It’s been 12 years since we were reminded of the beginnings of the cute pink ball with Kirby’s Return to Dream Land on Wii. It’s been 31 years since 1992’s Dream Land, and now Deluxe celebrates another decade of Kirby-hopping fun. And there couldn’t be a better time to do it. After all, appeared last year with Kirby and the forgotten land the first ever 3D adventure of the absorbent ball that really very well received. From February 24th With Return to Dream Land Deluxe, we can expect a remake that brings a few innovations. Our test explains whether the renewed purchase at full price is worthwhile for connoisseurs of the original Wii game and to what extent it is interesting for players who do not yet know the original!
New(?) adventures for Kirby and Friends
Return to Dream Land Deluxe is a Kirby game through and through. That means it’s sugar-sweet everywhere and a genuine 2D Jump&Run. First, let’s get to the story mode, which sees Kirby and his friends King Dedede, Meta Knight, and Waddle Dee stumble into an adventure.
Magolor, an extraterrestrial, crash-lands his spaceship on Kirby’s planet and now we must help him recover the lost parts of the ship so he can travel home again. The story is Kirby-typically rather simple and accordingly only a means to an end and is told in charming cutscenes. The filter placed over it is irritating at times and it didn’t really need it. But the story really isn’t the heart of Kirby, so let’s talk about the playfulness.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe Review: Returning to Dreamland Again (3)
Source: PC games
From water bubbles to spears to festival dances
in total 38 levels spread over eight worlds Let’s run, jump and fight our way with Kirby through typical types of hopscotch stages and many different enemies and obstacles. As always, Kirby can suck in enemies with his mouth and then claim their abilities. With 26 equippable powers and 5 superpowers the iconic pink ball has quite a varied arsenal. Two of them have even been added from scratch for Deluxe: Sand and Mech. The latter has become one of our favorites and, like some other skills, offers a wide variety of attacks.
Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe Review: Returning to Dreamland Again (13)
Source: PC games
These are not only very useful in battle, but also for solving all sorts of puzzles. The little secrets reward us with collectible items that we can use to unlock new extra challenges in Magolor’s spaceship, for example. Keeping an eye out for these items is a great side objective, and at times we’ve had to keep our eyes peeled or replay levels as some are really well hidden or we can’t get back to them.
All the classic worlds known to Jump&Run experts are represented in the game. We move through forests and meadows, roam deserts, are sometimes under water and sometimes surrounded by snow or fire. In the course of the story, the difficulty goes from far too easy to demanding, and towards the end of the game the levels and bosses become more and more challenging. As a result, the story mode offers a steady increase that culminates in an epic final battle.
