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Another Nintendo Direct has come and gone and while much of it focused on previously
announced games, there was one new game revealed at the very end: Kirby on 3DS. And while there
isn't a whole lot to go on in this minute of gameplay, that won't stop us from breaking
out the old Analysis Machine to see what hidden details we can find. So let's get started.
Kirby's happy to be back as we even get a little wave from the pink puffball to welcome
us to his game as the trailer begins. But what's interesting is that Kirby is flying
around a giant beanstalk, a level motif that's only shown up twice before in a Kirby game:
Beanstalk Park in Kirby Air Ride and Big-Bean Vine in Kirby's Epic Yarn, neither of which
featured Kirby's classic gameplay. It's unclear what this could actually mean for the game,
but the beanstalk does hold another mystery. In this image released for the game, you can
see what looks to be a small sprout of that same beanstalk. We say sprout because in the
background you can see a huge field, but during Kirby's introduction, the background is nothing
but clouds. So it's safe to say that this little sprout is what will eventually become
the actual level. The question is, how? Well the only likely culprit would be the
strange object growing on the end of the beanstalk sprout. But what is it? A giant seed? Or maybe
some kind of suspended water droplet? All we can really say is that Kirby likely interacts
with it in some way, causing the beanstalk to grow and become one of his levels.
It's that kind of imagination that we hope crosses over into the other levels. And we've
already gotten quite the preview for some of the places Kirby will be visiting along
with the beanstalk. There's the grasslands, which is likely the first level of the first
world since we can see instructions in the background on how to control Kirby. Then there's
the woods, the caves, a railroad canyon complete with a Waddle Dee train to run over poor Kirby,
a different rocky area, and a kind of toy factory.
But the one that has us most intrigued is the ice level. In the background, behind all
the igloos, you can see a frozen fountain. Could this actually be the Fountain of Dreams?
It seems unlikely since the Fountain of Dreams was in a secluded area before. Though that
could hint at the story in this game, which would be Kirby having to restore the Fountain
of Dreams. This probably won't be the case though as Kirby games have never had the most
involved stories, but it's hard not to think about it when you see a fountain in the background.
New levels aren't the only thing being introduced in Kirby 3DS though. There's a brand new star
that transports Kirby between the foreground and background, much like the barrels in Donkey
Kong Country Returns. And it looks like they disappear as soon as you land so backtracking
won't always be an option. Though as soon as we say that, we see a small scene where
Kirby is walking to the left in the background, following the path of a nearby arrow. But
behind him is another of these new stars. Is that where he came from? Or is it a kind
of secret? In the foreground, we can also see another
arrow pointing right. Perhaps Kirby has to make his way left before getting back to the
foreground and heading right? Or maybe there are multiple paths? Either way, it seems these
dual plains could add a new wrinkle to the classic Kirby gameplay.
We also get a look at the new collectibles in this game. Just like Kirby's Return to
Dreamland, it's behind a locked door so a key will have to be found. But instead of
a gear, it looks to be shaped like a sun or a flower with a blue center. They obviously
tie into the game's story, but what could they be for?
The biggest mystery though is Kirby's new super suction ability. Return to Dreamland
introduced the concept of Super Abilities, but this goes beyond that where Kirby himself
is powered up. But what purpose does it serve? All we see is him using it to suck up a tree.
It could be for clearing a path forward, but that seems too simplistic, even for Kirby.
That tree does resemble Wispy Woods though it doesn't have his face on it. Still, could
this new super suction allow Kirby to take the abilities of bosses? It would certainly
be a first. Of course, this is a Kirby game so there's
a ton of returning elements along with all the new ones. Though many of them have a kind
of twist such as the Swinging Waddle Dee, back from Return to Dreamland, except this
time he's swinging forward and backward rather than left and right. It's a super small thing,
but it will show off the new 3D effects. Along with Waddle Dee we see the return of
Bronto Burt, Sparky, Blade Knight, Blatzy cannons, Hot Head, Knuckle Joe, Kabu, Waddle
Doo, Poppy Bros. Jr, Big Waddle Dee, and an all yellow Needlous. And like the Swinging
Waddle Dee, some of them have new tricks such as Blatzy cannons rotating toward Kirby to
continue shooting him, Needlous jumping to the foreground when Kirby does, and Poppy
Bros. Jr. throwing bombs from the background to the foreground. But of course, there's
the most terrifying enemy of all: Waddle Dees on skis! Aah! It's just too dang cute!
Of course these enemies also confirm the return of many of Kirby's abilities, a few of which
we even get to see in action. It looks like Sword Kirby, Spark Kirby, Needle Kirby, Fire
Kirby, Fighter Kirby, Ice Kirby, Beam Kirby, Bomb Kirby, and Ninja Kirby are all coming
back. And they seem to have the same variety of moves featured in Return to Dreamland with
Kirby's upward sword strike, his fighting combos, and even his ice suction move all
returning. But there is one new enemy along with a new
ability: the beetles and Beetle Kirby. It should be noted though that Beetle Kirby seems
to work almost exactly the same as Suplex Kirby, which hasn't been seen since Kirby
Super Star Ultra. It's also possible that this new Beetle ability may add several new
moves to Kirby's arsenal. A larger beetle also appears as a mid-boss so it's unclear
whether Kirby can get the Beetle ability only from this boss or also from the smaller beetles.
Okay, we're almost done here but there are still two things worth pointing out. For one,
there's a question mark above the Poppy Bros. Jr. in the background. Why? It couldn't really
be a hint since it doesn't seem like Kirby can get back there. Is it something else entirely?
And finally, it should be pretty obvious by now that this is almost certainly a direct
sequel to Return to Dreamland since the style and many of the gameplay elements match it
so closely. Does this mean multiplayer is coming back too? It very well could if we
look at Kirby's life bar. We see it says Kirby's name as well as a little symbol to show what
power he's using. Well, why list his name at all? In Return to Dreamland, the name would
become whatever his ability was or what character a player was using. Could it be that Kirby
3DS will have multiplayer too? It would certainly be a cool addition.
With that, we've uncovered all we could on Kirby 3DS. Of course if we missed anything
please let us know in the comments. If you liked our analysis, be sure to keep like us
on Facebook or follow us on Twitter at GameXplain. There are even easy to click-on links in the
description below. Thanks for watching and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain as we
cover more on Kirby and other things gaming too.