Kirby's Dream Course

"Kirby scores a hole-in-one!"

Kirby's Dream Course is indeed a rather odd game. Golf elements and Kirby merge together to form a fun, interactive puzzler.

Gameplay - 10/10

I find this game incredibly fun and challenging. Using Kirby as the ball, you must position yourself carefully, pick a strait shot or an upwards shot, and release the pressure gauge to fire Kirby at various targets. It's quite a tedious task to make the perfect shot and sink a hole-in-one. You can choose from several different areas, each with 8 courses to play. The hole is never located in a particular spot; you must defeat all but one of the enemies by rolling into them, and the last enemy will turn into the hole. So it takes careful planning to decide where your ball will go and how to hit Kirby into every enemy. After you have lined up the shot, you can choose to make Kirby go into the air or on the ground. Then you can choose if you want to put spin on the Kirby. Finally, using the A button, you must carefully stop the pressure meter where you need it in order to hit Kirby the perfect distance. If you take too many shots in order to reach the hole, you will run out of your 'tomato power', causing you to lose a life. There are also some items to collect during the course of the game. If you come across one of these, you can use it at any time during the game, giving you special powers. Some of these include parasol, lightning, spike, and UFO. At the end of each tournament, your score will be compared with the par score. If you place, you will earn a medal and open up the next round.

Graphics - 8/10

Graphics aren't the strong point of many Kirby games, but the crisp, simple pictures make looking at the game quite enjoyable. The game features several of the characters that you would find in normal Kirby games.

Music/Sound - 8/10

You can expect the same beeps and bops as the old Kirby games. The sound effects should also be familiar. The game sounds happy and chipper, and it never gets annoying. It's nice enough to listen to.

Overall - 9/10

You can expect fun and challenge in this cheerful Kirby-based golf simulation. It's definitely a new concept that's worth checking out. I would suggest renting this game and playing it with friends.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/19/02, Updated 09/19/02