The prospect of Kirby in 3D is something that fans have been wanting for as long as the pink puffball has been around. That wish has finally been granted on his 30th anniversary with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, which gives the beloved character the ability to do more than just move from left to right and finally changes up the formula.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land proves that all those years of wishing for a 3D Kirby game wasn’t just hot air - although this isn’t a reinvention of the series, smart additions to the formula like blueprint upgrades and mouthful mode make this the best Kirby has been in years.
Although the Forgotten Land starts in much the same way as other games in the series with Kirby finding himself in a new land with a suspiciously cute sidekick at his side, the big hook here is that the world resembles a post-apocalyptic Earth, similar to something out of Nier: Automata.
Don’t go in expecting a deep narrative to go along with that concept, but it keeps things interesting and lets the levels take place in areas like abandoned offices, arcades, and shopping centres. It still follows Nintendo’s tried and true formula of grass world, island world, desert world, but similarly to Super Mario 3D World and its occasional carnival level, it mixes things up just enough to keep it interesting.
Kirby’s first proper foray into 3D works remarkably well considering the character has only ever dipped his toe into the concept with Kirby Air Ride and Blowout Blast. The result is a near-flawless transition that feels exactly how you'd expect Kirby in 3D to feel. Series staples like floating are retooled to work in the new environments, while the constant flux of Copy Abilities puts a greater focus on combat, even if it’s usually pretty simple. The linear level structure, world-map progression, abundance of hidden collectibles within each stage, and tight platforming are all dead-ringers for Super Mario 3D World, which is very high praise. Levels feel very similar to that Mario adventure and have you going from start to finish while trying to find various hidden Waddle Dees by completing puzzles and exploring every nook and cranny. Kirby goes one step beyond by featuring hidden objectives that reward even more Waddle Dees, like using a Copy Ability at a specific spot. Levels are already fairly long, but there’s a decent bit of replay value here and it’ll take some time to see everything.
The Forgotten Land hides a lot of its content in the post-game. While the main adventure is quite easy, wait and see the things you’ll have to do to get that golden 100 percent completion. Getting through the main story will take six hours at most, but that can easily be doubled by trying to do it all. Some of it can feel a little like a grind, like having to revisit warped versions of levels to access the true ending, but if you want to get the most out of the game, you’ll do it all.
Every Waddle Dee you save will then start to populate this game’s hub, Waddle Dee Village, and start to open up attractions around the area. Although some are a bit tertiary like a seemingly pointless item shop, others add a lot of extra content like the coliseum where you take on waves of bosses and enemies, while others again act as little mini-games to give you a break from the main adventure. Oh, and the Waddle Dees also pretend to die if you hit them, which is pretty much the best thing ever. Not that I ever hit them, no ma’am.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is full of little details like this - it’s got charm coming out of its massive pink mouth. From the little noise Kirby makes when rescuing Waddle Dees to the way his little stubby legs waddle around when using Mouthful Mode, Kirby kept me smiling for the whole runtime without fail. It’s a breath of fresh air having just put hours into gritty games like Elden Ring and Horizon Forbidden West.
One of the biggest parts of any Kirby game is its roster of copy abilities, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag in the Forgotten Land. All of the classics that are here are great, like Sword, Hammer, Tornado and Ice. Ranger and Drill are fine additions, but don’t hold a candle to more unique recent additions like Bell and Artist. Kirby with a gun is a great meme, but it’s not a very fun ability beyond being helpful for late-game levels, while Drill mainly feels like a puzzle-oriented ability and nothing unique. Ranger has some potential, but I don’t think anyone is going to be clamouring for Drill to come back.
There are also a few missing copy abilities that are Kirby staples and feel like they’d be perfect for the Forgotten Land. Wheel, Fighter, and Umbrella are missing, and wait, bloody Beam isn’t here either? It’s strange to see some of the best Kirby moves just not appear when you’ve got abilities like Tornado and Crash here, although it’s likely to put more emphasis on this game’s copy gimmick, Blueprint Upgrades.
Blueprint Upgrades are scrolls you can find within levels that let you upgrade Copy Abilities, changing how they act and making them a little more unique. Each ability now has three forms and it adds a level of customisation and thought into them. Although some feel a little boring, like the Lava upgrade for Fire that just changes the look and distance of the projectile, others might as well be their own ability, like the Meta Knight variant of the Sword, the Dragon Fire that lets Kirby fly through the air on fiery wings, and the Chakram Cutters that let you create a semi-circle of pain around you at all times.
I do wish the mechanic was tweaked slightly to offer variations instead of upgrades. The game’s most interesting Copy Abilities are ones that take the base idea and do something different with it, rather than just making it more powerful, like a bigger sword with a shield or homing bombs rather than just a slightly stronger fire. Still, Blueprint Upgrades are a great evolution of Copy Abilities and something that needs to stay in future Kirby games - hopefully with a few more abilities in tow.
I wish I could say there was as much depth to Mouthful Mode, the series’ latest inhale gimmick. This new move lets Kirby nearly swallow an item, essentially becoming a creepy parasite that controls them. This gives him new abilities to use in levels, although they’re usually situational like using cones or becoming a lightbulb to light up areas. It doesn’t match up to previous gimmicks like Hypernova or Copy Ability combining, but it’s still a lot of fun and bound to have the internet drawing up memes for the rest of time. That’s enough for me.
Unless you’re aiming to find every Waddle Dee and complete every secret objective, Kirby and the Forgotten Land won’t challenge you, but it sure as hell will keep you smiling. Most of all, it proves that Kirby works remarkably well in 3D and cements itself as the next big thing for the pink puffball. I don’t want to see him limited to just moving left and right ever again.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available on Nintendo Switch. Review code was provided by the publisher.