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Monday 14 January, 2008
Entry #1
Summary:
Kirby's Dreamland 3 is a side-scrolling adventure game in which you play as Kirby, a round pink ball with a seemingly endless appetite. Kirby has taken on the task of saving his star-shaped planet from the evil doings of King Dedede and his minions. Kirby eats his enemies, gaining their powers and using them to progress through each level.
Gameplay:
Initially, Kirby's Dreamland 3 felt like a simple game that didn't use its fun qualities to their fullest potential. Running through each level eating different enemies and seeing what powers you could get was fun but after completing the first 6 levels, the game leaves you wanting something more. One of the biggest problems I found with the first few levels was that you don't actually need to eat your enemies to beat the level. There were some items such as one ups and life replenishments hidden behind blocks that could only be reached using certain powers, but these items are usually out of the way to obtain and don't enhance the gameplay in any way.
What makes Kirby's Dreamland fun is the variety in which Kirby can destroy his enemies. Adding to this variety, Kirby's Dreamland 3 offers the help of Kirby's animal companions in each level. Different animals help Kirby do different things, such as fly, swim, or wall-jump as well as offer different ways to attack Kirby's foes. So far none of these animals have been necessary to complete a level, making them a fun but unnecessary addition to the game. Perhaps my least favorite of Kirby's companions is Gooey, the blue blob that Kirby can summon at the cost of some health. When gooey is summoned he attacks enemies at his own will often destroying foes whose powers you wish to devour. Gooey comes off as more of a disadvantage than a helping hand.
Kirby is an instantly lovable character who's unique attributes keep the player interested in the game. Gooey aside, Kirby's companion characters are very cute and fun to have with you on your adventure. The enemy characters get a little repetitive, but the boss characters like the well-known "Whispy" tree are unique and fun to fight
Entry #2
Gameplay:
After playing the game for another 45 minutes, the storyline has yet to play a significant role on how the game develops. After beating an entire world Kirby has still not gained any information about the giant dark being that attacked his planet. The enemies Kirby has encountered so far seem unrelated to the main conflict of the story.
The later levels don't seem to get any more challenging and you still don't need to have any powers to complete the levels. However, I have found that there are side quests to be completed in every level that do require you to obtain items only accessible by having specific powers. I have yet to find out the advantage to completing any of these side quests.
While playing he game, a few people who were in the same room as me overheard the game's soundtrack playing and decided that I needed to play with the volume off. It's no surprise that you never saw the Kirby's Dreamland 3 soundtrack on shelves at your local department store. The music in the game is consistently annoying in each level, although it does compliment the dreamlike theme of the game.
Design:
Kirby’s Dreamland 3 has its pros and cons. The dreamlike setting makes the game creative and fun to look at while going traveling through different levels. Kirby’s chameleon-like qualities serve as a good premise for a fighting style and it’s exciting to see what new powers Kirby can digest. The various enemies that Kirby can eat keep the player wanting to progress through each world in search of new enemy powers.
However, because the innovation of the game is so largely based on Kirby’s ability to absorb new powers, the game lacks variation on a level-by-level standpoint. There are at least 20 levels, but only 8 powers that Kirby can mimic. Although the enemies change slightly from level to level, they still give Kirby the same powers, some no powers at all. The biggest problem with Kirby’s Dreamland 3 is that the goal of the game has little do with what makes the game innovative. The goal of the game is to beat each level, get to the boss, and move on to the next world, but the fact that you don’t need powers to do this makes the game less fun. The game fails to use its fun aspects to their fullest potential but creates a path for newer Kirby titles to further emphasize these aspects.
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