Kirby's Return to Dreamland is an incredibly important game in the history of the franchise, returning it to its roots and finishing what Kirby Super Star Ultra had started with getting the series out of the closest it had to a Dark Age with no core vision behind the franchise, and cementing director Shinya Kumazaki as the series frontrunner going forward. So needless to say as a huge Kirby fan, this port was an absolute must, and I still highly recommend it.
However, I must say that it's unfortunate that this game doesn't have the experience of future Kirby games that we do now, as what was once impressive and a much needed return to form for Kirby back in 2011 is now just alright in 2023. The new additions do help, Sand and Mecha are very fun abilities, but that doesn't save it from its past completely. For example, Mecha is introduced in World 3, the worst world in the game due to the abundance of water levels, (Kirby can't even use most abilities including Mecha underwater). A baffling decision to place it there if you ask me, Sand was lucky to get introduced in the desert.
The real exciting content on offer comes in the form of its new postgame, Magolor Epilogue. It suffers a bit at the start since Magolor starts out too bare bones to really be fun, but once you upgrade him and get more options, that's where things pick up. What would be just an okey romp with his Star Allies moveset through some new levels is saved with the introduction and focus on a combo system, encouraging players to learn Magolor to his fullest and rack up as many points as you possibly can. Most of the bosses aren't new but at least they provide more touch-ups than your standard EX fare and the new ones are a treat.
The minigame selection is pretty good love the ability to play Checkerboard Chase again but i do wonder why they're both in their own hub and on the ship seems redundant to me.
If you already played this on the Wii back in 2011, I'd only pick up this version if you're a hardcore Kirby fan like myself. Going through the whole game again just to get to that smidgen of new content isn't worth it unless you really love the cast and lore of Kirby.
However if you've never played Return to Dreamland before, absolutely pick this one up!
However, I must say that it's unfortunate that this game doesn't have the experience of future Kirby games that we do now, as what was once impressive and a much needed return to form for Kirby back in 2011 is now just alright in 2023. The new additions do help, Sand and Mecha are very fun abilities, but that doesn't save it from its past completely. For example, Mecha is introduced in World 3, the worst world in the game due to the abundance of water levels, (Kirby can't even use most abilities including Mecha underwater). A baffling decision to place it there if you ask me, Sand was lucky to get introduced in the desert.
The real exciting content on offer comes in the form of its new postgame, Magolor Epilogue. It suffers a bit at the start since Magolor starts out too bare bones to really be fun, but once you upgrade him and get more options, that's where things pick up. What would be just an okey romp with his Star Allies moveset through some new levels is saved with the introduction and focus on a combo system, encouraging players to learn Magolor to his fullest and rack up as many points as you possibly can. Most of the bosses aren't new but at least they provide more touch-ups than your standard EX fare and the new ones are a treat.
The minigame selection is pretty good love the ability to play Checkerboard Chase again but i do wonder why they're both in their own hub and on the ship seems redundant to me.
If you already played this on the Wii back in 2011, I'd only pick up this version if you're a hardcore Kirby fan like myself. Going through the whole game again just to get to that smidgen of new content isn't worth it unless you really love the cast and lore of Kirby.
However if you've never played Return to Dreamland before, absolutely pick this one up!