Kirby

Intense exam today. Probably got my worst score yet, just because the questions were about such obscure things and didn’t really test us on our overall understanding of the course. Bright side, only one more exam, the day after tomorrow.

I don’t write that much about video games, as I’m afraid it will alienate some of my audience. I’m suddenly inspired to though, from a Kirby pin (which I got at the PAX gaming convention in Seattle last fall) on my bulletin board. I should write about games more often though, since I enjoy them. If you play video games you’ll likely know all this, and can read with nostalgia. If you don’t, these are classic games worth checking out.

Kirby, if you don’t know, is a little creature featured in many Nintendo games. His main ‘power’ (across all games) is sucking air in around him, which in turn makes him swallow nearby enemies and acquire their powers. I first encountered him in the game Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, when I was young and the Nintendo 64 was still popular. My friend owned the console and almost every time I went to visit her we’d play something on it, frequently this game. Kirby has to search for these crystal shards in order to save the world and win the game. Along the way he encounters enemies, which he steals powers from and uses them against other enemies. It had fun minigames too.

That game was probably the reason I choose Kirby so often in the much more recent Super Smash Bros. games. In addition to the power I mentioned, in this game (and possibly others I haven’t played) he can also fly and turn into a rock. These are best utilized by combining the two, and then dropping onto an enemy. This can cause quite a bit of annoyance and frustration to other players. I played Super Smash Bros. Brawl a lot at my dorm in Canada with friends on my Wii. Sadly it’s too bulky to easily bring to Scotland. Perhaps one day.