SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs - Of Mice and Mega Men Edition

Can you believe that it is the last week of August already? Unbelievable how time flies. Regardless, SuperPhillip's Favorite VGMs chugs along for a brand-new week of video game sounds. On this week's edition we have music from The Magical Quest Starring Mickey Mouse, Mega Man X8, and Kirby's Dream Land 3. If your preparations are ready, let's get to the music.

v181. Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift (DS) - Crossing Over the Hill

We start out with a terrific tactical RPG series in Final Fantasy Tactics. This is the third all-new installment of the series, not counting ports -- it's the second to arrive on a Nintendo handheld. The tales of the Final Fantasy Tactics Advance series are much less serious than the original FFT. The stories revolve around more whimsical plot points and are a lot more lighthearted. Crossing Over the Hill has a dapper feeling to it, perfect for a new adventure through the world of Ivalice. My favorite part occurs at 0:45 and concludes at 1:09. Hitoshi Sakimoto does a fantastic job once again.

v182. The Magical Quest starring Mickey Mouse (SNES, GBA) - Dark Forest

A mysterious theme for a mysterious wooded area, Dark Forest is the second world of one of Mickey Mouse's most cherished platforming escapades, The Magical Quest. The game was originally available on the Super Nintendo with the main gameplay feature being that Disney's well-known mouse could change into different costumes, each with their own special ability. The game and its two sequels would be ported to the Game Boy Advance; the third game that never released outside of Japan would finally be available for Westerners to play.

v183. Breath of Fire III (PS1, PSP) - Life's a Beach

An upbeat tempo and theme for a port side town in Breath of Fire III, Life's a Beach is certainly peppy and spunky in spirit. It's hard not to get a smile on your face listening to this tune. Breath of Fire is most certainly a series that I would love to see Capcom revisit. However, my opinion of that company has lowered over the years, and they just don't seem that interested in their past successes. Later this week I have planned an article that summarizes my thoughts on Capcom in their current form. I hope you will look forward to that.

v184. Mega Man X8 (PS2) - VS 8Boss

The boss theme of Mega Man X8, the final game in the X series before it, like Mega Man in general, was put on hiatus. This fast-paced rocking theme definitely gets the thumbs twitching, adrenaline pulsating through the body, and the toes tapping. After a failed experiment, in many eyes, to put Mega Man X into 3D, the developers behind X8 decided to go back to the tried and true 2D. Well, technically, 2 1/2D. The end result was a fabulous effort which is one of the more unique X games in the series. It is without a doubt a better product than X6 and X7 before it, but that wasn't that difficult of a task to achieve. For when a boss in X8 is extremely low in health and goes into desperation mode, check out this theme.

v185. Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES) - Ripple Field 2

Kirby's Dream Land 3 is a cute, adorable and colorful game with a pretty pastel art style. It's really a gorgeous game, truth be told. The music is simply what you'd expect from a Kirby game -- catchy melodies, mostly uptempo tunes, and themes that put a big, old stupid grin on your face, as evident by this theme, Ripple Field 2. What makes Kirby games so appealing to me is that each one usually tries something new, even if the adjustment to the gameplay is minimal. It makes for a series that I can't help but appreciate. Happy 20th anniversary, Kirby.

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What started with Final Fantasy ended with Kirby. However, that isn't all we've heard of from Final Fantasy. In fact, next week is a special Final Fantasy edition of the VGMs. Five themes from various Final Fantasy games will be displayed and showcased. Just like with my Capcom article, I hope you look forward to next week's edition of the VGMs as well. Have a great week, everybody.

Rank Up! - Kirby (Consoles)

Last week I reviewed Kirby's Return to Dreamland on Wii, so it seems like a perfect time to take a look at Kirby's mainline console efforts. It is also the twentieth anniversary of the pink puffball. But first, what is Rank Up!? Rank Up! is where I take a handful of games and rank them from least great to greatest in one nice, concise blog entry. Before we begin, it is tradition to take a glance at what games I'll be ranking:

Kirby's Adventure (NES)
Kirby Super Star (SNES)
Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)
Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)


Kirby celebrates his 20th birthday later this year, and boy, what a life it has been for the cute and cuddly character from the mind of Mr. Sakurai and HAL Laboratories. His ability to suck up enemies and copy their powers was unheard of and is a terrific gameplay mechanic to this day. Kirby is generally Nintendo's go-to character for unique gameplay styles such as a racing game that only uses one button to accelerate, brake, and handle, a game where you draw lines to guide Kirby around, and a game where you tilt the Game Boy Color to move the pink blob around labyrinthine-like levels. Happy 20th, Kirby, you're nearly old enough to drink legally!

6) Kirby's Adventure (NES)


The first Kirby game where it was revealed that that everyone's favorite powder puff was actually pink, Kirby's Adventure brought Nintendo's blob mascot to consoles. For a Kirby game that difficulty was pretty high as the player only had a handful of hits to work with before they lost a life. Bosses like Kracko and Whispy Woods proved challenging while familiar to this day landscapes and levels like Butter Building and Ice Cream Island made for an edible vacation unlike any other.

5) Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES)


Kirby's Dream Land 3 came out a year after Super Star and unlike KSS was a full-fledged adventure as opposed to multiple bite-sized ones. Players could team up together in Kirby's first cooperative journey, playing together to help one another out. Several animal friends assisted players along the way such as a fish, a bird, and a gopher, for starters. Each level had its own optional side challenge to accomplish such as rescuing Metroids for Samus Aran or not stomping on any flowers in a given level. Plus, the soft painted look of the game is highly pleasing to the eye.

4) Kirby Super Star (SNES)


Kirby Super Star was a collection of games both mini and mega that varied in greatness. The eight games had Kirby exploring a series of levels in search of treasure in the Great Cave Offensive, had Kirby swift-stepping it with King Dedede in Gourmet Race, playing through a remake of Kirby's Dream Land in Spring Breeze, battling a winged warrior in Dyna Blade, and carousing through Revenge of Meta Knight as well as Milky Way Wishes. If you can't get enough Kirby, then Kirby Super Star is an admirable effort to expand the pink puffball's horizons.

3) Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)


One of the more overlooked of Kirby's adventures, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards introduced our round hero to three-dimensions... well, technically 2-1/2D, but everything was 3D visually. The main draw to the game was combining two abilities to form a new one. This made for a lot of experimentation as some portions of levels couldn't be accessed unless you had the correct combination of abilities. Three crystal shards were hidden in each level, and you had to gather them all in order to reach the true final boss of the game. One of my favorite Kirbys, The Crystal Shards is definitely worth a look.

2) Kirby's Epic Yarn (Wii)


Originally planned to be a new IP entirely, Kirby was shoe-horned in and thus Kirby's Epic Yarn was born. Two players could delve into co-op mode together, collecting beads, lassoing foes, and transforming into multiple different forms like fire engines, cars, and UFOs. While the game itself is one the easy side, the presentation alone makes this game worth playing. Everything in Epic Yarn is-- unsurprisingly-- made out of yarn from bad guys to environments. And that music... So phenomenal. Kirby's Epic Yarn is indeed one special little package.

1) Kirby's Return to Dream Land (Wii)


The latest and in my mind greatest Kirby adventure yet, Kirby's Return to Dreamland (or Kirby's Adventure Wii for PAL people) pits players through countless vibrant and lush worlds such as Cookie Country and Onion Ocean in search of Megalor's missing spaceship parts and Energy Spheres used to unlock bonus content such as Challenge Rooms, Copy Ability Rooms, and sub-games. The addition of four-player co-op creates a zany dynamic with all players working together and sharing a life counter with player one. Multiplayer alone makes this game the best console Kirby yet, but all the unlockable modes post-game makes for a game that definitely does not suck, even if Kirby literally does.

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This edition of Rank Up! is over, but stay tuned later in the week as we'll be examining Kirby's mainline hand-held escapades in a bite-sized version of Rank Up! See you tomorrow, all.

Kirby's Dream Land 3 (SNES) Retro Review

We're really putting the pedal to the metal in 2010. Let's continue with our first retro review of the year. My older brother and I recently played through this game together, so I figured why not jot down some of my experiences and opinion on the game. It's Kirby's Dream Land 3 for the Super Nintendo.

If I could talk to the animals...

The cute and cuddly Kirby originated on the Game Boy with the original Kirby's Dream Land. That game would a second sequel on the portable platform, but Kirby's first console offering would be late in the Nintendo Entertainment System's life with Kirby's Adventure. While not his first Super Nintendo outing, that would be Kirby Super Star, his last would again be late in the Super Nintendo's life, Kirby's Dream Land 3. With the addition of color and a cast of animals to ride, Kirby's Dream Land 3 is an impressive title.

It's a peaceful day on the planet Pop Star when all of a sudden, a mystical force invades the land. It sprinkles harmful dark clouds all over the planet, and as hero of the world, it's up to Kirby to save the day! He must travel to five worlds, solve simple puzzles, battle baddies, bosses, and his ever-hungry stomach while cleaning up the mess this evil entity has caused. Are you up to the task to join him? Of course, you are, so let's get to it!

They see me rollin'.

For those who have never played a Kirby game before, Kirby is a pink powder-puff who can suck up enemies and take their powers. If Kirby gets hit enough, he'll revert back to normal. There's plenty of powers for Kirby to possess, but he can only hold one power at a time. Kirby can burn enemies, freeze them in place and kick them into other enemies, turn into a powerful stone, ball of spikes, and much more.

The new addition to Kirby's Dream Land 3 is that of ride-able animals. There's six or so in all each with different abilities. For example, the hamster can climb up walls, the owl can fly around, and the fish is an excellent swimmer. Combined with Kirby's power-ups the animals attack in a variety of different ways. You can only ride one animal at a time, and plenty of times there will be paths that only a certain animal can take-- adding to Dream Land 3's longevity. There's also blocks that can only be taken out by using a select power which also adds to the replay value.

Also new to Kirby is the advent of having a partner around. This partner can be played by a second player making for some very enjoyable co-op fun. If the partner gets too far away from Kirby, he'll be automatically transported close to Kirby's side. If the second player dies, there's no real loss, but every time the second player enters the game thereafter, a part of Kirby's health decreases. Another change is that unlike some Kirby games, in this adventure, the titular hero can float for an infinite amount of time. This makes some levels as easy as hovering over entire rooms similar to using a P-Wing in Super Mario Bros. 3 to bypass dangerous stages.

There's six different animals to
utilize in Kirby's Dream Land 3.

In Kirby's Dream Land 3, there's five worlds to explore, each with seven individual levels. The seventh level always holds a big bad boss to take down. These are simple as waiting for a foe to strike, sucking up the star they let loose from their attack, and spitting it back at them to damage them. Of course, if Kirby has a power, it makes the battle all the more easy. The in-game levels are comprised of several elongated rooms either stretching vertically or horizontally. Sometimes the screen is scrolling, but most often it is not. Kirby will enter red hot mountains, underwater exploits, and grassy wildlands on his quest to right the wrongs of the world. The game itself isn't terribly long perhaps taking an ordinary player but a few hours or more.

Sure, players can just breeze right through the game at their leisure, but there's a catch to unlocking the final battle of the game. Each of the game's 40+ levels has a hidden goal that must be completed in order to obtain a heart star. Collect all the heart stars, and Kirby and friend can tackle the game's true final boss aside from King Dedede. Level goals include things like not stomping on flowers, completing a level while riding a certain animal, completing a mini-game, collecting a set number of collectibles, and tackling a hidden mid-boss within a level.

After all the heart stars are collected, some belonging to recognizable Nintendo characters, the final boss will be ready to be attacked in the center of Pop Star. The boss fight is a multiple phase affair and uses a 2-D side-scrolling shooter mechanic instead of the traditional platforming action the game has been using all along. After the foe is bested, the day and Pop Star have been saved all thanks to the indomitable little pink puff, Kirby... and friends!

Old and new friends get help from Kirby.

One of my main problems with Kirby's Dream Land 3 is that it's very easy to beat and complete. Sure your lives reset every time you restart the game, but it's easy to obtain anywhere of upwards of thirty lives in one sitting. Health items are also abundant making the game a cakewalk for most players, but to be fair, it certainly is one fun and delicious cakewalk!

Kirby's Dream Land 3 uses an incredibly impressive crayon-styled art style to showcase some impressive visuals unlike any other on the Super Nintendo. It's quite the site to look at, and the soundtrack helps create a happy go-lucky mood, too. There's plenty of hummable tracks and familiar ditties to sing along to.

Kirby's Dream Land 3 may be on the easy side, but there's something about it that's enjoyable to play regardless of this fact. It has loads of charm, enchanting visuals, and simple enough gameplay for anyone to get involved in. Kirby's Dream Land 3 is a highly recommended title to look into, especially since you can find it for only eight dollars on the Wii's Virtual Console.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.5/10]