It would be a mistake to review a Kirby title with only the dry eyes of an expert gamer; Almost each chapter is designed for newbies of each generation, whether they are children or users who have never picked up a pad... and who will probably do so to play with their children/grandchildren. In addition to this difficulty, common to the entire series, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe presents another: it is an adaptation of a 2011 game published for Nintendo Wii, also developed in that case by HAL Laboratory, a solid episode but certainly not unforgettable. Was it really necessary to make a Deluxe edition?
Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe tiene diversos changes from the original version. First of all from a graphic point of view: the resolution has been increased, the lighting has been improved (and consequently the contrast of the tones has been diversified, which however remain very saturated), but above all each character, protagonist or enemy, has been surrounded by a clear black border that defines its shapes, while separating it from the background. Although it certainly does not represent the technological cutting edge of the console, the overall effect is still pleasant. Other new features have also been included, such as new mini-games, an extra adventure at the end of the main one and three new powers; We will talk about it shortly. The point is: what does this chapter have to offer that hasn't already been experienced with Kirby and the Lost Land and Kirby: Star Allies? This last one in particular dates back to 2018, and is two-dimensional - although built with polygons - exactly like Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe; Assuming the recent remake represents a more substantial production, it still doesn't seem diversified enough. Also because, as we said before, Kirby is a series for newbies; No one who goes from Star Allies to this will have a much more complex, diverse or layered experience. The rhythm is similar, the core of the interaction the same, the multiplayer present in both. It's the "problem" that has plagued this last part of the Switch's life cycle: instead of being bold, Nintendo has preferred to be conservative. With already two Kirbys (plus two minor episodes) on the console, HAL brought another one, instead of dedicating themselves to an unreleased project; He would have had the opportunity, for the first time in years.
main adventure
En esta aventura Kirby deberá encontrar las piezas que faltan del Lor, el Astroboat (así llamado por la propia Nintendo, una especie de velero robótico capaz de proyectarse al espacio) propiedad de Magolor, el encantador protagonista, junto al héroe rosa redondeado, de la historia. A history which in its simplicity, told mainly through undubbed films, even reserves a pleasant twist. Kirby then sets off in search of these pieces in five (and more) worlds, largely characterized by the themes we are used to: forest, desert, sea... his main abilities for decades have been two. The first: Kirby, when he doesn't have a full stomach, can "fly". By pressing the repeated jump button, he can rise vertically at will. The second: the ability to suck in enemies, swallow them and, thanks to the digestion of some of them, steal their abilities. Whether it is swinging a sword, the ability to throw flames, or enchanting something, each of them does not have a single "move", but has an exquisite inflection. Some of them will vary by tapping the button assigned to the action, others by holding it down, others by accompanying it with tilting the joystick up and down. The main problem is that these refinements do not help much. Often it is enough to attack and admire the results of the effect: as we said, this is a work aimed at children and novices, and from their point of view it will be - we imagine - potentially fun even just by "observing". how Kirby varies his attacks, or see how the latter defeat enemies. However, given the care put into their variation, it is a shame that they have not been exploited better: apart from some environmental puzzles, which are nevertheless very simple, the ramifications of the movements and their peculiarities are not exploited to make the player " think" about the user.
Kirby has always been a juego lento and with a fairly monotonous rhythm. This is no exception: the character can run (by sharply tilting the control stick or double-tapping the d-pad), but his running is not very fast and does not affect jumping. The ability to levitate is calm: it favors verticality over horizontality. This calm rhythm, which - to a lesser extent - also involves a classic like Yoshi's Island, is not used here, unlike the latter, to deepen the experience: there are several secondary objects to collect, from three to six gears per level, but they never stimulate exploration or reflection. It's a very fun game, but it lacks genius. The scenarios are quite long, starting with the first world, and almost all of them hide at least one door to another dimension, where it is possible to collect the aforementioned hidden objects (they are not there, of course). Many stages feature a mini-boss, which tends to be fairly easy, and each world is presided over by a "final monster"; It is the entire experience, in general, that is simple. However, this does not prevent it from having a progressive increase in difficulty: many of you will probably not even notice it, because the maximum peak is still low, but a novice player will have to try harder as the adventure progresses.
Controls and Magolor-Epilogue
Il control system is precise and reactive, it would allow for many more refinements than the game design exploits: we especially appreciated the aquatic sections, often among the most tedious in a platform game. Not only is Kirby fun to watch, because he's equipped with a life jacket on the surface and a diving mask underwater, but moving him is actually very satisfying: you can go in any direction and watch him move the water with his little hands. (legs?) to accelerate we loved it. Many of Kirby's powers are also present in the "Super" version, and in these cases the preeminence of spectacularity at the expense of stratification is even more evident; In these phases, which are quite short, even other users will have to limit themselves to observing. Yes, because Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe can be played in multiplayer mode at any time: just grab a Joy-Con and join the adventure. Even here it's more about having fun watching your characters act together than about real collaboration: no small feat, but the game hasn't changed - from its main adventure - to offer something unique in this mode. Despite the refinements of the swimming and the powers, and in general the excellent control system, the general pace of the experience is always too static: the absence of running weighs heavily and the level of difficulty is low. We could justify these last aspects in relation to the objective of the project, but there are exceptions - such as the fun Parodius-like shooting phase near the final boss - that allow us to imagine, although without changes in substance and with an ideal recipient, a more creative and varied.
Como se anticipó en la introducción, el modo principal agregado en esta edición se refiere magolor, the other protagonist of the game. This adventure can also be experienced entirely in multiplayer mode, this time with three clones of the character, unlike Kirby's story. To access this mode it is necessary to complete the main one, so the developers were aware that they were targeting a slightly more expert user than usual: we are not dealing with Celeste, but it is certainly a more challenging experience than the previous one. Magolor must regain his magical powers by collecting specific items, and has the ability to power them up one after another, adding a minimal - but nice - component of character customization: his story is divided into normal levels, challenges and bosses. To access the challenges you need to have a certain upgrade (for example, Levitation level 2), and they are quite demanding: the same could be said of the bosses, which are decidedly more complicated, from the beginning, than almost all the " principals". This is a welcome addition and qualitatively in line with Kirby's adventure, which undoubtedly enriches the experience, but which shares its main limitation: the absence of changes of pace. Magolor is also an extremely slow character, preferring vertical movements to horizontal ones. Furthermore, on a visual level, this Epilogue recycles more elements than Kirby's adventure.
News and minigames
There are many other small novelties in this Deluxe edition, which however belong more to an instruction manual than a review: countless skins applicable to Kirby have been included, which only add visual diversification to the character... so no No I feel compelled to delve deeper into the topic. Aside from the Magolor Epilogue, the other major introductions mainly involve the Magoland minigames. The latter are loosely interconnected with the main adventure - from one section you unlock items for the other, and vice versa - but we dare say that, in the best Kirby tradition, they almost represent a game within a game. Most sections can be addressed in multiplayer to four users, and some of them are actually very funny; Each one has three levels of difficulty, the first two being very similar and the third, the most difficult, decidedly more challenging and separate from the others, capable of testing even expert users.
I Minigames They are not all at the same height. For example, there is a kind of tennis with saucepans, and a bomb instead of the felt ball, of an almost embarrassing simplicity, and an involvement that cannot exceed five minutes; There are some that are just as simple, but certainly more engaging, like Kirby Samurai where, once the "go" hits, you must hit the opponent before taking the hit. You won't need to press anything other than the action button, but doing so will require some pretty good reflexes. Another theme, still oriental - with online ranking, among other things - asks us to throw shurikens (in first person), reach floating objectives, increasingly mobile and insidious, within a classic bamboo forest. Another one is a kind of shooter with four users, inside a square arena and with a view from above, in which it is possible to shoot in front of you, charge a parabolic shot, jump to avoid some walls. In short, the offering of these mini-games is not comparable to a good episode of Mario Party, but it is still enjoyable and full-bodied, and certainly not a listless addendum to the main adventure.
Conclusions
digital delivery Nintendo eShop Price 59,99 € Holygamerz.com 7.0 Readers (17) 6.9 your voteKirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe is an adventure for beginners, whether children or adults not used to the platform: better yet, newbie adults with equally inexperienced children. Visually it is not exceptional but it is pleasant and cohesive, the controls are precise, the story is quite long and is enriched by a commendable novelty, the adventure (after Kirby's) of the wizard Magolor. Even Magolandia, which includes several minigames, is much more than just an addendum: it doesn't rival Mario Party, but it's a substantial addition, especially in multiplayer. As in every Kirby episode, the difficulty is calibrated downwards, although with a fair internal progression; The game, perhaps due to its simplicity, does not exploit the sophistications provided by the control system and, above all, offers a monotonous rhythm, without variations, and well-orchestrated levels, but lacking genius. Above all, despite being a more organic and complete work, it does not have much more to offer - played later or not - compared to Kirby: Star Allies, of which, more than a predecessor or a sequel, it seems more like an experience parallel.
PRO
- Good graphics
- Excellent control system, especially in water.
- Rich and full-bodied game, in adventures and mini-games.
- Todo se puede experimentar en el modo multijugador.
AGAINST
- Difficulty suitable only for beginners.
- Monotonous rhythm of the scenarios, with little variation.
- What does it offer more than other Kirbys on Switch?
