Kirby Star Allies (NSP, XCI) ROM + v4.0.0 Update

Kirby Star Allies Join Kirby on a thrilling adventure where classic enemies become his unlikely allies! When a new evil threatens Planet Popstar, Kirby must team up with his enemies for the first time. This is a 2018 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch.

It is the twelfth mainline installment in the Kirby series, the player controls Kirby in his quest to prevent a priest named Hyness from reviving a dark force to destroy the universe. Kirby must complete each level by jumping, inhaling enemies, and using his array of abilities to progress.

In this cooperative experience, up to three players can join the adventure at any moment. Explore vibrant levels, unleash the power of expanded copy abilities, and dive into deeper Kirby action. By combining abilities with elements like ice or fire, players can create powerful friend abilities that will help them overcome challenges and defeat enemies.

Get ready for an exciting journey where friendship and teamwork prevail. When evil threatens Planet Popstar, Kirby will need a little help from his…enemies?! By making friends out of foes, up to three** players can drop in or out of the adventure at any time. With expanded copy abilities, classic Kirby action is even deeper: combine abilities with elements such as ice or fire to create friend abilities!

GAMEPLAY

Kirby Star Allies is a 2.5D platform game played from a side-on perspective. Players control the series’ titular protagonist Kirby who can be accompanied by up to three companions. Kirby can throw hearts at enemies to turn them into allies. The game can be played alone with the game’s AI-controlling companions or cooperatively with other players’ controlling companions.

When Kirby has companions, new special attacks become available which allow Kirby to combine his abilities with those of his allies, a feature not seen since Kirby: Squeak Squad. The elemental fusions last for as long as the power is held or until a new element is introduced over it, while some of the combinations are single-use moves that bear more of a resemblance to the combinations found in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards.

When Kirby has three allies, they can perform “Friend Actions” on specific stages, like “Friend Train” and “Friend Star.” Players start with a certain number of lives and can earn more lives by getting extra lives or by collecting 100 stars. Kirby will lose a life if he falls into a bottomless pit or his health bar is depleted. The game ends when the player runs out of lives, although the player can continue the game from the most recent save point by selecting “Continue”.

The game also introduces the “Dream Friend” system, which allows the player to call upon characters from past Kirby games as special allies with expanded movesets. Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede, and Meta Knight can all be unlocked as Dream Friends through progression in Story Mode. Additional Dream Friends have been added via software updates.

PLOT

On the Jambandra space station far away from Kirby’s home Planet Popstar, a dark crystal heart explodes due to an imperfection in a mysterious ritual, sending its numerous fragments, Jamba Hearts, hurtling into deep space. Many characters, including King Dedede and Meta Knight, are possessed while investigating the dark hearts that land on Popstar. A pink heart hits Kirby, but it instead gives him the ability to befriend enemies by throwing hearts. Kirby notices many Waddle Dees bringing food to Castle Dedede and decides to investigate.

After Kirby defeats Meta Knight and King Dedede and frees them from the Jamba Heart’s influence, a large fortress known as Jambastion lands on Popstar. After defeating three generals of ice, fire, and electricity, Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne, respectively, Kirby and his friends fly to the far reaches of space. Kirby and his friends connect a path to Jambandra Base and breach its defensive barrier. They battle Zan once again before meeting Hyness, an evil cleric who is planning to restore a dark force, Void Termina, to full power using the Jamba Hearts.

After being defeated, Hyness sacrifices the generals and himself to subsequently revive Void Termina. Kirby and his friends use a Friend Pedestal to summon the Friend Star but it transforms into the Star Allies Sparkler via the power of the four Heart Spears that were stuck in the prison of Void Termina. After overcoming its humanoid body, also regurgitating Hyness, Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne in the process, and defeating its bird form, it is revealed that its true form is a purplish pink cluster with three dark eye-like spots that can arrange themselves to resemble Kirby’s face. Kirby then destroys Void Termina with the Star Allies Sparkler, summoning friends in the process. The Sparkler is destroyed by the resulting explosion, but Kirby uses a Warp Star to return himself and his friends safely home.

Through a series of pause screens in various boss fights, it is explained that Void Termina, Kirby, and various bosses from previous games are likely reincarnations of the godlike being known as Void. When they come in contact with high concentrations of energy, they reincarnate into a new form, with this being’s personality determined by whether this energy is positive or negative. During the battle against Void Termina, as well as the non-canon Void Soul fight in the Ultimate Choice on Soul Melter difficulty, several attacks are reused from past Kirby bosses, suggesting that the bosses mimicked are also forms of Void. After the release of the extra content, a new “Soul Melter EX” difficulty of the True Arena was added, which replaced the Void Soul battle with a battle against Void itself. Once Void is defeated, they seem to smile, as they are finally free to reincarnate into a new, happier form.