Kirby's Dream Land

The only game in the Kirby franchise without the copy ability is still a ton of fun. You might think that the game just completely loses its identity without that iconic power, but I'd say the level design of the early series makes a fair bit more sense this way. There is a rhythm to sucking a bad guy up and then shooting him at the next one in a way that you aren't damaged - it almost felt like a challenge run of a later Kirby title the way it limits you and keeps you on your feet.

Kirby can eat foods, though, and the now Smash Bros-famous curry makes its debut here as a timed infinite-projectile mode for Kirby so he doesn't have to fly and then exhale. There's also a super-curry of sorts that turns Kirby into something like a shooter from a shmup, used to beat one of the game's more interesting bosses.

This game only has 5 levels, and only 4 levels proper as the final one is just a boss rush and a fight with Dedede. I kid you not that you could beat it in 20 minutes, and there aren't any secrets to find outside of that either. There is an "extra game" mode that you unlock after beating the game, but it just toggles double damage taken for Kirby.

I don't really see why a game that is genuinely fun and that accessible in runtime shouldn't be recommended. It's not very deep, but the limited number of mechanics work surprisingly well for a game that's considered to be before Kirby "found his footing".