Review: Bomb/Needle

For countless years, Kirby has been inhaling enemies to obtain and imitate their powers. The Beam of a Waddle Doo, the fire breath of Hothead, I could go on and on. But now, their is an ability that let's Kirby become the enemy. What is this ability you ask? No, I'm not talking about Ghost! I'm talking about Kirby's Needle/Bomb ability from Kirby 64: the Crystal Shards! Introducing the Imitation Gordo Ability!

Okay, so Imitation Gordo isn't the real name; none of the combo attacks were named (though I think we can all agree on Fire + Bomb = Fireworks ability), but since this is my review and Needle/Bomb doesn't sound as cool, I'm calling it the Imitation Gordo Ability.

What the ability does is pretty simple. First, Kirby faces the screen, loses his limbs, his face turns black, and his eyes white. Then, eight blue spikes protrude from all sides. Now that Kirby looks likes a Gordo, he is semi-invincible (I'll explain that later) for about five seconds. What happens when five seconds is up, you ask? Well I'll tell you: Kirby flashes white then explodes! His needles then travel in the direction they were when on Kirby, destroying any enemies they come in contact with. Kirby then turns back to normal and falls a distance to the ground.

Kirby doesn't have to wait, however; he can explode out of Gordo Form at will by pressing the B button. He can also explode when an enemy comes in contact with his spikes. When the needles are fired, they will travel up to one-third of the TV screen if undisturbed. Otherwise, the needles will disintegrate when they hit an enemy or an object.

Since Kirby is a Gordo, you must be thinking he is all invincible, right? WRONG! While Kirby is protected with his needles, there are vulnerabilities Kirby has to watch out for. Kirby is vulnerable to normal enemies without his spikes, so he can be damaged in the first few seconds where Kirby turns black without his needles and after the explosion when he falls to the ground. Kirby isn't protected from bosses in this form, so either you get hurt or both you and the boss get hurt. If Kirby is too close to an enemy using some sort of elemental power (like Chilly's icy shield or Galbo's firebreath) when he explodes, he could still get hurt by the remains of the elemental attack, even if the enemy is destroyed. Running into Gordos or Shotzos will also hurt him, as well as getting eaten by that frog/lizard monster, Glom. Now it isn't all bad; you are still protected against most attacks, I just had to name the exceptions. Wow, there sure are a lot of them...

When Kirby is in Imitation Gordo mode, his speed is greatly crippled. He can float in any direction, but he does it slowly. Strangely enough, this ability isn't affected negatively underwater like all the other abilities in Kirby 64. Imitation Gordo Kirby works exactly the same! Even stranger, Kirby isn't affected by waterfalls in this form and can even go up against the current.

I love using this ability. Puncturing enemies, exploding, just thinking about it makes me want to play! Imitation Gordo Kirby is an overall awesome ability; protection, projectile, what more could you want? Final Cutter??!! Why that? That's already on three abilities; we don't need more of those!

What was I saying again? Oh, right. Imitation Gordo is a great ability. It might be a little slow, but it'll still get the job done. It'll always be a favorite of mine, and maybe yours, too. Yay, Gordo!!!

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