Kirby's Dream Land

The Kirby series has evolved QUITE a bit since its conception with Kirby's Dream Land. Yes, we've come a long way from the little white puffball that could suck in enemies and just spit them back again. What? It's about the same, you say! Well! He's pink now! Ok, so it may be more significant than that, but that's a whole different discussion. In fact, the question at hand is whether or not the first Kirby is worth your time. I say, yes.
At its heart, Kirby's Dream Land is your basic platformer. You have life bars (six, to be precise) and your goal is to reach the end of the stage. You get to the end of the stage by walking, running jumping, ducking, and the like. At the end of said stage is ye olde stage boss. Kill the boss and move on to the next stage. Kirby is no Mario, however, and jumping on the enemy will only result in damage against the little guy. Kirby must employ his weapon to defeat the enemies. But, don't start thinking Megaman on me. No, Kirby's weapon is his appetite! Kirby is capable of sucking in enemies and then spitting them back out as projectiles against other enemies. Kirby also has one final trick, flight! By sucking in an enormous amount of air, Kirby can inflate his tiny body and take flight. Landing is as simple as exhaling the air, which can also be used as a weapon! A word of warning, though. Unlike later games, Kirby cannot copy enemies abilities, so don't even try.
In general, this is how Kirby works. There are five stages total. Each stage also has a mini boss. These bosses have half the life of regular bosses, but aren't pushovers. Defeating bosses and mini-bosses usually involves sucking in their projectiles and returning them to the boss (some UPS guy Kirby makes, huh?). The first four stages are normal, while the fifth involves a showdown with the previous four bosses (after a short version of their stage) and ends with a showdown against the evil King Dedede. Throughout the stages, you can find various power-ups strewn about. These power-ups do various things, from healing Kirby to making him shoot fireballs for a limited time.
Difficulty-wise, Kirby's dream land is only slightly difficult. Some of the bosses can be tricky, but you'll get it after a few tries. You DO only have limited lives in Kirby, but you can always continue. If you continue, you'll have to start from the very beginning of the stage, though. The good thing about Kirby, though, is that after you've beaten the game, there is an Extra Game mode, which is significantly more difficult (really, it is). This adds more life to the game.
Hey, story may not be the most important thing for platformers, but it's nice to know WHY you're destroying the enemy.
Kirby's Dream Land takes place in the magical land of Dream Land (original title, huh?; also, the land's name is later changed to the planet of PopStar). All the denizens of Dream Land have their food provided for them by the magic Star Sprinkles. After Lunch, everyone lays down to take an afternoon nap (wholesome, isn't it?). Well, apparently, someone was sleeping on the job, because the evil King Dedede has taken these magic stars. While the rest of Dream Land's citizens run around in a general panic like state, Kirby decides to do something about it. So, Kirby sets out to stop King Dedede, and get the food back!
It's all rather silly, but this is what you expect from a Kirby game, the original is no exception.
Well, they're not too bad for 1992. The graphics aren't blocky or anything, but just simple drawings. Actually, the style is virtually the same as it is in the later Kirby games, but just not as sharp or detailed.
I LOVE the music in Kirby's Dream Land. It's a great soundtrack, especially King Dedede's music. It has a light and airy, yet adventurous feel. Really, either play it in a quiet place where you can hear the music or wear headphones, you wanna listen to it.
Once you get through it once, it becomes very easy to do it again, so that's a con. Even after a few years you'll still probably be able to own the normal game. Now, the Extra Mode is great. It's much more difficult and it'll take you quite a bit of time and skill to get through that once, let alone again.
Kirby's Dream Land is a fun, slightly challenging experience that will appeal to a broad range of gamers. There's not a serious bone (or any bone, for that matter) in this game, so if you're of the belief that games should have blood and gratuitous violence to be good, it isn't for you. However, if you like platformers, adventure games, old school gaming, or are under the age of 10, it's for you. Hey, if you own a Game Boy Color (or Advance) It will even make Kirby pink for you! Since it's so old, you'll probably have to go your local used games shop or check online to find it. It'll be cheap once you do find it. You have a bit of work ahead of you to find it, so stop reading and start searching! :)