Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe preview – hoping to replicate last year’s success

Meanwhile, Nintendo has brought a large portion of its most popular and successful games of all time to Switch. Whether you’re talking the advanced ports like Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD, or the collection of emulated classics available through Nintendo Switch Online subscription tiers, the Switch has earned its reputation as a place deservedly deserved Here you can experience both the latest titles from Nintendo and many of its biggest hits. The latest time travel title for Nintendo’s modern Juggernaut system is Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, a 2011 Wii title from HAL Laboratory.

Going into 2022, with Kirby and the Lost Land set to be perhaps Kirby’s greatest adventure yet (certainly his most popular yet), it makes sense that Nintendo and HAL would want to capitalize on the pink puffball’s popularity. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe advances one of Kirby’s most entertaining games of the past, adding HD graphics, new copy abilities and more. I had the opportunity to see this new version of the Wii favorite through a hands-on demo with various members of Nintendo.

The story of Kirby’s return to dreamland continues in this deluxe edition: A dimension shift alien named Magolor’s ship has crashed on Kirby’s Planet Popstar and it’s up to Kirby and his friends/foes to collect the pieces so Magolor can return home . In Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, players can control Kirby, King Dedede, Meta Knight and Bandana Waddle Dee in a title that supports up to four player cooperative play. Each character has different abilities, but Kirby is perhaps the most exciting character given his ability to utilize the copying abilities he is famous for. Luckily, players don’t have to fight over Kirby as you can have duplicates.

Speaking of copy abilities, all of the different weapons and moves of the original make the jump to this new version. However, in Deluxe, players can obtain new, powerful abilities that appear to bring some serious firepower. The new ability I got to see was Kirby’s mecha suit, which allows him to hover around with a jetpack and blast enemies with weapons like lasers and missiles. These new powers are available throughout the main game and offer experienced players new ways to engage with the many phases of the older title. Super abilities like Snow Bowl and Ultra Sword also make a return, giving you some of the most powerful weapons in Kirby’s arsenal at critical points in the stages.

This time, players can activate Magolor Assist, a mode that essentially serves as a simple option. With this enabled, players will receive two full bars of health instead of the default bar. And if you fall into a pit, Magolor will pull you back onto solid ground. The friendly dimension hopper will also help you out from time to time by giving you copy skills or health. If you’re looking for a challenge, fear not as Deluxe retains EX Story, which essentially offers a hard mode of the main game after you complete it for the first time.

Completing the game also unlocks Magolor’s Epilogue, a new section of the game where you play as Magolor. Due to his array of abilities, players can expect gameplay akin to Mega Man. In this post-game mini-story, you are on a quest to regain Magolor’s abilities after he lost them during his dimensional travels. Despite being the only playable character, Magolor still allows for four-player co-op, though each player controls a different Magolor instead of Kirby and his crew. In this mode, a combo meter keeps track of how the team handles taking down enemies, with platinum medals being offered if you hit high combos.

As you play through the mode, you’ll slowly unlock more abilities for Magolor; The first unlock is the ability for him to throw his magic bomb down. However, you can also further improve Magolor’s abilities with Magic Points. Nintendo wouldn’t go into detail on how long this epilogue is, but it certainly seems more bite-sized than the original Kirby-centric story.

Outside of these story modes, players can venture into Merry Magoland, where Deluxe plays the subgames of the series. With 8 of the 10 sub-games returning from previous titles, players who have a deep affection for Kirby will find plenty to enjoy here. In this mode, I can watch the Nintendo reps perform Kirby on the Draw, which originally appeared in Kirby Super Star Ultra. With various control options available, you can opt for Wii-style pointer controls (which seems like the logical choice for a shooting gallery game like Kirby on the Draw) or opt for more traditional stick controls. In Deluxe, Merry Magoland also has two brand new additions, although I haven’t been able to see either of these inclusions in action. However, I did see the new stamp system that rewards players who complete Magoland challenges with masks that their characters can wear in the main game.

Although I didn’t get my hands on Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, I’m excited to dive back into this exciting adventure from the Wii days. Kirby’s Return to Dream Land was one of my favorite games in the franchise before Forgotten Land, so I can’t wait to have another excuse to play it with new improvements and more than a decade apart from my last outing.