User:Waddlez3121/Kirby Structure/Mechanical Evolution

Part of a (userspace) series on Kirby game design
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Mechanical evolution

This subpage is meant to discuss the mechanical evolution of mainline Kirby series games.

Major players

Main article: User:Waddlez3121/Kirby_Structure

Unsurprisingly, there are a specific few games that are undeniably important to the Kirby (series) series as it stands in the modern day. Without further ado, here goes the list:

• Kirby's Dream Land:
  • Introduced around two thirds of Kirby's basic moveset
  • Introduced a normal and rudimentary hard mode, creatively reusing and swapping out assets
  • Mt. Dedede is an early precursor to boss rushes
  • Introduced the Sound Test, later to become the Jukebox.
• Kirby's Adventure:
  • Greatly expanded on game length
  • Introduced sub-games
  • Introduced unlockable supplements to normal gameplay off of the beaten path with Big Switches
  • Maps and the ability to revisit most content
• Kirby's Dream Land 2:
  • Introduced the per-game gimmick
  • First game to feature two endings
• Kirby Super Star (Ultra):
  • Super Star started a menu system still in use today
  • Move lists and Special Pages
  • Ultra introduced the True Arena
• Kirby's Return to Dream Land (not Deluxe):
  • Much of this game's impact comes from standardizing what other games did before
  • Game engine suddenly became the new norm for everything up to Kirby Fighters 2
  • Optional stage content in the form of the dimensional rift to Another Dimension

Here it is in chronological order:

Kirby's Dream Land introduced Story Mode and Extra Mode, which were expanded on by Kirby's Adventure with the massive increase in total content. This improvement continued in Kirby Super Star, where the game was re-organized to be less linear in experience while Dream Land 2 introduced game-specific gimmicks and collectibles that influenced game content. The idea of a time attack format for the Extra Mode was started in Nightmare in Dream Land, which was later refined over the course of the series. Eventually, it came to be that even Super Star could be outdone, as its remake went even further in introducing the True Arena. Return to Dream Land made sure that all of these ideas would become consistently implemented.

An example of these evolutions is Kirby Star Allies: Kirby begins with access to Story Mode and the subgames, but continual progress will allow him to access two different Extra Modes and the Boss Endurance. Completing Guest Star ???? and Heroes in Another Dimension will unlock higher difficulties of The Ultimate Choice, this title's equivalent of both The Arena and The True Arena. Soul Melter EX is essentially the final climax of the game in this respect.

Another example is Kirby and the Forgotten Land: once again, Kirby begins in the Story Mode - though unlike other games, every mode is seamlessly connected through Waddle Dee Town. Making progress in Story Mode unlocks the subgames again, with benefits in Main Mode for completing them. Kirby also unlocks the Colosseum's first cup this way. Completing Story Mode fully will unlock the Colosseum's second cup and the Jukebox, as well as the Extra Mode. Completing that unlocks The Ultimate Cup Z, which is another equivalent to the True Arena.

All contributions

This list will only discuss staying changes within mainline titles, for brevity. It's difficult to ascertain what impacts the two latest Kirby games will have, so they are omitted.

Kirby's Dream Land through Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

Directed by minds including Masahiro Sakurai and Shinichi Shimomura, the first eight years of Kirby's history are an interesting lot. As the series figured out what exactly it was for, many experiments were made. Successful results:

Kirby's Dream Land:

• Story Mode
• Extra Mode, Damage Type
• Sound Test
• Mid-Bosses
• Level Bosses

Notably, the level Mt. Dedede features a boss rush remarkably similar to what eventually became the Boss Endurance / The Arena.

Kirby's Adventure:

• Levels and level maps
• Copy Abilities
• Quick-travel
• Saving
• Sub-Games
  • First boss endurance

The final boss of Kirby's Adventure receives his own level - this is a first for the series, as Mt. Dedede featured more than one boss as well as some decent platforming parts in its confines.

Kirby's Dream Land 2:

• Team-ups with Animal Friends
• Experimented with variations on Copy Abilities
• True ending and false ending
• Major collectibles which influence the game's outcome, but are not strictly mandatory
• Secret final boss

Dark Matter is actually the first secret boss in mainline Kirby history.

Kirby Super Star:

• Includes several different modes
• Copy Abilities are massively overhauled
• Sound Test is made more user-friendly
• Copy Essence Deluxe is functionally a permanent upgrade

Surprisingly, Super Star is the first game that allows Kirby to have rematches with past bosses in Story Mode. Other games confined the bosses to exactly one fight in Story Mode and then locked them into the Boss Endurance.

Kirby's Dream Land 3:

• Theater

The Theater is actually a fairly important inclusion, all things considered.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards:

• Plot is carried throughout the game, rather than only having cutscenes at the start and end of the game
• High multiplayer potential (in Sub-Games)
• Enemy index provides the first first-party source of information about enemies

Kirby 64 featured the Enemy Info cards, which, while not incredibly detailed, did give some rudimentary info on the game's goons.