Kirby's Dream Land 2

"A fun, addictive game to keep you entertained in times of boredom."

Introduction
Everybody likes Kirby, and there's no reason to say this game sux. It's really far from that. This is one of the better 2-D platformer games on the Game Boy and there are many reasons to support it.

Graphics-10
It's Game Boy, so don't expect powerful Gamecube graphics. For this games time period, the graphics were done pretty well. A cool thing is that if you have a Game Boy Color, you can just put this game in and you can see lots of colors. The characters were done well and the backgrounds have a decent amount of detail in them. There are no glitches at all and everything runs so smoothly. Nothing is too big or small; just the right size to see everything. Excellent graphics help this game get a perfect score.

Control-10
Considering the Game Boy doesn't have many buttons, you'd expect the control to be easy right? It is. It's very similar to other 2-D platformers like Mario. Kirby doesn't run or fly too slow or too fast; It's perfect. Honestly, if you can't figure out how to work the controls, I feel real sorry for you. The only thing that took some time to figure out was how to swallow enemies and use their power to improve yours.

Gameplay-10
Kirby is a very unique character. He can do many things to get around places or defeat enemies. Instead of punching random foes, he sucks them up, and spits them out at another foe. You can also have him swallow a certain enemy, press Down on the D-Pad, and get a new power for a certain period of time. They are Fire, Needle, Cutter, Stone, Ice, Spark, and Parasol .That's very important becuase you need to try out different enemies to get to new places. The coolest thing about Kirby is that he can swallow air, and float to the top of the level and skip many obstactles on the ground. He's like a big balloon and never loses his air unless an enemy hits him.

Kirby also has 3 companions. Kine, Rick, and Coo. Rick is the hamster, Coo is the owl, and Kine is the fish. Getting them can be really helpful for you. Most of the time you do have to fight a mini boss to get them. Coo lets you fly high and fast, Kine helps you swim really fast in the water, and Rick gives you a fast ride on the ground. When you are riding one of them, it's like having an extra life. They have the same amount of life as Kirby and when they lose enough, they run away. Also, they can do special combos. These three were a great addition to the game.

There are many levels and worlds. Each world has an average of 5 levels(they aren't short at all) and there are about 7 or 8 worlds. Each level gets harder as you progress. There are also bosses too, and many enemies and mini bosses. They get a lot harder as you go progress.

Sound-10
With the stuff Kirby does, the sound is perfect in this game. For example, when he sucks stuff, the sound he makes goes well with it. There's nothing to complain about for the sound. The music is good too. It's varied between many levels and worlds. When you get one of your companion animals, the music also changes. Generally, the music is neither annoying or crappy.

Story-9
King DeDeDe wants to do very bad things to Dream Land and Kirby and his friends must stop him. Not really an original story, but the producers didn't care about that back when they made the game.

Difficulty-9
As you progress, the levels increase in difficulty. Sometimes the bosses in later worlds can be hard, but if you put some effort into it, you can eventually beat them.

Replay-8
Once you beat this game, you can go for 100% but after that, there isn't a lot you can do. However, this game is always good to play every once in a while becuase it still retains its fun.

Best Feature
-Very addictive

Worst Feature
-Can be hard to find

Overall-10
This game deserves a 10 becuase it's just so good. It's perfect to play whenever you are bored and very addictive for first-timers.

Buy or Rent?
Buy. These days, rentals can be more expensive than older games, so just buy this. You won't regret it!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/31/02, Updated 07/15/03