there's something to be said about a concise, clean-cut and neatly executed little game like this. being as old as sakurai was when this game came out and with some understanding of what handheld gaming was at the time, it's pretty miraculous this little experiment worked out the way it did. the incentive to visit kirby's dream land again and again comes off of the pure charm the game gives off, with its soon-iconic locations, adorable designs, and bumpin' little soundtrack. considering the fact this game has a hard mode a-la super mario bros. 1 and manages to be a decent enough challenge for the type of game it is for the type of audience it catered to, i'd say this is as essential a gameboy grab as something like tetris. addictive, sweet, and quick - what it lacks in depth or substance it makes up for in soothing, simple-enough, pick-up-and-joy execution.