This is the long-lost evolution of Dream Land 3. Long levels, slow movement, very easy, low stakes, but extremely strong visual design, soundtrack, and overall charm. It's a game that lives and dies by its presentation, so if you aren't immediately hooked it's safe to say you wouldn't care for the rest.
The gameplay is pretty fun, though. It's more similar to classic Castlevania, it even has those grapple things you can swing on from IV and Bloodlines. I appreciate how simple to pick up and understand it is, which makes it a great fit for co-op. Similar to NSMB Wii, you can pick up and throw your friend around, but it's much more useful here because the other player acts as a projectile you can use to defeat enemies or as a platform to reach higher areas. The vehicle transformations work similarly to those in Yoshi's Island, but most of them don't really mesh well with the game outside of the shmup sections. It feels mostly like an excuse to shove in those Wii motion features.
It's the little details that make the game special. The distinct visual identity of each of the 43 stages, how most of them have a unique music track (done by the legendary Tomoya Tomita, along with some excellent arrangements from Ishikawa/Ando/Ikegami), how the collectibles are furniture and decorations for your apartment, how Kirby's friends will visit that apartment. There's never been a more fitting studio name than Good-Feel.
The gameplay is pretty fun, though. It's more similar to classic Castlevania, it even has those grapple things you can swing on from IV and Bloodlines. I appreciate how simple to pick up and understand it is, which makes it a great fit for co-op. Similar to NSMB Wii, you can pick up and throw your friend around, but it's much more useful here because the other player acts as a projectile you can use to defeat enemies or as a platform to reach higher areas. The vehicle transformations work similarly to those in Yoshi's Island, but most of them don't really mesh well with the game outside of the shmup sections. It feels mostly like an excuse to shove in those Wii motion features.
It's the little details that make the game special. The distinct visual identity of each of the 43 stages, how most of them have a unique music track (done by the legendary Tomoya Tomita, along with some excellent arrangements from Ishikawa/Ando/Ikegami), how the collectibles are furniture and decorations for your apartment, how Kirby's friends will visit that apartment. There's never been a more fitting studio name than Good-Feel.