1. Antarctic Adventure (Famicom)
2. Nuts & Milk (Famicom)
3. Commando (Atari 2600)
4. Binary Land (Famicom)
5. Devil World (Famicom)
6. Disney's Aladdin (SNES)
7. Popeye (NES)
8. Super Mario Land (Game Boy)
9. Ys: The Vanished Omens (Sega Master System)
10 Ys II: Ancient Ys Vanished - The Final Chapter (Famicom)
11. Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (SNES)
12. Lunar: The Silver Star (Sega CD)
13. Otenba Becky no Daibouken (MSX)
14. Metroid (Famicom Disk System)
15. Mahou Kishi Rayearth (Game Boy)
16. Wabbit (Atari 2600)
17. Kirby's Dream Land (Game Boy)
"It's too short!"
"It's too easy!"
Wrong. I mean,
Kirby's Dream Land (HAL Labs & Nintendo, 1992) is indeed short and easy, but those are positive attributes rather than detriments.
Kirby was released at the tail end of an era where platformers were essentially synonymous with "difficult."
Castlevania had clunky controls and the Death & Dracula double feature.
Ninja Gaiden was rife with pitfalls and ornithological terrors. Even
Super Mario Bros., the genre-defining game itself, was undeniably unforgiving. And then here comes Kirby on Game Boy, sucking and blowing in all his effervescent glory. What a cool game.
The eponymous Kirby is an unusual protagonist: essentially a pink (white on the box art) happy-go-lucky vaguely-defined puffy thing. His home, Dream Land, has been ravaged by King Dedede (some sort of chunky pseudo-penguin) and all the food has been stolen. Perhaps that's why Kirby is so set on eating everything in sight. Not one to hop on foes or utilize a firearm, the voracious blob instead inhales enemies, which can then subsequently be swallowed for total elimination, or spit back out as star-shaped projectiles. Kirby also has airborne capabilities, as a push of the up button causes him to puff up even further and begin floating. Not only can he fly indefinitely, but he's also able to generate his own projectiles in this state, by spitting forth his inhaled air. Ultimately, Kirby is significantly overpowered when compared to any enemy faced along his journey. There's an impressive array of bosses and minibosses - with modified versions of Lolo and Lala making a humorous surprise appearance - though all go down without much of a fight.
Dream Land itself is comprised of only a handful of levels, and can be cleared in well under an hour. Stages themselves are surprisingly nonlinear, with plenty of passages and doorways (some hidden). That said, all roads still lead home and there's no conceivable way for Kirby to get lost along the way, nor is there a time limit. Everything in the game is intentionally and painfully cute. There's no urgency to the level design: these are inviting, soothing areas where one can linger for awhile. Enemies look as nonthreatening as they behave. Just a long parade of adorable bouncing creatures (real and imagined). The graphics are rather impressive.
Kirby was released a few months before the exemplary
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and both titles share a similar aesthetic. Big chunky sprites, plenty of open "white" space, and detailed backgrounds that eschew clutter and make excellent use of the original Game Boy's limited color palette. It's one of those games that makes me forget the Super Game Boy even exists -- there's simply no reason to play this in color. With only five stages, each one manages to stand out as distinct from the rest, and all open with a quaint "cutscene" that introduces the environment. The accompanying soundtrack is also excellent. It's almost comically upbeat and peppy, with the first appearance of the tune "Green Greens" being a certain crowd-pleaser.
I have little more to say about this one. Not because it's boring or blasé, but because
Kirby's Dream Land possesses a sweet and sentimental charm that's best experienced rather than received second-hand. For those itching for more challenge, there
is a hard mode, unlocked via a code received at the game's end. And while newer
Kirby games showcase some enhanced controls, abilities, and allies, this one keeps it straightforward and simple, and for that I adore it. The credits refer to the programmer as one "Sunday Rain" (in actuality Satoru Iwata, or so I've heard) and it's a fitting moniker. When looking to relax and embrace some escapism on a warm, rainy Sunday afternoon there's nothing better than this pink (or white) puffball.
So I went from being mad at the game to saying, "Okay, not so bad after all."
