GameBoy: Kirby’s Pinball Land
April 26, 2009 - 9:39 am - Posted by Luke C.
Do you like Kirby games but always wanted to know what would happen if you whacked the main character with a baseball bat? Well, nowadays I suppose you can actually experience that thanks to the Smash Bros. series, but back in the days of the original GameBoy your closest option was Kirby’s Pinball Land.
Kirby’s Pinball Land is essentially a Kirby game with pinball controls. You choose from one of three tables themed after a Kirby boss/level, then use your pinball flippers to launch Kirby at various traditional Kirby enemies. Maxim tomatoes and pep brews can keep Kirby from falling down the gutters.
This isn’t just a pinball game with a Kirby theme, however. Since it’s a video game, HAL Labs decided to do some things that aren’t easily possible with a physical pinball table. They eliminated the plunger, for instance – Kirby flies on to the table with his usual warp star, and if you lose a Kirby a new one pops in from a spring board in the gutter. Each table also has a boss you will eventually combat; defeat the bosses of all three tables and you’ll face King Dedede.
I like a lot of things about this game – it goes beyond what a real pinball table can do, it has a fun theme, it has variety. However, I’m not sure it’s actually a good game of pinball. It often felt like I didn’t have a huge amount of control over Kirby, and between that and things like the constant ricochets off moving scenery on the boards, my losses rarely felt like they were because I messed up.
All in all, I had fun with this game, but if you’re looking for a pure pinball experience you probably want to give this game a pass.
@Luke: Kirby’s Pinball Land is fun and has its place in my handheld game collection, but if push comes to shove and I want a few hours of good GameBoy pinball action, I usually go with Revenge of the ‘Gator.
Kirby is cool and since I also like pinball, I should find this game and give it a try.