kirbys dream land 2

content/games/gameboy/kirbys-dreamland-2.md

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+---
+title: "Kirby's Dream Land 2"
+date: 2023-04-14T18:00:00+02:00
+score: 5
+howlongtobeat_id: 5078
+howlongtobeat_hrs: 2.6
+game_name: "Kirby's Dream Land 2"
+game_genre: '2D Platformer'
+game_release_year: 1995
+game_developer: 'HAL Laboratory'
+---
+
+In March 1995, the [previously white](/games/gameboy/kirbys-dreamland) now turned pink sucking fluff ball named Kirby dreamed up a much improved _Land_ installment for the Game Boy: _Kirby's Dream Land 2_. It would be the third Kirby Game Boy game, but the second mainline game since 1993's _Kirby's Pinball Land_ is one of the many spin-offs. 
+
+In-between the _Dream Land_ releases, the most important other entry is the NES console one titled _Kirby's Adventure_, where the copy ability was conceived by Kirby's father Masahiro Sakurai as a way to improve the replay value and up the challenge. The home console entry gave Kirby some much-needed color and increased the sprite size compared to the original. All these changes would transfer back to _Kirby's Dream Land 2_---except for the pink tones that will require some imagination on the monochrome Nintendo handheld. Two other home console spin-offs appeared before _Dream Land 2_: _Kirby's Avalanche_ (a boring Puyo Puyo repackaging) and _Kirby's Dream Course_ (a strange golf incarnation).
+
+![](kirby2.jpg "Left: we beat up Whispy Woods - again. Right: the intro sequence of level 7, the Dark Castle, with Kirby and his three animal friends.")
+
+The basic gameplay hasn't changed: suck up enemies, press down to copy their ability if desired as in the NES game, fly and/or jump, collect food to replenish health, and make your way to the door with the three stars that signifies the exit of a stage. 
+
+But stopping here would do _Kirby's Dream Land 2_ a great disservice: everything its predecessor did, _Dream Land 2_ does much, much better, of course partially thanks to the gameplay mechanics conveniently adopted from the NES release. The game is four times as long and doesn't simply have five stages, but seven _worlds_ (called "levels" in the game) divided into five to seven different stages each. Once unlocked, you can freely travel between the worlds to fetch a copy ability to your liking. 
+
+If you want to unlock the true ending, you'll need to take advantage of this: each world hides a rainbow droplet in a secret room behind a wall that can only be broken with a specific copy ability. As a kid, I remember collecting a few of these in the first worlds as they're easy to spot and grab, but I never truly understood the "bad" ending: when defeating king Dedede, after the credits roll, it states "the end... ?". Another hint: in the credits, all enemies reappear with their name tag, including the bosses, and one is hidden in shadows labeled with another question mark.
+
+![](select.jpg "Left: you now have to finish multiple stages within each level before the boss door opens (top left). Right: Kirby can travel back and forth between levels to find previously missed treasure.")
+
+Perhaps the most exciting addition to this Kirby installment is the introduction of his furry friends: Rick the hamster, Coo the owl, and Kine the sunfish. They act as an extra buffer and grant extra abilities, on top of the regular copy ones. For example, if you have the boomerang ability and pair up with Coo, he'll throw out three feathers at enemies, greatly extending the spread/range of the attack. Also, Coo can fly against the wind, just like Kine can swim faster and against certain streams. The ability I especially loved was electricity paired with Kine, which suddenly spits out exploding light bulbs that also light up dark environments, enabling you to spot hidden rooms!
+
+It's a lot of fun to discover new copy ability + animal companion combinations. When Rick turns into stone, he becomes a giant stone wheel Kirby mounts, rolling off slopes very fast, killing everything in their path. It's clear that once again a lot of love was put into this game, and it's amazing to see it all fits in a tiny GB cart! Even better, the cart comes with Super Game Boy (SGB) compatibility which does give _Dream Land 2_ a dab of color and adds a few nice custom borders and even a few additional sound effects. 
+
+_Kirby's Dream Land 2_ is indeed a dream for Kirby or Game Boy fans, and the game has rightfully received a lot of critical acclaim. Nintendo Power lists it as the 10th best GB(C) game ever, although the initial score was a bit less heartwarming: `3.25/5`. The game eventually sold a million copies, which thankfully was enough for the team at HAL to consider more (handheld) 2D Kirby mainline and spinoff installments. Too bad currently the game is a bit stuck in limbo, as the 3DS Virtual Console shop is closed, and it only was re-released as part of the Wii's _Kirby's Dream Collection_. If you're lucky, a loose GB cart will set you back for about `€20`.
+
+![](lvlends.jpg "Left: shoot for the clouds at the end of each stage! Right: before the credits roll, we learn the names of each enemy, such as the flying Bronto Burt here.")
+
+It's sad to see the Game Boy Color neglected as _Kirby's Dream Land 3_ was released in 1997 for the SNES, and we won't be seeing any mobile platforming Kirby activity until 2002's _Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land_ on the Game Boy Advance, a re-release of _Kirby's Adventure_ for the NES. That's a seven year gap! Until then, only spin-offs such as _Kirby's Block Ball_ and _Tilt 'n Rumble_ (which are both very good) are drip-fed to us to keep us busy. 
+
+Better than nothing!

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