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.

With Kirby's 32nd anniversary being right around the corner, I have decided to return to this sweet trip of a game! Kirby's original debut on the Gameboy! How has it held up after all these years?

Starting off with the controls of the game, Kirby's Dream Land's controls hold up rather well! Although unlike future entries in the series it lacks a run button, therefore Kirby is a little slower than he usually is nowadays, however in a way it helps this game! As it's already rather short, the game likely beaten in under half an hour if you know it well enough. Since this is the first game in the series it's roots stem from here, unlike every other mainline game in the series, Kirby's Dream Land lacks copy abilities! Which have been a major part of the series ever since their debut in Kirby's Adventure. However Kirby inhaling enemies and objects before spitting them out works just as well back here as it does now, which is good since you'll be using that to your advantage for most of the game. Lastly about the controls are the items! Such as the mint leaf changing up the gameplay to a shoot 'em up style of game within Kabula's boss fight in the skies. The spicy curry which lets you spit out flames to attack enemies with a blaze. Alongside food items to regenerate Kirby's health, allowing Kirby to take just a few more hits once more. Plus a few extras like the bomb. They all together spice up the gameplay just a bit more, making the general experience a bit more varied. With all of this in mind, the controls of this game are pretty decent!

Before we even tackle the levels themselves, there is also the intro cards! They all together give the game some extra packed-in personality. For example in Green Greens, Kirby chases after a butterfly before suddenly being chased off by multiple at once. Or in Float Islands where Kirby fishes up a fish, only to inhale it and get the fishing rod stuck in his mouth! Things like this make the game much more charming! And for such a small package on the Gameboy it really fits in a lot of charm.

As for the levels themselves, they're all rather unique from each-other! From the classic Green Greens to Mt. Dedede, something I appreciate about these levels are their backgrounds, which all end up standing out from eachother with their fun pixel-filled fun. Sometimes they even change mid level! Take this example in Green Greens, the first level in the game. One moment Kirby is standing in a grassy, hill filled landscape, before taking a trip on a warpstar to a nearby forest! It feels like you've genuinely made progress! Moving onto the level designs themselves, they're alright. They work for a first game but they're nothing too ground breaking, it's a Gameboy platformer alright!

The last main thing to mention is the end-game, Mt. Dedede! Which has a banger soundtrack, just like this game does in general! Each theme memorable, fitting their theming well. The final level's intro starting with Kirby crashing into the king's castle, as a short retour of all previous levels are replayed! Among all four bosses brought with them, Whispy Woods is first and is short and simple overall, avoid getting hit by the apples and spit them back out, working well for the first boss of the game. Next up is Lololo and Lalala who push boxes around a more enclosed environment, making it a little harder for Kirby to attack, this expanding more on Whispy's fight and generally teaching the player to be more precise with their movement. This is followed by Kabula within the sky! Definitely being the most unique fight in the game, which is appreciated! Kracko then being the last one fought before the end-game, yet is cleared if you're careful enough, they're personally the one I typically struggle myself with most out of all the bosses in the game! Once all four original bosses are fought, it's time for the king himself!

King Dedede! With a total of ten health points total, ends up being the longest and most gruelling fight in the game, fitting for the final boss you'll fight here. Once you recognise his patterns his fight ends up being short yet sweet as for the first time of many, the king falls to the pink puffball as he is blown out of his castle. The credits then beginning to roll, kick-starting the two's rivalry in future games as my favourite music track in the game plays. As Kirby carries the castle, bringing back all the stolen food to the residents of Dream Land as he flies off in the sunset, before one final bye-bye. Closing off the main game and unlocking extra mode! Which is an extra challenge for real veterans, I myself didn't really check it out but if you want one final tough challenge, there's your cue.

Overall even though the Kirby series has massively expanded in quality since, this game is very charming! While very short and quickly beaten. It's an experience well-played. With five levels total with fun and chirpy music alongside them, it's a solid foundation that brought the pink puff to fruition. Certainly one of the best experiences of the Gameboy library!

The true start of Super Mario! This game is now over 38 years old which is surely something to behold, but has this game aged well? Well might as well find out I suppose! :0

The controls feel quite tight yet snappy with some slippiness to go along with it, they work fine overall. However it sometimes can very much can very much get you killed too, multiple times. Which can be slightly annoying, turning around can also be quite awkward which throws a bit of a wrench in that side of the controls, yet with some precision it can also be a bit of a strength! It's quite satisfying to jump narrowly over a very close piranha plant in a pipe for example! Among other situations. Power-up wise it's simple yet effective, the fire flower being quite useful for clearing out long lines of enemies in your way, they're also just fun to mash out!! Quite satisfying. Though outside of that there's not much other power-ups to note of, which I personally don't mind too much here. Overall a solid base control-wise for the beginning of 2D Mario! Yet still not quite there yet, understandable for the first of it's lineage.

The levels themselves are mostly...well, pretty alright! Most of the time they're pretty decent, the castle levels however can be a bit of a pain especially the more later ones with pick-a-path level design which can just pointlessly waste your time, considering the fact I've played this game many times however it's not too big of a fuss. The music of each level is quite iconic! I myself enjoying the Underwater Theme most, despite the fact...there are only 3 water sections in the whole game! Which may or may not be a plus, depending on preference.

Over in all, Super Mario Bros is a short game, 32 levels with some secret exits along the way! Which certainly makes speed-runs of the game very impressive and quite cool to see! For the first of the 2D Mario Series it certainly marks a good starting point and while it may have some flaws that come from it being an older game, it's a fun game never-the-less, wahoo! :]