Is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards coming to Switch? Is it a 3D game?

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is a 2000 platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 (N64). Kirby 64 introduces Power Combos, the ability to mix powers to create more powerful ones. In a multiplayer mode, up to four players can compete in three minigames.

Is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards coming to Switch?

If your childhood gaming was defined more by Kirby than Mario, don’t worry — Nintendo has you covered. As VGC reports, Nintendo is making Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards available through the Switch Online Expansion Pack on May 20th. The Nintendo 64 title was the first 3D Kirby game, although it was really more of a “2.5D” platformer — you set out to reassemble a shattered crystal by copying and combining your enemies’ powers.

The Switch experience is effectively what you would remember playing circa 2000, complete with low-polygon 3D visuals. As you might guess, though, the multiplayer mini-games are now available online in addition to at home.

This is the 15th N64 game to come to the Switch Online Expansion Pack, which costs $50 per year or $80 for families. While Kirby 64 might not be as immediately appealing to veteran gamers as the likes of Super Mario 64 or Ocarina of Time, it’s still a notable addition that may be great for introducing kids to the games of your youth.

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards – Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Switch Online

Venture beyond Dream Land. Stop the hungering Dark Matter. The Kirby 64™: The Crystal Shards game, originally released for the Nintendo 64 system, is available on May 20th for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack members.

The game makes another distinction from its predecessors, giving Kirby only seven different abilities to copy, as opposed to the vast ability pool of other games. The base abilities are Burn, Stone, Ice, Needle, Bomb, Spark, and Cutter. However, by inhaling enemies, Kirby can create ability stars, which he can spit at other enemies. If an ability star connects to another enemy with an ability, the two abilities will merge and form a Power Combo. By combining abilities, Kirby can master 28 different abilities, plus the seven base abilities, making a total of 35 abilities. Kirby can discard his ability if the player presses either the L button, the R button, or one of the C buttons.

Is Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards a 3D game?

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards famously introduced the franchise to 3D graphics after years of 2D style. However, the game wasn’t wholly 3D like its N64 peer Super Mario 64; instead, it was a sidescrolling game as usual. Kirby 64 was packed with memorable locations like the post-apocalyptic Shiver Star, and these settings have tons of further potential in a fully 3D remake. Freely wandering around the mysterious cityscape of Shiver Star sounds like a compelling new way to look at Kirby 64’s settings. This kind of exploration could provide some extra difficulty to Kirby 64 too since HAL would have more ways to hide the game’s titular collectible Crystal Shards.

There’s another core aspect of Kirby 64 that could be improved in a 3D remake: Copy Ability mixing. There are only a handful of Copy Abilities in Kirby 64, but by picking up two of them, Kirby can create a unique Copy Ability called a Power Combo. A fully 3D version of Kirby 64 could make Power Combos even more engaging thanks to improvements in Kirby combat that have happened in recent years. Instead of each Power Combo having a single form of attack, a remake could introduce multiple attacks for each Power Combo that offer different ways to control a 3D battlefield.

Nintendo pushed the limits of 3D platforming over several generations of Mario games, and Kirby ought to do the same thing. Kirby and the Forgotten Land looks great, but as the franchise’s first foray into 3D, it probably won’t get everything perfectly right. That’s why a 3D remake of Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards seems worth considering. It would allow HAL to get additional practice with 3D platforming without needing to come up with an entirely new game concept.

How many levels are in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards?

The game features six levels, or planets, with respectively four stages and one boss fight. From the beginning, only the first stage of Pop Star is available. In every stage, there are three Crystal Shards to be found. The Crystal Shards are often hidden in remote places or behind obstacles that can be destroyed only by a certain ability (usually indicated by the obstacle’s color). Finding all the Crystal Shards is not necessary to complete the game, but it is essential to 100% complete the game, as finding all 80 Crystal Shards (72 from every stage, six from every boss, and two during the intro) unlocks the true ending of the game.

How to collect Shards in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards?

In each regular stage, of which there are three or four per planet, three Crystal Shards are hidden. These fragments are often strategically placed so that Kirby must overexert himself physically (i.e. by floating and extended breath-holding) or in terms of busting down walls, blocks, etc. with different copy ability combinations in order to reach these treasures. While the final boss of a certain planet reveals one Crystal Shard upon defeat, many of the mini-bosses in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards yield a crystal piece in the same manner. In the case that Kirby has already obtained a certain Crystal Shard within a level, a large Blue Star will take its place, rewarding Kirby with the equivalent of 10 Stars, placing him well on his way to achieving a 1-Up, if it is collected.

The number of Crystal Shards Kirby possesses by the time he reaches the boss of the Ripple Star, Miracle Matter, determines whether or not he will be able to face the final boss, 0², and rid the entire realm of Dark Matter. To face 0², all 74 shards (including the one Ribbon managed to keep and the one Kirby found after she landed on his head) must be found across the realm, and rightly so, as the shards themselves are the sole weapon used to send 0² and Dark Matter back to the depths of space.

Is Kirby 64 a good game?

Good, but not great. The game is still a solid and enjoyable platforming experience for fans of the pink puffball and worth a look with its asking price of 1000 Wii Points – it’s just not as versatile or as representative of the Kirby franchise as a whole as other games are, like Kirby’s Adventure or Kirby Super Star.

Is Kirby and The Crystal Shards on Switch?

The new upcoming games were revealed in an updated Overview Trailer for the Switch Online Expansion Pack, and include Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, the original Pokemon Snap, and Mario Golf.

Who is ribbon from Kirby?

Ribbon is a character who made her debut in Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. She is a fairy from Ripple Star, serving under the planet’s Queen, and watching over the Crystal – an object with the power to dispel Dark Matter.

What happens when you get all crystal shards in Kirby 64?

Players must collect all of the crystal shards to reach the game’s final boss and true ending. Outside the single-player platforming, a multiplayer game mode can be accessed from the main menu.