Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland

Digital Entertainment News (den) (9 out of 10)

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.

The Game Hoard (6 out of 7)

Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land was an opportunity to enhance Kirby’s Adventure, to polish an already excellent title with the lessons learned in its sequels. Unfortunately, authenticity was oddly adhered to a bit too much here. Graphically everything was enhanced up to the Game Boy Advance’s standards, but the power system still has some redundant abilities and the unfortunately retained losing of your power after taking a single hit. Nothing was really worsened though, meaning that it still has the engaging copy ability system to play around with and levels and bosses designed to complement it well. It’s vibrant, inviting, accessible, and a bit of clean fun despite not really changing much of the design elements it took from a game nearly ten years older than it. The one major interesting change is the Meta Knightmare mode, a more difficult way to experience the game and an excellent way of twisting how you approach familiar levels.

IGN (8.5 out of 10)

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.

N-Zone (85 out of 100)

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?

1UP (B+)

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.

64 Power / big.N / N Games (82 out of 100)

Das Leveldesign besteht aus den üblichen Jump‘n‘Run-Elementen und ist nicht besonders einfallsreich. Allerdings gibt es viele Geheimnisse zu entdecken, weshalb man nicht den Fehler machen sollte, zu schnell durch die Level zu pirschen. Zudem erlangt Kirby durch Aufsaugen der Gegner rund zwei Dutzend Spezialfähigkeiten, was das Spiel letztendlich dann doch abwechslungsreich und kurzweilig macht.

Total Cube (16 out of 20)

Un grand classique de Nintendo qui vous prendra beaucoup de temps car l'aventure est bien longue.

GameSpot (7.9 out of 10)

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.

Computer Bild Spiele (2.18 out of 6)

Das Spiel präsentiert sich mit einem ganz beachtlichem Variantenreichtum. Und das bei eher niedrigem Schwierigkeitsgrad, der auch Anfängern keine Rätsel aufgibt. Wenn das nicht „gut“ ist, was dann?

Jeux Vidéo Magazine (15 out of 20)

Pas très original, mais doté d'un design irrésistible, ce Kirby :Nightmare in Dream Land est un bon titre, simple, amusant, très maniable, à savourer seul ou entre copains.

Games TM (7 out of 10)

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.

Joypad (7 out of 10)

En résulte un bon petit jeu de plate-forme, dans la lignée des précédents Kirby, à la fois ingénieux et distrayant. Les stages bonus, des mini-jeux, sont tout aussi originaux et réussis. Quant à la réalisation, c'est l'un des points forts de cette cartouche avec un graphisme mignon, propre et coloré.

Super Play (Sweden) (7 out of 10)

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.

Eurogamer.net (UK) (7 out of 10)

Unfortunately though we can't really see Kirby's latest adventure lasting anybody for particularly long, multiplayer games and secret hunting notwithstanding. It's lovely to look at and play, but we really need more than this if we're going to shell out the best part of £30, and ultimately it is just a revamp of an old NES game to boot. So as much as we love Kirby, that means Nightmare in Dream Land is a tough game to recommend. If you've never played a Kirby game then perhaps you should shop around until you can find it cheap. Just don't bother with the headphones, eh? The music's evil!

Game Freaks 365 (6.2 out of 10)

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.

GameSpy ( )

Even having said that, I feel like it's a bit of a backhanded compliment. The truth is, Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land is a completely simplistic game aimed at the same kids who will be watching the horrid cartoon that's currently running on FoxBox. While this game thankfully doesn't do anything to evoke the meaningless additions to the Kirby universe that anime atrocity aims for, it's best left to that audience all the same. Unless you want a mega-dose of pink cotton candy, you'll likely be bored stiff. Still, there's definitely a reason HAL was absorbed into Nintendo all those years ago, and this beautifully, well-made game exudes more than enough charm for a whole stack of GBA cartridges.

Jeuxvideo.com (11 out of 20)

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.