Next Monday, March 27, 2023, Nintendo will close the doors of the 3DS and Wii U eShop forever. While systems owners will still be able to download games they have purchased on both the 3DS and Wii U after the closure, no one will be able to add new games to their collections from the digital store pages on either platform.
With the Nintendo 3DS eShop shutting down, Kirby fans will no longer have access to a legal way of obtaining a digital copy of many Kirby games including Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot, two mainline titles fans have hailed since their debuts as some of the pink puff's best adventures yet--and they have all the reason to. If you are interested in buying one of these titles or need help being convinced to grab both, we are here to help you during your last-minute conundrum!
This is your last chance to get a digital copy of Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Kirby: Planet Robobot for the foreseeable future. It's time to make a decision about which ones you will be purchasing before you regret having to enter the second-hand market just to nab a physical copy or wait for these games to get ported elsewhere (which we would love, but expecting them on any platform soon is unrealistic)!
Kirby: Triple Deluxe - The Best Bang For Your Buck You Can Buy
Released almost a decade ago, Kirby: Triple Deluxe was the pink puff’s big leap to the third dimension on a handheld platform after the Nintendo DS had received four 16-bit era pixel art-styled games. While initial reviews for the game from critics did not all fall on the positive side, Triple Deluxe has become an important part of the Kirby fandom that the vast majority of players will hail for being one of the best mainline games newcomers and veterans can get their hands on. Triple Deluxe's single-player is a blast that utilizes its main mechanics well. The idea that Kirby must traverse a massive beanstalk to save King Dedede helps lend this game to a lot of distinct scenarios and a map design other Kirby games cannot provide.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe started a trend for future Kirby titles where each full release and spin-off began to feel like a celebration of all things Kirby. From the retro keychain collectibles to the returning boss battles and music tracks, Triple Deluxe was deliciously coated with a layer of love audiences have begun to admire about the Kirby series over the last few years--especially now with the recent release of Kirby's Return to Dream Land. If you feel any nostalgia for the Kirby games that came out before Triple Deluxe, you're going to have a warm adventure ahead scooping up every collectible.
The one downside Kirby: Triple Deluxe can falter from is its sub-game offerings. While King Dedede's Drum Dash is a lot of fun, its lack of content can be a tad disappointing, and the Kirby Fighters sub-game is just unable to provide the same multiplayer entertainment it once harbored. Both of these sub-games do have their drawbacks, but there are expanded "Deluxe" versions of each title that improve upon and expand their ideas.
Your probably wondering, though, what makes Kirby: Triple Deluxe the best bang for your buck Kirby game you can buy on the Nintendo 3DS eShop? To put it simply: it's the price. Back in 2017, Triple Deluxe became a Nintendo Selects title. Like every other game part of this discounted lineup, Triple Deluxe is one of the very few Nintendo exclusives you can grab for only half its initial price tag. It may have been years since the price drop was introduced and physical copies are long gone from store shelves, but its price on the Nintendo 3DS eShop has remained the same after all this time. You will never find a digital mainline Kirby experience this good for this cheap!
Kirby: Planet Robobot - A Peak Pink Puffy Power Experience
It would not be controversial to say that not only is Kirby: Planet Robobot one of the franchise’s most-beloved games, but objectively it is one of HAL Laboratory’s best projects within their entire history as a developer. While Triple Deluxe certainly made exceptional usage of the flagship features of the Nintendo 3DS, Kirby: Planet Robobot upped the antics of its predecessor thanks to more impressive visual tricks and atmospheres that lent themselves better to the system's capabilities.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe ran so Kirby: Planet Robobot could blast off. The love was not just in the gameplay, the character designs, and the music. Planet Robobot aimed to sculpt Kirby's greatest narrative yet as the game's cutscenes contained a surprising amount of dialogue and its cast of newcomers were given heartwrenching stories. On top of a fantastic single-player, Planet Robobot gives Kirby fans a lot to tinker with after they complete the game's story. From Meta Knightmare Returns to two entertaining sub-games and a rather challenging arena, Planet Robobot still stands as a definitive Kirby experience no one should miss out on.
Unlike Kirby: Triple Deluxe, Planet Robobot has become a rather rare 3DS game for collectors looking for a complete in-box physical copy. Planet Robobot was released back in 2016 when the Nintendo Switch (codenamed NX) was on the horizon and interest in the 3DS began to dwindle. While the game did certainly sell well for HAL Laboratory, it was not able to reach the high numbers Triple Deluxe brought in. Due to demand, Planet Robobot received a much lower print run, which is why copies have become harder to come across compared to its predecessor.
Since its release, Planet Robobot has never received a price drop on the eShop. If you plan on picking up both Kirby: Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot within the next few days, however, together, it will only cost you the price of one new game!