Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

"A 1993 classic makes a perfect comeback."

Introduction
I must say that Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland (a port of Kirby's Adventure) is arguably the best game I have ever played. I have never played the 1993 version of Kirby's Adventure, so I wasn't so sure about buying this game. It was either this or Megaman and Bass, so I just chose Nightmare. Nightmare happens to be my first Kirby game, and since Super Smash Bros. doesn't count, there's not much room for error.

Gameplay - 10/10
This is definitely classic Kirby. From Waddle-Dee kicking to power sucking, you can't go wrong with this game. Kirby's moves are Float (A and A), Vacuum (B), Water Gun (B while underwater), and Slide Kick (Down and A or B). If Kirby eats an enemy with a special power and swallows it, he gains that enemy's special power until he loses a life or is damaged. Kirby has a number of transformations, such as Backdrop Kirby, Sword Kirby, Burning Kirby, and even UFO Kirby.

Story - 9/10
Dream Land is responsible for giving people dreams, and the Star Rod is the source of this power. However, one day, an evil force enters Dream Land and attempts to steal the Star Rod. King Dedede, who happens to be bathing in the Fountain of Dreams when he isn't supposed to, hides the Star Rod from the nightmare. He breaks it and gives the seven pieces to his cohorts. Looks like it is up to Kirby to save the day.

Graphics - 10/10
Usually, Advance games have stylish graphics. This also applies to Nightmare, which updates the Super NES graphics from the original Kirby's Adventure. There seems to be no actual flaws in the graphics, and sometimes there are 3D elements involved, such as the Sub-games. I also love the way how Meta-Knight is programmed, especially when he transports away from battles.

Sound - 9/10
The music and sound effects definitely matter to Nightmare. If you are playing the game on Mute, you won't have much fun at all. Nightmare borrows some classic music from the other Kirby games, such as Invincibility Mode, Theme of King Dedede, Theme of Meta-Knight, and the Staff Role.

Replayability - 7/10
Despite how much fun Nightmare is, after beating it, there isn't much to do left. However, there are special modes other than the adventure one. There are three unlocked Sub-games, which consist of bomb paddling, Warpstar grinding, and a quick draw contest. If you beat the main game, you unlock the Boss mode, which allows you to fight all the bosses with six health pieces. If you beat the game and earn a 100%, you get to play Extra mode, which is basically the same exact thing as the adventure mode, except that instead of having six health pieces, you only have three. If you manage to beat Extra mode, then you get to play as Meta-Knight (whose moves are vastly different than Kirby's) in the Sub-games as Extra mode. However, you are not allowed to save your game when playing as Meta-Knight, so it's usually not worth trying to beat. If you beat Extra mode with a 100% or beat Meta-Knight's adventure, you get diddlysquat.

Conclusion
If you like Kirby games, most likely you will enjoy Nightmare. However, if you played or own(ed) the original Kirby's Adventure, you ought to rent Nightmare first to see if it is any good.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 05/12/03, Updated 05/12/03