Kirby And The Forgotten Land

[vanguard333]

1 hour ago, Armchair General said:

This is actually normal for the series, but the bosses should be able to give you an wake-up call.

Oh, I know that Kirby games tend to be easy; I guess I was just surprised by the extent to which it was easy. In any case, the demo presumably was the first three levels of the game, so yeah; it probably does get more challenging later on.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

My friend and I have set aside the whole day. We're finishing the game TONIGHT, or we'll pass out trying.

[MANCOOL3O3]

I wouldnt be able to do that , cos im trying to get every achievemant

[Perkilator]

Loving the game so far! Just got through World 5.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

On 3/25/2022 at 8:53 AM, Zapp Branniglenn said:

My friend and I have set aside the whole day. We're finishing the game TONIGHT, or we'll pass out trying.

We did it. Full Playthrough Friday was a success, carrying on the tradition with Kirby Star Allies four years ago. It took us over nine hours with no break, but we blazed through to the end, plus the post game. Co op certainly sped things along, and if either of us were playing solo, we probably would be doing every challenge stage and other completionist stuff as it was presented to us. Even with the expedited pace, we loved every moment of it.

The third dimension makes all the mainstay copy abilities feel new again even before you start upgrading them. Mouthful Mode is a brilliant addition, because surely we've all thought of fun Kirby Copy Abilities that do one really neat thing, but you probably would have trouble fleshing out into a full, unique moveset. This is the perfect compromise in terms of raw game mechanics. Game designers get to have their great ideas and set pieces without all the extra homework. The bonus challenges also serve as the perfect vehicle to hammer home all the things you can do with these abilities. Not to mention being a callback to Return to Dreamland's Copy Ability rooms which have been thoroughly missed.

The environments are vibrant and beautiful, while also providing context and sight gags anywhere you look. The character animation conveys so much, especially with the introduction of taunts that NPCs will react to. And the game gets a chance to flaunt it's 60FPS animation by slowing down gameplay whenever you pull off an expert dodge. There's a returning boss fight who uses his classic bum rush dive attack, and while dodging it, his eyes will track kirby in real time.

The soundtrack is stellar, employing the strategy of cooking up one very catchy motif, and remixing it constantly across the game in a variety of tempos and genres. Most modern kirby games rely on remixes of old music, which is often great but tends to make it hard to remember where certain songs came from. I expect that I won't misidentify this game's music.

The level-specific achievements are great, very reminiscent of Dreamland 3, and encourages you to take your time exploring and studying your environment. Action set pieces also have special warp stars to retry for a better result. I don't agree with the decision to make them hidden. You can only reveal a task if you accomplish part of it, and one mystery task will be revealed upon clearing the level. Perhaps some of them would spoil what's coming up, but I don't see that as an issue since the player can only spoil themselves by deliberately pausing the game to look at the list. 

I have a lot to say about the co op experience. It's more of a Helper to Hero mode than a mutual co op game like Dreamland 3 or Star Allies. The camera is concerned chiefly with what Kirby's doing, so you get warped to him constantly when trying to go your own direction. But in boss fights, the camera is anchored to your opponent. So I was often warped to kirby during a big attack. And since the warp puts you airborne, there's a brief moment of vulnerability where you cannot dodge an attack. Dying as Bandanna Dee is no big deal though. You just wait thirty seconds and then tap B to revive for free. Bandanna Dee's moveset is serviceable, but with no friend hearts or Dream Friends, it's all Player 2 ever has access to. Furthermore it's notably underpowered once Kirby starts upgrading his copy abilities throughout the game. Bandanna Dee does not get any such upgrade. In particular I would have liked an improvement for his spear throw. Its manual aim has very pathetic range, and it would have been nice if I could nail most of the targets meant for Gunner Kirby. I quickly noticed that bosses ignore Bandanna Dee 90% of the time. I think this was done for balance reasons. Compared to what Kirby can do by the end, Bandanna Dee's attacks are weak and unsafe. So If I could successfully pull aggro from kirby, then the game would be even easier overall. In the meantime though, the Bandanna Dee player can just wail on a boss's behind safely. It can seem a little brain dead, but it makes for a great "little brother" mode. 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I am bit more than halfway done, I guess (third stage of world five), but I can say much that I have a lot of fun with this game.

The stages are not as open as I thought they would be, but this is the only minor critcism I have right now. Otherwise this game offers lots of variety by having so many special abilites, implemented very well. The puzzles are fair for most of the time, but it is still easy to miss the one or other secret path. Having hidden side mission objectives gives the game replaybility, if going for 100%.

The thing which impresses me the most is the detailed graphic. It is not hard to see that lots of love was put into this game. Also the music is very different than I expected. it is very unique for the most time, means like no remixes and some stage themes are really long, so not repetitive at all. 

So far this game gets a big 👍 from my side.

Edited March 27, 2022 by Julizan

[Perkilator]

Just beat the final boss

Spoiler

Turns out Elfilin was only half evil…in a manner of speaking.

 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Just have beaten the final boss.

Spoiler

The boss's design reminded me on a final boss from Shin Megami Tensei.

Same goes for the music btw.

There attacks were a mix of new and familar attacks (like Void Termina).

I enjoyed it because it was not what I really expected.

I will post a detailed summary once I have done the postgame.

 

However I can easily say it is my favorite Kirby game considering the detailed and pretty design of the stages and its gorgeous soundtrack.

[Belisarius]

just beat the main game yesterday, overall a really good kirby game for single player, and it probably would have also made a decent co-op experience. a bit disappointed with the copy abilities, most of them only had 2-3 different ways to use them which is a bit boring, but I can see the translation from 2d attacks to 3d attacks was the main reason for that. overall well done though.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

finally

 

Anyways time for a short review as promised earlier:

Spoiler

Forgotten Land has become my favorite Kirby game. However not only because of being 3D. There are some other points which stand out like quests and ability system. This game features some elements which can be found in a RPG which I absolutely appreciated. Wadde Dee Town was just an enrichment for the entire series. Having a flexible item on the journey is always helpful. The level design was very creative for the very most part, although not as free as I hoped for. Only 5-1 really stood out for being a widespread level which allows a lot of room for discovery. Even without being that huge the levels offers tons of secrets which can be missed, so this is not a big issue. The music is beautiful as always. However it is worth to mention that the soundtracks tend to be a lot longer than in former games which makes sense since much more time is needed to clear a level. The music gives a matching atmosphere to the exploration. I want to honor this theme which is one of the most beautiful stage themes I have heared yet. As for the gameplay the new addition of the mouthful modes is welcomed and executed very well for all the riddles. The levels are varied, and even standard gimmicks like bossrush reruns at the end are improved gameplaywise. This game has a postgame, similar to the DLC of Star Allies, which is like an EX mode with changed level design in familar enviroments with more difficult bosses. Considering of what this game offers, this game did not disappoint. It is not only a great game for Kirby fans, but also for newcomers who might have not been interested in 2D Kirby games. The game feels very similar to Mario Odyssey however with a restricted level size, and some ideas like water mouth mode are taken of games from the past. However they are executed better in my opinion.

Overall this game was wonderful and easily a contender of becoming goty for me.

9 / 10

 

[vanguard333]

So, I recently bought the game, and I'm currently at the fire area.

I've been really enjoying the game so far, and I say this as someone who isn't a fan of Kirby and hasn't played a Kirby game before. It is definitely a nice game for relaxing after beating more challenging stuff that released recently like Triangle Strategy.

One thing I do find a bit annoying though is the bonus objectives; you don't learn what they are until after your first run through a stage. Some of them are intuitive enough to discover on a first run through, but others can be really arbitrary, and it just feels like an attempt to make the player go through each stage multiple times, especially since each one rewards the player another waddle dee.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Yeah, some objectives cannot be done in the first attempt like beating a boss with a certain ability which I did not appreciate too much either.

However some others rely on careful exploration.

After all the objectives give the game replaybility.

Edited April 16, 2022 by Julizan

[vanguard333]

Well, I just finished the main story mode of the game and have been chipping away at the postgame.

The main game was smaller than I expected; plenty of levels per world, but five worlds in total; I thought for certain that the endgame laboratory would be an entire world, but it ended up being one level within the fire world. I compared this game earlier to Mario 3D World, and that game had 8 worlds before the postgame. I think Mario 3D World managed to have so many worlds because its world consists almost entirely of blocks and other shapes, whereas Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a very, for lack of a better word, sculpted world. And, to be clear, I don't think the game is too short; it is more than easily long enough, especially for a 3D platformer.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

@VangaurdForgotten Land has six worlds, not five.

 

Well, just made a Kirby tierlist:

Spoiler

1. Forgotten Land
2. Planet Robobot
3. Return To Dream Land
4. Triple Deluxe
5.  Rainbow Curse
6. Super Kirby Clash
7. The Crystal Shards
8. Dream Land 3
9. Star Allies
10. Amazing Mirror
11. Fighters 2
12. Blowout Blast
13. Battle Royale
14. Mass Attack
15. Squeak Squad
16. Nightmare In Dream Land
17. Star Stacker
18. Block Ball
19. Super Star
20. Dream Land 2
21. Adventure
22. Dream Land
23. Dream Course

 

[vanguard333]

2 hours ago, Julizan said:

@VangaurdForgotten Land has six worlds, not five.

Starting forest, amusement park world, water, desert, fire, which one am I forgetting? …Oh, right; ice world. How did I forget that one?

Anyway, my point still somewhat remains as that is two less than 3D World. It's not a short game by any means; just shorter than I was expecting.

[Zera]

Here is my review of the game.
https://funpersecond.wordpress.com/2022/05/04/kirby-and-the-forgotten-land-review/
I tried to keep it relatively spoiler-free.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

@Zera

Very good review after, it was enjoyable and interesting to read.

Also yes, the powerups made weaker abilities from games better.

Althoguh I would not say it is very balanced since weapons like

Spoiler

Morpho Knight Sword and Toy Hammer

exis,t but by that some weapons I never used in former games like sword and needle are fun to use and can finish bossrushes fast or relatively safely now.