The oppening cutscene takes place to the Planet Popstar, Kirby's home land. One day a dark vortex appeared over Dream Land and sucked everythin inside. Kirby wakes up in an abandoned area known as New World. He then
realises that all the Waddle Dees from his home area are being kidnapped by a group known as the Beast Pack. Kirby soons finds an abandoned Waddle Town(which will soon act as the Hub World) and a creature
known as Elfilin who needed help. After saving Elfilin, Kirby learns that he was responsible for helping the Dees live there and that he tried to fight back againts the enemies but his efforts felt short. Kirby
volunteers to help Elfilin rescue all the missing Waddle Dees.
Throughout the adventure the two go from area to area trying to help every single Weedle they come across. The two occasionally become friends and get to know each other. Some old faces return as they were also captured and
pretty much the Beast Pack have their own goals to achieve.
Will the hero make it?
Will the beast Pack succeed?
Who is behind all of this.
Usually platformers do not have deep story telling and this is a perfect example. For example, this is the same story board that i saw being used in games like Sackboi a big adventure, Smurfs mission Villeaf and even in Astrobot.
I would argue the later was release 2 years later but as you can see is a formula commonly used in these types of games. I did enjoy the cinematics and the way the characters express themselves. Its also good how the developers combined
the end of one level in such a way to lead to the next one. For example, having a character kidnapped Elfilin just so we can follow him into the next area or how the story ends, leaving the door open for the post game content. These are nice
attentions to details that i appreciated.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land follows the adventure of Kirby into the New World. The players get control of Kirby from the start all the way to the finish. At it's core this adventure takes the formula of a 3D platformer with beat em up elements.
The players will eventually find themselves in Waddle Town, which acts as this game hub world. At first the town is abadoned but it will progressively gained activities and expanded upon each time the players rescue Waddle Dees. In the Hub world
the player will be able to access alot of side content(read below at Postgame content ), interact with various NPCs found around the city, visit the blacksmith to power up weapons and also access the Warp Star. The warp star is an enormous glowing star that
Kirby can ride and use as a vehicle in order to fly to other places. Interacting with the star will take Kirby to the "world map" where the players will be able to see all available levels and fly towards them in order to access them. In the world
map there are the Normal levels that progress the story and the Challenge levels which re smaller levels that focus on a certain element(power up, combat, parkour etc) and reward the players with certain boosts.
Once the player decides which level they wish to access, Kirby will fly down. Some levels (usually the first of each new area) will open the level with a small cinematic where Kirby lands down. Upon landing the players can move
around in 3D space. By default the only thing Kirby can do is walk around(not sprint) and jump. The longer the players hold the jump the higher Kirby will leap. If the player continues to tab the jump button Kirby will elevate
and temporarily fly until he gets tired and land down. This style of floatation can help the hero recover from falling of the edge if the player has good reflexes. During combat the player can hold the block button to prevent
any upcomming hits. Holding the block and combining it with a move direction will cause Kirby to dodge roll towards that direction. To attack his opponents Kirby is using his power of appetite.
Those who know Kirby only through the memes, trailers and even Smash bros, will be familiar with the fact the Kirby can eat and absorb everything in his way. By holding a button down, Kirby opens his mouse and tries to suck everything
infront of him. Every enemy hit that miss drops small stars, Kirby can absorb them and shoot them back as a big blast. Some enemies can also be absorbed and be shot towards others or off the cliff. Some enemies eaten by Kirby will allow
the hero to copy the enemies abilites(Just like in Smash Bros). For example, if Kirby absorbs a swordman, he will transform to a Link looking Kirby with a green pointy hat and a sword. All his attack will have the sword as the main weapon.
If he absorbs a fire creature he will transform into a fire warlock and so on so on. The player can have only one transformation at a time. All transformations allow Kirby to use three types of attack. Normal attack used by mashing the attack, a powerfull blast by holding down the attack and a
mid air attack when the player is on the air. It is worth mentionning that all these attacks have unique block animations and ofcourse have their own unique usage on puzzle solving and platforming. For example, the fire power up can melt ice or
burn vines, the hammer ability can be use to push nails, the ice and wind can stop the fire from bocking the path and alot more. Last but not least, all of the attacks can be upgraded in the Blacksmith(Some up to 3 times) gainning more power,
changing the look to represent the more powerfull form and dealing more damage with various effects.
Additionally the developers thought of a new game mechanic in order to make this entry different than the others. They took advantage of Kirby's ability to inhale enemies and use it on objects. Obtaining objects gives the player limited access to
power ups such as the car, the cone, the vending machine and others. The movement of the player during these captures are limited and unlike the others, they only have one type of attack. It is worth mentionning that the player is allowed to capture
an object whilst still beeing in a power up transformation. For example, a fire Kirby can turn into a car without losing his power up however, he cannot use his fire abilities whilst in capture. The object captures are also very limited to certain level
parts. For example the ring power up will be mostly used tp blow things out or to ride the boat and then a huge jump will appear or a ladder which will force the players to abandoned the ring in order to proceed forward.
The goal on each level is to be able to move from the starting point all the way to the end. During the levels there are some objectives that the player will have to clear in order to complete the level 100%. For example, in all of the levels, the hero will
have to save all the Waddle Dees around the level. The location of the Dees re sometimes visibly obvious while some other require a sharp eye and the use of thought. For example each time a Dee is collected it is placed in a spot between 1- max number of Dees
found. If the first Dee collected is placed in spot 2, it means that the player already missed one which was located somewhere behind the location of the current one. Aside from those, at the end of the level the players will notice certain objectives(that they
might discovered accidentally) or revealed as reward for clearing the level. For example, in a level the player will obtain an additional Dee if they removed all the Wanted Posters found around the level, or if the player defeated a boss within one minute.
Each objective cleared rewards the player with an additional Dee. Kirby as a hero is not fragile. He can receive alot of hits before dying. Sometimes, if the player gets hit by a visibly powerfull attack will cause kirby to drop his powerup which he will have
to inhale again. Falling of the cliff will bring Kirby back to the level in an instant. If the player completely dies, he can either pay a fee of 100 or restart the level. Last but not least, Kirby can recover HP by eating food items found across the land.
All the levels in the game are unique and interconnected. The players will land at one big area and try to obtain all the collectables found there. Eventually the player will proceed through a loading zone that will make the hero appear in a different room which
they will have to repeat. Some levels goes through three different rooms whilst others go through five. Some areas have a small boss encounter whilst others have challenges like drive the car within time, or use the lamp to navigate through a dark room. Going through
a loading zone will act as a checkpoint and will not allow the player to move back to the previous zone.
Last but not least the game does offer Local Multiplayer (Co-op). In Co-op, the first player will get control of Kirby whilst the second player will take control of Bandana Dee. Bandana Dee is equiped with a spear which he will be using as his main method
of Attack. Very similar to Kirby's attack, Bandana Dee has his sets of attacks in the form of Mellee, jump attack and charge attack. The camera will do its best to keep both players in frame but if the two players dont cooperate Bandana Dee will be the one who will be
off camera. Unlike Kirby, Bandana Dee will not be receiving any change to his original gameplay and he will remain the same through out the adventure. No powerups, no upgrades no nothing. The multiplayer feels like the "little sibling controller" where the 2nd player
will just look at Kirby do everything while they re just tagging alone. Nevertheless, co-op is co-op, not the best but still there.
This was my first ever Kirby experience and it honestly didnt dissappoint me as much. The gameplay is nice, smooth and simple. Kirby can move in a 3D space and use his abilities to either attack the opponents or to simply absorb their powers. I like how the game use certain abilities in order to progress through. For example, using the ice power to stop the burning fire in order to proceed forward. Or how some levels are simply built around certain abilities like the cylinders, the car, the cone, the sword power up and others. The boss fights were fun and i enjoyed how many different variety was each with its own attacks. The only negatives about the game for me was first, how slow it felt. There are sometimes that i was like why cant Kirby move faster to do certain tasks. In compare to Mario, Spyro, Sackboi and other Kirby felt like his shoes are too heavy to lift. The second thing i didnt enjoy was the coop experience. Honestly i appreciate it having coop, but thats definetely one of its weakest parts or last minute addition. The player controlling bandana Dee barely gets any progression whilst the Kirby player is simply vibing and enjoying the game from start to finish.
The game has plenty of collectables that will keep the players playing the game long after they complete the game. First of all, upon completing the story, the game will hint a To be continue screen. Originally i thought this was teasing a sequel,
but upon respawning in the hub world, Clawroline has a favor to ask Kirby. This favor will unlock the Isolated Isles:Forgo Dreams world which includes its own worlds. These levels combine different parts of the actual levels
that lead into a Boss fight. The collectables there are soul pieces that re needed to access the final boss fight of the entire game. This alone gives the players the True ending of the game. Another type of collectable is
trying to rescue all the Waddle Dees from all the levels. The Game also has challenge levels which will reward the player with Crystal stars that can be used to Upgrade all the weapons given that the player
found all the upgrade Blue prints.
Aside from completing all the levels to the max, the player can spent time in the hub worlds activities. Each x ammount of Dees unlock activites and shops around the hub world. One for example is a Fishing minigame where the player can catch fish.
At the same time the player can enter the Colloseum. A small boss rush mode with its own cameos and difficulty. Additionally, theres a bench with Board Games. The player has to tilt the console and use the motion sensors to move kirby to the goal.
Last but not least the player can go to the Gacha machines and by spending coins they can obtain figurines. Theres a total of four gacha machines each with its own set of figurines. Last but not least, if you thought the game had only two endings,
you ll be mistaken, Kirby and the forgotten Land features three endings, normal,true and secret.
The music of the game as mentioned before is very good and really suits the games atmosphere. Throughout the game the music sets the mood for the current map, events nad cutscenes. It is worth mentionning that this was my first
ever Kirby game so i couldnt personally compare it to past entries. Through out my time with the game i never got bored of the soundtracks nor did i felt the need to lower the volume. It was a genuent pleasant time that knew when to
hype me up and when to calm me down. The lyrical songs in the beginning and ending of the game were really good and honeslty found a placed in my music list.
On the other hand the graphicks of the game are really good looking. The game similar to Super Mario Odyssey built to show the power of the Nintendo Switch. First things first the CGI cutscenes were very well done made with alot of details
in both the backgrounds and the characters. The ingame graphicks are once again very good with alot of details in facial expressions and movement. Although, to be 100% there were a small ammount of levels that cause the Switch to lag abit because
of the destructive environment and lots of particle effects. Nothing game breaking but definetely something that should be pointed out. Again, as someone who never played a Kirby game, it was a great experience. The levels were all filled with personality
such as luna parks, frozen cities, deserts, lava places and ofcourse seeing some levels in a corrupted form was also a nice spin.
The players can scan their amiibo to reveive in game bonus. Scanning any type of Amiibo(regarding the series) will reward them with coins, a food item to heal the players HP and an extra item to be held. Usually another healling items. It is worth noted that any amiibo can be scanned at every level but only up to 5 amiibos can be scanned whilst placed in a level.
Overall Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a simple 3D platformer. The plot of the game is simple and easy to follow. Kirby's planet was attacked by a dark Vortex which sucked everything inside. Kirby woke up in an unknown land and tries to find everyone who was sucked in this world and help the return to their world. The gameplay on the other hand is once again very simple and straight forward making it easy for everyone to grap the game and enjoy. I would argue that the game is abit way to easy but the experience differs with each player. At the same time, Kirby as a hero feels quite slow in comparisson to other 3D platformers which makes the other ones seem more apleasing. The level design and the abilities of Kirby are fun to use and the game gives different challenges to the players in order to test their skills. On the visual department the game does look good with various of animations found all over the place. Sound wise, imma be honest this was my first ever Kirby game so i enjoyed the background noices and loved both the intro and outro of the game. Additionally, upon completing the game, theres alot of things to do which can keep the players invested in the game. Last but not least the game does include Coop and although its once again the definition of "younger sibling controller" at the end of the day Coop is Coop.
