Kirby's Dream Land

Kirby's Dream Land
Developer(s)	HAL Laboratory, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Designer(s)	Masahiro Sakurai
Released	April 27, 1992 / August 3, 1992
Genre(s)	Platform game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: K-A
Media	2-megabit cartridge

Kirby's Dream Land (星のカービィ, Hoshi no Kābī, Lit. "Kirby of the Stars") is a platforming video game developed by HAL Laboratory, Inc. and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy handheld video game console. It is both the first video game in the Kirby series and the debut of the Kirby character.

Kirby's Dream Land was designed by Masahiro Sakurai, then an employee of HAL Laboratory. Sakurai intended for Kirby's Dream Land to be a simple game that could be played by beginning gamers. As the inaugural Kirby title, Kirby's Dream Land created many conventions that would appear in later games in the series, including Kirby's basic moves. However, Kirby's trademark "copy" ability would not appear until Kirby's Adventure, released less than one year later.

Legacy

Kirby's Dream Land has since spawned dozens of sequels across more than a half-dozen video game consoles. The first sequel was Kirby's Adventure, and was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System console. It introduced the ability to steal powers from enemies, an ability which has been used in the majority of games following it. Two titles were released afterwards sharing a similar title. The first was Kirby's Dream Land 2, also for the Game Boy. It takes the ability to steal powers from enemies introduced in Kirby's Adventure, and adds the ability to ride on animals. The next and final similarly titled video game in the series was Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Kirby's Dream Land has also appeared on several other consoles in some shape or form. In Kirby's Adventure (as well as its remake), Stage 7-6 is a heavily condensed version of this game, including black and white backgrounds, the Green Greens theme music, and similar enemies as well.

Kirby's Dream Land later made a more significant appearance in Kirby Super Star for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, which is advertised as having "eight games in one" on the cover. The first of these games is Spring Breeze, which is a remake of Kirby's Dream Land. Notable features not found in Kirby's Dream Land include the ability to steal powers from enemies and the ability to summon an enemy as a helper to aid Kirby in battle (a feature introduced in Kirby Super Star). However, some content from Kirby's Dream Land is missing. It was later re-released as downloadable content in Japan through the Nintendo Power system.

Super Smash Bros. series

Kirby and King Dedede, both of whom made their debut in this game, are playable characters in the Super Smash Bros. games, Kirby having appeared in all three of the games. In addition, the character Whispy Woods, as well as the area known as Green Greens, also appear in the series. Whispy Woods, along with Kirby, was also featured in all three games, though he was in the background of the Dream Land stage. Other characters like Waddle Dee and King Dedede are trophies in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Kirby's white costume and King Dedede's black costume are also based on how they appeared in this game. King Dedede's theme music is featured in Brawl.