Kirby and the Forgotten Land

I wasn't really hyped about this game, it looked liked an easier and simpler Super Mario Odyssey [スーパーマリオ オデッセイ] -- but I still wanted to check it out as there are not many 3D platformers released nowadays. I was able to borrow it from a friend (yes, physical releases will never be obsolete), and I'm having a lot of fun with it. It turns out a simple and easy game can be a lot of fun. Or maybe it's not that simple? It's easy to beat a level, they're quite linear with some secret areas, which reminds me of Crash Bandicoot series, rejecting the open-world idiom. It's also hard to lose in this game, as Kirby has a lot of HP, and there are a lot of health pick-ups scattered everywhere. However, the game still has a challenge to it - you'll spend a lot of time trying to save every Waddle Dee scattered around (in cages, like in Rayman series), the stages are fairly long, with extra challenges to save other Waddle Dees, and it has a lot of diverse copy abilities, which you can upgrade later, after collecting a blueprint, and the brand new mouthful abilities which sometimes change the gameplay completely. All of this makes for an extremely fun game, easy to start and play through, but not trivial to 100%. Presentation is another big plus of this game - the game looks and sounds gorgeous. I'd like to quote a comment from this site: "an easy game can be just as engaging as a hard one. this game is a PERFECT example".

It’s hard to believe that Nintendo’s iconic pink puffball is only having its first foray into 3D platforming over two decades after the rest of the industry made the jump but clearly, HAL needed the extra time to deliver something excellent. Forgotten Land wonderfully translates the typical Kirby fare into the third dimension in a faithful manner, featuring all of the series: imaginative stages, a host of classic powerups, upbeat tunes, charming visuals and fun boss fights. While it’s still a linear “get to the flag” style platformer rather than a sandbox type of game, the levels here are packed full of little secrets and paths to find, adding up to one of the largest adventures in Kirby’s 30+ years. A joy from start to finish and matches the level of quality, creativity and polish one would expect from a mainline Mario game, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is hopefully the start of a series of fresh games in a series that was starting to lose its lustre.

Intro:
So I never really paid attention to Kirby as a series. I think once growing up I played Dreamland 2 on the Game Boy, or was it 3? It’s tough to remember, but I am pretty sure I never beat the game. The character overall has mostly been one I recognize for that series I should try sometime or the one I’d see most of new Smash players grab and play. Yet when the trailer dropped for Forgotten Land I was intrigued. Take something so cuddly, bright and cute and toss it into a post apocalyptic setting and suddenly it becomes more attention grabbing making this one my first real experience with the series.

Gameplay:
Forgotten Land is to my knowledge the first time the series has made a 3D platformer rather than a side scroller. Environments have plenty to explore, enemies to encounter and secrets to find but not in a vastly open sort of way. This game is much more comparable to Crash Bandicoot or Super Mario 3D World than it is to much more expansive games of the same variety which serves it well. Levels are quick and snappy with nooks and crannies to explore before moving to the next one and its set of challenges. Kirby uses his iconic ability to suck up enemies to copy their powers and gain new abilities that in turn can be improved throughout the game with each one feeling unique, useful and fun to experiment with. The difficulty in general isn’t a great challenge but for our pink puff ball it's a good thing and allows for a fun experience that players can enjoy the ride for without trying to be concerned with the trails of completing it and newer players to such games can get through as well.

Story:
One day on his planet Kirby and the criminally cute Waddle Dees that inhabit it with him get sucked through a black hole like vortex and dropped to some new world entirely that seems like our own world long abandoned and devoid of human life. Kirby explores and finds that the Dees have been kidnapped by the animal creatures that now reign over the Forgotten Land and goes to save them confronting the Beast Pack as he does. There is more to it but that’s what you need and it works. More so than the story the game tells you directly I’m more interested in the one it does not, something that Nintendo games are quite good at. As you play the fox-like creatures of the Pack can be seen inhabiting the world and trying to do things people once would have. They sit on benches, they build snow sculptures, they wait in line at amusement parks sometimes for nothing at all. It's a story that says a lot about a place that had long since gone on past its world ending events and we get to see one of this used world given new life with a new top of the food chain. So many stories get stuck in how survivors rough through the end of days right after it's refreshing to see a tale about how the world goes on well after a human presence. Also the Awolfies doing people things often made me just pass them by entirely rather than confront them. It is after all their world now, Kirby is the guest and passing through.

Sound:
Largely the game’s soundtrack consists of upbeat instrumental tracks that pair well with ever cheerful Kirby and friends as they explore the Forgotten Land. Cityscapes overrun with greenery, the abandoned amusement park, frozen wastes and more all have their own distinct tone to convey while still keeping with the overall lax difficulty and adventurous mood of the game. Few tracks in the game stand out in such a way as to want to listen outside of playing but like the game’s setting when the soundtrack wants to it works hard to get across a story without smacking the player in the head with it in the later areas of the game.

Presentation:
Visuals are top notch in this game, really conveying this cartoon world to the player well and the clash of round and cutesy crafted creatures against the ruined city scapes and industrial environments really just never loses its appeal. All through the journey environments have something to look at and are lovingly detailed allowing players the most adorable post end of the world to run through possible. It really is a unique setting idea that creates pull and desire for the player to see more on its own which thankfully when paired with the rest of the appeal of gameplay and sound make a winning combination.

Conclusion:
Forgotten Land brings a lot to the table to get those who have never tried a Kirby game interested. From the unique setting, diverse set of upgradable powers, cast of series favorite characters and new faces, and a hearty set of challenges through the game’s main campaign as well as a rather well done post game. A post game that goes hard at points in a rather pleasing way giving yet another twist on the game that I’ll simply say “Here we are.” If you know you know. Kirby and the Forgotten Land was an overall compact experience that lasted about 40 hours for me in total to 100% but it was one that offered a platforming experience that was very enjoyable and I find myself eager to revisit in the future for all it has to offer. It takes its place rather handily beside many timeless Nintendo classics that those who play will revisit again and again in the years to come. If you never tried a game with Kirby before then this is the one.

Pros:
Fun gameplay that gives many options and abilities to try and experiment with
A unique setting with a soundtrack that tells a story without an exposition dump
A light experience that gamers of any skill can enjoy
Cons:
Low level of challenge may leave those who feel the need for difficulty unsatisfied

Final Rating:
9/ 10: Play it, complete it, revisit it

9.6

I wouldn't be lying I didn't claim to overhype the game to be an epic, decidedly more open-world experience than the game we actually got - I was expecting this to be my all-time favorite game on a day 1 purchase, and, for what it's worth, it's the definition of classic, creative fun that most AAA-gaming nowadays sorely lacks, with the common, hot trend nowadays being close-to-reality gothic life simulators, instead to experimenting with more whimsical and surreal imagery that the Kirby series is well-known for. Definitely more re-playable than any open-world game could allow themselves to be.

Good game, misspelled "Forgor" though.