Kirby's Dream Land 3
| Kirby's Dream Land 3 | |
|---|---|
 North American box art | |
| Developer(s) | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) | Shinichi Shimomura |
| Producer(s) | Hiroaki Suga |
| Artist(s) | Tetsuya Notoya |
| Composer(s) | Jun Ishikawa |
| Series | Kirby |
| Platform(s) | SNES, Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | SNES
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| Genre(s) | Platforming |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Kirby's Dream Land 3, known as Hoshi no Kirby 3 (星のカービィ3 Hoshi no Kābī Surī, lit. "Kirby of the Stars 3") in Japan, is the fifth platformer video game starring Kirby. Specifically, it is the third game under the Kirby's Dream Land name. Although the first two games were largely unrelated, Dream Land 3 features many similar characters to Dream Land 2. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards was the sequel to this game.
Kirby's Dream Land 3 is the last first party game released for the Super NES in North America, although it is not the final game for the system (the 1998 Super NES version of Frogger would be the final game in North America, while the 2000 Super Famicom remake of Metal Slader Glory was the final game in Japan). Problems with the game's PAL conversion prevented it from being released in Europe and Australia for many years; it was finally released for the Virtual Console in those regions in the form of an import from North America on July 24, 2009 for the Wii and on July 25, 2013 for the Wii U. The game was re-released on the Virtual Console in North America on January 5, 2009 for the Wii[1] and on May 8, 2013 for the Wii U and in Japan on April 28, 2009 for the Wii and on May 8, 2013 for the Wii U. It was also included along with 5 other Kirby games in the Wii collection for Kirby's 20th anniversary, Kirby's Dream Collection.
Plot
Kirby and Gooey are on a fishing trip, when all of a sudden, Dark Matter appears and shatters the planet's rings. He then proceeds to possess various Dream-Landers, including King Dedede. Kirby and Gooey then team up with Rick, Coo, and Kine, as well as new characters Pitch, ChuChu, and Nago. They collect all the Heart-Stars to create the "Love-Love Stick" and defeat Dark Matter and his leader: Zero.
Gameplay
The game's platforming mechanics are very similar to most other Kirby games, as is Kirby's skillset. Kirby is able to jump, duck, slide, fly (by inflating himself), as well as perform his signature move: inhaling enemies. When Kirby inhales an enemy, it can be spit back out as a projectile, or swallowed. Normally this has no effect on Kirby, although specific enemies grant Kirby copy abilities, a staple of the Kirby games. Copy abilities replace Kirby's standard inhaling move with a special attack, depending on the enemy Kirby ate. For example, swallowing a fire-based enemy allows Kirby to become a fireball.
Kirby's allies
At any time during play, Kirby can summon Gooey—a blue, long-tongued blob first seen in Dream Land 2. Doing so costs Kirby two hit points. When controlled by the computer or also a second human player, Gooey's abilities are similar to Kirby's: He can swallow enemies using his long tongue, then either spit them out or copy their abilities to a limited extent. Kirby can also inhale Gooey and swallow him, reclaiming his two hit points.
In addition to Gooey, Kirby can team up with any one of his six other friends, three of which were introduced in the previous game in the series. This friend mechanic allows Kirby to be ridden, carried or rolled, enabling new team-based abilities, as well as variations of Kirby's copy abilities.
Visuals
Kirby's Dream Land 3 uses a mode of the SNES termed "pseudo high-resolution" (which allows for color blending between two adjacent pixels) to blend dithered sprites.
The cartridge also takes advantage of SA-1 technology to process game data at a faster rate, which was necessary for the large number of bitmaps and special effects used by faster releases.
Reception
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Kirby's Dream Land 3 received mixed to positive reception from both critics and fans. IGN gave Dream Land 3 a fairly positive review of the Virtual Console re-release, "It's not Super Star. But once you get past that, you can appreciate Dream Land 3 for what it is -- a direct, numbered follow-up to the series that started on the Game Boy."[4]
References
- ↑ "One WiiWare Game and One Virtual Console Game Added to Wii Shop Channel". Nintendo of America. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
- ↑ Weiss, Brett Alan. "Kirby's Dream Land 3". Allgame. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
- ↑ Thomas, Lucas (January 5, 2009). "Kirby's Dream Land 3 Review". IGN.
- ↑ Thomas, Lucas (January 5, 2009). "Kirby's Dream Land 3 Review". IGN.
External links
- Kirby's Dream Land 3 Profile - Nintendo (Archive)
- Kirby's Dream Land 3 at MobyGames
- Kirby's Dream Land 3 at IGN
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