If you’re ready to feel old, this week marks the 30th anniversary of Kirby’s Dream Land 2. If you’re not ready to feel old, skip that first sentence. Kirby’s Dream Land 2 is an odd video game, in that most people who have played it would agree it’s one of the best platformers ever, yet when the time comes for that conversation, it’s often overlooked. This week, as it turns old enough to wheeze as it bends its knees, it’s worth remembering.
Its fate in the history books is much the same as its mascot – recognised as an icon of the genre, but rarely put in the elite company of Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Crash Bandicoot, and Spyro. Despite Kirby’s longevity (the games have largely told one cohesive story since the original Dream Land in 1992), it tends to fall between the cracks. An instantly recognisable figure and OG Smash star, but not a Nintendo big gun. A consistently high quality platformer, but not a legend of its genre. Putting out great games everyone agrees are great then also seems to agree to stop thinking about forever. But no more.
Kirby Deserves To Be At The Top Table Of Platformers
Kirby’s Dream Land 2 was, in every way, a true sequel to Kirby’s Dream Land. It played and looked pretty similar, but back then sequels came out so close to the original game that this was the norm. In fact, even though Kirby’s Adventure launched between the two Dream Land games, there were still only three years between the pair. These days, it is looked at as a bit of an unnecessary game – why care about Dream Land 2 when Dream Land exists? But to follow up platforming perfection with yet more perfection is no mean feat.
Besides, Dream Land 2 had a major impact on the Kirby mythology – it was the first game to feature the Animal Friends. Rick, Coo, and Kine (the hamster, owl, and fish) join the party with Dream Land 2, before the sequel Dream Land 3 gave us Nago, Pitch, and ChuChu (a cat, bird, and octopus). These have appeared sporadically throughout Kirby’s tenure, and are always a delight to see.
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When we debate the best platformers ever, there are a lot of games vying for the top spot: Sonic The Hedgehog 2, Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage. Astro Bot is the latest contender for the crown. Mario is probably the only character who can credibly bring several titles to the table, offering World, 64, Galaxy, and Odyssey, plus arguably Bros. 3 for its case. Kirby (which would probably be best represented by Adventure rather than Dream Land 2) is rarely considered, but it should be.
Kirby’s Simplicity Is Its Greatest Strength
Kirby takes an incredibly simple idea and makes it feel like genius. He eats ya, he becomes ya. The instantly digestible (ha!) premise should have propelled Kirby to superstardom, but the fluffy ball of pink whatever he is seems to always fall just a bit short. It might be that Kirby stuck to its 2D roots far longer than Mario or Sonic did. 2022’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land was the first time Kirby embraced the third dimension, bringing with it an excellent new gimmick of Kirby half-eating things then shapeshifting, taking the form of, say, a car that can then be driven around.
Had we seen that sort of versatility from Kirby in the mid ’00s, the series might have shown more evolution and thus be looked on with more respect today. It definitely has some weaker entries, and even for a Nintendo series struggled to make multiplayer in any way effective, so that all seem to have taken the sheen off its earlier, world-beating attempts at the platform genre. Forgotten Land was a start, and I hope we see further growth from Kirby in the Switch 2 era.
Maybe he could eat Mario and inherit the Italian plumber’s ability to innovate mechanically. We know Nintendo is capable of pushing the envelope, and HAL Laboratory has not overlooked Kirby. If anything, it has relied on the mascot a little too much, stretching him in all directions – of the 18 games HAL has developed in the last decade, 11 of them are Kirby titles, though most are spin-offs. But since 2023’s Kirby’s Return to Dream Land remake, the studio has been quiet – hopefully that means a little bit of time is being taken on the next big Kirby, and it’s a title worthy of the Planet Popstar native. Until then, we should remember Kirby’s Dream Land 2.
Kirby’s Dream Land 2
- Released
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March 21, 1995
- Developer(s)
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HAL Laboratory
- Publisher(s)
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Nintendo