Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
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Kirby & the Amazing Mirror (星のカービィ 鏡の大迷宮 (Hoshi no Kābī Kagami no Daimeikyū), Kirby of the Stars: Large Labyrinth of the Mirror) is a 2D platforming game released for the Game Boy Advance in the year 2004. It was produced by HAL Laboratory, Inc. and Nintendo, and developed by Flagship. It was also the last installment of the Kirby series to be produced for the Game Boy Advance before the series moved to the Nintendo DS.
Story
As the setting for Kirby & the Amazing Mirror serves the Mirror World, a dimension that seemingly exists parallel to Kirby's home Dream Land. In this world exist counterparts of people and creatures that live in Dream Land. A gateway that looks like a golden mirror serves as a bridge between the two worlds and is located high above the sky of Dream Land. One day, the originally peaceful Mirror World gets attacked by a dark being called Dark Mind, and the intruder unleashes chaos and disrupts the world's balance. Meanwhile, Meta Knight somehow notices what is happening and sets out to prevent the disaster from spreading over Dream Land as well. At the same time, Meta Knight's Mirror World counterpart Dark Meta Knight, who appears to be a vassal of Dark Mind, enters Dream Land through the portal in the sky. Shortly after Meta Knight left Dream Land, Dark Meta Knight assaults Kirby while he is on a walk. With a slash of his sword he splits Kirby into four and quickly escapes. The four Kirbies, confused at first, pursue the fiend on a Warp Star and finally follow him into the Mirror World.
The quartered hero sternly follows Dark Meta Knight through a cloudy environment. As they reach the end of the path, they witness a sword fight between Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight. With a fortunate strike, Dark Meta Knight manages to trick Meta Knight and trap him behind a mirror. He then destroys the mirror and cuts it into eight shards which he hides all across the land. The dark knight then escapes through another mirror, followed by Mirror World Kirby. The original four Kirbys then set out on a journey through the Mirror World to recover all of the mirror shards and rescue Meta Knight. While they travel, they encounter many enemies, obstacles, and even their Mirror World counterpart who leaves helpful items behind. They ultimately restore the destroyed mirror and travel into the realm behind it.
Behind the mirror, the four Kirbies find a figure which is apparently Meta Knight. Before they can approach him however, the real Meta Knight appears on a ledge above the battlefield and blows the impostor's disguise, revealing him as Dark Meta Knight. The Kirbies and Dark Meta Knight engage in a fierce battle during which the heroes manage to defeat the villain. Dark Meta Knight then shatters like glass, opening a vortex that sucks the Kirbies in. Reacting quickly, Meta Knight jumps down from the ledge and throws his sword into the vortex just before it disappears, in order to help Kirby. Behind the vortex, Kirby finds the one responsible for the trouble; Dark Mind. With the aid of Meta Knight's sword the Kirbies manage to defeat Dark Mind and restore the peace of the Mirror World. The four heroes then journey back to the portal in the sky, accompanied by Mirror World Kirby. They leave the Mirror World without worries, knowing that Mirror World Kirby will be able to save the land if evil ever befalls it again. Shortly after them, Meta Knight leaves too, but not without leaving his sword behind. At the end, both worlds are safe and free of Dark Mind's influence
Gameplay
Kirby & the Amazing Mirror is a sidescrolling platformer game. It also possesses a multiplayer mode and can be played by up to four players simultaneously. The players then control all of the four Kirbies and journey together. When there are not enough players, the Kirbies will be controlled by the artificial intelligence of the gamepak. The main objective of the game is to defeat all the bosses and collect all eight mirror shards in order to save Meta Knight. While doing this, the player can explore the Mirror World freely. The game is non-linear, which means that the levels can be played in any order, as long as the player finds the entrance beforehand. The whole world stretches like a giant labyrinth with many links interconnecting the different areas. To help the player to not get lost, Kirby can find several maps during his adventure. The maps are hidden in treasure chests, along with many other items that can be collected. To reach a treasure chest, the player often needs to solve puzzles, using Kirby's abilities.
There are four Kirbies that travel the Mirror World. When controlled by the computer, though, the four Kirbies usually split and venture separately. However, sometimes Kirby needs their help, for example to move heavy blocks. In such cases he can call them with his cellphone by pressing the R Button, which instantly transfers them to his current location, provided Kirby hasn't exhausted the cellphone's batteries by calling too often. The other Kirbies will then help him out. He can also use the same cellphone to call a Warp Star by using the L Button. The Warp Star then transports him back to the destroyed mirror on Rainbow Route.
No matter if Kirby is with his companions or without, Kirby can walk around when the Directional Pad is used. A press of the A Button lets him jump, and another one lets him float through the air until the player cancels the flight with the B Button. Kirby can also crouch when the Directional Pad is pressed down, and he can also use a sliding attack if the A or B Button is pressed while crouching. When not floating or crouching, the B Button activates Kirby's powerful breath that lets him inhale his enemies. When inhaling special enemies, Kirby can swallow them and copy their abilities if the Directional Pad is pressed down. he can then use his opponents attacks to his own advantage. When submerged by water, Kirby can be moved around with the Directional pad and the A Button. He does not need to breathe and can stay underwater infinitely, but with the exception of a few, he cannot use any abilities in the water either. His current ability is then replaced with a water-spitting attack.
Kirby's life energy consists of six energy bars that are constantly displayed at the bottom of the screen. Whenever he gets hit by an enemy or a dangerous environment, his health goes down. Kirby can replenish lost energy by eating food or Maxim Tomatoes. He can also get additional health bars by collecting Vitality from treasure chests. When Kirby falls into a bottomless pit, or when his life meter drops to zero, he loses an extra life and restarts at the beginning of the area without any ability. If he runs out of extra lives, the game ends.
Antagonists
Enemies
Name | Appearance | Copy Ability | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Bang-Bang | Missile | A rocket-like adversary that launches itself at Kirby, homing in on him until exploding. | |
Batty | None | A bat-like enemy that flies after Kirby once he attracts its attention. | |
Big Waddle Dee | None | A larger version of the common Waddle Dee which takes longer to inhale. | |
Blipper | None | Aquatic enemies that follow Kirby and may even jump out of the water. | |
Bomber | Crash | A walking bomb with a powerful explosion. Very rare. | |
Boxin | Fighter | A mole-like creature that attempts to punch Kirby. | |
Bronto Burt | None | A common enemy that flies in a wave motion, moving through obstacles. | |
Cookin | Cook | A rare enemy that tosses its frying pan at Kirby. | |
Chip | None | A furry creature with a fox tail that cheerily jumps around. | |
Cupie | Cupid | An angel-like being that shoots arrows. | |
Droppy | None | Running, jumping and floating through the level, this enemy is able to steal Kirby's Copy Ability. | |
Flamer | Burning | A foe that clings to walls and is able to launch itself at Kirby as a fireball. | |
Foley | Bomb | These enemies float in the air until Kirby passes by below them, causing them to fall down and explode. | |
Giant Rocky | Stone | A giant version of a Rocky with a large amount of health that takes longer to inhale. | |
Glunk | None | A stationary sea anemone-like foe that fires projectiles. | |
Golem | Stone | A big stone creature that wakes up when Kirby walks past it and takes longer to inhale than most other foes. Comes in three colors, each of which uses different attacks. | |
Gordo | None | A classic Kirby-enemy that is indestructible and dangerous to touch. | |
Haley | None | Blue, hedgehog-like enemies that fly in a straight line. | |
Heavy Knight | Sword | A large, heavily armored opponent that attacks with a sword. Has a high amount of health and takes longer to inhale than most enemies. | |
Hot Head | Fire | This enemy breathes fire at Kirby, sometimes spitting large fireballs with a long range. | |
Laser Ball | Laser | A floating, spherical enemy that moves through walls and fires lasers. | |
Leap | None | A flying enemy that kisses Kirby if he bumps into it, harming him. | |
Minny | Mini | Tiny enemies whose main purpose is giving Kirby the Mini ability upon being swallowed. | |
Noddy | Sleep | Slowly walks around without attacking. May fall asleep while walking. | |
Parasol | Parasol | Always held by either a Waddle Dee, Waddle Doo or Shotzo, this parasol enables enemies to slow their fall. | |
Pengy | Ice | Penguins that try to freeze Kirby with their chilly breath. | |
Prank | None | A rare adversary that plays pranks on Kirby and then runs away. | |
Rocky | Stone | A walking rock that attempts to crush Kirby under its weight. | |
Roly-Poly | None | A common foe able to roll down slopes. | |
Scarfy | None | Scarfies float in one place until angered, at which point they begin to chase Kirby. | |
Shooty | None | A plane-like enemy that shoots at Kirby. | |
Shotzo | None | Invincible, stationary cannons that fire cannonballs and may directly aim at Kirby. | |
Sir Kibble | Cutter | An armoured enemy that throws the top part of its helmet like a boomerang. | |
Snooter | None | A strange creature with a bill that can eat Kirby. If it is not destroyed in a single attack, it begins to dash around angrily when hit. | |
Soarar | None | Similarly to Shooty, this enemy flies through the air and fires lasers. | |
Sword Knight | Sword | An evil sword-fighter that walks back and forth inside a small area and may deflect Kirby's attacks. | |
Twister | Tornado | A top-like enemy that spins and can transform into a powerful tornado. | |
Waddle Dee | None | One of Kirby's most common and basic foes, it does nothing but walk left and right. | |
Waddle Doo | Beam | A Waddle Dee-like enemy with a singular eye that is able to fire beams at Kirby. | |
Wheelie | Wheel | A tire-like enemy which speeds after Kirby, attempting to run him over. |
Mid-Bosses
Name | Appearance | Copy Ability | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Batafire | Fireball | A large, bat-like Mid-Boss engulfed in fire. It flies across the arena and is able to either charge at Kirby or release volleys of fireballs, which can be inhaled and spat back. | |
Bombar | Missile | A green aeroplane-like adversary that flies around firing homing missiles at Kirby or dropping bombs on him, all of which can be inhaled and spat back to defeat the Mid-Boss. | |
Bonkers | File:Advance Bonkers.png | Hammer | A gorilla-like foe that attempts to hit Kirby with its hammer, creating stars that can be spat back, or throws large coconuts at him, which can likewise be inhaled and used to defeat the Mid-Boss. |
Mr. Frosty | Ice | A blue walrus that charges at Kirby or tosses ice cubes of two sizes at him, which he has to use as ammunition to defeat it. |
Trivia
- This game is similar to Four Swords of the Legend of Zelda series in that Kirby has three copies of himself to help him, while Link receives three copies of himself in the Four Swords games.
- This is the first game in the series to not feature King Dedede.