PixlBit

Kirby stars in one of the Game Boy's greatest titles

Kirby's Dreamland 2 was released for the Game Boy in 1995; it was developed by Hal Laboratory and published by Nintendo. This is the third mainline Kirby game, the first two being Kirby's Dream Land for Game Boy and Kirby's Adventure for NES. It's a platformer, and it's a good one; in fact, this may be the best Kirby game ever made. 

There are seven worlds (called "levels" in the game); each world has a few levels and a boss which Kirby enters through a door. At first, there are only three levels per world, but eventually more and more levels appear, until you reach world seven, which has seven levels and the boss. The levels are very short, but this makes sense considering KDL2 is a GB game, and short levels are ideal for road trips. 

Of course, the main mechanic of the game is Kirby's inhaling ability. There are several powers Kirby can imitate, including fire, ice, spikey, rock, electric, and cutter. When he gains a power, Kirby's appearance does not change (Kirby Super Star was the first game to do that); but considering the fact that this is the first game in which Kirby gains powers through inhaling, it's not a big deal. 

The level design is simple yet solid. As you know, Kirby can fly. Well, if you think you can just fly through the level, think again. Obstacles and enemies are always in the sky, making "flying through the level" impossible. Some levles involve swimming, and Kirby dons underwater goggles. Some levels scroll rapidly, and you have to move fast in order not to get squished. Many times in a level you'll face an enemy one-on-one, and after you defeat him, you can choose to suck him up. There is usually a bag that drops down; someone was tied up in the bag that you freed.

KDL2 is most noteworthy for introducing three animal friends that can help Kirby: Rick the hamster, Kine the fish, and Coo the owl. Hal was smart in giving you three friends with unique abilities. Rick is ground-based, and works best for platforming; Kine is best for the swimming sections, and is terrible for platforming (he's slippery); Coo is best for flying sections and can be very fast. The attack Kirby has affects his animal friend too. This is the best part of the game if you ask me. Let's say Kirby has the cutter ability: Rick will throw Kirby like a boomerang, Kine will shoot out vertical cutters, and Coo will shoot a barrage of feathers. Each attack is unique depending on the animal friend you have. I love the electric attack with Kine; he shoots a lightbulb, and the expression on his face at first is hilarious! 

Suffice to say, the animal friends add a lot to the game. Once you get one, his own theme begins to play, adding to the personality of the game. While on a friend, your lifebar will be for them; if your lifebar hits zero, they will disappear and it will just be Kirby again. 

I noticed some details in the game which are surprising, since this is a basic GB game. For example, when underwater, Kirby can't inhale; instead he pushes bubbles forward, which can attack underwater enemies. Also, if Kirby has the ability of fire or electricity, it won't be too effective underwater; they will fade before they get too far because you're underwater. If Kirby is hit just once while he has an ability, the ability will get knocked out of him in the form of a star; inhale the star in order to get it back. 

The bosses in KDL2 are great. It takes just a minute to learn the boss's attacks, but after that, you can get down the pattern. Now let me say, not all of the bosses are easy; some of them take some serious skill. Wispy Woods, Ice Dragon, and the cloud boss are all in this game. My favorite boss was Mr. Shine and Mr. Bright (the sun and moon), instant classic villains of the Kirby franchise. They work together to try and hurt Kirby, but they also take turns doing one-on-one with the pink puffball. King Dedede also makes his grand debut as the boss of the game, and once again, don't expect him to be easy like he was in Super Star. He's actually quite challenging; and it's good to hear that theme of his! 

Speaking of the music, KDL2 has a great soundtrack. Many of the tunes are those catchy upbeat Kirby-style tunes that we all love. None of them are long but they never get annoying; in fact, you'll probably start whistling with them. Check below for a few of my favorite themes from the game. 

Final Verdict--5 Stars: Awesome!

Wow, what a great game! I couldn't find any flaws with KDL2. Whenever I got frustrated, it was always my fault. The controls are tight, the level design is good, the bosses are challenging and satisfying, the music is catchy, and overall it's the best handheld Kirby game. My favorite Kirby game is definitely Kirby Super Star for the SNES, but this one is the best Kirby game for GB. It expanded quite a bit on the first Kirby's Dreamland. And the game has a lot of charm thanks to Kirby's animal friends, which is the best part of the game. Kirby has gone on to dominate on consoles and handhelds alike; his games are never too hard, but always lots of fun. You can purchase KDL2 on the 3DS Virtual Console, and I highly recommend you give it a try. 

Join me every Saturday as we take a look back at all kinds of retro games, good and bad.