In January 2026,
my brother and I decided to play Kirby’s Dream Land 2 on our retro handhelds as part of a Game of the Month competition over at RetroHandhelds.gg . I ended up finishing the game, but unfortunately forgot to submit my completion screenshot before the deadline, so I missed the reward. Still, we could see all our progress and unlocks on RetroAchievements.org, and honestly that was enough. Just finishing it felt good.
It’s kind of crazy how good this game looks and feels on the original Game Boy. It came out in 1995, and the hardware only had four shades of gray or green and a tiny 160×144 screen. But somehow it still feels like a real world. The animations are smooth, the enemies have personality, and the different areas all feel distinct. I played on my broken screen Ambernic RGCUBEXX via HDMI.
Kirby was created by Masahiro Sakurai, who was only 19 when he directed the first Kirby game. He later went on to create Super Smash Bros., but you can already see his design style here. The mechanics are simple, but really well thought out. The animal companions Rick, Coo, and Kine (Trust me they are Cute) add a lot of variety and make each ability feel different.
It’s also way harder than I expected. Maybe it’s my very old man eyes or my decaying tendons :-) . You actually have to slow down and learn how the game works. There’s no rushing through it. And that’s part of what made finishing it feel even more satisfying.
Playing it reminded me why I spend so much time with retro games and retro handhelds. These games didn’t rely on flashy graphics or constant stimulation. They were just extremely well designed, and they respected your attention.
Even without the RetroHandhelds.gg competition reward, finishing Kirby’s Dream Land 2 in January 2026 was one of the most enjoyable retro gaming experiences I’ve had in a while.
And remember kids, just cause it’s old, does not mean it sucks ;-)
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