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Kirby's Block Ball

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Kirby's Block Ball
North American box art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)Hiromune Kouno
Producer(s)
Designer(s)
  • Hiroyoshi Kubo
  • Ichirou Takigawa
Programmer(s)
  • Takeshi Yamazaki
  • Toshifumi Hiroo
  • Yuki Yano
  • Yasu Shimokawa
  • Zhu Li
Artist(s)
  • Isao Shiroyama
  • You Kotou
Composer(s)
  • Sukezo Ouyama
  • Ryoue Takagi
SeriesKirby
Platform(s)Game Boy
Release
  • JP: December 14, 1995
  • NA: May 13, 1996
  • EU: August 29, 1996
Genre(s)Action
Puzzle
Breakout clone
Mode(s)Single-player

Kirby’s Block Ball, known in Japan as Kirby no Block Ball[a], is a video game developed by Tose and Nintendo and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It is a spin-off of the Kirby video game series. It is a Breakout clone; the player controls paddles along the screen's edge to knock a bouncing ball, Kirby, into destructible bricks. The game's 55 levels include power-ups, bonus rounds, and minigames. The team spent half a year revising the gameplay to match Kirby's signature characteristics. Kirby's Block Ball was released in Japan on December 14, 1995, later in North America on May 13, 1996, and finally in Europe on August 29, 1996.

Reviewers considered the game an improvement on the Breakout formula and praised its gameplay craftsmanship and incorporation of the Kirby series. It was included in multiple top Game Boy game lists and was later released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.

Gameplay

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Screenshot of gameplay as Kirby uses the "spark" power-up and three walls are exposed

The player controls paddles along the screen's edges to knock a bouncing ball, Kirby, into destructible bricks.[1] The player loses a life if Kirby hits a spike-covered edge of the screen. Each of the game's eleven stages include five rounds of increasingly complex block patterns for Kirby to clear. The ten different block types vary in durability and points value. A well-timed hit of the paddle gives Kirby a powerful bounce to break through harder blocks. Another block type turns the remaining blocks into a bonus round that rewards the player for clearing the screen in the least amount of time. The player can find warp stars that lead to minigames, such as air hockey, where the player can earn extra lives. The rounds also include enemies to attack and avoid. Some enemies contain bonus items. Each stage ends in a boss fight.[2]

With the stone, needle, flame, and spark Copy Abilities, Kirby can transform to interact with blocks differently. For instance, the spark power-up lets Kirby break through otherwise indestructible blocks, and the needle allows Kirby to stick back to a paddle to launch again from a more advantageous position. The game has a themed frame and uses a wide palette of colors in-game when played with the Super Game Boy.[2]

Development

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The game was developed by Nintendo R&D1,[3] and published by Nintendo.[1] At one point in development, HAL decided that the game did not feel like a Kirby game. The team spent six months completely revising the game under explicit instructions on how Kirby should move. Kirby games contain elements of unrestricted, creative movement as a general theme.[4] Kirby's Block Ball was released for the Game Boy first in Japan in 1995 and later in Europe (1995)[5] and North America (May 1996).[4] It was later released on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console,[6] and released first in Japan (October 2011) and later in Europe (February 2012) and North America (May 2012).[7]

Reception and legacy

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On release, the four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly applauded Kirby's Block Ball for modifying the Breakout formula to create a new and enjoyable game. They especially praised the unique power-ups, though Crispin Boyer and Sushi X also felt the game was too short and easy.[8] It was later a runner up for their Hand-Held Game of the Year (behind Tetris Attack).[11] Nintendo Power said they enjoyed Block Ball and its number of stages, but wondered how its eight megabits of memory were being used. The magazine found the parts where Kirby eats the unbreakable blocks to be innovative. All six of the magazine's reviewers recommended the game.[1]

IGN wrote that the game was primarily remembered as "an Arkanoid or Breakout clone skinned with the Kirby franchise". IGN calculated an average reviewer score of 7.4/10.[12] The Kirby series became known for its number of non-platformer spin-offs, of which Block Ball was one, like Kirby's Pinball Land and Kirby's Dream Course. Kirby's spherical shape lent itself towards ball-like roles.[13] IGN wrote that Block Ball was the first "truly out there" Kirby spin-off, but that the game was too short.[14]

Planet Game Boy called it one of the original Game Boy's ten "all-time classics"[10] and GamesRadar placed it among the top 25 Game Boy games released. They considered Kirby's Block Ball an improvement upon Alleyway, a Game Boy launch title and Breakout clone.[15] IGN recommended the game upon its 3DS rerelease both in general and for Breakout fans.[14] Nintendo World Report recommended the game to players who like score attack games[5] and called it the best version of Breakout released.[16] Retrospective reviewers found the game enjoyable[17][5] and praised the craft behind the gameplay and Kirby themes.[5][18] Alternatively, Kirby's Block Ball received the lowest rating on Tim Rogers's 2004 "Yamanote Scoring System for Portable Games" (a metric by which he played a game while counting stops on the circular Yamanote train line until he lost interest) with a score of "one" stop. He called it "too damned bland".[19]

In a retrospective review, Jeuxvideo.com had high praise for the level design, graphics, and animations. They also found the music excellent in comparison to the annoying and repetitive soundtrack of most Breakout clones. The magazine also liked how the game fit the Kirby universe, apart from its increased difficulty—Jeuxvideo.com occasionally had trouble hitting the slow-paced ball with precision.[9]

Notes

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  1. ^ Japanese: カービィのブロックボール, Hepburn: Kābī no Burokku Bōru

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. No. 83. April 1996. pp. 95–97.
  2. ^ a b "Kirby's Block Ball". Nintendo Power. No. 83. April 1996. pp. 44–49.
  3. ^ "Nintendo R&D1". IGN. Archived from the original on July 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Iwata Asks: Kirby's Return to Dreamland – 4. A Team that Awakens Maternal Instincts". Nintendo. October 2011. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015. Yamagami: About 15 years ago, I worked on Kirby's Block Ball, but at first HAL Laboratory said it wasn't like Kirby. In the end, we spent about half a year on a major overhaul. They gave me thorough instruction on every aspect of Kirby's movement. ... the balance between that disciplined creativity and high degree of freedom in gameplay is the essence of Kirby.
  5. ^ a b c d Bivens, Danny (October 26, 2011). "Japan eShop Round-Up (10/26/2011)". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  6. ^ Drake, Audrey (May 17, 2012). "Kirby's Block Ball, Mario Kart 7 Patch Hit eShop". IGN. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  7. ^ "Kirby's Block Ball: Nintendo 3DS VC – GB". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on September 22, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Review Crew: Kirby's Blockball [sic]". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 84. July 1996. p. 28.
  9. ^ a b "Test : Kirby's Block Ball". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). November 19, 2010. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Step Back in Time". Planet Game Boy. June 1999. p. 98. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  11. ^ "The Best of '96". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 92. Ziff Davis. March 1997. p. 86.
  12. ^ "Kirby Compared". IGN. September 26, 2008. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  13. ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (August 31, 2011). "Kirby's Oddball Adventures". IGN. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  14. ^ a b Drake, Audrey (May 31, 2012). "Hottest 3DS Downloads of May". IGN. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  15. ^ "Best Game Boy games of all time". GamesRadar. March 6, 2014. p. 23. Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  16. ^ Cole, Michael; Miller, Zachary; Ronaghan, Neal (June 2, 2012). "Kirby's 20th Anniversary Collection: What We Expect Out of It". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  17. ^ "Cubism, Volume 24". IGN. September 17, 2012. Archived from the original on December 26, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  18. ^ Fomin, Eugene (February 23, 2012). "Meet The Video Game Developer: Masahiro Sakurai". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on August 2, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  19. ^ Rogers, Tim (April 2004). "Kongetsu". GamesTM. pp. 28–29. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
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