Just a short time ago I revisited one of my childhood favorite games, Kirby's Dream Land. At a glance you may think that this game is geared towards a younger audience and it is, but at the same time it laid the foundation for a series of games that has come out for over 20 years now. The first thing I'd like to point out about this game has to do with the box art. Notice something different about Kirby, he's white. Well Kirby's Dream Land was actually the first of the Kirby series and since the game designers weren't sure what color he'd be, they just left him white cause well... There was no color on the Game Boy anyway so who really cared? It wasn't until Kirby's Adventure on the NES that he would get his pink color. Anyway...
So as I mentioned, Kirby's Dream Land really laid the foundation for the rest of the series. Kirby's abilities in his premier game were limited to simply flying and well eating and spitting enemies out. He had no copy abilities at all. In an effort to reclaim all of the food stolen by King Dedede, Kirby sets out with the goal to feed all of Dream Land. Achieving this goal is by no means difficult. The boss battles are all relatively easy once you figure out the attack patterns of each of them. Even Dedede himself is pretty easy compared to a lot of bosses of the time.
The gameplay itself is very basic as it was for most Game Boy games, but unlike many other series, this simple gameplay would find it's way even in the Wii games of Kirby Epic Yarn and Kirby Return to Dreamland. The music is very, very bouncy. Even the boss battle music is kinda bouncy in a way. Not at all intimidating, which again for a game that's being aimed at a younger audience isn't bad. There are also a few familiar faces from other games that made their way into Kirby's debut. Most noteworthy of these is Lolo from The Adventures of Lolo. Another noteworthy character is the creepy face masks from Super Mario Bros 2 on the NES. The awesome thing about both of these enemies being in the game is that they simply fit so well. So what's the verdict on this game for me?
Well realistically there isn't all that much to it. Despite that though it is quite a charming game that is simply a lot of fun to play if you are looking for a game to breeze through and kill a little bit of time. Personally I can beat the game in roughly 15-20 minutes. Not long at all. Following the main game there is an extra mode where you play through the game with half the life you had the first time. That certainly cranks up the difficulty a bit, but not to an extreme point where the game really becomes a challenge. I tend to feel like this game, with now over 20 years of nostalgia attached to it is a solid 7.5 out of 10. It certainly lacks a lot which was very quickly made up for in the next few Kirby games, but at the same time it introduced the groundwork for what has become one of Nintendo's iconic series. With that being said. If you are into emulating games (if you have the original cartridge of course) then this may be one to download and just play through a couple times for fun. I can't honestly say though that this game is a must have unless you, like me, seek to own the entire Kirby series. Either way this is a game I recommend trying if you are into old school, laid back, and fun kind of games!
Well realistically there isn't all that much to it. Despite that though it is quite a charming game that is simply a lot of fun to play if you are looking for a game to breeze through and kill a little bit of time. Personally I can beat the game in roughly 15-20 minutes. Not long at all. Following the main game there is an extra mode where you play through the game with half the life you had the first time. That certainly cranks up the difficulty a bit, but not to an extreme point where the game really becomes a challenge. I tend to feel like this game, with now over 20 years of nostalgia attached to it is a solid 7.5 out of 10. It certainly lacks a lot which was very quickly made up for in the next few Kirby games, but at the same time it introduced the groundwork for what has become one of Nintendo's iconic series. With that being said. If you are into emulating games (if you have the original cartridge of course) then this may be one to download and just play through a couple times for fun. I can't honestly say though that this game is a must have unless you, like me, seek to own the entire Kirby series. Either way this is a game I recommend trying if you are into old school, laid back, and fun kind of games!
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