Late in its lifecycle, the NES gained one of its best games: Kirby's Adventure. After successfully debuting on the Game Boy the previous year, the titular pink puff-ball made the transition to color with a full-length game. And he gained his now-signature ability to copy enemies he inhales!
What most stands out about Kirby's Adventure is the incredible graphics. When you compare it to NES games from the 80's, it almost looks like a Super Nintendo game, the improvement is that vast. Bright colors, varied and elaborate backgrounds, unique stage themes, catchy, upbeat music: all are unmatched on the NES.
In addition, Kirby controls very smoothly, and the game runs well. As in the Game Boy game, Kirby's ability to float by inhaling air (press B) makes him a dynamic hero. He can also jump (press A) and even slide-attack (↓ and either A or B). Kirby is inherently overpowered, but since the games are aimed at younger players, it's not a problem. His powerful versatility is part of the fun.
For the first time, Kirby can copy the abilities of most enemies he inhales. There are 24 powers he can equip, such as back drop, ball, fire, fireball, freeze, ice, parasol, sleep, throw, and tornado. Once an enemy is inside Kirby, press ↓ to copy it. When Kirby gets hit, the ability bounces out of him but can be picked up again if you act quickly. You can also eject the ability by pressing SELECT. A large icon at the bottom of the screen displays his current ability.
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| Sir Kibble |
Some of my favorite powers are cutter, U.F.O., laser, and sword. The cutter is a boomerang attack wielded by Sir Kibble, whose golden armor completely covers his face. Laser is a beam attack, copied from Laser Balls, which bounces off any angled surfaces it impacts.
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| Laser Ball |
U.F.O. is a rare ability, obtained from the enemy of the same name, that transmutates Kirby into a flying saucer, complete with a chargeable beam attack! This is probably the strongest ability in the game, since it lets him fly however he wants and blast anything in his way. It basically turns the game into a side-scrolling shooter like
Gradius. Understandably, Kirby loses this abilty when he completes the current stage.
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| Kirby in U.F.O. form |
But my personal favorite ability is basic: sword. It does exactly what you think it would and is common, being copied from Blade Knights and Sword Knights as well as the ever-popular Meta Knight boss. (In the Game Boy Advance remake of Kirby's Adventure, called Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land, you can unlock a bonus mode that lets you play as Meta Knight.)
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| Meta Knight |
Kirby's Adventure is a large game, divided into seven worlds, each with a hub level in which new stages and mini-games progressively appear. Vegetable Valley has four stages, then the boss; Ice Cream Island five stages; Butter Building, Grape Garden, Yogurt Yard, Orange Ocean, and Rainbow Resort six each. That's a total of 39 stages and eight bosses (including the final boss, Nightmare Orb/Vampire). Obviously there is a food theme, which fits with Kirby inhaling things. Before each world a short, introductory cut-scene plays.
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| The final battle against the Nightmare Vampire |
Level designs are solid, though somewhat straight-forward compared to Super Mario Bros. They all kind of blend together in my mind. Each boss fight is unique and fun. I enjoyed them all, especially the final boss. As you'd expect, they aren't too difficult. Almost half the game's levels contain a hidden switch. Getting to it requires a specific copy ability. These switches unlock doors in the hub stage. Unfortunately. these only lead to bonus games and not new levels. I originally thought they would unlock harder levels, like in
Super Mario World, which would be amazing.
Three mini-games appear throughout Kirby's Adventure: a crane game (or "claw machine," as you may know it), like you'd see in an arcade or restaurant; a timing-based, egg-swallowing game, in which you must rapidly open and close Kirby's mouth to eat eggs and not eat bombs; and a quick-draw Western-themed game similar to
Wild Gunman. They are well suited to the young age-group but otherwise not too exciting.
There's also a timing-based mini-game at the end of every level. Kirby jumps on a trampoline, and you must press A at the nadir of the bending fabric. He launches upward through several levels. If you time it well, he'll ascend to the very top, and you'll be rewarded with an extra life. Two copies of Kirby appear and dance with him, too. Otherwise, you get bonus points based on the level he hit. Points serve no function in the game (they don't give extra lives); it's hard to imagine many people tracked high scores in Kirby's Adventure. If you run out of lives, you don't lose any progress in the game, but 50,000 points are deducted. This is generous, as traditionally all points are lost upon a Game Over.
Kirby's Adventure is a fantastic NES game, unquestionably one of the system's best platformers. I would place it 7th, just below the
Super Mario Bros. trilogy,
Mega Man 2 and 3, and
Metroid. For younger kids, it is the best, because those other games can be challenging, especially Mega Man and Metroid.
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| Grade: A+ |
Linked Reviews
"Visually the game is lovely, with some gorgeous spritework and appealingly cartoonish graphics. The game's audio is also fantastic, with every track being memorable in some way and many of them ranking among the best the NES ever had."
Kirby's Adventure "really shows off the NES's full capabilities and is smooth, gorgeous, and features many memorable moments. Graphics are bright and happy. The music is almost always uplifting and extremely catchy. It's an absolute joy to play and is one of the brightest gems to come out of the NES's twilight years."
— Pat Contri, Ultimate Nintendo: Guide to the NES Library, 5/5
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