Kirby Triple Deluxe: A Short Sweet Treat

With the arrival of "Kirby And The Forgotten Land" fast approaching, I decided to revisit and cover some older titles and see how they hold up. Starting with the 3DS game Triple Deluxe! Let's open the 3DS and see how the pink puffs first platforming adventure for the system fares.

This adventure has our hero going far from his home to a kingdom above the clouds, though the plot is standard, "Stop this villain" fare, it has a few surprises, I recommend pausing during major boss fights as there is lore added to those, sometimes deeper than expected, sometimes with a nice reference to a past game. There are a few cutscenes that look fantastic for the system as well. Each cutscene whether in game or standalone adds a good touch of charm without fail every time.

In terms of presentation this game looks and sounds fantastic. The game is vibrant and each music piece is full of the bouncy fun one would expect for this series. From the levels and power up themes, to the boss music, each piece is fantastic. The game controls well and plays great, on top of its great look and feel. This adventure is not too long, great for pick up and play sessions or longer sit downs, the levels don't overstay their welcome but even after the credits roll there is fun stuff to do.

Each level has you traversing, flying, running, and doing what Kirby does best which is inhaling enimies and taking their abilities, but not just to reach the exit. Collecting sun stones which are scattered all over in the stages or bonus rooms are important for unlocking bonus content as well as the boss area. There are also fun hidden key chains and tons of level variety, with simple puzzles, most which involve tilting the system and great uses of all the various power ups. This game added circus, beetle just to name a couple amid returning fan favorites which are super fun to learn and use, while having a good number of them to find your favorite. There are also level exclusive items like a hat canon or rod that can stretch to the foreground and background to solve puzzles.

But one power up which is exclusive to this game is hyper nova mode. Kirby for sections of certain stages will turn gold and suck up most anything and what doesn't go down will be inhaled and fired back. Whether to defeat enimies, unique mini bosses or solve puzzles this mode is fun in short bursts and adds variety to the gameplay. Though other abilities the pink puff has used have stood out, this one shine and falls flat at the same time. It is fun, and kind of funny but is the same thing every time you use it. The pacing of this game is a tad hit and miss even for the short nature of the base adventure, aside from the bite sized stage length and overall adventure time, no level drags, and no hyper nova section does either, each one fits the stage it is in and doesn't even take up the whole stage if you do not end up liking it. It is a tad one note but is not in every stage, or have whole stages dedicated to it which helps. The boss fights are super fun and great as well as the environments you traverse in this game, even the mini bosses, some returning from Returns To Dreamland are great!

This game is fun, but at times drags here and there, some may not like the lack of story or how this story is told, but in terms of gameplay I love this game, and the core gameplay outside of gimmicks is the Kirby we all know and love. So this game is still very fun, but not without a couple setbacks.

This game is not perfect but it is pretty good, and I found myself enjoying this over Star Allies even. There are also some super fun modes in the post game, hidden stages, hidden modes and more to add to game time. This gimmick may hold this game back a bit, but when it is not on screen, this game is super fun, with great presentation and music. This is definitely worth playing at least once, and is a must for 3DS owners, 2D platformer fans, and people looking for something fun and new. This game is worth your time.

Final Thoughts: Pretty Good But Not Great, (great presentation and music, super fun gameplay, lacking in some areas, ho hum gimmick, great amount of content)