By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Someone already asked me to get it and play it with her when it's out. Too bad it's not online.
In a surprise trailer drop today (but in-line with Nintendo stating they'll put effort into having lots of ways to celebrate Kirby's 30th anniversary), Nintendo Switch owners can download Kirby's Dream Buffet this summer from the Nintendo eShop:
It seems like the premise of the game is to roll through courses—such as giant cakes (I ate ice cream today in protest)—while eating strawberries and growing big from them. These must be special strawberries, since ordinary food in the Kirby series tends to not make Kirby grow in size. What appear to be Master Hand and Crazy Hand (from Kirby and the Amazing Mirror) snap their fingers in a countdown for Kirby, Kirby, Kirby, and Kirby to start rolling and nomming.
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| At least I HOPE these are Master Hand and Crazy Hand. |
I've seen many people compare Kirby's Dream Buffet to Mediatonic's Fall Guys, but I've also had someone try to force me to think it reminds them of Kirby Air Ride's Air Ride mode. ...It has very little in common with Kirby Air Ride other than that there is a start, a finish, multiple Kirby characters moving from the start to the finish, and apparently Kirby actually can have something resembling Copy Abilities (Yellow Kirby is doing a Wheel at 0:51, 0:53 seems to be a dessert-themed Tornado, 0:55 is an inspired Stone).
However, the goal of Kirby's Dream Buffet isn't to finish first in the race—it is to eat the most strawberries and weigh the most at the end. Maybe the Kirby that finishes first gets a strawberry bonus. If you do want to compare it to another Kirby activity, then think back to Gourmet Race from Kirby Super Star. The objective of that race isn't to outrun King Dedede, but to eat the most amount of food. (Kirby maintains the same size, however.) Though like I was alluding to, Kirby does get a food bonus if he finishes ahead of King Dedede, though it's still quite possible to be slower than King Dedede and still eat more food than him. Kirby can even get a Copy Ability in the third course of Gourmet Race.
As for Fall Guys, I actually have no experience interacting with that game. Though maybe I should, since it's now free-to-play. I did some research into it (as opposed to playing it). Like Kirby's Dream Buffet, Fall Guys specifically takes place in obstacle courses and whimsical players can interfere with one another. However, Fall Guys has up to 60 players at once via online multiplayer, while according to the Nintendo.com listing, Kirby's Dream Buffet is “Single System 1–4” only, meaning that it's exclusively local multiplayer for one through four players. In Fall Guys, those 60 players steadily drop down to 1, and there are non-racing challenges to help whittle that number down, similar to what appears to be a showdown between the Kirby racers at the end of Kirby's Dream Buffet.
While we don't know the pricing model for Kirby's Dream Buffet (if there will be a price at all), the Nintendo.com listing saying multiplayer is only available via a single Switch without mentioning online play probably kills a lot of potential of disparate friend groups getting together for Kirby's Dream Buffet sessions like they currently do for Fall Guys. What a shame!
What did you think of that announcement trailer for Kirby's Dream Buffet? Do you feel like going to your copy of Kirby Super Star and playing Gourmet Race a few times? Should Ludwig play Fall Guys? Do you think that Nintendo.com is wrong and that Kirby's Dream Buffet will in fact have online multiplayer? All questions to consider as you make a comment on KoopaTV's comments section.
Nintendo's info page was totally wrong, and Kirby's Dream Buffet does have online multiplayer.
I’m thrilled that their making more original Kirby spin-offs. The most recent ones have been rehashes (good rehashes!) of older spinoff games. We are so close to a Kirby RPG I can taste it. Being frank, I’d pay 20-40 bucks for this but I think game wise it’s gonna be the same length as Blowoutblast/Kirby fighters, so it really should be $10 most. I’d prefer it to be free to play, but I have a feeling they’d have said something about that in the trailer if that were so.
ReplyDeleteI think that WAS master hand and crazy hand in the trailer. It makes me giddy with glee that HAL consistently remembers and delivers an appropriate level of nostalgia. I wonder if our Boxboy Qbby or our Part time UFO, will get to make an appearance too. I really like when older characters get a chance to shine outside of their usual game franchise. Especially when they get a break from trying to kill people all the time…
I'd buy the game if Captain Vul showed up in the feathery flesh, and I wouldn't mind if he stopped his break from trying to kill people.
DeleteI don't see this as the type of game to have, uh, a "length" to it since it seems almost exclusively multiplayer-focused. More of how much you want to replay its gameplay loop.
(IT'S GOURMET RACE THOUGH.)