Kirby’s Blowout Blast Review

Nintendo have taken an interesting route with the Kirby series in recent years. The last two games to release on the 3DS have come with fun little mini games that have seen expanded versions released on the eShop. Following the likes of Dedede’s Drum Dash and Team Kirby Clash Deluxe, Kirby’s Blowout Blast is the latest expanded Kirby mini game to hit the 3DS eShop. As you would expect from a Kirby title, Blowout Blast doesn’t offer hours upon hours of replay value, but it is a blast throughout.

How long will Blowout Blast last you? You’ll be watching the credits scroll by before even an hour passes. There’s more to get on with after the credits roll, however. The five worlds in the game are followed by a hard mode for each world, given you’ve achieved at least a gold rating in each stage. While these EX worlds will follow the same basic patterns per stage, you’ll find new enemies and slightly altered level designs waiting for you. Finish all these to at least gold rating and you’ll unlock a Secret Path, but what’s behind that will remain a secret. Although you might balk at the idea of replaying through stages initially, the developers ensured that it doesn’t suck.

Learn Your Waddle Dees and Doos

Credit: wikiba.asia

Each stage is a bite-size slice of fun. You charge through levels, sucking in enemies to shoot at others, chaining hits on multiple Waddle Dees and Doos. Unlike other Kirby titles, however, Blowout Blast doesn’t grant you special powers after you inhale your foes. Instead, the more enemies you suck in, the larger Kirby becomes and the bigger his projectile gets. Suck in just one enemy, and you will shoot out a single star, to take out a single bad guy. If you suck in two, your star gets bigger and can take out multiple enemies at once, three and… you get the picture. A simple, intuitive gameplay hook never becomes dull. In particular, seeing Kirby become a morbidly obese blob akin to Mr. Creosote is always hilarious – just don’t feed him a wafer thin mint.

Whilst the lack of power-ups and new abilities might seem different, the most different is in the game’s viewpoint. Blowout Blast is one of the only times you’ll see your favourite pink ball in a 3D plane. Hal Laboratory had fun with the 3D view, too. You’ll run across stages in a top down perspective, in a Sonic 3D-esque isometric display and shoot projectiles from the back of the screen, into the front. With your 3D slider turned all the way up, Blowout Blast looks brilliant, bright and sharp. There is a downside; however, as there are notable frame-rate drops on busier stages, especially when in bird’s eye view. These drops don’t happen when playing the game in 2D, where it should run in a buttery 60fps.

Credit: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OVThO5lhNgY/maxresdefault.jpg

What’s disappointing, too, is the game’s price. In the UK it will cost you a fairly hefty £6.29. While this doesn’t sound much, you will be done with everything the game has to offer in under three hours. If Blowout Blast were just a little longer, or a tad cheaper, then it would be even better.

Conclusion

While you might be better off hoping for a sale to pick up the game, Kirby’s Blowout Blast is a really fun little game. It makes the most of the switch to a 3D perspective, features exciting gameplay and can get addictive. It won’t last you long, but you’ll definitely have a blast playing Kirby’s latest download aside.