Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

"Where puffball just isn't an insult, and D.D.D. just isn't an abreviation!!!"

Hmm.... Where do we start? We have a cute pink puffball who begins his game in the classic manner. Pressing the start button to get past the title screen. Then comes the really story, (which I'll talk about under story). If you are reading this review, then your either really bored, or trying to get this game, but seeing if it's good enough first. Well, since I can't write this stupid paragraph for much longer, I think hat I'll get serious now.

We waited a while for a Kirby game on the GBA! We were thrilled to hear about, K:NID (Kirby: Nightmare In Dreamland). After a while, we found out that it was a port. Good news for some (like me, I missed the NES version), and bad news for others (who are getting sick of ports, and have beaten the NES version thousands of times). But, whatever way you looked at it, it was what it was. Kirby. A small puffball, with a small cartridge containing the humungously fun, but a minaturely short adventure. Now, there was a lot done to this port, compared to the NES. The biggest difference is, undoubtedly, the graphics! The worlds are all so different, the graphics might aswell be the second best on the GBA! They are full, lushing detailed! My five year old brother even noticed! The character sprites are OK, you can tell that some of them were from the NES though, but they did a lot on dancing and swimming... But anyways, for a list of the differences, there is a differences FAQS on the FAQS page, so go there. Anyways, I've always been a Kirby fan, and after watching the show, it got me ready to buy this. Of course, the game has nothing in common with the show, but the show restored my pink puffball taste. Anyways, I was there at Wal-Mart, purchasing K:NID, aswell as my copy of Zelda, four swords... But that's a different story. So I picked up Kirby, played it, and now, two weeks later, here are my thoughts, and why it was given it's rating.

Story (6):Umm... You were expecting a major story with lots of twists and surprises? Go play final fantasy. The story, is that no one can dream anymore, because the dream wand has been stolen from the fountain of dreams, and our friend D.D.D. has split it up into seven pieces, hiding them with his minions. Simple right? Now keep in mind that I think that 6 is pretty generous. Don't say that it's Kirby, and that it can't have good stories, because that's what I thought to up until I played Revenge of the Meta knight on Superstar back on those SNES days. I wish that they would have ported that rather than this but, what can you do. Anyways, I digress, Kirby sets off to retrieve these pieces, and must go through many levels and bosses to get it back. Simple? Definitely, but going through with the game isn't as simple as hearing the story.

Gameplay (10):
This is where the big marks come in! Who doesn't love sucking up a badguy flailing a sword at you, and then swallowing him to become... Sword Kirby! Just among one of the many different types of enemies that you'll suck up, to turn into various Kirby's each with their own abilities. Infact, some abilities are needed to progress some times, some blocks can only be destroyed with certain abilities, so have fun finding all 24! They all vary in effects, and practicality, but their all really cool! They go from things like cutter, sword, wheel, mic, crash, throw, and backdrop, to zany things like fire, burning, ice, freeze, umbrella, beam and many many more! You can also spit out what you suck up, and not everything that you suck up will give you a power up. Some things, rarely, are un-suckable, and must be destroyed in a special way. Solving puzzles, swimming, solving , walking, floating, spitting, sucking, and changing from form to form, is how a usual level conducts, along with add ons according to the theme of the land that your in. Don't get me wrong though, the levels are all EXTREMELY different from each other! There are more aspects of the gameplay which I'll go more in depth on. (With no spoilers, lets begin going in depth!)
Minigames! 3 fun mini-games are available, and yours for the playing, whether you access them form the main games world map, or from the menu and play for fun, their sure to be a blast!
1) Quick Draw : As the name suggests, you need good reflexes to play this one. Don't concentrate on the music because before you know it, an exclamation mark appears on the screen, and you must quickly press ''A'' within a matter of milliseconds, before the opponent does. If your too slow, than they'll get you. It's pretty challenging, and I was only able to complete the game on the easiest level of difficulty.
2) Bomb Rally : Ah... My favourite. Use your spoon to serve to your opponents! Serve what? A bomb! Spoon that bomb to your opponent, who will serve it to someone else, then eventually, it will come down to you again, gaining speed, you whack it. Phew! Then... BOOM! Your opponent is gone hang in there. That's pretty much how the game goes until you are the last person standing.
3) Air Grind : Ever wanted a Kirby racing game? Well here it is! Grind, grind, grind, hover over the black rails, grind score bonuses. Filled with fun, three tracks, and awesome graphics, this game will keep you grinding in action for a long time.
Now, let's go into detail on the world map.
World Map : So many doors. A door with a number is a door to the level in that land. Eg. In land one, the two door would be the door to the second level. Another type, is the Coliseum doors, with two axes, where you fight a boss for health and their ability. The ''Previous'' door takes you back a world. The ''Next'' door takes you forward one. A Kirby door is a museum where you can get abilities for free. A star door is where you can warp between world that you have already been to. Two swords on a door are Quick Draw. A bomb is Bomb Rally. An eagle door is Kirby's Air Grind. And finally, the D.D.D. door is a boss battle.
Last thing for gameplay, which I won't go much into detail about, is bosses.
Bosses : Every boss cannot be sucked up. However they will ALWAYS somehow give you ammunition to suck up and throw at them, and they can also be defeated with abilities.

Music and Sound (9) : Their grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreat! The old Kirby tunes, with some new ones added. You've just got to love them. Never annoyed me once. Never did I find them repetitive. They have those fast pace boss songs, to the slow but steady pass through songs for the easier levels. There must be tons of sound affects with this game because of all the noises the different Kirby's make, and all of the sounds of sucking and throwing, complete with the ''Thud'' of apples falling to the ground, and filled with explosions and cannons. With such a wide variety, you can't go wrong! Kirby games always seem to have great music, and this game is no exception.

Graphics (10) : Can't forget about these. Their amazing! The backgrounds are filled with so much detail, the enemies vary in shape and size some huge and small, this game has them all! The ground that you walk on, the attacks that you use, AMAZING! When Kirby swims, it looks so cool that... It makes you wish that you could swim and look that good. Same thing with him dancing. Most of the badguys have some sort of smirk on their faces that makes you just want to kill them! Then you suck them up and blast them off. The attacks, especially burning, freeze, and UFO, aswell as wheel must have a lot of work put into them. Overall, great.

Mutiplayer (8) : This would have gotten a ten, but you can't play two player, well it's a secret which mode. The minigames are fun against each other, especially air grind and bomb rally and a few other secrets that are multi player. What really makes the multiplayer have such a good score is that you an play the whole main game on two-four players. Now beat that!

Challenge (7) : I'll admit that I just beat this game with all modes last night, taking me two weeks. I also have to admit though, that I was stuck a great deal in those two weeks, for things that I won't spoil to you. It's one of those games that is more fun than hard. This game has a high fun meter, but should have been a bit longer. The forty levels+bosses that this game boasts may seem long but it isn't really. Beating the game sort of takes away the fun, but their are tons of extras. I know that my friend beat the game his first time in three days, but hasn't finished with the rest yet. The game itself and minigames are fine, except that air-grind should have been a bit harder. The mini-games however, can be played against a friend to add difficulty. Having two players on the main game doesn't do anything to make the bad guys stronger. Oh well.

Replayability (8) : Sure, I started again, and although I have beaten the game, it's fun to beat again and again. You probably won't get bored of this game all in one sitting. The mini-games too, and other modes of play, aswell as multiplayer should make this game quite fun for the next little while. There should have been one extra level every time that you replayed the game, until you kept getting a single extra level from beating the game so many times that you would have gone bonkers over. Hehe. Well, that's my idea of fun, not everyone else's. Too bad.

Recap : Story: 6
Gameplay: 10
Music and Sound: 9
Graphics: 10
Multiplayer: 8
Challenge: 7
Replayability: 8
Overall: !!!8!!!

Buy/Rent/Neither : Hmmm.... Buy: You have a great game that you will most likely be tired of in one month unless you have another friend with the game, in which case this game becomes highly replayable with a friend making the ideal choice buy.
Hmm.... Rent: You have a good game, but can you rent it for a month? You have a great game here that you would have to rush through to beat, ignore all the fun stuff, and maybe not have time to play multiplayer.
Hm.... Neither: This is a little harsh, unless you have already played the NES version, or unless you don't like Kirby, or are out of money, then this game is a great choice. Unless you match the above, then don't stay away from this great game.

Overall Well, averaging this game is an 8. It shouldn't be overlooked in the Prime rush, but that's just up to you. Well, anyways citizens of dreamland, keep on dreaming!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/14/02, Updated 12/14/02