Talk about disappointment.

The first Kirby game, despite being super short and extremely easy, was charming and fun to play from beginning to end. Kirby’s Adventure on the NES, on the other hand, was superior in EVERY way imaginable, being not only one of the most impressive games on the NES’ library, but also established the formula upon which every 2D platforming Kirby game would follow.

After those two experiences, I was hoping that Kirby’s Dream Land 2 would be able to deliver an adventure at least on the same level of the prior games, but it ended up being my least favourite in the series up to this point.

The level design is super poor, with lots of terrible enemy placement and layouts; the enemy variety is seriously lacking; the copy abilities selection isn’t great; the boss fights aren’t near as good as they were in the previous games. The animal companions/mounts are a fun gimmick, but I always felt I’d much rather be playing as Kirby whenever I got the chance. I never felt they were implemented as they should have been here.

The final boss fight was cool though, but again, not as polished as the previous games.

It isn’t terrible by any means, but definitely a subpar experience, especially considering it’s a Kirby game from its era.