Kirby platformers are usually a safe bet. Titles that may not be able to rub shoulders with the sacred cows of the genre but that rarely fall below the remarkable high, offering us lots of fun from the beginning to the end, as well as a good amount of content, minigames and secret challenges that invite us to complete them. 100% to get the most out of them. Our favourite pink ball returns to Switch with a good remake of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land (initially known as Kirby’s Adventure Wii ), one of his most beloved and complete installments that no fan of the character will want to miss.
Adventures in Dream Land
This way, we find ourselves again before the same 2D adventure we could initially enjoy on Wii. However, for this occasion, its entire graphic section has been completely redone, the controls have been improved and polished, more options and powers have been added, They have made specific tweaks, and a good amount of additional content has been included.
The level design has not been altered, and the gameplay is played exactly as you would expect from any Kirby. In other words, we will be able to float in the air, absorb enemies and copy their abilities to access a vast number of different powers that completely change the way we play, which we will have to use both to fight and make our way as well as to find collectibles and other secrets.
The first thing that stands out is that we now have new control modes, altogether dispense with the movement controls that it had on the Wii, which affects the execution of some more comfortable and intuitive actions this time. In addition, the handling of our hero has also been improved with some of the novelties that were introduced in the saga later, such as much finer water control or the addition of a good handful of new movements for certain powers, making him a title much more pleasant to the controls and with a greater level of depth.
For the rest, you can expect a straightforward, direct, varied and fun platform adventure where the action is the order of the day. You can play in a local cooperative with up to three other players. However, it still sins of being extremely easy in the first round; the super abilities still do not contribute much, no matter how spectacular they are to see. The hidden collectibles in each level (some gears) are not well hidden at all, so that it will be a rare phase you must repeat to find them all. And yes, we run out of online multiplayer again.
However, this is a Kirby game, and the delicious part begins after reaching its credits for the first time, at which point we will have access to new modes and secrets where exciting challenges await us in which the difficulty it shoots. For example, the Extra Mode returns, where we can replay the entire adventure with a much higher level of challenge and some exclusive surprises await us. We’ve noticed some tweaks that make it even more difficult than on Wii, so don’t get too confident. The coliseums also return, where we will have to face the game’s bosses one after another; being the last one we unlock is a tough nut to crack, especially if we face it alone.
A new epilogue
However, the great novelty is the inclusion of a new epilogue in which we control Maglor, and we have to help him recover his powers throughout a brief story in which we will have to overcome twenty levels, an addition that We have been delighted by how it is raised and structured.
This character differs entirely from Kirby and has unique quirks and abilities, radically changing how we fight and platform. Our main attack will be to shoot energy balls, although as we progress, we will obtain other unique tools and techniques, such as being able to throw bombs, perform a running whirlwind or summon spikes from the ground.
The exciting thing is that during the screens, we will get magic points that, later, we can exchange to unlock new abilities or improve the ones we already have, not to mention that defeating bosses for the first time also rewards us with further actions. This simple progression system works excellently.
As if that were not enough, a combo system invites us to constantly maintain the offensive on our enemies while preventing them from touching us. The bigger the combo we do, the more additional magic points we’ll receive at the end, and the more magic points we get in a level, the better rank we’ll get at the end.
This means that the phases are very replayable and that we “chop” to try to obtain the platinum rank in all of them, something that becomes very addictive thanks to the progression system it has since playing phases implies getting points to unlock and enhance our abilities, and having more and better powers means that we will also have more tools and facilities to lengthen combos and get better scores, which gives rise to a loop that we liked. Completing this epilogue going to the point should not take you more than 3 or 4 hours, a figure that can be increased significantly if you intend to achieve everything.
Welcome to Fantasy Magloland
Another of the novelties of our title is Maglolandia Fantasia, an amusement park where we can participate in a dozen fun minigames from various installments of the saga. However, the occasion has also introduced some completely new ones. The exciting thing about this modality is that there is a massive list of missions related to the minigames, and as we play and complete them, we will unlock skins with which we can equip our characters in the rest of the modes. As we said, the minigames are entertaining and win integers when played together, so it is a perfect modality to take a little breather between phases.
As you can see, it is a complete title that hides many extras and secrets. Yes, the first game will only take you between seven and eight hours to complete, but that barely represents 30% of everything it has to offer, and if you stay there, you will miss out on the best of the game, so we recommend that you go for it—100% of your saved file to enjoy it to the fullest.
A surprisingly beautiful adventure
Nor can we forget to highlight how perfect the title looks graphically. The improvement compared to the original Wii is enormous thanks to a meticulous art direction with very marked lines in the contours of the characters that play with cel shading, some excellent modelling, fantastic colouring, some settings full of details and, above all, everything, some superb animations that stand out, especially in the case of Kirby himself: fluid, soft and organic as they alone, perfectly transmitting their “elasticity.” Plus, image sharpness is razor-sharp, moving at a rock-solid 60 fps, virtues that apply to both desktop and laptop modes.
Finally, the soundtrack has remained as it is, improving the audio quality and adding new songs for the latest content. It is equivalent to enjoying very happy, entertaining, catchy melodies that are a real treat for our ears, setting the scene wonderfully—all our adventures. The effects are up to the task, being as varied, recognizable and forceful as ever.
Final Thoughts
As we said at the beginning, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a good remake of one of the best installments in this saga that has left us with so many good moments over the years, thus becoming a highly recommended purchase option and to keep in mind. Account by any fan of the character or of platform games in general. It looks beautiful, moves excellently, is more satisfying and fun to play, and its new content makes it more complete than ever, not to mention how much you earn in the company. It’s a shame that it hasn’t been used to include an online mode, and some of the drawbacks of the original are still present, but overall, we’ve had a great time with it again, so don’t hesitate to give it a try. We are convinced you will not be disappointed if you know what you are coming for.
We prepared this review with a digital review code for the Switch version provided by Nintendo.
