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.
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.