Kirby's Adventure facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kirby's Adventure |
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North American box art
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| Developer(s) | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Masahiro Sakurai |
| Producer(s) |
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| Designer(s) | Masahiro Sakurai |
| Programmer(s) | Hiroaki Suga |
| Composer(s) | Hirokazu Ando |
| Series | Kirby |
| Platform(s) | NES, Nintendo 3DS |
| Release date(s) | NES
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| Genre(s) | Action, platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Kirby's Adventure is a classic action-platform game released in 1993. It was created by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This game is the second in the popular Kirby series. It was also the very first Kirby game to introduce the amazing Copy Ability.
The Copy Ability lets Kirby, the main character, gain new powers. He does this by eating certain enemies. The story of the game follows Kirby as he travels across Dream Land. His mission is to fix the magical Star Rod. King Dedede broke the Star Rod into pieces. He then gave these pieces to his helpers.
Masahiro Sakurai was the director for Kirby's Adventure. He also directed the first Kirby game. He came up with the Copy Ability idea to make the game more exciting. It also added more reasons to play the game again. The NES had better graphics than the Game Boy. This allowed HAL Laboratory to create beautiful visuals. Kirby's Adventure was the first game to show Kirby in color. Masahiro Sakurai always imagined Kirby as pink. This was a surprise to some of the other team members!
Kirby's Adventure was very popular with players and critics. People loved its easy-to-learn controls and varied levels. The new Copy Ability was also a big hit. The game was later remade in 2002 for the Game Boy Advance. This new version was called Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. It had improved graphics and even multiplayer fun. The original NES game has also been re-released many times. You can find it on Virtual Console services, the Kirby's Dream Collection for Wii, and the NES Classic Edition. It is also available with stereoscopic 3D on the Nintendo 3DS. Many game experts still consider it one of the best NES games ever made.
Contents
Exploring Dream Land: Gameplay Basics
Kirby's Adventure is a fun 2D side-scrolling platform game. You control Kirby as he moves through different levels. The story begins with the Fountain of Dreams. This fountain gives everyone in Dream Land peaceful sleep. But an evil being named Nightmare wants to spread bad dreams.
King Dedede tries to stop Nightmare. He breaks the Star Rod, which powers the fountain. He then hides the pieces with his friends. Kirby thinks Dedede is causing trouble. So, Kirby sets out to gather the Star Rod pieces. After Kirby defeats Dedede, Nightmare tries to escape into space. Kirby follows him to stop the bad dreams for good!
Kirby's Awesome Abilities
Kirby has many cool moves from his first game. He can walk, crouch, and jump. His main attack is inhaling enemies or objects. He then spits them out as star-shaped bullets. Kirby can also fly by puffing himself up. While flying, he cannot attack. But he can let out a puff of air to stop flying. This puff can also damage enemies.
New moves in this game include running fast and a sliding kick. The most important new feature is Kirby's Copy Abilities. When Kirby inhales and swallows certain enemies, he gains their special powers. These powers let Kirby reach new areas. They also let him play levels in different ways. Some Copy Abilities can only be used a few times. Kirby loses his ability if he gets hit. He must quickly grab it again before it vanishes.
Worlds, Levels, and Challenges
The game has 41 levels spread across seven worlds. Each world has a main area. From there, you can enter four or five regular levels. There is also a boss fight in each world. A special Warp Star door lets Kirby travel back to previous worlds.
Most worlds also have fun minigames. These minigames help Kirby earn extra lives. For example, you can play Crane Fever to pick up items. Or try Egg Catcher, where you eat eggs and dodge bombs. There's also Quick Draw Kirby, a fast-paced duel. You can also find museums to easily get certain powers. Arenas let Kirby battle a miniboss. Winning gives him health and lets him copy the boss's power.
The game saves your progress automatically after each level. Your goal in each level is to reach the end. If Kirby touches an enemy or a danger, he loses health. If all health is gone, or he falls off the screen, you lose a life. Losing all lives means "game over." Kirby can eat food to get health back. Some food even makes him temporarily invincible!
Creating a Classic: The Development Story
Kirby's Adventure was made by HAL Laboratory in Japan. It was designed to be a bigger and better game than Kirby's Dream Land. That first game was for the Game Boy. Masahiro Sakurai was the director and designer again. Satoru Iwata and Shigeru Miyamoto were among the producers.
Development started in 1992. Sakurai was first asked to simply move Kirby's Dream Land to the NES. But the Game Boy game was for beginners. NES players were more experienced. So, Sakurai decided to create a brand new game instead. He said that the NES allowed for much more creativity.
Inventing the Copy Ability
HAL Laboratory wanted to give Kirby more moves. Kirby's Dream Land was easy, which some experienced players found too simple. With Kirby's Adventure, Sakurai wanted to keep it simple but also fun for skilled players. This led to the amazing Copy Abilities. The team hoped players would enjoy trying out different powers. This would make them want to play the game again and again.
The team created over 40 Copy Abilities. They then picked the best ones for the final game. They also added minigames. They worried that Kirby's new moves might make the game seem too hard. The minigames were made to be easier than the main adventure. Kirby also got faster running and a slide attack. These changes made the game feel quicker and more exciting.
NES Graphics and Kirby's Pink Debut
By 1993, programmers were very good at making the most of the NES hardware. They made Kirby's spit attack stronger if he inhaled many enemies. This was something they wanted in the first game. Kirby's Adventure was the first game to show Kirby in color. Sakurai always imagined Kirby as pink. But the Game Boy only showed black and white. Other staff members were surprised when they saw Kirby's pink color!
Kirby's character sprite was also made larger. Players had said he was too small in his Game Boy debut. Artists drew beautiful backgrounds for the game. These drawings were then turned into game levels. Kirby's Adventure also introduced Meta Knight. He first appeared as an unnamed boss in one of the levels.
Nintendo released the game in Japan on March 23, 1993. It came out in North America in May 1993. Europe saw its release on September 12, 1993. It was released late in the NES's life. Many players had already moved to newer 16-bit systems. Still, the game was a big hit. It topped the Famitsu sales chart in Japan in May 1993.
New Ways to Play: Rereleases and Remakes
| Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land | |
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North American cover art
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| Developer(s) | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Shinichi Shimomura |
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| Designer(s) | Tsuyoshi Wakayama |
| Programmer(s) | Tetsuya Abe |
| Composer(s) |
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| Platform(s) | Game Boy Advance |
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| Genre(s) | Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Kirby's Adventure has been released many times. This lets new generations of players enjoy it.
Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land
In October 2002, Nintendo released Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land. This was an improved remake for the Game Boy Advance (GBA). The main gameplay and level designs stayed mostly the same. Some small changes included easier-to-find hidden areas. Boss fights were also made a bit harder.
All the graphics and sounds were completely redone. This took advantage of the GBA's better hardware. Nightmare in Dream Land added more ways to play. It included three new minigames. There was also a cooperative multiplayer mode for up to four players. An unlockable mode called "Meta Knightmare" let players control Meta Knight. This remake sold very well, with nearly a million copies sold.
Digital and 3D Versions
A version of Kirby's Adventure was released for the Nintendo 3DS's eShop. It became available in North America and Europe on November 17, 2011. Japanese players got it on April 25, 2012. This was part of the Nintendo 3D Classics series. It used the 3DS's stereoscopic 3D feature. Other than the 3D, the game was just like the original.
The original NES game is also available through Virtual Console services. It came out on the Wii Virtual Console in February 2007. It then arrived on the Wii U Virtual Console in April 2013. The GBA version was also released on the Wii U Virtual Console in 2014.
Collections and Classic Consoles
Kirby's Adventure is also part of Kirby's Dream Collection. This 2012 game compilation celebrated the Kirby series' 20th anniversary. It is also included on the NES Classic Edition. This special console was released in 2016. Finally, it was added to the Nintendo Classics service on February 13, 2019.
Lasting Impact: Kirby's Adventure's Legacy
Kirby's Adventure is still highly praised by game journalists. Many lists rank it among the best NES games ever made. Official Nintendo Magazine called it the 69th best game on a Nintendo console in 2009. IGN ranked it 84th on a similar list of top Nintendo games. The remake, Nightmare in Dream Land, was also named the 17th best handheld game of the 2000s by Next Generation magazine.
Copy Ability and Meta Knight's Rise
The Copy Ability, first seen in Kirby's Adventure, became a core part of Kirby's moves. It is now a staple in almost every Kirby game. This game also introduced unlockable items hidden in levels. This feature also became common in later Kirby games. Meta Knight made his first appearance here. He later became a popular playable character in the Super Smash Bros. series. He joined the fight starting with Super Smash Bros. Brawl in 2008.
The Iconic Yellow Kirby
The multiplayer mode in Nightmare in Dream Land brought back a yellow color for the second player Kirby. This yellow color was first used in Kirby's Dream Course (1994). It was also the color Shigeru Miyamoto first suggested for Kirby before the original Kirby's Adventure came out. Since then, a yellow Kirby has often been the default color for the second player in Kirby and Super Smash Bros. games.
See also
In Spanish: Kirby's Adventure para niños
