Game Boy Advance

Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland

This game is a masterfully executed remake of a classic game, touting some of the best graphics on the system and incredible gameplay, with the only shortcoming being the game's somewhat short length.

Nintendo seems to really like rehashing old games on the Game Boy Advance, but at least when they used Kirby's Adventure as the blueprint for Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, it wasn't "quick and dirty" like Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island. Not that those ports weren't top notch developments on the GBA, it's just that, even though not a lot of level design effort went into the Kirby project, a whole team of artists were put to work for this game; it's definitely one great looking GBA platformer. It's not a hugely challenging game, and don't be surprised if you blow through the game to the end in a sitting or two. But keep in mind that there's a lot of discovery and, yes, a little strategy in order to complete the game 100%, and you'll want to do that to get the "extra" something.

Geübte Jump&Run-ler sollten aufpassen, dass sie nicht zu schnell durch die Levels sausen. Es gibt nämlich wahnsinnig viel zu entdecken. Grafisch und auch soundtechnisch hat Nintendo wirklich einiges verbessert. Eigentlich stellt sich mir nur eine einzige Frage: Warum hat Nintendo dieses Spiel eigentlich nicht früher für den GBA auf den Markt gebracht?

It's a shame they didn't add more, maybe from other Kirby games, to extend the replay value. The four addictive minigames help (the Samurai Duel, taken from Super NES Kirby's Super Star, is the best), but it doesn't make up for the main game's short length. Even so, Nightmare is still great fun and better than most platformers out there. And hey—if you're a Kirby fan, you're used to short games by now.

Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land makes up for its simplistic gameplay and brief quest with a great deal of variety. The addition of multiplayer features is great, but solo players can still keep themselves occupied by endeavoring to unlock the more difficult "extra" mode. Nonetheless, you need to remember that the game itself isn't as extensive or diverse as Yoshi's Island or Metroid Fusion. That said, it complements them nicely and is well suited to younger players or the young at heart.

Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland är inte lika fulländat som de två senaste Mario Advance-spelen. Har man redan spelat dessa är det däremot ett självklart val.

It's doubtful that anyone looking to pick up Kirby: NDL will have played the original NES version, and even though it's not that difficult it's still fun, particularly when played with friends.

This is an excellent game on its merits, but it is unfortunately too short for me, to in good conscience, recommend buying. If you can rent it or borrow it from a friend, I would recommend doing so, or wait until it's under $15.

Les aventures de Kirby sur GBA ne sont pas vraiment passionnantes. On se lasse très vite de ce titre qui n'apporte rien de plus par rapport à ce qui se fait dans le genre. Sa durée de vie bien trop faible et son manque d'intérêt en font un jeu vraiment très moyen. Quoi qu'il en soit, il est à réserver aux plus jeunes d'entre vous.