If a Kirby is hit by an enemy or obstacle, it will turn blue until the end of the level, or until the player finds a special gate which restores their health.

Hidden throughout each game are several medals, found either by exploring, solving puzzles or finding keys and treasure chests, which in turn unlock additional minigames and bonus features.

Some levels also feature large lollipops that temporarily make all the Kirbys bigger, allowing them to break through barriers and reach new areas.

While the team deeply considered including Copy Abilities as a mechanic, the development team decided to exclude it, after several talks with Nintendo and Senior Producer Kensuke Tanabe, in order to maintain focus on the game's new gameplay ideas, as well as avoid overcomplicating the use of multiple Kirby copies at once.

Because of the nature of controlling several Kirby's at once, level design was kept simple in order to require less "athleticism" that is generally utilized in most platforming stages.

High scores and collectible medals were used as features so that stages would be given more replayability and challenge, and also because the idea complimented the group management concept.

According to Shirikawa, this was partially because the game would not have taken extensive advantage of the system's stereoscopic 3D capabilities, meaning that making it for the 3DS would have been pointless.

[10] Destructoid said, "Cleverly designed, overwhelmingly cute, and devoted to fun, Kirby Mass Attack is a game that should become part of your handheld library without question.