Developers: HAL Laboratory, Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Genre: Sports
Release: 1995
Currently available on: Wii U VC, SNES Classic Edition, Nintendo Switch Online
About the game: This is actually a golf game, and Kirby is the ball! But this is unlike any golf game you've ever seen. Your objective is to defeat every enemy on the course by running into them, which then makes the hole appear. Then you hit Kirby into the hole. You have a power meter and ball placement for each shot. Course design here is great, with plenty of obstacles, and perhaps the best part is that you can use some of Kirby's signature abilities in order to take out more enemies or traverse certain areas. For example, you can use Kirby's UFO ability to hover all over the course and try to place Kirby at just the right spot. There's also a two player mode in which two Kirbies compete to take out enemies and get in the hole first.
Why I love it: I recently beat this game when I had the chance to play it on the SNES Classic Edition. I wasn't expecting to beat it because I've heard that it gets really hard. But here's the thing: you become so acustomed to taking shots that you can place Kirby exactly where you want him. Courses are so smartly designed that you can quickly see what you need to do in order to beat the course in as few hits as possible. And then you do it! Beating course and course makes you feel like a champion. Kirby's abilities are also used very smartly, which makes the gameplay often hinge on your timing. This is technically a golf game, but it doesn't feel like one. It's just a Kirby game where you get to hit Kirby into enemies. Tons of fun.
So Kirby's Dream Course is actually the Kirby game that turned me into a fan. I've always been a big supporter of HAL, but when the first Kirby game came out, I didn't get it because I didn't want to spend full price on a game I could beat in an hour. But when I got the SNES, it came with a poster of upcoming games, and one of them was Special Tee Shot. It looked like a cross between mini golf and Marble Madness, two things I like, so I kept my eye on it. Eventually the game turned into Kirby's Dream Course, so I rented it once and was hooked. I bought it soon after and played every Kirby game before and after that ever since. Oh, and I beat Kirby's Dream Course, too, so I don't think it's THAT hard.
That's great! I've beaten just about every Kirby game, I'm a big fan of Kirby games because they're just so fun. To be fair, I had heard that this game was hard, but it's apparently not too difficult (I don't like hard games)
Yeah I don't like hard games either. Except when I do. Like Mega Man, for instance.
I had no idea this existed until game grumps played it and when I got the SNES Mini I realized how fun it is.
I did not know it is known for being difficult, but then again I'm not sure how far in I am.
Some of the levels look very tricky, but if you know what you're doing, you can beat even the craziest levels. It's so great, you should try to finish it.
I will at some point. I honestly wish I had time to beat all the SNES Mini games.
Too bad this isn't on the Kirby's Dream Collection I have. Sounds fun.
Yeah, that's a shame. I think they only did mainline Kirby games for that collection, right? As in, Kirby platformers?
Yeah.