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Kirby and the Forgotten Land

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Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Pre-release game icon
Developer(s)HAL Laboratory
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)
Producer(s)
  • Tadashi Kamitake
  • Toyokazu Nonaka
  • Akira Kinashi
Designer(s)Yuki Endo
Programmer(s)
  • Yudai Hirata
  • Hiroaki Nakano
Artist(s)Riki Fuhrmann
Composer(s)
  • Yuuta Ogasawara
  • Hirokazu Ando
  • Jun Ishikawa
  • Yuki Shimooka
SeriesKirby
Platform(s)Nintendo Switch
ReleaseMarch 25, 2022
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Kirby and the Forgotten Land[a] is a 2022 platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the seventeenth mainline installment in the Kirby series, as well as the first mainline game in the series in full 3D, excluding spin-offs. The player controls Kirby in an adventure through the titular Forgotten Land to rescue Waddle Dees kidnapped by the ferocious Beast Pack. To complete each stage to save the Waddle Dees, Kirby can use a wide range of copy abilities to help battle enemies and progress. The game was developed for the 30th anniversary of the Kirby series.

Gameplay

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the first platform game in the series with full 3D gameplay, where the player must guide Kirby through various different stages to save the Waddle Dees at the end. As in most Kirby games, Kirby can jump and slide as well as inhale enemies and objects which he can either spit out like projectiles or swallow to gain a copy ability.[1][2] Alongside with the returning copy abilities, this game introduced two new copy abilities in the form of Drill and Ranger,[3][4] as well as an upgrade system for copy abilities and a new "Mouthful Mode" where Kirby can swallow and control larger objects, such as cars and vending machines.[5] Similar to Kirby Battle Royale and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, a second player can join in and play as Bandana Waddle Dee, who uses a spear as his main form of attack.[6]

The goal of each stage is to rescue the Waddle Dees at the end of the level. Once rescued, they are returned to Waddle Dee Town, the main hub of the game.[7] As the player rescues more Waddle Dees, the town size increases as well as unlocks minigames that the player can compete with others online for the top score.[8][9] The game also supports amiibo functionality.[10][11]

Plot

On a normally peaceful day, a dark vortex appears in Dream Land, sucking up everything in its path into a collapsed civilization called the Forgotten Land. Kirby wakes up and finds himself in the Forgotten Land; when he arrives at the destroyed Waddle Dee Town, he finds Waddle Dees are being kidnapped by the animal-like Beast Pack. A chinchilla-like creature called Elfilin, who aided the Waddle Dees once they landed, attempts to find a place to hide, but is cornered by the Beast Pack and trapped in a cage. Kirby defeats the Beast Pack and frees Elfilin. Elfilin explains to Kirby that he and the Waddle Dees attempted to fight back, but were overwhelmed and that he must save them. Kirby offers to help Elfilin and sets off to rescue the Waddle Dees.

In the fourth area, Kirby and Elfilin confront and fight King Dedede, who is working with the Beast Pack. Dedede then captures Elfilin and escapes, with Kirby in pursuit. Deep within the Beast Pack's lair, Kirby defeats Dedede again, who is revealed to be possessed; a freed Dedede stays behind to fight off the Beast Pack while Kirby ascends the elevator to Lab Discovera. There, Kirby discovers the Waddle Dee's were being kidnapped to be used as labor for power and learns that a powerful being, Fecto Forgo (also referred to as specimen ID-F86), tried to invade the Forgotten Land, but was stopped by its inhabitants and placed in a lab. 30 years before the events of the game a piece of this being broke off from it, that piece being Elfilin. It is also revealed that this creature has the ability to create rifts that allow it to travel between dimensions. Kirby then meets the leader of the Beast Pack; a lion named Leongar, who explains that the Forgotten Land is actually a dimension that the earliest settlers of Dream Land originated from, before a strange power created Dream Land and brought its people there. Leongar has been researching ways to use this power for himself to reach the "land of dreams". Kirby defeats Leongar and rescues Elfilin, but Fecto Forgo awakens and explains it possessed the Beast Pack in order to find labour and Elfilin so it become whole again by fusing with Elfilin. Fecto Forgo assimilates Leongar and other Beast Pack members and transforms into a chimera-like monster. Kirby defeats Fecto Forgo, but it absorbs Elfilin into its complete form, Fecto Elfilis.

Kirby saves Elfilin, but Fecto Elfilis creates a large portal, planning to crash Planet Popstar into the Forgotten Land. Kirby defeats Fecto Elfilis and makes his way back to Planet Popstar, and Elfilin seals the rift between the two worlds, with Elfilin on the other side. In the credits it is revealed that Elfilin is able to travel to Planet Popstar, and the inhabitants of the Forgotten Land have become friends with the inhabitants of Planet Popstar.

In a postgame campaign, Leongar's soul is trapped in an alternate dimension, the Isolated Isles. Kirby and Elfilin travel to the dimension and rescue Leongar, who is possessed by Soul Forgo. After defeating the possessed Leongar, Soul Forgo is immediately absorbed by Morpho Knight, but is defeated also.

Development

The game was produced as a part of Kirby's 30th Anniversary.[12] HAL Laboratory had begun teasing a new Kirby game since 2020 in preparation for the anniversary.[13][14] General director Shinya Kumazaki described it as the "new phase" for the series and that it will "culminate the best aspects of Kirby".[15] Game director Tatsuya Kamiyama explained how the team focused on making the game approachable even with change of perspective to 3D, while at the same time making it satisfying to play to the player. The 3D transition however was very challenging, with Kamiya being the one who made the pitch for a 3D game, - which Hal was struggling for years with many cancelled projects - while also presenting solutions on how to make the transition to 3D including how it would work on character design, gameplay and many other aspects, making the pitch approved for development of the game and it being finally successful after many tentative titles since the 2000s.[16][17]

A month before the September 2021 direct, the Kirby website were using placeholders for a new game, further implying there was a new mainline game coming soon.[18] The game was first officially revealed in the September 23, 2021, Nintendo Direct, having been prematurely shown off on the Nintendo website six hours beforehand.[19][20][21] A second, more in-depth, trailer was shown on January 12, 2022, which announced more features of the game as well as the release date of March 25, 2022.[22][23] A free-to-play demo was made available on March 3, 2022.[24]

Reception

Kirby and the Forgotten Land received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[25] Critics hailed it as one of the best Kirby games ever made.[b]

Several reviewers gave high praise to the exploration-based level design, citing the optional challenges, collectibles, and Treasure Road as elements that gave each level a substantial feel. The upgradable copy abilities and Mouthful Mode were also heavily praised for the gameplay variety they provided while remaining a part of the game's core design, making the combat and platforming consistently interesting as a result. Boss fights were also lauded for requiring the utilization of copy abilities, with several praising the increased difficulty of Forgotten Land in comparison to previous entries in the franchise. The game's visuals and level themes were similarly commended, with the post-apocalyptic aesthetic of the game being cited as creative. Local co-op was praised for being fun and seamless while accommodating younger players. The Waddle Dee Town hub was praised for encouraging player exploration and was deemed a substantially rewarding experience.[c]

Minor criticism was directed towards the sluggish movement, limited vertical movement,[28] grounded environments,[31] and the stale nature of recurring mini-bosses.[30][32]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: 星のカービィ　ディスカバリー, Hepburn: Hoshi no Kābī Disukabarī, lit. "Kirby of the Stars: Discovery"
  2. ^ [26][27][28][29][32][33]
  3. ^ [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

References

  1. ^ Scullion, Chris (September 23, 2021). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a 3D open-world Kirby game". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  2. ^ DeWitte, Joel A. (September 23, 2021). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land Launching Spring 2022". NintendoWorldReport. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Winslow, Jeremy (January 12, 2022). "Kirby And The Forgotten Land Trailer Shows Off New Abilities, Co-op Play". Kotaku. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  4. ^ Makuch, Eddie (January 12, 2022). "Kirby And The Forgotten Land Release Date, New Trailer Revealed". GameSpot. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  5. ^ Machkovech, Sam (February 9, 2022). "Nintendo Direct headlined by Mario Kart 8's 48 new upcoming racetracks". Ars Technica. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  6. ^ Purslow, Matt (January 12, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land's New Trailer Reveals New Features and a March Release Date". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  7. ^ Wald, Heather (January 13, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land: Everything we know so far about Kirby's upcoming adventure". GamesRadar+. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  8. ^ Parrish, Ash (January 12, 2022). "Kirby's post-apocalyptic Switch adventure is coming in March". The Verge. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  9. ^ Bellingham, Hope (October 12, 2021). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land online mode potentially leaked by ratings board". GamesRadar+. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Bellington, Hope (January 13, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land appears to have amiibo support". GamesRadar+. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  11. ^ Carter, Chris (January 13, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land supports amiibo, but there's no details yet". Destructoid. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  12. ^ Whitehead, Thomas (January 12, 2022). "Nintendo Releases An Awesome Wallpaper To Celebrate Kirby's 30th Anniversary". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Doolan, Doolan (December 29, 2020). "Kirby Developer HAL Laboratory Teases New Projects For 2021". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. ^ Dino, Oni (December 28, 2020). "HAL Laboratory Teases New Kirby Merch and Original Games in 2021". Siliconera. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  15. ^ Doolan, Liam (May 15, 2021). "HAL Laboratory Looking Forward To Sharing Kirby's "Next Phase" With Fans". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  16. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/03/25/kirby-forgotten-land-features/
  17. ^ https://www.nintendo.co.uk/News/2022/March/Ask-the-Developer-Vol-4-Kirby-and-the-Forgotten-Land-2187039.html
  18. ^ Skrebels, Joe (September 24, 2021). "Nintendo's Official Kirby Website Is Hilariously Messed Up Right Now". IGN. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  19. ^ Gray, Kate (September 24, 2021). "Nintendo Officially Reveals Kirby And The Forgotten Land". Nintendo Life. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  20. ^ Romano, Sal (September 23, 2021). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  21. ^ Marshall, Cass (September 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land announced for Nintendo Switch". Polygon. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Yin-Poole, Wesley (January 12, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land release date set for March". Eurogamer. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  23. ^ Scullion, Chris (January 12, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land gets a March release date and a new trailer". Video Games Chronicle. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  24. ^ Bailey, Kat (March 3, 2022). "Kirby And the Forgotten Land Demo Available Now For Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Kirby and the Forgotten Land for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  26. ^ a b c Carter, Chris (March 23, 2022). "Review: Kirby and the Forgotten Land". Destructoid. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c Robinson, Martin (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land review - a mouthful of magic". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  28. ^ a b c d Carson, John (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review - Stretching Into A New Dimension". Game Informer. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  29. ^ a b c Petite, Steve (March 23, 2022). "Kirby And The Forgotten Land Review - The Best Kirby Yet". GameSpot. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  30. ^ a b c Wald, Heather (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land review: "A delight from start to finish"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  31. ^ a b c Marks, Tom (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review". IGN. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  32. ^ a b c d O'Reilly, PJ (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land Review (Switch)". NintendoLife. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  33. ^ a b c Shaver, Morgan (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land review: Mouthful of deliciousness". Shacknews. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  34. ^ a b Orry, Tom (March 23, 2022). "Kirby and the Forgotten Land review - Almost a complete mouthful". VG247. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
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