On March 25, Kirby and the Forgotten Land released on the Nintendo Switch with great anticipation which led to an amazing game to a franchise that desperately needed something new to its formula.
Kirby has always been a staple in Nintendo’s video game history for 30 years and is celebrating its 30 year anniversary and what better way to celebrate that than with a brand new game in the Kirby franchise and not just any regular Kirby game, but a new Kirby game that strays away from its typical video game formula that fans have come to know for 30 years.
Kirby video games have primarily been known to been 2D side scrolling video games like Super Mario, unlike Super Mario who has branched out to different types of video game formulas stuck to its roots with its cute and colorful side scrolling adventure video games until Kirby and the Forgotten Land and completely changes the way we as the player have come to know Kirby for.
The first biggest difference with Kirby and the Forgotten Land and other Kirby games is its open world-like game play, this opens up so many possibilities for future Kirby games because for its first time going 3D, it does an amazing job with its core mechanics and even brings over previous mechanics like Kirby’s iconic copy abilities and they translate perfectly well in this game.
A fun little gimmick this game brings to the table is Kirby’s “Mouthful Mode” which enables Kirby to inhale huge objects like cars, traffic cones, and even a hoop and changes the dynamic of some the video games stage layouts.
Aside from the mechanics being a remix of moves from previous Kirby’s come a new feature in having the ability to upgrade Kirby’s copy abilities and make them either faster, stronger, or both which adds an entirely different way players can approach and play this video game.
The general consensus appears to have perceive Kirby and the Forgotten Land very well and it brings new hope to the Kirby franchise after the mediocre outing of Kirby’s most recent video game, Kirby Star Allies.
My only issue with this game would have to be its lack of a true open world experience as well as online multiplayer to accompany its superb local co-op multiplayer.
Playing a game like this after growing up with Kirby games was an amazing experience and the post-game that the video game provides leaves more to be desired from both Nintendo and the Kirby franchise.
Seeing what Nintendo did to be innovative enough to bring something fresh to the table and I hope it indicates the same treatment will come to other longtime Nintendo franchises to come.
