Kirby has always been a second-string Nintendo property in the West, relatively well known and appreciated, but never on the level of the likes of Mario or Zelda. In recent years, however, the little pink glutton has become far more recognised with the merchandising in particular being ubiquitous. Kirby’s appearances in Smash Bros were a big part of this, but his 3D platforming debut four years ago really put him on the radar. We loved it in our original review, with Stefan praising the ‘vibrantly styled decaying world’ and the joy to be had in Kirby’s many transformations. This new Switch 2 Edition updates the performance and brings with it a host of new features and levels, but is it worth remembering for those who played the original?
First up, Kirby and the Forgotten Land was already one of the most beautiful games on the Switch. The vivid colours, the visual design, and the variety in environments made it a standout. The Switch 2 version has all that and adds the up-to 4K resolution and performance improvements that are standard with such updates. I noticed no slowdown at all across my playthrough either in handheld or docked modes and the frame rate felt super smooth throughout, jumping from the original 30fps cap to 60fps and with improvements to distant enemy animation rates particularly noticeable. The new levels in the Star Crossed World content are even more visually striking with a crystallised effect transforming the returning environments.
The main added content here is the aforementioned Star Crossed World, a whole new set of levels that runs parallel to the main campaign. I originally played the main game on a different profile so had to restart here as the new levels are added after you beat each boss battle. This results in a drip feed effect that helps keep the new content fresh, but was a little frustrating having to play through the whole game again for this review. Obviously this won’t be the case for most returning players and will work perfectly as intended for newcomers. Having to play the whole story again did help remind me that the Forgotten Land is a pretty lengthy title already!
The Star Crossed World content begins with a mysterious meteor landing on a volcanic island just off the coast of the starting continent. Visiting it shows that a heart-shaped crystal has shattered, revealing a dark and threatening presence within. Kirby has to find all of the scattered pieces, known as Starries, and prevent whatever crashed down from getting loose. These Starries function pretty much identically to the Waddle-Dees from the original game, with some hidden across the levels and others a reward for reaching the end.
The similarity between Waddle-Dees and Starries highlights the fact that this is very much an expansion pack rather than a new game and as such it is worth considering the price. If you’ve already played the original game then £16.99 is not overly expensive for the new content, though it is worth remembering that there is no free upgrade for Nintendo Online subscribers, unlike the two Zelda games, or free performance boost patch. The full retail price is raised to be in line with other first party Switch 2 titles now, but there is plenty of game here for the money.
Alongside the Starries, the Star Crossed World brings several new Copy abilities and some extra secondary content, much of which I’ll leave for you to discover. The Copy abilities are welcome and add to the already stacked roster of skills. Spring Mode helps to increase the verticality of levels, Sign Mode adds in some downhill racing sections, and Gear Mode brings a new aspect to some complex platforming areas. As with all the original modes, however, these are strictly available as setpieces in levels and not freely accessible. Each is necessary to complete the requisite level and mastering them is essential if you want to reach all the secrets.
For completionist players there is a vast amount of optional side content here, with the returning minigames and gatcha unlocks offering almost endless playability. The latter I can take or leave, but there are even more models to collect if that’s your bag. In terms of the minigames these are mostly the same, but there is a new coliseum battle on offer here as well. The bosses throughout Star Crossed World are surprisingly challenging, with the new end fight reaching Dark Souls levels of dodging and counter attacking.
