Kirby’s Adventure: When Kirby Became… Kirby!
I think it’s safe to say it’s really hard to find a retro gamer and not have them be a fan of the Kirby games, I mean I don’t know very many people won DON’T like the Kirby series. With their happy bright colorful graphics and fun platforming along with some games having couch co-op to them, and let’s not forget about the endless amounts of copy abilities for Kirby to learn makes just about every game in the series a must play. However I want to go back to revisit one of Kirby’s early adventures in well… Kirby’s Adventure.
When I say revisit, I mean this in more than one way. In a few years around the COVID era (2020), I did a short lived podcast pretty much doing what I do now in blog form. The first episode I did for that was in fact Kirby’s Adventure. I thought back then what better way to start a new form of gaming review media than to have it be from a series that was designed to be an early player’s first game for them to play. So this is a revisit of a review that’s a revisit of the game itself, some Inception type stuff here. Now that I got a better idea on how I want to do these gaming reviews, I think 3 years is enough time to have a new take on one of my favorite games on the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Before we dive deep into Kirby’s Adventure, I think it’s a good idea to remind ourselves what exactly Kirby is. The game (at least the early ones) was designed for players who are beginners to video games. As most opther games around the NES era were very harsh and difficult, mainly so people would not beat them in one sitting or beat them in one game rental therefore having to in fact BUY the game, Kirby was looking out for the little guy. After all, we all gotta start somewhere.
Kirby’s first game was “Kirby’s Dream Land” on the original Game Boy. Released in 1992, it was made to be well… gamers first platformer, but it does not in a way “Baby” you into things. Yes the game is easy but it doesn’t let’s say insult your intelligence by hand holding you the entire way. The game gives you a goal and expects you to do the rest. This was a Game Boy game so it’s safe to say there’s really not much of a way to mess things up. The game only has four levels total and you can beat it in under a half hour if you know what you are doing. The game does have a hard mode that changes enemy placements and they do double damage, just in case the main game might be just a little bit too easy for you.
Kirby is a platformer game where Kirby (that’s you) is a round ball with legs and arms. Kirby can somewhat fly with his lightweight but Kirby’s main way to attack in this game is being able to eat/swallow objects and spit them out at enemies. Now notice I didn’t say anything about coping abilities or using their powers in this, Kirby’s Dream Land in fact did NOT have the copy ability that Kirby games are legendary known for. That would not happen until well… Kirby’s Adventure on the NES that was released the following year. This was added to add replayability as a flaw fans had on Kirby’s Dream Land was it a was/it pretty barebones when it comes to 2D platformers, even in that day and age.
To me, since Kirby’s Adventure is the first game where Kirby gets the ability to eat the baddies and gain their powers, you know the thing Kirby is most known for? I always saw this game as the first true Kirby game. This is also the first game Kirby was seen as being pink. Was kind of an unknown color due to the limitations of the original Game Boy, and no not that ugly green color the Game Boy had for a screen. So you can say Kirby’s Adventure was when the series found its identity not just for what the games want to be, but for even the look and feel as well.
Kirby’s Adventure story starts as the evil King DeDeDe has stolen Dreamland’s dreams, and taken the Star Rod, our McGuffin of our adventure. Now it’s time for our little hero with a big appetite to save the day! Kirby must fight tons of bad guys along with a mysterious swordsman named Metaknight. Metaknight likes to throw his henchmen at you so watch out.
Kirby plays like mostly like any other platformer. Kirby can fly by tapping on the up button, but of course you can’t just fly over everything to progress. Kirby can also run by tapping the right or left direction twice. But of course, Kirby’s main focus is him being able to eat and either spit out enemies or eat them to gain their powers. For example, if Kirby eats an enemy with a sword, Kirby can use a sword. If Kirby eats a wheel like an enemy, you can turn into a wheel and blaze the ground at high speeds, and that is what makes this game so great. There’s so many copy abilities that result in endless opportunities and replays of the game. It’s encouraged to keep playing so you can try them all!
The game’s overworld is also quite different from other games. Normally it’s just level to level and you might MAYBE get a map to pick a level from Super Mario Bros 3. In Kirby’s Adventure, you play Kirby like you do in a level. There are doors all around the hub world that enter your levels, beat the selected number of levels that lead you to the world boss. Beat the boss and it’s on to the next world. There’s also some secret areas you can find by using the right copy abilities in areas of a level. There’s also some mini games you can play to stack up some extra lives. Some of these modes also can be played ala 2 players against your friends.
Another thing that makes Kirby’s Adventure stand out is the game’s presentation. The game is very colorful and the soundtrack is very uplifting and memorable. One of the best soundtracks on the NES by far. The game has plenty of content and replayability as well as not feeling too hard to beat. Sometimes you just need something nice and easy to play.
There are some spots later in the game that do get tricky even for some experienced players. One of the final boss fights is a sword fight with Metaknight and what is a pretty awesome boss battle. One of the final conflicts you have is with King DeDeDe and honestly, he’s no pushover. It’s not as hard or ruthless as say a Super Mario Bros 3 or Megaman 2, but I think the game is just the right amount of balance of being fun without feeling too easy.
If there are any issues I had with Kirby’s Adventure, I say it’s these two. First, when there’s a ton happening on the screen, the framerate goes to a crawl. Sometimes to the point that simple inputs were getting eaten up, and Kirby should be the only one eating in this game. It’s mostly fine but there’s a few cases where you can tell the NES is being pushed to its limits, even for Kirby’s Adventure being a late in the NES’ lifespan. The second issue would be it’s the kind of game where enemies respond if you leave the screen for two seconds before coming back. You can use this to your advantage at times but again, likely an issue with the limitations of the system.
The game ends with DeDeDe DeDeDefeated but you learn he was in fact protecting the Star Wand from a bigger evil known as The Nightmare. Now with DeDeDe out of the picture, The Nightmare can rule Dreamland, but not on Kirby’s watch. The final battle is Kirby grabbing the Star Wand that can shoot starts at The Nightmare in what’s honestly a pretty intense final boss for a game that’s mostly well… sunshine and rainbows.
In the end, Kirby’s Adventure is one of my all time favorite NES games. The uplifting and fun music, the simple yet fun game play, the copy ability adding another dimension to the game, and tons more. If you have an NES or have never played Kirby’s Adventure, it is highly recommended. Sometimes there’s more to gaming than just being hard and you just need a fun adventure to go on. Kirby’s Adventure has got you covered. There’s also tons of other Kirby games to feed your Kirby size appetite, but this one might be one of my favorites.
