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NES
Developer: Hal Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1 Player
Release Date: 1993
Genre: Action/Platformer
Saving Option: Battery FeatureKirby's Adventure was the star, Kirby's first (and only) Nintendo game. To call it excellent, would be an understatement. It featured better than ever NES graphics, a big variety of tunes and extras galore to keep all ages glued to this classic game. Nintendo fanatics way back then and even today, regard Kirby's Adventure as one of the best NES games ever! But not only that, this game proved (since it came out in 1993) that the NES's magic was everlasting; so great that even in the 16-bit era could it still pass the test of time!
Storyline: The wicked King DeDeDe is at it once again causing chaos in the magical world of Dream Land! This time however, he has stolen the star wand, split it into 7 different pieces and kept one for himself and the rest to his minions. The Fountain of Dreams; the fountain which secures all dreams and makes them come true will never work again unless the wand is returned to it. Who will be brave enough to do this? None other than "Maximum Pink" himself... Kirby! Kirby will venture through Dream Land in search of the Star wands but what else is in store for our pink, puffy hero?
Graphics: The graphics are beautiful; bright and colorful. The attention to detail is also very good and does a great job of creating the neat atmosphere that is put in each level. Vegetable Valley for example is filled with forests while Ice Cream Island contains a tropical paradise and underwater areas.
The backgrounds' graphics may be The biggest strength of the game. NES-wise, the backgrounds in Kirby's Adventure are superb! There's one level that takes place in a forest and you can see an ocean in the distance. There is also some nifty parallax scrolling in the tower stages of the game. If all that wasn't enough, the game has smooth animation as well. I especially like the intro's to each new stage! Their the bomb!
Sound: The music in Kirby's Adventure is probably what keeps me coming back so many times to play it. The tunes are mostly upbeat and cheerful but the two I like the most are Grape Garden and Rainbow Resort. I don't know, there's something timeless, classic... magical about those tracks.
The sound effects in Kirby's Adventure are pretty good for the NES. Nothing is groundbreaking but some of the weapon attacks; the wheel attack does a "burning rubber" sound, the freeze attack has a "twinkle" sound... you get the point. They get the job done.
Gameplay: You play as Kirby and start off on a small map/screen and you have to go through a door which is in fact level 1-1. Upon finishing the level, you come out the door and the map starts to expand revealing another level and stuff like museums (has items in which you can use any time), arenas (fight a sub-boss for a Maximum tomato), and 3 museums (the "crane fever" game, the draw, and the bomb and bird game). Also, there are times when not all of the map is cleared. In order to do this, you look for a door you previously visited and if it is still flashing, that means there's a switch that has to be pushed which unveils that section of the level (if the level is done, the door will be white)! I'm going to warn you, those switches are well-hidden and ace exploration is needed.
One of the things that made Kirby so famous was his ability to inhale and object/enemy and use its powers. This was very innovative on behalf of Hal Laboratory's part. It's a step ahead of Mega Man's copy ability that's for sure!
And through such a huge game it definitely needed a battery saving feature which makes the game a heck of a lot smoother to play. Upon finishing the game, you are given bonus games on the main menu but also the "Extra game". In this there is no save feature, bosses are hard/stronger, and you only have 3 blocks of life now instead of 8! Once you finish this however, you will receive the last Easter Egg of Kirby's Adventure... a sound test!
Control: The play control is awesome! Kirby can run, fly, slide, and utilize more than 20 special abilities. The controls are very responsive and easy to use which is very important in an action game. By holding down on the control pad and A you can slide which kills enemies, and of course you can inhale enemies with the B button. Here are all the techniques Kirby can have:
Laser Attack: Kirby shoots a laser beam forward.
Ice Attack: Kirby shoots an ice-thrower-like beam and freezes enemies into blocks!
Ice Shield: Kirby makes ice form around him freezing all enemies to ice blocks!
Fire Attack: Kirby shoots an flame-thrower-like beam and kills enemies!
Electricity Shield: Kirby does a "Blanka" and makes electricity form around him making himself invincible!
UFO Attack: Kirby boards a UFO and has various forms of attacks. By pressing B, he shoots a laser attack, B+ control pad makes Kirby use the Beam attack, and if you hold B, you can charge the UFO and shoot a "super shot" that wipes out everything in your path (Kirby can make this same move by inhaling more than one enemy at once and can shoot out the same "super shot")!
Crash Attack: Kirby can zoom around the whole screen thus killing all enemies on the screen.
Beam Attack: Kirby waves a beam starting from top to bottom killing a enemy in front of him.
Spike Shield: Kirby sprouts spikes and kills any enemy who bumps into him.
Back Drop Attack: Kirby sucks an opponent near and slams him into the ground.
Toss Attack: Kirby performs a "super suck" and tosses an object/enemy into whatever direction you want!
Wheel Attack: Kirby transforms into a wheel and can turn baddies into roadkill!
Mike Attack: Kirby can use this item 3 times, killing all enemies on the screen!Fun Factor: The game is a "fun magnet" if there ever was such a thing! Awesome grahpics, breath-taking music, challenging puzzles, and out-of-this-world bonus games are moere than enough to keep the NES controller in your hand. And let's not forget about the saving feature! without that it wouldn't even be half as fun and you know it. Even when you beat the game, your still buried in excitement with accessible bonus games like the Draw game, and Crane fever game on your file when you start up the game! You are also given the chance to play a more harder version of the game as stated before, and it's worth it. You are rewarded with a sound test which is sweet enough already knowing that the music kicks ass!
Frustration: There's nothing really to complain about here... unless you're some whiny 8-year old PS2 brat who expects to have on-line capabilities (which it doesn't). But if your that type of guy your not welcomed here anyway, go on and play some Halo!
......BOTTOM LINE: A brilliant game that proves that the NES was the greatest console of all time, since this was from '93 and all (the supposed twilight of the NES). I mean, were talking SNES like graphics and it's that good they made a newer version of this for the Game Boy Advance entitled, "Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land". And to top it all off, this thing has a batter in it and not a lot of NES games with batteries are good games (except the Zelda, FF, and DW series, that is).
-Jason Hogan
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