There wasn’t a lot of hype behind Kirby’s latest adventure titled Planet Robobot. No countdown, no speculation or tease as to when players can get another adventure in Pop Star. Heck, the announcement of Kirby: Planet Robobot wasn’t made until a March Nintendo Direct showed the first trailer.
But was that first trailer a doozy.
Pop Star is invaded by aliens who use machines to change up classic Kirby enemies and stages. Thankfully, Kirby also has a new trick up its sleeve, the Robobot Armor. This mech suit allows Kirby to demolish anything in its path. What’s more, it combines with Kirby’s signature copy ability for some added fun.
And believe me, anyone who picks up Planet Robobot will have a ton of fun.
I played Planet Robobot at Pax East and my first impression was how beautiful the graphics were. Hal Labs used the full extent of the Nintendo 3DS to bring a lush and diverse world.
You’ll explore the Pop Star forests, underwater stages and even a casino. That’s just a taste of the different terrains and obstacles you’ll encounter in Planet Robobot and it makes every stage in Story Mode feel new leading to an epic finale.
And speaking of new, a major draw in all Kirby games are the different abilities our favorite pink ball can copy. Planet Robobot brings back some of Kirby’s classic abilities like the Sword and Cutter powers but introduces new ones t hat at first may seem out of place in Dreamland, but you’ll quickly warm up to them.
The Poison power, in particular, is a really awesome move that has so many uses. I found myself picking that ability whenever I had the chance. Other players will enjoy discovering what each ability can do and choose their own a favorite as well.
Kirby’s actions are smooth and plays like any past Kirby game, making it easy for anyone to jump in on the side-scrolling platformer. It’s a nice shot of nostalgia while also bringing in some of the new elements I’ve mentioned.
The Robobot Armor is the most notable new feature of the game. Players can use this monstrous mech to clobber enemies and find secret rooms and passageways that you wouldn’t find as normal Kirby.
There are plenty of collectibles and items to find within every stage, from stickers that you can decorate your Robobot to Code Cubes. These Cubes are essential to the game as they are used to unlock each area’s boss. You’ll need to collect a minimum amount of Cubes to bring down the firewall that houses the boss.
However, most of these Cubes are not found by normal means and that’s where the Robobot Armor comes in. You’ll punch, twist and move your way into secret rooms and passageways that will have these Cubes for you. And Planet Robobot will also test your puzzle-solving skills as you use different abilities and technique to find the coveted Cubes.
Not to mention, the Robobot Armor can copy abilities too and augment them in some of the most over-the-top ways. Just like using the abilities as Kirby, players will have a blast testing out how each ability is different in the Armor.
However, the Armor is pretty overpowered. Your health is recovered once you step in and you can just walk into enemies without being hurt. Not to mention some mini-bosses allows you to use the Armor, which can make a boss fight a cakewalk.
And that’s my one gripe with Planet Robobot. As with many Kirby games, the difficulty is pretty easy as they are normally geared towards a younger demographic and Planet Robobot is no exception. While it does get progressively more difficult as you go along, the overall difficulty of Planet Robobot is below average.
The only times you’ll end of losing is if you accidentally fall down a hole or the side scrolling of a stage crushes you behind a wall. Besides, you’ll gain so many extra lives during the Story Mode that there is no fear of getting a Game Over.
The Story Mode itself is longer than I expected, clocking in at about 7-8 hours and that’s with me doing a quick run of the Story. Again, there’s a lot of collectibles to find and in my first run of the Story I only got 57 percent of the content so there is a lot of replay value.
But besides that, Planet Robobot offers a lot of mini games like Team Kirby Clash where you can play with up to four friends in an RPG-style fighter and more, but I’ll let you discover them for yourself.
Kirby: Planet Robot is a must-own for Nintendo 3DS players. It expands the world of Kirby with an entertaining story, familiar mechanics and an amazing array of stage environments. The graphics are beautiful and the new copy abilities are a ton of fun. And that Robobot Armor is as crazy good as you can imagine.
Whether you’re a fan of the franchise or not, Planet Robobot is a load of fun that should be in every 3DS owner’s library.
