Kirby: Planet Robobot Review

[Zera]

Intro: Greetings, folks. This is my review of Kirby: Planet Robobot, a level pack for Kirby: Triple Deluxe on 3DS.

Story: ROBOTS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WORLD!

Graphics: Thankfully, you're not gonna see 36 consecutive factory levels, and not just because there are only 35 levels. In addition to mechanized twists of standard level themes, there are train, city, and casino levels. Near the end of the game you'll be reminded that somebody at HAL Laboratory is paid to design the most psychedelic backgrounds possible. Thank you, psychedelic background artist - you have performed admirably. The only negative is a couple moments of slowdown, and it's only worth mentioning because Triple Deluxe had none.

Music: In addition to some original music, this game has many remixes from the entire Kirby series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTK-KU_2vxQ

Gameplay: Just like Return to Dreamland and Triple Deluxe, this is a modern Kirby platformer with an overpowered gimmick - the Robobot Armor. This is more fun than the Super Abilities and Hypernova for a couple reasons. First, gameplay is not paused or slowed when acquiring and using the Armor, so pacing is not sacrificed. Second, the Armor is often optional, and it can scan enemies to gain copy abilities like Kirby - each with more than one attack. This means deeper, more varied, and less linear gameplay. The Armor feels like a naturally overpowered extension of standard Kirby gameplay, rather than a "press B to win" button. There are also a handful of new and updated copy abilities to play with (Doctor, Poison, ESP, Jet, Mirror, Smash Bros., UFO). In fact, I think this title has the most abilities of any Kirby game.

Meta Knightmare Returns is just like Meta Knightmare Ultra from Super Star Ultra - you time trial the Story Mode as Meta Knight and defeat enemies to gain Meta Points, which can be spent on a temporary speed boost, a full heal, or a powerful screen attack. This is similar to Dededetour from Triple Deluxe, but more fun thanks to the extra layer of depth in the point management system, and being able to actually make yourself go faster. While there are save points, your current Meta Points are NOT saved, so an optimal run is only possible if you do it all in one go.

The Arena and The True Arena are the classic boss rush modes. Not much to say, other than that The True Arena takes 30 darn minutes and is the only part of the game I'd seriously consider calling "hard".

Kirby 3D Rumble is a fully 3D minigame where you inhale and spit enemies at each other for epic combos and big scores. The core gameplay here is surprisingly deep and fun, enough that I can see it supporting an entire game on its own. Sadly, there are only THREE levels, and even earning platinum trophies isn't that hard. Still, it's a lot more fun than Dedede's Drum Dash.

Team Kirby Clash is the multiplayer component. You and three local friends (or computers) use modified abilities (Sword Hero, Doctor Healmore, Hammer Lord, Beam Mage) and battle bosses together. Beating them faster earns more score, which can earn shiny medals and also acts as experience so you can "level up" and increase your stats. However, the leveling system provides no depth whatsoever, and there are only six bosses to fight. Also, players who don't own the game will only be able to use the first two abilities for no apparent reason other than "f*** you for not buying our game."

Side Note: There is, however, a convenient button in the options menu to visit the eShop and buy more Kirby games. This disturbs me.

Conclusion: Kirby: Planet Robobot is a very nice Kirby game. It's colorful, fun, and has mech suits - what's not to love? Well, maybe the fact that it's a little short and a lot easy, but that applies to most Kirby games. Aside from the Robobot Armor, it doesn't do anything to move the series forward in a meaningful way. If there were some "convenience features" like selecting individual worlds in the time trial mode, online leaderboards, a 1-hit-point mode for challenge seekers like me, etc., I think it would go a long way. Regardless, this is a very polished game with cool ideas, fun levels, and oodles of Kirby charm.

8/10 (Great!)

Is it better than...

Kirby: Triple Deluxe?

Yes, but not by much.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D?

No. That game has over twice as many levels, and far more challenge.

Fire Emblem Fates?

Probably. It is a known fact that robots make everything better, and unless I'm horribly wrong, Fates has no robots.

Pokemon Sun and Moon Versions?

Well, now you can level-up Kirby, so sure!

Bangai-O Spirits?

No! And not just because there are less robots.

Edited August 25, 2016 by Zera

[Antiginger]

yeah yeah i'll get the game as soon as exams are over. Don't rush me man :P

[ILikeKirbys]

Intro: Greetings, folks. This is my review of Kirby: Planet Robobot,

And I'm ILikeKirbys, which should tell you what I think of this game right there. I'm just going to piggyback on your review to write my own, sorta. It's more just thoughts on the game than a review, really, but eh. Kinda gonna just quote you point by point and go from there, since I'm not good at this stuff, and I'm a bit drunk at the moment, so this might not be completely coherent or something. Hope you don't mind, mate!

a level pack for Kirby: Triple Deluxe on 3DS.

...True, but like any good level expansion pack thing, it brings enough changes to the table to justify its existence, at least in my opinion.

Story: ROBOTS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WORLD!

Well, it's a little more than that (ROBOBOTS HAVE TAKEN OVER THE WORLD! ALSO META KNIGHT AND DEDEDE GOT REKT BEFORE KIRBY WOKE UP TO EAT ROBOBOTS AND STEAL THEIR SHIT), but that's not especially important.

Graphics: Thankfully, you're not gonna see 36 consecutive factory levels, and not just because there are only 35 levels. In addition to mechanized twists of standard level themes, there are train, city, and casino levels. Near the end of the game you'll be reminded that somebody at HAL Laboratory is paid to design the most psychedelic backgrounds possible. Thank you, psychedelic background artist - you have performed admirably. The only negative is a couple moments of slowdown, and it's only worth mentioning because Triple Deluxe had none.

Where did you experience slowdown? I never noticed any, though perhaps I just missed it.

Outside of that, this game adds mechanicalness to Kirby's usual IT'S ALL SO CUTE I WANT TO HUG EVERYTHING aesthetic. And I have no objection to this.

Also, Nova looks surprisingly cute in 3D. Was not expecting to see that. Or hear it try to meow menacingly, haha.

Music: In addition to some original music, this game has many remixes from the entire Kirby series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTK-KU_2vxQ

I quite enjoyed the music, it was good. Especially the music once you get the Robobot in the second-to-last level and

the surprise Melee (I think) version of Green Greens in the last EX level. Also Galacta Knight's theme, but I liked that back in Ultra too, so no surprise there.

Gameplay: Just like Return to Dreamland and Triple Deluxe, this is a 2.5D Kirby platformer with an overpowered gimmick - the Robobot Armor. This is more fun than the Super Abilities and Hypernova for a couple reasons. First, gameplay is not paused or slowed when acquiring and using the Armor, so pacing is not sacrificed. Second, the Armor is often optional, and it can scan enemies to gain copy abilities like Kirby - each with more than one attack. This means deeper, more varied, and less linear gameplay. The Armor feels more like a naturally overpowered extension of standard Kirby gameplay than a "press B to win" button. There are also a few new and updated copy abilities to play with.

As someone who missed Triple Deluxe (and continues to regret this), but did play Return to Dream Land, I concur on the Robobot Armor being superior to the Super Abilities (even if I love Ultra Sword, though I kinda hope it gets replaced by Hypernova in the next Smash, but that's not relevant right now). It doesn't just become the overpowered extension of Kirby that you described, it's also a bit different since you can't fly (without Parasol, and even then it's limited) like Kirby can normally, instead having a double-jump with a bit of a float, or a single jump when carrying stuff. The Robobot's inability to fly led to all of my deaths in this game, all by bottomless pit.

Still, the Robobot Armor was satisfying as fuck, and I squeed a bit every time I saw it in a level. Its spins on some of Kirby's copy abilities were great fun too. Kinda wish it could copy UFO somehow tho...

On the subject of new copy abilities (even if a few of these are only new to me...), Poison more like Water+ was a nice ability, Archer was so much fun that I wished it showed up in Team Kirby Quest (I would've liked it more than Hammer Lord), Circus was... weird, but fun, Doctor was surprisingly amazing and is one of my new favorite abilities (alongside Archer/Ninja/Parasol), ESP was okay but should've been called PSI, Smash Bros. (which isn't new, it was in Kirby & The Amazing Mirror as Smash, but I'm including it here anyway since it got new stuff I think) was quite enjoyable, and UFO (also not new, but being locked behind 100% completion or amiibo is a new thing) was a nostalgia trip when I saw it in action.

Meta Knightmare Returns is just like Meta Knightmare Ultra from Super Star Ultra - you time trial the Story Mode as Meta Knight and defeat enemies to gain Meta Points, which can be spent on a temporary speed boost, a full heal, or a powerful screen attack. This is similar to Dededetour from Triple Deluxe, but more fun thanks to the extra layer of depth in the point management system, and being able to actually make yourself go faster. While there are save points, your current Meta Points are NOT saved, so an optimal run is only possible if you do it all in one go.

Yeah, Meta Knightmare Returns was as fun as Ultra. A little more so, since his moveset was expanded a bit since Ultra (Brawl Shuttle Loop, how I missed you... Dammit, now I wish Wing had returned too!). Meta Knightmares did make Galaxia Darkness seem a bit redundant tho.

Surprise Dark Matter/Sectonia/Galacta Knight at the end was great. Especially Galacta Knight, really like that one. Do wish the Star Dream fight still happened tho, would've liked to do that in the original Halberd.

The Arena and The True Arena are the classic boss rush modes. Not much to say, other than that The True Arena takes 30 darn minutes and is the only part of the game I'd seriously consider calling "hard".

That's generally true of the True Arena. It's supposed to be challenging.

And the surprise against Star Dream Soul.OS at the end was expected, after Super Star Ultra and Return to Dream Land had extra versions of the final boss, but it was mostly alright. Fuck that rings thing at the end tho.

I do wish you could use Meta Knight in both Arenas though, it'd be a fun thing I think.

Kirby 3D Rumble is a fully 3D minigame where you inhale and spit enemies at each other for epic combos and big scores. The core gameplay here is surprisingly deep and fun, enough that I can see it supporting an entire game on its own. Sadly, there are only THREE levels, and even earning platinum trophies isn't that hard. Still, it's a lot more fun than Dedede's Drum Dash.

I hope 3D Rumble gets expanded upon and used as the basis for a full Kirby game in the future. I feel like it could work.

Team Kirby Clash is the multiplayer component. You and three local friends (or computers) use modified abilities (Sword Hero, Doctor Healmore, Hammer Lord, Beam Mage) and battle bosses together. Beating them faster earns more score, which can earn shiny medals and also acts as experience so you can "level up" and increase your stats. However, the leveling system provides no depth whatsoever, and there are only six bosses to fight. Also, players who don't own the game will only be able to use the first two abilities for no apparent reason other than "f*** you for not buying our game."

This was fun, even though I didn't have friends to play with (and even though Hammer Lord is hilariously slow and heavy, seriously he can't even float up, he just sort of inflates to slow his descent a little). I wish this could get expanded upon too, it could probably support a couple more abilities (in particular, Archer and maybe Circus or Poison) and maybe a bit more depth (not entirely sure how, but I'm sure it could be done; maybe multiplayer against other 4-Kirby teams?).

Also, I don't think the AI is very good at using a single Beam Mage, I only ever saw their time-stopping thing when I brought two or more (or played Beam Mage myself, which I don't like because I prefer Sword Hero but eh).

Side Note: There is, however, a convenient button in the options menu to visit the eShop and buy more Kirby games. This disturbs me.

I never went into the options, so I never saw this, but yeah, that's a bit... weird.

Conclusion: Kirby: Planet Robobot is a very nice Kirby game. It's colorful, fun, and has mech suits - what's not to love? Well, maybe the fact that it's a little short and a lot easy, but that applies to most Kirby games. Aside from the Robobot Armor, it doesn't do anything to move the series forward in a meaningful way. If there were some "convenience features" like selecting individual worlds in the time trial mode, online leaderboards, a 1-hit-point mode for challenge seekers like me, etc., I think it would go a long way. Regardless, this is a very polished game with cool ideas, fun levels, and oodles of Kirby charm.

And for my conclusion...

It's a Kirby game. It rarely even approaches difficult (True Arena notwithstanding), and a bit short, like you said, but it's a lot of fun, messing around with old and new abilities is a blast, and the extra modes are fun diversions too. The Robobot Armor is the sort of thing I hope might get brought back in a future Kirby game, even if it's just for one level or something, since it's overpowered in a way that's so much fun.

I would like to see that 1-HP mode become a thing... As well as a mode where you play as a standard Waddle Dee (hear me out), unable to fly or attack outside of sliding and, I dunno, picking up stars dropped by enemy attacks and throwing them around. It'd definitely be more challenging than playing as Kirby, for sure, I think. That might just be the alcohol tho.

Also a Meta Knightmare/Dededetour-type thing with Bandana Dee and his spear. I would like that as well, and that's not just the alcohol.

...

Bck to the point, Kirby: Planet Robobot is a fun game. I like it a lot (surprise). Go buy this game if you like cute shit and robots and don't mind easy games, it's probably worth your money.

...Although there is one more minor problem I have with this game: Robobot looks like a typo. Unimportant, but it kinda annoys me sometimes.

Is it better than...

Fire Emblem Fates?

Probably. It is a known fact that robots make everything better, and unless I'm horribly wrong, Fates has no robots.

Well, there are the Automata. And maybe that thing the Mechanist class rides, though that could just be a puppet. But overall, much less robots than Planet Robobot (which has, like, an entire planet of 'em). So yeah, Kirby: Planet Robobot is better than Fates. Edited June 19, 2016 by ILikeKirbys

[Rukina]

Kirby Planet Robobot is a wonderful game. It has a reasonable amount of collectibles with a few placed in tricky locations to throw the player off but the U.F.O. Kirby reward makes completing the game 100% worth the effort. Boss enemies are lively with multiple phases and the True Arena is the toughest one to date. This is definitely one of my favorite Kirby games.

Note: Meta Nightmare Returns features 2.0 bosses and mini bosses. Although the scenes from the original story are removed a new story segment is shown toward the end along with the introduction of a few additional bosses that were not in Kirby's story mode. The True Arena also has its' own exclusive boss battles to keep things fresh including the bosses from Meta Nightmare Returns.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Sarracenia

[Gemma]

I definitely got some slowdown. I'm playing on the old original 3DS, so that may be it, idk.

Beat this today (along with Tropical Freeze, backlog rejoice!) and I gotta agree, this one was just charming~ Fantastic art style.

Also the ESP Robot transformation is adorable~

Also really curious if anyone got to try eam Kirby Clash with friends.

[Zera]

After reaching level 10 and getting all the platinum medals, I played Team Kirby Clash with my brother just to see if they didn't botch the download play. They did, as my review states. And since we were already level 10, we killed everything in about 6 minutes. Yeah, it's no Smash Bros.... In fact, both Team Kirby Clash and Kirby 3D Rumble are such a small portion of the game that I'm not sure I can even call them selling points.

Edited June 22, 2016 by Zera

[Robert Stewart]

I never noticed any slowdown playing on a 3DSXL.

This game is excellent. 3D rumble has me excited for the potential of a proper 3D Kirby game.