Kirby: Planet Robobot

Kirby: Planet Robobot
The Pink Puffball is back...now with a new robot friend!
Protagonist(s): Kirby Genre(s): Platform Platform(s): Nintendo 3DS Release Date: JP: April 28, 2016 NA/EU: June 10, 2016 AU: June 11, 2016 Developer(s): HAL Laboratory Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: Japan Series: Kirby Predecessor: Kirby: Triple Deluxe Successor: Kirby Star Allies (chronologically) Kirby Battle Royale (by release date)

Kirby: Planet Robobot is a platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo. The game was initially released on the Nintendo 3DS in April/June 2016, and is the second mainline Kirby title on the system, the first being Kirby: Triple Deluxe.

Why It's Kicking Bot

1. This game features a different take on the proper charm that Triple Deluxe had, while retaining many of its features and improvements to the series. These include, but aren't limited to:
   • Gorgeous and colorful graphics for 3DS standards, with the game's identity being defined by the mechanical theme throughout it.
   • The same amazing level design its predecessor had, with a wide variety of environments and features, including Resolution Road's automobiles, the laboratories seen in each world and all of Rhythm Route's musical neon street motif. Don't forget some of the Access Ark levels take place in the Digital World/Cyberspace!
   • The 3D Warp Star returns to allow Kirby to travel between the foreground and background.
   • An abundance of unique puzzles throughout the worlds, many of which use the 3D effects well.
   • Tight, solid controls, just like every other Kirby game. You can feel this in both Kirby and the Robobot Armor.
   • Epic soundtrack composed by Hirokazu Ando and Jun Ishikawa, with a new electronic style to fit in with the mechanical motif.
   • Like the Sun Stones before them, you are required to collect a certain amount of Code Cubes so that you don't just fly around the level, which encourages exploration. Collecting all Code Cubes in a world unlocks EX levels.
2. The main mechanic, the Robobot Armor, is one of the most creative concepts seen in a Kirby game thus far. Essentially, it makes Kirby stronger in several aspects while at the same time being versatile in that it can use its own versions of Copy Abilities!
   • Even better, unlike Triple Deluxe's Hypernova Kirby, completing a level with the Robobot Armor is sometimes optional!
3. Similarly to Donkey Kong Country 2, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time or Xenoblade Chronicles 3, the tone is much more serious than most previous Kirby games, with the possible exception of the Dark Matter saga. While there were some dark moments in previous games, particularly the final bosses, the gloomy mood of this one is established as early as the first cutscene, with a more complex story, new characters who possess tragic backstories and the final boss being Star Dream, a nihilistic bird-like supercomputer (and later the planet part of it resembles Galactic NOVA from Kirby Super Star) bent on killing all organic life in the universe.
4. The gameplay is superb as always, with several new and returning Copy Abilities.
   • The new abilities, Doctor, ESP and Poison, are fun additions to the franchise, with the latter two being very useful against bosses. ESP will also return in the next game.
   • Jet and Mirror Kirby make their proper return in this game since Super Star (not counting Kirby: Right Back At Ya! or Super Star Ultra).
   • If you tap a Smash Bros. or Kirby-series Kirby amiibo into the game, you can obtain Smash Bros. (for the former) or UFO Kirby (for the latter), which haven't made any appearances since The Amazing Mirror and Squeak Squad, respectively.
     • Even better, you don't actually need any amiibo to access these abilities: Smash Bros. Kirby can be found in specific sections of certain levels, while UFO Kirby can be obtained in the Ability Testing Area after achieving 100% completion.
5. The collectible Stickers, like the Keychains before them, are fun to find and provide a lot of fan service from previous games while mixing in some new designs.
   • This time, the Stickers serve a purpose: you can use them to decorate the Robobot Armor.
   • Compared to the Rare Keychains, Rare Stickers actually provide hints as to which levels they are in so you won't need to rely a guide.
6. Compared to most previous Kirby games, the difficulty is balanced in this one: not too easy and not too hard.
7. Like always, the new characters introduced in this game (President Max Profitt Haltmann and his daughter Susie) have nice designs and are well-written due to their tragic backstories.
   • Susie later returns as a playable Ally in the next game's Guest Star ??? mode, alongside other characters who are or were previously villains (i.e Marx, Dark Meta Knight, Daroach, Magolor and Taranza).
8. The boss fights are fantastic as always, and unlike many bosses in the Kirby series, these often require actual strategy and effort to defeat due to their unpredictable movements and phases.
   • Just like in Triple Deluxe, sometimes you'll even encounter boss fights within the levels that utilize the game's mechanic, which is a nice touch.
   • They managed to incorperate a Dedede fight without him being brainwashed to justify him as a boss! Instead of fighting Dedede himself, you fight an evil clone of King Dedede who can split into 3 copies of himself!
   • The final battle against the Star Dream is even more epic than that of Queen Sectonia, due to the Robobot Armor literally absorbing the Halberd to fight Star Dream! It also has twice the phases that her battle had, and as stated above, resembles Galactic NOVA once its outer shell is removed.
9. Like all Kirby games, the sub-games included are a great way to take a break from the main game; the ones in question for this game are Team Kirby Clash and Kirby 3D Rumble. Both are more refined than previous sub-games, considering that the former uses an RPG-style approach to the typical Kirby boss formula, and the latter is a fully 3D Kirby experience before Kirby and the Forgotten Land!
   • Also, just like the previous two sub-games, there are two eShop-exclusive versions of the ones in this game, those being Team Kirby Clash Deluxe and Kirby's Blowout Blast.
10. After completing the main story and The Arena at least once, you will unlock Meta Knightmare Returns, which is a time attack mode similar to the Meta Knightmare mode found in Nightmare in Dream Land and Meta Knightmare Ultra from Super Star Ultra in which you play as Meta Knight and use his own special powers and attacks.
11. Upon completing the game 100%, not only do you unlock the UFO ability in the Ability Testing Area, but also a cute video featuring Susie singing a song about Haltmann Works.

Bad Qualities

1. Just like its predecessor, achieving 100% is a massive chore, as not only do you have to collect all the Stickers, but also beat all of the opponents in Team Kirby Clash, complete all levels of Kirby 3D Rumble and beat all main modes.
2. Unlike previous incarnations of The Arena and The True Arena, healing items only appear after certain matches rather than a limited capacity appearing in the rest area to last a whole run. This means that a player with low health and no access to healing items is likely to die in the next round, while a player with high or full health will likely waste the item they have just to get another one.
3. Mecha Knight utilizes the now-tired "ally is brainwashed to justify them as a boss" cliché, being a mind-controlled Meta Knight.
4. Sadly, due to the 3DS eShop's closure, you can no longer buy Team Kirby Clash Deluxe or Kirby's Blowout Blast at all.

Reception

Like its predecessors, Kirby: Planet Robobot received generally positive reviews, averaging 81/100 on Metacritic and 9/10 on Nintendo Life. It is often considered one of the best games in the Kirby series due to its deep story, gameplay, level design, characters, visuals and soundtrack.

Trivia

• The ESP ability is based off of Ness from Earthbound as ESP Kirby wears a cap that resembles Ness's and the description for the ability mentions "a certain boy with PSI".
  • It should also be worth mentioning that NESP (the enemy you can obtain this ability from) has a name similar to Ness.
• The first letter of each world's name spells out PROGRAM (Patched Plains, Resolution Road, Overload Ocean, Gigabyte Grounds, Rhythm Route, Access Ark, Mind in the Program). This is a reference to what happens to President Haltmann when he is assimilated by Star Dream at the end of the game.

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