With the countdown to the release of the Wii U drawing ever closer, Nintendo offers one last release for the Wii, honoring the 20th Anniversary of their pudgy pink star with an endless appetite, Kirby.
This special edition release wraps a soundtrack and art book within some adorable packaging, along with six of Kirby’s earliest adventures, so let’s break that down below.
Kirby’s Dream Collection includes –
Kirby’s Dream Land (Game Boy, 1992)
Kirby’s Adventure (Nintendo Entertainment System, 1993)
Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (Game Boy, 1995)
Kirby Super Star (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1996)
Kirby’s Dream Land 3 (Super Nintendo Entertainment System, 1997)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64, 2000)
Like the Super Mario Collection before it, this collection ports early releases to the Wii, not unlike a grab bag of virtual console releases on a single disc. Admittedly, the collection is undermined by the fact that some of Kirby’s greatest outings have been on the Nintendo DS in recent years, including Kirby Super Star.
Still, Kirby’s Dream Land 2 lets players ride a large hamster, so there’s that to look forward to.
The anniversary disc also offers a new set of challenge stages familiar to players who took a Return to Dream Land on the Wii last year, tasking players to complete stages based on using a single power-up within a set amount of time. There’s also a museum section detailing all of the releases in the series alongside historical notes.
The soundtrack includes 45 tracks of music from the franchise, mostly short bits of music still memorable for looping in the background of Kirby’s trips across several platforms over the years.
Surprisingly, Kirby 64 looks better than I remember it, and is one of the titles in this collection that offers some multiplayer amusement. Overall there seems to be a bit more enthusiasm around the edges than was shown to the Super Mario Anniversary Collection, but much like that release, the greatest incentive for ownership is that this box looks rather swank on the game shelf.
While this collection didn’t stir enough words for a proper review, and has reminded me of just how fine a job Hal Labs has done expanding the series on the DS, this release is still an earnestly sweet love letter to one of Nintendo’s enduring characters.
While I appreciate the package of this release… I can’t see how you could charge more than $20 for something that is just a bunch of ROMS on a disc.
Comment by Ujn Hunter — September 25, 2012 @ 3:15 pm
Well, just as a numbers exercise, and ignoring the packaging for a moment, one could figure $5 per game x 6 = $30. Which is gonna be slightly cheaper and prettier than buying them via the Virtual Console option.
Comment by Jamie Love — September 26, 2012 @ 9:28 am
I like your numbers break down. I personally wouldn’t pay $5 for a ROM though. Those are values assigned by someone else. ;) I do like the fact that this being retail, I have the chance to someday be able to pay $20 for it, unlike digital where Nintendo controls the value.
Comment by Ujn Hunter — September 26, 2012 @ 11:38 am