Getting Into Kirby Games

While it is fun to switch between lots of different franchises, I find it even more rewarding to get really into a certain series or genre of game. That's why I've decided to try and get my hands on every Kirby game, a series which I have next to no familiarity with. I played Kirby's Dream Land to completion on the 3DS Virtual Console, which doesn't really count for much since that only takes about 3 hours. One of the things that interests me about the series is the amount of collectibles, which offer a lot of replay value. It also seems like many of the entries in the series have vastly different gameplay elements, while mostly sticking to the style of a 2D platformer. To start, I'm going to play all the games available to me without resorting to Amazon. I was quite surprised when I found out how many of the games simply aren't in stock at stores near me. I'm not going in order of release, and to start I'm only going to be playing the platformers, Star Stacker and Block Ball will have to wait a while (if I ever get to them at all). Sifting through various stores that have Kirby games in stock near me, the following are currently available (and on systems that I own):

Kirby's Epic Yarn, Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Kirby: Super Star Ultra, Kirby: Canvas Curse

Not a very long list considering how many games are actually in the series, but luckily I can order Kirby's Dream Collection online and knock off 6 games in the main series. If anyone has any suggestions on which to play first (although my heart's currently set on Epic Yarn) it would be appreciated. Hopefully I can pick up all of the games on the above list in the next few weeks, and get started on my quest to beat all the Kirby platformers!

@grantheaslip: Pretty jealous of you man, I can't find that game anywhere near where I live and on amazon it's like $70 (I live in Canada). But yeah even if Dream Land seems dated it's super short (I enjoyed it, but I hadn't played any of the newer games).

You already played Dream Land so you've played the pre-requisite best of the Kirby games.

It's funny I just recently got my mom's collection of gameboy games so I've been enjoying all the Kirby games she had again (among other great games). I think Dream Land was better on gameboy than it was on Nintendo proper now that I play it again.

Super Star is the best Kirby game, and as soon as you play it you will know why. Epic Yarn is pretty cool but is missing the copy ability that has come to define the Kirby series.

For games not on your list Kirby 64 and Return to Dreamland are both really really solid.

I've always loved the Kirby games because of how pure they are, both in terms of content and mechanics.

Yeah, Kirby is a weird one. Dream Land 1 doesn't even have power absorption, which is like, the thing that actually makes the gameplay interesting and varied. Kirby's Adventure on the NES is the first proper game that has power absorption. Then there's Dream Land 2, 3, etc., Super Star, Kirby's Return to Dreamland, Kirby Triple Deluxe, which all kinda play like the same game.

But yeah, there's a bunch of weird stuff out there, between Canvas Curse and Mass Attack and Epic Yarn.

As much as people say "Nintendo is for kids" and I usually think they're being idiots, I do think Kirby is literally for kids. It's just very easy, especially as of late, and as much as Nintendo seems to try to appease older fans who want innovation when it comes to Mario and Zelda, I feel like nobody is really championing that for the Kirby series. So they either do a really stock Kirby game (Return to Dreamland, Triple Deluxe), and everybody goes "OK, cool", or they do some completely random gameplay idea and slap Kirby on it (Canvas Curse, Mass Attack), and everybody goes "OK, cool".

All I could get my hands on from stores near me were Canvas Curse and Triple Deluxe, guess it'll have to be Amazon for the rest! Thanks for the input everyone, I'll put up blogs as I make progress so if you're interested stay tuned.

Thx.

My first blog is up if you're interested: http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion-30/a-very-kirby-journey-part-1-1491166/#0

First and foremost, Kirby Epic Yarn. That is arguably the best looking Kirby game and the gameplay is great too. I just got Kirby's Triple Deluxe on the 3DS, which is also pretty good. It's a good alternative platformer to Super Mario.