3 reviews liked by Whovian45810


Kirby and the Forgotten Land was one of the most exciting reveals from the September 2021 Nintendo Direct. It marks the first true 3D platforming experience in main series Kirby games. For a series that was beginning to feel formulaic, I sensed that Forgotten Land would be what Kirby needed to regain some momentum.

The game feels quite reminiscent of Super Mario 3D World, as if they have lifted the 2D Kirby formula and applied it to the 3D platformer format. Periodic mini-bosses and challenge rooms are maintained and these are a great way to vary the pacing of each level. The mini-bosses also demonstrate the 3D combat well as the extra dimension creates opportunities for more creative attack patterns. Several bosses have spin attacks that send them around the entire arena, or attacks where they swing at you from afar. As a result I really enjoyed the boss fight portions of the game. However, Kirby's side of the combat feels emptier than previous 2D entries. The expansive set of attacks for several copy abilities have been removed, so I felt quite limited. In previous entries I enjoyed the array of attacks each ability had so I think it is a shame that they are not in Forgotten Land. Hopefully if another 3D entry is released, this is a new route they could take. On top of this, there are not many copy abilities in general. There are only 12 copy abilities, excluding the upgraded versions. The upgrades are a great addition though. I just found it somewhat boring to run into the same copy abilities over and over again. Although, I can appreciate that this might be because it is the first 3D game in the main series. Overall, I think it lays a great foundation for them to expand in the future.

The way the levels a structured feels like a natural progression between 2D and 3D and as such, Forgotten Land feels at home in the series. As is tradition, Forgotten Land introduces a new mechanic into Kirby's arsenal; Mouthful Mode. This allows Kirby to take a mouthful of specific objects and take control of them. I think this is a clever mechanic that creates platforming and level design implications that the series has never seen before. It feels like it got the right amount of screen time and adds a little more variety to the platforming and challenges. There is even a full level dedicated to the Car Mouth, as well as Treasure Road challenges for the rest. Achieving target times on Treasure Road stages was another good element of variety and specific Treasure Roads had a good level of difficulty to them. Furthermore there are plenty of minigames in the Hub World, Waddle Dee Town with plenty of rewards varying in significance. Last but not least, this game features a post-game that continues the main narrative and I think that's quite neat. I am excited for the future of the Kirby series and hope they continue experimenting. I think it mostly paid off this time.

I have to admit, I'm a little bit of a Shin Megami Tensei poser. I only played the first couple of hours of SMT IV (which I don't even really remember), and when it comes to the Persona series I've only played and beaten 5. So, maybe my appreciation of SMTV is a little skewed, because I'm sure what I love about this game is in all of the other instalments of the series (probably done better).

Nevertheless, let me try and count all of the things I love about this game: I love the numbers, I love the frequency with which they go up. I love the demons, I love the writing, I love the negotiations. I love the fusion system, I love calculating the most ideal combination of demons to best avoid spending currency and carrying over the best set of abilities. I love the look of the game, the way the Netherworld cascades, I love the colours and the sounds. I love the music, I love every time the battle theme kicks in properly after the first attack is made. I love slowly discovering the best economy of actions in order to prolong my turn before the enemy gets a chance to strike. I love sliding down dunes, I love exploring the landscape in piecemeal chunks until I feel like I understand it's twists before moving onto the next area. I love just staring into the skybox, there's so much detail in every inch of this universe.

Here's what else I really enjoy that no-one else seems to: I love seeing the seams of the engine tear apart! This game is broken and botched in so many ways because of the weakness of the platform it's on, but I think it's great! The way the framerate stutters on an NPC in the distance and then equalises as I get into range of it is hilarious, the way texures pop in on a demon a second too late as I'm scrolling through the compendium is cartoonish. I might be in the minority here, but I actually like being reminded that I'm playing a game people have made, and seeing this stuff is like seeing the errant brushstrokes on a painted canvas up close.

The most accessible and arguably most enjoyable mainline SMT from a gameplay perspective to date. Unfortunately, the story is a big step down from SMT IV in a lot of ways. It also trivializes too many of the systems that give SMT its identity.