Those who aren't sold on Kirby's Dream Buffet's Grand Prix as a whole can play its individual components with four players. Veteran players will likely grasp the concept, but the casual audience that I played with quickly grew irritated with that last stage. While it's possible to carry the same strategy of eating the falling fruits that fill the arena, it takes one player who's fairly skilled at combat to make a Mario Party-like comeback and render the previous stages almost moot.

Over my time with the game, I've seen Kirbys lose tremendous leads because they weren't able to grasp the combat mechanics. The last stage is a Smash Bros.-like battle royale free-for-all, where it's every Kirby for themselves. However, it's the last stage of every Grand Prix that I've noticed can change opinions on the whole game. To complement the main objective, these mini-games will center on the consumption of strawberries. Copy abiltiies also blend into other components of the Grand Prix, including random mini-games that feel like they're pulled out of the Mario Party pile. Helpful power-ups like Tornado and Stone can be used over the course of each mode, which lets racers trip up anyone in the lead. Something else that gives players a chance to catch up is a multitude of Kirby copy abilities. That levels the playing field a little bit, allowing players who have fallen behind more of a chance to catch up over the course of each Grand Prix. Larger Kirbys can roll faster, but lose their ability to hover and save themselves from precipitous falls. What's interesting is that while the winner is ultimately determined by the number of strawberries consumed, eating a lot will also affect a Kirby's weight and their overall speed. The two primary ones involve a simple race to the finish, where each Kirby must eat as many strawberries as possible. Four players enter Grand Prix mode and advance through several stages.

Kirby's Dream Buffet is the pink puffball's foray into a Fall Guys-style battle royale and it's something that mixes together a handful of ideas. It's a fun multiplayer party game, but one that doesn't keep it going for very long.

It felt inevitable that Nintendo would return to Kirby's insatiable hunger for a video game premise and what the publisher came up with was Kirby's Dream Buffet. There's his unique shape, his childlike innocence, and there's also his bottomless appetite. Kirby is one of the most instantly recognizable mascots in video games for many reasons.

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