Kirby has had an eventful time on the Switch, with games such as Kirby Star Allies, multiple eShop titles like Kirby Dream Buffet and the incredible Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Now Nintendo has brought back one of the best games from the Wii with Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe. Nintendo has taken the original 2011 experience and expanded on it in some interesting ways, both in terms of the gameplay and the visuals.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land was already a very approachable game, and this deluxe version amps up the fun with additional minigames and a new mode, but what about the core experience? Well, everything we loved about Kirby’s journey to help Magalor feels just as fresh as ever, while still feeling like a laid-back experience. Kirby must aid Magalor in repairing his ship and recovering the parts needed and energy spheres, which sounds simple but quickly becomes a deeper experience that is still casual friendly.
As in the original game, you can play single-player with Kirby or with up to four players with Kirby’s friends using the game’s co-op mode. There are multiple stages to explore and many classic bosses return along with new ones, but the game gives you the objective of finding energy spheres to unlock broken doors in Magalor’s Ship and more.
Unlocking doors will bring more minigames and such to do, but many are also available in Merry Magoland. It is not all for nothing though, as you can also unlock challenge areas to play through, as well as areas to test your copy abilities. These challenge areas do provide a great alternative experience and manage to keep players engaged when they want something more.
But what is Merry Magoland? This is a section of the game that is brand new to the deluxe version and is full of minigames, most but not all with friends. These minigames pack a ton of variety into the experience and you will gradually find yourself getting the option to get souvenirs in the form of masks. These can be worn not just in Merry Magoland, but by Kirby and his friends in the main story and can be slipped on and off with the flick of a thumbstick.
Merry Magoland expands the more you complete both minigames and the main campaign, so you will want to keep coming back and exploring a lot more to see what is new and what you can customize, and what missions you can do. You can visit Merry Magoland at any time during the game, either from the main menu or by pressing X in areas outside of the game’s playable stages. There is some redundancy though, as some of the mini-games you unlock in Magolor’s ship are available here right away, which is an odd choice.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a great game for players of all ages and takes steps to ensure no one is overwhelmed with the main game. For instance, there is an optional Helper Magalor who will help by picking Kirby back up if you fall over a ledge and things of that nature. Extra lives are also extremely plentiful in normal play and healing items are never too far away.
Multiplayer is a big part of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe and the gameplay is as solid as ever. You can stack characters on top of each other to help get another player carried from one point to the next, and even use special copy ability moves based on how characters are stacked up when riding Piggyback. It never gets too chaotic and never loses its charm.
Speaking of copy abilities, Kirby has many returning favourites here like Beam and Sword, and some new ones as well, such as Mecha Kirby and Sand Kirby. There are also five Super Abilities that include Ultra Sword, Monster Flame, Flare Beam, Snow Bowl, and Grand Hammer, and using abilities like Ultra Sword will cause Kirby to make a major attack that will destroy multiple enemies and obstacles. Doing so is also a way to find secrets, so doing it at the right time is critical.
Merry Magoland is not the only new addition though as a new epilogue lets you take control of Magalor after beating the main game. Magalor controls differently and this can take some time to get used to, but it actually makes sense in the game’s story. No spoilers will be given for this experience, but it really does add a lot to the game and makes the experience full fuller in a good way.
Overall, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is another hit for the pink wonder. The original game was a delightful experience, and this deluxe version does a lot to update the game. There is one other aspect that wasn’t touched on yet and that is the visual style which has taken on a bit of a cell-shaded look, with more outlines around the characters. This is good for the most part, but there are some instances where the original style of visuals would have looked better just upscaled to HD.
The bonus content is a great addition here, although some of the content being redundant is a bit of a headscratcher to be completely honest. What is new is very good, but the repeated sections do feel unnecessary. What does stand out well is the new epilogue and challenge sections that give more weight to the game and more to experience when compared to the original release.
Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe is very much worth checking out for newcomers, and with the new additions, it is even worth a second look for those who played the original. It is good to see a classic Kirby title return this way, and it would be amazing to see even more get deluxe HD versions. Bring on the remasters of Kirby Triple Deluxe and Planet Robobot, two sequels to Return to Dreamland that are considered to have improved, and add more to those as well. But as it stands now, Kirby is in a golden age and all Kirby fans have much to be thankful for.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided by Nintendo
This review previously appeared on Indiegamerteam.com
