Kirby Star Allies arrived on the Nintendo Switch in 2018 as the twelfth mainline entry in HAL Laboratory’s series. It is a 2.5D platform game played from a side-on view, published by Nintendo, and built around a simple pitch: Kirby throws hearts at enemies and turns them into friends. That idea carries the game further than the mixed early reviews suggested.
Trailer, via Nintendo 公式チャンネル.
Hyness and the Jamba Hearts
On the Jambandra space station, a dark crystal heart explodes mid-ritual, scattering fragments called Jamba Hearts across space. King Dedede and Meta Knight get possessed. Kirby catches a pink heart instead and gains the power to befriend enemies.
He fights through Popstar, frees both rivals, and faces Hyness, a priest trying to revive the dark force Void Termina. After Kirby defeats him, Hyness sacrifices his generals and himself to complete the revival. It is a lot of plot for a game about throwing hearts at enemies.
Friend Actions and Dream Friends
The mechanics are the real argument for Star Allies. Up to three companions can join, controlled by AI or by other players in co-op. Elemental fusions combine Kirby’s copy abilities with an ally’s — a feature introduced in Kirby: Super Star and not seen since Kirby: Squeak Squad.
With three allies, Kirby can trigger Friend Actions like Friend Train and Friend Star on specific stages. The Dream Friend system pulls characters from past games, with Bandana Waddle Dee, King Dedede and Meta Knight unlocked through Story Mode.
What the Difficulty Costs
Here is the ranking of what Star Allies gets right and wrong:
- Co-op and elemental fusions — the best reason to play.
- Dream Friends and their expanded movesets.
- Graphics and soundtrack.
- Story Mode difficulty, which is far too soft.
The criticism aimed at the game’s lack of depth was fair at launch. What changed was the free additional content, which added a real layer of difficulty and more references to past games.
Two Versions of the Same Game
| Element | At launch | After free updates |
|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Low, criticized | New layer added |
| Dream Friends | Base roster | More added via updates |
| General reception | Mixed | Re-evaluated as positive |
That table is the story of Kirby Star Allies.
The Three Mage-Sisters
Francisca, Flamberge and Zan Partizanne guard the Jambastion fortress before Kirby reaches space. In this writer’s view they are the game’s strongest boss run, and they return when Hyness sacrifices them and himself to revive Void Termina.
The Case for 7.4
Star Allies sold 4.38 million copies as of 31 December 2022, making it one of the best-selling games on the Switch. The published aggregate sits at 7.4/10 from 12 outlets. The later positive re-evaluation concerns general reception, not that number.
The game is not deep. What it offers is a generous, good-looking team-up platformer that got better after release, and that is worth more than its launch reviews admitted.
7.4 of 10.
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