The Switch has been a console where long-running Nintendo franchises have found ways to reinvent themselves. You have Breath of the Wild, you have Mario Odyssey and now we have Kirby and the Forgotten Land. I'm just going to come out and say it: this game is one of the best games released in recent years. This is so much charm and fun in this game and if you find yourself unable to enjoy that, then i'm going to assume your soul is made of stone.
While it's not Kirby's first time going into the third dimension, it is his first proper adventure to do so and i'm glad the devs got it so right. I was worried that Kirby's infinite floating ability would trivialize the game, but thankfully, that is not the case, as you can only stay in the air for so long and you can't gain altitude without the ground level going up in the first place. This change to one of Kirby's signature powers makes me appreciate the level design way more, whereas in past Kirby games, the level design was simply a means to an end. And by appreciating the level design, it allows for new creative ideas to be put in place. Stuff like the Ultra Abilities and Robobot were cool but they're limited to the limits of two dimensions. In a three dimensional space, the Mouthful Mode abilities are able to shine to their brightest extent and i love that there's not a single one where it's just a one-off thing.
Speaking of abilities, there's only 12 Copy Abilities in this game, which seems low compared to other games until you find out that these abilities can be upgraded, with each tier of upgrades being better than the last. The upgraded Copy Abilities had me using more abilities than i actually would've have in prior Kirby. Fire Kirby, for example, is not an ability i particularly cared for in past games but upgrading that to Volcano Fire Kirby and then later Dragon Fire Kirby had me regularly swallowing fire enemies and taking their power for myself. I will say tho, i do wish the upgraded tiers had other uses besides just being better. There is like one instance where i actually needed an upgraded ability to unlock something within a level but other than that, the levels don't have any specific instances where you'd need to upgrade an ability. This aspect of the game is mitigated by the Treasure Roads, special challenges where you're forced to use an ability (Mouthful or Copy) for the duration of that challenge. These were fun to do and i'm glad that even if there's an ability i didn't like using that much (hello bombs), the game had courses specifically designed for them.
On the subject of levels, while the game is easy because Kirby, the meat of the challenge comes from getting all the Waddle Dees. These still aren't difficult mind you, but definitely made the levels more fun to play through. If there's really only one aspect where level design falls short, it's the boss arenas. The bosses themselves are good and each one has a no damage challenge for all the gamers out there but the arenas themselves are kinda....too big, which is especially an issue when you consider that Tier 3 (and the exclusive Tier 4 for two specific abilities) abilities really break the game's difficulty, what little there was of it. If the bosses did more to influence the arena they were in, i think things would be a little bit better but there's only like three that do so. Also, if you want to see everything, you have to go through hard mode remixes of all the levels, which, it's Kirby so it's not that hard in the long run (especially with how busted abilities can become) but......if i had a nickel for every 2022 game i've played where i have to go through a harder version of the game to see everything, i'd have three nickels. Which isn't a lot, it's just weird that it's happened thrice in one year. But at least this time, those hard mode remixes are more of a "greatest hits" from each world and not the whole thing.
The game is also oddly missing some QoL. There's no "retry from checkpoint" option, forcing you to redo an entire level if you want to complete one of the challenges in a level that can only be done once per run of that level. Buying stock items to use later is neat but you can only buy one at a time so if you ever wanted to stock up on stat boosts, you have to buy all that individually. Even stuff like the Present Codes for goodies, you have get each one individually, as opposed to giving several codes and getting all that at once.
The music in this game is very good, as expected from a Kirby game. Lots of pleasant tunes and good boss themes. There's an anime OP song at the start, which caught me off guard because i wasn't expecting it but it's a bop. Roar of Dedede is definitely the hardest King Dedede's theme has ever gone but i think the one that truly steals the show is at the end. The final boss theme of this game surpasses C-R-O-W-N-E-D from Return to Dream Land. Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit is one of the hardest names for a song and it's a Kirby song of all things.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a very good game, definitely one of the best to be released in recent years and i can't wait to see where the series goes from here. The only thing i ask is that Waddle Dees be completely removed from Kirby's rogue gallery from now on, because after running around Waddle Dee town for hours, i can't go back to hitting these little guys.
While it's not Kirby's first time going into the third dimension, it is his first proper adventure to do so and i'm glad the devs got it so right. I was worried that Kirby's infinite floating ability would trivialize the game, but thankfully, that is not the case, as you can only stay in the air for so long and you can't gain altitude without the ground level going up in the first place. This change to one of Kirby's signature powers makes me appreciate the level design way more, whereas in past Kirby games, the level design was simply a means to an end. And by appreciating the level design, it allows for new creative ideas to be put in place. Stuff like the Ultra Abilities and Robobot were cool but they're limited to the limits of two dimensions. In a three dimensional space, the Mouthful Mode abilities are able to shine to their brightest extent and i love that there's not a single one where it's just a one-off thing.
Speaking of abilities, there's only 12 Copy Abilities in this game, which seems low compared to other games until you find out that these abilities can be upgraded, with each tier of upgrades being better than the last. The upgraded Copy Abilities had me using more abilities than i actually would've have in prior Kirby. Fire Kirby, for example, is not an ability i particularly cared for in past games but upgrading that to Volcano Fire Kirby and then later Dragon Fire Kirby had me regularly swallowing fire enemies and taking their power for myself. I will say tho, i do wish the upgraded tiers had other uses besides just being better. There is like one instance where i actually needed an upgraded ability to unlock something within a level but other than that, the levels don't have any specific instances where you'd need to upgrade an ability. This aspect of the game is mitigated by the Treasure Roads, special challenges where you're forced to use an ability (Mouthful or Copy) for the duration of that challenge. These were fun to do and i'm glad that even if there's an ability i didn't like using that much (hello bombs), the game had courses specifically designed for them.
On the subject of levels, while the game is easy because Kirby, the meat of the challenge comes from getting all the Waddle Dees. These still aren't difficult mind you, but definitely made the levels more fun to play through. If there's really only one aspect where level design falls short, it's the boss arenas. The bosses themselves are good and each one has a no damage challenge for all the gamers out there but the arenas themselves are kinda....too big, which is especially an issue when you consider that Tier 3 (and the exclusive Tier 4 for two specific abilities) abilities really break the game's difficulty, what little there was of it. If the bosses did more to influence the arena they were in, i think things would be a little bit better but there's only like three that do so. Also, if you want to see everything, you have to go through hard mode remixes of all the levels, which, it's Kirby so it's not that hard in the long run (especially with how busted abilities can become) but......if i had a nickel for every 2022 game i've played where i have to go through a harder version of the game to see everything, i'd have three nickels. Which isn't a lot, it's just weird that it's happened thrice in one year. But at least this time, those hard mode remixes are more of a "greatest hits" from each world and not the whole thing.
The game is also oddly missing some QoL. There's no "retry from checkpoint" option, forcing you to redo an entire level if you want to complete one of the challenges in a level that can only be done once per run of that level. Buying stock items to use later is neat but you can only buy one at a time so if you ever wanted to stock up on stat boosts, you have to buy all that individually. Even stuff like the Present Codes for goodies, you have get each one individually, as opposed to giving several codes and getting all that at once.
The music in this game is very good, as expected from a Kirby game. Lots of pleasant tunes and good boss themes. There's an anime OP song at the start, which caught me off guard because i wasn't expecting it but it's a bop. Roar of Dedede is definitely the hardest King Dedede's theme has ever gone but i think the one that truly steals the show is at the end. The final boss theme of this game surpasses C-R-O-W-N-E-D from Return to Dream Land. Two Planets Approach the Roche Limit is one of the hardest names for a song and it's a Kirby song of all things.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a very good game, definitely one of the best to be released in recent years and i can't wait to see where the series goes from here. The only thing i ask is that Waddle Dees be completely removed from Kirby's rogue gallery from now on, because after running around Waddle Dee town for hours, i can't go back to hitting these little guys.