Have you ever been on a ride in a theme park that, at first, seems like a really fun time and you are having quite a wonderful time with it, but then you find it is suddenly over after what feels like a couple of seconds? That is pretty much how I would summarize what it is like playing the original Kirby’s Dream Land: it is fun enough for the time it lasts, but it is over before it really offers you anything majorly exciting or substantial, even if we are ignoring how dated it is compared to every other Kirby game that comes afterwards. Thankfully though, this series was able to bounce back with Kirby’s Adventure, which not only took the basics of what Kirby’s Dream Land had and expanded upon them, but also added new series staples like copy abilities, fun little minigames to play on the side, LOTS to do, and some wonderful visuals and music that makes it one of the best games that you could play on the NES. So, now that they had a proper formula on their hands that was also pretty successful, HAL Laboratory knew exactly where they needed to go from here, which you can see start to blossom with the release of Kirby’s Dream Land 2.
I don’t remember exactly when I played this particular installment of the series, but I do know it was after I had already played a good amount of the other games in the series. I was bored one day, was browsing around the Kirby’s Dream Collection, saw this as one of the games on there, so I figured I would try it out, and based on what I played, I thought it was pretty good at the time. Coming back to it after all this time, I would say that I still hold that opinion to this day, as it is a pretty solid entry in the series, and a great follow-up to the original Kirby’s Dream Land. It isn’t perfect by any means, having its own issues that do make some parts of the game unpreferable to me, but it manages to still be good ol’ classic Kirby fun all the way through, and that’s all I really care about.
The story is about what you would expect from a Kirby game, where in the magical world of Dream Land, King Dedede, seemingly being controlled by an unknown, supernatural force, steals all of the rainbow bridges that connect all of the Rainbow Islands to each other, all as part of his plan to take over the world, so it is up to Kirby to once again set out on a journey to stop King Dedede and find out what is really going on here, which is a simple enough premise that fans of the series could easily get behind, especially with what it all leads to towards the end of the game. The graphics are Game Boy graphics, looking almost identical to that of the original Kirby’s Dream Land, but there are plenty of additional pieces of animation, much more detailed characters and baddies, and personality to be seen here, so it does look better as a whole, the music is pretty good, with there being plenty of tracks, old and new, for fans to appreciate and enjoy, despite some issues with some themes that I will get into later, and the gameplay/control is pretty much exactly what you would expect, with the game taking both Kirby’s Dream Land and the best aspects of Kirby’s Adventure and mashing them together, making for a game that works pretty well in almost all areas, and one that both fans old and new would be able to have a great time with.
The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Kirby once again, go through seven different worlds throughout your journey, each containing their own set of levels for you to play through, run, jump, float, swallow, and spit your way through plenty of different obstacles and adorable foes, gather plenty of food items to heal yourself and/or give you temporary invincibility, along with plenty of copy abilities from enemies that you can wield throughout the stages, such as Cutter, Spark, Stone and Parasol, and take on plenty of bosses, both old and new, that can range from being extremely easy to pretty damn difficult……. ok, well, I would only say one of these bosses falls under that difficult banner, but still, it's there. Most could just view this game as a typical Kirby adventure with no bells and whistles, nothing more and nothing less, but it does still make for a solid adventure that you can easily enjoy from start to finish, especially for big Kirby fans like me, and there are several new additions to the game that do make it more interesting to play……. for better or worse.
Obviously, the biggest change that this game introduces, as can be seen by the cover of the game, is with the introduction of three animal buddies that Kirby can find throughout the entire game, consisting of Rick the Hamster, Coo the Owl, and Kine the Sunfish. Each one of them acts as a supporting unit for Kirby, allowing them to assist not just in progressing through levels and taking out enemies, but also as a means of getting through specific terrain, such as with Coo working really well in the air, and Kine doing wonders for underwater sections, as to be expected. Not only that, but they can also use copy abilities like Kirby can, making them even more versatile than ever before, and better to use in some cases. For example, when you are playing as Kirby and you are using the Cutter ability, he just throws the one standard blade, which does get the job done, but doesn’t allow for much range other than for what is directly in front of you. However, whenever you use Coo the Owl with the cutter ability, you are able to throw three sharp feathers at once, allowing you to take out plenty more enemies at a time, making them the much more preferable option.
So yeah, using these animal buddies can be very helpful, and they definitely make plenty of the sections in the game much more of a spring breeze than others………….. but, I don’t typically go out of my way to use them that much. That’s not because I think any of them are bad to use, not at all, but there is one thing that does irritate me about them, and that is the music. Each animal buddy has their own specific theme made for them, and whenever you are on one of these animal buddies, that theme will be playing CONSTANTLY while you remain attached to them, which does really suck, especially for someone who loves hearing the different kinds of music in these Kirby games. Thankfully though, that is only a very minor issue, and I can still rely on them for help on plenty of occasions, despite their themes getting drilled into my head every time.
Other than that though, the game pretty much just plays like your typical Kirby adventure. You run around, ya jump, you suck up enemies, you do a little dance at the end of levels, it’s all the basic shit you have seen before, with there not being too many grievances to get in the way of you having fun, aside from maybe an annoying level here or there. This could, again, make the game seem generic to those from an outside perspective, as well as those who are more used to later games in the series, but, for me at least, I think the reason this game works is that it is the best of both worlds for Kirby at this point. I imagine plenty of people back in the day would play the original Kirby’s Dream Land while on a road trip with family, in the back seat of the car with nothing else going on, but would probably be disappointed by how quickly it goes by, and how it doesn’t offer that much of a reason to revisit it. Thankfully though, with all of the different additions from Kirby’s Adventure, this makes the second game much more fun and meaty, giving plenty for the player to do on said long car trips, as well as plenty to experiment with in terms of the copy abilities and how they can be used, along with the secrets that you can find throughout the levels.
However, with all that being said, this game not only takes some of the best elements of Kirby’s Adventure as influence, but also some of its worst ones as well, as this game also has a problem when it comes to its length. While I wouldn’t say this game is as long as Kirby’s Adventure, it can still last for quite a while, way longer than what you would hope for from a Kirby title on the Game Boy, and while a lot of it is still pretty fun, you can definitely feel it start to drag at some point, and you are just waiting for it to be over. Not to mention, despite the fact that this game brings back the copy abilities from the last game, not only are several staple abilities missing from this game, like Sword and Beam, but they don’t introduce any new abilities in the game whatsoever, with the exception of the Rainbow Sword, but that can only be used for the final boss. I can kinda understand why these were left out, considering that some of the abilities we have here function almost in exactly the same way, but it does suck nontheless to see them ignored, as well as having no new ones to mess around with as well.
And finally, there is the aspect of getting 100% in this game… or at least, to get the best ending, because I didn’t bother going for all that other meaningless shit. In order to do this, you need to collect the Rainbow Drops, these mystical items that serve as the collectibles in this game, with there being only seven of them, one for each world. That in itself doesn’t sound too bad, and for getting some of these, it really isn’t, but MY GOD, getting some of these things requires you to do some of the mosts tedious and annoying shit I have ever seen from one of these early Kirby titles, and it does become a pain in the ass at these points.
For example, there is one Rainbow Drop that requires you to play through the level with Kine while having the Fire ability, while having you do very specific things in order to reach the room that the Rainbow Drop is in, including at one point losing the powerup to take care of one obstacle, and then immediately getting that powerup back before it disappears. Trust me, this is all easier said than done, especially with some ways you can accidently screw yourself over out of getting the shiny droplet in the first place. Thankfully though, this does all lead to the true final boss of the game, who is definitely the hardest of the bunch to fight. I remember struggling quite a bit with this guy, which did cause some frustrations, but hey, I can’t give anything but praise to a boss fight in a Kirby game that is actually challenging. Those are rare to come by.
Overall, despite some issues carrying over from Kirby’s Adventure, as well as how annoying the Rainbow Drops can be, this is a pretty solid sequel to Kirby’s Dream Land all around, and a really good game all on its own, with plenty of levels to go through, plenty of abilities to try out, lots of simple, yet fun challenges to overcome, and several bonus collectibles to go for for those that wanna go that extra mile. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big fans of the Kirby series, as well as those who were wanting even more out of the original Kirby’s Dream Land, because this game will manage to give you exactly what you needed, while still being a fun journey all the way through. Just, you know, try to hold back on the annoying-ass collectibles next time, alright?............. or at least, enough to where I won’t need to get all pissy about it.
Game #593
I don’t remember exactly when I played this particular installment of the series, but I do know it was after I had already played a good amount of the other games in the series. I was bored one day, was browsing around the Kirby’s Dream Collection, saw this as one of the games on there, so I figured I would try it out, and based on what I played, I thought it was pretty good at the time. Coming back to it after all this time, I would say that I still hold that opinion to this day, as it is a pretty solid entry in the series, and a great follow-up to the original Kirby’s Dream Land. It isn’t perfect by any means, having its own issues that do make some parts of the game unpreferable to me, but it manages to still be good ol’ classic Kirby fun all the way through, and that’s all I really care about.
The story is about what you would expect from a Kirby game, where in the magical world of Dream Land, King Dedede, seemingly being controlled by an unknown, supernatural force, steals all of the rainbow bridges that connect all of the Rainbow Islands to each other, all as part of his plan to take over the world, so it is up to Kirby to once again set out on a journey to stop King Dedede and find out what is really going on here, which is a simple enough premise that fans of the series could easily get behind, especially with what it all leads to towards the end of the game. The graphics are Game Boy graphics, looking almost identical to that of the original Kirby’s Dream Land, but there are plenty of additional pieces of animation, much more detailed characters and baddies, and personality to be seen here, so it does look better as a whole, the music is pretty good, with there being plenty of tracks, old and new, for fans to appreciate and enjoy, despite some issues with some themes that I will get into later, and the gameplay/control is pretty much exactly what you would expect, with the game taking both Kirby’s Dream Land and the best aspects of Kirby’s Adventure and mashing them together, making for a game that works pretty well in almost all areas, and one that both fans old and new would be able to have a great time with.
The game is a 2D platformer, where you take control of Kirby once again, go through seven different worlds throughout your journey, each containing their own set of levels for you to play through, run, jump, float, swallow, and spit your way through plenty of different obstacles and adorable foes, gather plenty of food items to heal yourself and/or give you temporary invincibility, along with plenty of copy abilities from enemies that you can wield throughout the stages, such as Cutter, Spark, Stone and Parasol, and take on plenty of bosses, both old and new, that can range from being extremely easy to pretty damn difficult……. ok, well, I would only say one of these bosses falls under that difficult banner, but still, it's there. Most could just view this game as a typical Kirby adventure with no bells and whistles, nothing more and nothing less, but it does still make for a solid adventure that you can easily enjoy from start to finish, especially for big Kirby fans like me, and there are several new additions to the game that do make it more interesting to play……. for better or worse.
Obviously, the biggest change that this game introduces, as can be seen by the cover of the game, is with the introduction of three animal buddies that Kirby can find throughout the entire game, consisting of Rick the Hamster, Coo the Owl, and Kine the Sunfish. Each one of them acts as a supporting unit for Kirby, allowing them to assist not just in progressing through levels and taking out enemies, but also as a means of getting through specific terrain, such as with Coo working really well in the air, and Kine doing wonders for underwater sections, as to be expected. Not only that, but they can also use copy abilities like Kirby can, making them even more versatile than ever before, and better to use in some cases. For example, when you are playing as Kirby and you are using the Cutter ability, he just throws the one standard blade, which does get the job done, but doesn’t allow for much range other than for what is directly in front of you. However, whenever you use Coo the Owl with the cutter ability, you are able to throw three sharp feathers at once, allowing you to take out plenty more enemies at a time, making them the much more preferable option.
So yeah, using these animal buddies can be very helpful, and they definitely make plenty of the sections in the game much more of a spring breeze than others………….. but, I don’t typically go out of my way to use them that much. That’s not because I think any of them are bad to use, not at all, but there is one thing that does irritate me about them, and that is the music. Each animal buddy has their own specific theme made for them, and whenever you are on one of these animal buddies, that theme will be playing CONSTANTLY while you remain attached to them, which does really suck, especially for someone who loves hearing the different kinds of music in these Kirby games. Thankfully though, that is only a very minor issue, and I can still rely on them for help on plenty of occasions, despite their themes getting drilled into my head every time.
Other than that though, the game pretty much just plays like your typical Kirby adventure. You run around, ya jump, you suck up enemies, you do a little dance at the end of levels, it’s all the basic shit you have seen before, with there not being too many grievances to get in the way of you having fun, aside from maybe an annoying level here or there. This could, again, make the game seem generic to those from an outside perspective, as well as those who are more used to later games in the series, but, for me at least, I think the reason this game works is that it is the best of both worlds for Kirby at this point. I imagine plenty of people back in the day would play the original Kirby’s Dream Land while on a road trip with family, in the back seat of the car with nothing else going on, but would probably be disappointed by how quickly it goes by, and how it doesn’t offer that much of a reason to revisit it. Thankfully though, with all of the different additions from Kirby’s Adventure, this makes the second game much more fun and meaty, giving plenty for the player to do on said long car trips, as well as plenty to experiment with in terms of the copy abilities and how they can be used, along with the secrets that you can find throughout the levels.
However, with all that being said, this game not only takes some of the best elements of Kirby’s Adventure as influence, but also some of its worst ones as well, as this game also has a problem when it comes to its length. While I wouldn’t say this game is as long as Kirby’s Adventure, it can still last for quite a while, way longer than what you would hope for from a Kirby title on the Game Boy, and while a lot of it is still pretty fun, you can definitely feel it start to drag at some point, and you are just waiting for it to be over. Not to mention, despite the fact that this game brings back the copy abilities from the last game, not only are several staple abilities missing from this game, like Sword and Beam, but they don’t introduce any new abilities in the game whatsoever, with the exception of the Rainbow Sword, but that can only be used for the final boss. I can kinda understand why these were left out, considering that some of the abilities we have here function almost in exactly the same way, but it does suck nontheless to see them ignored, as well as having no new ones to mess around with as well.
And finally, there is the aspect of getting 100% in this game… or at least, to get the best ending, because I didn’t bother going for all that other meaningless shit. In order to do this, you need to collect the Rainbow Drops, these mystical items that serve as the collectibles in this game, with there being only seven of them, one for each world. That in itself doesn’t sound too bad, and for getting some of these, it really isn’t, but MY GOD, getting some of these things requires you to do some of the mosts tedious and annoying shit I have ever seen from one of these early Kirby titles, and it does become a pain in the ass at these points.
For example, there is one Rainbow Drop that requires you to play through the level with Kine while having the Fire ability, while having you do very specific things in order to reach the room that the Rainbow Drop is in, including at one point losing the powerup to take care of one obstacle, and then immediately getting that powerup back before it disappears. Trust me, this is all easier said than done, especially with some ways you can accidently screw yourself over out of getting the shiny droplet in the first place. Thankfully though, this does all lead to the true final boss of the game, who is definitely the hardest of the bunch to fight. I remember struggling quite a bit with this guy, which did cause some frustrations, but hey, I can’t give anything but praise to a boss fight in a Kirby game that is actually challenging. Those are rare to come by.
Overall, despite some issues carrying over from Kirby’s Adventure, as well as how annoying the Rainbow Drops can be, this is a pretty solid sequel to Kirby’s Dream Land all around, and a really good game all on its own, with plenty of levels to go through, plenty of abilities to try out, lots of simple, yet fun challenges to overcome, and several bonus collectibles to go for for those that wanna go that extra mile. I would definitely recommend it for those who are big fans of the Kirby series, as well as those who were wanting even more out of the original Kirby’s Dream Land, because this game will manage to give you exactly what you needed, while still being a fun journey all the way through. Just, you know, try to hold back on the annoying-ass collectibles next time, alright?............. or at least, enough to where I won’t need to get all pissy about it.
Game #593
I played this game over and over and over on car rides. I loved the animal friends so much, and compared to Dream Land 1 this felt so much bigger and more involved. Copy powers were fun as hell, and the music still warms my heart
Pretty good, but the later levels become trial and error, and not because they're actually hard. The animals are kinda cool, but the only thing I needed was the owl with the flame ability, fuck that hamster and fish.
Though I do like this more than Adventure, I still think Dream Land 1 is still my favourite of the Kirbys games so far, and i'm not so sure Kirby's Pinball Land will change my mind.
Though I do like this more than Adventure, I still think Dream Land 1 is still my favourite of the Kirbys games so far, and i'm not so sure Kirby's Pinball Land will change my mind.
This game was really short but kind of a let down. The controls didn’t feel great, with there being no way to run. This made it a bit frustrating when I would die in a way that would have been avoidable if I had a small burst of speed to move.
The level design was fine, but some of the later levels felt a bit strange and almost a bit unfair in their layouts. The 3 animal friends were a nice change of pace, with each one having its own pros and cons (I think the owl might be the best one of the 3). The boss fights were pretty easy for the most part, but the final boss seemed to be a sharp incline in difficulty from everything else.
The level design was fine, but some of the later levels felt a bit strange and almost a bit unfair in their layouts. The 3 animal friends were a nice change of pace, with each one having its own pros and cons (I think the owl might be the best one of the 3). The boss fights were pretty easy for the most part, but the final boss seemed to be a sharp incline in difficulty from everything else.
This review contains spoilers
You're telling me this guy has at least TWO dream lands?! That's more than one.
The Game Boy sequel to Kirby's Dream Land! This is the first Kirby game of the Dark Matter Trilogy, which consists of Dream Land 2, Dream Land 3 and 64: The Crystal Shards! How has this game held up as a title of the Game Boy library?
This games story takes place within the Rainbow Islands, which contains seven worlds total! An upgrade in terms of content already as the first game only had five levels! While they were all unique, it's nice to have more content in this sequel. Unfortunately an evil force known as Dark Matter ends up stealing the rainbow bridges that connect these isles together and once again Kirby has to save the day. Simple plot in concept but it works well at setting things up!
While we're still on the topic of the story I shall bring up one of the encyclopedias! Where it explains that "Dark Matter is a very lonely person. So when he saw Dream Land, a place where everyone is friends, he became jealous." which resulted in him attacking the Rainbow Islands out of jealously. While this was never stated in-game, it's something I think is an extra neat detail! Knowing more about the motives of a villain is always nice after all!
Now onto the gameplay itself! Which overall is quite similar to the first, at least from a first glance at it. Understandable as it is it's sequel, however now copy abilities debut on the Gameboy! A total of seven entering the fray! (8 if you count the Rainbow Sword). All of these seven abilities returning from Kirby's Adventure: Burning being a simple flame burst forward, Cutter sending a boomerang out in front of you, Ice letting a cold-breath out of your mouth, Needle stabbing out with a thorny jab, Parasol being certainly...a parasol! Letting you fall down slow but gracefully, Spark sending out electricity from your body and lastly Stone, turning you into a stone! Who could've ever guessed that?! Even before what comes up next, already a decent line-up of abilties to use during your journey!
However it doesn't technically end there as aiding Kirby on his quest, we have the introduction of the animal friends! Rick a hamster of the ground, Coo an owl of the skies and Kine a fish of the sea! All of which pair up with the copy abilites to create combined attacks! Such as Coo and Parasol making you spin around in mid-air or Rick and Spark quite frankly just making the beam ability from other games in the series. I think this was a pretty decent idea to increase the replayability of the game! Trying out combos to see how they work out is a fun experience! And while I could list off every single combination, it's probably for the best you figure that out yourself elsewhere, this is a review not a wiki, even if I probably go a bit too in-detail! >:0
Also returning from Kirby's Dream Land (and Adventure) are the intro cards! While this addition wasn't a necessity for the game to be good, it absolutely adds onto the charm factor that I mentioned in Dream Land's review. While I don't want to repeat everything I said there again, I may as well give an example of the scenarios within these intro cards, such as in World 1's Grass Land where Kirby with the parasol ability and Rick run into eachother before Kirby hops onto Rick resulting in Rick ending up bouncing him on top of the parasol! A nice tutorial explaining a bit about how the combination feature of this game works! I personally like when a game tells you unconsiously how things will end up working, it's rather clever game design I believe. But enough about these silly intro cards, what of the levels themselves?!
This time around we have a mini world map, where Kirby (and the animal friend you have with you) ride on a warp star from island to island, entering an island brings you to a level-styled world map! Where you can walk around and enter doors, this having returned from Kirby's Adventure (A lot of things have returned from there huh). But onto the levels themselves, they're okay! Honestly not much to bring up about it, they do their job and aren't typically too annoying...however this game introduces a collectible, the Rainbow Drops. Collectibles hidden in one stage per world being unlocked by a certain combination ability breaking some blocks, most of the time they end up being at worst simply replaying the level with what you need, but without outside research in what combination you need to collect them it doesn't work very well. The blocks do have a unique pattern for what combination you need but are you really going to memorise them all?
This gets to its absolute worst inside of World 6's Cloudy Park within 6-2. Which requires you to spend time switching between all the animal friends and abilities found through the three mini-bosses located in different not exactly obvious areas of the level. This result in a total of four combinations needed to fully obtain this specific rainbow drop. If you don't know what you're meant to do here, it just doesn't feel fun and feels far too cryptic to me. Thankfully it's over once you grab the rainbow drop and complete the level, but it's still my least favourite part of this entire game.
That aside, we move onto the bosses of the game! With eight of them in total! Starting with Whispy Woods with swirly glasses and a mask on! ...until you knock them off anyway. The fight going similar to how it has before in the first game but with some new attacks like the sharp roots he pokes out at you! Fight still ends very quickly though as it is the first in the game. The next world following up with Nruff and Nelly! Which actually reminds me of Lololo and Lalala's fight from the first game, both fights have platforms and you need to spit out an enemy or object to attack the boss, it's a neat parallel. Up next is Sweet Stuff, a fight taking place underwater in an auto-scroller! Kine definitely coming in handy in this fight for their water centered movement, thankfully the auto-scroll isn't really a nuisance and only really adds to the fight. Then we have Ice Dragon where you either attack by inhaling and spitting out the icicles that fall from the ceiling or just using whatever ability you have on you.
Half way through all eight we have Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright! Where the sun and moon take turns fighting you, however the one in the background still ends up throwing out some attacks! The difficulty starts to wrack up at this point onward. Up next is the return of Kracko! Who has two phases, starting off by alternating between moving inside the clouds and flying in the air as a Kracko Jr., once defeated Kracko themselves form and the fight continues from there. I found this fight a bit easier in Dream Land 2 but that's probably explained by the copy abilities now being present, which definitely help in the fight.
Before we get into the final two bosses of the game, I shall bring up the bonus chance! Once you defeat a boss you're able to play a mini-game where you have to collect mini-stars! How you actually do so depending on what boss you're taking on, it's a pretty cool idea! For 100% completion, you need to do all six of them from all previous bosses mentioned without taking damage and collecting all of the mini-stars! It's a fun challenge and adds a bit of extra side content in there, which is always nice.
But back on track with the bosses themselves, we finally reach the final world of the game: Dark Castle. Where Kirby once at the final level of the world, once more comes into a fight against King Dedede! Who is sound asleep the entire fight, what a sleepy head! He has some new attacks this time too! Such as him throwing his hammer in the air before it randomly explodes. Shows what's changed a bit since their first encounter in the first game, even if just a little bit. Once the king falls once again...it cues the credits! With Kirby and his animal friends taking a rainy trip home, before the words "THE END?" are displayed, giving you an omninous feeling. Did you truly win? This is what ends up happening if you don't end up collecting all the rainbow drops I mentioned earlier! And is basically the bad ending of the game.
But if you do end up collecting them all, they all combine together to form the rainbow sword! Before an eldtrich beast arises from King Dedede as the two of you fly into space for one last clash! Which starts off with the two flying up into the atmosphere as Kirby uses the newly accquired rainbow sword ability to fight against the Dark Matter Swordsman! Sword against Sword! By dodging his projectiles and movements eventually his life bar hits zero. As they explode as they enter their second form of a black orb with other orbs surronding it, with one single eye in the middle. From this point onward the fight goes down! Quite literally, as the two begin to fall back down to the ground, making the fight have a time limit! Things get intense for a moment but before you know it, Dark Matter is vanquished. As the credits begin to play, all the animal friends watching from afar as a cutscene of Kirby flying down with the rainbow sword in hand plays as he takes his descent back to his home planet. The day now saved as using the rainbow sword Kirby makes a rainbow across the horizon as the game reaches it's true conclusion.
And that ends the first game of the Dark Matter triolgy! With the day saved once more the game is basically done. Outside of 100% completion unlocking the sound test containing the original soundtrack and a boss endurance among the ability to play all bonus chances in one sequence, that's really all! And with the game complete from there on, this ends my review on the game! While this game absolutely has it's flaws and has some aspects that haven't exactly aged well, I enjoyed my time with this game! Beating out Dream Land (1) by good bit, feeling like a proper expansion of what started there. An absolute upgrade to the first, which is the goal of any sequel really. A game I would recommend! ...just please use a guide if you're going for the rainbow drops, which are a bit of a pain to collect otherwise.
Oh and also Kirby does a wink when he crouches in this game, amazing.
The Game Boy sequel to Kirby's Dream Land! This is the first Kirby game of the Dark Matter Trilogy, which consists of Dream Land 2, Dream Land 3 and 64: The Crystal Shards! How has this game held up as a title of the Game Boy library?
This games story takes place within the Rainbow Islands, which contains seven worlds total! An upgrade in terms of content already as the first game only had five levels! While they were all unique, it's nice to have more content in this sequel. Unfortunately an evil force known as Dark Matter ends up stealing the rainbow bridges that connect these isles together and once again Kirby has to save the day. Simple plot in concept but it works well at setting things up!
While we're still on the topic of the story I shall bring up one of the encyclopedias! Where it explains that "Dark Matter is a very lonely person. So when he saw Dream Land, a place where everyone is friends, he became jealous." which resulted in him attacking the Rainbow Islands out of jealously. While this was never stated in-game, it's something I think is an extra neat detail! Knowing more about the motives of a villain is always nice after all!
Now onto the gameplay itself! Which overall is quite similar to the first, at least from a first glance at it. Understandable as it is it's sequel, however now copy abilities debut on the Gameboy! A total of seven entering the fray! (8 if you count the Rainbow Sword). All of these seven abilities returning from Kirby's Adventure: Burning being a simple flame burst forward, Cutter sending a boomerang out in front of you, Ice letting a cold-breath out of your mouth, Needle stabbing out with a thorny jab, Parasol being certainly...a parasol! Letting you fall down slow but gracefully, Spark sending out electricity from your body and lastly Stone, turning you into a stone! Who could've ever guessed that?! Even before what comes up next, already a decent line-up of abilties to use during your journey!
However it doesn't technically end there as aiding Kirby on his quest, we have the introduction of the animal friends! Rick a hamster of the ground, Coo an owl of the skies and Kine a fish of the sea! All of which pair up with the copy abilites to create combined attacks! Such as Coo and Parasol making you spin around in mid-air or Rick and Spark quite frankly just making the beam ability from other games in the series. I think this was a pretty decent idea to increase the replayability of the game! Trying out combos to see how they work out is a fun experience! And while I could list off every single combination, it's probably for the best you figure that out yourself elsewhere, this is a review not a wiki, even if I probably go a bit too in-detail! >:0
Also returning from Kirby's Dream Land (and Adventure) are the intro cards! While this addition wasn't a necessity for the game to be good, it absolutely adds onto the charm factor that I mentioned in Dream Land's review. While I don't want to repeat everything I said there again, I may as well give an example of the scenarios within these intro cards, such as in World 1's Grass Land where Kirby with the parasol ability and Rick run into eachother before Kirby hops onto Rick resulting in Rick ending up bouncing him on top of the parasol! A nice tutorial explaining a bit about how the combination feature of this game works! I personally like when a game tells you unconsiously how things will end up working, it's rather clever game design I believe. But enough about these silly intro cards, what of the levels themselves?!
This time around we have a mini world map, where Kirby (and the animal friend you have with you) ride on a warp star from island to island, entering an island brings you to a level-styled world map! Where you can walk around and enter doors, this having returned from Kirby's Adventure (A lot of things have returned from there huh). But onto the levels themselves, they're okay! Honestly not much to bring up about it, they do their job and aren't typically too annoying...however this game introduces a collectible, the Rainbow Drops. Collectibles hidden in one stage per world being unlocked by a certain combination ability breaking some blocks, most of the time they end up being at worst simply replaying the level with what you need, but without outside research in what combination you need to collect them it doesn't work very well. The blocks do have a unique pattern for what combination you need but are you really going to memorise them all?
This gets to its absolute worst inside of World 6's Cloudy Park within 6-2. Which requires you to spend time switching between all the animal friends and abilities found through the three mini-bosses located in different not exactly obvious areas of the level. This result in a total of four combinations needed to fully obtain this specific rainbow drop. If you don't know what you're meant to do here, it just doesn't feel fun and feels far too cryptic to me. Thankfully it's over once you grab the rainbow drop and complete the level, but it's still my least favourite part of this entire game.
That aside, we move onto the bosses of the game! With eight of them in total! Starting with Whispy Woods with swirly glasses and a mask on! ...until you knock them off anyway. The fight going similar to how it has before in the first game but with some new attacks like the sharp roots he pokes out at you! Fight still ends very quickly though as it is the first in the game. The next world following up with Nruff and Nelly! Which actually reminds me of Lololo and Lalala's fight from the first game, both fights have platforms and you need to spit out an enemy or object to attack the boss, it's a neat parallel. Up next is Sweet Stuff, a fight taking place underwater in an auto-scroller! Kine definitely coming in handy in this fight for their water centered movement, thankfully the auto-scroll isn't really a nuisance and only really adds to the fight. Then we have Ice Dragon where you either attack by inhaling and spitting out the icicles that fall from the ceiling or just using whatever ability you have on you.
Half way through all eight we have Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright! Where the sun and moon take turns fighting you, however the one in the background still ends up throwing out some attacks! The difficulty starts to wrack up at this point onward. Up next is the return of Kracko! Who has two phases, starting off by alternating between moving inside the clouds and flying in the air as a Kracko Jr., once defeated Kracko themselves form and the fight continues from there. I found this fight a bit easier in Dream Land 2 but that's probably explained by the copy abilities now being present, which definitely help in the fight.
Before we get into the final two bosses of the game, I shall bring up the bonus chance! Once you defeat a boss you're able to play a mini-game where you have to collect mini-stars! How you actually do so depending on what boss you're taking on, it's a pretty cool idea! For 100% completion, you need to do all six of them from all previous bosses mentioned without taking damage and collecting all of the mini-stars! It's a fun challenge and adds a bit of extra side content in there, which is always nice.
But back on track with the bosses themselves, we finally reach the final world of the game: Dark Castle. Where Kirby once at the final level of the world, once more comes into a fight against King Dedede! Who is sound asleep the entire fight, what a sleepy head! He has some new attacks this time too! Such as him throwing his hammer in the air before it randomly explodes. Shows what's changed a bit since their first encounter in the first game, even if just a little bit. Once the king falls once again...it cues the credits! With Kirby and his animal friends taking a rainy trip home, before the words "THE END?" are displayed, giving you an omninous feeling. Did you truly win? This is what ends up happening if you don't end up collecting all the rainbow drops I mentioned earlier! And is basically the bad ending of the game.
But if you do end up collecting them all, they all combine together to form the rainbow sword! Before an eldtrich beast arises from King Dedede as the two of you fly into space for one last clash! Which starts off with the two flying up into the atmosphere as Kirby uses the newly accquired rainbow sword ability to fight against the Dark Matter Swordsman! Sword against Sword! By dodging his projectiles and movements eventually his life bar hits zero. As they explode as they enter their second form of a black orb with other orbs surronding it, with one single eye in the middle. From this point onward the fight goes down! Quite literally, as the two begin to fall back down to the ground, making the fight have a time limit! Things get intense for a moment but before you know it, Dark Matter is vanquished. As the credits begin to play, all the animal friends watching from afar as a cutscene of Kirby flying down with the rainbow sword in hand plays as he takes his descent back to his home planet. The day now saved as using the rainbow sword Kirby makes a rainbow across the horizon as the game reaches it's true conclusion.
And that ends the first game of the Dark Matter triolgy! With the day saved once more the game is basically done. Outside of 100% completion unlocking the sound test containing the original soundtrack and a boss endurance among the ability to play all bonus chances in one sequence, that's really all! And with the game complete from there on, this ends my review on the game! While this game absolutely has it's flaws and has some aspects that haven't exactly aged well, I enjoyed my time with this game! Beating out Dream Land (1) by good bit, feeling like a proper expansion of what started there. An absolute upgrade to the first, which is the goal of any sequel really. A game I would recommend! ...just please use a guide if you're going for the rainbow drops, which are a bit of a pain to collect otherwise.
Oh and also Kirby does a wink when he crouches in this game, amazing.
Frens
Kirby's Dream Land 2 feels like an alternate universe of what Kirby's Adventure is, taking a direction of a more crayon/drawing inspired world rather than the cartoon/anime inspired world of Kirby's Adventure.
Coming back to the gameboy, KDL2 takes the idea of copy abilities from it's console counterpart KA but gives it it's own unique spin. In the wake of having much less abilities than KA, we have the introduction of Kirby's animal buddies which kind of act like a Super Mario powerup. The key difference here is that that copy abilities Kirby gets are now modified with the animal buddy you have equipped. e.g. if you have the hamster buddy and the spark ability, it turns the ability into a fusion of spark and beam from KA. This is a really cool idea, and mixing and matching powers with animal buddies to see what you get is fun. But at the end of the day, I still prefer to pick and choose exactly what copy ability I want, rather than having to find the right animal buddy to get it.
The game is still so much fun just like it's previous counterparts, however I felt somehow the level design wasn't as strong. Like it was designed by a more inexperienced team (maybe this is the case). Especially towards the end where there were some buillshit sections. Even some of the bosses are the weakest in the series so far. To be fair though, for a Kirby game it was pretty challenging, but not for the best reasons.
Cool ideas held back by some questionable level design decisions and bossfights. I feel like this is the only Kirby game I've played so far that I've still enjoyed, but don't feel the need to ever replay it.
Coming back to the gameboy, KDL2 takes the idea of copy abilities from it's console counterpart KA but gives it it's own unique spin. In the wake of having much less abilities than KA, we have the introduction of Kirby's animal buddies which kind of act like a Super Mario powerup. The key difference here is that that copy abilities Kirby gets are now modified with the animal buddy you have equipped. e.g. if you have the hamster buddy and the spark ability, it turns the ability into a fusion of spark and beam from KA. This is a really cool idea, and mixing and matching powers with animal buddies to see what you get is fun. But at the end of the day, I still prefer to pick and choose exactly what copy ability I want, rather than having to find the right animal buddy to get it.
The game is still so much fun just like it's previous counterparts, however I felt somehow the level design wasn't as strong. Like it was designed by a more inexperienced team (maybe this is the case). Especially towards the end where there were some buillshit sections. Even some of the bosses are the weakest in the series so far. To be fair though, for a Kirby game it was pretty challenging, but not for the best reasons.
Cool ideas held back by some questionable level design decisions and bossfights. I feel like this is the only Kirby game I've played so far that I've still enjoyed, but don't feel the need to ever replay it.
That level with dead ends is quite the unexpected surprise! Keep it expected next time 🗣️ 🗣️ that fish mad chill tho I didn't know he was chill like that damn 🚬 and there's Coo who... honestly he cheesed the game for me, him and the cutter ability? Damn we are witnessing a genocide my friends. Then, we have Rick... yeah big hamster, pet hamsters can die if you fart too loud so this one was doomed from the beginning. Still that makes 28 unique moves for Kirby, we are truly gaming. I still know how to count, too. Is it really the "power" of friendship if you're limiting your movements ? No, no... think of waiting with your friends at the bus stop to keep them company. I am flabbergasted by this star shit though wtf is this shit? They're still here until Kirby 64? It feels like Mandela effect that I never knew about Kirby thinking he's Mario without shame.
This is more fitting as baby's first platformer compared to Dream Land and Adventure, you're not an useless pack of meat when you float for starters! And yeah it's a spring breeze. Get your acquaintances hooked on Kirby with this one simple trick (they won't)! Playing the DL2 DX pack, this is as beautiful as it gets! But do not forget my brother in christ, the fog is coming. When you get the ending and the game would rather credit its critters before its developers, thats the typa shit that tells you something malicious is brewing. That Dark Matter fella is sweet stuff compared to DL3 and 64, still you'll have to "avada kedavra!!" his ass like your star rod is a semi-auto.
With all this commotion, did you notice this game lacked the invincibility candy? I want to complain even if I didnt notice it. Grrrrrrr!! Well I tried. Why complain about things that actually need complaining? Give that man a [TRUE...]! Will the homies hop on Dream Land 2 if they knew it was peak and had soul? This makes excellent bait for the average Backloggdian. Unfortunately, the level design seems to have suffered from having to compete with Dream Land. It's in the dictionary next to the definition of "short term memory loss". But it doesn't mean they're not fun! (except the aforementioned dead ends segment) because, see, it's got a good rating here. My stamp of approval should tell you enough, too bad I'm mentally unwell and cannot be trusted as such.
This is more fitting as baby's first platformer compared to Dream Land and Adventure, you're not an useless pack of meat when you float for starters! And yeah it's a spring breeze. Get your acquaintances hooked on Kirby with this one simple trick (they won't)! Playing the DL2 DX pack, this is as beautiful as it gets! But do not forget my brother in christ, the fog is coming. When you get the ending and the game would rather credit its critters before its developers, thats the typa shit that tells you something malicious is brewing. That Dark Matter fella is sweet stuff compared to DL3 and 64, still you'll have to "avada kedavra!!" his ass like your star rod is a semi-auto.
With all this commotion, did you notice this game lacked the invincibility candy? I want to complain even if I didnt notice it. Grrrrrrr!! Well I tried. Why complain about things that actually need complaining? Give that man a [TRUE...]! Will the homies hop on Dream Land 2 if they knew it was peak and had soul? This makes excellent bait for the average Backloggdian. Unfortunately, the level design seems to have suffered from having to compete with Dream Land. It's in the dictionary next to the definition of "short term memory loss". But it doesn't mean they're not fun! (except the aforementioned dead ends segment) because, see, it's got a good rating here. My stamp of approval should tell you enough, too bad I'm mentally unwell and cannot be trusted as such.
- Poyo? -
Uy, esperaba algo distinto de este y resultó ser practicamente el mismo juego que el 3 solo que sin el arte tan lindo que tiene.
Los controles si están mucho mejor pero esta practicamente igual y con el mismo error aburrido de juntar las piezas para pelear vs el Boss final xd
Uy, esperaba algo distinto de este y resultó ser practicamente el mismo juego que el 3 solo que sin el arte tan lindo que tiene.
Los controles si están mucho mejor pero esta practicamente igual y con el mismo error aburrido de juntar las piezas para pelear vs el Boss final xd
This review contains spoilers
Dream Land 2 es braindead como la mayoria de los Kirby, entretenido eso si el final boss es god
This game is a lot of fun! With the help of his animal friends Rick, Kine and Coo, Kirby will have to make his way through the regions of Dream Land to reach Mt. Dedede and fight the king, possessed by a dark force.
Recommended even for a novice to the series!
Recommended even for a novice to the series!
I think it's a genuinely really well designed Kirby with the exception of some late game levels that are literally "choose a path! Oops, wrong one, you're dead!". Fortunately levels are pretty short so those moments don't sting quite as bad when they happen, but they still probably should have not done that! Despite that, I do have a soft spot for this one as it's the first Kirby game I ever played. I love the animal buddies, the various twists on abilities that they have are lots of fun to experiment with and they're just really pleasant guys to have around, I'm glad modern day Kirby has been embracing them more and more. I'd love to see some of the unique enemies from here pop up again, some of the minibosses are a lot of fun and unfortunately have been entirely lost to time.
Dated and difficult. Really seemed like an in-between for the dev team, they had the ideas but weren't able to put everything in motion, yet. DL2 is short when you know what you're getting yourself into but can be quite rage-inducing. The final boss was very unique for the time frame of this game and the audience Kirby caters to.
This review contains spoilers
For personal reference more than anything else.
First time playing through this game. Finished after fighting King Dedede. Played on the Switch through Nintendo Switch Online. Got 76%.
It's been just under two months since I played a Kirby game and I also wanted to start playing more games when I need to kill some time for short periods and this seemed like a good choice. But unfortunately it didn't really work out. I didn't like this game, I think it was a mixture of things but the main thing is just how it feels like a less interesting version than either of the first two games, it is so dull for the longest time because its piss easy until the last two worlds and anything new it tries doesn't really work for me. Sure, its like the first two games which I enjoyed, but despite their issues they felt like that had something to keep me engaged or was worth sticking around/playing through the not so good stuff for.
All the levels feel the same except for the auto-scroller ones that just suck (except for the one where you have to go upwards, I didn't mind that one). The music feels the same. The animals don't feel like they provide enough of a different play style to justify their existence and in multiple cases I found myself ignoring them or immediately disposing of them because the little change they did bring was kind of annoying outside of when the game called for it. I will say though, I thought the hamster was cute.
The game feels like it finally adds a bit of a challenge in the sixth world which was the only one I felt even remotely positive on, as I noticed that the levels were actually requiring me to think (even if it was just a little bit) and not just play completely mindlessly. Of course this is a kids game, so really, it should be on the easier side, but the first two games are also for children and they provide more of a challenge than this one (kinda noticing a pattern forming after this and Dead Rising where I complain about the difficulty being too high in one game just for the next one to go too far in the opposite direction, I'd like to think that its because these games just can't find a healthy medium but maybe I'm just being a hypocrite). Another thing I didn't like was the length of the game, I think it was somewhere between Dreamland 1 and Adventure but it felt like the one that overstayed its welcome the most. I really don't think this game needed to be this long, it repeats itself constantly, from what I saw 3 different mini-bosses get used 3 different times each and the game even does the same thing Halo CE went on to do where you do a level you've already done backwards.
As for the ending, I was a little taken aback when the game sent me to the title screen after the fight with Dedede, despite the game hinting at another fight and so I looked it up. Turns out I hadn't unlocked it yet, as not only did I not collect any Rainbow Drops, I had no clue that they were a thing outside of maybe seeing one towards the end of the game. I could probably do it but I just don't want to, I hadn't really liked any boss fight in this game outside of the first phase with the cloud eyeball boss and the way I see it, I got an ending so I don't really care all that much.
So yeah, didn't particularly like the game.
First time playing through this game. Finished after fighting King Dedede. Played on the Switch through Nintendo Switch Online. Got 76%.
It's been just under two months since I played a Kirby game and I also wanted to start playing more games when I need to kill some time for short periods and this seemed like a good choice. But unfortunately it didn't really work out. I didn't like this game, I think it was a mixture of things but the main thing is just how it feels like a less interesting version than either of the first two games, it is so dull for the longest time because its piss easy until the last two worlds and anything new it tries doesn't really work for me. Sure, its like the first two games which I enjoyed, but despite their issues they felt like that had something to keep me engaged or was worth sticking around/playing through the not so good stuff for.
All the levels feel the same except for the auto-scroller ones that just suck (except for the one where you have to go upwards, I didn't mind that one). The music feels the same. The animals don't feel like they provide enough of a different play style to justify their existence and in multiple cases I found myself ignoring them or immediately disposing of them because the little change they did bring was kind of annoying outside of when the game called for it. I will say though, I thought the hamster was cute.
The game feels like it finally adds a bit of a challenge in the sixth world which was the only one I felt even remotely positive on, as I noticed that the levels were actually requiring me to think (even if it was just a little bit) and not just play completely mindlessly. Of course this is a kids game, so really, it should be on the easier side, but the first two games are also for children and they provide more of a challenge than this one (kinda noticing a pattern forming after this and Dead Rising where I complain about the difficulty being too high in one game just for the next one to go too far in the opposite direction, I'd like to think that its because these games just can't find a healthy medium but maybe I'm just being a hypocrite). Another thing I didn't like was the length of the game, I think it was somewhere between Dreamland 1 and Adventure but it felt like the one that overstayed its welcome the most. I really don't think this game needed to be this long, it repeats itself constantly, from what I saw 3 different mini-bosses get used 3 different times each and the game even does the same thing Halo CE went on to do where you do a level you've already done backwards.
As for the ending, I was a little taken aback when the game sent me to the title screen after the fight with Dedede, despite the game hinting at another fight and so I looked it up. Turns out I hadn't unlocked it yet, as not only did I not collect any Rainbow Drops, I had no clue that they were a thing outside of maybe seeing one towards the end of the game. I could probably do it but I just don't want to, I hadn't really liked any boss fight in this game outside of the first phase with the cloud eyeball boss and the way I see it, I got an ending so I don't really care all that much.
So yeah, didn't particularly like the game.
Mf thinks life is all sunshine and rainbows
Despite my fondness for the Kirby series and the pink ball’s equally adorable friends, it’s kind of surprising how I haven’t played many of this cute eldritch horror’s older adventures. Case and point, it was only relatively recently that I finally played Kirby’s Dream Land, and while it was certainly a simple and fun enough adventure —and a necessary stepping stone all things considered—, it didn’t quite click with me the same it does for others. It has its moments and highlights, like the shoot ‘em up boss fight, and as a short, easy-to-access platformer, it does a good job, but I find it reaaaaally hard to get invested in its not-so great levels, and Adventure’s existence and how fun and complete that game feels while also accomplishing everything Dream Land does doesn’t exactly help things.
All this to say I had no clue what to expect from the sequel; I knew I had to play this, this is the first outing in Shinichi Shimomura’s less action oriented take on Kirby compared with what Sakurai would end up pursuing in Super Star and that fact alone made it far more interesting, and I also knew some other things here and there, like the fact it features copy abilities and what-not, but overall… Yeah, I didn’t know much about aside from ‘’this is the direct continuation to Dream Land’’. I wasn’t expecting anything bad, hell, I don’t even consider the original game a bad work at all, but I would lie if I said I had high expectations going in…
… so what if I told you I kinda really jammed with this game?
I… Wow, if we see this and the two previous games and some sort of original trilogy, then the evolution is clear as day; as I said, I knew this game lifted some elements from Adventure like the copy abilities, but I never expected to see so many translated so well to the charming brick that is the Game Boy. Levels once again have the adorable introductory cutscenes, but instead of being limited to one-stage run-throughs, there are actual defined hub-worlds, and while there’s less optional stuff than in Adventure (by less, I mean none), the hub areas themselves feel much more compacted and representative of the world they are set in, and it’s hard to describe how, but these areas and the game as a whole manage to feel very lively despite normally featuring no color at all.
And on the levels themselves… You can play as a hamster, so I think that says more than enough. The original Dream Land attempted things such as vertical challenges and annoying mazes, and while those are very much present here, they are accompanied by far more interesting overall lay-outs; the game is still easy, but beating the stages feel like an accomplishment either way thanks to the more varied and fitting challenges, mini-bosses that are actually super fun, and a but more of a puzzle-like feeling thanks to the collectables and the varying paths.
There are still 1ups here and there, but the existence of star bits and being rewarded with a life after collecting enough is a incredibly simple change that goes a long way in encouraging you to approach the stages in a slower-paced, different way, and that’s not even getting into the main collectables that give you the real ending.
Most of the stuff in or added to Dream Land 2 seems like the most basic shit imaginable, and maybe it is, but it’s all done with such care and intent that it’s hard to not be profoundly enthralled by simply getting a new power-up or uncovering a secret. The design, the animations, so reminiscent of both games that came before yet even more adorable, and charming, even the music for crying out loud! Most are rather short loops, sure, but what they lack in length, they deliver in quality, have you even heard Coo’s theme? You know this bird is the real deal when this starts playing.
Oh, that reminds me of the friend animals, actually… Nah, just kidding, I could never forget Rick and his incredibly silly dance, I smiled so much when I saw the lil’ guy go… Rick, Coo, and Kine are so much more than what they seem at first; they aren’t only funny fellas that give new ways to move around, they are also broken as hell in every sense of the word! Each power-up acts different depending if you are accompanied by them or not, and they are pretty much the key to finding the game’s more hidden secrets, and… I don’t know man, they are just so much fun to play as and make you view levels in a completely different way.
Out of the bunch, Kine is probably the least useful: his land movement is ass and pretty frustrating, and it’s not like it makes swimming easier than it already is, and getting him without the possibility of getting rid of it can make certain sections into a nightmare. Other than that, they are genius additions that not only seem like an inspiration for the sections in Kirby 64 alongside other friends of Kirby and even the ability combination mechanic, but also feel like a sort of preview for the far more complex move-sets Super Star would give us.
It's a super charming and fun experience that only has two big problems, those being The Iceberg and the Dark Castle; the former is an ice world, and even tho that alone doesn’t have to mean anything negative, it sadly has some of the most annoying, stressful, and frustrating levels in the entire game, with a vertical sections that is either the easiest thing ever or the most bullshit platformer challenge I’ve ever tried depending on if you have an animal pal or not. And the latter is relying solely in drawn out sections that aren’t that fun to begin with and content to see in other worlds, which is a huge shame considering how cool the whole setting is. Two whole worlds that drag down what’s otherwise a fun and wonderfully simple platformer, it's still Kirby after all, but what intrigues me is how it manages to be Kirby, if that makes sense.
It's clear to me now how much this game not only would highly influence both Dream Land 3 and 64, but after also the Kirby series in general: other playable characters aside of the main puffball, puzzle-like elements and collectables that would return at full force in the modern 2D games, the long running tradition of Dedede getting possessed, and the beginning of the whole Kirby background story as we know it. What surprises me is not so much that it introduces these elements, but just how well they work right here, right now.
It's true that it has two worlds that feel like a bit of a chore, it’s true that most of the puzzle can be summarized as ‘’you need x ability to break x block’’, it’s true that it borrows a ton from Adventure, and all of that matters, but it also matters just how much of a fun and well-thought out adventure this is. I’ve used the word ‘’charm’’ a couple of times, but it’s the word that defines it best….
Also, if the three animal fellas don’t appear in the next 3D Kirby game (If there is one) I will RIOT, I NEED MORE OF THESE ADORABLE MACHINES OF DESTRUCTION AND THEIR SILLY DANCES, DAMMIT!
Despite my fondness for the Kirby series and the pink ball’s equally adorable friends, it’s kind of surprising how I haven’t played many of this cute eldritch horror’s older adventures. Case and point, it was only relatively recently that I finally played Kirby’s Dream Land, and while it was certainly a simple and fun enough adventure —and a necessary stepping stone all things considered—, it didn’t quite click with me the same it does for others. It has its moments and highlights, like the shoot ‘em up boss fight, and as a short, easy-to-access platformer, it does a good job, but I find it reaaaaally hard to get invested in its not-so great levels, and Adventure’s existence and how fun and complete that game feels while also accomplishing everything Dream Land does doesn’t exactly help things.
All this to say I had no clue what to expect from the sequel; I knew I had to play this, this is the first outing in Shinichi Shimomura’s less action oriented take on Kirby compared with what Sakurai would end up pursuing in Super Star and that fact alone made it far more interesting, and I also knew some other things here and there, like the fact it features copy abilities and what-not, but overall… Yeah, I didn’t know much about aside from ‘’this is the direct continuation to Dream Land’’. I wasn’t expecting anything bad, hell, I don’t even consider the original game a bad work at all, but I would lie if I said I had high expectations going in…
… so what if I told you I kinda really jammed with this game?
I… Wow, if we see this and the two previous games and some sort of original trilogy, then the evolution is clear as day; as I said, I knew this game lifted some elements from Adventure like the copy abilities, but I never expected to see so many translated so well to the charming brick that is the Game Boy. Levels once again have the adorable introductory cutscenes, but instead of being limited to one-stage run-throughs, there are actual defined hub-worlds, and while there’s less optional stuff than in Adventure (by less, I mean none), the hub areas themselves feel much more compacted and representative of the world they are set in, and it’s hard to describe how, but these areas and the game as a whole manage to feel very lively despite normally featuring no color at all.
And on the levels themselves… You can play as a hamster, so I think that says more than enough. The original Dream Land attempted things such as vertical challenges and annoying mazes, and while those are very much present here, they are accompanied by far more interesting overall lay-outs; the game is still easy, but beating the stages feel like an accomplishment either way thanks to the more varied and fitting challenges, mini-bosses that are actually super fun, and a but more of a puzzle-like feeling thanks to the collectables and the varying paths.
There are still 1ups here and there, but the existence of star bits and being rewarded with a life after collecting enough is a incredibly simple change that goes a long way in encouraging you to approach the stages in a slower-paced, different way, and that’s not even getting into the main collectables that give you the real ending.
Most of the stuff in or added to Dream Land 2 seems like the most basic shit imaginable, and maybe it is, but it’s all done with such care and intent that it’s hard to not be profoundly enthralled by simply getting a new power-up or uncovering a secret. The design, the animations, so reminiscent of both games that came before yet even more adorable, and charming, even the music for crying out loud! Most are rather short loops, sure, but what they lack in length, they deliver in quality, have you even heard Coo’s theme? You know this bird is the real deal when this starts playing.
Oh, that reminds me of the friend animals, actually… Nah, just kidding, I could never forget Rick and his incredibly silly dance, I smiled so much when I saw the lil’ guy go… Rick, Coo, and Kine are so much more than what they seem at first; they aren’t only funny fellas that give new ways to move around, they are also broken as hell in every sense of the word! Each power-up acts different depending if you are accompanied by them or not, and they are pretty much the key to finding the game’s more hidden secrets, and… I don’t know man, they are just so much fun to play as and make you view levels in a completely different way.
Out of the bunch, Kine is probably the least useful: his land movement is ass and pretty frustrating, and it’s not like it makes swimming easier than it already is, and getting him without the possibility of getting rid of it can make certain sections into a nightmare. Other than that, they are genius additions that not only seem like an inspiration for the sections in Kirby 64 alongside other friends of Kirby and even the ability combination mechanic, but also feel like a sort of preview for the far more complex move-sets Super Star would give us.
It's a super charming and fun experience that only has two big problems, those being The Iceberg and the Dark Castle; the former is an ice world, and even tho that alone doesn’t have to mean anything negative, it sadly has some of the most annoying, stressful, and frustrating levels in the entire game, with a vertical sections that is either the easiest thing ever or the most bullshit platformer challenge I’ve ever tried depending on if you have an animal pal or not. And the latter is relying solely in drawn out sections that aren’t that fun to begin with and content to see in other worlds, which is a huge shame considering how cool the whole setting is. Two whole worlds that drag down what’s otherwise a fun and wonderfully simple platformer, it's still Kirby after all, but what intrigues me is how it manages to be Kirby, if that makes sense.
It's clear to me now how much this game not only would highly influence both Dream Land 3 and 64, but after also the Kirby series in general: other playable characters aside of the main puffball, puzzle-like elements and collectables that would return at full force in the modern 2D games, the long running tradition of Dedede getting possessed, and the beginning of the whole Kirby background story as we know it. What surprises me is not so much that it introduces these elements, but just how well they work right here, right now.
It's true that it has two worlds that feel like a bit of a chore, it’s true that most of the puzzle can be summarized as ‘’you need x ability to break x block’’, it’s true that it borrows a ton from Adventure, and all of that matters, but it also matters just how much of a fun and well-thought out adventure this is. I’ve used the word ‘’charm’’ a couple of times, but it’s the word that defines it best….
Also, if the three animal fellas don’t appear in the next 3D Kirby game (If there is one) I will RIOT, I NEED MORE OF THESE ADORABLE MACHINES OF DESTRUCTION AND THEIR SILLY DANCES, DAMMIT!
Definitely better than the original Dream Land but we still aren't quite there yet. A lot longer than the OG and finally adding in the copy abilities is cool but it's surrounded by jank. I do love the animal friends though. Minus Kine, he's kinda whack.
Kirby kirby
The first time I ever beat this game was back in 2022. After playing Forgotten Land when it launched, and really enjoying that, I was still in a Kirby mood and decided to beat one of the few mainline games I haven't already. While not bad overall, I found this notably weaker than Dreamland 1 for several reasons. I was a bit generous back then tho and gave it a 6 like I did Dreamland 1. Well coming back to it again, yeah It's still weaker than Dreamland 1 and I'm dropping it to a 5 now.
That's not to say there aren't some things this game improved on compared to 1. Overall, Kirby feels better to control in this one which is nice. While I'm nostalgic for the first game's ost, this game might have it beat overall. Sure it reuses a lot of tracks from Dreamland 1 and Adventure, however it's original tracks are actually really damn good. Coo's Theme is the real standout here, goddamn is that some good shit. Visually it also looks nicer than Dreamland 1 I'd say, though still doesn't look that great overall since it's still a Gameboy game.
The main thing this game added though were the animal friends. The aforementioned Koo the owl, Kine the fish and Rick the hamster are the three buddies in this game. They're a fun addition and change the gameplay up. Since copy abilities are back, each animal friend actually has their own version of each one. They greatly vary in usage though. Koo with parasol is amazing while Rick with needle is most of the time awful. It's a cool idea, that gets expanded on way more in Dreamland 3, however the execution here is very hit and miss.
Something you can use these animal friends abilities on are copy ability specific blocks. These usually block the main collectable in this game, the rainbow drops. To get 100% in this game, and fight the true final boss, you must get them all. Let me tell you, some of them are a huge pain to get. Not only are the later ones cryptic, the one where you have to use Kine + electric is just straight BS sometimes because of what you have to do to get it. If you know you know, but either way you most likely won't be getting these without a guide.
Other than that, the game just goes on for way too long I feel. To beat Dreamland 1, it takes around and hour or less (most likely a half hour) which is perfect for the type of game this is. Dreamland 2 might improve on 1's controls a bit, but it's still a Gameboy game and it's around 4 hours long to full complete everything. That's way longer and as such it just drags on near the end. That, plus the level design can be very hit or miss. Most of the levels are passable I'd say, however the game really loves its auto scrolling levels and these can be a bitch sometimes with it being a Gameboy game. And of course there's the infamous auto-scroller with the instakill dead ends that is pure trial and error and yeah that one is pure dogshit.
Along with the rainbow drops, to get 100% you have to also do these star collecting minigames and also find the female Gooey once. Gooey is this blobby guy that replaces an animal buddy if it gives you the one you already have. He just gives you some health back if you collect him. However there's a 1/8 chance it'll be a female Gooey instead and finding her actually contributes to 100% which is weird but easy to do in a certain level luckily. The star minigames you can do after going into the boss door again after you've beaten them. You have to collect every star and get a perfect in every world because this contributes to 100%. The minigames themselves are fine enough, however if you get hit or miss a star, you can't play it again until you go and beat a stage. I get why they do this as it's easy to grind lives if this wasn't in place, however the fact you have to do this for 100% just means it wastes time if you lose which isn't fun.
This is the first in the Dark Matter trilogy and so after we defeat Dedede at the end, we get to fight Dark Matter for the first time. Get used to doing that as he's a regular throughout the trilogy ofc. I remember the fight being more frustrating back in 2022, but here it wasn't too bad. Decent introduction to them as a main antagonist of the trilogy.
While I quite like Dreamland 1 and 3, I don't have much of a connection to 2 at all and I personally think it's a lot more flawed compared to those two games. It improves on some things from 1 but is also way longer and drags on because of that. Not to mention it's annoying to 100%. It's not a terrible sequel but I personally think it's a downgrade compared to 1 even if the animal friends and copy abilities being here are nice. I'll take 1 any day of the week over this.
That's not to say there aren't some things this game improved on compared to 1. Overall, Kirby feels better to control in this one which is nice. While I'm nostalgic for the first game's ost, this game might have it beat overall. Sure it reuses a lot of tracks from Dreamland 1 and Adventure, however it's original tracks are actually really damn good. Coo's Theme is the real standout here, goddamn is that some good shit. Visually it also looks nicer than Dreamland 1 I'd say, though still doesn't look that great overall since it's still a Gameboy game.
The main thing this game added though were the animal friends. The aforementioned Koo the owl, Kine the fish and Rick the hamster are the three buddies in this game. They're a fun addition and change the gameplay up. Since copy abilities are back, each animal friend actually has their own version of each one. They greatly vary in usage though. Koo with parasol is amazing while Rick with needle is most of the time awful. It's a cool idea, that gets expanded on way more in Dreamland 3, however the execution here is very hit and miss.
Something you can use these animal friends abilities on are copy ability specific blocks. These usually block the main collectable in this game, the rainbow drops. To get 100% in this game, and fight the true final boss, you must get them all. Let me tell you, some of them are a huge pain to get. Not only are the later ones cryptic, the one where you have to use Kine + electric is just straight BS sometimes because of what you have to do to get it. If you know you know, but either way you most likely won't be getting these without a guide.
Other than that, the game just goes on for way too long I feel. To beat Dreamland 1, it takes around and hour or less (most likely a half hour) which is perfect for the type of game this is. Dreamland 2 might improve on 1's controls a bit, but it's still a Gameboy game and it's around 4 hours long to full complete everything. That's way longer and as such it just drags on near the end. That, plus the level design can be very hit or miss. Most of the levels are passable I'd say, however the game really loves its auto scrolling levels and these can be a bitch sometimes with it being a Gameboy game. And of course there's the infamous auto-scroller with the instakill dead ends that is pure trial and error and yeah that one is pure dogshit.
Along with the rainbow drops, to get 100% you have to also do these star collecting minigames and also find the female Gooey once. Gooey is this blobby guy that replaces an animal buddy if it gives you the one you already have. He just gives you some health back if you collect him. However there's a 1/8 chance it'll be a female Gooey instead and finding her actually contributes to 100% which is weird but easy to do in a certain level luckily. The star minigames you can do after going into the boss door again after you've beaten them. You have to collect every star and get a perfect in every world because this contributes to 100%. The minigames themselves are fine enough, however if you get hit or miss a star, you can't play it again until you go and beat a stage. I get why they do this as it's easy to grind lives if this wasn't in place, however the fact you have to do this for 100% just means it wastes time if you lose which isn't fun.
This is the first in the Dark Matter trilogy and so after we defeat Dedede at the end, we get to fight Dark Matter for the first time. Get used to doing that as he's a regular throughout the trilogy ofc. I remember the fight being more frustrating back in 2022, but here it wasn't too bad. Decent introduction to them as a main antagonist of the trilogy.
While I quite like Dreamland 1 and 3, I don't have much of a connection to 2 at all and I personally think it's a lot more flawed compared to those two games. It improves on some things from 1 but is also way longer and drags on because of that. Not to mention it's annoying to 100%. It's not a terrible sequel but I personally think it's a downgrade compared to 1 even if the animal friends and copy abilities being here are nice. I'll take 1 any day of the week over this.
This was nice! Far from my favorite Kirby game, but I feel like it's aged a bit better than most out of this pre-Superstar era. The animal friends were neat to mess around with, albeit hardly any combination of animal and copy ability can quite beat Koo with just about anything, since she's the only one that can maintain Kirby's flight ability.
The rainbow drops were a nice wrinkle; Adventure had some secret areas but given they just unlocked minigames it hardly felt worth finding them all. And it is one of those "find the hidden mcguffins to unlock the true ending" dealies, a-la Chaos Emeralds, but most of them were relatively simple to find and satisfying to figure out.
The only outright bad part of the game is that one bit in one of the last levels (I think 7-6?) that had an auto-scroller with dead ends that you couldn't see so you just get killed for not being able to see the future. Lame in an otherwise nice game. Oh and also hitting bosses with copy abilities is really unsatisfying because it barely does any damage, you might as well just play it Dream Land 1 style with them. Overall a game where I'm up in the air about giving it 3/5 or 3.5/5. It's just right there evenly in the high-C, low-B range.
The rainbow drops were a nice wrinkle; Adventure had some secret areas but given they just unlocked minigames it hardly felt worth finding them all. And it is one of those "find the hidden mcguffins to unlock the true ending" dealies, a-la Chaos Emeralds, but most of them were relatively simple to find and satisfying to figure out.
The only outright bad part of the game is that one bit in one of the last levels (I think 7-6?) that had an auto-scroller with dead ends that you couldn't see so you just get killed for not being able to see the future. Lame in an otherwise nice game. Oh and also hitting bosses with copy abilities is really unsatisfying because it barely does any damage, you might as well just play it Dream Land 1 style with them. Overall a game where I'm up in the air about giving it 3/5 or 3.5/5. It's just right there evenly in the high-C, low-B range.