KIRBY BOWL
( Kirby's Dream Course )
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カービィボウル
©1994 Hal Laboratory Inc.
©1994 Nintendo
Release: 1994-09-21 (¥7900)
Cartridge SHVC-CG
Mini Golf
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Released in America as
KIRBY'S DREAM COURSE
( SNS-CG-USA )
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Released in Europe as
KIRBY'S DREAM COURSE
( SNSP-CG-XXX )
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Kirby Bowl is an isometric action/mini golf game developed by HAL Laboratory
and published by Nintendo. The ever cute and popular pink Kirby returns as the
main protagonist in this unusual spin off. The evil King Dedede has stolen all the stars
from the sky, and Kirby rushes off to the villain's floating castle to save
Dream Land once again. The player is charged with the task of helping the titular
character completing all kind of levels designed like cute miniature golf courses. But here,
unlike other tiles in the franchise, Kirby acts as a golf ball and the player has to
push the little round character and send him into exit holes in order to progress through the
game. However, these exit holes are nowhere to be seen at the beginning of each level.
In practice, Kirby has to hit all the enemies found on the course first, and the last
enemy then magically turns into the exit that leads to the next stage. Kirby Bowl,
despite its non-traditional nature for a Kirby game, still holds onto what made the
series so popular in the first place. Our puffball can obtain different abilities from his
enemies, and can turn into an U.F.O, grow sharp spikes or float with the help of an umbrella. He can also
do a large variety of moves (jump over obstacles, spin or bounce) and the player often has to
strategically balance strength and spin to achieve the perfect shot. Additionally, before making
a shot, the player can even plot his next move and visualize the ideal trajectory! Finally,
Kirby's life is symbolized by small red tomatoes - he loses one each time he makes a shot,
and wins one each time he hits an enemy or finishes a hole. If he loses all his tomatoes then he
loses a life, and once all the lives are gone then the game is over. Kirby Bowl consists
of eight courses made out of eight holes each and also includes a two-player versus mode.
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Interestingly, Kirby Bowl was not originally intended to endorse any particular
franchise. The first version of the game was apparently developed by Nintendo
around 1992 and called Special Tee Shot. Additionally, this first version didn't even
feature Kirby at all! The main character was a cute little red ball with googly eyes
and the game used the same core gameplay as Kirby Bowl. But the ball couldn't steal powers
from his enemies and could only gain a Power Shot (which doubled the strength for the next
shot). The player also didn't need to defeat all the enemies on the playfield to make the exit
hole appear. Special Tee Shot was never officially realized on cartridge, but it was
apparently broadcasted by Nintendo via the Stellaview System in 1996 (pictures on the right), and this
exclusively in Japan. Interestingly, Special Tee Shot was featured at the back of the
box of the early Super Nintendo system console in the United States (from the
Super NES Control Set), with a short description - "Blast the ball off the tee to clink
and clank as it bounces off of wacky obstacles on a sky-high, high-tech golf course of the
future! The Super NES accurately plots the path of your shot for the most realistic and fun
feel in a golf game yet!". It was also mentioned in the Nintendo Power magazine from
June 1992 (Vol.37) and described there as a "hybrid golf/billiards game" (and even included
a screen shot) - so Special Tee Shot was definitively in development at
Nintendo in 1992, which was further confirmed by the discovery of a prototype cartridge
in 2004 (and seemingly also dated 1992).
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There is an interesting difference between the Japan release of Kirby Bowl
and the American and European versions. The animated introduction sequence
(picture on the left) was completely removed, probably in an attempt to keep the production cost down (the Japanese
version has a ROM size of 10 Mbits, whereas the American and European versions is 8 Mbits).
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Teaser text from the American version:
Zip across checkerboard fairways
high above the earth!
Scan the course and check out the obstacles ahead. Get
ready for the most surprising game play imaginable in
Kirby's battle against King Dedede!
This checkboard challenge brings outrageous hazards
and bizarre surfaces. Warp panels instantly transport you
to new and exciting challenges. Conveyer belts provide
higher levels of adventure. Turntables take the action in
a whole new direction.
Gordo, Kracko, Whispy Woods and a cast of zany characters await
you. Gain special powers including Fireball, Freeze, Spark and
Parasol. Transform your enemies into stars revealing eight hidden
cups of each wildly different course. Control the force and angle of
your shot and sink Kirby for a hole-in-one!
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Game Staff (Copied from the American version's end credits) :
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Director
Takashi Saito
Programmers
Tetsuya Abe
Teruyuki Gunji
Seiji Otoguro
Yoshimi Takahashi
Makoto Kanai
Satoshi Mitsuhara
Kei Nakajima
Map CAD Programmers
Hiroaki Suga
Takumi Kawagoe
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C.G. Designers
Shigeru Hashiguchi
Tadashi Hashikura
Kazuya Miura
Map Designers
Shinichi Shimomura
Kensuke Tanabe
Hideki Fujii
Music Composer
Hirokazu Ando
Originally Designed
Tatsuya Hishida
Shinya Takahashi
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Special Thanks To
Satoshi Ishida
Chieko Obikane
Hironobu kakui
Shigeki Yamashiro
Takaaki Kazuno
Senji Kirose
Masaya Akiyama
Shane C Allala
Jim Wornell
Dan Owsen
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Producers
Shigeru Miyamoto
Satoru Iwata
Co-Producers
Yasuhiro Sakai
Takao Shimizu
Executive producer
Hiroshi Yamauchi
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G
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Japanese Guide Book
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Click on picture to enlarge |
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LK
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Add your Pov here !
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P
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Kirby Bowl is an incredible and addictive game. Despite featuring a
concept that sounds appallingly simple at first glance, the game still manages
to deliver an intricate and quite complex gameplay. And this, I find absolutely
amazing. The different powers that Kirby picks up from his enemies add an
incredible dimension to the game and are seamlessly integrated with the gameplay.
For instance, some holes look tricky to complete at first, but a strategic use of
the umbrella or the rock powers can help you achieve a hole-in-one
in no time! All in all, Kirby Bowl is a delightful and incredibly polished
game, and with enough replay value to keep you coming back for more. Granted, it
will take you quite a while to completely master that one, but this is what makes
Kriby Bowl such a compelling game. Another Nintendo (and HAL)
masterpiece.
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