3.5/5 ★ – MegaBlastoise's review of Kirby's Dream Land.

Platform Played: Nintendo Switch Online Date Reviewed: Apr. 3,  2023 Rating: 7/10 The Kirby franchise has been getting alot of love over the past couple of years, and I'll admit it has been quite a while since I played the first entry in the series. With NSO getting some new additions in the form of GameBoy/GBC and GBA and this game being the launch title for that particular service, I felt it was the right time to replay Dream Land 1. Originally released for the GameBoy in August of 1992, this was the game that put HAL on the map. Has Dream Land 1 aged compared to the rest of the series, and is it worth your time in today's market? Kirby's Dream Land is a 2D platformer where our favorite pink fluffball (although he was white on the box art for this game since Nintendo hadn't decided on his official color) can suck up enemies and either swallow them or spit them out at another enemy killing 2 birds with 1 stone. However, I do find it a bit difficult to go back to this game since copy abilities aren't a thing here, making your options on how to tackle a level very limited. Speaking of levels, there's only 5 of them in this entire game and each of them don't last very long. Granted, this is an early-to-mid GameBoy game and there is a hard mode that unlocks when you beat the game once, but a lot of the time, I just flew past enemies since fighting regular mooks isn't worth it. The graphics are rather good for the time and the music is very catchy. Green Greens is basically the 1-1 of the franchise (along with its boss Wispy Woods), King DeDeDe's boss theme is also very iconic as it's had many versions over the years, and the various other bosses do return in later games. If there's one thing the Kirby series is known for, it's references to this game. The story is basically non-existent as it's a "DeDeDe is an asshole, go stop him" plot, but it's a GameBoy game so I'll let it slide. Overall, while it does have its fair share of jank, Kirby's Dream Land 1 is a short but sweet adventure. I wouldn't go out of my way to play it, but it's easy enough that a young kid can play it with little to no problem. If you have NSO, you might want to check it out, but keep your expectations at a moderate level.