Every so often I come back to this thread and think about it.
Do I agree that everything is flawed?
Traditionally, I see
some things as "not being
flawed, but capable of being
even better." Why is that?
Here's where I'm at. There's nothing about them I'm eager to
change or that needs
change, because I love them as they are, for what they are, and often because they are particular people's artistic expressions and perspectives. But I get that we can all learn and grow and do even more cool things, and enrich our perspectives and expressions even more.
I traditionally rate Kirby 64 a 9/10. That is high praise – there are only two games I rate higher at 9.5, and Kirby 64 is trending up with time for me, it may become the third. It's a lovely game. First, it brings the childish playground fun of romping through wide-open worlds with dazzingly creative, cool, and zany abilities. It elevates itself beyond that good, successful floor to
special with its adult eye on childishness, not abandoning that excitement with an adult perspective but appreciating it in a new way. The gorgeous, lovingly built storybook worlds and music, the moments of spectacle that take your breath away, and your band of friends artfully brought to life and characterized with animations straight out of a kid's book. Its perspective appreciates childhood so much while adding its own grace and craft.
That was the easy part of my post. I've thought about all that before. Now, here comes something harder.
Theoretically, my 9/10 rating implies it's possible. I did not deduct a point for some perceived flaw, just because I recognize that great things could theoretically be even better.
How do I think Kirby 64 could grow even more to be even better? If everyone who worked on the game grew even more as artists and people, and all came back together to make an amazing game even more amazing, how might they do that? Not, how might they add more content that follows the existing setup – even if that content is great and faithful to what makes the game great, that's a cop out in this situation. Sure, we can always add more game, and if the additions are good enough, we are making the game better.
But this thread isn't about what games can do
more, it's about what games can do
better. How can we improve what already exists here? And it's very hard for this game, because it is crafted with such detail, intent, precision, and internal synchronicity. It does an amazing job at being what it is, and it's hard to avoid feeling that I'm gilding fine gold, or even being a bit pretentious: acting like I have the answer to improve something that's already so advanced and thoughtful, or that I understand the game and artists' perspective
so perfectly that I can reliably fill in extensions. I certainly didn't come up with an answer to improve the game after finishing it, there isn't a hole I already saw and am itching to fill. But it's a fascinating intellectual challenge and I'm down to try.
Here's what I got. I'm sure there are other good ideas, to be clear, but I like these.
1) Multiplayer (in the main game)
Really, this was probably a omission from time or technical constraints, not a limitation of creative ability or perspective. Kirby 64 does have a multiplayer figure with its minigames, which are an
absolute delight. I and friends have absolutely spent hours on 100-Yard Hop, which is a clinic on focused micro-design, and the others are great too. And with the main game's continued return to taking a journey with friends, there's no reason to believe the developers wanted to omit multiplayer on purpose. It fits in naturally here, so I add it. It's a delight in later Kirby games too, and would only thrive more here with the game's masterful playground play and lovely cast of realized characters.
2) Open-world segments, more 3D play
I'm normally wary and dissatisfied with open-world play. And don't get me wrong – Kirby 64 works great as a linear game, I'm not suggesting to change the whole game structure around. This idea is more like free roam in Mario Kart World, or the Wild Area in Pokemon SWSH. Having some times, opportunities, moments to just exist and muck around in these lovely worlds and songs, without the linear paths and frequent enemies that work great for
normal gameplay, would be awesome, with how devoted this game is to creating lovely, memorable spaces and actualizing childish play. (The 3D part is probably also a technical / time constraint, but there are some environments that could be absolutely captivating 3D spaces, the quiet forest comes to mind. It would also be so great to see more of post-Dark Matter Ripple Star, what we do see is a lovely space.)
