Copy Abilities Work Well In Kirby Battle Royale’s Four Player Fights

We’re accustomed to seeing Kirby in a certain light. He’s always this colorful, cheerful hero who saves the day by inhaling and injesting enemies, stealing their skills in the process. We know how potent these attacks can be in practice. But in Kirby Battle Royale, we see these abilities in an entirely new way. They are presented as a means of competing in various arena challenges, so Kirby can be triumphant when facing his dopplegangers. It works quite well.

Kirby Battle Royale puts four Kirby characters into a ring. In most cases, we have an overhead view of the action, though challenges like Attack Riders, Flag Ball and Robo Bonkers offer a more 2.5D view of affairs. Some of these don’t require you to attack your opponents to win. You might just need to get correct answers to questions, collect coins, find fuel, grab gems, or hit a pick. Attacking others can be part of these goals, but part of things is managing other people while accomplishing other goals. Which is part of why the abilities work well with this sort of game.

The copy abilities chosen cover not only Kirby’s history, but a number of different ranges. The sword, the ability you begin with in the tutorial and campaign, is your basic close-range skill. It has some good single attacks and can handle combos. Some of the other “assault’’ abilities fit well into this category. It works with any minigame. Choosing Fighter, Spear and Beetle work similarly well. I would say I found Beetle most tactically challenging, since you have to be aware of range and its throws, but each one works well for a solo challenge or a pair where one person is focusing on attacking and “protecting” an ally. I like to think of the Hammer as the tank of this group, as it is slow, but it is incredibly damaging.

Some of the other abilities lend themselves quite well to being a character who hangs back a bit and lets the other person in a duo maintain a point position. (Though honestly, each copy ability can easily be used in such a way where you do not need a partner to succeed.) The Cutter is good for people who aren’t sure which they would prefer, since it has short and long range attacks, and works well with every single situation. (I liked it best for Attack Riders and Robo Bonkers, since it let me handle enemies and try and get the motorcycle or to the missiles faster.) The Ninja is similar, though it works best when someone knows exactly what his movelist is and knows exactly when certain special attacks will work best. He’s really fun in Apple Scramble, where you can send his automaton out to distract, or Arena. Bomb is the straightforward ranged pick, as it is all about tossing bombs at varying lengths. It’s fantastic especially in Battle Arena with a partner, in Crazy Theater when you are alone and in Slam Hockey when you want to knock the puck out of an opponent’s hands without getting near them.

Then, there are the more unconventional copy abilities that feel perfectly suited to specific situations in Kirby Battle Royale. Like Ice. Ice is a fantastic defensive ability, since it has a wall skill and lets you quickly ice skate to sensitive locations. It works great for occasions where you need to block, like in Slam Hockey, Flag Ball and even Apple Scramble if you want to try and seal off an opponent’s access to their chute. The Doctor is really technical. Different potions have different effects, and if you pay attention to what each color liquid does when used, it can be quite helpful in Arena, Coin Clash and Ore Express. And Parasol is practical enough to work in pretty much any situation. It is fantastic when you might need to defend in any of the minigames, but it is also perfect when you need to start attacking folks. I liked using it in Apple Scramble, Attack Riders and Rocket Rumble, because it was great for juggling and distracting enemies when time is really of the essence.

Kirby Battle Royale is not a conventional Kirby game. But, it does some rather entertaining things with his copy abilities. They lend themselves well to situations where you need to collect items, score points and defeat enemies. While all work well on their own and can be used to win any of the available challenges, they also feel like some are perfect for specific situations. It’s an entertaining thing, especially when you have enough people around to really put a good match together.

Kirby Battle Royale is available for the Nintendo 3DS.