Kirby is that fun loving pink puff-ball we've all learned to love, or at least some of us have. Kirby has always promised simple but fun gameplay and most of his games kept that promise. I picked this game up for about thirty dollars because I had extra cash, wasn't expecting much out of it. The game was released in 2006 and reverted back to a more traditional style of Kirby gameplay opposing the gameplay of the other Kirby DS title, Kirby: Canvas Curse.
Kirby: Squeak Squad doesn't have a good story. It's simple and charming but not meaty. You're Kirby eating your strawberry shortcake when it gets stolen. You decide to go search for it. You are given brief and unimaginative pictured cutscenes to tell the story, plus it has no dialogue. If you're looking for story, you aren't going to find it. You'll find a motive, to get the shortcake back, but no story. Just to give you an idea of how the story is here is the opening text narration, "Early afternoon in Dream Land, it's so peaceful even the clouds are drowsy. And now it's Kirby's favorite time of day- snack time. Today's yummy snack is a sweet, fluffy slice of strawberry shortcake! Time to dig in... Woah! The cake Kirby was about to eat suddenly vanished! That scrumptious, berry-topped slice of mouth-watering goodness... No doubt about it! This must be the work of King Dedede! Well there's no time to waste! Gotta get that cake back! And that's how Kirby's latest fantastic adventure begins...". Yeah, that's what youre fighting for.
The gameplay has to be good right? Its Kirby! Simple and fun! Well simple is defiantly still in Kirby: Squeak Squad. Each level is pretty straight-forward with small secret paths along the way. More powers have been added and a small combination system has been introduced, accessible via touchscreen. The game also retains fun, if you were wondering. The powers are fun to experiment with and use on your enemies and even though the boss fights are mediocre it's exciting to see how fast you can beat them. Included in the game are unlockable mini-games and modes such as boss battle mode where you fight each boss as quickly as you can. You can play with friends in this game but it's not as good as it could have been.
Graphics are simple sprites with no 3D elements. The effects are simple and the sound is average, overall the audio/video could have improved allot. I would have loved to see a New Super Mario Bros. approach and have had this games graphics in 3D. The bosses look funny and even though simple the games characters fit the Kirby style, whatever that style is.
After you beat the game a time attack mode might sway you to play the game a second time around. Also small collectibles can be picked up through the game, so if you missed some the first time you might want to go in again and collect those.
The game is something you should only get if you're a hardcore Kirby fan. The ideas in Canvas Curse were much better and this Kirby just doesnt bring anything new to the table. The graphics should have been 3D to bring up the games value and a decent story would have benefited the game. Overall it's not the best Kirby game ever.
Score - 7.3/10.0
- SmellyDeadHobo
article id: 254 | poster: OG
