Earlier this month I shared my preview impressions of the upcoming Nintendo Switch release Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe. Though my experience up to that point with this particular remake had been totally hands-off, I already had a lengthy and heartfelt history with the original 2011 Wii release. So, given my obvious affection for the source material, how did this new take on the classic title stand up to actual play?
In a word: perfect.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel. Like the previous Wii iteration, it’s a one-to-four-player side-scroller featuring Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and Bandana Waddle Dee as they attempt to help the stranded Magolor recover pieces of his damaged starship and return from Planet Popstar to his homeworld of Halcandra.
This, of course, involves traditional Kirby-style gameplay complete with floaty flying, lots of inhalable Copy Abilities, and clever level design that includes branching paths and hidden surprises galore. The move from the admittedly clunky Wii Remote to the Switch’s Joy-Con controls is handled spectacularly, and while the movement and action in Kirby games always have a little play to them—a little jazz-like swing, of you will—you continuously feel completely in control of your player character.
Unsurprisingly for a Kirby title, the general flow of the game is pretty straightforward. It’s a brand of fun you’re able to share with younger gamers, with even some of the tighter platforming and tougher boss battles proving simple enough to grasp by good ol’ trial and error.
Add to this a shared life pool, easy drop-in/drop-out multiplayer, and a camera that follows player one without sacrificing any lollygaggers, and Return to Dream Land Deluxe remains the ultimate family gaming experience. The Helper Magolor feature further smoothes out that learning curve, adding double health bars and a roving Magolor who occasionally tosses a helpful Copy Ability when Kirby needs it.
For added family fun, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe also boasts tons of sub-games. These can be accessed through the hub in Magalor’s Lor Starcutter—slowly opening more sub-games and additional Copy Ability challenges as the story progresses—or via the dedicated theme park-style Merry Magoland complete with its own mission/reward structure. Meet benchmarks to earn stamps, and fill up a stamp card to unlock a cosmetic mask for your character.
All these features combined with Kirby’s candy-colored world and those thickly outlined models (which make it impossible to lose your character even on a crowded screen) obviously make Return to Dream Land Deluxe the best kind of kid-friendly, but there’s still plenty to appeal to seasoned gamers.
Hidden wormholes can be discovered that lead to fast-paced, uniquely challenging sub-levels, and, while wholly optional, uncovering all of Dream Land’s cleverly concealed Energy Spheres requires keen eyes, lightning reflexes, and a willingness to experiment. Plus, the addition of two great new copy abilities, Mecha and Sand, nicely tweaks the existing Kirby metagame.
And we haven’t even touched on the post-game content. In addition to the requisite Extra and Arena modes, this Deluxe version packs in a whole new gameplay experience. The Magolor Epilogue puts players in control of a depowered Magolor for even more challenging platforming action.
Thankfully, you can chain together attacks, building combos that eventually reward Magolor with bonus magic points he can use to rebuild his magical skills. This ability to bolster attacks, increase levitation time, and supplement health gives the Magolor Epilogue an RPG-lite feel that kept me coming back to this inventive new offering.
Still, none of this matters if a game isn’t enjoyable in its own right. Thankfully, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a joy to play—across multiple modes and from start to finish.
Going back to a beloved title can often be a recipe for heartbreak. It doesn’t look as good as you remembered. The controls pale in comparison to those of more modern games. That old magic, enhanced by the power of nostalgia, just isn’t there anymore.
And this is why Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe—and, for the record, Metroid Prime Remastered—really shines. It’s all the frantic fun you remembered plus higher graphical fidelity, an enhanced soundtrack, and lots of supplementary content. Fittingly enough, it’s an all-you-can-eat Kirby buffet that certainly hits the spot.
Review materials provided by Nintendo of America. This post contains affiliate links. The Mecha Copy Ability is my new favorite!
