"KMA" redirects here. For the game known as "Kirby: Mouse Attack" in Europe, see Kirby: Squeak Squad. |
“ | In this game, poor Kirby was split into 10 weaker copies of himself by the villainous Necrodeus. Using the stylus, players guided these mini Kirbys on an amazing adventure to restore Kirby to his former self. If Kirbys were lost along the way, collecting fruit restored them. On top of this main game, seven minigames added to the action.” |
— Summary • Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition |
Kirby Mass Attack is a platformer Kirby game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan on August 4, 2011, in North America on September 19, 2011, in Australia on October 27, 2011, in Europe on October 28, 2011, and in South Korea on December 1, 2011.
The game saw re-release for the Wii U Virtual Console platform in PAL regions and in Europe on December 3, 2015; in Australia on December 4, 2015; in Japan on February 29, 2016; and in North America on July 28, 2016.
Story[]
Intro[]
Excerpt from game introduction - "A Bold Start!"
One day, Kirby went exploring in the Popopo Islands, in the south of Popstar. He was snoozing in a field, napping the day away. But then dark clouds filled the sky, and a skull-faced fiend descended. It was Necrodeus, the leader of the Skull Gang. The Skull Gang wanted to drown light in darkness.
Necrodeus raised his staff and struck Kirby with his mischievous magic. Necrodeus split Kirby into 10 copies of himself, each having only a fraction of Kirby's greatness! The fiend was easily able to defeat each of these weaker Kirbys.
Before long, there was only one Kirby left. Popstar was about to lose its greatest defender... and plunge into darkness forever. As the last Kirby raised his head, he saw a star shining brightly. That light was from Kirby's own heroic heart, which had flown to safety. His heart called out to him! "Kirby! Follow me! We can fight Necrodeus together!"
So began Kirby's quest to save Popstar — and restore Kirby back to his usual self! If they could defeat Necrodeus, they could use his magic staff to make everything right!
Main Story[]
Kirby starts out at Green Grounds, where Daroach approaches him in his airship and offers his help. He asks Kirby to collect medals, which he claims to have a magical power to dispel the magical darkness surrounding Necrodeus' stronghold, which makes it impossible to approach.
After Kirby defeats Skullord, Daroach tells Kirby that in order to enter Necrodeus's lair, Necro Nebula, he needs to get every single rainbow medal, one hidden in each stage. After collecting all of the rainbow medals, the power of the rainbow treasure appears and gives him access to the fifth and final world, Necro Nebula.
Kirby then confronts the four bosses he met along the way in Necro Nebula before commencing a final showdown against Necrodeus.
Epilogue[]
Excerpt from epilogue - "Kirby among the Stars"
The Kirbys finally defeated Necrodeus — thanks to the heroic heart that had guided them every step of the way! Necrodeus faded into oblivion, leaving his staff floating in space. The heroic heart called out to the Kirbys...
"Now! Everyone, grab the staff! Use its magic!"
The Kirbys... became one whole Kirby again! A Warp Star soared into view and picked up Kirby! As Kirby flew home, he looked out across the cosmos. The stars were so beautiful. Darkness had its place just as much as light, he thought. For the stars sparkled twice as bright in the dark depths of space!
As Kirby soared onward, he saw Pop Star in all its glory! Pop Star had never looked so wonderful. It shone like a brilliant beacon of hope. Kirby left the darkness of space behind, glad to be home at long last.
- The End -
Gameplay[]
While Kirby Mass Attack is a Kirby platformer, there are a few fundamental differences that makes it completely different from all the other titles in the series. The player can control up to ten individual Kirbys instead of just one, although each has much more limited capabilities than the single Kirby due to Necrodeus' spell.
Kirby Mass Attack is played exclusively with the stylus on the Nintendo DS's Touch Screen, similar to Kirby: Canvas Curse. The player's stylus moves Kirby's heroic heart, which the Kirbys faithfully follow around. Tapping on any location causes the Kirbys to try and move there. Double-tapping makes them dash instead of walk.
Tapping on an enemy or object sends all the Kirbys on it. They will pummel enemies and attempt to pull down whichever obstacle is in their way, as long as there are enough Kirbys to perform the action. Flicking the stylus while on a Kirbys will send him in the direction of the movement . Sending them bouncing off certain trees will dislodge fruits. Holding the stylus in place for a while makes all the Kirbys cluster around the heroic heart, which starts glowing. Dragging the stylus on the screen at this point will draw a line similar to drawing Rainbow Lines in Kirby: Canvas Curse, and the player has limited ink as well, but the Kirbys follow the heart closely instead of following any drawn line. Some occasions call for tapping a button that pops up to help the Kirbys to pull or push an object or enemy.
The main goal in the game is to gather a large number of Kirbys in a stage by collecting fruit, and successfully bringing enough of them to the end of the stage and back to the overworld map. In stages, certain obstacles can only be removed or used when there are enough Kirbys pulling or pushing on it, and individual stages can only be entered from the overworld map only if the number of Kirbys matches or exceeds the number needed to get into the stage (the game depicts the Kirbys pressing on a switch). Every main level hub has its stages represented in concentric circles, with links in between, and the boss in the center. Stages leading to the boss fight have increasingly-larger numbers of Kirbys needed. There is no specific order by which the stages need to be cleared, but stages are unlocked several at a time by activating rainbow bubbles which create rainbow bridges. Some stages must be unlocked by clearing or hitting a switch at the end of a certain stage.
There is always one hidden, special Shortcut Door leading to a short cut in the form of a catapult in each stage. As long as the stage it is found in has previously been cleared, Kirby has the option of taking the catapult to largely bypass the trickiest parts of the stage, although that would mean missing out on most of the collectibles and points as well. Also, if the player fails to complete a stage three times, Invincible Candy will appear in parts of that stage to help the player.
There are initially a total of four levels in the game: Green Grounds, Sandy Canyon, Dedede Resort, and Volcano Valley, each with twelve stages except Green Grounds, which has eleven. Eventually, Necro Nebula, the fifth and final level, opens up with four stages and the final boss fight, bringing the total stage count to 52.
At first, travelling between levels brings the Kirby down to one, since Skullys roam the skies and pluck any additional Kirbys off the Warp Star as they fly. Clearing four levels makes the Skullys patrolling the first four islands flee, so the number of Kirbys is no longer reduced when travelling between those islands. Once Necro Nebula is unlocked by collecting all of the Rainbow Medals, Skullions are initially patrolling that island, causing the number of Kirbys to be reduced when entering or leaving Necro Nebula. After the game is cleared, there are no more enemies in the skies of the Popopo Islands and the Kirbys can move between any island safely. When you travel back to a previously cleared level using the Warp Star or lose a significant amount of Kirbys, a certain stage will have all food, except for Maxim Tomatoes, in that stage turn into melons that give 30 points each, allowing the player to quickly build back up to the maximum number of Kirbys. Once the player reaches 10 Kirbys, the bonus fruit turn back into the usual apple and banana mix.
Medal collectibles are hidden behind obstacles throughout the game - collecting them unlocks sub-games and Checklists when their number reaches a certain threshold. There are either three or five in each stage (except for boss stages, which have none), and there are two types; a gold one, and a shiny rainbow-colored one. Both count towards unlocking extras, but only by collecting all the Rainbow Medals will Necro Nebula be unlocked.
The game is also notable for its variety of unlockable sub-games, which make many references to past games in the series and Kirby: Right Back at Ya! in gameplay, key characters, and Copy Abilities.
Health system[]
Fruit | Name | Point value |
---|---|---|
Apple | 1 | |
Banana | 10 | |
Melon | 30 | |
Maxim Tomato | 100 | |
Grapes | unused |
The health mechanic for the game does not follow the traditional Kirby series formula. Food no longer heals Kirby, but instead fills a meter which drops another Kirby down from the sky to join the existing group when completely filled. It takes 100 points to fill up the meter.
The only food available in the parts of Dream Land featured in the game is fruit. There are four different kinds of fruit, and different fruit give different values towards the meter. A fifth fruit, grapes, was planned to appear in the game, but was scrapped.
There are several ways to obtain fruit: defeating enemies, flicking Kirbys into certain objects, and more, will cause fruit to be dropped onto the ground, which the Kirbys can pick up.
Each Kirby essentially only has two points of health, and they turn blue when hit. When hit again, Kirby will turn into a grayish-white angel and slowly float into the sky. Before he floats off the screen, however, the player can launch a Kirby and drag the defeated ally to the ground, bringing him back to life in his blue, hurt state. There are rings in which the Kirbys can go through in order to restore their individual health points (ie. a blue Kirby goes through, regains health and becomes pink). These are called Recovery Rings.
Collecting any item gives points towards a high score (top-right on the top screen). If the player is already at the maximum number of Kirbys, filling up the Kirby meter gives a 10,000 point bonus towards the high score instead. That means it is desirable to play through any stage with a full complement of Kirbys to get the highest score possible. The player is rated at the end of each stage with a star - bronze, silver, or gold, depending on whether no Kirbys were lost (bronze), no Kirbys were defeated (silver), or no Kirbys got hurt at all (gold). The player is not awarded with a star at all if he/she properly loses a Kirby.
Modes[]
Main Games[]
- Story Mode
Sub-games[]
Sub-game | Details |
---|---|
Field Frenzy | Whack Moles, Oohroos and Whispy Woods to earn points. Don't whack Gordo. Defeat Robo Moley or Moley at the end to win. |
Fishing Pond | Rapidly tap the button when it appears to fish up items and enemies. This is only playable during the credits and can earn the player a medal on the first play. |
Dash Course | Tap the right shape at the bottom screen to progress. It is similar to 100-Yard Hop from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Kirby's speed will increase if the player taps the correct symbol, and decrease if he/she taps the incorrect symbol. |
Kirby Brawlball | A game of Kirby pinball. Rack up points to get the high score. Enter Dedede's mouth and defeat all 4 bosses: Whispy Woods, Lololo & Lalala, Heavy Lobster, and Marx. It is similar to Kirby's Pinball Land, albeit shorter and more akin to a real pinball table. |
Kirby Curtain Call | Count the right number of Kirbys. Don't mistake other things for Kirby. It is similar to Tamasan's counting sub-game from Kirby's Dream Land 3, but Kirbys are counted instead of Gordos. |
Kirby Quest | Tap the screen when the bar is at the pink or blue areas to attack. Missing will have one or a certain number of Kirbys get hurt and turn blue. There are four levels, each having one boss, with the final stage having multiple bosses, including Daroach. The final boss in this game is Dark Matter. |
Strato Patrol EOS | The player guides the Kirbys through the sky with the stylus, while they automatically fire shots forward. The player gains more Kirbys by rescuing them from Skullys, and the power of the shots fired can be increased as well. The final boss in the sub-game is Nightmare. |
Survival Rush | After beating the game and collecting all the medals, the player unlocks this final sub-game which is essentially a boss rush to see how fast the player can defeat every single boss in the game without getting KO'd. It has a mini lobby with three Boss Doors that have a 1, 3, and 5 (in order of difficulty with 5 having all the main bosses), a recovery ring and three Maxim Tomatoes in case the player loses a Kirby during the battles. |
Characters[]
Playable Characters[]
Allies[]
Enemies[]
In-game Enemies[]
The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help) |
Awadoron | Awasuki | Banishback | Battybat | Beanbon | Big Beanbon | Big Blucko | Big Ice Blucko | Big Floof | Big Gordo | Big Mummbon | Big Schnoz | Big Soarar | Big Stactus | Big Stickle | Big Toppy | Big Waddle Dee | Big Zombon | Birdee | Biripper | Blamboom | Blish | Blucko | Bombpeller | Booboo | Buufuu | Clanksprout | Crazy Stactus | Cryball | Decofloof | Eelongo | Fire Snoozroot | Flapbon | Flare | Flickerfloof | Floaty Woods | Floof | Flying Saucer | Gear Pawn | Gear Spike | Geg | Giant Schnoz | Gloomybat | Glutbulb | Gobchomplin | Gold Beanbon | Gold Waddle Dee | Gondolus | Gordo | Gravey | Grindarr | Gruegloom | Hamsturr | Helmee | Hoohoo | Ice Dice | Ice Dinos | Ill Gate | Jellifrizz | Li'lbat | Little Woods | Magoo | Mech Geg | Mega Grindarr | Mini Jellifrizz | Missiroller | Moggy | Mole | Molemet | Mono Soarar | Mosomoso | Mummbon | Nolly | Oohroo | Paka Geg | Posura | Pricklebat | Puff | Pult | Quewin | Rock hand | Roguemole | Sand Snoozroot | Schnoz | Schwarz | Shellmic | Skullion | Skully | Small Soarar | Snoozroot | Soarar | Space Jellifrizz | Space Mini Jellifrizz | Space Mosomoso | Space Oohroo | Space Posura | Spideroo | Spiky Geg | Squister | Squpi | Stactus | Stickle | Stumpee | Stunake | Swell Snoozroot | Taccoziso | Thornletummy | Toppy | Tower Woods | Turiee | Waddle Dee | Warwiggle | Wicky Woods | Wobbly Woods | Zombon
Sub-game Enemies[]
Beanbon | Big Beanbon | Bigger Beanbon | Bio Spark | Blade Knight | Bouncy | Bronto Burt | Bugzzy Jr. | Cappy | Capsule J2 | Crap | Dekabu | Flamer | Flotzo | Gordo | Grindarr | Hoohoo | Kabu | Little Woods | Mini Lobster | Mole | Oohroo | Parasol Waddle Dee | Parasol Waddle Doo | Scarfy | Skully | Squishy | Stactus | Starman | Sword Knight | Tac | Tookey | Twizzy | Twister | Waddle Dee | Waddle Doo | Wheelie
Mid-bosses[]
In-game Mid-bosses[]
Big Birdee | Big Warwiggle | Block Waddle Dee | Buzzybat | Freezy Rex | Giga Clanksprout | Great Gear | Hamsturr | King Eelongo | Mega Stactus | Moley | Mothership | Quadgun | Shadowbite | Skullseer | Steelsnapper | Tortletummy
Sub-game Mid-bosses[]
The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help) |
Kracko Jr. | Blocky | Bonkers | Bugzzy | Chef Kawasaki | Chef Shiitake | Max Flexer | Meta Knights | Mr. Frosty | Sweet Stuff
Bosses[]
In-game Bosses[]
Sub-game Bosses[]
The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help) |
Whispy Woods (Kirby Brawlball and Strato Patrol EOS) | Lololo & Lalala (Kirby Brawlball) | Heavy Lobster (Kirby Brawlball) | Marx (Kirby Brawlball) | Mr. Shine & Mr. Bright (Strato Patrol EOS) | Kracko (Strato Patrol EOS) | Meta-Knights (Strato Patrol EOS and Kirby Quest) | Meta Knight (Strato Patrol EOS and Kirby Quest) | Nightmare (Strato Patrol EOS) | King Dedede (Kirby Quest) | HR-D3 (Kirby Quest) | Galaxia (Kirby Quest) | Dark Matter (Kirby Quest) | Moley (Field Frenzy) | Robo Moley カ (Field Frenzy)
Items and Objects[]
The following section contains transcluded content from the Database. Source: (view • edit • help) |
Autocannon | Bomb Block | Door | Fruit | Fruit Block | Heave Ho Block | Invincible Candy | Jerkweed | Jumbo Candy | Key | Maxim Tomato | Medal | Melody Switch | Metal Block | Morning Glory | Rainbow bubble | Recovery Ring | Shell | Shortcut Door | Skull chest | Skull key | Spire Vine | Star Block | Swap Block | Tank Capsule* | Treasure Chest | Turnip | Water bubble
Levels (Islands)[]
Green Grounds | Sandy Canyon | Dedede Resort | Volcano Valley | Necro Nebula |
Demo Version[]
Following its announcement at E3 2011, the Japanese demo of the game was presented by roaming attendants in the Wii U area, as Nintendo did not have a designated area for the Nintendo DS. A localized demo of the game was made available for download through the Nintendo Channel for users who own both a Nintendo DS and Wii on September 8th; this demo was eliminated upon the Nintendo Channel's discontinuation on July 27, 2013.
The playable demo version of Kirby Mass Attack was just one stage long — Stage 1 of Green Grounds, specifically. However, this version had some slight differences:
- The Kirby Mass Attack logo was changed to say, Kirby Mass Attack Demo Version. The screen shown before the stage also has "Demo Version" displayed on it.
- Many apples have been replaced with bananas and melons. Even some bananas were replaced with melons.
- After the Beanbon fight inside the tree, the Kirbys must break Star Blocks to progress. In the demo, the Star Blocks are replaced with metal blocks, and the Kirbys must destroy them by hitting an explosive block.
- Some minor parts of the landscape have been changed.
- Only one medal exists in the demo. Other medals are entirely removed or replaced with fruit.
- A turnip was moved to a further position. A Big Beanbon and two Star Blocks exist where it should be. Another Big Beanbon appears toward the end of the stage.
- A cluster of Star Blocks (each containing a banana) and an explosive block replace the Recovery Ring and Recovery Ring sign.
- The stage's Shortcut Door does not exist in the demo.
- A turnip-like plant growing in the ground was moved to a further position. Three Beanbons exist where it should be.
- Six Star Blocks beneath a Snoozroot were changed to six metal blocks.
- The Autocannon and the clip with Big Birdee are completely removed. Instead, Kirby can get a Maxim Tomato by crashing though metal blocks with a Beanbon.
- After the stage is cleared, a congratulations screen will appear. Art of ten Kirbys, King Dedede, a Waddle Dee, and a Skully are depicted. The text on the screen reads: "THANKS FOR PLAYING! In Kirby Mass Attack, many things are possible only once you have 10 Kirbys." Once the player hits the Next button, more text will appear: "We hope you enjoyed growing your Kirby crew as big as possible in this demo!" A Title Screen button will appear, and the player can replay the demo if he/she chooses to.
Promotion[]
To promote Kirby Mass Attack's launch in North America, "Kirby Snack Attack Trucks"--frozen treat trucks painted to look like the game's box art--toured three American cities during 2011. They visited New York City's Rockefeller Plaza on September 14, the San Francisco Bay Area on September 14-15, and Houston's Upper Kirby neighborhood on September 16-18. These trucks offered frozen fruit snacks and Kirby Mass Attack demos to consumers.[5][6]
Anti-Piracy[]
After Kirby's Dream Course, Kirby Mass Attack is the second Kirby game to contain special anti-piracy safeguards beyond standard copy protection. It hangs the game while loading if the copy is detected as being artificial.
Music[]
Main article: Kirby Mass Attack/Music |
Glitches[]
Main article: Glitch#Kirby Mass Attack |
Reception[]
Reception for Kirby Mass Attack has been positive with the game being praised for its intricate use of the Nintendo DS's stylus-touch screen controls. The game has aggregate scores of 83/100 at Metacritic, based on 46 reviews, and 84.36% at Game Rankings, based on 28 reviews.[7]
As of the end of March 2012, Kirby Mass Attack has sold 1.06 million units. Of that, 410,000 units were sold in Japan and 640,000 units were sold overseas.
Transcript[]
Main article: Kirby Mass Attack/Transcript |
For Daroach's optional dialogue, see Kirby Mass Attack/Dialogue.
Staff[]
Main article: List of Kirby Mass Attack Staff |
Unused content[]
Main article: Kirby Mass Attack/Unused Content |
Trivia[]
- Kirby Mass Attack is the third platformer in the Kirby series to lack Copy Abilities. The first two are Kirby's Dream Land and Kirby's Epic Yarn.
- Similarly, this is the third platformer in which Kirby cannot inhale. The first two are Kirby: Canvas Curse and Kirby's Epic Yarn.
- The sparkles in Kirby's eyes are tiny blue stars that appear in the official game artwork, but do not appear in Kirby's sprites.
- This game, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, and Kirby's Blowout Blast are the only Kirby platformers to not feature the Kirby Dance at the end of a stage. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards only featured the theme, and Kirby Mass Attack is the exact opposite: it only features the dance on the "game over" screen of Kirby Brawlball. Kirby's Blowout Blast does not feature the dance at all.
- References to Kirby: Right Back at Ya! are made. In the Japanese version of the sub-game Strato Patrol EOS, the N.M.E. Sales Guy is seen on the 'Game Over' screen along with "Holy Nightmare" above him. However, in the English version, a picture of Nightmare is behind him instead. In the sub-game Kirby Quest, one of Kirby's moves is Kabuki Kirby, whom previously appeared exclusively in Kirby 3D; Escargoon, Chef Shiitake, and Max Flexer from Kirby: Right Back at Ya! make their respective (surprise) appearances in Kirby Quest.
- Kirby's voice clips from the show were also used in this game.
- Kirby Mass Attack is the second game to have Kirby actually say "poyo". Kirby's Epic Yarn was the first.
- King Dedede is one of the objects which can be fished out of the water in the fishing sub-game that plays after the last level. He requires the most effort to fish out of all other possible items. Also, the slice of Strawberry Shortcake seen at the beginning and end of Kirby: Squeak Squad can be caught in the fishing sub-game.
- Kirby Mass Attack and Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble are the only games in the Kirby series where Kirby can be KO'd by drowning.
- The mid-boss music from Kirby Mass Attack is a remix of "Room Guarder".
- Unused pieces of a Crane Fever-style sub-game[8] and a Spray Paint function[8] can be found in the game's memory, along with many unused enemies and environmental objects.
- Kirby Mass Attack contains more unused code than any other game in the series.
- A prerelease screenshot in a Japanese magazine shows an underwater stage with giant ice crystals in the background.[9] The background was changed, and the stage remains as Stage 10 of Green Grounds.
- With skulls, skeletons, ghosts, zombies, cemeteries, and the motif of death in general, Kirby Mass Attack could arguably be said to have some of the most consistently dark imagery in the series.
- Kirby Mass Attack references Kirby's original name, Popopo, as it takes place on the Popopo Islands.
- Kirby Mass Attack is the last 2D sprite-based Kirby game without any polygonal 3D graphics.
- Kirby Mass Attack's game over screen may be a reference to the game over screen shown in EarthBound, another game produced by HAL Laboratory.
- In the Music Room in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Kirby Mass Attack is represented by an image of eight Kirbys clinging to the heroic heart.
- The name Kirby Mass Attack could be a reference to Kirby: Mouse Attack, which is the European name for Kirby: Squeak Squad. Coincidentally, both games feature an appearance by the Squeaks.
- The Japanese version of Kirby Mass Attack includes credits that list the names of most characters in the game. These are absent from all other versions of the game.
- Notes from the ESRB describe how Kirby Mass Attack earned its E rating. In addition to its cartoon violence and the sounds and effects of that violence, the notes mention the tank in Stage 2 of Volcano Valley, the turn-based combat in the Kirby Quest sub-game, Mr. Frosty's animations, and "belching sounds" produced by an unnamed boss. This boss seems to be Great Gear.[10]
- Kirby Mass Attack is currently the only non-traditional platformer in the series that is completely unique, as in it does not have a port or spiritual successor, nor is it a spiritual successor to another non-traditional platformer.
- According to director Mari Shirakawa, the developers did not intend to create eight sub-games. They were developed separately from the main game, and despite progress on the main game being troubled at times, the production of the sub-games was consistently smooth. The developers initially planned to cut some of them, but because the sub-games were deemed fun, they decided to keep as many of them as possible.[11]
- The development team worried that Kirby Mass Attack's difficulty would negatively impact its appeal to young children. Once it was released, Shirakawa saw her niece, who was in first grade and had little experience with video games, enjoying it. She said she had finally found a game that she could have fun playing. This praise and positive comments from the Internet put the director at ease.[12]
Artwork[]
Box Art[]
Media[]
Logo[]
Gallery[]
Video[]
References[]
- ↑ Nintendo DS Japan
- ↑ Nintendo Network @ E3 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Official Nintendo Japan site
- ↑ GameStop (September 25, 2011)
- ↑ Nintendo
- ↑ Destructoid
- ↑ http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/609573-kirby-mass-attack/index.html
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Spritedatabase.net
- ↑ Kirby's Rainbow Resort
- ↑ ESRB
- ↑ The Making of Kirby: Mass Attack
- ↑ Kirby Mass Attack's Director Discusses Designing Kirby For Children
External links[]
- Kirby Mass Attack Instruction Booklet (British English)
- E3 2011 trailer
- Nintendo Game Guide (Nintendo E3 2011 Network)
- Official site
- Official site (archived)
- Official Japanese site
- Official Japanese site (archived)
- Japan TV advertisements (Official site) showing certain bosses, enemies and mechanics
- Interview 1 (IGN, archived)
- Interview 2 (1UP, archived)
- Interview 3 (1UP, archived)
- Nintendo financial report