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Prerelease:Kirby's Dream Land 2

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This page details pre-release information and/or media for Kirby's Dream Land 2.

Concept Art

Numerous pieces of concept art for the game have trickled out via official art compilations for the series.

Kirby's Dream Collection: Special Edition

A booklet titled Kirby's 20th Anniversary Celebration Book came with Dream Collection for the Wii in 2012. It contains development documents and insights for the series, Dream Land 2 included.[1]

These are some sick beta sprites of Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza.

Introducing three new friends!
We wanted to give Kirby new ways to get around. We considered lots of possibilities and finally came up with Rick, Kine, and Coo, three new characters who could carry Kirby.
At the start of their development, we called these characters "minions," but we changed them to "friends" because that felt more fitting given Kirby's personality.

(Source: Kirby's 20th Anniversary Celebration Book, pg. 10)

War. War never changes.

Why is Kirby riding a tank...?!
In this cover illustration from the original project proposal for Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kirby leads the gang into action from the top of a tank! Giving Kirby a tank to ride was one of our early ideas, but we got feedback that riding animals would fit Kirby better. That's when Rick, Kine, and Coo joined the team!
As you can see from this illustration, we were already planning to have Rick and Coo join the Kirby family. But if they hadn't replaced the tank, would Kirby have become a military action game?!

(Source: Kirby's 20th Anniversary Celebration Book, pg. 11)

Acro from Dream Land 3 appears in this piece of concept art, but is only alluded to by a poster in a dark room in the final version of Dream Land 2. Additionally, no tanks appear in the final game, except in a set of unused enemy sprites.

20th Anniversary Kirby Pupupu Encyclopedia

Cacti speak Japanese.
...But what does it mean?
This game has text or audio that needs to be translated. If you are fluent with this language, please read our translation guidelines and then submit a translation!

The Man, The Myth, The Matter.

(Source: 星のカービィプププ大全―20th Anniversary, pg. 120)

Shown are some concept sketches of Dark Matter. Of note are an earlier design revision with two eyes, as well as what seems to be a view of the character with a human head.

Kirby Art & Style Collection

No Wheelies were harmed in the manufacturing of the scooter.

(Source: Kirby Art & Style Collection, pg. 271)

This piece of concept art shows six ideas for abilities, none of which ended up in the final game. Kirby's tank here resembles the design of that used by the unused enemy in the final build.

Electronic Gaming Monthly Screenshots

Number 66 (January 1995)

In their coverage of 1994's Shoshinkai event, Electronic Gaming Monthly managed to get an early look at the game.[2] One striking difference from the final game in these screenshots is the alternate Super Game Boy border artwork of the player characters. Here, Kirby's eyes are rather close together.

The Status Bar uses the half-width HP units for Kirby's health, but seems to use the full-width ones for when he has an Animal Friend. A remnant of this aspect remains in the final build, where Kirby's health is stored at 00:A04C in increments of 2, but the Animal Friend's health is stored at 00:A072 in increments of 1. The Status Bar also displays a different take on the star collectibles. Three slots for the stars exist where the level number is in the final game, but where the final's star bar is, a row of unidentified circular icons exist.

Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
It's a nice day to go parasol drifting outside. And higher up.
Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
Kirby Efreeti's coming oh god he has earplugs in oh god he can't hear. No diagonals in the first encounter.

It seems like Normal Kirby didn't have a Status Bar icon at this point.

Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
If only Master Green knew what was coming with their color scheme identity crisis. Jellyfish is NOT helping.
Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
It's not nice to stick your parasol out at people. Clearly Kine didn't get that memo by the final build.
Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
Bubbles! C'mon back out big bubble, we miss you!

The larger bubble sprite here didn't make it to the final game.

Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
Top 10 Anime Battles Fwoosh.
Electronic Gaming Monthly Num. 66 Final
Kirby and Coo have fun violating one-way traffic while they still can before flying cars get invented. Any pie in this sky?

The structure tiles for Cloudy Park seem to have had more varied designs.

Nintendo Magazine System (UK) Logo and Screenshots

Volume 30 (March 1995)

Nintendo Magazine System (UK) Vol. 30 Final
The airbrush is so fun to use. May the stars and pink polka-dots shine down on you.

The English logo as showcased is close to final, but seems to have different shading on the letters. The "2" in particular clashes with the shading direction of the "Dream Land" part.

The screenshots of main gameplay here use the full-width HP graphics for Kirby, but have the alternate take on the collectibles display.

Nintendo Magazine System (UK) Vol. 30 Final
To this day, Kirby and Rick are still very upset that they got forced into this screenshot while sick. All those swimming pools that didn't have the checkerboard aesthetic were missing out on taste.

The Super Game Boy border's checkerboard is orange in this screenshot. The game logo, Kirby, and Rick are all green for some reason.

Nintendo Magazine System (UK) Vol. 30 Final
Let's recite the colors of the rainbow! Green, green, green, blue... Sometimes, you gotta show just one of your colors at once instead of bunching them all in one go. See? Even Iceberg agrees.

The World Map's layout of the Rainbow Islands used to have three vertical positions for each island, rather than just two in the final game. The designs of the islands themselves also have differences, with some terrain differences for Grass Land, shading changes for Big Forest, and a different, simpler design for Iceberg.

The islands also used to all display a multicolor Super Game Boy palette at once, rather than just the final game having the selected one be the outlier among the other ones being monochrome. The first three islands also seem to share the same palette. Given the game's rainbow motif, this change most likely had to do with the Super Game Boy only being able to display four palettes at once (there are three more islands than that!).

Nintendo Magazine System (UK) Vol. 30 Final
Whispy, you dropped your face! I'll get you a new one! I am not the Lorax, I silence the trees.

Kirby is fighting Whispy Woods with Coo and Cutter in this screenshot, neither of which are obtainable until after this boss battle in the final game.

This screenshot also covers enough screen space to show that Kine's name was originally spelled "Kain", a direct transliteration of "カイン", the name in Japanese, and not as easily pronounceable in English. The last letter of his name also lacks the tile coloring error present in the final game.

Club Nintendo (Mexico) Logo and Screenshots

Year 4 No. 3 (March 1995)

Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now.

This logo is very similar to the final one, except several of the stars have a fading repeat effect behind them.

Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
Let's recite the colors of the rainbow! Yellow, green, yellow, blue... Sometimes, you gotta show just one of your colors--oh wait we already made this joke. Déjà vu I've just been in this place before
Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
It's autumn in Big Forest. The bosses were so darn sick of that stupid old barely-working padlock, and don't miss people just busting in to this day.

Big Forest's hub seems to have been flatter at this point. A noticeable padlock is present on the boss door, too, which didn't make it to this door's graphics in the final game.

Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
Not gonna lie, this is a pretty fancy photoshoot. Comparing apples to apples like they say you should, quite literally!
Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
Yeah I feel ya Kirby, I'd be screaming at the top of my lungs if I were being carried this high in the sky by a bird, too. Now I'm just being reminded of that scene in 2 Stupid Dogs, where Big Dog's screaming while slowly floating near the ground with a parachute.
Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
Pull this silly prank on your friends! Prank's on you in the final instead!

The Spikey in this spot was swapped out for a feisty Slippy in the final game.

Club Nintendo (Mexico) Year 4 No. 3 Final
Kirby and Rick had to campaign hard to have this screenshot retaken after the nightmare that was their sick day in NMS Vol. 30. In memory of Citizen Kain starring Orson Wealz, the best flick we almost had.

Nintendo Power Screenshots

Volume 68 (January 1995)

These screenshots have both the half-width HP unit graphics for Kirby and the alternate collectibles display. In addition, the level layout snippets seen are quite different than in the final game, and the Status Bar doesn't have its own Super Game Boy palettes.

Nintendo Power Vol. 68 Final
Sonic would go for that big bubble in a heartbeat if he were here. I wonder, is the water in the checkerboard rooms chlorinated or salt?

The cut larger bubble sprite appears here.

Nintendo Power Vol. 68 Final
One could interpret those background pillars as tall soft-serve vanilla/choclate twist ice cream. Mmmmmmmm... Makes it all the more a shame that they only appear in one room.

Sparkies once roamed Grass Land, but don't appear until Ripple Field in the final game.

Nintendo Power Vol. 68 Final
She'll be coming 'round the mountain when she comes. Forecast: Cloudy with a chance of Kabus.

The mountainous tileset for Level 6 at this point is quite different from its final game counterpart.

Volume 70 (March 1995)

These screenshots look closer to final than Volume 68's do, but still have the half-width HP for Kirby, and also have empty space where the level display is in the final game.

Nintendo Power Vol. 70 Final
Overlapping screenshot jumpscare. I challenge you to a rolling-in-the-grass race down these slopes.
Nintendo Power Vol. 70 Final
Efreeti was not particularly happy about this cramped single-screen room. Efreeti's wish was evidently heard.

Seems like the room for the first Efreeti battle used to have Grass Land's default yellow Super Game Boy hue, and also be two blocks shorter.

Nintendo Power Vol. 70 Final
Grass Land's hub would make for such a romantic dating spot. Just sitting back and relaxing, watching the water and mountains beyond.

Computer & Video Games Magazine Screenshots

Volume 160 (March 1995)

Computer & Video Games Magazine Vol. 160 Final
Let the apples hit the floor, let the apples hit the floor, let the apples hit the floor, let the apples hit the... FLOOOOOOOOOOOOOR

The old status bar made it into this mag, too.

Micom BASIC Screenshots

April 1995 04

This issue of Micom BASIC had some of the screenshots featured in Electronic Gaming Monthly, as well as a few that weren't. Both the 3-star and 7-star Status Bars appear here.

Micom BASIC April 1995 04 Final
Think you could balance a parasol on your nose? I'm not so sure I could do that myself.
Micom BASIC April 1995 04 Final
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming... Bubbles go whoosh.

Seems like the li'l bubbles used to lack their black outlines.

Micom BASIC April 1995 04 Final
Who's ready to *rock*??? Grass Land isn't.

Rocky wanders Grass Land here, but doesn't appear until Ripple Field in the final game.

Japanese Commercial

The Japanese TV commercial for the game contains footage close to final, except with the missing level display in the Status Bar.

Additionally, it contains a segment at the end touting the "Game Boy Bros." marketing campaign (also known as "Play it Loud!" in the West). From the Game Boy being played in this segment, part of an unused music track present in the final game's sound test (FGM #94) can be heard!

Commercial In-Game

Non-Japanese Box Screenshots

Purchasers of the final game outside Japan were greeted with back-of-the-box screenshots containing the Status Bar differences of Nintendo Power Volume 70 and the Japanese commercial!

Box Final
You okay Whispy? You look kind of tired today. No need to push yourself too hard, bud. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, then Whispy's gonna spend a long time suffering after his defeat.
Box Final
Nruff and Tough and Bombing Away. Nruff says to take care of the environment and keep your bombs green.

Nruff and Nelly's room seems to have been orange rather than green once.

Club Nintendo (Germany) Screenshot

4/95 (July 1995)

The back cover of this issue of the German Club Nintendo magazine had a promo for the game.

Club Nintendo (Germany) 4/95 Final
Hello alien dude! Hello...mushroomier alien dude!

The Super Game Boy screenshot displayed lacks the level display on the Status Bar, and also shows what seems to be an early layout for Coo's room in 2-1.

References

  1. ↑ Kirby's 20th Anniversary Celebration Book, pg. 10-11
  2. ↑ Electronic Gaming Monthly Number 66, pg. 10
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