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Game Debate #108: Kirby's Dream Land


Reed Rothchild

Rate it  

34 members have voted

  1. 1. Rate based on your own personal preferences, NOT HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

    • 10/10 - One of your very favorite games of all time.
    • 9/10 - Killer fucking game. Everyone should play it.
    • 8/10 - Great game. Easy to recommend.
    • 7/10 - Very good, but not quite great.
    • 6/10 - Pretty good. You might enjoy occasionally playing it.
    • 5/10 - It's okay, but maybe not something you'll go out of your way to play.
    • 4/10 - Meh. There's plenty of better alternatives to this.
    • 3/10 - Not very good.
      0
    • 2/10 - Pretty crappy.
      0
    • 1/10 - Horrible in every way.
      0
    • 0/10 - The Desert Bus of painful experiences. You'd rather shove an icepick in your genitals than play this.
      0
    • Never played it, but you're interested.
    • Never played it, never will.


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Administrator · Posted

Gave it a 7. I played Super Star before this, but I enjoyed it nonetheless when I did play it as a kid. Easy to pick up and play, and the tight gameplay paired with the really well done micro interactions (e.g. the squish effect when you land or run into a wall) really push this into the higher range of games from that era.

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Events Team · Posted

I didn't have many Game Boy games as a kid but Kirby was one of em. And I got it not long after release.  I kicked the shit outta Kirby.  Not that it was difficult.  I can't really play OG Game Boy these days but Kirby is a well polished portable platformer.

Anyways, I'll go with a 9.  Anyone interested in portable gaming history should play it.

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6 hours ago, OptOut said:

I beat it in like 25 mins the first time I turned it on. Good game, 7.

I kind of lied.  My experience was close to this.  I guess I did play it and managed to get far but was bored with how easy it was.

I gave this the ole "Never played, but interested" because I legit don't remember anything about it since I played it as a kid.  Still, this one seems like it's worth visiting, even if I can get through it in an hour which, actually, should make it all a greater motivation to try.  I did play Kirby on the NES some, I just couldn't get into it.  This game, realistically, is probably a 5 for me but I can't say for sure until I try again.

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2 minutes ago, RH said:

I kind of lied.  My experience was close to this.  I guess I did play it and managed to get far but was bored with how easy it was.

I gave this the ole "Never played, but interested" because I legit don't remember anything about it since I played it as a kid.  Still, this one seems like it's worth visiting, even if I can get through it in an hour which, actually, should make it all a greater motivation to try.  I did play Kirby on the NES some, I just couldn't get into it.  This game, realistically, is probably a 5 for me but I can't say for sure until I try again.

I mean, depending on how long it usually takes for you to pinch one off, you could probably finish it during your next bathroom break! 🤣

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Kirby's Dream Land gets an 8 from me.

I grew up with this game, and I still love it to this day.
It released after Super Mario Land but before Super Mario Land 2, so when it was new it felt like I finally had a proper platformer to play on the Game Boy (I still love you for what you are Super Mario Land—and you're weird bouncy ball too, I guess).

Kirby doesn't have his copy ability yet in Dream Land, so there isn't a lot of engaging mechanics here—which is saying a lot considering Kirby games are often referred to as breezy.

I love that Lolo and Lala show up as bosses in this one! I had played a lot of Adventures of Lolo on the NES so this was a treat.

But despite my fond memories for the game and everything that I love about it...Kirby's Adventure for the NES would get my recommendation over Dream Land. I played KDL for the first time a few years ago and even then I thought that it was a gorgeous game. Hey, and Kirby gains his iconic copy ability too!
 

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If only I could give it a 7.5.  It really is very good, just not quite great, even if you pop it into a bubble where the sequels never happened. 😉  It's fairly easy to recommend, but not totally, because it's pretty slow, low key, very easy to play, and short.  It's like Mario Land where you can pick it up and be done in under 45min, but unlike Mario Land which had some challenge to it when it was new, this one never did.  It would be great for a low stress game or one for a kid learning to play needing a bit more grace with enemies.  Visually it's beautiful, the music is still fine in line with other later 8bit titles quality too.  It's technically solid, just technically too easy for its own good.

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I gave it an 8/10.

I like Kirby's Adventure and Kirby's Dream Land 2 more, but the original is still very enjoyable. It's like a classic movie in that I can go back to it once or twice a year. The Extra Game and Configuration modes are nice extras, with the former providing a more difficult playthrough for those who find the regular game too easy and the latter being a nice way to relax and listen to the game's soundtrack. And if you want to make the game even more challenging, you can adjust the Vitality option in the Configuration mode to give Kirby less energy.

I imported the Japanese version of Kirby's Dream Land a few years ago during the game's 25th Anniversary, and made a short video of it to celebrate.

I also beat the Extra Game mode earlier this year for the Backlog Challenge topic (played the Japanese version): 

image.jpeg.b45df2efb66018d0bc984d644e0d16c2.jpeg

Also made a short video comparing the American and Japanese versions: 

Edited by MegaMan52
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The game has a harder Extra Game mode if you press Up + A + Select together in the title screen. For me it's a childhood classic and an amazing Game Boy game; perfect sprite size, great music, cute graphics, snappy length and for Kirby's first outing it knocked it out of the park despite not having the advanced mechanics the series would become known for. Nostalgia is strong in this one but I think it's genuinely a great platformer that has aged well. It's in top 10 of GB for me.

9/10

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I'm a huge Game Boy fan, and the system taught me that if you're going to compare a game to another, it should always be on the same system.

Kirby's Dream Land is a great little Game Boy game, and it becomes extra fun in Extra mode with customization. Play Kirby's Dream Land on Extra Mode with three health, and it's an actual test of skill and game knowledge. Gordos KO in one hit too, since they deal three damage.

If you like Hal and Game Boy games, make sure to check out their earlier game "Trax". The tank from Trax even cameos as an enemy in Kirby Super Star, which was an amazing little call back.

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6, although if you made me play it right now maybe lower as I've lost my appetite for games that have absolutely no challenge. It's a little hard to see it without the lens of "KDL2/KA is so much better". I agree with everything MagusSmurf said, charming and insubstantial.

As a kid though I'd kill to have this game. I had a dumbass Game Gear and wanted a Kirby game so bad.

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Still my second favourite Kirby game next to Super Star. I got it when it came out as the first game for my Game Boy, and played the hell out of it.

I'm generally not that fond of the copy abilities added to later Kirby games.
While they are a fun gimmick that can be entertaining to play around with, it pretty much bypasses the core gameplay of the original which was based around sucking things up and spitting them back at enemies. The thing that's really weird to me is how the later games somehow still feel like they are designed around that being the only power you have, so the copy abilities just all feel super overpowered.

Meanwhile, the hard mode in this game is actually slightly challenging.

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My first Kirby game (although I've only played about 3 others). I haven't really played through it more than 5 minutes at a time in many years but growing up, I was quite fond of it, even though it was incredibly easy. There is something charming about the little spud and the straightforward and casual nature of the game made it perfect for on-the-go entertainment on the Game Boy.

7/10

Edited by Webhead123
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The only Kirby game I truly feel is a great gem is Kirby Super Star.  That is prob because the micro game approach gives it a lot more variety and replay value, trying to clear all the games and find all the things.  It is also a fantastic co-op romp.

Kirby on Gb like much of the rest of the series, comes off as nothing special.  Cute easy mindless  white rice platformer, with bland enemies and stages.  It even lacks the ability to absorb enemy powers and co op the later titles had.

It's still a fine playthru, I'd take it over most of the Gb library, but nothing top tier.  Every time I crack into it nowadays, I find myself getting bored after just a couple stages.

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I gave it a 5 which may or may not have been too harsh. But regardless, this game lacks the charm of most of the later Kirby games, this is also pre-copy-ability so it lacks that as well. It's about 15-20 minutes long, easy as cake to beat, and has very little in the way of variety, substance or replay value. I played the crap out of this game when i was kid simply because it was the first and only Game Boy title I owned for quite a while. But once I got Zelda Link's Awakening and Pokemon Red, I never looked back at this game. But all in all, it's a serviceable game I guess and gives you a peek at Kirby's origins.

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