Posted: September 25, 2012
Twenty years ago, Masahiro Sakurai and HAL Laboratory released Kirby’s Dreamland for the original GameBoy. Meant for first-time players of action games, Kirby was designed to be easily accessible, not to mention likable, for gamers of all ages. You can’t get much more approachable than a pink squishy ball with a face. With its unique, simple, fast paced gameplay and stellar platforming, the little goo-ball sparked a franchise still thriving to this very day.
To celebrate
the 20th anniversary of Kirby’s debut title, Nintendo has thrown
together quite the compilation showcasing Kirby’s illustrious career. Kirby’s Dream Collection for the Wii,
similar to Super Mario All-Stars 25th
Anniversary Edition, compiles the more notable titles in the series as well
as behind the scenes content, a soundtrack, a collection book and much more.
The 6 playable titles range from Kirby’s
Adventure to Kirby 64:
The Crystal Shards; each being a direct port of the original. Every game
has been lovingly and directly ported to the Wii, only requiring the changing of
button inputs utilizing both Wii and Gamecube controllers. One downside? If,
for example, you play Kirby Super Star,
you’ll be prompted on how to play using an SNES controller. While this may
cause new players to struggle with the button layout, veterans of the series
are given an unaltered ride down memory lane. One frustrating flaw, however, is
the manner in which the Wii software switches into each game, or rather how it
can’t switch out. Once you start a game, you’re in! You can’t leave. Kirby must
be fed! The only way to go back to the title screen is to manually hit the
reset button on the Wii or use the Wii Remote’s home button to restart the
entire disc. While most will not find this troublesome, anyone switching in and
out of the six games repeatedly, like say a video game reviewer, may question
whether or not this is a torture device.
Having only
6 of the 21 current Kirby titles, though, does stretch the term “collection.” Nintendo
clearly learned from past mistakes (cough… Super
Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition), but anyone who was
duped into buying that game knows exactly what I’m talking about. Mario has
200+ titles under his belt; his Wii collection contained 4, as in less than two
percent of all Mario games. Suddenly 6 out of 21 doesn’t seem so bad. Not to be
one to fall into the, “There are starving children in China, you’ll eat it and
like it!” mindset, a few more Kirby’s, at least the Gameboy Color/Advance games,
should have been added without hurting Nintendo’s sales on current physical and
digital games in the franchise. Thankfully all the cornerstone titles from the franchise’s
first decade are included.
A few
challenge levels are also included in the package. Built from what appears to
be the Kirby Return to Dreamland Wii build,
the extra levels serve as a training tool teaching users the wide array of uses
each of Kirby’s powers give him. Why this is included on this game instead of
the one it’s clearly pushing for you to buy is beyond me. Moving on.
Aside from
the 90’s classics, Kirby’s Dream
Collection contains one of the best series timelines any video game has to
offer. Kirby’s History is an interactive
museum showcasing all things Kirby. The scrollable menu displays Kirby, the
conceited shapeshifter he is, viewing an exhibit to his glory. Each year, even those
the world wasn’t graced with his presence, display corresponding title releases
as well as a little Nintendo and world history for reference. Additionally,
every game contains its own set of facts, interactive 3D box model, and “Play
Game” option when applicable, all while said game’s theme song plays merrily in
the background. The timeline even
includes 3 of the 100 Kirby: Right Back
At Ya television show episodes. You
know, the show where a near mute Kirby battles a Cajun plantation owner King
Dedede and a Mexican soap opera Meta Knight? How do you not remember that? Just acknowledging the odd Saturday morning kids
show, would have been a nice touch, getting 3 full episodes however, goes above
and beyond; even if it is just a teaser ad for you to buy the rest of the
episodes later.
Also like Super Mario All-Stars 25th
Anniversary Edition, Kirby’s Dream Collection is bundled with a soundtrack
and a behind the scenes/art booklet: the aptly titled 20th Anniversary Celebration Book. Again, while the
Mario version had a scant few tracks to listen to and a book containing equally
few “making of” details, Kirby was given a level of love only HAL Laboratory could
give. A 45-track soundtrack containing multiple songs from over 16 games is a
great testament to the variety of melodies Kirby has brought to the table, and
the 45-page booklet is packed with information on every game in the series with
original concept designs to boot. Like the timeline, the Celebration Book is filled with just about every piece of
information available, serving as more of a Kirby encyclopedia than Kirby art
book.
Kirby's Dream Collection 9/10
Game Info
Platform: Wii
ESRB:E 10+
ESRB:E 10+
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Release Date: September 16, 2012
No comments:
Post a Comment