I am one of the un/lucky individuals that got the 3DS the first day it came out and about 6 months later Nintendo decided it didn’t sell well enough and gave a bunch of games for an apology. While it’s not exactly a fitting one, it was at least one, and by that apology I got Kirby & the Amazing Mirror. By the time I did actual get this game I didn’t care for Kirby at all and by all means didn’t really care to try this game. My past Kirby experiences were meh at this point and it wouldn’t be a while till I could tolerate playing through this game. And then when I could tolerate this game and playthrough it became rather irritating to me. Then during my 8 game series challenge I played it again because I figure it’s time to get into the Kirby series and even though I beat it, I still had problems with it.
Look I don't have anything against Kirby and the Amazing Mirror per se, but I really hate how they tried to make it metroid-esque. I just really don’t think Kirby works well with exploring; just the whole aspect of it becomes a lot more confusing when you constantly use doors to transfer to the next screen. Each of these doors work more like a teleporter, and when you have something like that in an exploration game it makes things even more annoying to play because the door may not lead you exactly where you want to go. Add this in with a simplified map instead of a more detailed one and you get a very annoying game to navigate. I don't deny that Kirby can work as a metroid-esque game, but the way amazing mirror does it, doesn't work. It’s just like that horrid maze at the end of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, it’s just annoying rather than fun. Amazing Mirror turned into something I hated rather than what I came to know Kirby games as, a fun little game where you go stage to stage getting power-ups and fighting mini-bosses. Add in this annoying mix of mazes with a rather shoe-horned co-op and you make me an unhappy gamer.
Now is this to say Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is bad? No, it’s just not my cup of tea, and I'd imagine a lot more people would agree with me when I say Kirby was better back the way he was in the NES days. Still, Amazing Mirror isn't a game changer, and the game can still be quite fun, that is if you know where you’re going. The story is rather simplified, but for the way Kirby games always go dark toned in the end I really wish they explain the story more, but with the few cutscenes in there you can piece together what’s happening. The visuals and music are thankfully much of the same of past Kirby games, with Kirby sticking to his guns of cuteness and upbeat music. But Amazing Mirror simply wasn’t what I came to know Kirby games as, and for that I just didn’t like it.
Final Thoughts:
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror was not a fun game for me, but more so it annoyed me with its confusing metroid-esque gameplay. But this alone doesn't make it a bad game for other players, just a bad experience for me. Still I wish the Amazing Mirror would stick more to the Kirby basics, but for what it does, it does well enough to not damper the Kirby name that most have come to know and appreciate.