Like many of Nintendo's properties during the transition from the SNES to the N64, Kirby underwent a shift from a flat 2D sprite to a fully rendered polygon rendition of himself. Rather than taking Kirby down the route of Mario and Link, however, the pink mascot stuck closer to his origins — mechanically, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards controls extremely similarly to Kirby's past appearances, only in 2.5D. The move over to on-rails 3D doesn't come without its issues, though, as Kirby feels sluggish compared to his strictly 2D iterations. That's not to say that the experience really suffers as a result, or makes the platforming an issue, but for anyone who has played their fair share of 2D Kirby platformers it takes a few minutes to acclimatise to the difference, minimal though it may be. While this keeps the main framework very familiar, with Kirby making his way from one side of the course to the next in typical fashion, the variations in camera angle and added depth gives Kirby a freshness that works surprisingly well. While the pink puff may not have undergone a metamorphosis as drastic as some of his Nintendo counterparts, that by no means takes away from the quality of this 2000 title, with Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards arguably being up there with Kirby's more impressive showings.