Kirby's Dream Land 2

"Rick the hamster, Kine the fish, and Coo the owl debuted in this game. These friends not only helped out by carrying Kirby. They also interacted with Copy Abilities in different ways, adding to Kirby's arsenal."

- Summary

Kirby's Dream Land 2, known in Japan as 星のカービィ2 (Hoshi no Kābī Tsū, meaning Kirby of the Stars 2), is a platformer Kirby game for the Game Boy that was originally released in Japan on March 21, 1995, and was then later released on May 1, 1995 in North America and on July 31, 1995 in Europe.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 continues the adventures of Kirby from Kirby's Dream Land (making it the second game in the Kirby's Dream Land saga) and Kirby's Adventure, adding three Animal Friends to aid Kirby in battle. It can be played on the Super Game Boy, and gives slight changes to the game, such as adding a custom color scheme, a special game border, and a few new sound effects.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 was slated to be remade for the Game Boy Color as Kirby's Dream Land 2 DX, but was cancelled along with Metroid II: Return of Samus DX.

Plot
The plot follows Kirby, a resident of Dream Land. The rainbow bridge that connects the Rainbow Islands have been stolen by an evil being called Dark Matter, who has possessed King Dedede, intent on conquering Dream Land. With his trusty Warp Star, Kirby sets out to defeat Dark Matter, accompanied by three new friends.

Presentation
Like Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2 's visuals are grayscale and two-dimensional. However, when played on the Super Game Boy, the graphics are drawn in limited color with a border featuring Kirby and his animal friends.

Unlike the original Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2 is composed by both Hirokazu Ando and Tadashi Ikegami, both regular composers for HAL Laboratory.

Gameplay
Kirby's Dream Land 2, like previous Kirby titles, 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. However, a variety of obstacles lie in his path. These obstacles range from pits to enemies. If Kirby touches an enemy or is hit by an enemy's attack, Kirby will lose one bar of health (out of six total health points).

Kirby's basic abilities include running, jumping, flight, swimming, and inhaling. Flight involves inhaling air (UP button), followed with the press of the jump button which will make Kirby fly. By continuously pushing the jump button, Kirby can reach any height (unless something prevents him from reaching that height). At any time when Kirby has inhaled air, he can exhale by either landing on the ground or the player can also release it himself. When the air is released, Kirby will exhale a puff of air, which can be used to damage enemies or destroy blocks.

Inhaling objects, enemies, and food is the trademark ability of Kirby's. To inhale anything, the player must hold down the B button. Kirby can then indefinitely inhale, and if an enemy, object, or food is in range, Kirby will inhale it into his mouth. When food is inhaled, it is automatically swallowed and will heal Kirby if he has any damage. When Kirby inhales an enemy or object, it remains in his mouth. At this point, Kirby can shoot them out as a star (causing damage to anything in its path), or simply swallow them. When certain enemies are swallowed, Kirby will gain their ability, such as ice breath or the ability to turn into a stone.

Animal Friends
Kirby's Dream Land 2 introduces three new allies to aide him in his adventure: Rick the Hamster, who allows Kirby to ride on his back; he runs faster and doesn't slip on ice; Coo the Owl, who can carry Kirby and fly through harsh winds and allows Kirby to inhale while flying; and Kine the Ocean Sunfish, who can carry Kirby in his mouth and swim through waters (even against currents) with ease (although he performs poorly on land), with him Kirby can inhale underwater. Whenever Kirby is aided by an Animal Friend, his current power is altered. For example, if Kirby has the Spark ability while he rides on Rick, he can use an attack very similar to the beam attack from Kirby's Adventure.

Levels

 * 1) Grass Land
 * 2) Big Forest
 * 3) Ripple Field
 * 4) Iceberg
 * 5) Red Canyon
 * 6) Cloudy Park
 * 7) Dark Castle

Sub-Games
There are no sub-games in Kirby's Dream Land 2, but Boss Endurance is available.
 * Boss Endurance

Goal Game
The goal game is similar to that in Kirby's Adventure. Both times, the player must launch Kirby with the right timing, but now to defeat foes and earn items.

Reception
Kirby's Dream Land 2 was a hit and became a bestseller for Game Boy, selling more than two million units worldwide.

Commercial
Long version (November 26 - December 11): ''Friends are there to pick you up when you're feelin' li'l down. Friends are there to rearrange someone's face when they're acting like a clown. And friends are a hamster, a fish or an owl in Kirby's Dream Land 2 If you ain't fightin' on their side, well man, I pity you.'' Short version (December 12–31): ''Friends are there to pick you up when you're feelin' li'l down. Friends are there to rearrange someone's face when they're acting like a clown.'' Rated E for Everyone (November 28 - December 31): Rated Everyone on eBay (March 28 - April 11):
 * Old Man: What are Friends? (rapping style)
 * Narrator: Kirby is back with the amazing animal friends loving some animal fun initiation than doubt in Kirby's Dream Land 2 on Game Boy and Super Game Boy.
 * Old Man: Will you be my friend? (tube words saying, "Play it LOUD!")
 * Old Man: Animal Friends? (rapping style)
 * Narrator: Kirby's back with 3 animal friends when Kirby's Dream Land 2 comes to Game Boy and Super Game Boy. (cut to tube words saying, "Play it LOUD!")
 * Old Man: Animal Friends? Friends are there to pick you up when you're feelin' little down.
 * Narrator: Kirby is back in Kirby's Dream Land 2, rated E for Everyone.
 * Old Man: Animal Friends? How do you do? Will you be my friend?
 * Narrator: Kirby's Dream Land 2 is ordered on eBay.

Trivia

 * The attacks used by Dark Matter's swordsman form are similar to Meta Knight's attacks in Kirby's Adventure.
 * Only three of Kirby's Animal Friends are present in Kirby's Dream Land 2. These are Kine, Rick, and Coo. The rest make their debut in Kirby's Dream Land 3.
 * This is the only game in which Dark Matter is the primary antagonist and final boss in the main series.
 * In the Music Room in Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Kirby's Dream Land 2 is represented by an image of the number two on a checkered background. This is the same two used in Kirby's Dream Land 2 ' s logo. The checkered background is also featured.