Kirby's Block Ball ROM

Also, be sure to check out Kirby’s Dream Land 2.

Kirby’s Block Ball, known in Japan as Kirby no Block Ball, is a 1995 video game developed by TOSE and Nintendo R&D1 and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy portable console. It is a spin-off of the Kirby video game series. It is a Breakout clone; the player controls paddles along the screen’s edge to knock a bouncing ball, Kirby, into destructible bricks. The game’s 55 levels include power-ups, bonus rounds, and minigames.

The team spent half a year revising the gameplay to match Kirby’s signature characteristics. Kirby’s Block Ball was released in Japan on December 14, 1995, later in North America on May 13, 1996 and finally in Europe on August 29, 1996. The player controls paddles along the screen’s edges to knock a bouncing ball, Kirby, into destructible bricks. The player loses a life if Kirby hits a spike-covered edge of the screen.

Each of the game’s eleven stages include five rounds of increasingly complex block patterns for Kirby to clear. The ten different block types vary in durability and points value. A well-timed hit of the paddle gives Kirby a powerful bounce to break through harder blocks. Another block type turns the remaining blocks into a bonus round that rewards the player for clearing the screen in the least amount of time.

The player can find warp stars that lead to minigames, such as air hockey, where the player can earn extra lives. The rounds also include enemies to attack and avoid. Some enemies contain bonus items. Each stage ends in a boss fight. With the stone, needle, flame, and spark Copy Abilities, Kirby can transform to interact with blocks differently.

For instance, the spark power-up lets Kirby break through otherwise indestructible blocks, and the needle allows Kirby to stick back to a paddle to launch again from a more advantageous position. The game has a themed frame and uses a wide palette of colors in-game when played with the Super Game Boy.