Kirby: Squeak Squad

What surprised me the most starting into Squeak Squad was the awkwardness of the controls. B does not jump, it attacks! Y and A jump! SHEER MADNESS. There is also no option to change this configuration. I can get used to it after a few minutes, but it always gets me when I start the game up again.

I really like the treasure collecting system here. It's implemented very well: there's a count on each stage of how many treasures there are, and which you've gotten or haven't. The collection screen also organizes them really well, and there is a great variety of things to collect, from life-ups to new colors to music tracks to treasure maps to hidden stage keys. There are even thieving rats (squeaks) who attempt to steal treasure chests from you in-game, which is really cool.

There's nothing "wrong" with the stage structuring, e.g. there are several worlds and each one has several stages, which one proceeds through in a linear fashion. But I was really hoping they would stick with the Metroid map system from Amazing Mirror.

The touch-screen stomach system is pretty weak. It has limited space, only certain items - ones in bubbles - can be retained in the stomach, and the ability to combine items rarely pays off. Plus it empties out when you turn the game off. It's not detrimental to the game, but in execution it doesn't really add anything to it either, and what results is a fairly standard Kirby adventure with a cool collectible system.

Progress: Level 3-4, 35/120 treasures