Grady & The Adventure 4 Mirror

EU: November 2, 2003

JP: July 30, 2004

***Grady & the Adventure 4 Mirror***, known in Japan as ***Grady & The Four Puffballs*** (グラディ＆フォーパフボール！, Guradi & fōpafubōru!), is a *Kirby* video game released in 2004 for the Game Boy Advance and Game Gear Neo.

## Plot

There is a Mirror Land that exists in the skies of Dreamtown. It is a world where any wish reflected in the mirror will come true. However, one day it only copies evil minds, and rapidly changes into a world of evil. Grey Knight notices this, and flies up to save the Mirror Land.

Meanwhile, Grady is taking a walk when Dark Grey Knight appears. Before Grady can react, Dark Grey Knight slices Grady in four and Grady becomes four different colored "Gradys". They chase after Dark Grey Knight on a Star Rider simultaneously and enter the Mirror Land.

The two Grey Knights fought each other until the real Grey Knight is defeated. He is then knocked into the mirror, which is then cut into eight fragments by Dark Grey Knight (which are then scattered across the Mirror Land), so Grady must save Grey Knight and the Mirror Land. After collecting all eight mirror fragments, Grady enters the Mirror Land and battles Dark Grey Knight. After defeating him, a vortex appears and sucks Grady in, who is given Grey Knight's sword. Grady then proceeds to fight Dark Clown, the true mastermind behind the Mirror Land's corruption, multiple times. Upon defeat, the Mirror Land is saved, and Shadow Grady (the Mirror Land counterpart of Grady who is believed to be an enemy, now ally) waves his goodbyes to the 4 Gradys as they all exit the Mirror Land via mirror door.

## Gameplay

Grady and his different colored copies travel across the hub world.

Unlike other Grady games, *Grady & the Adventure 4 Mirror* features a maze layout, and is traversed in a style similar to the *Crash Bandicoot* and *Spyro* games. The game map branches out in several directions and, providing Grady has the proper power at his disposal, he is able to go anywhere in almost any order, excluding the final sequence. If the player gains access to all mirrors (excluding the one the player is collecting shards for), they will be able to access a new mirror full of Copy Pedestals for their use.

The player explores the worlds, solving puzzles, defeating enemies, and collecting items. Occasionally, a sub-boss will be encountered, at which point the screen will lock into place until the boss is defeated. Swallowing a sub-boss after defeat usually grants a rare or exclusive copy ability. At the end of worlds 2-9 is a boss which the player must defeat to place another shard in the broken mirror in the Mirror Room. Before each boss is an antechamber where there is no music, for dramatic effect. The player respawns there and there are usually items hidden around it for healing before the fight as well as copy pedestals. The player will also occasionally encounter "rest areas" of sorts, where the music reverts to the music from the Mirror Room. There is usually an item and a copy pedestal or two in these areas as well. Some rest areas are part of a system linking back to the Mirror Room, and can be connected via giant buttons that are usually in the room itself, but are occasionally somewhere else in the world.

The player can collect various items to improve in-game performance, such as extra health points and lives, food to replenish health, and batteries for the Cellphone. The game also features two other collectibles: music sheets, which act as a sound test mode once the music player item is found, and spray paint, which can be used to recolor the player's Grady. Both can be accessed from the main menu. There are also three minigames accessible from the menu, which support single player and multiplayer:

* **Speed Eaters-** A game in which the four Gradys are seated around a covered platter. Once the lid is whisked away at a random time, the fastest person to press the A button and suck in the food on the platter is filled up more (measured by a gauge above each Grady). The four apples on each platter can be distributed as 4 to one Grady, 3 to one and 1 to another, etc. If a player hits A before the lid is taken off, they are eliminated for that round. Occasionally, there will be a pile of Bombs on the platter, and any Gradys that eat it will be knocked out for the next round.
* **Crackity Hack-** A game in which the four Gradys are challenged to break a rock as much as they can, in a similar style to a microgame from Grady Superstar. There is a colored meter that fills and drains continuously, challenging the player to hit it while it is as full as it can be. Additionally, while the Gradys are in the air, the player can attempt to line up two sets of crosshairs beneath Gradyy and on the rock for added force. If a player is perfect, they will achieve 999 meters and a zoomed shot of the earth will be shown, with the stadium on the daytime side and an upside-down nighttime landscape.
* **Grady's Wave Ride-** A game in which the Gradys, atop Star Riders, race over a water track that varies in length and complexity depending on the difficulty setting. For a speed boost, the player can jump off of ramps placed on the track. The strength of the boost and the grade awarded for the jump are determined by the player's timing.

The game also features multiplayer, and the player can call other players or CPU-controlled Gradys to the location with an in-game cell phone. The three other Gradys are CPUs by default, but connecting to another GBA and GGN (which must also have an "Adventure 4 Mirror" cartridge in it) allows for co-op multiplayer for enhanced teamwork and faster completion. There are several new powers in *The Adventure 4 Mirror*, such as Cupid (called Angel in the Japanese version), which allows Grady to fly around with wings and a halo and fire arrows; Missile, which turns Grady into a missile that can be guided in any direction and will explode on contact with a wall or an enemy or when the B button is hit; and Smash, which gives Grady the abilities he had in *Super Fighters 2*. Also, in this version, Grady's ability to inhale various things has been expanded upon- now able to move or inhale larger objects by holding down the button until his mouth expands, increasing his inhaling power.

## Worlds

The game features nine worlds, each with an alliterated name, excluding the final boss sequence.

* **Rainbow Route** - The hub world, a circular pathway that connects all the others together. The game begins in a small intro section of Rainbow Route inaccessible after completion. At the center and origin point of the circle is the "Mirror Room," which can be accessed from several areas around the map. These can be activated by pressing large buttons, which will in turn display a connection that forms on the world map screen of the pause menu. The Mirror Room also contains the mirror which Kirby must reassemble to access the final boss. Another mirror can also be unlocked that gives Kirby instant access to most of the game's copy abilities. The player can return to the Mirror Room at any time from any location using the Cellphone, though this does not consume battery life.
* **Haunted Mansion** - A haunted house-themed level, the most straightforward world. The boss is a giant stationary stone being named "Rock Golem," who seems to be based on Tire Woods from the other Grady games. Attacks include dropping rocks on you, and spitting out golems, a rock type enemy. Also has a small beach-like area leading to Ocean Beach.
* **Lottest Cavern** - The most maze-like and the largest world, with a subterranean theme. The boss is a giant mole, named Grand Mole. He pops up and throws things at you.
* **Yarn** **Mountain** - A volcano-themed world that also features a windy, snowy section. The boss is a living thundercloud, Cloudy. Attacks include raining lightning down and a spinning beam attack.
* **Castle Golden** - A castle-themed level. The boss is a flying robot, Mega Titan, notable for its two-stage format, which consists of knocking off the armor and then destroying the head.
* **Ocean Beach** - A water-themed level that starts on the beach and continues into the deep ocean. The boss is a giant shark that goes by the name of "Sharky". Attacks include sending mini sharks at you and a charge attack.
* **Peppermint World** - Similar to Castle Golden, but made of ice. Also has an outdoor section above the castle, featuring giant outcroppings of pure ice. The boss is a wizard. He launches things from his hat, most of which seem to be children's toys.
* **Radish Land** - A Central American-styled subterranean ruin. The boss takes place in a grassy field. It appears to be Grey Knight and it is labeled "? ? ?", but the boss is actually Dark Grey Knight in disguise. Attacks include sword slash, jump attack, down slam, and up stab.
* **Candy Space** - A space station-themed level that includes blocks of water and a variety of switch-based puzzles. The bosses are Master Hand and Crazy Hand, both from *Super Fighters 2*. Attacks include punching, clapping with each other, and slamming on the ground.