Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards Now on Nintendo Switch Online

By Marc Deschamps

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is now available as part of Nintendo Switch Online's Nintendo 64 app. As with all of the previous N64 releases, Kirby 64 is only available to those that have upgraded to the Expansion Pack subscription tier. The game marks the 15th N64 game available, and was announced for the service last week. The N64 classic was supposed to release on May 20th, but Nintendo makes it a habit of releasing these games a few hours ahead of time. That's good news for those excited to check out Kirby's retro outing!

Nintendo's announcement about the game's release can be found in the Tweet embedded below.

While N64 games like Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time brought Nintendo protagonists into 3D, Kirby 64 kept the classic 2D sidescrolling gameplay. Kirby actually wouldn't have a main series game in 3D until Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which released on Switch earlier this year. However, Kirby 64 still managed to offer some fun improvements on the formula. Notably, the game introduced Power Combos, where Kirby combines two different Copy Abilities. The game also took advantage of the system's four controller ports, with a trio of multiplayer minigames. While Kirby 64 might not be the most revolutionary entry in the series, it does offer an enjoyable adventure worth checking out!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Kirby franchise. While Nintendo and HAL Laboratory have hinted at plans to celebrate the occasion, there haven't been many announcements made, just yet. The character's 20th anniversary saw the release of Kirby's Dream Collection, a compilation of classic Kirby games, including Kirby 64. Many of the games in that collection are currently available through Nintendo Switch Online, so it seems unlikely we'll see the compilation ported to Switch, but hopefully Nintendo has a few more surprises in store for Kirby fans before 2022 comes to a close!

Are you planning to play Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards on Switch? What N64 games do you want to see on the system next? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

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