We're closing out September with the release of Kirby & the Amazing Mirror, the newest Game Boy Advance title to hit the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. That's exciting news, but is this 2004 platformer worth playing? And what about the other Kirby games on the Nintendo Switch Online service that we haven't had a chance to cover? To answer that question, I decided to flip through the pages of Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Power, GamePro and more classic magazines to see what the critics said back when these games first came out. So, go and practice your breathing exercises, because we're going to be looking at a bunch of Kirby games in this episode of the Nintendo Switch Online Review Crew.


Before we dive into the main series, let's first take a look at one of Kirby's more intriguing spin-offs. Kirby's Dream Course was a weird and wonderfully wild miniature golf game released in 1995 on the Super NES. It's the perfect vehicle for a character like Kirby, who proves to be more adept at putt putt golf than pinball. It's also a cool way of showcasing Dream Land, as well as a bunch of familiar faces. All of these elements add up to a golf game that could only exist in a video game, which may be one of the reasons why it is still remembered fondly all these decades later. But who cares about what we think today, we're here to find out what the critics said back in 1995.

The thing you're going to find is that the scores for Kirby's Dream Course were pretty consistent across the board, with most critics landing in the 80% range. That's where Next Generation landed, which is even more impressive when you consider their largely negative thoughts on last-generation games. They explained that “Kirby's Dream Course is too cute for its own good, but this game is still surprisingly unique and fascinating. Suddenly you're playing a game that's a lot more complex than the superficial Candyland exterior would lead you to believe. If you can keep from choking on the saccharin, this game is so unique it rates at four stars just for being unlike anything else we've seen.”

That's the same score you saw from both Video Games & Computer Entertainment and Computer & Video Games, two magazines with very similar names. Hyper went a bit higher giving it an 89%, but it's GamePro's 4.5 out of 5 that proved to be the highest score. They asked: “Want to shoot 18 holes with a fat, morphing, multitalented puff of fluff? No, not the President. Kirby's Dream Course does for golf what NBA Jam did for basketball.”

Believe it or not, it was actually Nintendo Power that gave Kirby's Dream Course the lowest score. Giving it a 3.7 out of 5, the nameless critic hated the “annoying music” and complained that “making short shots can be tough,” though they liked the “unique gameplay” and “good three-quarter perspective.”

This is certainly one of those games that gets by on its uniqueness, offering players something they've never seen before. While the music is a little annoying, I still think this game holds up surprisingly well. Give it a putt on the Switch.

Released a year after Dream Course, Kirby Super Star is yet another release that zigs when you expect it to zag. Instead of being another straight-forward Kirby adventure, like everybody expected, Super Star is actually a compilation of different Kirby games, each with their own themes and quirks. Sometimes you're uncovering treasure in a Metroivania-inspired dream world, while other times you'll need to race while eating as much food as possible. This shows Kirby as more than just a platforming hero, but also a surprisingly versatile character that can be tossed into just about any genre. The problem was the release date, which was just nine days before the launch of the Nintendo 64. Let's see if that timing had much of an impact on the scores.

Although Kirby Super Star was reviewed in the same issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly as Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64, the critics still had plenty of high scores to pass around. Dan was baffled by the game, saying that “I don't understand why I like this game. I'm almost ashamed of it. It's just that this cart is a pinata packed full of extra goodies. Some of the side games are so simple in concept, but are, well, fun. You'll just have to experience it to understand what I mean. Once you play it with a friend, you'll be hooked.” Crispin also liked the game, arguing that “Kirby Super Star proves that side-scrolling games can still be packed with fresh, imaginative gameplay. The novelty of this title lies in Kirby's ability to absorb the powers of any enemy he eats. Kirby can, therefore, shower bad guys with fireballs one minute and hack at them with a sword in the next. The game is a bargain, too; it offers six side-scrolling games and two short bonus games – all will keep players occupied for a while.” EGM gave Kirby Super Star an average score of 8.6 out of 10.

This is basically in line with where Super Play was at when they gave the game an 89%. They concluded that Super Star is “pretty much everything you'd expect Kirby on the Super NES to be. Slick, colorful and addictive with a difficulty curve just the wrong side of easy. Ignore his distinct lack of street-cred and just enjoy another platform masterpiece, the likes of which you won't find on any other platform – 16- or 32-bit.”

Game Informer was not nearly as rosy on Kirby Super Star, giving the game a score of 7.25 out of 10. And then there's Computer & Video Games, who gave the game the lowest score I could find, a 3 out of 5. Paul Davies explains that “Kirby remains one of my favorite characters because he is so versatile, plus his games always provide a lot of fun – they genuinely make me laugh. Super Star is typical of what you might expect from Nintendo's second party development team, Hal: Odd-ball humor and ingenious game design. Assuming you still love your Super Nintendo, this is a game worth spending time with. But, yes, it is easy.”

And that's the rub across the board, no matter what Kirby game we're talking about – the games are always a little too easy. Still, with so many different modes and mini-games to play, Kirby Super Star is definitely a game you should play.

Finally, after years of waiting, Super NES owners got a straight-forward Kirby platformer. No anthology stories or allusions to miniature golf, because this is Kirby's Dream Land 3, the series that started it all. There's just one problem – this Super NES game was released on November 27th, 1997, fourteen months after the launch of the Nintendo 64 and more than two years after the 32-bit console war kicked off. There's a chance you didn't even know Kirby's Dream Land 3 was a thing, simply because it was released at a time when nobody was thinking about 16-bit platformers.

And when I say “nobody,” I'm mostly talking about game critics. When it comes to English-language reviews published in a magazine released back when the game first came out, I could only find one. That's right, one. And it comes from Nintendo Power issue 102, where they gave Kirby's Dream Land 3 a 6.5 out of 10. Scott gave a very non-committal take, saying that “Kirby has a devoted following that should love this game,” while Paul argued that “Kirby 3 is very good for the targeted, young audience. It's straight-forward, but challenging in a trial-and-error sort of way.” Dan also liked the game, commending the “nice Yoshi's Island hand-drawn graphics.”

While it's disappointing that only Nintendo Power reviewed Kirby's Dream Land 3, it's not at all surprising. Pretty much every magazine at the time had moved on, and with so many 32- and 64-bit games coming out, there simply wasn't room or much of a push to review the 16-bit hold-overs. The good news is that it's available on Nintendo Switch Online, so if you missed it back in 1997, now is your chance to give it a play.

Coming almost a decade after his last mainline handheld game, Kirby hit the Game Boy Advance with a platformer all about a broken mirror. Taking inspiration from some of the modes in Super Star, Kirby & the Amazing Mirror is a 2D Metroivania game that sees our hero journey through the Mirror Dimension either solo or with a group of friends. While it doesn't shake up the gameplay too much, the structure is definitely new, offering a bigger and more ambitious world than we've seen in past titles. It looked great on the Game Boy Advance and really took the series back to its roots, but did the critics think this was a step backwards after the 64-bit entry? Let's find out.

GMR was definitely not disappointed, even though they gave this handheld game a score of 7 out of 10. They argued that “The Amazing Mirror has Kirby on the right track and, for the first time in years, starts to evolve the series.” That said, they had issues with the structure. “The problem is the game's core design. The developers went for a Metroid-style interlocking-levels approach but flubbed the execution. The levels don't intertwine well; meanwhile the goals are oddly divorced from obvious targets, like boss fights. The game's other gimmick – calling in reinforcements from three multicolored Kirbys – doesn't add much. They'll flip a switch for you or attack enemies, but there's nothing essential or particularly helpful about it.” Christian Nutt concluded that The Amazing Mirror “just doesn't quite live up to it ambitions.”

Game Informer was a bit more charitable, giving the game a 7.75 out of 10. Nintendo Power went a bit higher, giving it an average score of 4 out of 5, with Jessica raving that “The Amazing Mirror is by far the coolest Kirby game yet – the free-form multiplayer style adds a fresh spin to adventure platform games that I hope to see more of in the future. The game's puzzles, massive areas and new copy abilities create a Kirby-filled experience that's as fun as it is challenging.” Steven agreed, noting that while it's a bit easy, “Kirby's first wholly original platforming romp on the GBA goes whole hog in the overactive-imagination department, just how Kirby fans like it.”

If there's one thing I learned from Breaking Bad, it's that you always want to go whole-hog. No half measures. Joking aside, the critics were a little mixed on Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. While a step in the right direction, not everybody was sold on the core gameplay. Check it out on the Switch and see for yourself.