Game:

Kirby's Avalanche (1995)

Duration: 4:26

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8

I bet you thought that you were free, seeing as how I managed to break free from Kirby's incredible suction powers in order to upload something, ANYTHING else. Well, I kinda did. I mean, the Bleach request finally getting filled was really just a one-off (one that really needed doing, but a one-off all the same) and Lumines has been ongoing in its little groove for awhile now... but you could definitely say that I've been bitten by the Kirby bug... but not Bugzzy, that guy's terrifying up close.

Somewhat relatedly, Lumines still has me gripped in a fit of the action-puzzle fever, even though I'm obviously not playing it right now, I feel... like I want to be. Or at least something like it. This might translate into more Lumines later, but for now, I think it's probably more than enough "punishment" if I go and finish up what it's doing now instead of reaching total saturation on it for the time being.

So that just leaves it to intersect with a Fever of a different sort... you might have noticed some time way back that I happened to offer a very brief glimpse into Puyo Pop Fever, the most up-to-date edition of the same game... uh... that's been released outside Japan, anyway. There's actually been something in the neighborhood of five or so games on various platforms since then, but it's not a big seller internationally, so... no export for you!

Actually, I should probably preface this game with a stern warning... this is actually the one game in what we might generously call a "series" I started with first... because it was like $8 on a discount shelf in Toys 'R' Us one time. I mean, I liked Kirby, and costing less money meant that it would mean I wouldn't have to save up as long for another game later... I was (allegedly) learning about the value of a dollar and allowances and all that at the time, you see. Anyway, this game is... it's not particularly "bad" for what it is... but it's also not exactly a game that I would consider having any particular right to exist. It's also... well, fairly unreasonable in its difficulty curve and probably isn't a very good introduction to the underlying game as it was and would be... but I'll get to that later, I suppose.

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How to Play

There's a very brief primer on how the game works, but if I must be blunt... it's really the least helpful sort when it comes to teaching the sorts of skills needed to play at more than a basic level. It tells you how to control and clear pieces and introduces the aims of trying to build chain reactions, and it even explains how to counter attacks created by other players... but the chain reactions it uses to "teach" are so tidy and perfect and entirely unrealistic that it only shows you a couple of patterns that will actually probably never happen in a real game.

I am amused at the insistence with which they alter the terminology at work. Puyo Puyo is now "Avalanche," Puyo are called "Blobs," and Nuisance Puyo are referred to as "Boulders"... which is fine enough, but like I said... the actual Puyo Puyo was probably not the sort of thing that would've sold at all outside Japan, or at least that was the thinking.

I'm pretty sure that I recall seeing somewhere that even the title screen is a rebranded version of an actual Puyo Puyo game.

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Competition, Lesson 1: Waddle Dee

The main mode of the game, single combat against progressive AI adversaries, the very bread and butter of many an action puzzle game, is known as "Competition" mode. Furthermore, there are three selections to choose from, so first we'll go with "Easy"... which refers to a special set of three "Learning Stage" engagements against easy opponents.

The first of these opponents is the lowly Waddle Dee, apparently treated as a singular character in this game. To cut the story short for the fact that the game itself doesn't actually explain WHY we're playing this bizarre game that the characters in the game are themselves aware of and also refer to as Avalanche, it's basically a harebrained scheme concocted by King Dedede. He's apparently waiting at the Dream Fountain and challenges everyone to immediately set out for it... but the catch is that whenever you meet someone en route, you have to stop and play a game of Avalanche in order to decide who may proceed. Obviously, Kirby wants to win because... uh... I don't even know what the reason is off the top of my head, so I'll have to get back to you on that.

Anyway, this battle in particular will actually include what the game generously calls "hints"... which just means that if you have three touching "Blobs" of the same color as one of the colors on the active dropping piece, the formations on the field will take turns glowing to let you know. Yippee!

As is customary for my people... erm, that is, the categorization-defying person that I am (a people of one in that regard), I'll give you this introductory session to absorb all the newness being thrown at you first. I'll exposit you to death later.

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