Kinda wild that this morning I played this game for the first time in over 20 years, and then Nintendo goes and announces a Return to Dreamland port for the Switch a few hours later!

At any rate, it's still a good time today. It's simplistic, sure, but it controls well and it's less than an hour long. All killer no filler, babyyyy. Because of how the Kirby franchise has evolved over the years it's interesting to return to a game in which you are expected to defeat bosses with their own attacks. While Kirby's copy ability in subsequent games became his defining feature for a lot of obvious reasons, it makes me wonder what could have been if they made just one sequel that further tested the limits on what a Kirby game without it could be.

Also, kudos for having a hard mode that changes enemy placements and boss attack patterns instead of just tinkering with the numbers. Always a pleasure to see that kind of design at play!

Reviewed on Sep 13, 2022


1 Comment


1 year ago

By the way, it seems as if Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a full on remake rather than a port :)