This is pretty much pure, basic, unfiltered Kirby. There's little bells and whistles to the formula. It won't bring in anyone not a fan of Kirby and won't turn anyone away who is a fan.
There are the ultra powers, or whatever they're called. Supped up copy abilities that can be found in specific stages and essentially exist just to smash everything on screen for 3 minutes and unlock a secret portal to an auto-scrolling platform challenge, followed by a fight with a mini-boss for two of this games obligatory collectibles.
These power moments provide some brief fun, but like the mega mushrooms in New Super Mario Bros. there's only so much you can do with a gimmick whose entire thing is hulk smashing everything.
The mini-game compilation is pretty fun. Of course the real draw of the mode is multiplayer, but they provide lots of encouragement for solo players to try it out, with a challenge list and unlockable cosmetics + items to use in the main game.
What I didn't quite get was why the entire mini-game catalogue opened up straight after beating level 2, then one of the bonuses for collecting the previously mentioned collectibles was unlocking mini-games in the games hub area. I can only assume this was a leftover from the original game where mini-games had to be slowly unlocked?
As a Kirby game you can expect it to be short and easy, but as usual post-game provides both a little longevity and a lot of challenge for 100%. There's "extra" mode, which is literally just the whole game again but basically hard mode. I'm not a big fan of difficulty options that are disguised as unlockables, especially when there's no option to select default difficulty in the first place.
Magolor's Epilogue provides a pretty cool alternate-gameplay journey. Being very combo and upgrade focused as opposed to Kirby's switch-and-swap abilities
And of course you've got your boss rush mode.
All in all, it's Kirby.
There are the ultra powers, or whatever they're called. Supped up copy abilities that can be found in specific stages and essentially exist just to smash everything on screen for 3 minutes and unlock a secret portal to an auto-scrolling platform challenge, followed by a fight with a mini-boss for two of this games obligatory collectibles.
These power moments provide some brief fun, but like the mega mushrooms in New Super Mario Bros. there's only so much you can do with a gimmick whose entire thing is hulk smashing everything.
The mini-game compilation is pretty fun. Of course the real draw of the mode is multiplayer, but they provide lots of encouragement for solo players to try it out, with a challenge list and unlockable cosmetics + items to use in the main game.
What I didn't quite get was why the entire mini-game catalogue opened up straight after beating level 2, then one of the bonuses for collecting the previously mentioned collectibles was unlocking mini-games in the games hub area. I can only assume this was a leftover from the original game where mini-games had to be slowly unlocked?
As a Kirby game you can expect it to be short and easy, but as usual post-game provides both a little longevity and a lot of challenge for 100%. There's "extra" mode, which is literally just the whole game again but basically hard mode. I'm not a big fan of difficulty options that are disguised as unlockables, especially when there's no option to select default difficulty in the first place.
Magolor's Epilogue provides a pretty cool alternate-gameplay journey. Being very combo and upgrade focused as opposed to Kirby's switch-and-swap abilities
And of course you've got your boss rush mode.
All in all, it's Kirby.
3 Comments
@DemonAndGames My Kirby experience is a little all over the place! So far I've played Kirby's Adventure, Crystal Shards, Planet Robobot, Forgotten Land and this one, which going by the original, would put it smack in the middle. I can definitely see this games DNA all over Robobot the most. Obviously Forgotten Land goes in a different direction, so who knows, maybe what I consider "Generic Kirby" is actually just this game starting a trend!
Kirby has always had its staples and quirks, and while Return to Dreamland continued and perfected some, it definitively has its own identity and elements that mark a clear new beginning, one that the rest of titles until Forgotten land followed. It would honestly be cool if they ever revisited something more akin the previous titles, like the puzzle-like elements of the Dreamland series or the Metroidvania-esque gameplay of the Amazing Mirror, but honestly I wouldn't mind if they didn't do it because of how good this 2D gameplay style already is.
DeemonAndGames
1 year ago
I personally love this one to bits not only because my personal connection to it but also because I really think the level design is incredible, as it is everything that surroundings, and the fact people consider this as ''base Kirby'' shows how much impact this one had on the franchise.