Kirby and the Forgotten Land is pretty much everything I want from a Kirby game, outside of maybe a faster pace. The way Copy abilities are implemented feels novel, and the setting is truly unique for a Kirby game. It’s a whole lot of fun, just as a Kirby game should be.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Developer: HAL Laboratory
Price: $60
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a Switch code for review
I feel like it’s redundant to call myself a Kirby fan. Everyone likes Kirby, both the games and the character. The series is fairly simple, ridiculously charming, and as adorable as it gets. What’s not to like? Kirby and the Forgotten Land is no different, other than the whole “post-humanity planet Earth” setting. This one change does wonders for Kirby though, as this is the most interesting Kirby game since Kirby’s Epic Yarn, at least to me.
The story follows your classic Kirby formula: things are cute and fun, trouble pops up, an eldritch demon is behind it, Kirby wins and chills with food and pals. This time, Kirby is sucked into a portal to a seemingly post-apocalyptic world, where he meets Elfilin, a cute little guy who travels with Kirby to save all the Waddle Dees from their captors, the Beast Pack, in this new world. The story goes pretty wild by the end, in the best and most extreme way possible. It’s still for kids and all, but I was immensely entertained by the last quarter of the game or so, and you likely will be too. Plus, Meta Knight and King Dedede show up, and they’re as cool as you’d expect.
This is the first fully 3D Kirby game (Crystal Shards on the N64 was only 3D visually, after all,) making this quite a big step for everyone’s favorite Pop-Star Protector. Kirby himself moves rather smoothly in this new dimension, as running or floating around feels responsive and satisfying. Some streamlining has been done to make this transition smoother, like ability-enemies being auto-swallowed without button input and attacks typically hitting if it looks like they hit from your perspective. These allowances make for a great experience all-around, and make Kirby and the Forgotten Land feel somewhat similar to other 3D platformers, while still being a distinctly Kirby experience.
“I’m very impressed with how much content is in this game, and it will keep even diehards playing for quite some time.“
Copy powers, in particular, are overhauled quite impressively. You can upgrade most powers at least twice, leading to new hats and vastly more powerful abilities. For example, the Ranger ability goes from one gun to dual guns to a space laser that can be charged for crazy damage. You unlock upgrades by finding blueprints in levels, which makes exploration more exciting and worthwhile. Trying each ability can be a blast, as they’re pretty much all broken in their own fun ways. I wish there were maybe a few more abilities, as the number of them feels a tad low, but the upgrade differences being so numerous make that understandable.
This combined, with Waddle Dee Town in general, makes it feel like you’re always unlocking things and progressing. There’s even a pretty robust postgame to Forgotten Land, full of remixed levels and secret bosses to battle. There are multiple series of gachapon toys to collect (which is all my Shenmue-addled brain needs for bonus content,) secret ability upgrades, minigames throughout the town, and more. I’m very impressed with how much content is in this game, and it will keep even diehards playing for quite some time. I do wish the game was a bit quicker in Waddle Dee Town, as having to go through timed text boxes whenever you get ability upgrades is a slog, and there’s a lot of text in general that could be shaved away in these parts. Even just making it skippable would be nice, as I’d rather explore the town than be told what every shop and character does.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land looks quite nice, with plenty of colors to make even the long-abandoned locales feel lively and happy. The designs of the new animal enemies and bosses are cartoony and adorable, and the new iterations of fan favorites like King Dedede and Bonkers feel right in line with this crazy new environment. Do I even need to say that the music in a Kirby game is excellent? You can listen to tracks later in the game, and many of them are worth rehearing. Or you could just listen to the Masked Dedede theme on loop, which I can’t stop doing.
The Final Word
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is an excellent first foray into the third dimension for Kirby and his Pop-Star pals. I wish there were fewer tutorials and a few more powers, but everything else about the game is fun, charming, and just generally great.
MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
