here's another backloggd review i was proud of. this is probably the longest review i've posted on the site thus far, i remember really getting into this one when i wrote it.

for a long time i said that this was my favorite kirby game, but in reality i'd never gotten much further than like... the first boss. id always beat king golem, and then have zero clue where to go. i was... a KATAM poser. (dramatic sting)

well! at long last, i decided to buckle down and finally finish this game, and like... DAMN this game rocks. i was right in saying this is my favorite kirby, because it's awesome. i also made sure to go through the game in multiplayer since that's this game's main focus, and i did so with my wonderful roommate. (thanks tori!)

the main draw of KATAM, besides the multiplayer, is the unique progression and structure. instead of being a level-by-level platformer like other kirby games, KATAM instead goes for a more open-ended approach, giving you a huge, interconnected map for you to explore. this might be a weird comparison, but it almost kinda felt like how Yume Nikki is with its map design, starting you off in a nexus of different entrances and letting you choose where you wanna go, what you want to explore, and what order you wanna do stuff in. it's a really fun and unique take on kirby, and makes this game stand out in a series that, while great and fun in its own right, can often feel a little samey from game to game.

but this openness in the design is probably why the game has such a heavy focus on multiplayer, you and your friends can split up and explore separately from each other, which makes the game a LOT more fun with others. KATAM is built off of the engine that was used for the GBA remake of Kirby's Adventure, that being Nightmare in Dreamland. NiDL had a similar multiplayer mode, though it's not quite as fun since everyone has to stay on the same screen and wait for everyone to be together before going through doors and all that. it makes sense for things to be that way of course, NiDL is a much more linear game after all, but that doesn't change the fact that it still just isn't as engaging. on the other hand, in KATAM it's fun to have everyone going their own ways and finding new stuff, and it makes that colossal world map a lot less daunting than at first glance. there's only one issue with the multiplayer in the game, at least to me, and it's that when one person pauses, it pauses the game for everyone. this was probably because it'd be hard to have the pause menu open AND keep the game running at the same time on the hardware, while also keeping everyone in sync, so i understand why they did it, but it brings the pace of the game down to a slog when everyone is out and about, trying to navigate an area and constantly opening and closing the map. though, to be fair, this really only applies whenever you're going for something like 100% and are just trying to fill out the map, which is only gonna be near or after the end of the game. either that, or you're trying to get back to a place that you died at, and they sort of made up for that by including the phone feature. every kirby has their own phone, which acts as a semi fast-travel mechanic. holding down L will take you back to the nexus, and holding down R will call every other kirby, allowing them to teleport directly to you. this is a super useful feature when confronting bosses, hitting an obstacle that requires more than one kirby, or just joining up with someone you wanna explore with. it's a really good idea, and is executed perfectly ingame.

another thing you'll notice is that KATAM is HARD. at least, in comparison to other kirby games, which are normally known for being pretty chill and relaxed in terms of difficulty. that's probably because this wasn't a solo HAL labs project, this time a branch of Capcom known as Flagship worked on development, as well as good ol' DIMPS, most well known for their um... wonderful little classic known as Sonic 4. Flagship developed stuff like Resident Evil 2, Dino Crisis 2, the Zelda Oracle games, and... hey, would you look at that, they also made Four Swords! something tells me they have a knack for making GBA games with a focus on four-player co-op. and also survival horror. but their work on development definitely rubs off on the difficulty, because this game is gonna kick your ass. the environments are a lot tighter and more cramped than other kirby games, meaning that enemies can gang up on you and melt your health bar, and the bosses are no slouch either. again, this is probably because the game expects you to be playing with multiple people, and the difficulty is adjusted to account for that, but even then we still struggled pretty hard at certain points. though i'd be lying if i said that it wasn't funny to peek over at someone else's screen, only to see them getting steamrolled by some evil enemy placements. (i swear, they went totally overboard with the Roly-Poly placements, those things are satan incarnate. they seem like they wouldn't be a big deal, but their movement is so wonky and unpredictable, and they like to jump right in the way of you at just the wrong times...)

while exploring the Mirror Dimension, you may come across a few chests. these chests can contain collectibles such as area maps, spray paints, health upgrades, sheet music, or just plain ol' recovery items. i always got excited whenever i walked into a room and saw a chest sitting nearby, wondering what was in it, how i was gonna get to it, if it was even gonna be worth it... i dunno, maybe that's weird, but it was always a little treat to see one to go after. not to mention, chests are a main thing that count towards completion percentage, so getting one also made that funny number go up, which my brain ALWAYS likes. i really like the spraypaints, they let you change the color of your kirby from the extras menu on the file select screen, and switching up your color is always a fun way to give your player character a little more flavor. my only issue with this is that you have to reset the game to actually change it, which is a little annoying when you're playing with others and get a new color you like, but it ain't that big of a deal. the health upgrades have a similar quirk actually, if you find one, it won't be given to other players until you reset the game, which is pretty weird. i also found that the big map chests were pretty well hidden and hard to find, which is a little counterintuitive. at least to me, getting the map in a new area is always my first priority, but sometimes we'd go a whole area without finding it. one especially bad case was in radish ruins, where the last thing we did in that area WAS getting the map. a little annoying, but i can let it slide.

one of the main draws of kirby is always the copy abilities, so how are they here? really good, actually! as previously stated, this game is built off of Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland, so a lot of the copy abilities are carried over from that game, as well as introducing some new ones here and there. in terms of new abilities introduced in KATAM, there's Cupid, Magic, Mini, Missile, and Smash Bros. Cupid lets you fly around in a much more controlled manner compared to Kirby's usual float, as well as allowing you to shoot arrows. Magic lets you spin a wheel once for a random effect, which is a little gimmicky but it's still a fun time no less and a neat little reward for beating a boss. Mini is a weird one, it feels almost more like a handicap that's used for some interesting challenges. it makes Kirby small and takes away your ability to float and inhale. it's usually used in very specific areas to let you pass through narrow gaps, which have a challenging room and a chest at the end as a reward. my favorite example of this is one room where you have to get Mini to enter a narrow gap, but then you have to move this heavy stone block using your inhale, which can only be done by getting rid of Mini and going back to normal Kirby. then, after the block, there's another narrow gap. so what the hell are you supposed to do? well, there's these enemies called Droppy that steal your ability and turn into the enemy that gives that power. in the room with the stone block, there's a Droppy, so you have to let it steal Mini from you, move the heavy block, then inhale the Droppy to get your power back and get through the narrow gap. stuff like this is really cool, and shows the creativity of those people over at Flagship. there's also Missile, which lets you turn into (you guessed it) a missile, which can be navigated in any direction using the D-Pad and explodes on contact with any wall or enemy. it's a fun idea, though the required contact with the enemy and lack of i-frames after impact often just leads to you eating shit after landing a hit, especially on bosses. finally, we have Smash Bros. this gives Kirby his moveset from, well, Super Smash Bros., and MAN this is such a cool idea. of course they'd do this! it makes so much sense! each of his moves are already moves from other copy abilities anyways, so it doesn't take too much work to implement. not only that, a lot of these moves are used for interacting with obstacles like hard blocks, ropes, and hammer stakes, so it's super versatile for exploration. not to mention, the Smash counterparts of each move do increased damage, ESPECIALLY the hammer, which doubles the power of the highest damaging copy ability in the game. i always thought that Smash Kirby originated from the New Challenge Stages from Kirby's Dream Collection on Wii, so i was pretty surprised to see it here of all places. and of course, the cherry on top is that you get the ability from defeating Master Hand. nice.

alright, i'm gonna put everything i couldn't find a spot to talk about in a little section at the end here. first, one thing that kept annoying me a little throughout the game is that there's these enemies that wrap around some doors, and will run away and take the door with them if you run near them or attack them, and won't come back until you leave the room and come back. i couldn't figure these guys out at first, and it took me a while to realize that you had to float, then spit out a gust at them point blank to get them every time. though, even when you know that, it's still pretty tedious and gets annoying when they start putting them in rooms with one way doors on both sides. another thing i wanna talk about is netplay! you might be thinking, "i wanna play this game with multiplayer, but i don't have the necessary hardware to do so. i'll just emulate it and do netplay!" and to you i say, good luck. setting up GBA link cable stuff is already pretty weird to do on emulator when you're just doing it locally on one computer. getting it setup to do it over the internet was a nightmare to figure out for me, and i just gave up and did a weird, roundabout solution that i knew would work instead. i'd like to think im pretty tech savvy, but anytime something asks me to port forward for any reason, i just give up, it's too much for me. if you were wondering what my weird roundabout solution was, it was to get the link stuff setup on one computer using multiple instances of Visual Boy Advance M, then having my friends download Parsec and connect to my computer using that. then each person would set up their own controller for each instance of VBAM, and it'd be good to go. i know this is like, the worst possible way to do GBA netplay, but im stupid and after about an hour and a half of trying different things with a friend i just gave up and did what i knew would work. the last thing i'll talk about in this segment is the sub games. while i prefer KATAM in almost every way over NiDL, i think NiDL takes the trophy when it comes to sub games. which, to be fair, is probably just because of nostalgia, but i just couldn't get into KATAM's sub games. it also doesn't have Meta Knightmare or Extra mode, though that might be for the best, since im pretty sure making someone beat KATAM with no continues or only 3 HP is considered a war crime in some countries.

overall, Kirby & the Amazing Mirror is everything i hyped it up to be in my 8 year old mind and so much more. the metroidvania type structure is super unique and engaging, the multiplayer adds a lot to an already great game, it's got a kick to it that'll challenge you all the way through, and it's just plain fun. if you want a new and interesting take on Kirby that's gonna really test your skills, check out Amazing Mirror for sure, it's awesome.