Kirby and the Forgotten Land (Switch, 2022)
A fantastic new direction for the Kirby franchise.
Nostalgia Factor: High. I am the biggest Kirby dweeb.
Difficulty: Easy. Though there are a few moments of challenge for completionists.
As a die-hard Kirby fan, I could not have been more excited for this title. As soon as it was announced, I put in a pre-order. I didn’t own a Switch then, but I bought a used Switch in order to play this game (among many other great Switch games of course). Kirby Super Star on the SNES remains the pinnacle of the series IMO, but I’ve been so pleased with the new direction taken in Kirby and the Forgotten Land.
This is the first fully 3D entry in the series. While some performance issues can be noticed (flickering low-res and low-frame-rate enemies in the distance) due to the Switch’s limitations, this game looks very nice. The post-apocalyptic theme has been done to death recently, but Forgotten Land still pulls it off and offers some very interesting, detailed levels to explore.
The overall cuteness and whimsy factor that we’ve come to expect from Kirby games is cranked up to 11 here. The cinematics are fantastic. Kirby’s never seemed so alive. Also, many of the enemies are just too cute to attack – those poor, sweet puppy things (Awoofies). You’d almost feel bad for blasting them with Kirby’s huge array of abilities if the gameplay weren’t so fun and addictive.
The music is wonderful. It’s probably the best Kirby soundtrack since Jun Ishikawa’s legendary Kirby Super Star soundtrack (the king of lightning fast percussive arpeggios). There are calming peaceful tracks, high-energy tracks, and complex percussive tracks that seem subtly reminiscent of Ishikawa’s work.
I found it interesting that they nerfed Kirby’s flying height in this game. You can only fly so high above the elevation you last jumped from. This makes sense, otherwise you’d be able to just skip over all of the platforming they’ve baked into the levels.
The 2-player co-op mode can be a source of some disappointment. Even though it’s fun to kick beast butt with Bandana Waddle Dee’s epic spear combos, that’s about all you can do. It’s another “little brother mode.” Other Kirby games allow co-op players to use the full range of copy abilities that Kirby can use. I imagine this was due to a lack of development time, or possibly the graphical limitations of the Switch. Two players filling the screen with loads of bombs or projectiles would probably tank the already delicate frame rate of the game.
Another common complaint is the lack of difficulty in the game. Kirby games are generally very easy and well-known for being a great choice for younger players. My 5-yr-old daughter loved playing this game with me, though playing as Kirby was still too difficult for her. Waddle Dee was perfect for her since he has virtually unlimited lives. I’ve often longed for “hard mode” options in the Kirby franchise. When I heard about “wild mode” in Forgotten Land, I was excited! However, wild mode really isn’t that wild. It’s still very easy for experienced gamers.
Perhaps really the only bit of challenge in the game is towards the end. Some of the hidden “waddle dees” or blueprints to collect can bring some challenge. The Clawroline no damage run took me a few tries to get just right. I had to figure out the R-roll technique and put a little effort into reading her attacks. Also, the Twin Frosty no damage run took me more tries than I’d like to admit, haha. The final coliseum boss challenge is no pushover either (the Z cup). It helps to be fully upgraded. Also, the 3rd level of the cafe mini-game may have elevated my rage meter a bit until I finally nabbed it.
Story tends to be fairly minimal in Kirby games, but Forgotten Land pushes the envelope with story more than other games in the series. I found myself more engaged with the story beats at the end of the game than I expected. There are some interesting twists, and of course, they continue the tradition of incorporating some super weird creepy stuff at the end. The ending sequence was really cool.
The short length of most Kirby games is another point of contention for many. You can blast through Kirby Super Star in 3 hours if you know what you’re doing. Star Allies took me 6 hours. Forgotten Land delivers a bit more with a solid 10 hours of gameplay if you work through the levels quickly. However, I took my time, collected all the Waddle Dees, upgraded every copy ability, and completed all of the bonus content, which took me about 25-30 hours. There is plenty of content here if you’re up for the completionist challenge.
There is room for some improvement with Forgotten Land of course, but I don’t really have any major complaints (other than getting annoyed by the whiny Waddle Dee crying, “wanya wanya”, when you can’t find that hidden spot, haha). This is easily a top 3 Kirby game for me, and I can’t wait to play more Kirby games in this style.