Kirby's Adventure (NES) review "Hal Laboratories and Nintendo manage to make one of their last-released NES games to be one of their greatest. It's actually not of much surprise, really, since Shigeru Miyamoto, the great mastermind behind the Mario and Zelda game series, had his hand in the making of Kirby's Adventure as well. The release of this game was sure to be a bang, regardless of its late 1993 release. "

Hal Laboratories and Nintendo manage to make one of their last-released NES games to be one of their greatest. It's actually not of much surprise, really, since Shigeru Miyamoto, the great mastermind behind the Mario and Zelda game series, had his hand in the making of Kirby's Adventure as well. The release of this game was sure to be a bang, regardless of its late 1993 release.

Fortunately, the game was as good a success as it should have ever been. Kirby, a little pink pudge-ball living far away in Dream Land, never knew what hit him when he woke up one day, only to realize that he, as well as all of the other inhabitants of the peaceful land, had not had any dreams at all. Usually, dreams flow from the land's Dream Spring, powered by the Star Rod, giving each and every inhabitants happy dreams with each sleep. But as Kirby ventured to the Dream Spring to see what was wrong, he realized that his evil nemesis, King Dedede, had maliciously stolen the symbolic rod and had given six of the pieces to his friends.

Kirby must set out to defend the dreams of the land and reclaim the Star Rod -- but how? One way he will accomplish this is by using his ability to fly in the air, as well as walk or run on the ground. But the second ability of Kirby's is the greatest -- to put it simply, he just plain sucks. Is that laughter I hear? I'm serious! Kirby has the ability to suck in and swallow enemies, as well as spit them out of his mouth at very fast speeds. But the best part of this is Kirby's ability to steal another character's weapon when swallowed. For instance, when Kirby sucks in and swallows an enemy that just runs back and forth with a sword as a weapon, Kirby will gain a sword weapon as well. Any power Kirby holds can be dropped to disappear at any time when Kirby is finished with it.

These powers, out of the many enemy powers you can steal, will help you get through the seven initial worlds of side-scrolling adventures. Upon completion, each level of each world will open up another piece of your map screen, eventually leading you to the boss of each world, where you should be getting another piece of the Star Rod. Along the way, you'll also be able to unlock bonus rounds where you can play simple little games to gain points or extra lives, games such as crane games where you must grab a toy from a whole slew of items by maneuvering a metallic crane into a position such as will grab the item you want.

As you visit great worlds all the while, you'll notice the great precision and delicacy used to render graphics and characters. Backgrounds like the islands of Ice Cream Island and the waters of Orange Ocean offer great variety in the choices of scenery, and great detail that was used to create this scenery. The characters are no worse. Not only are the characters greatly rendered, but the hit and detection between them is very precise also, as tight as the awesome control that the game provides. The bright and colorful areas will truly stun the eye.

Just as well, the bright and up-beat tunes will stun your ears. A lot of time must have been put into the soundtrack of Kirby's Adventure, because it is definitely among the best soundtracks to hit the NES. The songs are good enough to play alone, but when they mix perfectly with each world's scenery and mood, it only makes the game all the better. Sound effects had been paid no less attention, as they are very perfect and fitting, including Kirby's high-pitched vacuum sound he emits when sucking in air or an enemy.

Kirby's Adventure is great fun for all ages, especially including younger played, who will find themselves very entertained at Kirby's great abilities and antics. The game is extremely simple to complete, somewhat due to the fact that you can save up to three files on the cartridge's battery-backed save pack, and this easy challenge is more proof that Kirby may have been more directed towards younger or newer players. The game is just as much fun whether it be the first, second, or thirteenth time you're playing it. The thrill dies down so little, and even the secrets you can uncover will keep you running back for more.

This is what makes Kirby's Adventure so great. One of the most inventive characters to ever be discovered thrown in with great gameplay and one heck of a good time. The awesome graphics and music is just a bonus, and the tight control adds more to the mix. Also being one of the few NES games with a battery-backed save pack installed onto the cart, this game is quite a find for any gamer. Anyone who has not played this game is really missing out on a very fun experience.

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Story (6/10): Not the most inventive story there is, but it is suitable for the kiddie players.
Gameplay (10/10): Kirby's ability to swallow enemies puts the whole thunder in the game.
Control (9/10): Not much to say, but the control is very tight.
Graphics (10/10): The worlds are extremely colorful and everything is beautifully rendered.
Sound (10/10): The music is awesome, having great tunes, and fitting perfectly with the worlds.
Challenge (Easy): Partially due to a battery-backed save pack, Kirby's Adventure is very simple.
Thrill (10/10): Upon first playing the game, your adventure is very enjoyable.
Replay (9/10): Tough to get bored with Kirby's Adventure, even after a few plays.

Overall (10/10): Shigeru Miyamoto's game-making touch is apparent all over this game.

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Random thought of the review:
The character, Kirby, was named after the vacuum cleaner company of the same name. Now imagine if the pudge-ball was named ''Dirt Devil'' instead.

Community review by royalranger (Date unavailable) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.