Kirby: Planet Robobot – Website open (details, footage, screens, and more)

Following the Nintendo Direct, this week, Nintendo opened the official website for Kirby: Planet Robobot in Japan. It provides us with some new details about the game, but also some screenshots/artworks, and more importantly some gameplay footage (along with the intro video).

Videos

Let’s start right away with the videos, with gameplay footage for:

• Robobot amour
• Sword Robobot
• Beam Robobot
• Fire Robobo
• Doctor Kirby
• Poison Kirby
• Intro video (poor quality audio)
• Nintendo Direct trailer (without sound)

Technical details and screenshots

• Genre: Action
• Players: 1 (Single Player) / 1-4 (Team Kirby Clash)
• Save data files: 3
• Internet features: sending play report
• Multiplayer: Local Play (2 to 4 players), compatible with Download Play, and more
• StreetPass: exchange stickers (see below for more details), best scores, and more

Here’s some screenshots for the game:

The bottom screen shows that you will be able to store some food, in order to use it when you need to get back some health. There’s also a button for amiibo, and one for Miiverse (from where you can send the “Play reports”).

Also, the North American website mentions modes such as Meta Knightmare Returns, Kirby 3D Rumble, and The Arena, but we don’t have any other details about them since they’re not featured on the Japanese website (and were not shown during the Nintendo Direct).

Robobot Armour

In the game, Kirby can “steal” the technology of the Haltmann Works Company (who are trying to robotize Dream Land), and use it against them. When Kirby gets in a Robobot Armours, he becomes much more powerful. This full-fledged mecha allows him to break things, carry blocks, turn giant gears, and more.

What’s more, he can also copy the abilities of enemies: the end result is slightly different, but also much more powerful, than the regular copy abilities as Kirby. Fun fact: in his Robobot Armour, Kirby does not inhale enemies, he scan them… that being said, the enemy still disappears in the end.

The official website lists 8 different Robobot Armour abilities (called “Modes”), with three of them already revealed:

• Beam: in this Mode, Kirby can throw electric balls. This can be used to defeat enemies, but also power up some plugs;
• Fire: in this Mode, Kirby can use fire to propell himself forward. He can also use a flamethrower, which can be use to defeat enemies, light up fuses, and more.
• Sword: in this Mode, Kirby can slice through pretty much anything: wood logs, metal chains, enemies, and more.

Kirby Triple Deluxe had keychains to collect, but Kirby: Planet Robobot will have… stickers! Those are hidden everywhere in the various levels of the game. If you collect them, you will be able to customise your Robobot Armour (which will look 10 times cooler with a “derpy” drawing of Kirby himself!). Talking of collectible, there’s also code dubes to collect in the game, but we don’t know what they do just yet.

Copy abilities

Of course, Kirby will be able to use copy abilities even when not riding a Robobot Armour. In fact, there’s over 25 of them in Kirby: Planet Robobot, including two which are introduced in this game:

• Poison Kirby: basically a poisonous variant of the Water ability. It allows Kirby to throw poison (in liquid or gas form) at enemies, which kills them. He can even surf on poison to go faster.
• Doctor Kirby: you get this ability by swallowing the pills thrown by one of the new monsters in the game (which suspiciously look like Dr. Mario’s pills). With this ability, Kirby can swirl on himself and hit enemies with his coat, smash them with his notepad, create a fountain of chemicals with his test tubes, throw pills, but also create a freezing potion to… well, freeze enemies around him.
• ESP: allows Kirby to use psychic abilities (from the North American website)

The website lists three new abilities, but there’s also many more which are returning from previous Kirby games (and more precisely Kirby Triple Deluxe):

• Archer
• Leaf
• Ninja
• Crash
• Whip
• Ice
• Sword
• Circus
• Beam

amiibo

As mentioned during the Nintendo Direct, Kirby: Planet Robobot is compatible with pretty much all existing and upcoming amiibo. By scanning a figure, you can get a copy abilities, visibly chosen at random. But if you use specific figures, you will get:

• Peach: Parasol ability
• Link: Sword ability
• Kirby (Super Smash Bros. series): Super Smash Bros. Kirby, which can use some of his moves from Super Smash Bros.

And if you use the four new amiibo from the Kirby series, you will be able to get the following:

• Kirby: U.F.O. ability (rare: the only way to get it is to use the Kirby amiibo from the Kirby series);
• Meta Knight: special Sword ability
• King Dedede: special Hammer ability
• Waddle Dee: special Parasol

Kirby: Planet Robobot (3DS) comes out on April 28th in Japan, and June 10th in Europe and North America.