Kirby Blitz: Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (SNES)
The excellence of one title can sometimes unfortunately overshadow another excellent game. Kirby Super Star’s 1996 release was incredibly close to Kirby Dream Land 3’s release in 1997 and the two would inevitably be compared, especially since Kirby Super Star was a monumental title in the Kirby series. It was a small collection of well-developed game ideas and advancements of the Kirby series formula, but it was such a substantial package that anything coming after it would have a very tough act to follow. Thus, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 returning to a traditional linear adventure that aimed to tighten up series mechanics seemed a bit humble in comparison, but this seemingly unassuming game actually serves as a fitting end to this era of the Kirby series, taking the fundamentals established in Dream Lands 1 and 2 as well and Adventure and sending them off beautifully with the most polished versions of their design ideas.
Kirby and his new friend Gooey are on a new adventure when Dark Matter from Kirby’s Dream Land 2 makes an unexpected return to Dream Land, plunging the whole planet into darkness as he makes a more direct bid to take over the world. To repel Dark Matter’s second attempt at global destruction, Kirby sets off to clear the dark taint from the land and defeat the bosses who are possessed by its power, with King Dedede serving as the final foe unless the player does the optional sidequest to fight the real final boss. This adventure looks a lot different from his previous ones though, the developers going with an interesting crayon drawing style that makes the already saccharine worlds and adorable characters of the Kirby series even more sweet and inviting to younger players.
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is a platforming game, although since Kirby can inflate with ease with repeated taps of the A button to fly through levels, most of his opposition comes from enemies that fill the skies and patrol the ground. While Kirby can spit an air bullet by deflating or do a slide kick to deal with them, his more effective attack method comes from his inhale ability, where Kirby can suck an enemy or object in and spit them back out to potentially hurt another foe or destroy blocks in his way. If Kirby chooses to swallow the enemy instead though, this opens up a world of potential, as certain enemies grant Kirby special abilities to tackle the levels with. This time around, Kirby can get eight special copy powers from regular enemies, each one having use not just in combat, but in environmental exploration. Kirby can freeze enemies with his breath with Ice, sweep dust on them for damage with Clean, launch himself forward as a fireball with Burning, hurl a boomerang with Cutter, and his other abilities like Needle, Parasol, Stone, and Spark all can deal damage in their own ways while also potentially breaking special clearly marked blocks in the game’s levels to open new paths or reveal hidden power-ups like an extra life, a healing tomato, or special stars that can eventually add up to an extra life.
While eight powers might seem very little at first, especially since they all have a single function when used, the way they pair with the Animal Friends in this game is what really lets them shine. Kirby can now pair up with one of six Animal Friends, each one combining with the powers in their own unique way while also having skills outside of power use. Rick the hamster, Coo the owl, and Kine the fish all return from Kirby’s Dream Land 2, with Nago the cat, Pitch the bird, and Chuchu who looks like a blob but is meant to be an octopus joining in the fun this time around. Coo and Pitch but let Kirby fly around, Kine lets Kirby fight underwater currents, Chuchu can cling to the ceiling, Nago has some extra jumps, and Rick finally has a distinct ability worth mentioning in that he can repeatedly jump up walls. These basic skills aren’t the real appeal of picking up these allies though, especially since Kirby now shares a health bar with these friends meaning that they both die when it runs out. The copy powers mix with these animals in incredible ways, technically putting the total amount of possible powers you can gain from enemies up to a whopping 56! Too encourage you to mix and match Animal Friends and powers, almost every level will have a room set aside to offer a few of these companions, ensuring that you’re never stuck for too long with a power combination you might not like. There are far too many to potential combinations to list here, but they run the gamut of incredible useful in battle, fun for navigation, cute to look at, and of course, a few duds here or there. On the useful end Coo’s Cutter and Ice both send strong shots forward, but his Clean power makes him into a feather duster that is more ridiculous than it is useful. Kine’s got a few joke powers like a plunger for Clean and freezing into a block for Ice, but Pitch probably has the most interesting ones when viewed for their concept if not always their usefulness. The little bird will turn into a pail of water for Clean, a remote-controlled electrified toy for Spark, and what amounts to a golf ball that Kirby will hit with a Parasol. Finding out the many creative ideas implemented into these powers is a joy even when there are a few goofy ones, but whether it’s the effective fire breath of Rick’s Burning, Chuchu’s adorable ride on a Parasol with Kirby and flying broomstick with Clean, or the brutal hard slams of Nago using Stone or Parasol, they all have some appeal to them.
Kirby also has one other friend join him for this adventure, that being a friendly piece of Dark Matter that took on a more dopey personality. Going by the name of Gooey, this little blue goo ball can be called in at any time, sometimes taking a tax from the player’s health but serving as an assistant with similar abilities to Kirby. Normally, the game controls Gooey, and it’s not always the smartest, making it not wise to call him in if you’re doing something delicate or trying to get certain powers for yourself, but he can be a boon during boss battles, and he really finds his usefulness when a second player joins the fun. With another human playing as Gooey, he can be just as capable as Kirby himself, and it can be useful to have a second player around to pick up a power you aren’t using, meaning you can come at any level with multiple means to handle whatever it throws at you. You can ditch the animal you’re riding at any time too to hand them off to your partner, meaning you can essentially have four distinct powers in your pocket, which is incredibly useful when it comes to how Kirby’s Dream Land 3 really shines: the Heart Star quest.
The level design in Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is about on par with Kirby’s Adventure. Enemies are spaced well to try and keep you from just flying through levels and the area design supports this as well, and using powers often requires close range confrontation so enemies and bosses have a chance to hit you if you don’t use your skills well. The crayon graphics give areas distinct identities and there are plenty of small side rooms to reward you for a more explorative approach. However, what sets these designs above the already strong designs of its predecessors is how each level contains a small mystery the player needs to solve. On the level select screen, they will see a character’s face, this being a small hint to an optional task they need to complete in the stage. These characters hold onto the game’s optional collectible needed for the true ending: Heart Stars. With 30 stages, that means there are 30 individual puzzles to solve, their designs coming in many different varieties. Some require the player to navigate the level in a certain way, others take the form of minigames that must be beaten successfully, some are small tasks that require the right power to complete, and others are as simple as bringing the right Animal Friend to a character that looks a lot like them. Some you just need to grab the right item along the way, but then you have something like the pyramid, where R.O.B. the robot’s parts are scattered across rooms that each have a unique challenge that needs to be figured out or executed properly. You don’t need to worry too much about failing on either, as you can exit a level to retry and death just sets you back to the start of your current area without losing your progress, although your powers and Animal Friend will disappear, meaning some of these are more challenging than they first appear.
Figuring out the Heart Star quest objectives is only the first layer of these second side of the game. Knowing you need a certain power is one thing, but getting there can be a whole different matter. For example, a level that might want you to use Rick for its Heart Star will lay out a design that can be tackled well enough without him, but to get Rick there will require expert platforming, careful maneuvering, and management of your health. Not only does this put the player into what feels like a different mode of play where they can’t just swap out powers as they please, but it encourages the player to engage with all of the potential combinations available to them. While previous Kirby titles gave more experienced players greater challenges than the base gameplay to face, here Kirby’s Dream Land 3 provides a robust extra quest that will test both their mind and their performance, all without sacrificing the kind of experience a young player can see to completion. Some Heart Stars are really difficult even for a seasoned gamer, the only one that really strains the design being one that requires knowledge of the Metroid series of all things to understand.
Boss battles also balance their difficulty pretty well where they can test most players without alienating anyone. Minibosses often have states where they’re more difficult or impossible to damage to avoid them being trounced in an instant, thus requiring some dodging and more careful power use, while bosses have large enough health bars to stick around for multi-phase fights… save the straightforward Pan and Con battle which might as well be a miniboss. Other battles are more interesting though, like Acro the killer whale who fights you on and land and in water, Kirby not having full access to all powers and proving less mobile when submerged. The real highlight has to be Ado the painter though, who draws bosses fought in Dream Land 2 as her attacks, essentially making her a gauntlet of old foes. Kirby’s health consists of six blocks that take two hits each to clear, so the game makes up for the extra health by being somewhat aggressive. You won’t be overwhelmed very often, but the game spaces out health so that you will feel missing health more, the main way to earn it being a post-level jumping minigame. Here, Kirby winds up a jump repeatedly until you press A, Kirby’s pose determining if he lands on a useful space or not, and since it’s not really guaranteed you’ll grab a heal or extra life during this segment, you can reach situations where you’re going into a new level with very little life left, making you play more cautiously. Since the game never pressures you with anything unfair, this isn’t too much of a worry, save of course if you’re heading for a boss level with only a sliver, but they can be beaten just by sucking up their attacks so power preservation isn’t a must for these fights.
THE VERDICT: Kirby’s Dream Land 3 may at first seem like an unassuming continuation of the excellent design direction of games like Kirby’s Adventure, but there’s much more going on if you give it a closer look. Levels are solidly designed and offer up many opportunities to swap out copy powers and Animal Friends to see the full breadth of an incredible amount of combat options, the game giving you plenty to work with but also making sure its layouts are challenging without alienating the younger players who will be enraptured by the cute and colorful pastel art style. The real thrill waiting behind the finely tuned platforming and copy system though is the Heart Star quest, an optional objective existing in each level that asks the player to figure out what’s being asked of them and successfully execute it, often requiring them to play in interesting and more challenging ways. It’s not the extreme explosion of ideas that Kirby Super Star is, but it nails what a linear Kirby adventure title should be: packed with powers and fun for players of all ages.
And so, I give Kirby’s Dream Land 3 for the Super Nintendo…
A FANTASTIC rating. While Kirby’s Adventure has maintained its acclaim over the years, Kirby’s Dream Land 3, which is essentially the evolution of Kirby’s Adventure, has languished in the shadow cast by Kirby Super Star unjustly. Kirby Super Star is also an amazing game in its own right, but it set out with different goals than Dream Land 3, and Dream Land 3 focused on providing one diverse yet cohesive experience instead of many varied subgames. Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is a delightful adventure through levels that ask the player to both explore the variety handed to them while also challenging them to be more thoughtful about how they tackle a level. You aren’t just being asked to jump across platforms and eat baddies, you have to figures out little puzzles and execute things properly to earn the real ending of the game and the sense of satisfaction from overcoming a bunch of tiny challenges in an otherwise mellow and relaxing title. Everything learned from the experimentation in Dream Lands 1 and 2 and Adventure comes to a head here in a game that aims to please the player first and foremost, only minor hitches like the more difficult Heart Star requirements potentially keeping them from that.
As the swan song of what could be considered the first era of the Kirby series, Kirby’s Dream Land 3 polishes the design to a dazzling shine before Kirby would move on to chase more complex variations on the series’s core tenets.