Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe Review

Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe is another game that shows that while Kirby may not be selling like Pokémon or Zelda in the east, the series is around to stay. Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe is an upgraded version of the Nintendo Wii game that was originally launched in October of 2011. Back then, the game used the system Wii Remote to help Kirby get through stages. This time around, you are playing with a more traditional controller set-up, and the game can be taken with you on the go.

Return to Dreamland is the 9th mainline installment in the series and is well known for its introduction of the antagonist Magolor. The game follows Kirby and friends as they try to repair Magolor’s crashed spaceship on Planet Popstar and then travel back to his home planet to fight some baddies. This time around, though, the game is enhanced by the new Merry Magoland game modes, more collectibles, and an epilogue focused on Magolor regaining his powers after the events of the eighth world.

Like in most Kirby games, you aren’t there for the story. While this game does have a few very short cutscenes centered around Magolor, Kirby titles aren’t where you go if you’re looking for a narrative. If anything, the story only exists to help give a basic structure to the adventure Kirby undertakes in each game. The game follows a similar recipe to the rest of the series, with some fun quirks thrown in to liven up the gameplay. The big change for this game is the use of Super Abilities, which give Kirby massive amounts of power. There are also a few new copy abilities introduced in Return to Dreamland, like the Mecha, Dance, and Sound powers.

The game is cut into several worlds with around four to five levels included in each. After you beat these, a special boss level will unlock at the end. Every world has a different theme that is expressed through each of the levels. World Three, Onion Ocean, for example, places Kirby by the beach or in underwater segments. Nutty Noon, on the other hand, takes Kirby high into Planet Popstar’s skies, and in later levels, you are climbing up a tower into space. This is honestly one of the series’ strongest points. While the levels are split up, you always feel like Kirby is making natural progression toward the end of the world.

View Full-size

Kirby parasol ability.

Furthermore, the world’s themes directly play into the gameplay to keep every level feeling a bit different. While the core, gobble-up enemies, and use their abilities mechanics are there, the level designs make you think a bit more about how you want to approach them. When you get to White Wafers, the icy levels will have Kirby sliding around a bit. Dangerous Dinner is the complete opposite and will have parts of the level on fire, which will damage Kirby when touched. By using certain abilities like Ice, you can make navigating these worlds easier.

This is where a lot of the fun comes in, Kirby levels aren’t made to be overly hard. They focus on being a fun ride with unique mechanics that give Kirby a whimsical adventure. Some levels will jet Kirby around with water while he dodges massive eels. While others will have him climbing his way across ropes to combat the harsh winds caused by being high above the grounds. Every level is well thought out, has a rational number of enemies, and you can always tell which copy ability you likely need to grab to get every collectible in the level. Switching between these abilities, moving through the levels, and even flying around with Kirby feels perfect. The game doesn’t lag at all, even when switching between modes. In addition, the game can easily be played docked or undocked, with the graphics only taking a slight hit when you switch between the two.

While the difficulty does increase as you go along, the magic of the adventure doesn’t suffer from it. While dodging being crushed by machinery is a lot harder than walking through the woods of Cookie Country, it’s fun to find ways to shoot Kirby through the level without being crushed. You also have a lot of freedom of which ability you use to complete the level, with things only having to change up when Super Abilities are needed to cut a massive rope or break some iced-over bowling pins. This is another example of one of the strongest features of the Kirby series, the art design. Graphics in Kirby games always manage to look good due to the unique cute art style the series follows. In Kirby, you will find puffy clouds, huggable enemy designs, and an aesthetic that sits somewhere between dreamlike and a Lisa Frank mashup.

View Full-size

Kirby using a super ability.

Everything in the world of Kirby feels safe. Even the more dangerous elements of the levels, like the bosses, have a cute feeling to them. The world of Kirby is incredibly inviting, and the game’s soundtrack only helps to drive this point home more. While there are some more sinister scores during major boss fights, every song still has an upbeat, happy feel to it. The game’s whole aesthetic can simply be described as sugary sweet. If you didn’t know better, you would probably end up dead on Planet Popstar as absolutely nothing, including the big bads ever looks threatening inside of a Kirby game. This makes it a great choice for younger gamers to pick up, as well as adults who want a break from games like Elden Ring that focus on pure challenge. Another huge point is that it is a short and sweet adventure with a ton of bonus content and replay value.

The whole story of the game can be run through in around six to eight hours, and it’s an excellent game for speedrunning, giving it a high replay value. There are 120 Gears to collect, each distributed throughout the various levels. Collecting them unlocks different challenges, many of which revolve around using abilities to traverse bonus levels. In addition to this, there are stamp vouchers sprinkled around the world that you can collect to unlock cosmetics at Merry Magoland. This a new feature where you can go to play mini-games with up to four friends and doing so allows you to collect stamps. These unlock cosmetics to put on Kirby while playing the game, such as masks.

Additionally, the story itself has drop-in, drop-out co-op, making it easy to experience with friends. While it may not have the same pull as Mario Party, there is enough shareable content here to make Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe a great choice for a party or date night. If you like playing on your own, then you will be happy to know that there is a new arena mode and an epilogue that will unlock once you beat the game’s main story. The arena is a boss rush mode, while playing the Magolar epilogue lets you play a more Metroidvania-type game with the Kirby characters and aesthetics.

View Full-size

Magolor’s ability menu.

In this new story chapter. You play as Magolar in an adventure where you must spend points to level up his abilities. You start off incredibly weak with limited powers and collect magic points by defeating enemies, exploring levels, and making short work of boss enemies. This mode feels similar to playing one of the other Kirby characters like King Dedede, but the level-up system gives it a unique spin that makes it a nice finish to Return to Dreamland Deluxe.

Overall, Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe does what Kirby games do best. It’s a lighthearted adventure with a cute main character. The levels have a focus on fun and creativity over challenge, and you can play along with friends. If you have played a Kirby game in the past, then you know exactly what to expect out of this title. None of the Kirby games are groundbreaking or radically different from each other, outside of experiments like Kirby Airide. The formula is the exact same as the newest Kirby game, just with a different special power for the pink puffball to indulge in.