Kirby Switch was one of the best surprises of E3 and going into today’s Direct I knew we’d be seeing it in some way. Nintendo didn’t disappoint, delivering some new footage and christening it as Kirby Star Allies. The title reinforces the teamwork theme running through the game, what with the return of the Helper feature. By throwing hearts at enemies they can become allies to both aid you and supplement your own copy abilities. ESP, an ability we didn’t know would be in the game til now, was shown combing with Stone to drop the immovable and invincible ally onto some enemies. We also got to see elementally augmented Bomb, Sword and Cutter abilities, calling to mind Kirby Squeak Squad’s own use of that feature.
Beyond these new gameplay features, there were also peeks at some returning bits that absolutely made my day. My favorite copy ability, Yo-yo, is making a comeback in all its toy flinging, break spinning glory. Recurring bosses Whispy Woods and King Dedede’ve made it in, with the buffed up king needing to get to the vet soon because those pythons look sick. Speaking of animals, we also spotted ChuChu and Pitch alongside the already seen Nago as part of Clean’s move set. That brings the whole Dream Land 3 group of animal buddies to the game, with Rick, Coo and Kine hopefully coming along when Kirby Star Allies releases Spring 2018.
Written by Ricky Berg
When he isn’t writing for Nintendo Wire, Ricky’s anticipating the next Kirby, Fire Emblem, or if the stars ever align, Mother 3 to be released. Till then he’ll have the warm comfort of Super Smash Bros. to keep him going.
