Kirby's Pinball Land

Kirby's Pinball Land from 1993 is one of the very first Kirby spin-off games, developed by HAL Laboratory for the Game Boy handheld just a year after the character's famous debut in Kirby's Dream Land. Instead of jumping, flying, and sucking up enemies, here the pink hero himself flies around the playfields like a pinball, which the player bounces around using several pairs of flippers spread across three thematically distinct tables - a space table, an ice table, and a classic arcade table, between which you can freely switch during play depending on where the ball happens to fly, without the game noticeably loading or interrupting the player between them.

The game cleverly combines the established rules of classic pinball with elements typical of the Kirby series, such as unique bosses at the end of each table, collecting star- and food-shaped point items, and hidden bonus rooms that can only be reached by a precisely aimed shot of the ball at a specific target on the table. Defeating a boss also earns the player one of the hearts that unlock the game's final, hardest table, which gives the individual tables a sense of interconnection rather than three separate minigames. The Game Boy's small monochrome screen forced the developers to simplify each table into a clear and compact layout that remains legible even on the era's monochrome, unlit display - so this is an original handheld design built from the ground up for this console, not a shrunk-down version of some older arcade or console game. Thanks to short play sessions and simple single-button controls, the game was perfectly suited to exactly what the Game Boy was designed for from the start - relaxed play in short bursts anywhere, while traveling or during a break between other obligations.

Why play it: Pinball Land will please players who enjoy classic pinball tables and want to add a bit of Kirby's charm and familiar characters to them, as well as collectors interested in HAL Laboratory's early handheld years.