Enjoy this remake of a old-school classic from the Kirby Universe and heavily based on Kirby Right Back At Ya!
Genre: Adventure
Developer: HAL/Nintendo
System: GameBoy Advance (GBA)
Total Score: 92/100
Value Score: 9.2/10
• Story: 9/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland's storyline is the same as Kirby's Adventure which was released on the NES in the early 1990s. The people of Dreamland relied on the Star Rod in the Fountain of Dreams to rest peacefully and to have dreams, however one day King Dedede broke the Star Rod into pieces and split it upon his minions across Dreamland. Kirby is on a journey to recover the Star Rod to save Dreamland's dreams. However there seems to be a sinister force working in the shadows.
• Characters: 8/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland's characters range from a huge collection of Kirby characters from different games. You will notice several characters who have appeared in almost every single Kirby game and a few new or rare ones as well. The game includes an exclusive villain who also appeared in the anime Kirby Right Back At Ya and includes the usual common colorful characters you would expect in a Kirby game.
• GamePlay: 8/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland's gameplay is based on a Level and Stage system. You have different levels or worlds that consists of somewhere between 4-6 stages and a few bonus rooms along with a power up room. There is nothing to collect out of the extraordinary, the player can simply sweep through the game in linear fashion. Each stage has a few doorways, paths and locations you can go through and reach the end. Once you reach the end you play a mini game to score points or even a 1-up at the end. There are also a few bonus rooms which include mini games such as a mini game that involves throwing bombs like hot potato, a racing game that mimics Kirby Air Ride in 2D fashion, the returning arena like mid boss rooms, and a power up room where you can access certain power ups. There is a boss at the end of each level/world and upon defeating them get access to the next level. You can also go through Warpstar doors to travel through different levels but it really is not necessary as the stars dont take you further than the next stage or previous stage. Kirby can get power ups like every other Kirby game, if he gets hit , he loses the ability. Players can also play in multiplayer to assist each other or to play certain game modes.
• Graphics: 10/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland uses a whole new graphical system compared to its original Kirby Adventure. The game is fully fledged colored and looks like it's from some sort of coloring book but unlike Kirby's Dreamland 3, it looks far more refined which is more appealing. The mid bosses have been re-designed to look bigger and fearsome compared to Kirby unlike their previous appearances in other Kirby games, even King Dedede goes through a transformation from his previous appearances.
• Sound: 10/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland uses similar sound effects but with a higher quality compared to older versions of the series. Kirby even makes noises when he gets hit, a hint of voice over although barely noticeable. The sound effects for each ability, attack and animation is uniquely done and well made. Nothing sounds out of sync or no issues have been found with the music and sound going together.
• Music: 10/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland uses the same Original Soundtrack that Kirby's Adventure used but remade using the GBA's sound card. The music is simply amazing, if you are a fan of the past Kirby game music you will instantly love the music in this game. A plus would be if you loved the Kirby Adventure OST, you will surely love the tracks for this. The only bad thing would be the lack of a King Dedede battle them but that is replaced by the Fountain of Dreams theme which was used in Super Smash Bros Melee.
• Length: 10/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland is as long as Kirby Adventure. The whole game should take you no more than 4 hours to complete however you have access to more modes upon completion which will increase the overall length of the game. There are a total of 7 levels with about 4-6 stages in each one along with several bonus rooms and a boss battle in each one. There are about 9 bosses all together excluding any mid boss battles.
• Replay Value: 7/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland's standard replay value allows you to go back and visit each stage like the usual Nintendo game. Along with that upon completion of the game you get access to a Boss Endurance mode and a higher difficulty mode. Once you finish the higher difficulty mode you get access to Metaknightmare mode which allows you to play as Metaknight with the same difficulty as hard mode but with varying abilities for Metaknight in the same levels and stages.
• Player Value: 10/10
o Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland is a remake of the classical Kirby Adventue game released for the NES in the early 1990s. Fans of the Kirby series will surely enjoy this game as it includes familiar characters, levels and gameplay usually not seen in the other Kirby games and goes hand in hand with the Kirby Right Back At Ya! Anime that aired in the early 2000s.