Nearly every popular Nintendo IP has had their 3D debut. Mario back in 1996, Zelda back in 1998, Metroid in 2002, Pokémon had their 3D debut in the mainline series nearly a decade ago. While those series had fun delving into 3D, Kirby was always dipping his toes into it. We had a 2.5D game with Kirby 64 and that's been the case for mainline Kirby games post-Return to Dream Land. Much, much later, we had a tease of Kirby moving around in a 3D environment with Kirby 3D Rumble, a subgame in Kirby: Planet Robobot. Star Allies had an overworld that was 3D. And here we are. It's 2022 and we finally have a 3D mainline Kirby game. What's even better is that it is really good. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the refresher that the series needed after 3 2.5D games came out every 2 years.
As a 3D debut, Kirby and the Forgotten Land plays like a 2D game in a 3D environment, much like Super Mario 3D World. It doesn't prove much of a reason to have a new plane gameplay wise, but it does use the 3D to the strength of its environments.
There was an implication of a post-apocalyptic world in Kirby 64 where Shiver Star is actually Earth covered in snow and taken over by technology. Probably theorized to be the result of the Haltmann Works Company from Planet Robobot taking it over. Kirby and the Forgotten Land pushes that postapocalyptic undertone even further here, but even then, it's still a jovial world to run through. The contrast between a once lived in, run down world once lived in by an ancient civilization is now one where cute animals inhabit in works for a Kirby game.
With a new plane comes a new way of forming level design. As I said before, it feels like Super Mario 3D World in its linear level design, but the way you approach it feels more laid back. There is no time limit, and some Waddle Dees are found by you understanding the rules of the level design. Sometimes, you can find a crevice that subtly takes you somewhere else.
Kirby games were always known for their cuteness and charm. But I'd argue we haven't had a game oozing with such this much since Kirby's Epic Yarn back in 2010. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the best we've had in a while when it comes to charm. The levels gives the players some moments of silence where there is no threat. That's where cute little details are sprinkled in to make the player smile. And by details, I mean the game is REALLY detailed. You can hit Waddle Dees in Waddle Dee Town, you can say hi to them and they say hi back. Awoofies form a line for a ride. They could be sitting at a table filled with food. The minigames aren't as replayable as others as some are one and dones, but they provide more of that Kirby charm than others do.
A change to the formula is now that copy abilities can be upgraded and they range from incremental to substantial differences to amazingly fun and OP. The hammer was my favorite copy ability in all of Kirby, but the upgraded Swords overtook it in this game. As a compromise, the amount of copy abilities and moves has been cut down to better give a feel for the 3D landscape. There are 12 abilities now, but some are interactible with the bosses. The bosses are not as mindblowingly ingenius as Metroid Dread, but the abilities do ask for the player to experiment. Like the ice ability for example. If you fully freeze a boss, you can take down half of a boss's HP. Use fire and they will be damaged overtime.
For a 3D debut, not everything lands. There is a lack of variety in the mid-bosses. KatFL has the least amount of mid-bosses since Kirby's Dream Land, the first game in the series on the original Game Boy, with only 4 mid-bosses. I have some ideas for bosses in a 3D environment like Kibble Blade, maybe some Galboros, maybe a Ranger boss with simple and charge attacks. They're repeated so many times through out the game with little to no variation until we get a little bit in the post-game.
I talked about this a lot, but as a Kirby completionist, this was one of my least favorite games in the series to complete. I feel that the pacing of 100% is worse here than in previous Kirby games. I do not like how Waddle Dees are saved through menial challenges like stand on top of a train or eat 3 kinds of ice cream. If you don't know what 2 challenges are by the end of the level, only one of them is revealed for you to know, where in something like Planet Robobot or Star Allies, you know what you're looking for. I feel like there isn't much of a reason to keep these mysterious since the tasks arent that interesting to do. The one hit challenges for bosses are just artificial difficulty. I did not like these challenges. The worst challenge is doing it against the 5th boss since the last phase is RNG, one of the attacks has a large hitbox, and they're faster than Kirby. There is no retry button for normal levels, but there are for challenge levels. If I take damage or miss something from a previous room, I have to exit the stage, go back into it, and do it all over again. Nevertheless, I still 100% completed the game and I had fun.
If I were to ask for a few more QoL changes, I want the movelist in the pause menu back. The only way to see what you can do with your moves is by going to Waddle Dee's shop. I want to fast travel to certain areas within a level so I can do what I need to fill out what I missed.
What really sweetened my taste and made me feel generous was the post game. It did away with my problem with the main game. Now you collect collectibles that you know you need to find. What's better is that there is a pop-up message that tells you that you did everything you could in that area so you don't have to keep wasting time making sure you did everything. It's a short world to go through, but the reward is worth it with a fanservice moment that got me into the lore of Kirby.
I'm feeling generous towards this game. The end-game was the thing that carried the game for me and this game is what got me into the lore. The fear factor was what I wanted out of this game. To me, this is the game that represents Kirby on the Switch in a way that Super Mario Odyssey represents THE Mario game on the Switch and Breath of the Wild represents Zelda om the Switch. It's my favorite game since Planet Robobot and one of my top 5 Kirby games. It's got me interested in what HAL will be doing next.
P.S. Stop redesigning King Dedede. We already had peak Dedede with Kirby: Right Back At Ya!
As a 3D debut, Kirby and the Forgotten Land plays like a 2D game in a 3D environment, much like Super Mario 3D World. It doesn't prove much of a reason to have a new plane gameplay wise, but it does use the 3D to the strength of its environments.
There was an implication of a post-apocalyptic world in Kirby 64 where Shiver Star is actually Earth covered in snow and taken over by technology. Probably theorized to be the result of the Haltmann Works Company from Planet Robobot taking it over. Kirby and the Forgotten Land pushes that postapocalyptic undertone even further here, but even then, it's still a jovial world to run through. The contrast between a once lived in, run down world once lived in by an ancient civilization is now one where cute animals inhabit in works for a Kirby game.
With a new plane comes a new way of forming level design. As I said before, it feels like Super Mario 3D World in its linear level design, but the way you approach it feels more laid back. There is no time limit, and some Waddle Dees are found by you understanding the rules of the level design. Sometimes, you can find a crevice that subtly takes you somewhere else.
Kirby games were always known for their cuteness and charm. But I'd argue we haven't had a game oozing with such this much since Kirby's Epic Yarn back in 2010. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the best we've had in a while when it comes to charm. The levels gives the players some moments of silence where there is no threat. That's where cute little details are sprinkled in to make the player smile. And by details, I mean the game is REALLY detailed. You can hit Waddle Dees in Waddle Dee Town, you can say hi to them and they say hi back. Awoofies form a line for a ride. They could be sitting at a table filled with food. The minigames aren't as replayable as others as some are one and dones, but they provide more of that Kirby charm than others do.
A change to the formula is now that copy abilities can be upgraded and they range from incremental to substantial differences to amazingly fun and OP. The hammer was my favorite copy ability in all of Kirby, but the upgraded Swords overtook it in this game. As a compromise, the amount of copy abilities and moves has been cut down to better give a feel for the 3D landscape. There are 12 abilities now, but some are interactible with the bosses. The bosses are not as mindblowingly ingenius as Metroid Dread, but the abilities do ask for the player to experiment. Like the ice ability for example. If you fully freeze a boss, you can take down half of a boss's HP. Use fire and they will be damaged overtime.
For a 3D debut, not everything lands. There is a lack of variety in the mid-bosses. KatFL has the least amount of mid-bosses since Kirby's Dream Land, the first game in the series on the original Game Boy, with only 4 mid-bosses. I have some ideas for bosses in a 3D environment like Kibble Blade, maybe some Galboros, maybe a Ranger boss with simple and charge attacks. They're repeated so many times through out the game with little to no variation until we get a little bit in the post-game.
I talked about this a lot, but as a Kirby completionist, this was one of my least favorite games in the series to complete. I feel that the pacing of 100% is worse here than in previous Kirby games. I do not like how Waddle Dees are saved through menial challenges like stand on top of a train or eat 3 kinds of ice cream. If you don't know what 2 challenges are by the end of the level, only one of them is revealed for you to know, where in something like Planet Robobot or Star Allies, you know what you're looking for. I feel like there isn't much of a reason to keep these mysterious since the tasks arent that interesting to do. The one hit challenges for bosses are just artificial difficulty. I did not like these challenges. The worst challenge is doing it against the 5th boss since the last phase is RNG, one of the attacks has a large hitbox, and they're faster than Kirby. There is no retry button for normal levels, but there are for challenge levels. If I take damage or miss something from a previous room, I have to exit the stage, go back into it, and do it all over again. Nevertheless, I still 100% completed the game and I had fun.
If I were to ask for a few more QoL changes, I want the movelist in the pause menu back. The only way to see what you can do with your moves is by going to Waddle Dee's shop. I want to fast travel to certain areas within a level so I can do what I need to fill out what I missed.
What really sweetened my taste and made me feel generous was the post game. It did away with my problem with the main game. Now you collect collectibles that you know you need to find. What's better is that there is a pop-up message that tells you that you did everything you could in that area so you don't have to keep wasting time making sure you did everything. It's a short world to go through, but the reward is worth it with a fanservice moment that got me into the lore of Kirby.
I'm feeling generous towards this game. The end-game was the thing that carried the game for me and this game is what got me into the lore. The fear factor was what I wanted out of this game. To me, this is the game that represents Kirby on the Switch in a way that Super Mario Odyssey represents THE Mario game on the Switch and Breath of the Wild represents Zelda om the Switch. It's my favorite game since Planet Robobot and one of my top 5 Kirby games. It's got me interested in what HAL will be doing next.
P.S. Stop redesigning King Dedede. We already had peak Dedede with Kirby: Right Back At Ya!