REVIEW: Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe

It's not a bird, nor a plane, much less a Pokémon: it's Kirby! After marking the Nintendo Switch generation with the title Kirby and the Forgotten Land (2022), yet another game in the foodie franchise was released for the console.

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe (2023) is a remake de Kirby's Return to Dream Land (2011), released at the time for Nintendo Wii and Wii U. The new version brings much more than graphic changes, which justifies its release for Switch, as you will see in detail in this review.

Overall, the game offers a nostalgic experience for existing fans of the franchise and an opportunity to experience the classic Kirby style for new players. We believe that people of any age can enjoy the game, but it is a title that is more fun if you share sessions with friends and family (up to 4 people can play at the same time).

The game is available for purchase directly from the Nintendo eShop on your console or by the official website for the full price of R$300.

Kirby for Fans and New Players

If you're like me and like to know the previous games before suddenly starting a franchise, relax. The “return” mentioned in the title of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe refers to the character's first games, and is not a direct sequel.

Kirby's Dream Land (1992) was released for the Game Boy console over 30 years ago and features the classic gaming formula of the time: side-scrolling (or side-to) to power ups that help you face enemies. What made Kirby stand out, of course, were two special abilities: floating by holding air and absorbing enemies. Who hasn't gotten mad at an opposing Kirby in Super Smash Bros doing this all the time? (I, in this case, love playing with Kirby to annoy others).

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe has the proposal to record the classic gameplay on the Nintendo Switch with an improved experience from that presented on the Nintendo Wii console, which was not as successful as the current generation. So whether you're a huge Kirby fan or a new player who only knew him from Smash Bros, fun is guaranteed.

Story and gameplay

The lost traveler Magolor 

Despite its charming simplicity, the game does not leave the narrative building aside. You travel through the levels in search of gears and parts of the ship of Magolor that have been lost (or stolen!) by assorted enemies.

Magolor is an interdimensional traveler who offers his ship as a base of operations for Kirby. It is inside the ship that other parts of the game can be accessed, such as mini-games and challenges. If you've played Mario before, the formula won't be new. Each “world” has stages that end with a final boss. After defeating him, you go to the next world, where you find more stages and another boss.

This repetition and the incredible ease of the first few levels can put off players looking for a challenge. But, after all, we are talking about Kirby, and not Elden Ring. The world of Kirby is a magical and comfortable world to be in, and the game offers many tools that make your journey easier. In addition to a “guided” mode (in which Magolor appears to rescue you if you fall into a hole that would take a life), almost every level is filled with food, which recovers (and a lot) your life bar.

Stage progress and collectibles

Eventually, the game stops being extremely easy and presents some difficulties. The enemies that await you at the end of the stages start to develop skills that are more difficult to dodge and deal more damage than the first ones.

It's also fun to play by going in search of gears. Unlike the main parts of the ship, which are given to you after each boss, the gears are hidden throughout the levels. Some of them are pretty obvious to find, but others are hidden or need to be accessed by small puzzle.

This adds a factor attractive to the game, as it keeps you more aware of the surroundings and encourages you to look for power ups e secret passages that could end up being ignored if it weren't for that. The gears, in addition to filling up your percentage of complete game, unlock special challenges, where you can test and prove your mastery with certain skills, and mini-games, in style. Mario Party, which can be played solo or in a group.

It's really fun to challenge yourself to search for spheres with secret gears. By challenging you in this way, the game introduces a light and fun layer of complexity, which makes the experience of playing Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe attractive and convinces you to spend more time in the magical lands. The mini-games are as fun as they look and can guarantee hours of fun in different group sessions, reminding us once again the purpose of the remake of the game for the Nintendo Switch.

If you are a "completionist" looking for 100% progress in the game and you can't find the gears at all, we recommend a video that shows the location of all of them:

Skills

By absorbing enemies or magic items on the map, Kirby uses his power of copy skills to open up more possibilities in the levels. Not every opponent delivers a magic blow: some are simply swallowed and launched as projectiles. But the dynamism offered is one of its strengths. At certain times, you will feel more free and willing to use your favorite power just because you think it's cool and cool. In others, you'll realize that you need to have a specific power to find secret collectibles or go more smoothly through some obstacles and bosses.

in the remake, 2 new powers were added compared to the Wii/Wii U version: the Mecha and the power of Sand. Besides them, the 23 old skills are still present in the game, including the ice blowing power, the umbrella, the sword, and the ninja power.

At specific times, you use super abilities that completely change the way you advance through the level. These moments are fun and offer a mix of puzzle, humor and a feeling that Kirby has arrived in his final form. Are you going to face it, Goku?

playing in group

One of the attractions of the Nintendo Switch is the fact that many of its games are designed to be played in groups. Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe allows up to 4 simultaneous players on screen. If anyone else wants to play, just activate the additional joy-con and select which character will be taken to the screen: in addition to Kirby, you can play with the characters King Dedede, metal knight e Waddle Dee Bandana.

The truth is that, if the game already seems very easy in solo games, in multiplayer it gets even easier. With multiple players, you can ignore the bosses' attack patterns and just attack them without mercy. In puzzle, it becomes very simple to coordinate who does what to achieve the objectives.

But as I said, that's about it. The proposal of Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is to offer hours of fun and lightness to the players. As with Mario Kart, Mario Party e Super Smash Bros, everything is more fun when you play in a group. maybe the real Dream Land be the friends we make along the way.

I must make a special mention here. For people looking for fun games for smaller players, this is a great recommendation. While the nostalgia factor wins over adults, Dream Land Deluxe is a great title to offer kids and teens. If you have children, siblings or small nephews, invite the kids to play and it will work.

Differences in the remake

Among the changes, we highlight some:

• New difficulty “Aide Magolor”: in addition to rescuing you from falls, it offers items to fill your life bar, for example;

• New enemies;

• New collectibles, such as the “Stamp Rally” that give cosmetic items as rewards. They include masks that can be worn by the characters;

• Emotes, which can be used by players during mini-game matches, as they appear in Forgotten land e Kirby's Dream Buffet;

• Compatibility with collectible Amiibo figures to unlock special items;

• Mission board accessed by Magolândia with 100 objectives related to mini-games. Upon completing them, 20 more extra missions are added.

Graphics and audio

In addition to graphics performance improvements, several details were thought of for the remake. The stroke around the characters (outline) is a very strong feature in Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. Also, small animations were added or reworked for the characters. Some items and background elements have been updated to match the appearance featured in newer games such as Forgotten Land.

The game's soundtrack has also been remastered in better quality, in addition to featuring more immersive specific sound effects in some stages.

Megalor's Epilogue and "Hard" Mode

Finally, after completing the main story you unlock the Megalor's Epilogue, an extra adventure mode with about 2 hours of gameplay in which you control the interdimensional traveler. Lost and without his powers, you guide him through stages where he seeks and re-finds his special abilities, becoming strong again. The content is new and was not present in the original Wii/Wii U version.

In addition, you also unlock an extra mode with more difficulty for Kirby's adventure, with less life bar and more powerful enemies. In a game like this, perhaps it would be ideal to release this option from the beginning, since the original progression turns out to be too easy. But the extra mode can be fun for more experienced players looking for an added challenge to complete the quest for the gear spheres in a second. run, for example.

Experience and final words

Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe does not have the same impact as Kirby's Forgotten Land, but if you haven't played the original title on the Nintendo Wii/Wii U or are looking for a more casual game, it's a good choice. Considering Nintendo eShop's high prices for the Brazilian market, it's a matter of priority. If you don't have other AAA games on your list (like Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom coming soon) or you can invest in Kirby now for your group sessions, then yes, we recommend the game. If not, it might be worth waiting a bit to play it later.

Although it's very basic and easy at the beginning, the difficulty progression and addition of new elements make the game interesting as you progress. The extra modes and content are also positive points, which in addition to being fun, guarantee more hours of gameplay than you probably expect.

Also check out:

What is the difference between Remake, Remaster, Rebuilt, Reboot and Demake?

Nintendo prepares special discounts for games on Mar10 Day

The end of WiiU and 3DS eShops is near! Understand the impacts

We kindly thank Nintendo for offering us a copy of the game for review.

The title was played on a domestic Nintendo Switch in handheld mode and TV mode with factory default settings.

Sources: wikirby | Nintendo eShop

Text proofread by: Pedro Bomfim (22 / 03 / 23)