Kirby's Adventure is the game that made Kirby pink. Wait, no—Kirby was always pink in Masahiro Sakurai's head. But on the Game Boy, he was monochrome. On the NES, he finally got his signature color, and with it came a whole new way to play.
I just finished Kirby's Adventure for the first time, and I'm smiling. This game is pure, unadulterated joy. It's bright, colorful, inventive, and constantly surprising. It's also deceptively clever—underneath that cuddly exterior lies a game that rewards curiosity and experimentation.
The big innovation here is the Copy Ability. By inhaling enemies and swallowing them, Kirby gains their powers. Fire, sword, needle, parasol, hammer—there are over 20 abilities to collect, each changing how you approach the levels. Want to cut through those blocks? Get the sword. Need to reach a high platform? Try the balloon ability. The game encourages you to experiment, to see what each power can do. And because you lose your ability when hit, you're constantly trading risk for reward.
The level design is imaginative. You'll bounce on fluffy clouds in Vegetable Valley, navigate mazes in the Butter Building, and battle through the neon-light nightmare of the Orange Ocean. Each world feels distinct, with new enemies, new obstacles, and new copy abilities to discover. The pacing is excellent—there's always something new around the corner.
What I love is how the game balances accessibility with depth. Kirby's moves are simple: walk, jump, inhale, fly. But the copy abilities add layers. The game automatically saves after each level, so you can take breaks. There are minigames, museums where you can test abilities, and boss fights that teach you new tricks. It's friendly to beginners but satisfying for skilled players who want to 100% it.
The visuals are gorgeous. The NES was near the end of its life when this came out in 1993, and HAL Laboratory squeezed every last drop of color out of it. Parallax scrolling, vibrant palettes, smooth animations—it's a technical showcase that still looks beautiful today. The music by Hirokazu Ando is iconic: peppy, playful, and endlessly catchy. The "Vegetable Valley" theme alone has been stuck in my head for days.
And let's not forget the story. King Dedede breaks the Star Rod, causing nightmares to spread. Kirby, ever-heroic, sets out to fix it. But it turns out Dedede wasn't the real villain—there's a deeper threat in the Nightmare. The ending, where Kirby rides a shooting star through space to face it, feels epic in a way that's uniquely Kirby.
If you're looking for a feel-good platformer that's still fun today, Kirby's Adventure is a no-brainer. It's the foundation of everything Kirby would become, and it's just as delightful now as it was in '93.
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