Kirby's Dream Course

Guten tag frieunden. Today I will describe Kirby's Dream Course, a very non-popular game for the Super Nintendo. Created in the latter portion of 1994, it was shrouded in obscurity till it was discovered in the late fifth grade by Konrad M. He later showed it to me and I was taken by its simplistic, yet riveting game play, early 1990's electronic-jazz music, and pre-directx graphics.

So you might be asking, what exactly is this game? Well, you're in for quite a surprise. Kirby's dream course is a mini-golf game with a Kirby theme to it. The game starts with an intro video which I have yet to see. The main menu has a flamboyant Kirby with the game title behind it. Pressing the start key in my Logitech rumble pad, I enter single player mode and enter my name. And by entering my name, I actually draw it out with a pencil on the game. Such a futuristic feature for a game that was made when I first learned how to integrate e^x dx. Oh how the days have gone by. But back to the game. The first level is an introduction to the game in which Kirby must run over three enemies that are positioned as a triangle.


Kirby can launch himself into the air with different levels of front AND backspin and with right/left spin or remain on the ground with right/left spin. As Kirby lines up a shot and fires a tomato is used up. If he extinguishes his four tomatoes without replacing them he feints due to over exertion and promptly kills himself following his awakening. Tomatoes can only be replenished if Kirby runs into an opponent or finishes the level. Once there is only one enemy left, the enemy becomes the hole in which Kirby must go into to finish the level. If Kirby manages to get a hole in one he receives an extra life.

As the game progresses, the levels introduce new enemies. Some of these enemies give Kirby a special power such as amazing vertical jumps, or freezing so that Kirby can freeze a pool of water and skate over it, or even to turn into a rock and fall straight out of the air while ignoring the principle of conservation of momentum. There are a plethora of skills that Kirby can acquire, but I can not list them all.

As the game continues, the levels become harder and the themes become darker. As Kirby tries to make his way to the end of the level he reminisces about the days when he was a heroin addict underneath the Golden Gate bridge; covered in filth and vomit but what college student isn't? But through the enlightenment of mini golf he managed to escape his old life and now a successful stock broker and video game character.

My final words in this review is that you have to try to the game and then decide what to think of it. Many people have turned away in disgust, but others have taken comfort in its innocent nature.

FINAL SCORE: 7/10