Unlike most of Nintendo's big icons (Mario, Link, Samus, etc.), Kirby got his start on the Game Boy and not on the NES. This explains why on the box art for the game Kirby was not his classic pink color we all know and love today. Simply put, the game boy had no color and the creators were unsure as to which color Kirby should be so he simply remained white.
The game itself was developed by HAL Laboratory and was released on April 27th, 1992. Compared to the Kirby games of today, this game can be summed up as foundation for the rest of the series. The characters, the style, and basically everything else in the series was built upon the foundation of Kirby's Dream Land. As you read on I'm sure you'll understand exactly what I mean with that. The difficulty of the game is by no means hard and the length of the game is by no means long. In fact I've beaten Kirby's Dream Land in just over 15 minutes. Yes, it's that short once you get the hang of it which should not take long to do.
In this game you play as Kirby and there are a few things the little white fluff ball can do. His main way of attacking is by sucking up enemies and spitting them back out at other enemies.
Unlike in modern Kirby games, Kirby did not have the ability to copy his enemies powers so the only thing that he could do is simply digest them or spit them back out. Kirby's signature floating ability also debuted in this game. If a player wanted to, he or she could simply soar over the entire level, potentially without ever having to run into an enemy.
That is about is as far as Kirby's abilities go. As I said before, this was really the ground work for things to come at a later time. There are a few powerups in this game that Kirby can make use of.
Anyone who has played Super Smash Bros. Brawl is probably familiar with the Superspicy Curry. Well that item debuted in this game and granted Kirby the ability to shoot fire balls for a limited amount of time. Other notable items include the invincibility lollipop, the max tomato, and the microphone (which would later become a copy ability).
Many of the series most popular bosses debuted in the original game including the game's main antagonist, King Dedede.
Two other often repeating bosses include Whispy Woods and Kracko along with a slew of basic enemies that will be seen time and time again throughout the series.
So with the groundwork lain for an epic game series to rise how did this one really fare? Graphically the game is actually pretty good for the original game boy. Honestly I did not have any problems with them at all. On occasion the game got a tick laggy if too many Waddle Doos were shooting at once or there was just a lot going on on screen. I ran into this on Stage 4 in particular. The soundtrack is also one that lays the foundation for the rest of the series. That being said, the soundtrack is very catchy, upbeat, and in a word... Fun. This game is really ideal for anyone who's got 15-20 minutes to kill and is looking for a fun time. Alternatively, this game is a fantastic game for young or beginner gamers as again, the difficulty is by no means high.
Looking back on Kirby's Dream Land I'd still give it a 7.5 out of 10. It has a ton of nostalgia to it now and the game remains fun to play. It is a nice relaxing change of pace from all the high paced games that are flying all over the place now. There is a extra mode after you beat the game that offers a bit more of a challenge to seasoned players as you start with half health and the enemies are generally stronger. However, the game lacks any kind of a save function that would allow you to try and beat your high score making the scoring system kind of pointless unless you were writing it down. Still though, a very fun game with more ups than downs and plenty of cuteness to go around.
Final Verdict: 7.5 out of 10. If you are a Kirby fan and have not played the original, you gotta try it!
No comments:
Post a Comment