Dark Matter
An evil force that steals the Rainbow Bridges and possesses King Dedede, intent on conquering Dream Land.
Dark Matter is the evil force that steals the Rainbow Bridges connecting the seven Rainbow Islands and possesses King Dedede, intent on conquering Dream Land. It is the main antagonist of Kirby's Dream Land 2, a 1995 platform game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. Kirby sets out to defeat Dark Matter, accompanied by three new animal friends: Rick the hamster, Kine the fish, and Coo the owl. After traveling across the Rainbow Islands, Kirby reaches the possessed King Dedede and defeats him. If the player has collected all seven Rainbow Drops, they form into the Rainbow Sword, which exorcises Dark Matter from the defeated Dedede. Kirby then follows Dark Matter for a final showdown, defeats it, and uses the sword to create a new rainbow, restoring peace to Dream Land.
Quick Facts
- Goal
- Conquering Dream Land
Gameplay Mechanics and Animal Allies
Kirby's Dream Land 2 is a platforming video game. Kirby is able to walk, swim, and fly throughout a variety of levels, using several allies and enemy powers in order to reach the goal at the end of each level. Kirby has six health points. The player starts with three lives. The game ends when the player runs out of lives, though they can continue from the most recent save point. Kirby's basic abilities include running, jumping, flight, swimming, and inhaling. Inhaling enemies and swallowing them can grant abilities such as ice breath or the ability to turn into stone. The game introduces three animal friends: Rick the hamster, who runs faster and doesn't slip on ice; Coo the owl, who can fly quickly even through harsh winds and allows Kirby to inhale while flying; and Kine the ocean sunfish, who can swim through waters with ease even against currents. When Kirby is aided by an animal friend, his current power is altered. For example, with the Spark ability, riding on Rick changes it to the Beam attack, Coo allows Kirby to shoot down a lightning bolt, and Kine lets Kirby shoot light bulbs.
Visual Presentation and Audio Design
Like Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2's visuals are grayscale and two-dimensional. When played on the Super Game Boy, there is a special border with Kirby's animal friends, and the graphics are drawn in limited color. Each stage has a color theme, such as Grass Land being yellowscale, Big Forest being greenscale, etc. The world map gets more colors, with each land its respective color and the sky blue with white clouds. The ending sequence has a unique color palette that makes use of as many colors as the Super Game Boy would allow, such as Kirby painting a rainbow. Special sound effects are added using the Super Nintendo's sound chip: applause on the game start screen, gusts of wind on the stage select screen, and thunder booming on the final stage. The game is composed by both Hirokazu Ando and Tadashi Ikegami.
Commercial Performance and Critical Legacy
Kirby's Dream Land 2 sold more than a million units. Electronic Gaming Monthly's four reviewers gave it a unanimous recommendation based chiefly on the solid graphics and the wide variety of abilities which Kirby can acquire, scoring it a 7.625 out of 10. GamePro praised Kirby's many abilities, concluding that 'While not everything is new in Dream Land 2, everything is definitely fun.' Nintendo Power listed it as the tenth best Game Boy/Game Boy Color video game, praising it for adding the ability to gain new powers by eating enemies. The game is noted for being one of the hardest games to obtain a completion rating of 100% in the Kirby series. In 2019, PC Magazine included Kirby’s Dream Land 2 on their 'The 10 Best Game Boy Games.' The game was re-released on the 3DS's Virtual Console in Japan on February 15, 2012, in PAL regions on May 17, 2012, and in North America on August 1, 2013. It is also included in Kirby's Dream Collection for the Wii.
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