Memories #29: Kirby's Dream Land

This is where I go and hint at my age. 

I'm old enough to remember the time before YouTube. Before the internet. A time when video game news would reach you through these relics that were called video game magazines. If not those, it was a TV ad. The later was the first time I heard of Kirby's Dream Land.

I saw this commercial so many times I could practically quote the whole thing. This was during the time that I didn't have a Game Boy and this was one of the games that made me crave one even more. 

Also, DANG, did Kirby ever look different back in the American TV ads. 

Although Kirby's Dream Land was the first time I'd ever heard of the tough cream puff, this was not the first game in the series I played. I wouldn't play Kirby's Dream Land until either 1993 or 1994 and by that time, I had played Kirby's Adventure, widely viewed as a bigger, better game than Kirby's first outing. Even so, I wanted to play Kirby's first game. Nintendo Power's top 20 charts had Kirby in the top 5 consistently which and by the time I bought it, it was a Nintendo Player's Choice title, sporting that big, gold ribbon, letting everyone know that the version you had was discounted. Personally, I liked the gold ribbons. They were much better than that icky green of the PlayStation Greatest Hits and whoever came up with that should have been slapped furiously with a thick rolled up newspaper.

Image: MobyGames

It was a bit strange coming from Adventure to Dream Land. Kirby's now signature Copy Ability wasn't invented yet, nor could he slide. Kirby may seem basic to an outsider but in Kirby's Dream Land he was super basic. But in this case and for the time, super basic was pretty good.

My copy of Kirby's Dream Land was bought from my local Meijer. You know how they had games behind a glass case and if no one was there, you had to ring for assistance? Ah, good times. Kirby looked so happy floating towards Whispy Woods on the box art about to make him cry. For the first time. Whispy was so ingrained into my brain thanks to that commercial. Crying Whispy, in particular. I believe one of the screen shots I saw of the game in Nintendo Power was of Kirby either fighting Whispy or of Whispy already beaten and crying. I think the North American box even had a screen of Whispy on the back. I did a search while writing this up and yup, there's Whispy. I really like the shade of blue on the back and side of the box. Goes great with the logo so thumbs up for whoever came decided choose and go with those colors.

Back when games came with instruction manuals, I would look through them before starting up a game. With Kirby's Dream Land, it was no different. I still have a lot of my old manuals, so the one for Kirby's Dream Land may be packed away somewhere. 

The story of Kirby's Dream Land goes like this: King Dedede steals all of the citizens'food along with their Sparkling Stars. Huh. I completely forgot about the Sparkling Stars. Maybe it was due to Spring Breeze in Kirby Super Star that just mentioned the food being taken. Anyhoo, Kirby comes along and I remember him stating in the manual something along the lines of, "Don't worry, I'll get your food back." Looking back on it, it's a bit odd to read about Kirby speaking in full sentences but it was his debut game.

After reading through the entirity of the manual, I plunked the cartridge into my original brick Game Boy and was greeted with a title screen that showed numerous Kirbys walking about while the most jovial title music I'd ever heard at the time played.

GIF: GIFER

Pressing start treated my ears to a very familiar theme, Green Greens. Having beaten Kirby's Adventure a year ago, the level that Green Greens played on it that game really stuck out to me. For one, it was the only level in that game to have the song playing. Two, the level was in black and white. I don't think I made the connection at the time, but now I know that clearly that stage in Kirby's Adventure was paying homage to Kirby's Dream Land. Kirby's Adventure has a phenomenal soundtrack so it was enlightening to hear what has become Kirby's most prolific piece of music came from his very first title. Being on the GB, I could tell it sounded a smidgen different but it was still as catchy and hummable as ever. 

I went into Kirby's Dream Land knowing full well that Kirby did not have the Copy Ability. Just inhale enemies and shoot them at other enemies. Or inhale stars and fire them off at the opposition. Simple and effective. The kind of innovation you would expect from a Nintendo published title. Alternatively, Kirby's exhaled breath could also be used to attack mooks but not the bosses.

Kirby's Adventure had these super cool transition sections where Kirby would hop on the Warp Star and ride off to another part of the level. It turns out these Warp Star ride segments were first used in Kirby's Dream Land and are every bit as neat. Also neat was Kirby's animations. Kirby has this bounce to his movements which is attributed to his simplistic design. When he runs into a wall, he'll squish up against it and a tiny star will bounce out of him. This was all stuff I'd seen in Kirby's Adventure but it was used first in Kirby's Dream Land, much to my surprise. They carried over a lot from that GB game.

 

GIF: Tilt Controls

I could be wrong but I believe that Kirby's Dream Land marked the first time I was ever exposed to the compositions of Jun Ishikawa. Green Greens was a certified banger but really, the entire soundtrack is an absolute bop. Castle Lololo, Float Islands, the Ending theme are some of the best Kirby songs. Along with Green Greens, Invincibility and the Kirby Dance jingle, King Dedede's Theme was first used in Kirby's Dream Land, meaning some of the series' most famous tracks were first used in this game. I was listening to the soundtrack while writing this and 30 years later, it still holds up magnificently.

Maybe it was those three days I spent with Kirby's Adventure or the fact that Kirby's Dream Land was designed for entry level gamers. But I recall beating Kirby's Dream Land in about 30 minutes. It isn't a long game at all, even for the GB. It only has five levels and the last one is a boss rush. Kirby's Dream Land does have some of the same bosses I fought from Kirby's Adventure. I think I had winced a little when I saw that Kracko was a boss but I don't think I had nearly as hard a time with him in Dream Land as I did in Adventure. Maybe he was harder in Adventure because you had the Copy Ability in that game. You can read about my grievances with him in the next Memories post.

The setting for the battle with King Dedede was super cool. It was a boxing ring. How awesome is that for a final showdown? It has always been one of my favorite things about Kirby's Dream Land. Since Dedede turned out to be not-so-bad in Adventure, I wondered why he would steal all of the food from the citizens of Dream Land. I guess we can chalk that up to Kirby creator Masahiro Sakurai still trying to figure out these characters. I might have died to Dedede once or twice trying to learn his attack patterns.

Throughout the 1990s, Kirby's Dream Land would be a game I would always keep on me. If I didn't feel like going through the more frustrating levels of Donkey Kong or had about 25 minutes to kill, I would pop this game in and breeze through it, enjoying the simple but fun gameplay and charming music.

Without question there a better Kirby games out there. I still say Kirby's Adventure is better than Kirby's Dream Land. But I don't for one second regret my time with Kirby's Dream Land. If I could go back to that Sunday afternoon and pick up Kirby's Dream Land all over again, I would do it and then celebrate with my awful attempt at the Kirby Dance.