Tumdidididumdum – Oh, sorry, I hadn’t seen you there! I was humming along to the Kirby theme song (not the one from Dreamland, though). It’s such a banger. And I’m thrilled with the port of Kirby’s Return to Dreamland from the Wii to the Switch with the addition of the Deluxe. And it’s much more than just another ‘cheap’ port (yes, I know you’re thinking it). So hop into our best pink fluffball impression and dive into the review!
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe
So, before we dive into the gameplay, let’s do some background first. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a main-series Kirby game for the Nintendo Switch and a remake of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land on the Wii, released on February 24th, 2023. It features the same story and gameplay as the original, but with new additions such as new Copy Abilities (namely the brand new Mecha and Sand abilities and the returning Festival ability from Kirby Star Allies), a revamped collection of Sub-Games housed in the new location Merry Magoland, an amusement park that features a castle that resembles Magolor and acts as a separate mode in the game; and a new Extra Mode that features Magolor as the main character called Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler, in which Magolor must recover his lost powers.
Storywise
On an unassuming day on Planet Popstar, Kirby is running along the road in a grassy field with a slice of shortcake in hand, pursued by King Dedede and Bandana Waddle Dee, past Meta Knight, who is quietly reading a book under a knoll. This is interrupted when a hole appears above the sky, out of which comes the Lor Starcutter. The ship crashes into the countryside, shedding parts as it goes, as Kirby and his companions give chase. Once they catch up with the downed ship, they enter to find Magolor – an alien clad in a blue robe – unconscious on the floor. Once Magolor comes, he immediately rushes to the ship’s console to assess the damage, finding that five major pieces of the ship were lost, along with all 120 of its Energy Spheres. At this, he begins to sulk, prompting Kirby to approach and cheer him up. The party agrees to help this stranger by tracking down the missing pieces. In return, he promises to take them on a cruise to his homeworld – a far-flung planet called Halcandra – once the ship is restored.
Gameplay & New additions
While the game features the same side-scrolling 2.5-D gameplay as the original, the graphics have been overhauled, giving all the characters strong outlines and increasing the detail and contrast. In addition, the characters (most notably King Dedede) have been updated to their modern looks. Super Abilities have also been refined with faster gameplay and more visual flair. On top of this, several gameplay and control style tweaks, sound changes, and other minor additions transform the experience compared to the original game.
Gameplay-wise, it still is a solid Kirby game. The new copy abilities are pretty neat and feel like a great addition to the set of abilities Kirby gained over the years. I’m a big fan of the Mecha and Sand ability, which saved my Kirby more times than I want to admit. Another addition to the gameplay is a more accessible difficulty setting called “Helper Magolor.” With this enabled, Magolor will appear during stages to toss Kirby helpful items, including a potion that doubles his health and Ability Stars during boss battles. Magolor will also save Kirby if he falls into a bottomless pit, which is perfect for the smaller Kirby fans. Even without the Magalor Mode, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe is still a relatively easy game and follows the trend Nintendo has set in with the Wii/Wii U and Switch titles of the Kirby IP. Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe shines mainly in the Epilogue I’ll talk about in just a bit.
Merry Magoland!
Malagor built a neat theme park called Merry Magoland, in which a Missions board can be viewed with 100 objectives mostly revolving around the Sub-Games. Upon completion, 20 Extra Missions are added to the list, bringing the total number of missions to 120. The Sub-Games are a great mix of older and newer subgames from the previous Kirby games. I loved the revamped versions of these and spent way too much time catching eggs and throwing around bombs with a frying pan. Another lovely addition in Merry Magoland is the option to obtain Souvenirs that he can carry in his inventory to save for later, much like the Stock Items in Kirby and the Forgotten Land. These items include Maxim Tomatoes, Energy Drinks, Cracklers, and Random Copy Essences. Oh, and masks, since we all love to dress up Kirby, don’t we? You can gain masks by collecting stamps in Kirby’s Dreamland Deluxe levels, playing mini-games, and completing specific tasks ingame.
Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler
Magolor Epilogue: The Interdimensional Traveler is an Extra Mode that appears in Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, unlocked after the Story Mode is complete. In it, the player plays as Magolor, who has been stranded deep within Another Dimension and lost most of his magical powers, gaining a ragged monochrome look. Throughout this adventure, Magolor can defeat enemies to earn Magic Points, which he can use to upgrade his magical abilities. He can also find Fruit Fragments to unlock new skills and attacks. Along the way, Magolor will travel through more than 20 stages and fight different variants of bosses from the Main Mode (such as a watery version of Goriath and a fiery version of Fatty Puffer), with the goal being of opening a portal to return home eventually. Like with the Main Mode, Magolor Epilogue can be played with up to four players, though everyone plays as (presumably non-canon) differently-colored Magolors.
Magalor Epilogue is the best part of the remake – since it plays like Kirby mixed with Metroid gameplay and pushed the creativity and difficulty of the levels a notch higher. Still, it’s a pretty easy mode (apart from the boss fight), but it shows that Kirby still offers gameplay elements for the younger audience and seasoned players. Luckily there is also the new addition of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror on the Nintendo Switch Online service, which is still one of the old-school hard-as-rock Kirby games.
Conclusion
So, to conclude! Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe is an excellent addition to the Nintendo Switch library and a completely different game than the latest installment of Kirby. I prefer the 2.5D Kirby with some extra challenges and fewer kiddy gloves – but I had a great time with this title. I had more fun with this Kirby title than with Zelda: Breath of the Wild (and no, you can’t lynch me). Maybe they should focus on making a Kirby-vania, in which you gradually gain powers and abilities that can be exchanged in copy rooms – it certainly shows potential when we look at the Magolor Epilogue. So, should you buy this one? Yes, there is enough for the new Kirby fans and the seasoned Kirby veterans. Just don’t expect Dark Souls’ difficulty.
