Kirby's Dream Land
Nintendo Game Boy
Nostalgia Factor:
I've never played a single Kirby game in my life. I don't know how I managed to make it to the age of 42 without playing a single game in one of the most iconic Nintendo franchises out there, but I did. It's time to finally change that. I have decided to start from the beginning: Kirby's very first video game appearance - Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy. Let's go.
Story:
This must be one of those games that outlines the story in the instruction manual, because nothing is explained in-game. I played it on my RetroPie, so I had no idea what was going on.
After beating the game, a brief cutscene shows Kirby floating through the air, carrying a giant castle. Kirby drops the castle, but it is upheld by six stars, presumably the stars you spend the whole game collecting. Then the game ends.
Gameplay:
This is a pretty simple game to get the hang of. It's a 2D side-scroller. The D-pad controls Kirby. Kirby can jump, fly, and he can inhale enemies. Flying is interesting, because in order to do so, you have to press the up button. This makes Kirby inhale a big gust of air, and then he starts floating around the level. Press the "inhale" button and he spits out a projectile (a big wad of air?) and falls back to the ground. Mastering the art of flying and attacking your enemies is essential to doing well in this game. Kirby can also inhale regular enemies and then spit them out as projectile weapons.
The main goal of the game is to make it from the starting point to the end of the stage. There are four normal stages. At the end of each stage, you fight a boss. Beat the boss, and you move onto the next stage. The fifth and final stage consists of a boss rush where you have to beat all the bosses over again, followed by a final confrontation with King Dedede.
There is not much variety in the gameplay, but enough to keep things fresh and fun. For example, there is a boss fight that is essentially a shoot 'em up battle, like what you'd see in Super Mario Land. You can also pick up items to give that give Kirby special powers momentarily. But for the most part, you'll be doing the same thing in each level. Moving forward, flying, inhaling enemies, and trying to stay alive.
I remember reading that this was an easy game that takes less than an hour to beat. For the most part, that is true. It was a little more challenging than I expected, and I died a small handful of times before I was finally able to beat the game. What I didn't know is that there is a "hard mode" that is unlocked after beating the game. Remember how in Super Mario Bros, once you beat the game, a hard mode is unlocked where all the koopa troopas turn into beetles? It's like that, but more extreme. The game is definitely a LOT harder in this mode. Enemies are everywhere, and hits take off a bigger chunk of your health bar than they did before.
I'll admit to struggling a bit with this hard mode. It was almost embarrassing. Here is this game, that everyone says is super easy, and here is me: resorting to save states to make my way through it. I didn't feel bad doing it though, because a lot of the hits I was enduring and deaths I was experiencing seemed very very cheap. If a game is difficult on its own merits, I am willing to forgive that. But when things start to feel cheap, I lose patience quick. No doubt, I would have been able to devote the time to the game in order to master hard mode as a kid. But now, with a world of responsibilities and a million different games to play out there, I just don't have the time to dedicate to playing this game over and over again. So I cheated. Sue me.
Graphics:
I am shocked at how good this game looks. I think I expected it to look primitive, as this is:
A. a 32 year old game
B. The first ever Kirby game
C. A freaking Game Boy game
But it looks good! Even though it is in black and white, you can still feel the cartoonish energy just oozing through the game's presentation. You don't even notice it is black and white after a while. It is very easy to picture this game in full, vibrant color.
The animation is very good as well. Everything is silky smooth. The bosses look good, and they match the unique personality of each of the game's stages. Again, I am very impressed.
Sound:
This game sounds very good as well. I guess Kirby is famous for a reason. It's fun, it looks good, and it sounds good too. Crazy I've slept on this series for so long!
While I won't say the game's soundtrack left a major impression on me (I couldn't hum a single tune from this song, and I've played through the freaking game twice in the last few days), I know that it fits the fun and unique atmosphere of the game. Everything works in harmony to give you a very solid gaming experience.
Overall:
If you were paying attention, you probably noticed that I said this was a "very solid" gaming experience. I didn't call it good. I didn't call it great. I called it very solid. And I think that's pretty accurate.
The game is fun, I'll give it that. It looks good, it sounds good. The gameplay has withstood the test of time. And it is relatively challenging, and keeps you coming back for more.
On the negative side, it is very short. The gameplay is very simplistic. The hard mode feels unfairly cheap at times, to the point where it actively turned me off to playing the game.
Should you play Kirby's Dream Land? Absolutely. Again, I'm shocked I've made it to the age of 42 without playing this game. What the heck have I been doing? This is a very solid first entry in the Kirby series, and easily one of the best Game Boy games I have played (although admittedly I have not played many). There's a reason Kirby developed into such a big success for Nintendo: the game is fun! If future Kirby games are as good as this one, I am going to be in for a real treat.
THE GRADE:
B
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