Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe

The Nintendo Switch has had many re-releases in its 6 years of life. Some have had minimal changes, such as Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze and Bayonetta 1 and 2, but others have added valuable content, such as Super Mario 3D World with Bowser’s Fury. The one who has done it best is Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxewhich originally came out in 2010 for the Wii, and just arrived on the hybrid console to finish celebrating Kirby’s 30 years, boy has he been very spoiled.

This version does much more than just visually improve the original installment, it also improves its performance and adds elements to both the base game and other sections. Among these additions are new mini-games and modes, and each one is very worthwhile.

This content makes it one of Nintendo’s best ports, but is it still enough to make it the definitive version? After the revolution that was Forgotten Land for the franchise, is a 2D Kirby title worth playing? Both questions are answered with a resounding yes.

Back to Dreamland (again)

In case you haven’t played the original version of Return To Dream Land, we will tell you that it is one of the best Kirby games, and boy has it had great works. What makes it so great is its level design, although linear, it constantly comes up with varied ideas that keep the experience entertaining.

Almost all Kirby titles have some kind of gimmick that predominates and is present in several levels; in The Crystal Shards it’s the combination of skills; in Planet Robobot it is the use of wicks, and here are the super abilities that allow us to destroy various elements in our path. There are also the usual transformations that our protagonist absorbs, such as water, fire, swordsman, and more.

There are 25 in total, and among them there are 2 new ones: sand and robot. The first is very versatile and has several uses, and the second is very broken, but that’s why we love it. Kirby’s Return To Dream Land it is very easy to pass, but still, there are bosses or enemies that take time to defeat. Sure, with this power it’s much easier, but more fun.

There are 7 worlds ranging from 3 to 5 stages, in addition to the bosses on each planet. At the beginning, the levels are very short and easy, so at first we feel like we are moving very fast, then they start to get longer and the difficulty goes up a bit. The bosses are the ones that, for the most part, maintain a similar complexity, although you can spam B until they die.

In each level there are between 3 and 5 gears that we must find, and they are like the giant coins of the New Super Mario Bros.although very poorly hidden. It is easy to find most of them with the naked eye, you just have to have the ability to reach them; others are earned by defeating minibosses. These collectibles could have made the game less linear, but hey, it’s something that has been missing since the original version.

the same, but very different

To make the game even easier, there is the option for Magolor to assist us. In case we activate this mode, the character will rescue us whenever we fall off a cliff. It is completely optional to receive this help, but surely the smallest or inexperienced will appreciate it. It is worth mentioning that this is an implementation of the Deluxe version, it was not there before.

Other changes from the original are the resolution and technical improvement. The game is fully HD and while the Wii game has always looked very attractive, the textures are clearer and we appreciate the backgrounds better. Most notably, it now runs at 60fps, something even the other Kirby games on the Switch couldn’t achieve. This makes movement, one of its strengths, even more satisfying and enjoyable.

One aspect in which it surpasses its Switch brethren, the original, and all other titles in the franchise is the mini-games. In the Wii version there was the Ninja Dojo, the Scope Shot, the challenges with each ability and the Arena, which is basically a boss rush. In the Deluxe edition there are those, several new ones and some classics of the franchise.

In total there are 10, the largest number that a Kirby installment has had. Of them, 2 are totally new (Magolor’s Tome Trackers and Booming Blasters) and others had been seen in titles such as Nightmare in Dream Land, The Crystal Shards, Adventure, super star And till Squeak Squad. They are all extremely fun and serve as the perfect break from the main campaign. We spent hours playing them and I’m sure you will too.

let the fun begin

We can test them from Magolor’s ship or in his amusement park, which is another sublime addition to this version. Here, by playing the minigames we can complete missions that grant points with which we unlock skins to equip ourselves with. They are so many and represent a large part of the history of the franchise, so unlocking them is a delight for Kirby fans.

These missions were one of our favorite parts of completing because they gave us a lot of motivation to try the different difficulties of the mini-games and it’s very satisfying to see the task list fill up. Of course, there are some that even the game itself warns us that they are very difficult, and it is true, but they are challenges that are well worth trying.

The only problem with the minigames is that if you want to play with other people, you can only play locally. It is a pity, because we are sure that playing online would be much more attractive than the same Kirby’s Dream Buffet. There is only one activity that can be done online; is similar to Samurai Kirbybut it is by qualification, not in real time, and it can only be done once a day.

Finally, probably the best addition is that of Magolor’s Epilogue. By passing the campaign for the first time, in addition to unlocking the Extra mode, which is the same but more difficult, we also have this new story available, where we play with Magolor. After the events of Return To Dream Landthe wizard returns to his planet, but without powers, so we must gather energy to return to normal.

The levels are much shorter, and there are only 4 worlds, but the mode is very enjoyable. Magolor is different from Kirby, so the settings are also completely changed and introduce new ideas. In many games in the franchise, after finishing the initial campaign, we can play with other characters, but usually it is in the original settings, so we appreciate that they have done something different.

The mage has base abilities that we can upgrade with energy to make them stronger and have more uses. In addition, by going through more levels we unlock new powers that are very fun and creative, and help us make our way. Each one has its own species of tree so that from there we can increase its intensity.

The energy we need to level up each skill is spread across the stages, and we can also acquire more with combos. If we land hits without interruptions, we create chains that grant extra orbs; obviously, the longer they are, the better the reward.

It is important to try to get as many as possible, because improving our powers is quite expensive. Near the end of the mini-campaign we have a lot of abilities, so we spend a lot of time to level them all up. This system works very well because each improvement is very noticeable, and motivates us to get orbs and continue increasing our strength.

Between that and the fact that the levels are concise but very entertaining, we really enjoyed Magolor’s Epilogue. It has a lot of potential, even to be its own game, just like the Captain Toad minigames in Super Mario 3D World which evolved into their separate installment. We doubt Nintendo will do the same with this case because the character is less popular, but it would be very interesting.

In conclusion, most of the defects of Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe They come from the original version for the Wii. It is true that the main campaign is short and with little difficulty, but let’s be realistic, these are elements that could not be corrected and we don’t care much either because we have always played these installments for how fun they are and for the good time they give us.

Outside of that, the only major flaw we see is the lack of online multiplayer in the minigames. We really believe that there is a lot of potential in that field, and Nintendo missed it. Being a remaster, its price could be lower, as well as the new version of Metroid Prime which costs 40 bucks, but in case you’ve never played the Return To Dream Land original, it is worth paying the full price.

If you are a fan of Kirby and 2D platformers, Return To Dream Land Deluxe It is a must buy that will give you many hours of fun, even if the challenge is almost zero. It’s a great example of how Nintendo can make great remasters when it sets its mind to it, and also that, despite the pink ball transitioning to 3D a year ago, its 2D stage is well worth turning back to.

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