Kirby's Dream Course retrospective: Golf sob-story | Super NES Works

By request of patron David Morton: A look back at Kirby's Dream Course. Yeah, it's way out of sequence, but that's the law that was laid down. A clever if unforgiving combination of Kirby and golf, Dream Course has flown under the Super NES fan radar for decades now. With its fresh re-release on the Super NES Classic Edition, now seems like the time to reevaluate the game… especially since its cruelest elements can be mitigated with liberal use of the Super NES mini's save states.

[@dietdray742]

Gonna be interesting when this series catches up to this point, and the surrounding videos are in 32K and feature smell-o-vision.

[@JetstreamGW]

@@tskmaster3837 Yeah well I dunno what he wants us to do after we all lose our eyes to the Betelgeusian hordes!

[@HeyItsLollie]

I never thought I'd see the day when a Kirby title would finally make its way onto one of the Works series. 1992 and 1993 are still a long way out out for Game Boy Works and NES Works respectively, so to see a SNES title appear like this is a very pleasant surprise.

[@JeremyParish]

Yeah, I had to cheat to make it happen.

[@THE_GIN_MASTER_]

This is a FANTASTIC 2 player game, too.

[@Pika025]

I'm surprised you didn't mention that this game somewhat sorta originated from a Satellaview-only game called Special Tee Shot, even if it's definitely a much more refined version of the concept. Another fun fact: The Japanese version of this game has an intro story sequence! They cut it from the international release, presumably to reduce the ROMs size and save on cartridge cost. (Also, pro tip, you can hit A to bounce harder when you hit a wall or the floor, which increases your distance. There was at least one instance in here where that would have gotten you into the hole without an extra shot!)

[@MeanGeenMachine]

Special Tee Shot has a copyright of 1996 on the title screen and Kirby Dream Course is 1994. Still, interesting that a sequel to Dreamcourse was released on Satellaview that I wasn't aware of! Thanks!

[@goatbone]

@@MeanGeenMachine Special Tee Shot was in development first and was later changed into the Kirby game. It was even printed on some SNES console boxes as an upcoming title.

[@superleviathan]

@@MeanGeenMachine There are prototypes of Special Tee Shot with a 1992 copyright. That's not the be-all, end-all when it comes to video game development.

[@vanthecatp3001]

This is by far one of the best 2 player games on snes

[@sunstruck]

super underrated.

[@Fattydeposit]

I needed this video. I've barely played any Kirby games in my 40-odd years and that's probably because none have held my attention. I joked that this was the SNES mini inclusion that nobody asked for but I see it now. I see that the joke was on me. Ta.

[@philmason9653]

I was so impressed by the original NES Kirby on VC that I impulse-bought this game when they had a Kirby sale, and then promptly left it in my backlog. This video has given me some motivation to go back and go through it.

[@THE_GIN_MASTER_]

Oh! the next episode comes out on my 60th birthday!

[@igotkings]

I finally beat this game after playing of and on for a year. It was quite a challenge. I felt a great feeling of accomplishment when I finally did beat it. I love this game. There is nothing else like it that I have played. It feels like a kirby game even though it is mini golf. I love mini golf and I love Kirby. Thanks for the great video.

[@HAVIK009]

Thanks for sharing. I just played this game for the first time on the Snes classic, I've never played a Kirby game before it was strange to look at, at first and it took me a little while to figure out what the game was about and how to play it but once I did man I was hooked there's a ton of play time I've invested here. Replaying the courses and trying to beat my personal best.

[@FloatingSunfish]

This game is absolutely savage on 2P mode. Just watch the Game Grumps' playthrough of it. The Grumps Dream Course rom hack somehow manages to double down on the deviousness stages somehow.

[@Levitz9]

It's long been my opinion that the Kirby games are secretly Nintendo's best franchise. There's never been a *bad* Kirby game, after all. Any other Nintendo franchise has that one or two entries that are divisive, but Kirby has no such game. The worst would possibly be Squeak Squad, because it's "too easy"--and it's *still* a solid DS platformer!

[@JeremyParish]

Air Ride was kinda "eh" but yeah - Kirby as a whole deserves a lot more credit than it gets.

[@jasonblalock4429]

@videoluver7 ...as long as you pretend the CD-i games never happened. ;-)

[@mackerelphones]

Ahhh, this game. I was always terrible at it. Actually finishing Kirby's Dream Course was one of those distant goals in my childhood that I never achieved.

[@mackerelphones]

Oh yeah, and this is a totally great video. I should mention that too.

[@rowtow13]

For some reason, I thought this was a much earlier SNES game. I always meant to play it but never did. I was happy to see it included on the SNES Mini, and I've played a bit of it on there and had a good time.

[@Dryboneszero]

Took me 20 years to finish Dream Course.

[@pentelegomenon1175]

I don't really like Kirby games but I remember adoring this game, I love almost all golf games and this is also a little reminiscent of The Incredible Machine which I also love.

[@arcticfox04]

This was my favorite snes game. I must of put too many hours in it when I was 11.

[@FloatingSunfish]

Great Kirby avatar drawing skills, man! It looks really cute! Lol. 😂

[@yellowblanka6058]

One of the most entertaining/frustration-inducing multiplayer games. Nice video, a great little game that deserves more exposure.

[@ERMediaOfficial]

I am a 5.11 tall 300 pound long haired, bearded Death Metal aficionado and I have a Kriby tatto :) My point is, I LOVE Kirby^^

[@JeremyParish]

That's rad.

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I remember seeing this game teased in Nintendo Power for literal years and assuming that it was one of those that never properly came out until the mid-2000s, when I saw it in a retro game store.

[@lindsaywheatcroft8247]

I got this in the same Xmas as Goldeneye and probably played both games’ versus mode just as much over the season

[@markboyd9275]

This one & Kirby’s Avalanche (almost as good as Warro’s Woods) are my favorite games from the franchise. Especially 2 player/competitive (both games). No better way to blow off steam when the levels get hard than to knock player 2 off the course to their death!

[@scrumblesbumbles7692]

I never dug Dream Course's single player mode, but the multiplayer is really something special

[@TopSpot123]

As thorough as you typically are, it seems like an omission that left or right spin (hook and slice, if you will) are neither mentioned nor shown.

[@hecosean]

Generally love Kirby games. And miniature golf games. But playing this on the SNES mini. I dont know if I just didnt get a handle on the controls or what but I found it infuriating just trying to get through the first course. Definitely a learning curve it seems.

[@ryanstevens283]

love it. btw, first second of the video shows gameplay which seems to be dif from other videos in the series, if you care.

[@FreshTillDeath56]

One of my favorites.

[@TrevRockOne]

I caught that Aim for the Ace reference.

[@shadowseeker97]

Lol Kirbys dream course destroys lives. Great video as always

[@user-a5Bw9de]

It is a shame that we don't see Dream Course clone out there. I wonder if we'll get Brandish 4 before 2035, and no, I'm not talking about refurbished VT. New storyline is fine, but oh the gameplay.

[@kevinfredericks2335]

do you capture from rgb? the colors look exceptionally bright.

[@JeremyParish]

Yes.

[@janlentan892]

> However, it's not quite so brutal as a set of 8 stages with 12 par total. It is if you're playing a pirated version of the game, apparently -- in that mode, all the health-restoring items are disabled. And the game crashes if you manage to complete a course anyway.

[@TheJadeFist]

This was one of those games I'd rent multiple times as a kid.

[@tetsujin_144]

For me it was a game that, when I first saw it, I was just like... why the hell would I ever want that? Of course now it's one of my absolute favorites. I actually got two copies of it on cartridge (so I could leave one at my makerspace to play there) - plus the virtual console version on 3DS. It's also one of the few SFC games that I bought complete-in-box.

[@Nuclearlandlord]

OMG. Course 3 is owning me.

[@MichaelBlakeLaRusso]

I owned this game... I also wished the battle mode was 4 player.

[@tetsujin_144]

Yeah it'd be nice if there had been more 4 or 5 player games on the system, and Kirby Bowl definitely seems like it could have worked quite well as a 4-player title.

[@esmooth919]

6:04 Wrecking Crew says hi

[@audieorlandolilybassoff4069]

I love Kirby's Pinball Land, so I should probably check this out, shouldn't I?

[@njdevs1987]

My problem with Kirby's Dream Course is getting the Kirby into the hole is so finicky that it lips out if the power isn't perfect.

[@tetsujin_144]

Often helps to pop him into the air with a bit of backspin. Easier to get the power right for the shot that way IMO.

[@Illumirage]

Epic yarn? I don't know if I've ever seen those two words in succession ever, and I hope I never do again

[@gabrieleriva651]

I don’t know Parish, that checkerboard pattern in my mind is still poisoned from Sonic 3d.

[@skuzzbunny]

Dat 2 player mode tho.....!!D

[@LordChozo]

As someone who hates sequence breaking a series in his own life and projects, my heart mourns for you having to jump 500+ episodes ahead and burn a lot of great introductory "let me tell you about Kirby" content before the actual first Kirby game. But hey, gotta pay the bills!

[@CleaveTheDragon]

A huge problem with kirby's games is that, as impressive as it all is tech wise, presentation wise, and *potentially* mechanics wise, the level design and encounters never leave a huge impression on me outside of "that was cute". You have all these abilities. Beam, jump, cut, broom, fire. Bomb, yoyo, karate, jet. They all have their own different means of movement and/or attack methods. That's an insane amount of variety, maybe more than what the likes of megaman can compete with, yet the latter is a series I return to time and time again. The reason is that kirby doesn't really challenge you on these mechanics in any way, they're just flair for taking out the next Waddle Dee. Considering you lose powerups in just one or two hits, give the impression of them being loose or somewhat tertiary, and it doesn't help that once you lose something that allows you to attack directly on your own pace, you're now transformed into an entirely different game where you wait for a boss to create a projectile to spit at them. It's too carefree, and I never feel incentivized to "do better" at kirby, even if avoiding taking damage is something difficult in some spots, the experience feels too loose. There 's a meme that there's no bad kirby games out there, and it's nintendo's "perfect series". I don't like this term a lot for the negative connotations it has, but I would describe it as the perfect series for casuals. It's not that the games are bad, but I don't think they offer a huge amount of depth to them in their level and boss design, and the way it presents its mechanics.

[@dosboot1]

I agree, and it's certainly a fairly criticism that hasn't been explored very much. Mario loses his powerups after 1 hit (and he has less overall life to boot), but Mario games don't have the vague "looseness". There is something here which could use closer study. I actually think the Kirby games are secretly much harder to play "well" than normal platformers (in terms of just avoiding damage), but the overall difficulty is balanced to account for that.

[@TheJadeFist]

Kirby's adventure on the NES at least, like Kirby has way too many moves at his disposal, that you never really need any of it. And i'm not just meaning his power ups, like kirby himself can duck dash and sprint but aside from Dedede himself you never really need it. It's like the game isn't designed around Kirby, or what he can do. Platforming doesn't really have much weight to it, when you can literally just fly at will. And unlocking secret one room stages that let you go eat an enemy for a spefic power up, is kinda lame cause it's so easy to lose sometimes, and it's a huge amount of back tracking between worlds.

[@Campingcam]

Who ever is playing Golf at 3:24 is doing terrible if that score is anything to go by

[@chimericalical]

I loved this game as a kid..... I still like it actually. I pretty much got all the kirby games when they came out... but I never actually cared that he was a cute adorable pink monster... I liked the gameplay and the depth. But, when it comes to speed running a game.... meh... I'm not a fan of using the same power over over and over [wheel in basically every kirby game]. Kirby speed runs are boring to watch. People worried about being emasculated are just fucking stupid though.

[@captawesome42]

kirby's dream course is a great game if you've already beaten it before you play for the first time, otherwise it's obtuse and annoying

[@KuraIthys]

mmh. Kirby is one of those things. I for one don't mind cutesy visuals. I quite like them in fact. But my experiences with the kirby games has never been very good. I just don't seem to... Like the way they play very much. It's not that they're bad... Just... Something indescribable about them doesn't agree with me, and I don't really know why.

[@ryanh9262]

:D

[@ClassicSonicSatAm]

I think Dream Course problem is that it's Golf. not really as fun as Go Karting or a normal Kirby game.

[@JeremyParish]

That's really down to personal tastes, though.