Kirby 64 holds up 24 years later – here’s why

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards released in 2000. 24 years later, we decided to revisit the game with a 100 percent run. How does it hold up all these years later? We’d say that overall, yes, it does.

Kirby 64 released during an interesting era of the Kirby franchise. If you’ve ever played Kirby’s Dream Land 2 or 3, then you’re probably well aware that these games have their own unique feel to them that isn’t quite captured in future titles. Whether that uniqueness is a good thing or not is up to you, but Kirby 64, which came afterward, keeps that particular feel – in terms of not only its mechanics, but its aesthetics, characters, and general design philosophy as well.

A familiar art style translated to 3D

For being a 24-year-old game, Kirby 64 has aged quite decently – and better even than a good chunk of other Nintendo 64 games! This is thanks to its simple art style, which borrows elements from Kirby’s Dream Land 2 and 3 and translates them to 3D. Speaking of which, this is the first “3D” Kirby game. The first one to be rendered with 3D graphics, that is – true 3D Kirby gameplay wouldn’t be available for 22 more years until Kirby and the Forgotten Land (unless you count Kirby’s Blowout Blast on 3DS).

The music still holds up, too. Everybody knows the now-iconic Pop Star theme that plays during the very first level. There are more catchy tracks, too, like Aqua Star’s theme, Ripple Star’s world map theme, and of course the final boss theme. For being an older game, Kirby 64 still looks good to this day – on Nintendo Switch Online, too.

How does Kirby 64 gameplay hold up?

The main story campaign is rather standard Kirby fare. The game includes six worlds with four or five levels each, so it’s a bit on the short side. The levels aren’t overly long, either, which means you can beat the game in just a few hours. When the game launched in 2000 for full price, that might’ve been a problem – but on Nintendo Switch Online, you’re paying for the entire Nintendo 64 library rather than just one game. Sometimes it’s nice to play through and finish a shorter game, especially since some tend to overstay their welcome if they drag on for too long. That’s not the case with Kirby 64, thankfully.

Perhaps this game’s greatest strength (but also one of its weaknesses) is its Copy Abilities. Kirby 64 introduces the concept of fusing two Copy Abilities together into a new one. For example, Burn and Cutter combined creates a fiery sword Kirby can carry around and attack with. Stone and Ice combine to create a curling stone attack. The fusion abilities on offer here are incredibly creative, though some of them are stronger than others. The Cutter Abilities move very slowly and leave Kirby vulnerable to attack, for instance, so despite all the variety you’ll almost certainly wind up sticking to your favorites.

Since there are so many Copy Ability fusions, there are fewer standard Copy Abilities than normal and all of them generally only have one or two attacks each. This is definitely a step down from Kirby Super Star, which released earlier, but it’s in line with Kirby’s Dream Land 3, which this game is sort of a sequel to. In-game, there are collectible Crystal Shards, and three to find in each level. Unfortunately, a fair few of these shards are locked behind barriers that require certain Copy Ability fusions to break. Not all of the Copy Ability fusions you need to get the Crystal Shards are present in the level, either, so there will be cases where you’ll have to quit and go to a different level to get the right ability. The barriers generally have two colors, and each one corresponds to one half of the Copy Ability fusion you need to break it. Some of these aren’t that obvious, though, and it can be a little bit difficult to determine which fusion you need without using a guide.

Still, the Copy Ability fusions are unique enough to make Kirby 64 stand out and are absolutely more of a positive than a negative. Even though the game is relatively short, it’s easy to pick up and play in short bursts. There are also two separate endings to the game, dependent on whether or not you obtained all the collectible Crystal Shards. Kirby 64’s final boss is also connected to several important tidbits of lore from future titles, including a particularly interesting connection to the final boss of Kirby Star Allies. Out of the “early” Kirby games – Dream Land, Adventure, Dream Land 2, and Dream Land 3 – Kirby 64 absolutely has the largest and longest-lasting contributions to the series’ lore. Other than Kirby’s Dream Land introducing the characters in the first place, of course. By the way, if you want a quick and easy way to get a 100 percent save file, check out this hidden cheat code.

Closing thoughts

Overall, Kirby 64 still holds up fairly well in the modern day. Backtracking for Copy Abilities plus the simplicity of each one’s moveset can be a little frustrating, but the aesthetics, vibes, and cool Copy Ability fusions make up for these weaknesses. One additional note is that in the Nintendo Switch Online version of the game, Kirby 64 is controlled solely with the d-pad and not the joystick. Joy-Con (and arguably the pro controller) have fairly weak d-pads, so you may need to either remap your controls or use a different kind of controller. That’s not exactly the game’s fault, though, because the d-pad was on the left side of the Nintendo 64 controller whereas the control stick was in the exact center.

There’s also some fun to be had with game modes other than the main story. If you’re into online multiplayer, there’s potential to play the mini-games with friends. They’re nothing too crazy – they’ll probably only hold your attention for a little while, unless you’re super nostalgic to them – but they’re a nice addition regardless. There’s also a boss battles mode you can unlock after clearing the game in case you’re up to a challenge. All in all, there’s probably somewhere around six hours of content. We’d definitely recommend trying it out sometime, but what do you think of Kirby 64 in the modern day? Feel free to share your thoughts with us in the comments down below.

Kirby 64 is available on the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription tier.