Kirby's Dream Land 2
Encyclopedia
Kirby's Dream Land 2, known as in Japan, is a platforming
video game developed by HAL Laboratory
and published by Nintendo
for the Game Boy
handheld video game console
. It was first released in Japan on March 21, 1995, and was later released in North America
on May 1, 1995.It was released in Europe on July 31, 1995.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 continues the adventures of Kirby from Kirby's Dream Land
and Kirby's Adventure
, adding three animal friends to aid Kirby in battle. It can be played on the Super Game Boy
, and gives slight changes to the game, such as adding a custom color scheme, a special game border, and a few new sound effects.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 was slated to be remade for the Game Boy Color
as Kirby's Dream Land 2 DX, but was cancelled along with Metroid II: Return of Samus
DX.
If the player had previously collected all seven Rainbow Drops from each of the islands, they form into the Rainbow Sword and exorcise the Dark Matter from the defeated Dedede. Holding the mystic object, Kirby follows Dark Matter in a final showdown. He defeats Dark Matter and uses the sword to create a new rainbow, thus restoring peace to Dream Land.
Kirby's Dream Land 2, like previous Kirby titles, is a platforming video game. Kirby is able to walk, swim, and fly throughout a variety of levels, using several allies and enemy powers in order to reach the goal at the end of each level. However, a variety of obstacles lie in his path. These obstacles range from pits to enemies. If Kirby touches an enemy or is hit by an enemy's attack, Kirby will lose one bar of health (out of six total health points).
Kirby's basic abilities include running, jumping, flight, swimming, and inhaling. Flight involves inhaling air (Up button), followed with the press of the jump button which will make Kirby fly. By continuously pushing the jump button, Kirby can reach any height (unless something prevents him from reaching that height). At any time when Kirby has inhaled air, he can exhale by either landing on the ground or you can also release it yourself. When the air is released, Kirby will exhale a puff of air, which can be used to damage enemies or destroy blocks.
Inhaling objects, enemies, and food is the trademark ability of Kirby's. To inhale anything, the player must hold down the B button. Kirby can then indefinitely inhale, and if an enemy, object, or food is in range, Kirby will eat it. When food is inhaled, it is automatically swallowed and will heal Kirby if he has any damage. When Kirby inhales an enemy or object, it remains in his mouth. At this point, Kirby can shoot them out as a star (causing damage to anything in its path), or simply swallow them. When certain enemies are swallowed, Kirby will gain their ability, such as ice breath or the ability to turn into stone.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 introduces three new allies to aide him in his adventure: Rick the Hamster, who allows Kirby to ride on his back, runs faster, and doesn't slip on ice; Coo the Owl, who can carry Kirby and fly through harsh winds and allows Kirby to inhale while flying; and Kine the Ocean Sunfish, who can carry Kirby in his mouth and swim through waters with ease even against currents (although he performs poorly on land), and with whom Kirby can inhale underwater. Whenever Kirby is aided by an animal friend, his current power is altered. For example, if Kirby has the Spark ability, riding on Rick will change it to the Beam attack from Kirby's Adventure.
, there is a special border with Kirby's animal friends, and the graphics are drawn in limited color. For example, each stage has a color theme, such as "Grass Land" being yellowscale, "Big Forest" being greenscale, etc. The world map gets more colors (each "land" is its respective color, and the sky is blue with white clouds. Also, the in-level status bar has its own separate color scheme. Also, the ending sequence has a unique color palate that makes use of as many colors as the Super Gameboy would allow, such as Kirby painting a rainbow. There are some special sound effects added using the Super Nintendo's sound chip as well. On the game start screen, the sound of applause plays; on the stage select screen, gusts of wind blow; and on the final stage, the sound of thunder booming plays.
Unlike the original Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2 is composed by both Hirokazu Ando and Tadashi Ikegami, both regular composers for HAL Laboratory.
listed it as the tenth best Game Boy
/Game Boy Color
video game, praising it for adding the ability to gain new powers by eating enemies.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
video game developed by HAL Laboratory
HAL Laboratory
is a Japanese video game developer that was founded on February 21, 1980. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its name comes from the HAL 9000 computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The company is most famous for its character Kirby, the protagonist of the eponymous game series, as well as...
and published by Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
for the Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
handheld video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. It was first released in Japan on March 21, 1995, and was later released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on May 1, 1995.It was released in Europe on July 31, 1995.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 continues the adventures of Kirby from Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Dream Land
Kirby's Dream Land, known as in Japan, is a 1992 third party developed platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan, and was later released in North America. It is both the first video game...
and Kirby's Adventure
Kirby's Adventure
Kirby's Adventure, known as in Japan, is a platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System video game console. It was first released March 26, 1993 in Japan, and was later released in North America on May 1, 1993, and in Europe on...
, adding three animal friends to aid Kirby in battle. It can be played on the Super Game Boy
Super Game Boy
The is a 16-bit adapter cartridge for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Super Famicom in Japan. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Game Boy to be played on a TV display using the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. When it was released in...
, and gives slight changes to the game, such as adding a custom color scheme, a special game border, and a few new sound effects.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 was slated to be remade for the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
as Kirby's Dream Land 2 DX, but was cancelled along with Metroid II: Return of Samus
Metroid II: Return of Samus
is an action-adventure video game, the second game in the Metroid series, and the only one developed for the Nintendo Game Boy. The sixth installment in the overall series story, the game was developed by Nintendo Research & Development 1 , and published by Nintendo in North America in November...
DX.
Plot
The plot follows Kirby, a resident of Dream Land. The Rainbow Bridges that connect the seven Rainbow Islands have been stolen by an evil force called Dark Matter, who has possessed King Dedede, intent on conquering Dream Land. Kirby sets out to defeat Dark Matter, accompanied by three new animal friends. After travelling through seven different islands, Kirby reaches the possessed King Dedede and defeats him.If the player had previously collected all seven Rainbow Drops from each of the islands, they form into the Rainbow Sword and exorcise the Dark Matter from the defeated Dedede. Holding the mystic object, Kirby follows Dark Matter in a final showdown. He defeats Dark Matter and uses the sword to create a new rainbow, thus restoring peace to Dream Land.
Gameplay
Kirby's basic abilities include running, jumping, flight, swimming, and inhaling. Flight involves inhaling air (Up button), followed with the press of the jump button which will make Kirby fly. By continuously pushing the jump button, Kirby can reach any height (unless something prevents him from reaching that height). At any time when Kirby has inhaled air, he can exhale by either landing on the ground or you can also release it yourself. When the air is released, Kirby will exhale a puff of air, which can be used to damage enemies or destroy blocks.
Inhaling objects, enemies, and food is the trademark ability of Kirby's. To inhale anything, the player must hold down the B button. Kirby can then indefinitely inhale, and if an enemy, object, or food is in range, Kirby will eat it. When food is inhaled, it is automatically swallowed and will heal Kirby if he has any damage. When Kirby inhales an enemy or object, it remains in his mouth. At this point, Kirby can shoot them out as a star (causing damage to anything in its path), or simply swallow them. When certain enemies are swallowed, Kirby will gain their ability, such as ice breath or the ability to turn into stone.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 introduces three new allies to aide him in his adventure: Rick the Hamster, who allows Kirby to ride on his back, runs faster, and doesn't slip on ice; Coo the Owl, who can carry Kirby and fly through harsh winds and allows Kirby to inhale while flying; and Kine the Ocean Sunfish, who can carry Kirby in his mouth and swim through waters with ease even against currents (although he performs poorly on land), and with whom Kirby can inhale underwater. Whenever Kirby is aided by an animal friend, his current power is altered. For example, if Kirby has the Spark ability, riding on Rick will change it to the Beam attack from Kirby's Adventure.
Presentation
Like Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2 's visuals are grayscale and two-dimensional. However, when played on the Super Game BoySuper Game Boy
The is a 16-bit adapter cartridge for Nintendo's Super Nintendo Entertainment System, as well as the Super Famicom in Japan. The Super Game Boy allows game cartridges designed for use on the Game Boy to be played on a TV display using the SNES/Super Famicom controllers. When it was released in...
, there is a special border with Kirby's animal friends, and the graphics are drawn in limited color. For example, each stage has a color theme, such as "Grass Land" being yellowscale, "Big Forest" being greenscale, etc. The world map gets more colors (each "land" is its respective color, and the sky is blue with white clouds. Also, the in-level status bar has its own separate color scheme. Also, the ending sequence has a unique color palate that makes use of as many colors as the Super Gameboy would allow, such as Kirby painting a rainbow. There are some special sound effects added using the Super Nintendo's sound chip as well. On the game start screen, the sound of applause plays; on the stage select screen, gusts of wind blow; and on the final stage, the sound of thunder booming plays.
Unlike the original Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2 is composed by both Hirokazu Ando and Tadashi Ikegami, both regular composers for HAL Laboratory.
Reception
Kirby's Dream Land 2 was a hit and became a bestseller for Game Boy, selling more than a million units. Nintendo PowerNintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
listed it as the tenth best Game Boy
Game Boy
The , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
/Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
video game, praising it for adding the ability to gain new powers by eating enemies.