Kirby's Dream Land
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Kirby's Dream Land is a platforming video game released on the Game Boy and the first installment of the Kirby series. Kirby's Dream Land was developed by HAL Laboratory, published by Nintendo, and designed by Masahiro Sakurai. With over 5.13 million copies sold worldwide since its release, it was the series' best-selling game for three decades, only being surpassed by Kirby and the Forgotten Land in 2022.[3] It was also later released as a Player's Choice title. In 2011, Kirby's Dream Land was released as one of the launch titles on the Nintendo 3DS's Virtual Console. In 2012, Kirby's Dream Land was included as one of the playable games in the Wii compilation title, Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition. In 2023, Kirby's Dream Land was included on the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy channel.
Kirby's Dream Land is a side-scrolling platformer title, and follows suit from other such video games of the age, with a few key differences. The game - and its titular protagonist - are designed with beginners in mind. Instead of restricting the player to a single jump and limited attacks, Kirby is able to hover indefinitely in the air to get over bottomless pits and other hazards. He is also fairly hardy, able to take several hits before being defeated, whereas most other platformers would have the character defeated in one or two hits. Kirby is also equipped with his trusty inhale, which allows him to simply eat most of the enemies on his path, and spit them out to defeat other enemies. As such, Kirby's Dream Land is easy to complete, with only five stages and relatively easy boss fights interspersed, but a hidden bonus version of the game lets players go through again against tougher enemies.
Story
“ | On a tiny star somewhere far, far away from earth[sic], there is a very special place known as Dream Land. The Dream Landers are very happy people who use their magical Sparkling Stars to play and work among the heavens. That is until one dark night when the gluttonous King Dedede and his rotten band of thieves swooped down from neighboring Mt. Dedede for a midnight snack in Dream Land. | ” | — Kirby's Dream Land Instruction Booklet (North American print), page 3 |
Kirby's Dream Land takes place in Dream Land, where all the people live happy lives. One day, a band of thieves, led by King Dedede, swoops down from Mt. Dedede and steals all the food from the land, as well as the Sparkling Stars from the sky. Kirby, an outsider who recently came to Dream Land,[4][5][6] cannot stand for this and heads to Mt. Dedede to retrieve the stolen goods and save this land.
Kirby travels through five areas of Dream Land to reach King Dedede. At the end of each land, Kirby must do battle with one of King Dedede's top goons, in the form of a Boss, who will drop one Sparkling Star upon defeat. After defeating Dedede and collecting the last of these stars, Kirby uses them to inflate into a giant hot air balloon, and carry Dedede's castle all across the land, showering the stolen food back onto the kingdom. That done, Kirby returns to normal size and lands on a podium, to be cheered by the denizens of Dream Land.
Gameplay
Kirby's Dream Land is a two-dimensional platforming game set in the whimsical fantasy realm of Dream Land. The player controls Kirby and must successfully complete each stage by getting this spry round fellow to the end - avoiding attacks from enemies before losing all of his vitality points to them - and defeating the boss at the end of each stage. To accomplish this, Kirby has a fair amount of abilities at his disposal; able to walk, fly, and let out an Air Bullet or use a Dive Attack to defeat nearby opponents. Kirby can also use his signature inhale to dispose of enemies and objects, though he cannot fly while something is in his mouth.
By inhaling an enemy or object, Kirby can either spit them back out as a Star Bullet to defeat other enemies and destroy obstacles, or Kirby can swallow the inhaled object to remove it from the equation. However, when swallowing an enemy, Kirby does not gain any new ability, as his trademark Copy Ability would not be part of his toolkit until the next game: Kirby's Adventure. Kirby's Dream Land also features a score, which increases by defeating enemies, or even just breaking Star Blocks. Like many other video games, the score has no direct effect on the gameplay, nor is it saved in any sort of high-score table.
Controls
- Left/Right: Move Kirby
- Down: Crouch / swallow an inhaled object
- Up: Kirby puffs up (hold to Hover)
- A - Jump
- B - Inhale then spit enemies and/or objects / let out an Air Bullet while floating
- START - pause the game
The player can reset the game by pressing A, B, START, and SELECT at the same time.
Stages
Stages in Kirby's Dream Land | ||||||||||||
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Items
There are items that assist Kirby during his adventure. Some of these items enhance Kirby's attacks, allowing Kirby to destroy enemies, while others act as recovery items. In some cases, an item is required to defeat a boss or continue through a stage.
Items in Kirby's Dream Land | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Antagonists
Enemies
Different types of enemies are encountered throughout the game, all of which will harm Kirby if he touches them. Most adversaries can be defeated by spitting something at them, which adds a set amount of point to Kirby's score. Alternatively, many may also be inhaled and swallowed, or used as ammunition; however, doing so only awards Kirby half the amount of points. Most enemies respawn once their starting position is scrolled off the screen. Notably - unlike with subsequent games - enemies in Kirby's Dream Land do not have preset movement patterns or terrain interactions, instead having their movement and behavior manually and individually specified.[7] As such, specific enemies such as Waddle Dees tend to vary in their movement.
In the Extra Game, many opponents are replaced by faster or stronger ones. The columns "Normal Game" and "Extra Game" in the following table indicate whether or not an enemy appears in that game mode; if it is absent from a mode, its replacement is listed.
Enemies in Kirby's Dream Land | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Mid-Bosses
In Green Greens, Castle Lololo, and Bubbly Clouds, Kirby encounters a Mid-Boss which must be defeated in order to move on. All Mid-Bosses have three points of health; their current health is displayed in place of Kirby's score during the fight. Unlike regular enemies, none of them are replaced in the Extra Game; instead, the battles with them become more difficult.
Mid-Bosses in Kirby's Dream Land | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Bosses
Bosses are strong opponents faced at the end of every stage. Like Mid-Bosses, they possess a health meter that replaces the score display during the battle and become stronger in the Extra Game. In the Mt. Dedede stage, all of the bosses previously encountered in the game must be defeated a second time to enable Kirby to fight King Dedede.
Bosses in Kirby's Dream Land | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Other Modes
Kirby's Dream Land features other game modes that allow for a change in the game's difficulty.
Extra Game
Extra Game is a mode in which all enemies become more challenging. For example, Waddle Dees move faster, and gain the ability to jump. In addition, normal enemies usually deal double damage. Some enemies are replaced with new, more aggressive enemies. This mode can be enabled at any time by pressing Up, Select, and A while on the title screen, though the code isn't revealed until clearing the main game once.
Configuration Mode
If the player holds down the buttons B + Down + Select on the title screen, the Configuration Menu opens, where Kirby's total HP (between one and six) or amount of lives he can carry (between one and nine) can be adjusted. This allows for adjustments to the game's difficulty, making it possible, for instance, to play a game where only one hit results in a Game Over. The Sound Test is also accessible from this menu. The code is revealed after clearing the Extra Game and can be entered at any time on the title screen before or after the fact.
Staff
The following is a list of staff who have worked on Kirby's Dream Land:
Staff of Kirby's Dream Land | |
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Position | Developer(s) |
Director / Chief Designer | Masa Sakurai[sic] |
Chief Programmer | Kyouhei Miyabi |
Programmer | Sunday Rain |
GDV Programmer | Mammy Preco Tetsuya Notoya |
Designer | Mogami Kurand[sic] |
Sound Composer | Jun Ishikawa |
Special Thanks | Bubby Cipher |
Supervisor | Bou Nakajima |
Producer | Makoto Kanai |
And so many players. Kirby's Dream Land presented by... HAL Laboratory, Inc. and Nintendo |
Development
- Main article: Kirby's Dream Land/development
References to other games
- Adventures of Lolo - The bosses Lololo and Lalala are inspired by Lolo and Lala from the Adventures of Lolo series, which was also created by HAL Laboratory, Inc.
- Super Mario Bros. - In Castle Lololo, several blocks with question marks appear, though they cannot be interacted with in the same way.
References in later games
Most subsequent Kirby games utilize the music and motifs established in this title, most notably the Green Greens theme and King Dedede's Theme. The following are more specific references that have been made by later Kirby games:
Kirby's Adventure / Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
Stage 6 of Rainbow Resort is based on Kirby's Dream Land, featuring a grayscale environment and the original Green Greens theme. In Kirby's Adventure, enemies, items, and the heads-up display are depicted in grayscale as well.
Kirby Super Star / Kirby Super Star Ultra
Spring Breeze
- Main article: Spring Breeze
In Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra, one of the Sub-Games is named Spring Breeze, which is a condensed version of Kirby's Dream Land. Some differences include:
- Obtaining Copy Abilities and making helpers.
- Items that give Kirby powers are gone.
- Castle Lololo is incorporated into Float Islands.
- Kaboola is not battled at the end of Float Islands. Instead, Lololo & Lalala are battled.
Revenge of the King
- Main article: Revenge of the King
Exclusive to Kirby Super Star Ultra, the game mode Revenge of the King also takes cues from both Spring Breeze and Kirby's Dream Land. Specifically, it pays homage to the Extra Game in the latter by including enemies like Koozer, Flotzo, and Blatzy in place of their normal counterparts and features five stages with souped-up versions of the original Kirby's Dream Land bosses (including Kabula).
Kirby: Triple Deluxe
In Stage 2 of Lollipop Land, a tapestry can be found that - when unfurled - depicts the original Green Greens stage from this game in its original monochrome sprite-based look.
In addition, another tapestry can be found in the last extra stage of Kirby: Triple Deluxe - Royal Road - Stage 8 EX - which depicts Kirby and King Dedede battling in Bubbly Clouds using the same classic style.
Kirby's Blowout Blast
- Main article: Kirby's Blowout Blast
The downloadable title based on Kirby 3D Rumble is in many ways an homage to Kirby's Dream Land, featuring stage elements and bosses from the game.
For example, the five main levels are based on the five stages of Kirby's Dream Land and use their musical themes. Bosses such as Lololo & Lalala and Kracko Jr. appear at the end of stages. A Sparkling Star also appears at the end during the fights with King Dedede to turn him into Giant King Dedede.
In addition, Kirby uses no Copy Abilities in this game, relying almost exclusively on his Inhale to dispatch enemies.
Kirby Star Allies
The last extra stage in Kirby Star Allies - Extra Planet δ - features a section at the end which is displayed in monochrome and resembles the Green Greens stage in Kirby's Dream Land, including the "IN" side area. The original Green Greens theme plays here as well.
In addition, when completing Soul Melter EX difficulty in The Ultimate Choice, a Dream Button appears on the main menu which allows the player to change Kirby's look to make him resemble his original artwork from Kirby's Dream Land.
References outside the Kirby series
- Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins - The Unibō enemy from this game looks very much like the Gordo, and could possibly be based on it.
- The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening - Sea Urchins from this game bear a strong resemblance to Gordos. An enemy also appears in this game called 'Anti-Kirby' which looks very similar to the real one.
- Super Smash Bros. games - Dream Land GB is a stage that appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which takes its general appearance, default music, and graphical style directly from Kirby's Dream Land, scrolling through various areas of the game as displayed by a Game Boy.
Descriptions
Nintendo eShop
Kirby's video-game debut, rereleased for the Nintendo 3DS™!
Dream Land is in peril! An evil king has stolen the magical Twinkle Stars. And if they're not recovered, the people of Dream Land will starve. Join Kirby™, our cute and roly-poly little hero, as he runs, jumps, floats, and swims in search of these treasured Twinkle Stars. He'll puff his way through castles, caves, dungeons, and forests. In his path are many wicked and greedy enemies, but Kirby has a special way to defeat them! It's nonstop action all the way to the top of Mt. Dedede!
By the way, as you can see in the original art, Kirby wasn't always pink—he started out colorless!
My Nintendo Store
Kirby's debut video game has been re-released for the Nintendo 3DS system.
Dream Land is in peril. An evil king has stolen the magical Twinkle Stars. If they're not recovered, the people of Dream Land will starve.
Join Kirby, our cute and roly-poly little hero, as he runs, jumps, floats and swims in search of the treasured Twinkle Stars. He'll puff his way through castles, caves, dungeons and forests. There are many wicked and greedy enemies in his path, but Kirby has a special way to defeat them. It's nonstop action all the way to the top of Mt. Dedede.[8]
Game Boy - Nintendo Switch Online
Someone has stolen from Dream Land. It's Kirby to the rescue!
Dream Land is in peril. An evil king has stolen the magical Twinkle Stars. If they're not recovered, the people of Dream Land will starve. Join Kirby, our cute and roly-poly little hero, as he runs, jumps, floats and swims in search of the treasured Twinkle Stars. He'll puff his way through castles, caves, dungeons and forests. There are many wicked and greedy enemies in his path, but Kirby has a special way to defeat them. It's nonstop action all the way to the top of Mt. Dedede.
Trivia
- The international box art has a few oddities: most infamously, Kirby is colored white, despite being pink on the Japanese cover art. This trait also extends to the North American TV ad, which carries over Kirby's design from the international box art. In addition, an unknown enemy that could be taken as Booler appears, if not for the nose, eyeballs and its worm-like appearance rather than a ghost-alike. Others include Gordo having a mouth and Bronto Burt having a nose.
- The reason for Kirby's white design is unclear. Satoru Iwata considered the change to relate to Western marketing,[9] while Masahiro Sakurai believed it came from a simple mistake due to the colorless sprites of the Game Boy.[10] The 20th Anniversary Kirby Dream Encyclopedia sides with Sakurai's explanation.[11]
- In the video "Development Secrets of the Original Kirby [Grab Bag]", Masahiro Sakurai explains that in his original draft for how the health and damage system would work in Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby would be sent flying if hit by most enemies, flying farther the more damage he had taken, and would only be defeated if he was knocked fully off-screen before the camera could re-center on him. While this was not used in the final game, Sakurai points out that a similar concept would eventually resurface for the Super Smash Bros. series (on a further note, this original damage system would be implemented more-or-less exactly for Adventure Mode: The Subspace Emissary in Super Smash Bros. Brawl). On why the idea took so long to be implemented into a game, Sakurai states: "I had forgotten about it. Totally and completely."
- After the events of the story and before the following game, the denizens of Dream Land gifted Kirby a house for helping them.[12]
Gallery
- Main article: Kirby's Dream Land/gallery
Names in other languages
Language | Name | Meaning |
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Japanese | 星のカービィ Hoshi no Kābyi |
Kirby of the Stars |
Chinese | 星之卡比[13] Xīng zhī Kǎbǐ Kirby's Dream Land[14] |
Kirby of the Stars - |
Dutch | Kirby's Dream Land | - |
French | Kirby's Dream Land | - |
German | Kirby's Dream Land | - |
Italian | Kirby's Dream Land | - |
Korean | 별의 커비[15] Kirby's Dream Land byeol-ui keobi |
Kirby of the Stars - |
Portuguese | Kirby's Dream Land | - |
Russian | Kirby's Dream Land |
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Spanish | Kirby's Dream Land | - |
External links
- Official website (Japanese, archived from the Wayback Machine)
- Kirby's Dream Land on nintendo.com (archive)
- Kirby's Dream Land on nintendo.co.uk
- Kirby's Dream Land on Kirby Informer
- English manual (North American print) (Australian print) (external archive)
- Japanese manual (external archive, with commentary)
- 3DS Japanese digital manual (archive)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The release date of Kirby's Dream Land in Europe has conflicting sources. While Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and a Twitter post of NintendoUK claim it released in August 1992, a Finnish Nintendo magazine, as well as three different Miiverse posts claim it released in December 1992. In addition, a European magazine did not list the game on their first issue of October 1992, and only covered Kirby's Dream Land for the first time on their December 1992 issue, and added it to their list of games on the issue after, saying it was new.
- ↑ Nintendo of Korea (Wayback Machine snapshot)
- ↑ Iwata and Miyamoto: Business Ascetics - An Excerpt from Nintendo Magic, Gamasutra
- ↑ "みんなどうしようかなとなやんでいる時、 ひとりの若者がプププランドにやってきました。
その若者は旅の途中でした。
しかし、プププランドのひとびとが困っていることを聞くと、みんなの食べ物をぼくが取り戻し、みんなおなかいっぱいごはん を食べられるようにしてあげようと、ひとりでデデデ山へとむかっていきました。
はるかぜとともに現れたゆうかんな若者。 その名は「カービィ」。
As everyone pondered what to do, a youngster arrived in Dream Land.
That youngster was in the middle of a trip.
However, upon hearing that the folks of Dream Land were in trouble, they headed alone to Mt. Dedede to retrieve everyone's food and ensure that everyone could eat to their heart's content.
That brave youngster came together with the spring breeze. His name was "Kirby".
" –星のカービー 取扱説明書
Kirby of the Stars Instruction Manual
(), pg. 3 - ↑ "お風とともにやってきた、旅の若者。純真で、お人よしな面もあり、プププランドの危機を救ったことをきっかけにそのまま居住している。
A young traveler who came with the wind. They are innocent and kind-hearted, and after saving Dream Land from a crisis, they continue to reside there.
" –20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia (Shogakukan), pg. 15 - ↑ "はるか ぜとともにプププランドにやって来た カービィは、みんなの食べ物をデデデ 大王から取り返すため戦います。
Kirby, who came to Dream Land with the spring breeze, fights to recover everyone's food from King Dedede.
" –Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Fest Pamphlet (), pg. 28 - ↑ "Secrets of Enemy Movement" section of the video "Development Secrets of the Original Kirby [Grab Bag]" on Masahiro Sakurai's YouTube channel
- ↑ Kirby's Dream Land on the My Nintendo Store
- ↑ "In addition, some people in the Western market said a pink soft character floating in air would never be accepted. So in the West, they changed Kirby's colour on the box from pink to white." –Satoru Iwata (GDC 2011 keynote)
- ↑ "海外のカービィが白だったのは、ゲームボーイのROMが白黒だけだったため、海外の人が勘違いしたから。" –Masahiro Sakurai (Twitter).
- ↑ "海外ではカービィは白かった!
同じく海外の話だが、初代『星のカービィ』のアートワークは、現在のピンク色のカービィではなく、白色で発売されている。海外のスタッフが、ゲームボーイの白黒画面を見て、勘違いをしたからだという。
Kirby Was White Overseas!
On another international topic, the artwork for the original Kirby's Dream Land did not feature the modern pink Kirby; it released with a white Kirby instead. It is said that there was a misunderstanding with the overseas staff due to the black-and-white screen of the Game Boy." –20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia (Shogakukan), pg. 59 - ↑ "プププランドの人々を助けたカービィは、お私にもらった家で暮らしている。
Kirby, who helped the people of Dream Land, lives in a house they received as a gift.
" –20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia (Shogakukan), pg. 20 - ↑ From the Chinese versions of Kirby Star Allies
- ↑ From the Chinese versions of Kirby's Dream Buffet
- ↑ "첫 「별의 커비」부터 등장한 라이벌!
스스로를 대왕이라 부르는 터프한 녀석이
프렌즈의 힘을 이어받아 해머를 휘두른다!
"그렇게 내가 필요하다면⋯
좋았어! 같이 가 주지!" –King Dedede (Pause screen description in Kirby Star Allies)
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