Kirby's Dream Land 2 - Review - 9th of March 2003 System: Nintendo Game Boy Publisher: Nintendo Developer: HAL Laboratory Origin: Japan Players: 1 Genre: Platform Game Files: 3 Released Japan: March 21, 1995 USA: 1995? Europe: 1995-1996? Kirby's Dream Land 2 was released several years ago. It features the great and fluffy hero Kirby in his quest to save the Dream Land from Dark Matter. Kirby gets help from his animal friends and can use several special powers to easily defeat the creatures possessed by the evil Dark Matter. Story ----- Kirby lives on the rainbow islands of Dream Land. The rainbows that connect the islands have been stolen by the evil Dark Matter! Dark Matter has taken control of King Dedede and wants to turn Dream Land into a dark world. With the help of three friends, Kirby sets out on his latest quest to save Dream Land. Graphics 9/10 ------------- The graphics in Kirby's Dream Land 2 is great for being a Game Boy game and especially for being from 1995. It's very clear and fresh. Everything moves very smoothly and it's not too detailed which is great. Many more Game Boy developers must face that the little black and white display can't handle many details well. The environments vary well and all characters are very cute. When using the Super Game Boy it looks even better. Sound 8/10 ---------- I guess the music is a matter of taste, but I like the cheerful sound very much and it fits the game perfectly. There's nothing special about the sound effects though. Gameplay/Controls 9/10 ---------------------- Really simple platforming action when it's best. Your goal is to take Kirby through many different courses from one place to another. During the adventure you must defeat enemies to gain points. Everything isn't straight forward. In all of the worlds there is something called a Rainbow Drop to collect and that takes a little more of your mind than the usual gaming. The special thing about the Kirby games is that he can fly and copy special enemies abilities. To copy an ability of an enemy, Kirby must inhale it with a simple push on the B button and then swallow it. There are seven different abilities and as if that weren't enough, Kirby can in this game release his animal friends which are guarded by mini-bosses in the courses. Then Kirby can ride these animals and take part of their special abilities. You can also combine the animals with the enemies special abilities and in that way create a huge variation in moves. It's a major thing in the game to discover all of the different combinations. Kirby can also fly with a simple push on the up button. The whole platform concept might be gone you think, but this is a great feature because the difficulty in the game can be found in other things: like in the Boss battles for example. Those brilliant Kirby bosses as usual. Tough but you have only yourself to blame if you lose. Lasting Appeal: 8/10 -------------------- I've finished it many times, but I'm not sure everyone will. There are many courses but you can play through them all pretty quickly. Then there are the Rainbow drops which takes a little longer time to collect and that's good. There's also some bonuses for the one who tries to get 100% and that's also a good thing in the lasting appeal. We also have the many special powers in the game which can be combined in about 30 different ways and this makes you come back to the game. Total: 9/10 ----------- This is not a strong nine-pointer but nevertheless still has this triumphant grade. HAL totally gets how to make a great Game Boy game. Kirby's Dream Land 2 is a typical example of how a great Game Boy platformer should be. © 2003 Christian Wall