Gamer Reviews

It’s hard to believe it’s been almost eight years since Kirby last appeared in a console platformer. He’s had plenty of handheld adventures during that time, sure, but his side-scrolling, hop-and-bop gameplay completely skipped the GameCube generation and also hasn’t yet appeared on Wii. That means that this game, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, first released on the Nintendo 64 in the summer of 2000, is still the little pink puffball’s most recent home system appearance. It’s a bit of an odd realization.

And that’s perfectly appropriate, as Kirby 64 is a bit odd itself in the way it realized the rotund hero’s signature gameplay. Kirby’s standard mechanic has always been his vacuum-suction “inhale” attack, which sucks enemies into Kirby’s gaping maw and then lets him spit them back out as projectiles. That approach is unchanged in this adventure. The alternative to spitting out an inhaled foe, though, is to completely swallow them and thereby copy their special powers – and it’s this part of the formula that’s been altered in Kirby 64. Kirby can copy one ability at a time as normal, gaining the properties of Ice, Burn, Stone and more from the appropriate enemies. But in Kirby 64 he can also mix and match different powers together, creating combinations of two different abilities that result in more powerful and impressive attacks.

Kirby launches out a single round explosive if he’s copied the Bomb ability, for example. But if he then combines that Bomb power with another Bomb power, the attack transforms into a much more useful Missile assault that sends out a wave of heat-seeking rockets with every press of the B Button. Alternatively, Kirby could fuse together one Bomb and one Stone ability, and that combination creates Dynamite – an even more explosive attack that can do damage in a very wide radius.

Kirby’s colorful world is just as vibrant as you remember.

It’s not just Bombs that get combined together, of course. Each of Kirby’s seven basic abilities – Bomb, Burn, Ice, Stone, Spark, Cutter and Needle – can be combined together with any of the other seven and some combination will be created every time. Some of them are impressive and useful, like the powerful drill you’ll earn by joining Stone and Needle, or the Refrigerator that spawns health-replenishing food items, created by combing Ice and Spark. Others are not as versatile, like the nonsensical melting ice cube that results from trying to mix together Burn and Ice abilities.

What’s odd about this power-combining approach is that Kirby 64 is the only game in the series to use it, and it seems just a little too simplistic when compared with the franchise installments that preceded this one, like Kirby Super Star. There are lots of different combos to acquire, so variety isn’t a problem. The problem is versatility – each ability is a one-trick pony and very straightforward, whereas individual powers often granted Kirby multiple different attacks in Super Star. The direction that Kirby’s franchise took in every other edition, and into the Super Smash Bros. series, is totally different from the direction that Kirby 64 took. And that’s because this one’s for kids.

All Kirby games are for kids, of course, but Kirby 64 feels like it was designed to be as accessible to younger players as possible – from the simplified special powers to the overall pace of play. Kirby walks and attacks more slowly and enemies aren’t nearly as aggressive in Kirby 64. Many mid-stage mini-bosses simply stand in one spot and block your path, for example, waiting patiently for you to attack and defeat them at your leisure. It’s incredibly easy.

And incredibly easy to run through and complete to 100%, a feat achieved when Kirby tracks down all of the game’s hidden Crystal Shards (there are three apiece in each standard level). Once you’re at the end of the game you may have to backtrack and replay a handful of stages to grab the Shards you missed on your first runthrough, but that task won’t take very long – Kirby 64 ends up being about as long as one or two afternoon’s worth of game time, which led many Nintendo fans to simply rent this one rather than put down the full 60 bucks for a purchase eight years ago.Closing Comments
So what’s the final verdict on Kirby 64’s encore appearance on the Virtual Console? Good, but not great. The game is still a solid and enjoyable platforming experience for fans of the pink puffball and worth a look with its asking price of 1000 Wii Points – it’s just not as versatile or as representative of the Kirby franchise as a whole as other games are, like Kirby’s Adventure or Kirby Super Star. Kirby 64 on the VC is a 10 dollar investment that will earn you a couple of afternoons of simple, casual and unchallenging gameplay and then will likely not get revisited too often in your Wii’s Channel Array. But if you have younger gamers in your household who need an easy and accessible platformer to get into, definitely give it a look – they’ll have a blast hunting down all the missing Crystal Shards.

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Tags: Nintendo Wii by Mikey
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Rating 7.5 / 10

February 13, 2008 - Gamers should always approach licensed games with caution. More often than not, the tie-in tries to coast on the brand name rather than provide a fun gaming experience. I’m happy to report that The Spiderwick Chronicles sidesteps this pitfall and offers a surprisingly enjoyable adventure for the younger gamer. It immerses the player in a lighthearted, fantasy world filled with an impressive amount of mythical creatures. It’s not perfect, and more experienced players will likely grow bored with it before the end, but adolescent adventurers will likely be engrossed with Arthur Spiderwick’s Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You.

The Chronicles were originally a best-selling children’s book series that is now being released as a feature film this week. Of course, with children’s movies come videogame tie-ins. The titular Chronicles are an encyclopedia of the fantasy world that exists all around us. Arthur Spiderwick discovered this hidden dimension many years ago and kept a journal of his discoveries. Players take control of three siblings when they discover the field guide after moving into Spiderwick’s old mansion.

Control is constantly shifting from character to character — even to some of the magical inhabitants.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the game is very dark. The game will prompt you to adjust the brightness right off the bat, but I played every version of Spiderwick on several TVs and every time I had to turn the brightness all the way up.

Movement is handled with the Nunchuk’s analog stick. Unlike many Wii games, we have been granted camera control by holding down the C button and tilting the Nunchuk. It’s a bit jerky, but at least it’s in there. You can swing the Wiimote to attack, but it’s rather pointless as you can just press the A button to do the same thing.

Gameplay is a mix of exploration, puzzle solving, and combat. There are tons and tons of items to find, Sprites to catch, and curious areas to check. The game does a good job of engaging the player, keeping them from getting bored, and enticing them with what might be waiting around the next corner. Puzzles start out easy, but eventually they provide a nice little challenge. One aspect of gameplay that is a little obnoxious, though, is that you can’t pick up an item until the game decides it is time. You may examine an item, then learn how to use it, and have to backtrack to go pick it up. The game lacks an inventory system.

Combat is mostly button-mashing, but it’s pretty satisfying smashing in a goblin’s skull with a metal baseball bat. As you defeat enemies you’ll pick up goblin teeth, which (for some reason or another) unlock new attacks. Of course, these usually only grant you another press of the A button, but there are a few cool abilities to be unlocked. Jared, the sibling you begin playing as, has a rather awesome “launcher” attack that lets him hit goblin home runs.

Finding Sprites will grant you magical abilities such as healing, super speed, or super strength. Catching them with your Sprite Net will initiate a mini-game where you have to “water color” an image of the fairy. This would get tedious were it not for the fact that, once you catch enough of a certain kind, you are freed from the need to paint their portrait.

Visually, The Spiderwick Chronicles is acceptable. It looks fine when you’re standing still, but developer Stormfront didn’t add in any of those special touches that help to bring a game world to life. Collision detection is poor so you can swing your bat right through most objects. On your quest you’ll encounter a menacing creature that lives in the river and there’s a cool scene where it toys with a goblin and then eats it. The whole scenario would be more effective if the goblin didn’t disappear before it touches the creature’s lips. This same beast doesn’t cause ripples in the water in which it resides. There is also a cheesy loading screen that replays a thousand times with flat, poorly-animated leaves blowing by.

There are lots of items to collect, such as furnishings for your friend’s birdhouse.

The game does a lot of handholding for the player, especially in the beginning chapters. But that’s fine, considering it’s aimed at younger gamers. Later on, though, it can become frustrating when the player is left without knowing where to go or what to do. Usually the Field Guide can be consulted for tips on what to do next, but it’s not always helpful.

Spiderwick’s soundtrack is of very high quality, perhaps based on the music of the movie. It consists of creepy music boxes and toy pianos, and really helps bring the player into this imaginary world. Most of the voice acting is also very well done, except, unfortunately, the voice of Jared, the main character. As you investigate items, he recites his commentary like a robot made out of wood. And all around, lip synching is…out of synch.

The game unfolds through scenes from the film, which is all well and good until startling differences in the game and movie are revealed. For instance, there is a sequence where one of the siblings says goodbye to the others and leaves the mansion to go into town and is chased by a troll. At the end of the journey the game switches to movie footage and all of a sudden the brothers and sister are all together trying to escape the monster.Closing Comments
The Spiderwick Chronicles recreates that feeling of being a kid and suspending your disbelief in fantasy. Much of this success in setting a mood and creating an intriguing world to explore is attributable to Holly Black’s original books. But I have to give credit to developer Stormfront for creating a fun game to go inside the Spiderwick license. The graphics aren’t much to look at and the game can become frustrating at times. But there is a big area to delve into, the music is great, and there is a lot of gameplay variety. There’s something new to find around every corner, and that’s something I can’t say about enough games. The Chronicles could get younger players hooked on adventure gaming.

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Tags: Nintendo Wii by Mikey
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