Kirby's Dream Land

Kirby's Dream Land
Also known as: Hoshi no Kirby (JP) Developer: HAL Laboratory Publisher: Nintendo Platform: Game Boy Released in JP: April 27, 1992 Released in US: August 1, 1992 Released in EU: August 3, 1992 This game has unused graphics. This game has a hidden sound test. This game has regional differences. This game has revisional differences. This game has a prerelease article This game has a Data Crystal page

Kirby's Dream Land is the game that introduced the world to the hungry pink (or white, if you go by this game's western boxart) puffball.

Sub-Pages

Prerelease Info

Unused Graphics

Sprites

An unused frame of Waddle Doo looking up. It might have been used when Kirby was about to fall on it or when it's charging up its beam.

Loaded with the graphics for the Extra Game command screen shown after the staff roll are these sprites of King Dedede facing the screen with his hands on the sides of his face.

(Source: Original TCRF research)

Unused	Used

The umbrella enemy appearing in Stage 4 actually has a closed state which doesn't get used.

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Title Screen

Unused	Used

On the Japanese version, there are two unused tiles that belong to the logo. One would have been used for smoothening the right side of the カ, but a fully white square is used instead. The other was used for the right star above the ビ but it got replaced by an edgier version.

On all versions of the game, these strings are drawn to the window layer while on the title screen. The window layer itself is disabled on the title screen though. While "Sound Test" is used in the game's config mode, "Game Start" is not used anywhere in the game. Perhaps they planned on making the sound test accessible from a menu on the title screen as opposed to in the Configuration Mode?

This tile appears in the international version's graphics while on the title screen. It may possibly have been used as a placeholder by the designers while working on the title screen graphics, similar to how they ended up doing it in later games.

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Configuration Mode

Unused	Used

On the Japanese version, there is an unused tile located next to the graphics that make up the background for the configuration mode.

This "right arrow type" unused tile appears on all versions of the game in the tileset for the Configuration Mode and Sound Test.

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Stage Intro Sequences

This is the first stage intro sequence.

This unused tile in the Japanese version appears in the tile set for all stage intro sequences and is located next to the graphics for the small 星のカービィ (Hoshi no Kābī) logo. However, it isn't quite certain if it is actually related to the logo.

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Stage 1

This unused cliff tile was presumably meant for left-facing cliff walls but there are only right-facing cliff walls appearing throughout the game.

Unused (Mockup)	Used

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Stage 2

This tile goes unused as the darker version of the brick always transitions into the shaded version to the left, but never to the right throughout the entire game. On the right side is a sample that shows the brick alignment commonly found throughout the game.

These striped ground / platform tiles are also not used anywhere.

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Ending

Unused	Used

For the fruit that falls down during the ending, there is a graphic for an apple without a stalk that isn't used.

This unused tile is located next to the graphic tiles that make up the giant Kirby balloon that ascends carrying Dedede's castle.

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Enemy Cards

The third enemy card used in the Extra Game ending is the only one that doesn't shift vertically. However, there are graphics layed out off screen to the bottom. Edit address D055 to 90 while on this screen to see it. The graphic layout is identical to the used one except for the text that reads

POPPY
BROS, SR

A screenshot of an earlier version of the game. Notice the "Enemy" text.

This is an unused graphic that appears during the enemy names screens after the Extra Game's credits. It is possibly a remnant from an earlier version of the game. A screenshot of said version shows that the string "Enemy" used to be displayed next to a boss' health bar. The final game uses an evil face sprite instead.

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End Screen

On the Japanese version, the Normal Game End Screen has unused graphics offscreen to the top. Edit D055 to F0 while on this screen to see it. While すごい (awesome) is used for the Extra Game End Screen, ♪サウンド (♪sound) is not. On the International version there is only scrambled mess there.

These are left-over Japanese kana tiles that appear in the international version's graphics while on the normal game's and the extra game's end screen, respectively.

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Unreachable areas

To do: Dedede's room seems to have space to the left and right that can't be reached because the camera is locked. Make a screenshot or map.

In the first world in the bonus room, there are graphics layed out in the far left that you can't see because the screen doesn't scroll far enough.

In the third world in the first room, there are water tiles layed out offscreen to the bottom throughout the entire room. Edit address D044 to 09 while in this room to see it.

Revisional Differences

There are three known game versions:

• Japanese version 1.0
• Japanese version 1.1
• International version (USA/Europe)

Differences between the two Japanese versions follow below.

Whispy Woods Bug

When Kirby lands on the ground or bumps into a wall, the game will create a little star sprite.

The game would create several star sprites when Kirby took damage and was pushed against a wall. This not only looked odd, but it caused a problem in the Whispy Woods fight. Taking damage and getting pushed against Whispy Woods, then subsequently hitting him with a star would - due to filling up too many sprite slots - cause Whispy Woods' face to despawn for the remainder of the fight. Whispy Woods would then not do any more attacks and no more apples would spawn either.

To fix this, the developers implemented the following two fixes in the Japanese version 1.1 and the International version:

Star Sprite

While the Japanese version 1.0 would always create a star sprite when Kirby landed or bumped into a wall, the Japanese version 1.1 added a check to see if a star sprite is already on the screen - indicated by RAM address D414 which is zero if there is none, and non-zero if there is. If there already is a star sprite on the screen, it will not create another one.

37B1:  FA 14 D4  ld a, [$D414]  
37B4:  A7        and a, a
37B5:  C0        ret nz    

However, the Japanese version 1.1 added more code in order to set D414 zero and therefore still allow another star sprite to be created when Kirby starts jumping (and bumps into a wall shortly after).

00434B:  EA 14 D4  ld [$D414], a 

Despawn Prevention

As an additional failsafe, the Japanese version 1.1 added this code to prevent Whispy Woods from despawning.

01418C:  38 07     jr c, $4195

If Whispy Woods gets hit while too many sprites are on the screen, then his face will shake briefly rather than playing his "hurt animation". This allows Whispy Woods to remain on the screen.

Other Changes

Pretty much all the other changes amount to adjusting destination addresses due to the added bytes of code above and cleaning up sections that had garbage data.

Regional Differences

Differences between the Japanese and the International version follow below.

Title Screen

Japan	International

The game is known as Hoshi no Kirby (lit. Kirby of the Stars) in Japan, which is also the Japanese name of the series itself. This was localized into Kirby's Dream Land (reflecting the new name of Kirby's homeland, which is known as Pupupu Land in Japan), though the franchise's name ended up being just Kirby in the west.

The larger title graphics in the international versions meant that the Green Greens backdrop had to be removed. The marching Kirbys were moved down as a result. A small graphic of Kirby was added to fill in the blank space above the logo.

The latter part of the copyright text was also shortened from "Licensed to Nintendo" to just "/Nintendo".

Japan	International

The "X" was changed for some reason.

Configuration Mode

Japan	International

The Japanese config screen has a set of life bar graphics that don't appear anywhere else. The international versions changed this to use the same life bar graphics as the rest of the game. The background logo was also changed from the game's Japanese title to just Kirby, with a little star at the end.

Level Cards

Japan	International

In addition to the logo change, the international versions rearranged some of the fruit at the bottom of the screen.

Japan	International

The Japanese version has a broken water tile in the lower-left corner. This was fixed in the international releases.

Credits

Japan	International

The "Presented By" text was altered in a similar fashion to the title screen's copyright text.

Japan	International

On the Japanese version, Kirby's sign says おしまい which translates to "the end".

Normal Game End Screen

Japan	International

In the screen that shows the command used to access the new adventure, the Japanese text tells the user to "input this command" while pointing to a graphic of a Game Boy with the necessary buttons highlighted. In the English version, this arrow - although still in the game's graphics - ends up unused and the text mentions the specific buttons instead.

Japanese (Original)	Japanese (Direct translation)	English
♡クリア おめでとう！	♡Clear! Congratulations!	Good Job!
タイトルがめんでコマンドをおして	Input the command at the title screen.	Press up, A and select on the title screen to start a new adventure!
あたらしいぼうけんにでかけよう!	Let's go on a new adventure!	Good Luck!

Extra Game End Screen

Japan	International

A graphical error below the D-Pad (that strangely isn't present on the normal game end screen) was fixed in the international release. The message was also revised to be less ambiguous by telling the player the inputs in the text, like the previous end screen.

Japanese (Original)	Japanese (Direct translation)	English
すごい うでまえだ💦	Awesome! You're pretty good! 💦	You're our hero!
きみにとくべつプレセント♪ あそんでくれてありがとう！	Here's a special present for you. ♪ Thanks for playing!	Press down, B and select on the title screen for the Config Mode and more fun!

Oddities

Normal Game End Screen	Extra Game End Screen

On all versions of the game, the Extra Game end screen introduces a small mistake as it misses a graphic tile present on the Normal Game end screen.