like the early going of Triple Deluxe, this game would be ranked higher. As it adds some complexity in level design and begins to ask more of the player as the game goes on, though, the quality of it improves, and the multi-part final boss sequence is legitimately great even before you consider that one of the themes within that battle is one of the finer tunes in the extensive and impressive Kirby catalog.
My biggest gripe with Triple Deluxe ends up being that it isn’t better sooner, and is less inspired in its hook than too many other Kirby titles to merit a better ranking than this one.
12. Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (Game Boy Advance, 2004, Platformvania)
I don’t think Amazing Mirror is a Metroidvania, exactly, but it does live kind of in that zone that the best Wario Land titles do, where it is clearly a take on that genre while still being much more platform than action oriented. Platformvania isn’t the best descriptor, no, but neither is Metroidvania, and I’m not trying to get anything to catch on. Heading text just takes up a lot of space, is all.
The issue with Amazing Mirror (co-developed by Flagship) is that, for all the neat things it does — four-player co-op in a platformer, half-a-decade before Nintendo proper pulled it off with New Super Mario Bros. Wii; some of the quickest, most agile Kirby platforming around showcased by the GBA’s excellent capacity for 32-bit pixelated animation — it’s still kind of frustrating to navigate, and doesn’t quite live up to its ambition. These are admittedly some nits I’m picking with a game I enjoy plenty, but that’s how you organize a list like this. Flagship’s Kirby output was good, but it pales in comparison to their vaunted trio of Zelda games, and facts like that can get you placed in the back-middle of a series ranking.
11. Kirby: Squeak Squad (Nintendo DS, 2006, Platform)
Squeak Squad might be underrated because of how it was handled when it first came out, but even bringing it to properly rated comes with a ceiling: it’s not one of the worst Kirby games going, as review scores would lead you to believe, but it also tops out at “good” rather than “great.”
Which is a long way of saying that I don’t even think the criticism of Squeak Squad is wrong. It is pretty traditional, it is not particularly innovative, it was something of a letdown in its moment in time. But that moment in time was also 16 years in the past, more than half of Kirby’s existence ago: well removed from that context where fans and critics were maybe expecting something new and shiny to wow them, we can say that Squeak Squad is simply a good time, just like 1993’s Kirby’s Adventure remains a good time despite the many advances and tweaks and gameplay innovations made in the series since.
And yet, Kirby’s Adventure it’s not. Flagship once again worked on Squeak Squad, and did an admirable job, for sure. Plus, this game does have the best Kirby story going, or at least the funniest one.
10. Kirby: Canvas Curse (Nintendo DS, 2005, Platform)
There was a time where this would have ranked higher, but for all its ingenuity — Kirby can’t use his limbs, you have to guide him around with a stylus to draw paths and launch him around — flat-out better games followed. And you’ll see a whole bunch of them ranked ahead of this one! Back when I made the Nintendo top 101, I debated this at the back end of the list and didn’t end up including it. Which, phew. Even in just the past few years, going back and playing through all of these Kirby games for two different projects, my opinion of it has diminished.
It’s still worth playing, for sure — number 10 on a list of 18 where 18 is still “good” isn’t nothing — but I do find myself liking it less as I’m further removed from its initial novelty. Luckily, I liked it a lot back in the day, so it had plenty of space to fall and still come out looking impressive. And I think where it’s settled is where it’s going to stay, too, unless I suddenly discover something in Rainbow Curse that changes my mind on that game.
9. Kirby’s Adventure/Nightmare in Dream Land/3D (NES/GBA/3DS, 1993/2002/2011, Platform)
Nightmare in Dream Land (sub-games and some stellar 32-bit animations), Adventure (what an impressive feat for the NES that holds up) and Adventure 3D, by the way. How does the 3D one with some improved bits end up ranking last? I dislike the way they rearranged the button scheme, and you can’t alter it. It’s the little things.
I wrote a much more extensive look at this (these) game(s) already, so have at it:
Between the more detailed design elements, the introduction of copy abilities, and the start of what would become more and more complex sub-games and side modes, Kirby’s Adventure really is the start of Kirby as we came to know the series, even if it’s not the first game in that series.
8. Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (SNES, 1997, Platform)
You know, this game has grown on me. I used to think it was pretty mediocre, but part of that was holdover from when I first got a chance to play it, when it released on the Wii Virtual Console in the aughts. I think my problem was essentially that it didn’t look or feel enough like its predecessor, Super Star, and wasn’t quite as innovative as later outings, or feel as smooth as Nightmare in Dream Land.
I’ve replayed it a couple of times now, though, in more recent years, and it’s a wonderful little Kirby game that’s woefully underappreciated. The music is stellar, and what HAL managed to do with it graphically is nothing short of astounding — it’s as impressive for a late-life SNES game as Adventure was for an NES one, and HAL managed to make the sound chip sing in a way only they were probably capable of doing given their familiarity with the console combined with their notable technical prowess, too. It’s not just the look and the sound: this is easily the best of the Shimomura trio of Dark Matter games for how it plays, thanks to how it implements the animal friends while greatly expanding that roster, and forces you to pay close attention to your surroundings if you plan on achieving the true ending. And there’s the multiplayer component, too, which forces Kirby to share health if utilized.
I could still see flipping this and the Adventure trio, but the fact it’s a discussion point at all for me is something.
7. Kirby Star Allies (Switch, 2018, Platform)
What a disappointment this game was. It was fine, but it was one of the only times “Kirby games are too easy” discussions actually had any weight to them, because it would sometimes border on boring. Whereas the four-player cooperative New Super Mario Bros. titles actually end up being chaotic and more difficult for how that level of interaction plays out, Star Allies became a literal walk in the park. Bosses, which are such a highlight of Kirby games, did not scale up in difficulty or health when you had a full roster of human or AI teammates, and it hampered how the game felt to play. Plus, it felt short on content for a Kirby title, which is also a rare feeling!
How did it end up seventh, then? Because HAL kept supporting Star Allies well beyond launch, with free expansions that added both additional modes and the difficulty I craved. Former Kotaku editor and Kirby aficionado Stephen Totilo declared the game “Very Good” after all of the updates, and he’s not wrong. It kind of lives on the border between “very good” and “great” for me, because the standard campaign still has the issues it did, but all of the new additions — far more complicated level design that tests your knowledge of how to implement the various Kirby copy abilities and those of basically all the non-final-boss baddies turned friends he’s met along the way, as well as a True Arena-type mode I’m honestly still trying to defeat the final boss of because it’s exactly the horrid difficulty I wanted — brings it way, way above where it would have been otherwise.
6. Kirby: Planet Robobot (Nintendo 3DS, 2016, Platform)
Hell yeah, Kirby mechs.
The gameplay, in general, was an excellent way to change up the basic Kirby-with-copy-powers formula, with the introduction of not just a powerful robot to ride in sometimes, but also the impact it brought to Kirby’s copy powers. They work differently in the robot than without it, so not only do the robot — or robobot, whatever — and Kirby, as well as their respective sections, play differently, but you get to discover all over again what the copy powers do in this new context. As an example, when you’re just Kirby, if you have the Bomb power, you throw bombs like usual. Riding in your robot, the bombs have legs, and can be used to solve environmental puzzles. Powers that are melee for non-mech Kirby might be projectiles in the mech, and so on: there are plenty of powers to choose from, and they all basically have variants you’ll need to experiment with in order to see all there is to see in Planet Robobot.
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That’s part of what makes Robobot feel so good to play, too: it’s really its own thing in this larger universe. No other Kirby game is quite as sci-fi and robot-focused, even if there are elements of both in basically every other mainline title. Marrying the setting, narrative, and unique gameplay elements together the way Robobot did makes it stick out, deservedly so, much more than its predecessor was able to.
5. Kirby: Mass Attack (Nintendo DS, 2011, Platform)
The best sub-games of any Kirby title, with a killer hook for its main game. You can’t ask for much more than that, but just to pile on with some more positivity, Mass Attack has the best implementation of a system-specific feature — in this case, the touch screen — in any Kirby title. How else could you control 10 individual mini Kirbys so deftly and with such purpose? Probably one of the most underrated games in the entire catalog, which will happen when multiple console Kirby games arrive on the scene around the same time for the first time in ages.
4. Kirby: Return to Dream Land (Wii, 2011, Platform)
The last Dream Land game as of this writing, it’s also the best of the bunch, and it isn’t particularly close — the front half of this list is far less bunched together in terms of invisible tiers than the back half. Excellent level design that has you eager to find all of the hidden rooms and goodies, coupled with an expansive challenge mode, quality sub-games, and a highly enjoyable multiplayer component.
It doesn’t have the strongest exclusive gameplay hook Shinya Kumazaki has ever come up with, but its implementation is light years ahead of what was managed in, say, Triple Deluxe.
3. Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii, 2010, Platform)
You know. Since I’ve had a few years to think it over. Part of me thinks maybe Return to Dream Land should have been in Epic Yarn’s spot in the Nintendo top 101. Which is a significant jump on that list, sure, but just the one on this little guy. The other part of me says I should sleep on it until I play them again for whenever I cave and expand to a top 151, so that’s what I’m going to do.
So, Good-Feel’s Epic Yarn:
Epic Yarn, originally released on the Wii in 2010, is easy, yes, but it’s also the best argument Kirby has ever put forth that challenge is not the only route to joy. This game exudes joy, and it’s infectious, too: you and the game are just sitting there smiling back at each other throughout the experience. I hope it also means something coming from me, a person obsessed with shmups who is about to take this list in the direction of some of the most difficult to master Nintendo games they’ve ever had their name on, when I say that the lack of serious challenge does not detract from the experience one bit. Epic Yarn is calmly inviting you on an adventure, one where it is guaranteed you will not die because there are no deaths here, and being along for the relaxing ride is the reward. This lets you relax, explore to your heart’s content, backtrack without (much) fear of reprisal… not every game needs to step on your neck while you play, and Epic Yarn promises not to.
I will say that the 3DS port, Extra Epic Yarn, does add superior sub-games to the mix that give it a little bit of a boost compared to when… alright alright I’ll save it for 2027 or whatever.
2. Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch, 2022, Platform)
This game… it nearly blew up my entire list and everything I thought I knew about Kirby. This beautiful, list-wrecking title. Honestly, it stopped at number two because it’s August of 2022 right now, and Forgotten Land released at the end of March of the same year. I do not have the experience with this game that I do with the others — sure, I’ve achieved 100 percent completion, but just the one time. How will Forgotten Land hold up over time? How will I feel about it after my second playthrough? A third? I have the answer to that question for every other game on the list, and as the examples of Canvas Curse and Dream Land 3 show, those answers can change over time.
And yet… one playthrough got it to number two, on a list of 18 games that have released over 30 years of the series. What a game. I haven’t written about it in this space, no, but I did review it for Paste:
Forgotten Land is approachable for less experienced players, and yet stuffed with reasons for veteran gamers to stay both interested and invested. It’s adorable at basically all moments, and it’s lovely to just look at the way Kirby moves around and interacts with his environment. It manages to straddle the line between valuing and carefully adapting the Kirby that was, while completely revamping what you thought Kirby could even be. Maybe it won’t sell you on the franchise if you aren’t already buying, but if any of the available titles were going to change your mind on that score, it’s this one, and well worth finding out if it will do the trick for you. After all, who doesn’t want to feel joy?
I better stop talking about it before I start that second playthrough earlier than planned.
1. Kirby Super Star (Ultra) (SNES/DS, 1996/2008, Platform)
Number one for most of Kirby’s life, but for the first time, it’s being threatened. Still champion for now, however, and with plenty of good reason. The Ultra version released on the DS certainly helps things:
All of this is why Kirby Super Star (Ultra) is tops among the many, many Kirby games out there. It is a joy, from start to finish, and while it might still only, all told, be about as long as a more standard Kirby game, do you need more than that? The pacing is excellent, the variety welcome. Modes like the various Arenas ensure you will keep coming back to test your skills, and the game becomes difficult to put down once you settle into the meat of it all.
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HAL just nailed nearly everything that works about Kirby in one space, with some of the best pacing and progression the series has ever seen in its nearly three decades. And when they decided to spruce it up for the present, they did so by adding more, more, more, and preserving the lovely artistic vision of the original. No wonder I keep coming back to this game all this time later.
A fun note to end this entry and month on: Kirby Super Star was originally directed by Masahiro Sakurai, the creator of Kirby, but since he had left HAL and Nintendo by the time the idea of an enhanced port, remake, whatever came around, it ended up being the directorial debut of Shinya Kumazaki. This is Kumazaki, by the way, in the black hat:
Yes, he’s the voice of King Dedede as well as the general director of Kirby, and he was first handed the keys to a Kirby game before he turned 30. Return to Dream Land, Planet Robobot, Star Allies, and Forgotten Land? All mainline games he directed, as were so many of the various spin-offs of the last decade. And it all kicked off with him proving he understood the source material he was working with back on the remake of Super Star, making a fantastic game even better in the process.
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The only Kirby game I've played was Triple Deluxe years and years ago and it was fun but lacked challenge... as Kirby games do, it seems. Which one would you recommend as the best starting point nowadays, if I'd like to play more? Forbidden Land seems like the obvious choice but I'm afraid other Kirbys wouldn't feel as good after playing the number two on your list.