Best Kirby Games on the Nintendo Switch

Key Takeaways

• Kirby Star Allies on Switch offers co-op fun with a range of characters and challenging post-game content.
• Super Kirby Clash is a free download with boss rush content and loot-based gameplay for a vet-level challenge.
• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, a 2.5D adventure with copy ability combos, lore, and significant finale in the series.

Kirby is one of Nintendo’s longest-running series, receiving a whopping 44 mainline and spin-off entries since 1992. Fans will be delighted to know that the adorable hero has seen a lot of love on the Nintendo Switch. Including the Nintendo Switch Online offerings, almost half of the Pink Puffball’s back catalog is playable on the Nintendo Switch.

From Kirby‘s first grand 3D adventure to classic franchise starters, from loot-based boss battlers to a golf-based puzzle game, there is a slew of great entries to explore all in one place. For any Kirby fans out there with some time to kill, these are 10 of the best Kirby games on Switch worth knowing about.

10 Kirby Star Allies

Experience a Kirby Adventure with Friends

The first new mainline entry on the console, Kirby Star Allies, was a mixed bag for some fans, offering excellent fan service and a significant load of new lore that somewhat complicated established canon to include further characters. The game is a tight-paced and satisfying Kirby adventure that once completed unlocks access to play an abridged version of the campaign as one of 40 playable characters.

Many of whom are common enemies, effectively choosing a single copy ability, but there’s also an impressive array of Dream Friends, made up of friends and foes from past games, each with their own move set. It’s the best co-op experience of the series, with a range of characters to master and the post-game ‘Soul Melter’ content provides a genuine challenge for long-term fans.

9 Super Kirby Clash

An Action-Packed Boss Rush Mode for Kirby and Pals

Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai also created the Super Smash Bros. series, which provided the basis for the Kirby Fighters and Kirby Clash spin-off series. Super Kirby Clash is the latest in said spin-off line and is available as a free download on Nintendo Switch. Boss rush modes are common in the series as post-game content, Super Kirby Clash focuses on that with a loot-based system that sees players accumulating currency to purchase more powerful costume items to challenge increasingly powerful foes.

There are four classes to choose from: the nimble swordfighter, the hammer tank, the ranged magic wielder, and the healer. Each has a ranking of unlockable costumes and weapons drawn from across the series. It presents a good challenge for veterans. Players will need to have a balanced party making full use of their roles and the block and dodge mechanics to defeat the toughest bosses.

8 Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards

The Epic and Wholesome 3D Finale

The series’ first attempt to venture into the third dimension, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards comes out at a charmingly blocky 2.5D. The game’s mechanical innovation allowed Kirby to combine copy abilities, ingesting new foes whilst already harboring another ability to create powerful hybrids such as the infamous Fridge Kirby.

Most of these would prove to be unwieldy and less useful than their traditional counterparts. The feature would not return in future games, making it the only chance to experience the novel mechanic. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is also a very important game lore-wise, marking the end of the initial trilogy and showcasing Kirby’s final battle with the long-standing antagonist Dark Matter.

7 Kirby’s Dream Course

A Classic Golf Game for Kirby

One of the best puzzle spin-offs in the Kirby series, Kirby’s Dream Course is essentially a golf game set in a fantastical world. Players must guide the spherical hero through a treacherous course in a set number of strokes, avoiding the pitfalls and lack of guard rails.

Courses are littered with enemies who must be eliminated by launching Kirby into them, some of which will grant a special copy ability required to navigate other obstacles. Once all but one enemy is defeated the final foe will become the hole for the player to make the putt and advance to the next level. It’s a surprisingly robust experience for a 30-year-old game, offering a more relaxed challenge.

6 Kirby’s Adventure

The OG Adventure to Experience Kirby’s Origins

Kirby’s first console release arguably launched the franchise as it performed considerably better than the moderate success achieved by its predecessor, Kirby’s Dream Land on the Game Boy. The first game to feature Kirby’s signature copy abilities, Kirby’s Adventure was a very technically impressive platforming experience for the time.

It set the benchmark for HAL Laboratory’s intentions to experiment with the series, something that matched Nintendo’s ambitions and would see the Kirby series make full use of the latest peripherals with games like Kirby Tilt n’ Tumble and Kirby: Canvas Curse. A significant progenitor that allowed the series to grow into the franchise behemoth that it is today.

5 Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe

A Refreshing Return to Kirby’s Aesthetic and Design

Kirby’s Return to Dream Land (also released as Kirby Adventure Wii) was a firm fan favorite, often lauded as the best modern attempt to recapture the magic of those earlier games, and featured one of the popular antagonists Magolor. The game was not especially easy to get a hold of due to releasing late in the Wii’s life-cycle which made it a prime candidate for a full remake, the most recent Switch entry for Kirby.

Uplifting the graphics but maintaining that signature charm, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a textbook example of revitalizing an older game. The developers also added some new additional content which centered around Magolor and filled in narrative events of what happens to the little wizard following his climactic battle with Kirby.

4 Kirby And The Amazing Mirror

A Tough Metroidvania That Challenges Kirby and Fans

Ah, the mirror dimension. Where would fiction be without it? Where friends are foes and foes present unlikely allies. Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is one of the hardest games in the series to complete but perhaps not for the reasons you might think. Shifting focus again Kirby and the Amazing Mirror is more of a Metroidvania experience with the entire game consisting of one large labyrinth.

Players must navigate the overlapping levels to locate the mirror shards within and defeat the bosses keeping guard. It’s a very cool design, but it lacks a fundamental feature of the genre, a good map. Paths will lead you around in circles and unlike other games in the series, players can re-trigger boss fights each time they encounter them. Without an online guide players can easily find themselves retreading steps and fighting the same bosses. It is arguably the most unique mainline entry though and is well worth the satisfaction of cracking the maze.

3 Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble

A Game That Integrates with Physics

The pinnacle of Kirby puzzle games finally has the chance to be appreciated outside its time. As mentioned, HAL Laboratory has often experimented with peripherals as well as mechanics and this was the first key example of that. The original Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble cartridge featured a built-in accelerometer that could measure the movements of the Game Boy.

Players must guide Kirby to a target by physically tilting their console in a game style similar to the Super Monkey Ball series. It truly was ahead of its time, but the Nintendo Switch Online version benefits from the advancement in technology, making use of the same system used in some shrine challenges in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Creating a more accurate and better version of the game for new audiences.

2 Kirby And The Forgotten Land

Kirby’s Grandest Adventure

HAL Laboratory had plans to take the series 3D since Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards as it was a popular leap for franchises of the time. A proper 3D sequel was actually slated to be released on the GameCube but the project ended up being canceled, leaving it as the only console generation without a new mainline Kirby title.

It would be almost another 20 years before Kirby would make the long-anticipated leap into 3D and it did not disappoint with one of the most critically acclaimed entries in the entire series. Kirby and the Forgotten Land successfully added a new layer of depth to the platforming series, most notably in the revamped boss battles. It’s an epic and diverse adventure that earned a spot among the best platformers on Switch, but it’s still not the best Kirby game on the console.

1 Kirby Super Star (Kirby’s Fun Pak)

An Anthology of Kirby Adventures in One Package

Perhaps it’s the nostalgia talking but Kirby Super Star remains the definitive Kirby experience for many life-long fans and the critical reception of the time supports that belief. Kirby Superstar featured the original ‘allies’ system, allowing the player to relinquish their copy ability to spawn an AI companion. An actually helpful and functional AI companion all the way back in 1996!

Kirby Super Star is an anthology of smaller games, the most notable being The Great Cave Offensive, a Metroidvania that sees Kirby spelunking for treasures that pay homage to Nintendo’s other franchises, and Revenge of Meta Knight, the only time the popular anti-hero has appeared as an outright villain. One of the most fleshed-out narratives in the series ends with Kirby’s epic dash atop Wheelie to escape the Halberd before it plummets to the ground.