K is for Kirby and kawaii.

Author’s Note: This review was originally published on July 24th, 2003. I kept hearing and reading nasty feedback about Kirby’s Dream Land 3 being nothing like Kirby’s Super Star. I decided to write a review to give Dream Land 3 an extra bit of love.

Kirby’s Dream Land 3 is the first (and only) Kirby’s Dream Land game on the SNES. Kirby is awesome, but this game doesn’t live up to his name.

Story: 7/10
You probably guessed it. Something is taking over Dream Land, and Kirby is the only one who can save it. With the help of his friend Gooey, Kirby must find the Rainbow Wand and stop the darkness before it is too late.

You can’t expect a deep story with Kirby games, but you could expect it to be longer. This game is really short, so this is why it gets a 7/10. Kirby’s Super Star was full of length, but this one has none.

Gameplay: 9/10
This is great! Kirby now has the assistance of three new friends. Returning from the previous installments are Rick the hamster, Coo the owl, and Kine the fish. Now, we also have Nago the cat, Chu Chu the slime, and Pitch the uber-kawaii green birdy. Each one has there own special attribute (Nago jumps three times, Kine swims fast…) Also, Kirby can once again copy enemies. What is bad is that Kirby by himself cannot do multiple moves like he could in Super Star. However, each of his friends does have a move with the copied ability, so there are lots of surprises and fun techniques. Unfortunatley, the enemies only take one hit to kill, making the techs only useful for seeing. A second player can join in, named Gooey. He can only inhale one enemy at once, and summoning him takes away some of Kirby’s life. It’s kind of fun. Overall, the gameplay could use a bit of tweaking, but is still fun.

Graphics: 10/10
The graphics are very nice for an SNES game. They are colored pencil backgrounds and characters, making the game very cute. All of the motions and colors are beautiful, and you sometimes get short slide-show cut scenes. While not as detailed as Kirby’s Super Star, the graphics still are done very well.

Music and Sound: 6/10
The music really can get repetitive. There are only so many tracks, and each one isn’t very memorable. Most levels are pretty short, so you won’t have to worry too much about hearing the tunes repeat.

The sounds from all the Kirby games are back. Nothing new or big here.

Replay Value: 8/10
There are some fun little extras, and secret items called Heart Stars in each level to collect. Chances are that you’ll miss some of them, so you’ll be playing this game many times. The levels can get frustrating, but it’s no biggie.

Difficulty: Easy
This is one game that won’t challenge your wits and reflexes. If you’re looking for a way to spend a weekend, this is the way to go because you’ll be finished with it in no time.

Buy or Rent: Rent
If you happen to run into it, you could buy it just for bragging rights. Otherwise, if you can find it at a rental store, just rent it. It’s a short game.

Overall, Kirby’s SNES swan song wasn’t as great as Kirby’s Super Star (and nothing ever will be) but it’s a nice little game for the avid Kirby fan. It’s cute, but not as great as it could’ve been.