Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards
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Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is a platformer featuring Kirby and some of his friends, produced by HAL Laboratory and released in 2000 for the Nintendo 64. It is notable for being the first installment in the Kirby series to depict Kirby and his surroundings in full 3D, although only for visual effects. Also the development of this game was not directed by Masahiro Sakurai.
Story
The story of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards begins on a far away planet called Ripple Star, which is inhabited by fairy-like beings. The inhabitants of Ripple Star are also the guardians of a powerful crystal. Shortly before the game begins, an ill-willed creature called Dark Matter attacks Ripple Star. Concerned with the crystal's safety, the Fairy Queen asks Ribbon, a young fairy, to take the crystal and escape to a safe place with it. Ribbon obeys to the ruler's will, but as she flies off, she is pursued by Dark Matter. Eventually, the powerful being is able to assault Ribbon, which destroys the crystal and splits it into several Crystal Shards. Meanwhile, Ribbon crash-lands on Pop Star, Kirby's home planet.
It is not for long until Ribbon meets Kirby, since she unintentionally uses him to break her fall. After both of them find and merge two of the Crystal Shard's, Ribbon explains her misery to Kirby, who instantly agrees to help out. While they search for the missing shards on Pop Star, they manage to add a Waddle Dee, an artist girl called Adeleine, and even Kirby's arch rival King Dedede to their cause. The group then travels to several planets to look for shards, using the crystal's transportation powers.
After travelling through several regions on numerous planets, the group finally gets the chance to travel to Ripple Star. The planet has become covered in thick, black clouds and is generally in a bad state. The Fairy Queen herself has been possessed by Dark Matter, which the group remains unaware of, though. Ribbon is visibly shocked to see her home planet in such a condition, but the rest of the group quickly comforts her. They then journey to Ripple Star together, where they battle their way into the palace and confront Miracle Matter, the apparent master of the Dark Matter. Kirby finally manages to defeat the foe and restores peace to the fairy planet. The Fairy Queen remains influenced by the Dark Matter though, and after Kirby and his friends leave the planet to return home in a spaceship, the queen can be seen giving a malicious glare at Ribbon.
The ending changes if Kirby and his frinds manage to find all Crystal Shards, though. If they do this successfully, the restored crystal reveals the possession of the Fairy Queen, and expells the Dark Matter from her body. The remaining Dark Matter then plies off into space, where it forms a new world called Dark Star. Intending to destroy the dark threat, the group travels into the heart of Dark Star with Kirby's Warp Star. Inside the black cloud, Kirby utilizes the abilities of his friends for one last time. Eventually, Kirby and Ribbon engage Zero Two, the master od Dark Matter and an angelic version of Kirby's old enemy Zero, in a fierce battle. The two of them manage to defeat the creature with the help of the Crystal Shards, though, and Dark Matter is eliminated. To thank the heroes for their efforts, the Fairy Queen awards each of them with a piece of the crystal. In the end, Kirby receives a kiss from Ribbon.
Gameplay
Despite the fact that Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards features full 3D graphics for the first time, the game itself still plays like a 2D sidescroller. The players control Kirby's movements with the Directional Pad. This way he is able to walk, run, and crouch. Pressing the A button causes Kirby to jump, and another press of the button lets him inflate himself, making him able to fly. However, unlike in the previous games where Kirby was granted to fly for an infinite amount of time, this game limits his potential. After a set amount of time, he will automatically deflate himself and has to touch the ground first to be able to fly again. Pressing the B button makes Kirby use his signature inhaling attack, which lets him defeat enemies, destroy blocks, and copy abilities (given that the inhaled enemy possesses one). The game makes another distinction from its predecessors here, giving Kirby only seven different abilities to copy, as opposed to the vast ability pool of other games. However, by inhaling enemies, Kirby can create ability stars, which he can spit at other enemies. If an ability star conects to another enemy with an ability, the two abilities will merge and form a Power Combo. By combining abilities, Kirby can master 49 different abilities, plus the seven base abilities, making a total of 56 abilities. If the players choose they no longer need an ability, they can trrow it away by pressing the L, R, or any C button.
The game features six worlds, or planets, with respectively four levels and one boss fight. From the beginning, only the first level of Pop Star is available. In every level, there are three Crystal Shards to be found. The Crsytal Shards are often hidden in remote places or behind obstacles that can only be destroyed by a certain ability (usually indicated by the obstacle's color). Finding all the Crystal Shards isn't necessary to complete the game, but it is essentially in getting a 100% complete, and finding all 80 Crystal Shards (72 from every level, six from every boss, and two during the intro) unlocks the true ending of the game.
Characters
Enemies
- Rocky
- Bronto Burt
- Gordo
- Shotzo
- Slushy
- Glom
- Poppy Bros. Jr.
- Gobblin
- Kani
- Mariel
- Snipper
- Blowfish
- Bonehead
- Bobo
- Bo
- Maw
- Drop
- Plugg
- Ghost Knight
- Zoos
- Kacti
- Galbo
- Scarfy
- Magoo
- Yarika
- Keka
- Sparky
- Mapaa
- Zeban
