Kirby's Dream Collection Review
Nintendo has released one of the best collections of all time.
Kirby`s Dream Collection
Players: 1 Offline Player
Publisher: Nintendo
Genres: Platformer
Publisher: Nintendo
Genres: Platformer
Release Date: September 16, 2012
Developer: HAL Laboratory
MSRP: $39.99
Developer: HAL Laboratory
MSRP: $39.99
Everybody's favorite pink hero, Kirby, turns 20 this year, and we're celebrating by releasing Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition for Wii. This special anniversary collection comes with six classic Kirby games as well as a renewed collection of Challenge stages based on last year's Kirby's Return to Dream Land.
Kirby’s Dream Collection Review
Posted By Austin Yorski about 8 months ago
Kirby’s Dream Collection Review, 
On December 12th, 2010 Nintendo released Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition, a Wii disk containing an emulated ROM of an inferior version of Super Mario All-Stars. In hindsight, this may not have been the best way to honor a quarter century of quality from the company’s foremost mascot. So when Kirby’s 20-year extravaganza rolled around I was not expecting too much. As it turns out, somebody somewhere is looking out for the little guy.
| PROS | 6 great games, Art book, Interactive timeline, 45 track album, New challenge stages |
| CONS | Some arguable exclusions |
| WTF?! | If you stop and think about it, most things about Kirby elicit a “WTF?” |
Kirby’s Dream Collection contains the first six games in the main franchise: Dream Land, Adventure, Dream Land 2, Super Star, Dream Land 3, and 64: The Crystal Shards. The entries range from “Very Good” to “Excellent” on their own merits, but more than justify their price tag once they’ve been bundled. All half dozen have been made to work with your Wii Remote, GameCube Controller, or Classic Controller, with everything else left exactly the way you remember it. They even managed to fit everything on one disc.
Are there any bad Kirby games?
As you can see from the chosen titles, this is very much a celebration of the character’s origins. A third of the games are in black-and-white (I don’t remember Game Boy looking that terrible) and the retrospective ends abruptly at the Nintendo 64 era. Although the Dream Collection is a great value, my one constructive criticism is that there seems to be a few omissions. Kirby & the Amazing Mirror is the first that comes to mind, but even smaller releases like Pinball Land would have been nice.
Perhaps it comes down to a matter of space. I can’t imagine that Kirby’s Air Ride would have fit alongside all of those other full games, nor would the sole DS entry that doesn’t rely on stylus controls (Squeak Squad). It’s also interesting to note that enhanced remakes Super Star Ultra and Nightmare in Dream Land are absent, which is pretty unfortunate. Outside of these, every relevant work from the Hoshi no Kābī oeuvre is present and accounted for. Canvas Curse, Epic Yarn, Mass Attack, and Return to Dream Land are great though, so feel free to pick those up as well.
wut.
Enough talk about what could have been–let’s take a look at what we’ve got. The inimitable pink puffball made his debut in Kirby’s Dream Land, a simple little adventure with a big surprise: Kirby can’t copy the abilities of his enemies! Yes, this trademark mechanic wasn’t introduced until the next game, Adventure, which is also the introduction to the ever-popular Meta Knight. Many of you probably knew that, but it’s these glimpses into the past that make collections like this so fun.
Super Star is both a remake of Dream Land and a collection of mini-games. Honestly, it’s probably the weak link of the package, especially considering it received an enhanced re-release only 4 years ago. Dream Land 2 and 3 are more or less refinements on the core Kirby experience, but they’re good fun nonetheless. However, Crystal Shards is the real winner in my book, as the ability to combine two enemy abilities into a new hybrid makes for some cool powers and plenty of experimentation. Sure, it best exemplifies some of the franchise’s less popular features–slow pace, low difficulty–but it is also charming, varied, and unflappably fun.
There are two luigis and two marios in the crowd. Clones? Time travel? Lazy art?
The bottom line is that there are a lot of great games in the Dream Collection. Presumably, there could have been more–we’ll need to dump the Wii disc contents to truly know–but it’s two more than Mario got. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the special features included in the package. An artbook and “Best Of” soundtrack are par for the course, but there is also an interactive timeline of the whole Kirby franchise, 3 episodes of the Right Back at Ya! anime, and a handful of Challenge Stages based off of the new Return to Dream Land.
At this point, I think the verdict is obvious. Kirby’s Dream Collection is a respectful look back at one of Nintendo’s most consistently great characters, and offers plenty of content for your dollar. I highly recommend you buy it, unless you are absolutely repulsed by the idea of some monochrome graphics. To those willing to forgo the whimsy off Planet Pop Star for such a trivial reason, I have a simple message for you: You’re missing out. I got to ride a giant hamster named Rick. Your loss.
A copy of the game was purchased from a retailer for review purposes and played for about 30 hours. The title is a Wii exclusive.
Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).
9/10
Kirby's Dream Collection Review
Nintendo has released one of the best collections of all time.No Posts
Kirby’s Dream Collection Review
Posted By Austin Yorski about 8 months ago
Kirby’s Dream Collection Review
Kirby’s Dream Collection Review,
On December 12th, 2010 Nintendo released Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary Edition, a Wii disk containing an emulated ROM of an inferior version of Super Mario All-Stars. In hindsight, this may not have been the best way to honor a quarter century of quality from the company’s foremost mascot. So when Kirby’s 20-year extravaganza rolled around I was not expecting too much. As it turns out, somebody somewhere is looking out for the little guy.
| PROS | 6 great games, Art book, Interactive timeline, 45 track album, New challenge stages |
| CONS | Some arguable exclusions |
| WTF?! | If you stop and think about it, most things about Kirby elicit a “WTF?” |
Kirby’s Dream Collection contains the first six games in the main franchise: Dream Land, Adventure, Dream Land 2, Super Star, Dream Land 3, and 64: The Crystal Shards. The entries range from “Very Good” to “Excellent” on their own merits, but more than justify their price tag once they’ve been bundled. All half dozen have been made to work with your Wii Remote, GameCube Controller, or Classic Controller, with everything else left exactly the way you remember it. They even managed to fit everything on one disc.
Are there any bad Kirby games?
As you can see from the chosen titles, this is very much a celebration of the character’s origins. A third of the games are in black-and-white (I don’t remember Game Boy looking that terrible) and the retrospective ends abruptly at the Nintendo 64 era. Although the Dream Collection is a great value, my one constructive criticism is that there seems to be a few omissions. Kirby & the Amazing Mirror is the first that comes to mind, but even smaller releases like Pinball Land would have been nice.
Perhaps it comes down to a matter of space. I can’t imagine that Kirby’s Air Ride would have fit alongside all of those other full games, nor would the sole DS entry that doesn’t rely on stylus controls (Squeak Squad). It’s also interesting to note that enhanced remakes Super Star Ultra and Nightmare in Dream Land are absent, which is pretty unfortunate. Outside of these, every relevant work from the Hoshi no Kābī oeuvre is present and accounted for. Canvas Curse, Epic Yarn, Mass Attack, and Return to Dream Land are great though, so feel free to pick those up as well.
wut.
Enough talk about what could have been–let’s take a look at what we’ve got. The inimitable pink puffball made his debut in Kirby’s Dream Land, a simple little adventure with a big surprise: Kirby can’t copy the abilities of his enemies! Yes, this trademark mechanic wasn’t introduced until the next game, Adventure, which is also the introduction to the ever-popular Meta Knight. Many of you probably knew that, but it’s these glimpses into the past that make collections like this so fun.
Super Star is both a remake of Dream Land and a collection of mini-games. Honestly, it’s probably the weak link of the package, especially considering it received an enhanced re-release only 4 years ago. Dream Land 2 and 3 are more or less refinements on the core Kirby experience, but they’re good fun nonetheless. However, Crystal Shards is the real winner in my book, as the ability to combine two enemy abilities into a new hybrid makes for some cool powers and plenty of experimentation. Sure, it best exemplifies some of the franchise’s less popular features–slow pace, low difficulty–but it is also charming, varied, and unflappably fun.
There are two luigis and two marios in the crowd. Clones? Time travel? Lazy art?
The bottom line is that there are a lot of great games in the Dream Collection. Presumably, there could have been more–we’ll need to dump the Wii disc contents to truly know–but it’s two more than Mario got. This doesn’t even begin to touch on the special features included in the package. An artbook and “Best Of” soundtrack are par for the course, but there is also an interactive timeline of the whole Kirby franchise, 3 episodes of the Right Back at Ya! anime, and a handful of Challenge Stages based off of the new Return to Dream Land.
At this point, I think the verdict is obvious. Kirby’s Dream Collection is a respectful look back at one of Nintendo’s most consistently great characters, and offers plenty of content for your dollar. I highly recommend you buy it, unless you are absolutely repulsed by the idea of some monochrome graphics. To those willing to forgo the whimsy off Planet Pop Star for such a trivial reason, I have a simple message for you: You’re missing out. I got to ride a giant hamster named Rick. Your loss.
A copy of the game was purchased from a retailer for review purposes and played for about 30 hours. The title is a Wii exclusive.
Also, follow me on Twitter @austinyorski (please).
9/10
Kirby's Dream Collection Review
Nintendo has released one of the best collections of all time.-
September 24, 2012 at 06:23pm
I cannot wait to pick this game up. Kirby is my favorite series of all time and despite owning these games; being able to play them all off one portable disc, the book, the CD, the extra challenge stages and just mainly supporting HAL warrants my $40. Their game choices perfectly capture Kirby’s first 10 years and well advertise his next 10 years which most are still available in stores. I haven’t played it yet, but I hope they mention the one real Kirby game that never came here. There was the stuff on the NES Satellite sure, but Super Kirby Star Stacker I’d love to hear if HAL has any plans to port it on VC. Regardless, happy 20th anniversary Kirby and despite being a huge fan, to answer the question “Are there any bad Kirby games?”, I really only see one. The popular choices are Air Ride, Squeak Squad and Tilt N’Tumble, but I find the first one highly underrated, the second to be still a fun Kirby adventure despite being short and Tilt N’Tumble I used to hate, but once I played it on the Game Boy Color like it was intended to be, I found myself liking the game immensely. No, the one I hate was one that was praised when it was released; Kirby’s Avalanche. I could go into detail on it, but to sum it up it’s basically how it’s nothing more than Puyo Pop (Doesn’t add uniqueness like Block Ball did for Breakout or Star Stacker did for the puzzle genre) and the whole game feels not Kirby like from the random dialogues before a match to…Oh wait, despite having the characters from Kirby, that’s all the game had. NOTHING ELSE. Overall, I love the Kirby series. Own every game in NA, beaten almost all of them and even if I have, every time I revisit all but Avalanche, I get the same charm, fun and creativity I experienced every time. Hopefully, if I ever do get into writing video game reviews, I’ll detail just why this simple creation is my favorite of all time, but that’s too long for this comment (This has already gotten long XD) In conclusion, gonna buy this game as soon as I can and I highly recommend this. Have to wonder if they give away a secret on the next game like how Mario’s collection revealed 3D Land.
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September 24, 2012 at 09:31am
Agreed that if they were going to put Super Star in a collection, they should have gone with Ultra, but I think that could be explained away by the fact that Ultra was on the DS, so it would have required more changes than the other game.
I already have Crystal Shards on from the Virtual Console and got Dream Land from Club Nintendo. Then again, this collection could be for the sake of playing Dream Land on a console, and the other games plus the extra content could help justify the price.
-
September 24, 2012 at 05:48am
Well, I’m pretty upset Nintendo still hasn’t announced this collection for an European release.
Mario’s collection we got around the same time as NA, but, of course, the more interesting one – because Kirby is freakin’ awesome – may or may never be released here.
And because the Wii is still region-locked, I can’t even import it.Oh well, I will end this comment with the same sentence, I put under almost everything Kirby related:
Needs more Meta Knight!
-
September 24, 2012 at 03:40am
“Are there any bad Kirby games?”
I’m guessing you’ve never played Kirby and the Crystal Shards.
-
September 24, 2012 at 05:44pm
You can put me up on the cross if you want, but I would rather play Quest 64 than that…thing.
-
September 24, 2012 at 02:15pm
Only Kirby game I legitimately thought was “bad” (and it wasn’t even that bad) was Kirby Tilt n’ Tumble. Controls were very sensitive, level timers were punishingly short, and a lot of the levels were just cruelly designed with unfun gimmicks.
But yeah, Tilt n’ Tumble isn’t in the collection for obvious reasons, though it might have been cool to try and map the tilt functionality to tilting your Wiimote (though even then, the game only really makes sense if you’re tilting the game screen).
-
September 24, 2012 at 06:41pm
Huh, I think you are the first person I know that doesn’t like that game XD I still personally love the game, but knowing you didn’t say that just to be trolling, I have to ask, why don’t you like it? Really curious
-
September 24, 2012 at 10:13pm
Short. Easy. Characters you meet and never see again. Repetitive audio during story moments. Deadpan humor was a little flat. Platforming was a joke.
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September 24, 2012 at 11:38pm
For the first two, yeah most Kirby games are pretty short and easy and seeing as how this was Kirby’s debut on the N64 and last console adventure appearance until the Wii I can see that as a flaw. Adeline, Waddle Dee and Dedede still appeared in stages to either provide a mine cart, control Dedede or grant you a bonus item. I’m a sucker for Kirby music, so I can’t relate there and yeah, the humor was pretty basic, but still harmless (It wasn’t like Epic Yarn which made me sometimes wanna hurt myself and Avalanche which was…Avalanche XD), but the platforming was easy, yet finding the Crystal Shards still presented some challenge. Overall, I think what most people love about it is the combining abilities which does make the game stand out, but I just love it for the art design, loved the music, the bosses had an epic feel towards them since Whispy Woods to 02 (Miracle Matter ftw), and it was still a simple, fun Kirby experience and all of it was very memorable to me from even collecting those random cards to playing the hell out of those mini-games. Is it my favorite? Not really as I find myself loving games like Super Star/Ultra and Mass Attack a lot more, but your points are all valid and I’m glad I got to hear your opinion.
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September 24, 2012 at 02:21am
Good review, but you really think Super Star is the weak link? Honestly I consider it one of the best in the series. It may be a collection of multiple game modes, but other than the multiplayer VS minigames, each “mini” game is really its own full length Kirby game (and only one of those games is a remake of Dream Land, BTW). There’s probably enough content for 2-3 other Kirby games combined. You just have to unlock the longer, more challenging modes by beating the easier, shorter ones.
Also, Super Star has one of the largest rosters of powers of any Kirby game (next to all the possible combinations in Kirby 64), and you can play the entire game co-op.
Only shame is, as you mentioned, Nintendo used the SNES version of Super Star instead of the enhanced DS version.
-
September 24, 2012 at 02:26am
Don’t get me wrong, I love Super Star. My only real issue with it is the fact that it’s not Super Star Ultra. I can understand why they chose the original though, so it’s less of a complaint and more of a missed opportunity.
How great would it be if SSU and Nightmare in Dream Land were included as well? That sounds like a 10 out of 10 to me.
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September 24, 2012 at 07:28am
There’s a slight issue with what you’re saying and the screen shot you provided. You say nightmare in dreamland wasn’t included but I see it right above Kirby’s air ride. Unless the screen you used in this article differs from what’s in the actual game. I even found the box art for comparison
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jTMUzKNNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
I cannot wait to pick this game up. Kirby is my favorite series of all time and despite owning these games; being able to play them all off one portable disc, the book, the CD, the extra challenge stages and just mainly supporting HAL warrants my $40. Their game choices perfectly capture Kirby’s first 10 years and well advertise his next 10 years which most are still available in stores. I haven’t played it yet, but I hope they mention the one real Kirby game that never came here. There was the stuff on the NES Satellite sure, but Super Kirby Star Stacker I’d love to hear if HAL has any plans to port it on VC. Regardless, happy 20th anniversary Kirby and despite being a huge fan, to answer the question “Are there any bad Kirby games?”, I really only see one. The popular choices are Air Ride, Squeak Squad and Tilt N’Tumble, but I find the first one highly underrated, the second to be still a fun Kirby adventure despite being short and Tilt N’Tumble I used to hate, but once I played it on the Game Boy Color like it was intended to be, I found myself liking the game immensely. No, the one I hate was one that was praised when it was released; Kirby’s Avalanche. I could go into detail on it, but to sum it up it’s basically how it’s nothing more than Puyo Pop (Doesn’t add uniqueness like Block Ball did for Breakout or Star Stacker did for the puzzle genre) and the whole game feels not Kirby like from the random dialogues before a match to…Oh wait, despite having the characters from Kirby, that’s all the game had. NOTHING ELSE. Overall, I love the Kirby series. Own every game in NA, beaten almost all of them and even if I have, every time I revisit all but Avalanche, I get the same charm, fun and creativity I experienced every time. Hopefully, if I ever do get into writing video game reviews, I’ll detail just why this simple creation is my favorite of all time, but that’s too long for this comment (This has already gotten long XD) In conclusion, gonna buy this game as soon as I can and I highly recommend this. Have to wonder if they give away a secret on the next game like how Mario’s collection revealed 3D Land.
Agreed that if they were going to put Super Star in a collection, they should have gone with Ultra, but I think that could be explained away by the fact that Ultra was on the DS, so it would have required more changes than the other game.
I already have Crystal Shards on from the Virtual Console and got Dream Land from Club Nintendo. Then again, this collection could be for the sake of playing Dream Land on a console, and the other games plus the extra content could help justify the price.
Well, I’m pretty upset Nintendo still hasn’t announced this collection for an European release.
Mario’s collection we got around the same time as NA, but, of course, the more interesting one – because Kirby is freakin’ awesome – may or may never be released here.
And because the Wii is still region-locked, I can’t even import it.
Oh well, I will end this comment with the same sentence, I put under almost everything Kirby related:
Needs more Meta Knight!
“Are there any bad Kirby games?”
I’m guessing you’ve never played Kirby and the Crystal Shards.
You are dead to me, James.
You can put me up on the cross if you want, but I would rather play Quest 64 than that…thing.
HEATHEN
Only Kirby game I legitimately thought was “bad” (and it wasn’t even that bad) was Kirby Tilt n’ Tumble. Controls were very sensitive, level timers were punishingly short, and a lot of the levels were just cruelly designed with unfun gimmicks.
But yeah, Tilt n’ Tumble isn’t in the collection for obvious reasons, though it might have been cool to try and map the tilt functionality to tilting your Wiimote (though even then, the game only really makes sense if you’re tilting the game screen).
Huh, I think you are the first person I know that doesn’t like that game XD I still personally love the game, but knowing you didn’t say that just to be trolling, I have to ask, why don’t you like it? Really curious
Short. Easy. Characters you meet and never see again. Repetitive audio during story moments. Deadpan humor was a little flat. Platforming was a joke.
For the first two, yeah most Kirby games are pretty short and easy and seeing as how this was Kirby’s debut on the N64 and last console adventure appearance until the Wii I can see that as a flaw. Adeline, Waddle Dee and Dedede still appeared in stages to either provide a mine cart, control Dedede or grant you a bonus item. I’m a sucker for Kirby music, so I can’t relate there and yeah, the humor was pretty basic, but still harmless (It wasn’t like Epic Yarn which made me sometimes wanna hurt myself and Avalanche which was…Avalanche XD), but the platforming was easy, yet finding the Crystal Shards still presented some challenge. Overall, I think what most people love about it is the combining abilities which does make the game stand out, but I just love it for the art design, loved the music, the bosses had an epic feel towards them since Whispy Woods to 02 (Miracle Matter ftw), and it was still a simple, fun Kirby experience and all of it was very memorable to me from even collecting those random cards to playing the hell out of those mini-games. Is it my favorite? Not really as I find myself loving games like Super Star/Ultra and Mass Attack a lot more, but your points are all valid and I’m glad I got to hear your opinion.
Good review, but you really think Super Star is the weak link? Honestly I consider it one of the best in the series. It may be a collection of multiple game modes, but other than the multiplayer VS minigames, each “mini” game is really its own full length Kirby game (and only one of those games is a remake of Dream Land, BTW). There’s probably enough content for 2-3 other Kirby games combined. You just have to unlock the longer, more challenging modes by beating the easier, shorter ones.
Also, Super Star has one of the largest rosters of powers of any Kirby game (next to all the possible combinations in Kirby 64), and you can play the entire game co-op.
Only shame is, as you mentioned, Nintendo used the SNES version of Super Star instead of the enhanced DS version.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Super Star. My only real issue with it is the fact that it’s not Super Star Ultra. I can understand why they chose the original though, so it’s less of a complaint and more of a missed opportunity.
How great would it be if SSU and Nightmare in Dream Land were included as well? That sounds like a 10 out of 10 to me.
There’s a slight issue with what you’re saying and the screen shot you provided. You say nightmare in dreamland wasn’t included but I see it right above Kirby’s air ride. Unless the screen you used in this article differs from what’s in the actual game. I even found the box art for comparison
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51jTMUzKNNL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
No, it isn’t. At least not playable.
Because the screenshot above is from the interactive timeline he mentioned. All Kirby games are listed there along with background information and random trivia about the release year of each game.
That explains it, thanks.