Kirby's Return to Dream Land Fact Sheet

Kirby Returns to Dream Land – and the Living Room

Kirby™ and his friends are back in an adventure designed to satisfy longtime Kirby fans and beginners alike. When an alien spaceship crashes in the otherwise peaceful realm of Planet Pop Star, its pieces are scattered throughout the land. Players must guide Kirby as he retrieves the ship’s parts and helps an alien return to its home planet. This time, however, he’s not alone. At any time, up to three more players can join in the fun and play as Meta Knight, King Dedede, Waddle Dee or a different color Kirby.

FEATURES:
• Kirby’s powerful Copy Ability returns, allowing him to inhale, spit and transform as he encounters enemies.
• Players can deploy classic and new abilities, including:
○ Sword: Kirby dons a green cap and wields a sword.
○ Beam: Kirby wears a jester hat and can shoot energy from a magic wand.
○ Whip: Kirby wears a cowboy hat and can lasso enemies.
○ Leaf: Kirby is surrounded by a whirlwind of leaves.
• The game also introduces new Super Abilities, which are activated when Kirby inhales special enemy characters. For example, the “Ultra Sword” Super Ability allows Kirby to swing a giant sword and wipe out an entire screen’s worth of foes.
• Up to four players can enjoy the action together. (Additional controllers required and sold separately.) While playing cooperatively to progress through the game, players can join and leave the game at any time.

Platform: Wii
Genre: Action
Players: 1 - 4
Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10+) - Mild Cartoon Violence
Release: Oct. 24, 2011
Developer: HAL Laboratory, Inc.
URL: http://kirbysdreamland.com
Suggested Retail Price: $49.99

Source: Nintendo PR

Kirby Mass Attack Review (Nintendo DS) - Play Nintendo

Kirby has been a Super Star, a ball of yarn, and has even been limbless at one point in the series. Now, Kirby faces another quirky adventure and he isn't alone. Kirby Mass Attack features not just one Kirby, but ten! The adorable pink puffball has been split into ten weaker versions of himself by the villainous Necrodeus, in an attempt to rule the land of Pop Star. Necrodeus, taking advantage of the weaker Kirbys, manages to defeat all but one. One Kirby manages to make an escape to nearby planet Green Grounds. Here he finds a piece of him that was lost in the attack, his heroic heart.

Kirby's heroic heart plays a very important role in the gameplay of Kirby Mass Attack. It functions as the pointer in this completely touchscreen controlled game. Touching the bottom screen will cause the heroic heart to appear which Kirby will then walk towards. This is how you will control your herd of Kirbys. Tapping twice will cause them to run. Make a flicking motion with the stylus and your Kirby will jump. Sounds pretty easy, right? Surprisingly, this game is extremely easy to control even when controlling what may seem like an overwhelming group of ten Kirbys. That was initially one of my concerns, but Nintendo really hit a home run with these controls.

Kirby Mass Attack plays very similar to traditional platformers with the goal being to reach the door at the end of the stage. Throughout each stage, players will solve puzzles, collect fruit and battle enemies. All of which is easily done with the stylus. You gain additional Kirbys by collecting fruit; each piece being worth a different point amount. After reaching a total of 100 points, a new Kirby is born. Gaining new Kirbys is important for solving puzzles and even defeating enemies. Certain puzzles elements will require a set number of Kirbys, while enemies will face a massive beating with 20 little Kirby fists. I think Kirby beating up his enemies with his fists and not relying on copy abilities makes him quite the bad ass. 

Kirby Mass Attack features a wide variety of stages that are accessed through the overworld map. Some stages require more Kirbys to enter. Almost every stage will introduce some new mechanic that will keep the game feeling fresh right up until the very last stages. Kirby will be faced with pushing and pulling objects, smashing blocks, finding keys and a number of other objectives that range from easy to moderate difficulty. Some sections may even surprise you with the level of challenge,but as long as you stay alert you will be fine. In terms of level design, your team of Kirbys will be faced with grasslands, ice, and even horror themed stages that are both well structured and fun to play through. Stages may even be longer than you think and even feature alternate paths which will no doubt have you coming back for more. Stages also sport bouts with mini-bosses, pinball games, riding in a tank and a lot more I could talk about, but that would ruin the experience for you. Bosses are also quite fun to fight, and even Whispy Woods has a few new tricks up his sleeve. 

This game is also strong in other areas as well. The presentation for this package is fantastic. It is a very colorful and attractive looking game from its menus to the sprites and level design themselves. Kirby's animations are some of the most adorable I've ever seen, and even while running some Kirbys will showcase different emotions; this level of detail is incredible and will charm you like no Kirby game before. Kirby Mass Attack, like many Kirby games, is also strong in the soundtrack itself. It features a huge soundtrack that includes the main game and unlockable content (which I'll get to in just a moment. A lot of new Kirby songs are introduced, but some old songs show up in the form of remixes which are quite nice to hear.  

 

What could be the biggest surprise to me is the amount of content that is contained within this Nintendo DS game. There are a large number of stages that are usually quite lengthy taking anywhere from 10-15 minutes to fully explore and complete. While exploring each stage you will run across Medals. There are 186 to collect throughout the game, with some being hidden very well and some right out in the open. Usually, however, you will have to go off the beaten path to discover them all. Why would you want to collect these medals? Well, this is how you gain access to the extra content and it is definitely worth your time.

After acquiring a set number of medals, you will be rewarded with an extra! Extras include mini-games, music player, and others. Now, I won't reveal too much about the mini-games, but you will be rewarded with some nice Kirby nostalgia. Some of these games feel much larger than a mini-game including a short, but fun Kirby RPG and challenging Shoot 'em up adventure. Trust me, this content is extremely well done and will have you breaking away from the main game quite often. One last thing I wanted to mention about the replay value in this game is the list of achievements. Much like X-Box 360 games, when certain conditions are met you will be rewarded with an achievement. I'm not sure what clearing the entire checklist does, but it adds even more to a game that already has it all.

Gameplay (10/10)

Kirby Mass Attack is a lot of fun to play and sports surprisingly easy and intuitive controls. A wide variety of levels and game mechanics keep things feeling fresh until the very end.

Story (7/10)

While the story is pretty straight forward it is enjoyable. Our new villain, Necrodeus, puts Kirby in a situation he hasn't faced before, but once again the ultimate objective is to defeat the bad guy and save the Island of Pop Star. Saving a downed Kirby to keep your team strong against the enemy adds a little emotion that will always keep you marching forward.

Design (10/10)

This game is presented well right from the opening screen with colorful menus and awesome stage design. Throw in adorable Kirby sprites with varying emotions and gorgeous backgrounds and you have a huge winner.

Sound (9/10)

Kirby Mass Attack has a huge soundtrack including new Kirby songs and great remixes of some old favourites.

Value (10/10)

This game will probably be the last great Nintendo DS game. It features a lot of stages, unlockable content, and collectibles that will have you playing for hours on end. I'm roughly 10 hours in and there is still about 40% more to be seen according to my save file. This game is worth every penny you pay.

Overall

Kirby Mass Attack feels like Nintendo's swan song for its handheld, and it will be considered such if this is the last great Nintendo DS game they release. It features easy controls and extremely fun gameplay, as well as a library of unlockable content and hidden collectibles that increase the replay value greatly. Up against a large and great Nintendo DS library, Kirby Mass Attack definitely holds its own. Gamers will feel proud to have this game in their collection.

Final Score: 92%

Kirby Mass Attack for Nintendo DS Delivers More Kirbys, More Power

New Hand-Held Adventure Lets Players Control Up to 10 Kirbys at the Same Time

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 19, 2011 - If a group of lions is called a pride, and a group of dolphins is called a pod, what do you call a multitude of pink Kirby™ characters who swarm together for an action-packed portable adventure? The answer is Kirby™ Mass Attack, launching today for the Nintendo DS™ family of hand-held systems. This new installment in the fan-favorite Kirby franchise challenges players to control as many as 10 Kirbys at the same time as they smash through obstacles, defeat enemies and access new areas while adventuring through a series of colorful side-scrolling worlds.

In the Kirby Mass Attack game, the evil Necrodeus uses his magic staff to split the heroic Kirby into 10 copies of himself. Players must help Kirby return to his original form and save planet Popstar from darkness by guiding him on a quest through worlds fraught with enemies and obstacles. Players start with one Kirby and add more Kirbys to their crew by gobbling up fruit. With unique touch-screen controls, players can then use the stylus to flick Kirbys to break through obstacles, tap on enemy attackers to swarm them with Kirbys or gather Kirbys together and draw a line to carefully maneuver them in a mass. If Kirbys are knocked out, players can simply gulp down more fruit to rebuild their numbers.

"With 10 Kirbys to control, players can expect 10 times the fun," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "As consumers start thinking about games for friends and family members to enjoy this holiday season, Kirby Mass Attack is another great experience available only on Nintendo systems."

In some stages, players must think strategically about the number of Kirbys in their mass because certain challenges can only be solved if they have enough Kirbys. As they build their crew of Kirbys and collect medals to progress through the game, players can also uncover secret areas and unlock a variety of mini-games, each with its own distinctive challenges.

To celebrate the launch of Kirby Mass Attack, Nintendo recently sent a fleet of special Kirby Snack Attack Trucks to select locations in New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area and - fittingly - the Upper Kirby neighborhood of Houston. In addition to sampling frozen fruit treats and savoring the spectacle of the customized Kirby Snack Attack Trucks, consumers in each area were able to enjoy hands-on demos of Kirby Mass Attack. The truck tour concluded with a memorable visit to the GameStop store in Upper Kirby on Sept. 17-18.

For more information about Kirby Mass Attack, visit http://kirbymassattack.com.

First Four Hours of Kirby Mass Attack

Upon opening Kirby Mass Attack earlier today, I immediately went straight for the instruction manual. Yeah, I'm going to start this blog series with a section on instruction manuals. I feel that they are an extremely important factor when setting my mood before beginning a game. Maybe it has something to do with my OCD? Before playing any game I NEED to at least flip through the instruction manual. My initial impressions were: Nintendo still makes a damn good instruction manual and it is in color! So what did I gather from my instruction manual excursion? Excitement. I became even more excited to dig into Kirby Mass Attack simply because Nintendo was willing to offer us a structured and well presented instruction manual.

Of course the next step was to play Kirby Mass Attack. After loading the game, I came face to screen with a great presentation. Kirby Mass Attack, much like its manual, is very colorful and clever in its presentation. Kirbys can be found at every corner. In the options, on the main menu, and later in the game they can be found drumming along to the game's soundtrack. What is pink, adorable and has 20 legs? Kirby Mass Attack. Early on it's easy to see the theme forming for Kirby Mass Attack: 10 Kirbys are better than one.

You begin with one Kirby, and with each new Kirby you acquire, the more fun you begin to have. Flinging Kirbys up and down and gang beating enemies doesn't get much better than this. Kirby Mass Attack is a very entertaining title right from the start. However, the experience only improves as you keep playing. You see, while controlling these 10 Kirbys is pretty simple, it's the sense of teamwork you feel throughout the title that is empowering. As a Kirby dies and slowly begins to float away, I can't help but feel like I've just lost a dear friend. All is not lost, as each Kirby is willing to go to any lengths, ensuring that all every Kirby reaches the end goal.

Saving a Kirby feels similar to the feeling of winning a Super Bowl, or at least I like to think it might. Having just one more Kirby by your side may mean that you can access a new area that you would have otherwise missed. Or that taking down a Boss will be much easier when working together. So, while controlling this pack of Kirbys is both simple and fun, It's the effect on gameplay that is a little more complex then I first thought. Each Kirby feels like they belong to something larger. A cause worth fighting for if I may.

It's easy to see that Kirby Mass Attack has had a huge impression on me throughout the first four hours.I've battle many a foe and adventured through many stages, but I did not do it alone. I'll provide a more in-depth  analysis of the game when I review the title.

New Blog Series Incoming: First Four Hours of...

I've been throwing around a couple of ideas for blog posts here on Play Nintendo, and today the idea for this new series came to me. While I usually complete the main story in video games before writing a review, a lot of my opinions are formed in the early hours. I spent four hours with Kirby Mass Attack today, and the game made a great impression on me in a very short period of time, so much of an impression that I just had to talk about the game. Now, a new blog series has formed: "First Four Hours of (game title here)".

Sure, there are tons of blogs that are similar in concept, but I just need to spill the beans on Kirby Mass Attack (and many games to come). I think it may give you the reader an idea of my thoughts on a certain title early during the reviewing process. It may also display some changes in my opinion after seeing more of what any particular game has to offer. OK, I know you get the idea by now and want to hear my thoughts, so let me cut to the main story...

Kirby TV Channel: Kirby Right Back At Ya! Episode 5

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