Kirby's Dream Land 2

The Good
Kirby's games are a unique collection of platformers that while providing the usual super cutesy jump-n-run action as per Nintendo's regulations, also manages to incorporate a series of innovative touches mostly courtesy of the many abilities of the star of the series: Kirby.

Kirby is a.... thing... I guess, he's fluffy and stuff but I have no idea what the heck he's supposed to be. In any event, aside from having the power to be super-cute Kirby has the ability to suck air and blow his (her?) enemies, or suck them and then absorb their individual skills! He can also shoot them out as damaging stars and he also gets to fly around with no need of fancy power-ups (eat that, Mario). It's with those skills and strengths that Kirby manages to turn the game into a very different experience from the rest of the usual Nintendo side-scrolling crap.

As expected Kirby has to fight it out against a very very evil bad guy, his traditional enemy King DeDeDe (does he sound evil or what?) that has destroyed the rainbow bridges that connect Kirby's fantasy land. Kirby isn't alone in his fight however, and this time he gets the aid of a giant fish, hamster and owl named Kine, Rick and Coo, who can team-up with Kirby in the same way as Mario and Yoshi and incorporate new skills and powers to our pink fluffy friend that deepen the gameplay as they not only make it easier to defeat your enemies but also unlock other areas that were previously unavailable (i.e. you can only swim against a strong current with Kine).

These elements become important when you consider that, as the game ominously describes, there's someone else pulling the strings from the shadows besides King DeDeDe, and the only way you can face said menace is to complete the game with a 100% rating, unlocking every area, getting every item, and generally kicking ass in the name of cuteness. And if the promise of an alternate ending and extra challenges isn't enough to try to go for 100% maybe the chance to unlock game modes that include a survival-like tournament against all the bosses, and other nice extras.

The Bad
As with most Gameboy games the graphics and sounds are not super-impressive, but they do their work. As for the game there's the fact that it's really pretty easy and the cuteness-factor may be too much for some people to handle.

The Bottom Line
Kirby's Dream Land 2 sucks and blows his way to platformer stardom thanks to a collection of innovative touches nicely implemented to the generic Nintendo formula and a nice replay value.

Watch out for it's extreme cuteness tough! Few games are as nauseatingly cute as Kirby's!