when i was a kid my favorite thing in the world was kirby. i was obsessed with kirby. i played all the games i could get my hands on, i watched the cartoon (whatever episodes were on my cable’s on demand service, which wasn’t as much as i liked), the movie showed up in the red box at the grocery store once. i didn’t even know there WAS a kirby movie. i begged to rent it and getting to see it, i was definitely not disappointed. when water kirby showed up i took a picture of the screen with my hand-me-down flip phone and made it my wallpaper.
when i eventually get unfettered internet access in my early teens i research kirby and i find out about an unreleased kirby gamecube game. 3d movement, full multiplayer, THEY EVEN HAVE WATER KIRBY! FROM THE MOVIE! this game seems like it’ll be THE videogame. my imagination ran wild. what else could this perfect kirby game have? it’s gotta have the power combinations from 64, the animal buddies from dreamland 2 and 3, gotta have playable metaknight and dedede too. of course, by the time i had found out about this, the game cube was long dead. any hope of this game existing was gone before i could even hope for it. i could imagine though.
eventually came kirby return to dreamland. i felt the pull in my heart. this was it, right? it’s a kirby game with full multiplayer, dedede and metaknight are playable characters! WATER KIRBY IS EVEN IN IT! but it’s not quite right. no 3d movement, no power combos, it couldn’t beat that game i imagined as a child even if it came close.
more kirby games came and went. nothing that really amazed me if i’m honest. lots of little side games i tried and got bored of. triple deluxe was underwhelming. i was too broke to try robobot (until much more recently when i played and loved it) or star allies. i don’t know if i could even be considered a kirby fan at that point. it was something so defining to me as a child and now it felt like a stranger. then, kirby and the forgotten world was announced. a 3d kirby game. with customizable powers (not quite crystal shards but still). and multiplayer.
ok, thanks for reading this far. now i get to the actual review. i’m not just reviewing this game as it is or as how much i enjoyed it. i’m reviewing it as the game i dreamed of when i saw those low quality screenshots of that unreleased game cube game. this is unfair to the game. but i wouldn't do it if it didn’t come so heart-wrenchingly close.
it plays like i always dreamt it would. kirby’s move set feels so adapted to a 2d platformer, but with the level design it fits seamlessly. the ability customization is straight up better than crystal shards. maybe not with as much variety, but the thought and design put into every variation more than makes up for the quantity. the multiplayer is fine. i wish it had online, but the game i imagined didn’t so i can’t fault it. the story is the thing i never would’ve cared about in my dream game, but i know if i could’ve imagined it i would’ve wanted it so bad. i was insufferable about kirby lore then and this would’ve had me pacing and rambling to nobody for hours. i loved this game. this is almost certainly as close as any game will ever get to reaching into my imagination and pulling something out and i am truly grateful i got to experience it. it’s the reason i 100%ed it within a week of getting it. but no water kirby. 4 1/2 stars.
when i eventually get unfettered internet access in my early teens i research kirby and i find out about an unreleased kirby gamecube game. 3d movement, full multiplayer, THEY EVEN HAVE WATER KIRBY! FROM THE MOVIE! this game seems like it’ll be THE videogame. my imagination ran wild. what else could this perfect kirby game have? it’s gotta have the power combinations from 64, the animal buddies from dreamland 2 and 3, gotta have playable metaknight and dedede too. of course, by the time i had found out about this, the game cube was long dead. any hope of this game existing was gone before i could even hope for it. i could imagine though.
eventually came kirby return to dreamland. i felt the pull in my heart. this was it, right? it’s a kirby game with full multiplayer, dedede and metaknight are playable characters! WATER KIRBY IS EVEN IN IT! but it’s not quite right. no 3d movement, no power combos, it couldn’t beat that game i imagined as a child even if it came close.
more kirby games came and went. nothing that really amazed me if i’m honest. lots of little side games i tried and got bored of. triple deluxe was underwhelming. i was too broke to try robobot (until much more recently when i played and loved it) or star allies. i don’t know if i could even be considered a kirby fan at that point. it was something so defining to me as a child and now it felt like a stranger. then, kirby and the forgotten world was announced. a 3d kirby game. with customizable powers (not quite crystal shards but still). and multiplayer.
ok, thanks for reading this far. now i get to the actual review. i’m not just reviewing this game as it is or as how much i enjoyed it. i’m reviewing it as the game i dreamed of when i saw those low quality screenshots of that unreleased game cube game. this is unfair to the game. but i wouldn't do it if it didn’t come so heart-wrenchingly close.
it plays like i always dreamt it would. kirby’s move set feels so adapted to a 2d platformer, but with the level design it fits seamlessly. the ability customization is straight up better than crystal shards. maybe not with as much variety, but the thought and design put into every variation more than makes up for the quantity. the multiplayer is fine. i wish it had online, but the game i imagined didn’t so i can’t fault it. the story is the thing i never would’ve cared about in my dream game, but i know if i could’ve imagined it i would’ve wanted it so bad. i was insufferable about kirby lore then and this would’ve had me pacing and rambling to nobody for hours. i loved this game. this is almost certainly as close as any game will ever get to reaching into my imagination and pulling something out and i am truly grateful i got to experience it. it’s the reason i 100%ed it within a week of getting it. but no water kirby. 4 1/2 stars.