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‘Kirby Star Allies’ on Nintendo Switch: News, rumors, and everything we know

Nintendo Direct 9.13.2017
The Nintendo Switch is quickly getting in the hands of more and more players, and we’ve already seen franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon make their way to the system. In 2018, pink puffball Kirby will join the fray in Kirby Star Allies, a cooperative adventure that looks to take the series back to a more traditional visual style.

Team up with your friends

Kirby Star Allies, first teased at E3 in June, allows four friends to adventure in traditional 2D Kirby gameplay, but you aren’t limited to just using other Kirby characters. Throw a heart at an enemy to turn it into an ally, which can then be used for special “team up” attacks if you’re using the correct abilities. Should Kirby have the “ESP” ability for instance, he can turn another character into a stone projectile to drop on enemies’ heads. If one player is using a fire ability while another is using ice, you can even deal extra damage against baddies.

An evil force and a musclebound king

Thus far, story details or limited, but Nintendo said in a Nintendo Direct presentation that a “dark new force” is manipulating Kirby’s home of Dreamland. We briefly see King Dedede, who looks absolutely ripped swinging across a series of wooden pillars as he attacks our heroes on the ground below. Dedede is a longtime Kirby villain, but the force making its way through Dreamland seems to have made him even more dastardly than usual.

When can we play it?

Kirby Star Allies launches for Nintendo Switch in spring, 2018. It’s the first traditional Kirby game we’ve seen on a home console in years, with Kirby and the Rainbow Curse — which used a modeling clay effect — releasing for Wii U in 2015.

Kirby Star Allies is just one of several Kirby games currently in development. Kirby Battle Royale will hit the 3DS in 2018, as well, pitting several Kirby characters against each other across an arena battle mode, a treasure-hunting mode, and even bosses. There’s also a single-player campaign and online multiplayer for those looking to show off their skills to the world. It will be out on January 19, 2018.

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Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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