"Planet Game Boy" called it one of the original Game Boy's ten "all-time classics" and "GamesRadar" placed it among the top 25 Game Boy games released. They considered "Kirby's Block Ball" an improvement upon "Alleyway", a Game Boy launch title and "Breakout" clone. "IGN" recommended the game upon its 3DS rerelease both in general and for "Breakout" fans. "Nintendo World Report" recommended the game to players who like score attack games and called it the best version of "Breakout" released. Retrospective reviewers found the game enjoyable and praised the craft behind the gameplay and Kirby themes. Alternatively, "Kirby's Block Ball" received the lowest rating on Tim Rogers's 2004 "Yamanote Scoring System for Portable Games" (a metric by which he played a game while counting stops on the circular Yamanote train line until he lost interest) with a score of "one" stop. He called it "too damned bland".