<P> The game pays many homages to previous titles of the Kirby series by introducing the Dream Friend system which allows the player to call upon past characters from the series, which in the future will be added as downloadable content . For example, the Animal Friends Rick, Kine & Coo from Kirby's Dream Land 2, Gooey from Kirby's Dream Land 3 as well as Marx from Kirby Super Star were all offered as the first free downloadable content pack shortly after the game's release . Various references to Kirby's past are included in the game: the final bosses' wings resembles Marx's, the boss also morphs into different shapes like Dark Matter from Kirby's Dream Land 2, as well as changing eye shapes resembling Zero - Two from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards . The Star Allies Sparkler also has six symmetrical protrusions that resemble the Dragoon from Kirby Air Ride . </P> <P> On the planet Jambastion far away from Kirby's home planet, a dark crystal heart explodes due to a mysterious ritual, sending its numerous fragments, Jamba Hearts, hurling into deep space . Many characters, including King Dedede and Meta Knight, are possessed while investigating the hearts . A heart hits Kirby, but it gives him the ability to befriend enemies by throwing hearts instead of possessing him . Kirby notices many Waddle Dees bringing food to Castle Dedede and decides to investigate . After Kirby defeats Meta Knight and King Dedede and frees them from the Jamba Heart's influence, a large fortress lands on Popstar . After defeating three generals of ice, fire, and electricity, Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan Partizanne, respectively, Kirby and his friends fly to Jambastion itself . After defeating Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan again with other bosses, Kirby and his friends connect a path to Jambandra Base and breach its defensive barrier . They battle Zan once again before meeting Hyness, a robed figure who is planning to restore a mysterious dark force to full power using the Jamba Hearts . Defeating Hyness reveals his true face, a blue large - nosed figure with twitching eyes . He summons Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan and uses dark energy to strengthen them . After being defeated, the Hyness sacrifices the three and himself to subsequently revives Void Termina . Kirby and his friends use a Friend Pedestal to transform the Friend Star into the Star Allies Sparkler via the power of the four pins stuck in the prison of Void Termina . After overcoming Void Termina's body, also regurgitating Hyness, Francisca, Flamberge, and Zan in the process, it is revealed that its true form is a purple cluster with three dark eye - like spots that resembles Kirby's face . During battle, this blob morphs into different shapes that reference previous bosses from earlier games, such as Dark Matter from Kirby's Dream Land 2 and Zero - Two from Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards . The Sparkler is destroyed by asteroids, but Kirby uses a Warp Star to return himself and his friends safely home . </P> <P> Kirby Star Allies was developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo . The game is thought to be based upon the first incarnation of the cancelled Kirby game for the Nintendo GameCube, the trailer for which shows four playable characters on the screen at once . The game was initially teased under the tentative title Kirby during the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2017 . In September 2017, the game's official title was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation . The game was released for the Nintendo Switch game console on 16 March 2018 . On 3 March 2018, a free demo of the game was released on the Nintendo eShop showcasing two of the game's stages . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Reception </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> <Table> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Aggregate score </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Aggregator </Th> <Th> Score </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Metacritic </Td> <Td> 73 / 100 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Review scores </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Publication </Th> <Th> Score </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Destructoid </Td> <Td> 9 / 10 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Edge </Td> <Td> 7 / 10 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> EGM </Td> <Td> 9 / 10 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Game Informer </Td> <Td> 6.25 / 10 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> GameSpot </Td> <Td> 8 / 10 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> IGN </Td> <Td> 8.3 / 10 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Nintendo Life </Td> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Polygon </Td> <Td> 7 / 10 </Td> </Tr> </Table> </Td> </Tr> </Table>

How many planets are in kirby star allies