Kirby's Dream Land review

Game: Kirby's Dream Land
Platform: Game Boy
Genre: Action (Platformer)
Developer: HAL Laboratory
AKA: Hoshi no Kirby (JP)

Reader review by goldenvortex

October 02, 2005

If you’re looking for a perfect “pick up and play” title then Kirby’s Dream Land will happily fill that role. It’s not rife with challenge nor is it the most complicated game you’re going to play but it sure is something that will pleasantly keep you entertained for over an hour or so. Kirby doesn’t push himself too hard to rival the old retro hotshots that we spent so much time with yesteryear but it still provides a fun and pleasant experience that is rather memorable. Don’t expect it to be anything relatively taxing or something that will have you hooked for hours on end. Expect a fun, simplistic and enjoyable romp that will happily suck up a few hours of your life, just make sure you don’t expect them to be blown back into your face.

I don’t know what Kirby is or what he’s meant to be. He looks like a circular marshmallow with wings crafted out of his gooey goodness. He looks funny, especially when he uses his elasticity to stretch his gob open to epic proportions. With one colossal deep breath, Kirby can inhale most things into his body. Food, rambling enemies and the pure fresh air are all subjected to his inhalation and each affect Kirby in different ways. Food will replenish any of Kirby’s lost health and pressing up will allow Kirby to inhale a huge amount of air, inflating him like a balloon. When he is in this form, he can fly for an unlimited period and spit out gusts of air to kill enemies. He can use his sucking skills to inhale enemies but cannot perform his trademark absorption move.

Kirby will trek through a small wood inhabited by arsonist elves and blowing trees. He’ll also scale through an enormous castle, float through the clouds and happily splash through a watery valley. Using his abnormal skills, Kirby will have to suck and blow his way through the dangerous world of Dream Land. Kirby can fly for an unlimited time to get past any troubles on the ground and his consumption of enemies allows him to shoot out a power star at the next foe. When it comes to bosses, Kirby will have to use this skill to crush all opposition. Most bosses throw out objects that can be consumed and regurgitated as weapons to bring the boss down to size. The giant tree boss drops apples at you, the two small dragons throw chests at you and King Dedede drops power stars every time he hits the ground. The blimp boss allows you to use Kirby’s fly ability permanently and requires you to spit out those air gusts to deflate her ambitions.

Kirby isn’t hard, nor is it amazingly long. In fact, the game is as soft and pleasant as its hero. It’ll appeal to the younger generation because of it’s cutesy appeal and small challenge. It’ll please old school retro gamers and platform fanatics because of its charm and durability. Kirby is a short game but it’s something you can “pick up and play” in an hour and then return to in a few days time and start from scratch. Few games can boast that appeal but Kirby’s Dream Land is something that fires up the platform appeal and refuses to go out. It’s a great title for road trips or if you have a few boring hours free that need to be spiced up.

Rating: 7/10

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