Kirby's Pinball Land (1993)

Preliminary: I played this game soooo much as a kid, one of the limited games we had for Gameboy, so nostalgia will play a big role. In fact, this was by far my most played Kirby game, tho now I've fallen in love with the original. I remember when I first discovered/realized there are bosses in this, I thought it was just purely pinball, and was so proud when I actually beat the game after probably years of playing ha. I will be curious to see what I think of it in the context of this.

Welp I am instantly taken back. The music is great, I love the Look of the pinball machines and how much they incorporate the mainline games, I love how it's like levels to the pinball machines as you move up with so many different features, I was instantly nostalgic when I got to the 3 eggs screen I remember finding that soooo hard to get all 3 cracked open yet I got it in minutes this time lol. Oh how the mind grows and learns, uh, videogame physics.

Welp I spoke too soon. Turns out that's not the hard part, it's getting the Star after you crack all 3 lol. And I failed. And then dropped down. So now I see how I found it hard :-p

Day 1

It's interesting that I keep preferring the same screens I preferred to get the Star on for each table so far.

Omg and the angry cloud! I always loved working toward that.

Ahhh I loved all the bosses in this, the Look of them. Not sure why exactly. The tree and the eyeball monster guy in particular. (And the Moon segment in that table)

I remember being so proud finally clearing all tables and getting to the final boss as a kid. Proud to do it again, fun short and sweet (tho very long-term for a kid slowly playing it with the little time he had haha)

Cute ending with most the NPCs of the game stomping by after the final boss and squishing you on the way. (At first I gave mostly 8s/8.5s but I realized I really do like this and my falling in love with the original Kirby recently really helps bolster this beyond mere nostalgia)

Look: 9/10 Classic GB Look, plus with my beloved characters from the original Kirby (which was also for GB so it's quite exact indeed)

Sound: 9/10 Nothing spectacular necessarily but really appropriate and nostalgic and love for the original Kirby comes up again

Play: 9/10

Feel: 9/10

Attachment: 9/10 I think this is getting such a high rating because after, say, We're Back, which I played so much for the SNES because of our limited game selection, I was nervous I would often be disillusioned about my childhood favorites (which, again, were largely picked purely based on availability). But this one really held up, even if pinball gameplay isn't my favorite my familiarity with the game helped me navigate through that aspect, and my recent connection with the original Kirby helped bolster it even further.

Overall: 9/10

Completion: Main Story

Playtime: ~30 mins (but this is coming from someone who knew the purpose, what happens when you fall all the way down, etc.. from years of playing)

The third Kirby game ever released, and the first spin-off of the franchise. This is basically a reskin of Revenge of the 'Gator, a pinball game created by HAL Laboratory, but with Kirby elements and some tweaks, so at least it feels different enough to justify its existence.

Like most pinball games, you can play forever and just try to achieve the highest score you can, but there is a semblance of story mode, with the "story" being that Dedede created pinball bumpers in Dream Land because he can, and you have to defeat three bosses (Whispy Woods, Kracko and Poppy Bros. Sr.) to battle against King Dedede and return the peace in Dream Land. Obviously it isn't the deepest story ever, but it works and gives you and objective to complete. The best thing is that if you defeat King Dedede the game continues and you can still play and defeat the bosses again, so you can try to achieve the highest score while completing the "story" multiple times!

Now, I'm not an expert in pinball games in any form, so I don't really know if this is a good pinball videogame or if you need actual skill to complete it, as I felt like it was mostly luck if you manage to defeat the bosses in less than 30 minutes or get stuck in the same screen forever. And talking about Kirby games, this one doesn't really add anything new to the franchise, and aside from being the first spin-off, there isn't a good reason to play it even if you are a big fan of the franchise aside of experiencing all the games where the pink fella appears.

In conclusion, I'm sure there a lot of better pinball games, and there are definitely better Kirby spin-off games, so don't expect anything spectacular here, just mindless and basic pinball fun that you can play until you defeat all the bosses, or just get bored.

This is fun. Basically three tables, all with a unique minigame, and a few other twists and quirks. This essentially makes it three pinball games (when compared to HAL's earlier revenge of the gator) however there is slowdown and it suffers as a pinball game.

Kirby is still fun though. I should play contemporary pinball games and the better kirby games. I just love old pinball, and i knew i could play it in under an hour so that's that then.