Every once in a while it’s nice to play a game that’s just pure wholesome fun. One that can carry my woes aways and help forget about all the terrible things in life. That’s coming from someone who constantly surrounds themselves with media depicting depression, if we the human race are living our live to the fullest, inevitable coming of death, existentialism, eternal suffering, moral choices and consequences that affect us in the long run, dark settings where no hope is left, and much more. If more than three of those listed options are checked then congratulations you have “What I see everyday.” Add self loathing and repetition to the list, because those are things I go through every single day. Point is, I need something to cheer me up every so often so I don’t go and do something harmful to myself. Thankfully, I played a cheerful game recently to refresh my mental health and keep me going for at least the next few months. Kirby and The Forgotten Land, the latest installment in the Kirby franchise and a huge game changer. I have quite a history with Kirby, more than you readers think.
Kirby was one of few franchises I grew up playing. It wasn’t my favorite video game franchise. I was more in love with The Legend of Zelda, Mega Man, and Shovel Knight if you know me well. However, Kirby was one of few Nintendo properties I paid close attention to and I was excited for any new installments they had in store for the future. I played Return To Dream Land on my old Nintendo Wii as well as a little bit of Epic Yarn as I borrowed a copy from my friend for a short period of time., Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot on my Nintendo 3DS, Rainbow Curse as I was one of few people who bought a Nintendo Wii U during the releases of seventh generation consoles, and experienced Star Allies during its week of release. Star Allies being the last major entry in the Kirby series before Forgotten Land, and one that was quite special to me as I fondly remember it coming out the same week as my birthday. I enjoyed all these games growing up. Some entries were better than others, and Star Allies is a title I will admit was weaker compared to what came before, but from what I experienced I love all these games. They are fun platformers that allow you to play in any way you want.
It took awhile for The Forgotten Land to be developed, and I have good suspicion as to why. You see, the mainline Kirby entries have been following a specific formula Thirty years to be exact. Kirby started off as a short game for Nintendo to market the Nintendo Gameboy back in 1992. A pocket device that can be conveniently carried anywhere you go and offer some brief fun. That could be after school, in the park, on the road, and much more. It was the first handheld console Nintendo ever made, and man we have seen how much their handheld technology has developed over the years. From the limitations of the Gameboy all the way to the Switch. I bring my Switch everywhere to be frank, and use it as a form of downtime in between work sessions. Anyways, Kirby’s Dream Land was one of few games made to help promote the Gameboy and it was made by Masahiro Sakurai and his studio HAL LAboratory. You know, the guys who helped make the Super Smash Brothers franchise. The design of Kirby, the character, was originally a placeholder until Sakurai and his team could design a more appealing mascot. However, Sakurai appreciated Kirby’s simplistic design as it was simple, cute, and above all easy to identify. That’s why Kirby is one of the more iconic video game characters to date, because he has such a recognizable look. Sakurai made Kirby the protagonist to HAL Laboratory’s big game, and that’s how we ended up with a cute puffball exploring a cute land of creatures. Dream Land was the start of what would soon be brilliant. The game was a good showcase of what the Gameboy could handle and was a nice experience that could be beaten in one sitting. Looking back at it now it lacks what made Kirby great, and that’s when Sakurai and friends developed Kirby more in Kirby’s Adventure.
They had a full console release on the NES and had more tools to work with to develop a bigger, longer game. The biggest addition in Kirby’s Adventure, besides Kirby being colored bright pink, was the character’s ability to suck enemies up and copy their abilities. Giving the player more choice on how to tackle levels, fight bosses, and solve problems. This was the core foundation on what made Kirby different from other platforming heroes, and this was a foundation that would be expanded for years. Every major installment since then has aimed to be grander. Whether that was Super Star offering multiple experiences in one package, The Crystal Shards allowing you to mix two powers together and form different abilities, couch multiplayer, or even mechanical gimmicks Return To Dream Land having superforms of existing copy abilities or Triple Deluxe giving you a supernova suck to tear apart levels. All was going well until players started to see a pattern. New Kirby games were still fun, but they started to get really formulaic. It was the same game but with different gimmicks. Spinoffs weren’t helping and Star Allies was the most divided the fans had been. That was the signal for HAL Laboratory to slam down on the brakes and go back to the drawing board.
What if instead of taking Kirby back to the two dimension realm again, instead we just brought him to the world of the third dimension. That’s right, instead of making another sidescroller they instead made a 3D platformer. Not in the same vein of Psychonauts or Super Mario Odyssey, but still maintaining the core elements on what makes the Kirby series so fantastic. HAL Laboratory got to work and in 2021 they revealed Kirby and The Forgotten Land. The trailer looked really promising and hopes were high for The Forgotten Land. The game releases one year later in 2022 and it turns out to be a smashing success for the studio. The Forgotten Land is one of and if not the best acclaimed entry in the series. Review scores were positive across the board and the game sold above expectations becoming the highest selling in the franchise. The Forgotten Land was truly brilliant. I was meaning to play The Forgotten Land sooner, but I held off on it as it felt really expensive. Got it as a birthday present and took the chance to play it. I absolutely love this game and it’s exactly what I hoped it would be. Today we’ll talk about Kirby and The Forgotten Land and why it deserves your attention.
Story
The story of The Forgotten Land is very simple, as it follows the basic roots of any Kirby story. Bad things happen, some corrupt nemesis or force of enemies, and Kirby has to do what he has to do so that he can restore peace and save the inhabitants of Dream Land. On this episode of, “What in the world is Kirby going to ingest today,” we see Kirby taking a humble walk on one of the many roads littered throughout Dream Land. The sun is shining, birds are flying by, flowers are blooming once again, the little Waddle Dees are playing games, and a giant dark vortex has opened up in the sky….. Wait, that can’t be right. Suddenly, everything around Kirby is being sucked into the vortex including the Waddle Dees who were trying to enjoy their day. Kirby gets sucked into the vortex as well and during the process his body begins to distort. Once he is shot out the other side of the vortex, he finds himself in what appears to be an abandoned city. This is The Forgotten Land, and here Kirby must traverse the ancient ruins and figure out how to get home. Along the way he rescues what appears to be a blue flying mouse creature named Effilin, who claims the Waddle Dees who came along with Kirby are being kidnapped. An organization known as the Beast Pack have been collecting Waddle Dees for an unknown purpose, and they’ll stop anyone who tries to get in their way. Unfortunately, they hear of a tiny pink being trying to save the Waddle Dees and they make him the number one wanted individual to be pounded to a pulp. Kirby, despite the foes he now faces, must save the Waddle Dees and return them all home. In the meanwhile he’ll construct a safe haven for the Waddle Dees to stay at, and this will serve as a base of operations. Kirby will discover the truth to the Forgotten Land.
Gameplay
If you played any prior Kirby games then you’ll be familiar with The Forgotten Land. Except this time it’s “3D.” (Blowing confetti) I feel like this description would have worked more sense in a video. So you navigate the linear overworld, choose a level, and off you go. The goal is to get from the beginning of the level to the end of the level. Fighting enemies standing in the way, collecting items, avoiding hazards, checking for secrets, and swallowing certain moves to obtain the many copy abilities available to help you. Every copy ability is different and offers a good amount of ways for Kirby to approach combat and occasionally solve problems. There’s the good old Sword ability which allows you to slash away at foes foes up close, has a little charged spin attack to hit enemies around you, and can even cut ropes. The Fire ability will allow Kirby to breathe a stream of fire which sets ablaze and can even ignite ignition strings. Cutter will throw rotating blades which hit enemies from afar and come right back. Ranger to shoot foes from afar and target specific spots, Bomb to lay out bombs and blow up certain objects, and much more. You have quite a handful of choices and keeping the right abilities may make certain challenges a little more trivial.
The levels are exactly what you expect. A linear path of enemies, obstacles, and more. There are secrets for those willing to look out for them and some of these secrets will house one of many captured Waddle Dees. At the end of each stage and hidden throughout them are Waddle Dees. Begging for you to set them free once you find them. Touch the cages they are trapped in and they will instantly be set free. Some of these are really well hidden, and other times you’ll have to listen for their cries of help to know where they could possibly hide. The hidden Waddle Dees and the three that lie at the end of each level aren’t the only ones to be collected. Every level in The Forgotten Land has three optional objectives you can pursue. These objectives range from finding certain items, defeating enemies in certain ways, clearing rooms under certain conditions, and much more. Completing these objectives will reward you with a freed Waddle Dee. I like how they gave you optional objectives to pursue. Finding secrets in previous Kirby games was oftentimes simple, but the addition of optional goals gives the player more reasons to replay older levels. Those Waddle Dees you rescue will be sent back to the Waddle Dee Village, and this is an ultimate reward for anyone who seeks completion. The Waddle Dee Village contains multiple facilities and more of them will be built as you collect more Waddle Dees. Some offer fun minigames like this restaurant management minigame or a fishing pond, but others will help you. From purchasing healing items, a house to sleep in, and upgrading abilities.
One of the core facilities in the village is a blacksmith house, and here you can upgrade the many copy abilities you use. That is if you find any blueprints in the wild, and Rares Stones which can be obtained by completing optional challenges unlocked by completing levels. These challenges may require you to master certain copy abilities, or learn to just speedrun through them. Upon obtaining the blueprints and rare stones you can finally upgrade an ability. Changing their power, attack speed, and even giving them a new property. Very useful especially against the late game bosses. One final addition I want to bring up is the biggest gimmick in The Forgotten Land. That is Mouthful Mode. Occasionally, Kirby will encounter a big object he can suck up while going through a level, and instead of digesting it he will instead wrap himself around it and control the object. This grants Kirby new powers relating to objects he sucked up and allows him to navigate around the obstacles lying ahead. Whether that’s blazing around as a car, shooting gusts of wind as a hollow ring, rolling and busting through walls as a pipe, or literally waddling around as a staircase. Kirby is gonna suck you hard until the work is done…. that came out wrong.
Thoughts
Kirby and The Forgotten Land is an outstanding 3D platformer that transfers the iconic formula this franchise is known for into a whole new realm. As you all know, I love 3D platformers. It’s probably one of my favorite genres and I’m always excited to play a new one. Forgotten Land is not in the same sense as Psychonauts 2, Tinykin, or Super Mario Odyssey. Where they give you a big open space to roam around in, explore, and collect whatever you see. It’s more in the sense of Super Mario 3D Land where you select a level and venture through it in a linear fashion. You are still getting from Point A to Point B, and some 3D platforming fans may find that limiting. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed it for what it was. What makes The Forgotten Land work is that each level is willing to present a whole new idea or utilize a mechanic in a different way. One level has you using the car to bust through indestructible walls and another may have you go around a race track within a certain amount of time. One has you using staircases to light the way forward, or use them to weigh down switches to open a doorway. Each level is unique, takes place within a new set piece, and keeps me chugging along. No secret felt truly missable and when it comes to sections that are easy to screw up like the rollercoaster and gliding sections they allow you to replay them for any object you possibly missed, which I do appreciate.
The Forgotten Land isn’t a very hard game, and that’s one of my only gripes with the game. A lot of players will find this game easy and even if it manages to kill you checkpoints aren’t far. A boss fight may be hard at first, but you can nail it the second time through with the right ability. Combat is fairly simplistic, I mean it’s a Kirby game you shouldn’t expect Elden Ring levels of depth. The game isn’t hard, but it does manage to challenge you in different ways. Whenever I define challenge in games I forget to mention games can challenge you outside of combat. This is one of those cases where the optional objectives and Waddle Dees you rescue can drive you to replay levels and seek completion. Some of these side objectives are quite difficult, especially the ones that require you to beat bosses without taking a hit, but completing them and getting all of the Waddle Dees is a fulfilling experience. I was motivated to save all the Waddle Dees, and manage to get all three hundred of them by the end. It was absolutely worth it, and another factor which adds to completion is the village. The more Waddle Dees you rescue, the bigger the little village will become. It’s a nice feature that rewards players for pursuing optional goals.
The copy abilities they chose to bring over to this game were nicely selected. To be honest, not all copy abilities throughout the Kirby series are great. You have the fun ones like Sword, Cutter, and Bomb, but you have some lame ones that work in awkward ways or only work in the 2D realm like Spark and Wheel. They brought over the ones they knew would work in 3D or would be the most fun to play with. I especially love the addition to evolve these copy abilities. It too felt extremely rewarding and each investment into a better copy ability felt impactful. Like you were getting stronger and having an easier time cutting down foes. I really love this game. There is very little to complain about and any complaints I do have don’t really harm the experience. The third evolution of the Sword ability is really powerful. It does a ton of damage and has the ability to shoot projectiles which also deal a ton of damage. It makes combat trivial, but they do balance this out by not giving you the projectile when you are not at full health. Again, optional objectives that require you to beat bosses without taking damage can be frustrating compared to everything else. The game is the same Kirby formula everyone knows, and that may disappoint some players who were expecting more. That is a very small percentage of players though, and if you are one then I’m sorry. I’m a lover at heart and Kirby and The Forgotten Land is a game I truly love. There’s tons of things to do outside the main story like collect toy figures, minigames, an arena for boss rushes, and even co-op which they didn’t have to add but great! Kirby and The Forgotten Land is the masterpiece this series needed and I strongly recommend it. I give Kirby & The Forgotten Land a 9.5/10 for excellence at best.
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