Kirby's Dream Land (Gameboy/eShop Review) by Carl B.

Kirby's Dream Land
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: HAL Laboratory
System: Gameboy, 3DS eShop
Release: August 3, 1992

June 30, 2011, by Carl B. - On Auguest 3, 1992, Nintendo and developer HAL Laboratory released the very first Kirby title on Gameboy: Kirby's Dream Land. This simple platformer stars a grey puff ball named Kirby -- he didn't turn pink until later games in the series -- as he tries to return the food of Dream Land from the clutches of King Dedede. Nintendo re-released Kirby's Dream Land on the Nintendo 3DS eShop on June 30, 2011. Does Kirby's first ever adventure hold up to the more modern iterations?

For a Gameboy game, Kirby's Dream Land actually has some pretty nice visuals. Everything is in black and white, naturally, but the sprites and backgrounds are very detailed, especially compared to Super Mario Land. There are a variety of environments in Kirby's Dream Land, from the forests of Dream Land to levels in the clouds.

Kirby is able to walk, run, jump, swim, enhale, and float. Sucking in enemies and spitting them back out is Kirby's main method of combat. In later Kirby games, starting with Kirby's Adventure, enemy abilities can be absorbed when they're enhaled by Kirby, but sadly that isn't the case in this game -- Kirby just devours them. Kirby can also float for an infinite amount of time, making the game crazy easy since players can float over all enemies if they wish to. Deaths in Kirby's Dream Land are less forgiving than a Mario title, too. Kirby has a health meter of six slots, and he doesn't die until it's depleted.

Kirby's Dream Land took me only 30 minutes to beat, which isn't too shocking considering Kirby games are generally really easy. There are four main stages, followed by Dedede's castle where Kirby takes on the four main bosses again before he can challenge Dedede himself. Kirby's Dream Land, like Super Mario Land, doesn't support a save function, but save states can be created through the 3DS Virtual Console version.

The Verdict

Sound
8/15 - A nice soundtrack. Not as memorable as other Gameboy tunes.

Graphics
14/20 - One of the better looking black and white games.

Appeal
11/25 - Kirby's Dream Land is super short; I completed it in just half an hour. It's a lot of fun, but way too short.

Gameplay
27/40 - Dream Land is one of the easiest games on Gameboy. Kirby's iconic gameplay didn't really take off until the release of Kirby's Adventure.

Overall
60/100 - Kirby's Dream Land doesn't hold up very well compared to the more modern Kirby titles. It's a lot of fun, albeit very easy and very short. For $3.99 on the 3DS eShop, though, players can certainly do worse.