| Kirby's Avalanche | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developers | Compile HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| Director | Kazunori Ikeda |
| Producer | Masamitsu Niitani |
| Programmer | Takayuki Hirono |
| Artist | Koji Teramoto |
| Composer | Akiyoshi Nagao |
| Series | Kirby Puyo Puyo |
| Platform | Super NES |
| Release | |
| Genre | Puzzle |
| Modes | Single-player,multiplayer |
Kirby's Avalanche, known in Europe asKirby's Ghost Trap, is apuzzle video game developed byCompile andHAL Laboratory and published byNintendo for theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in North America and Europe in February 1995. It is a Western release of the JapaneseSuper Puyo Puyo featuringcharacters from theKirby series. There was not a Japanese release, and the game remains the onlyKirby title not released there. In Europe and Australia, the game was re-released on theWii'sVirtual Console service on July 27, 2007 and in North America on September 24, 2007.[3] The game was re-released for theNintendo Classics service on July 21, 2022.
The gameplay is the same as inSuper Puyo Puyo, with groups of two colored blobs fall from the top of the screen. The player must rotate and move the groups before they touch the bottom of the screen or the pile, so that matching-colored blobs touch from above, below, the left or the right. Once four or more same-colored blobs touch, they will disappear, and any blobs above them will fall down to fill in space. If a player manages to set off a chain reaction with these blobs, rocks will fall on the other player's screen, filling it up and giving them less room to drop additional blobs. The number of rocks that falls depends on both the number of blobs popped and the number of consecutive chain reactions. These rocks will only disappear if a player manages to pop a group of blobs that are in direct contact with the rocks. A player will lose if either of the middle columns in the top row is filled with a blob or rock.
King Dedede has challenged Kirby and other members of Dream Land to an Avalanche Competition at the Fountain of Dreams. Kirby decides to take on the challenge, battling his way through the forest in Avalanche matches against an assortment of his old foes fromKirby's Dream Land andKirby's Adventure (including recurring bosses such asWhispy Woods, Kracko andMeta Knight), and ultimately to a final showdown at the Fountain of Dreams with King Dedede to win the Cup.
While the core gameplay remains the same, the Japanese and Western versions are drastically different cosmetically. As the story inSuper Puyo Puyo is more focused onArle Nadja and Carbuncle's adventures like theMadou Monogatari andMega DrivePuyo Puyo versions, the Western version replaced them with Kirby characters to appeal to Western audiences.
As a game released later in the SNES'slife cycle, this game has bright colors and advanced graphics for its time. The sound consists ofremixed tracks fromKirby's Adventure andKirby's Dream Course, with only one original track from thePuyo Puyo game itself (the panic music). The game also includes several voice samples.
Both versions have cinematics between each round, with differences being Kirby and his opponents shown having full conversations and trash-talking each other in full sentences in the Western version, and that Kirby's personality comes off as a lot more sarcastic and confrontational, just as Arle and Carbuncle were in the Japanese version. This differs greatly from otherKirby games, where Kirby hardly speaks at all and is also friendlier in general.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 74%[4] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame | 3.5/5[5] |
| Computer and Video Games | 3/5[6] |
| GameSpot | 6.5/10[7] |
| Hyper | 80/100[8] |
| IGN | 7.5/10[9] |
| Mega Fun | 73%[10] |
| Next Generation | 4/5[13] |
| Nintendo Life | 6/10[11] |
| Nintendo Power | 3.425/5[12] |
| Official Nintendo Magazine | 90/100[14] |
| Total! | 91/100[15] |
| Video Games (DE) | 75%[16] |
| VideoGames & Computer Entertainment | 8/10[17] |
Kirby's Avalanche received generally positive reviews, garnering an aggregate score of 74% onGameRankings based on seven reviews.[4]IGN awarded the game 7.5 out of 10, comparing it favorably toDr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine, anotherPuyo Puyo reskin released for theSega Genesis in North America.[9]GamePro commented that "AlthoughKirby's Avalanche is a rehash of an overdone puzzler theme, it's so well done that it's worth playing - that is, if you don't already have three puzzle games just like it." They particularly praised the graphics and the cuteness of the digitized speech.[18]
Next Generation stated that "While we've seen this kind of game before, and this version doesn't offer any improvements it's still excellent fun."[13]
In 1997Electronic Gaming Monthly rankedKirby's Avalanche andMean Bean Machine collectively as number 84 on their "100 Best Games of All Time", calling it "one of the simplest, most addicting puzzle games around."[19]IGN rated the game 68th on its "Top 100 SNES of All Time."[20] In 1995,Total! listed the game 9th on their Top 100 SNES Games.[21]
Other offerings for the year includeKirby's Avalanche...
Includes Super NESKirby's Dream Course orKirby's Avalanche...
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