From the very first time the little pink, adorable puffball took his first steps into the gaming landscape 30 years ago, Kirby's games were always developed with younger players in mind. The ease of accessibility has constantly remained front and center to each title to this day. Sure, this may turn off some players but it hasn't stopped Kirby from earning a devoted fanbase. The games have made changes here and there to keep things interesting. Kirby's Return to Dream Land added four player multiplayer and greatly rammed up the Copy Abilities and the move set of each one. Kirby: Planet Robobot let Kirby pilot a mech and use a variation of his Copy Abilities with said mech. And through it all, Kirby has remained in two dimensions. Well, that all changes with Kirby's latest game.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a game fans as well as myself have been waiting for with baited breath ever since it was revealed in September 2021's Nintendo Direct. Some games have dipped a toe in 3D but this is Kirby's first big, full blown 3D adventure and it is the perfect way to kick off the Pink Demon's 30th anniversary. It is also one of the very best Kirby games. Maybe even the best.
If you haven't played Kirby and the Forgotten Land and are worried about spoilers, worry not. I have no intention of divulging any of the plot here. I'll save that for a future post. For now, read on about this wonderful Kirby game.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land starts out like the last few Kirby games. Well, things are a little different this time. Kirby is actually awake when everything goes to crap. Our favorite tough cream puff is enjoying a beautiful day on Planet Popstar, riding on the Warp Star. Everything is happy and grand. But because that wouldn't make for a enthralling adventure and because Kirby's home world is a magnet for disaster, crap happens in the form of a vortex opening up, sucking up everything in sight, our hero included. When Kirby awakens, he's on an abandoned beach in a strange land, dubbed the New World, which is eerily similar to our own, except there are no humans to be found. The New World isn't entirely devoid of life, however. The usual mooks Kirby encounters in his adventures on Popstar are all over the place and the local wildlife known as the Beast Pack have been targeting Waddle Dees capturing them en mass. Shortly after Kirby begins exploring the New World, he helps a cute, blue, big eared mouse-like creature called Elfilin, who wants to save the captive Waddle Dees. United by a common goal, Kirby and Elfilin set off to rescue King Dedede's adorable minions.
I must say that controlling Kirby in 3D feels perfect. It was one of the first things I noticed about the game. Kirby retains all of the moves he had in the 2D games except you no longer need to double tap forward to run. Much like Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Kirby's hover ability has been nerfed, so your time spent in the air is limited. Looking at the trailers for this game, I speculated that Kirby's hover would be scaled back. It isn't just your air time that's limited. The height at which you can hover has also been greatly reduced. Obviously this was done to make use of the new Mouthful Mode.
Ah, Mouthful Mode, amusing, body horror and cursed power-ups all rolled up into one package. When Kirby inhales an inanimate object that's larger than he is, he'll take on the shape of that object as well as the abilities that object grants. Using Mouthful Mode on a car lets Kirby zoom around on four wheels, doing donuts and smashing through rocks and debris that obstruct your path. Inhaling a vending machine will let you chuck out cans of soda at your enemies so long as you don't run out. Even baddies deserve to stay hydrated. You'll lose Kirby's normal mobility and you can't use whatever Copy Abilities you're currently carrying but Moutful Mode never overstays it's welcome and the different forms it takes are a blast to use. It becomes very chuckle worthy to see Kirby waddle around as a huge light bulb or see the blank expression on his face after inhaling a whole freaking staircase.
The levels you'll travel through in the Forgotten Land do have the usual types associated with them. A grass world, a desert world, an ice world and so on, but the way the game tackles these level things keeps things fresh and interesting. The first world, Natural Plains is your grass world but the second level has you exploring this massive tunnel that takes you underground to see the remains of a construction project. The fourth level in Natural Plains takes place inside a mall and in a clever bit of world building you'll actually see posters that advertise an amusement park, Wondaria, which is the game's third world. In a few stages of world 4, Winter Horns (which is clearly meant to be a stand-in for London), you'll notice a massive bridge. As you make your way through this world, you'll eventually come to the level that takes place on that bridge and it is one big mini boss rush. Things like this serve to make Forgotten Land a more cohesive game.
Despite each world running with a theme, no two levels feel alike. Every single stage across the game's six worlds stand out thanks to the unique level design. You can walk in on a friend playing the game and if you're familiar enough with the game, you could easily deduce exactly what stage they are on.
The third dimension has done wonders for Kirby's battles. Slashing foes with sword, cracking skulls with Hammer and barreling at a Awoofy with Fire feel oh so satisfying. Kirby's dodge ability has also received a significant upgrade. Hold any of the shoulder buttons and move out of the way of attack at the right moment and time will slow down. This mechanic is great for evading attacks that can be tricky to do my simple dashing away, sliding or hovering. As any great sales person would say "But wait, there's more!" you can follow up perfect dodge with an attack. This varies depending on the weapon you're using and the distance between you and your foe. If you're using Hammer and pull off a perfect dodge and immediately attack, you'll strike with a level 2 Hammer charge. Yes, perfect dodging is an extremely useful technique but it isn't always a get out of danger free card. Perfect dodge in the wrong direction and you could end up in the path of an attack that is already in motion. That being said, it is better to learn and get used to this move sooner rather than later as some bosses almost require it. Plus, it really is just the best when you pull it off.
Quality over quantity is the name of the game with Copy Abilities in Forgotten Land. Past Kirby games have given our pink dancing ball of joy 20 plus abilities to use. Here, he's only got 12 Copy Abilities but each of them can be upgraded to pack even more of a punch. Upgrading Abilities doesn't just make them more powerful, no. They come with cosmetic changes to boot. As much as I love seeing Kirby do his best Link impression with the default Sword, Gigant Sword, while being a bit sluggish has more range, hits harder and comes with a dope shield that can take so many attacks without Kirby taking damage. We also get to see him run around with that huge sword over his shoulder. Toy Hammer is worth the upgrade just to see Kirby with that cute helmet and I'm sure you've already heard how OP Toy Hammer +Star is by this point. Bombs can be chained together for more explosive power and when upgraded to Homing Bomb, you can worry less about aiming since the bloodthirsty little things will seek out prey.
One of my favorite Copy Abilities (and lots of other fan's faves) is Ranger. From what I hear, this isn't the first time Kirby was able to use a strap, but it is the first game I've played in the mainline series where Kirby can shoot enemies and as well all know, guns make everything better. Why bother getting close to your enemies when you can just pick them off from a distance? Nobel Ranger gives Kirby TWO guns and as cool as that is, Space Ranger is even better for giving you a nifty space helmet and when fully charged not only does it create this huge plasma blast, it slows down anything that is caught in said blast. Where has Space Ranger been all my life and when does the plush for it drop?
The composers of Kirby and the Forgotten Land have blessed us with an exquisite soundtrack. Veteran Kirby music writers Jun Ishikawa and Hirokazu Ando were joined by Yuuta Ogasawara and Yuki Shimooka. Ogasawara's first Kirby game was 2018's Kirby Star Allies whilst Shimooka got his start with 2019's Kirby Fighters 2. Ishikawa and Ando have been writing Kirby bangers for more than two decades but they've turned in the least amount of music for Forgotten Land. The bulk of the heavy lifting for the game's soundtrack was handled by Ogasawara and Shimooka with the latter composing the majority of the game's score. Star Allies clocked in with a massive six disc soundtrack when it was released. Forgotten Land's eventual soundtrack release could top it as the in game music player has more than 90 songs. The music for Forgotten Land consists of mostly original compositions, something I highly applaud. As great as it is to hear arrangements of classic Kirby themes, the new music that we're presented with here ranks among the series best. Ando and Ishikawa may have written fewer tracks for this game, but some of my favorite new Kirby songs come from these two vets. Through the Tunnel is a song I've listened to more times than I can count and The Battle of Blizzard Bridge is right up there with Nobou Uemtatsu's Battle on the Big Bridge from FINAL FANTASY V when it comes to fantastic video game bridge music. Of course Ogasawara and Shimooka wrote plenty of stand out tracks as well. Running Through the New World, Welcome to the New World, Northeast Frost Street and Road of Dedede are already firmly nailed into the brains of Kirby fans all over the world.
It isn't often I feel a sense of sadness after completing a game but that was the feeling that washed over me sometime after I 100% completed Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Yes, I was happy I finally did that stupid Tilt and Roll Kirby 3, got the gotcha figure and pushed my percent meter to max but it saddened me that the adventure was at long last finished. Even now, as I write this, I'm not ready to stop playing this game. I'm looking for a reason, any reason, to keep playing it 75 hours later. I can power up all of my Copy Abilities. I can go for the max star coins on each stage. I could see how much I can better my time in the Colosseum without using power-ups. Well, except Ultimate Z Cup because dang, that sucker is a nightmare. Maybe I can do all the bosses without any Copy Abilities.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is such a joyous game that I want to play it again and again. Seriously, I could start a whole new file just to play through this game all over again. It has taken a decade, but I think Kirby's Return to Dream Land may have been dethroned as my favorite Kirby title. I do hope Nintendo gives us an update for Forgotten Land. Maybe an EX mode, but even if they don't I know that Forgotten Land is a game that will spend many more hours on my Switch.
Screenshots from Nintendo and Nintendo Life.
