Throwback Thursday - Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Welcome to another Throwback Thursday, our weekly look into my Top 100 games and general nostalgia.  Saving the cosmos this week: The game of copying abilities and angry trees that is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

Released in the US on June 26th, 2000, Kirby 64 was the sequel Kirby's Dreamland 3 from the SNES in the ensuing battle against the encroaching corruption of Dark Matter through the greater universe.  In this colorful adventure, Kirby teams up with friends, foes, and new faces alike as they journey to collect the many scattered crystal shards and save the fairy Ribbon's home planet of Ripple Star.  New to the series and still standing as a unique highlight to this day is the mechanic of being able to combine powers from the enemies which Kirby sucks up.  With 7 different base abilities (Fire, Stone, Ice, Needle, Bomb, Spark, and Cutter) and the various combinations in which Kirby can mix these, there are a total of 35 distinct abilities in this game.  This is just as much joy from playing with this wide arsenal of powers as there is in experimenting and discovering the various combinations that lead to these abilities.  What drives this concept further is each level contains 3 hidden crystals to uncover, many of which require use of specific powers, meaning the players naturally want to be continually tinkering and learning all of these abilities to be had.

Part of what makes this particular entry in the Kirby series so memorable and endearing is the authentic charm of this collective cast of characters who are consistently involved throughout the adventure.  Waddle Dee joins Kirby on various cart rides; Adeleine will paint items to life for Kirby; King Dedede will carry Kirby through areas in which he'll use his mighty hammer to smash away obstacles; even Ribbon will fly onto screen to collect each crystal shard found in the game.  Through many a cut-scene and picnic themed level select, the journey of this endearing crew is felt all the more powerful because of their shared involvement.  And should players gather all the crystals to be found in the game, the final boss in this game is one of the most thematically satisfying final bouts to be experienced in most any game.  The culmination of friendship and innocence that is Kirby and company facing a horrific, bleeding evil paints a truly climatic finale that feels so epic because of these beautiful juxtapositions at ends with each other.  Who knew something so cute and pink was so perfectly suited to oppose some of the darkest and sinister forces to be seen in gaming media?

Concept art of the fairy, Ribbon, from Kirby 64.