I’ll be the first to say that I’m not much of a gamer. The most I’ve played any game in the last 29 years is Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and 99% of that can be attributed to the pandemic. I’ve always said I loved Kirby. The thing is, though… I have never played a Kirby game. Because of some downtime and wanting to give myself something to do, I decided to buy Kirby and the Forgotten Land. To say the least, I don’t regret it.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the newest Kirby game that came out March 25th, 2022. It is a 3D platformer that has both new and old bosses, as well as a simple plot to follow and a ton of side-quests to complete.
The first thing that caught my attention about this game was the new Mouthful Mode. Our fun little friend Kirby has always had the ability to suck enemies and blocks in with a vacuum-like mouth. What this game brings to the table is next level, though; Kirby has the ability to suck in items like cars, traffic cones, vending machines, and way more. He utilizes these items in different ways, like shooting out soda cans when using Vending Mouth or shooting water out with Water-Balloon Mouth. There are so many Mouthful Modes that are utilized in Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which make me super excited to play the game.
The game itself is very brightly colored and fun, which makes it easy for me to get sucked in (pun not intended) for hours. The bosses are intriguing but not incredibly difficult, as their move sets are easy to follow after a few rounds. There are also little capsules you can collect throughout the game, which end up being little figurines that can later be set up in Kirby’s home.
The main objective of each level is to collect the set amount of lost Waddle Dees. While there are 3 you collect simply by completing the level, there are a ton of “secret” Waddle Dees you can collect by accomplishing various tasks during the game. These missions can include “greeting” birds, re-uniting a mama duck and her ducklings, and not taking any damage when fighting a boss. The amount of secret Waddle Dees within each level provides hours of gameplay, even after the initial run-through is completed.
One last thing I’ll mention about this game is how fun it is to see the Waddle Dee Town get built up. As you collect more Waddle Dees, the town gets built from rubble into a bustling and exciting environment. There are mini-games to play including fishing and working in Waddle Dee Café, which helps you gain more coins for upgrades later in the game. Overall, I think Kirby and the Forgotten Land is lovely. The beautiful graphics, fun music, and generally straight-forward gameplay make it an awesome introduction to Kirby games. I would highly recommend this game to anyone looking for an easy way to pass time that also provides a small amount of a challenge through puzzles and boss fights.