What it was
Pairs of coloured blobs fall into your well. Turn and steer them so four or more of one colour touch, and they pop; the blobs above drop into the gap, and if they make another group, that pops too. Chains of pops drop grey rocks onto your rival's side, and rocks only clear when you pop blobs right beside them. Fill either middle column at the top and you lose.
The story is an excuse with a crown on it. King Dedede has called an Avalanche Competition at the Fountain of Dreams, and Kirby works through a forest of old foes from Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby's Adventure, Whispy Woods, Kracko and Meta Knight among them, to face Dedede for the cup.
Where it sits in history
Underneath, this is Compile's Super Puyo Puyo, a Japanese hit starring Arle Nadja and Carbuncle. For the West, Compile and HAL Laboratory swapped in Kirby characters, and Nintendo published it in North America and Europe in 1995; in Europe it was called Kirby's Ghost Trap. It was never released in Japan, and it remains the only Kirby game that wasn't.
The music remixes Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Course, keeping one original Puyo Puyo track, the panic theme. Reviews were warm: GamePro called it a rehash done so well it was worth playing, and Electronic Gaming Monthly later put it, together with Sega's Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, at number 84 in its 100 best games of all time.
How it plays today
Puyo Puyo is one of the great competitive puzzle games, and this is a faithful copy of it. The first chain you build on purpose, stacking a colour you know will fall into place three pops later, is a small thrill that does not fade. Against a friend it becomes a race of nerve.
The surprise is the talking. Between rounds Kirby and his rivals swap full-sentence insults, and Kirby comes off sarcastic and spiky, nothing like the silent, friendly puffball of every other game. It is funny, and a little odd.
Compared with
- Puyo Puyo: The game underneath it, with Compile's own cast.
- Tetris Attack: Another Western reskin of a Japanese puzzler, this time with Yoshi.
- Dr. Mario: Nintendo's own colour-matching duel, slower and more stately.
Why it matters
Kirby's Avalanche is almost all about the person across from you. Every chain you build is a gift of rocks to them, and every rock they send is a message. Roger Caillois called this kind of play agon: competition under shared rules, where the rules make a fair fight possible and the fight makes the rules matter.
The trash-talk between rounds is the game knowing that. A Kirby who sneers at Meta Knight is not really Kirby; it is two kids on a couch, saying what they would say to each other. The cartoon just says it first.
Read: The second controller →
- Caillois, R. (1958/1961). Man, Play and Games (trans. M. Barash).
What you're levelling up
You have been training these without noticing. Here is how to do it on purpose, and where it pays off away from the couch. All the skills games teach →
Planning ahead
In the game. The first chain you build on purpose, stacking a colour you know will fall into place three pops later, is the whole game.
Do it on purpose. Play a round where you're not allowed to pop anything until you've set up a chain of at least two. Lose a few. Then watch them get bigger.
Off the couch. Saving money works the same: small moves now that pay off three steps later. Most people pop the first group they see.
Keeping your cool
In the game. Grey rocks start raining onto your side and the middle columns climb. Against a friend it becomes a race of nerve.
Do it on purpose. When the rocks drop, stop for one breath before you place the next pair. Count how many games you'd have panicked away.
Off the couch. When things pile up at work or a date takes an awkward turn, the one who stays level gets to think. Everyone else just stacks blobs.
Winning and losing well
In the game. Kirby and his rivals swap full-sentence insults between rounds. It's trash talk with a pink puffball, and it's funny.
Do it on purpose. Play your mate best of five and keep the banter going whether you're up or down. Notice if you go quiet when you're losing.
Off the couch. Being able to take a ribbing and give one back with a grin is half of being good company. People warm to someone who can laugh at themselves.
Verdict · 8/10
A great puzzle game in a pink costume, with the strangest Kirby you will ever meet. Best with two players and a grudge.
