My first and only experience with Kirby was back in 1993, with the original Kirby's Dream Land on Game Boy. Dream Land was one of my absolute favorite games on the handheld, but for some inexplicable reason I strayed away from any and all Kirby games in the years that followed. When I saw the release of Return to Dream Land on the Switch, it triggered my nostalgia for the original Game Boy game, and I was intrigued enough to return to Dream Land myself, to see if a contemporary Kirby game was still the right kind of platforming adventure for me.

My feelings on the game are a bit torn. While Kirby largely played the way that I remembered back in the 90s, it didn't initially captivate me in the same way; it simply didn't feel as novel as it did as when I was 8-years old. Through the first half of the game, I was having a decent time, but I also felt like the platforming mechanics were a bit too simple and somewhat uninspired. Frankly, it just felt too easy. By no means did I ever feel like it was a bad game, but I wasn't necessarily having a ton of fun either. It was at this point I almost walked away from the game with the mindset that I must have outgrown Kirby, and I simply just wasn't the target audience any longer. This was until I hit the second-half of the game.

In the second-half, I really felt like the challenge started to ramp up nicely. It never got overly difficult, but it hit a nice sweet spot where I felt challenged by the levels and even more so by the boss fights. I was starting to feel like the power-ups I was absorbing had a real impact on my gameplay, whereas in the first-half they felt like they were ostensibly just for show. Sure, they all had their unique functions, but I never really felt like I cared what power-up I obtained; but in the second-half, that all changed. I had become quite attached to a few power-ups (my favorites being the mecha and ninja enhancements), and I really felt like I was at a strong disadvantage without them. My feelings toward the game really started to shift at this stage, and by the time I finished the story, I was pleased overall, and I was certainly happy I stuck with it.

After the credits rolled, I thought my journey with the game was finished. While I had played around with a few of the challenge levels, I wasn't compelled to complete those, nor was I interested in any of the array of other side content that the game offers -- this was until I glanced over the newly unlocked "Magolor Epilogue". Intrigued, I booted up this mode to see what it was about. Little did I know I was delving into, subjectively, the most enjoyable part of the game.

While I was torn between the two halves of the main game, Magolor Epilogue won me over almost immediately. This wasn't just side content, it was essentially its own full-fledged game -- albeit on the short side. While it shares some characteristics with Kirby, it plays almost completely different. I found that I enjoyed the platforming sections in this mode a lot more than I had really had on any stage in Kirby's adventure. Moreover, the unlockable and upgradeable abilities had me hooked and kept the game feeling fresh the whole way through. The boss fights also felt like a greater challenge than many of the boss fights in the main game, and I really felt like my progressive mastery over Magolor's wide assortment of abilities was having a profound impact in my ability to defeat them. By the time I had finished the epilogue, it really had me thirsting for more, and it left me feeling as though Magolor deserves his own full-release game, because I was definitely captivated throughout the few hours that this mode offered.

In short, the second-half of Kirby, and the inclusion of Magolor Epilogue really solidified this as a super solid game for me, and I'm pleased that I'm able to still find a lot of joy in Kirby, just as I did 30-years ago. I certainly look forward to venturing into other Kirby titles in the near future.

Personally, I don't think we should trust Magolor to run Disneyland after that whole galactic takeover thing.

Felt this way with the original, it's a pretty middle of the road Kirby game. Not bad, but pretty unremarkable and repetitive even by Kirby standards. Hope you enjoy fighting Sphere Doomer and watching the same ultra ability animations over and over! The new content is pretty good though! New abilities are fun, the masks are a great dumb thing (hell YES Gooey representation), and the Magolor Epilogue mode is a great time with how stupidly broken Magolor can get to be. The main game feels far more enjoyable as a co-op game than as a solo one, definitely helps break the repetition a bit and I think is the ideal way to experience this.

"Poyo~!" - The last words that a random enemy hears moments before meeting Sakurai's star child.

Kirby's adventure on the wii turned Switch title still tickles me maximum pink to this day! This game is always my bestest dream friend ever! Hal's paramount title always brings me a smile I'll gladly return with no cost. The ability selection is still tight, with newcomers Sand and Mecha being welcome surprises. And seeing how Magolor went about changing careers to a micro transaction manager was an pufftastic bonus. This game really set a good standard that it's successors have followed to T. And that's not even getting to the core lore of this series....

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe has helped me finally realize what I dislike about the standard Kirby formula: the copy ability gameplay loop.

For context, I was a big Kirby fan as a kid, but outgrew the series as I got older. The one exception to this was Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which I genuinely really enjoyed and I still hold that opinion. I never revisted Return to Dream Land after playing the original when I was younger, so I was prepared to have generally fond memories disturbed by my different taste in games in my older age. My intuition was correct, and I didn't really enjoy the main story mode of the game. However, everything BESIDES the main story, especially the new Magolor Epilogue, I really liked. Let's start with the main story, though.

Return to Dream Land started the whole "go through 4-5 levels in each world, collect 3-5 hidden gizmos in those levels, fight a boss, and then move on to the next world" formula that lasted 4 games and grew very stale by the end of it. Since it was the first, I can't fault it for that, but I can't change my opinion that I'm over it by now. The whole story mode just felt like going through the motions to get it over with as quickly as possible. Some levels were cool, but there's no real challenge, and if anything, the levels can feel stressful because of the pressure of avoiding missing an Energy Sphere. I get that they're optional, but I felt compelled to collect them because the levels feel like nothing without doing so. Finding and completing their minichallenges is the only thing engaging about the levels. I do understand there's Extra mode that ramps up the difficulty, but I wasn't interested in playing the entire game again. While it only happened a handful of times, the most frustrating experience was realizing I missed an Energy Sphere and would have to replay the entire level to get it. It's less about not finding the Energy Sphere, and more so missing the opportunity to get it. Sometimes, this was because I didn't have the needed copy ability and there was no way to get it in the same room as the Energy Sphere.

I want to give a brief acknowledgment to Merry Magoland. It's a great distraction in-between levels, and I like how there's a short achievement list for all the minigames. The minigames here remind me of Mario Party minigames, and I mean that in a good way. The cosmetic masks you collect from here are also really cute and I thought it was a nice touch. I visited it often.

I also wanted to shoutout the game's graphics and music. I think "charming" is the best way to describe both, and I quite like the art style they went for. I'm still mixed on using Dedede's Forgotten Land design here, though.

A selling point for the Deluxe version of this game was the Magolor Epilogue, which is a short 2-3 hour campaign where you play as Magolor after the events of the main story. Unlike Kirby, Magolor has no copy abilities, which means he has a static base moveset for the entire campaign. You collect magic points to upgrade his abilities, and you permanently unlock new ones as you progress. There are also no collectibles in each stage like the Energy Spheres. Instead, you aim for achieving a high score by collecting as many magic points as possible. You accomplish this by keeping your Combo meter high, which you do by hitting enemies consecutively and not taking damage. I really like this system. It encourages quick and aggressive play because if you wait too long after hitting an enemy, your combo will end. At the same time, there's risk involved since getting hit also ends your combo. Getting the combo meter high is satisfying because it rewards good play, and there's even extrinsic motivation since higher combos award more magic points to upgrade your abilities.

If you couldn't already tell, I was a big fan of Magolor's Epilogue, and I found it way more fun than the main story. The combo system is great, but the main reason why I liked it so much was the lack of copy abilities. Not all copy abilities are created equal. Some are a lot more fun or are stronger than others, but every copy ability is required to be used at a certain point, forcing you to constantly switch up his moveset. When I got a copy ability like Hammer or Tornado, I was excited and tried to keep it for as long as possible, but they're always hard to fully enjoy because I know I'll need to give it up to collect an Energy Sphere at some point. Magolor's Epilogue completely solves this issue in the simplest way possible: just get rid of the copy ability system. Now you have a static moveset that you can always rely on and get used to as you play, and the upgrade system even allows you to focus on the aspects of the moveset you find the most fun. Magolor's Epilogue was a short but very sweet taste of what a modern copy ability-less Kirby game could look like.

I know Kirby will never get rid of copy abilities at this point. It's a part of his brand and iconic to his character. Here's my proposal: what if Kirby didn't ever have to give up his copy abilities? Some games have toyed with storing copy abilities before like Squeak Squad, but I want a true storage system. Let Kirby have a storage of copy abilities that he can pull out at any time, and you fill the storage by swallowing enemies of that copy ability. That way, the player will be free to use their favorite copy ability, switch to a different one when required by a puzzle, and then switch back to their favorite. Make sure the copy ability upgrade system from Forgotten Land is kept and implemented too!

Okay, that was a long tangent about general Kirby game design, but this game did help me form this opinion. On its own, Kirby's Returm to Dream Land Deluxe is a solid game. The main story is rather weak, but the side content, and Magolor's Epilogue, are fantastic. The presentation is great, and it's also a pretty fun couch co-op game. There's a lot of content, especially for if you're already a big Kirby fan, but it's also not for everyone. I'd probably give the main story a 5/10 and Magolor's Epilogue a 9/10, and even though they're not equal in length, Merry Magoland is cool too, so I'll split the difference and call it a 7/10.

I don't have much to say about this game, its a game and its an alright game.

I've only played two Kirby games prior with them being Forgotten Land and Triple Deluxe so I'm not sure how good it is as a Kirby game. I can say that it felt similar to triple deluxe as they're both 2D with a focus on a special gimmick. The special gimmick in this one being super abilities which are basically an overpowered version of the regular abilities found in Kirby, these were provided in specific locations where they'd last a set time so you didn't really feel special, but it was somewhat interesting nonetheless. It is also probably the worst of these three Kirby's I've played but it isn't bad at all it's just the kind of game I'd forget everything about within a month. Soundtrack, gameplay, graphics, story it was all just okay.

I kind of questioned life as I played this, and if I'm wasting my life playing these kind of games, why did I play this? It seemed designed exclusively for children (which is completely fine) with how ridiculously easy it was. I don't think I've ever played a game where the collectibles were this easy to get. I didn't miss a single one and didn't spend much if not any time looking for them, they were always right in front of you. The game in general presented no challenge, not once did I struggle with anything and that's not only because I am a pro elite experienced giga gamer.

I think the main value I got from this game is that I need to reconsider my gaming choices, life is too short to play everything, I should be more selective or just put it down if its not clicking

(I will say I did not really engage with the New Game+ at all, it felt like a little too much which kind of plays into my overall feelings about this game)

In terms of a remaster, I think this is a really good example of how to approach them in a general sense. A new look that doesn't ruin the original's aesthetic and differs slightly but not too much to be radically different, an expansion on the core game & some extras added in to spice things up. However, this might also be an example of a little too much of a good thing. While this is the pretty standard Kirby experience throughout with the central gimmick of Ultra Powers being...fine, I guess, it felt like there was a real content bloat here that felt like trying to finish a whole birthday cake by myself (which I guess also works as an analogy for the syrupy nature of the Kirby series).

Even just trying to finish the main game while taking time to get the minigame tickets & extra lives felt like a bit of a time slog on it's own, not to mention trying to get all the Dress-Up masks & achievements in the park. The minigames, the level design, all that was pretty standard issue Kirby stuff but it just felt like an obligation near the endpoint. I think this is broken up a little by the more interesting Magolor side game, which almost seems like a test run for the game engine to branch out into different game styles that still adhere to a general Kirby formula. The idea of an upgrade system & the different moveset was enough to keep me going for the short runtime, so I think that more than anything else was the biggest pull in this game for me. A fun enough traditional Kirby game but too bloated & familiar to be one of my favorites.