Kirby stars in two types of games: platformers and others. While the platformers are certainly fun, they are only half of the Kirby series. The other half is much stranger, but still very innovative and fun to play.

This 'other half' has included games such as Kirby's Blockball, Kirby Pinball, and Kirby's Dream Course. Kirby's Tilt and Tumble is the newest addition to this group, and it is just as interesting as it is innovative.

Kirby's Tilt and Tumble is a GameBoy Color game. It is action/puzzle oriented, and it has been given an E by the ESRB.

Story, or the absence of one
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The Evil King Dedede grew jealous of the stars' beauty. So, he captured them in a big sack, and scattered pieces of pinball machines for no apparent reason. Now it's up to Kirby to save the stars!

Some story lines make you want to scratch your head and say, "hunh?" This one is so particularly disjointed that your brain will probably develop selective amnesia, whereas you won't be able to remember the story for your own mental health.

Control
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If you've played Super Monkey Ball, you have the first idea behind this game. Instead of controlling the character directly, you control the playfield they are on. However, the cool part is that you'll be controlling the playfield by tilting the GameBoy, instead of the D Pad.

This tilt response control is a totally new innovation, and Kirby's Tilt and Tumble is the first game to use it. It works well, since it’s sensitive enough to never stick up, and it can become so comfortable that you forget you’re not using the D-Pad.

You can also quickly flip the GameBoy to pop the level, and make everything hop. This can be used to defeat enemies, switch red items to blue, and help Kirby grab balloons.

Overall, the controls work well. The A and B buttons are used to help activate certain contraptions. The single flaw of the control the control is Kirby rolls much faster forwards or backwards than he does sideways. Especially on some levels where you have to sideways to avoid drowning, this small flaw becomes apparent.

Gameplay
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The game is divided into 8 worlds with 4 levels each. Each level has a start point and a end point, and your job is to make it from the start to the end.

From there, the levels introduce new objects to puzzle the player. Bumpers bounce Kirby around, helping him out or throwing him off the stage. Pop-up holes in the ground launch Kirby over blocks. At one point, you'll even be able to go cloud hopping.

Since you're controlling all of the action with the GameBoy, old puzzles that you've seen before become a new challenge. Most video game players have played some kind of game where the level continually scrolled, or where the floor was filled with tiles that would break apart if stepped on. However, these present all new challenges as your twisting the GameBoy around, and it is much harder than simply mashing the D-Pad.

The gameplay can have a high learning curve. You cannot race through the levels. Some puzzles require a lot of patience, and if you try to fly through them, you'll end up dying... a lot. Particularly, at the first level of the third world, you have to roll Kirby along a wooden dock while Octopuses shoot at you. If you don't take your time, you'll find yourself dying endlessly (as I did). Later in that level, you have to roll along a perfectly straight line.

The difficulty in this game is a lot different than most Kirby games. Since you won't have any experience, many simple puzzles can become complicated right away. However, I also find it to be very cool when you complete the puzzles, possibly more so because of the tilt sensor. A good of example: There is a bottomless pit with two long bumpers of the sides. The bumpers will pop you in the air, but for only a short period of time. You have to rock the GameBoy back and forth, popping Kirby over the chasm until he reaches the other side. It took me a long time to get this right, but it was incredible when I did.

Minigames
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If you find a blue star in the main game, you'll open up the mini-game area. There are five mini-games in all, and they act as a fun sidetrack to the main game.

Bust-a-Balloon- Kirby gets a bow, and tries to shoot down all of the incoming balloons. Tilting the GameBoy aims the crosshairs, and pressing A fires. Flipping the GameBoy reloads the arrows. I found this to be one of the better ones, as you can start to combo balloons for high points.

Hurdle Race- just like a hurdle jump. Tap A to run, and pop the GameBoy to jump. This one isn't very fun, and as you rapidly mash the A button the GameBoy will move. This causes Kirby to jump prematurely, and crash into the hurdles instead of over them.

Do the Kirby- the worst one out of the whole lot. Kirby points up, down, right, or left and you have to copy his motions (similar to the electronic Simon Says game). Tilting the GameBoy moves the cursor. The game moves slow, and the tilt function isn't needed.

Roll-o-rama- difficult, but fun. This game is based on the concept of the little plastic containers that you shake to get all of the metal balls into the holes. It has a ton of levels that get progressively harder, and has a large area for improvement.

Chicken Race- My personal favorite. Shake to wind-up Kirby's car, and then race along towards a cliff. The idea is to shake it enough to get close to, but not over, 100 meters. The game really requires very little skill, but is quite fun to play.

The mini games all have high score tables, and they give you lives if you get a new score. My only complaint is that the game gives you 3 lives every time you set a top score, and 1 life for a 2nd or 3rd score. So if you start off really bad at a game and improve slowly, you'll get more lives than a person who can play the game well from the start.

Replay
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The game has a high replay value. As in most Kirby games, every level has a secret hidden red star. Undoubtedly, there is something cool waiting in store for the player who finds all of them. However, this is no easy task. In all of my play time, I've found 20 out of 32 stars, and the game only clocks me in at 52% complete. I really have no idea what you'll get if you collect all of the stars, but since each red star adds only 1-2% to your overall rate, it probably will be fairly big.

The Mini games also add replay value to the game, and I found myself turning it on occasionally just to play Bust-a--balloon, or the Chicken Race.

Graphics
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It's hard to say what quality the graphics are, since I've gotten use to the GameBoy Advance. However, for a GBC game, the graphics are colorful and bright. There is a good use of color on many of the levels, and the different level themes tie in well.

Kirby is done very well a very smooth rolling animation. Roll directly forward, and you'll see Kirby roll head over heals. Roll to the side, and he'll do the same. Similarly, everything jumps in the air when you pop the GameBoy. Also notable is how you can always tell what is in the air, and what is on the ground, so you won't fall off trying to collect the star that's really sitting in the air.

Sound
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All the standard Kirby tunes are here. If you've ever heard a Kirby game, you know what to expect. The tunes certainly aren't top notch, but they fit into the game well and help maintain the whole Kirby atmosphere.

One notable sound is when you come to the title screen, a chorus of voices shout "Kirby's Tilt and Tumble!" Although it doesn't really relate to anything, this is one of the cleaner voice samples I've heard from a GBC game.

Problems
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Besides the ones mentioned above, the game lacks very many problems despite the fact that it is in a new class. The biggest overall problem, though, would be that you should play the game while stationary. The game can be very hard to play while riding in the car, since you have to flip it all around to control Kirby.

Also, these are just gripes, but I'd like to have seen some of Kirby's special powers. A multiplayer mode would have been nice, although I have no idea how they would have pulled that off.

There really aren't any more problems. Sprite detection is excellent, the difficulty is moderately hard but not impossible, and everything shows how much time was put into the game.

Overall
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Is this the greatest GBC game ever made? Well, no. Is it the most fun you'll ever have? No, not that either. However, it is a game pioneering into an all new field. It is a lot of fun to play, and if you can somehow find every star, it will last you a fair amount of time. I encourage you to play it through at least once, to see if it suits your tastes.

Notes
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A few things to mention. First of all, this game has one of the oddest looking Gamepak designs. The top is slightly larger, allowing room for the Tilt sensor. It is also translucent pink. It still surprises me how well Kirby can sell even with all of these references to pink.

Also, the Tilt sensor configures itself every time you turn the game on. This is cool, because you can set the neutral position to being at a comfortable angle, instead of flat. This allows you to play the game while sitting or laying down without having to set the GameBoy straight down.

Finally, this game really should have been made on the N64. It would have been perfect, since you would always be able to see the screen, no matter how you moved. So naturally, a sequel is planned for the GameCube. It will be coming out possibly this year, so try playing this one to get a feel for what the next Kirby Tilt and Tumble will be like.


Recommended: Yes