Kirby and the Lost Land review: The move to 3D is just awesome
– Reviews News
Almost all of Nintendo's mascots are beginning to show their age on their shoulders, yet never like recent years have we witnessed a glorious rebirth of each of them: think of Mario with Odyssey, Link with Zelda Breath of the Wild, or Samus with Metroid Dread.
Nintendo quickly succeeded in reaching new heights of perfection and innovation in gameplay. Something that is not at all obvious and simple because with myriads of chapters released on so many generations of consoles, the chances of finding new ideas are becoming more and more bland.
And now it's the turn of the fun pink vacuum cleaner ball, with Kirby and the Lost Land. Nintendo's cute character turns 30 this year, and what better time to take the plunge into three dimensions?
Yes, because the platform created by HAL Laboratories in distant 92 has always married the two dimensions: a tight and long-lasting marriage that has made it possible to create extremely brilliant and fun games. And if Mario made the jump to 3D with the N64 in 1996, Link in 1998 on the same console, and Metroid only a few years later on Gamecube, Kirby had remained in his comfort zone, at least until now.
From this point of view, three-dimensional jumping was a risky move, because Kirby's gameplay dynamics, including jumping, floating in the air, suctions and dozens of form and skill mutations, didn't was not easy to adapt ad hoc to 360° environments. Still, Nintendo hit the mark again this time and in this review we'll explain why.
Kirby and the Lost Land
- Developer: HAL Laboratory
- Editeur: Nintendo
- Availability: March 25, 2022 on Switch
- Version tested: Switch OLED
First, a brief history review. It all starts with the appearance of a strange vortex in the sky of planet Pop, which has sucked in everything around it. Kirby then finds himself catapulted into an unknown and dilapidated world, of which nature has regained possession with force. Friends Waddle Dee have been kidnapped by a fearsome gang known as the Army of Beasts and so Kirby is given the daunting task of rescuing them all, so they can all return to their world together.
In our adventure, we will cross a series of very varied worlds, colorful, dense and full of life and creatures. We are not faced with an open world approach like that of Mario Odyssey or Breath of the Wild. Here the worlds are made up of different levels and these are in turn divided into sections or rooms. Basically we travel on forced paths but there is a certain freedom of exploration to which we will be encouraged by the search for secrets. In fact, if to overcome each area it is enough to reach the finish line, each corner hides secrets to discover, paths to unlock and even entire secret sections.
On top of that, each area has a primary objective, a secondary objective which involves rescuing the hidden Waddle Dee, and several tertiary objectives which vary from time to time. For example, we will be asked to eat three different kinds of ice cream, help lost ducklings or defeat certain enemies. While reaching the finish line can therefore be quite linear and simple, completing each level at 100% will be a whole different matter: some tertiary objectives are in fact secret and will only be revealed by performing certain actions or using skills of specific copy.
Here we see the first world, an abandoned and richly detailed mall. Motion blur masks LOD reduction in some scenes.
Speaking of copy skills, these have always been a hallmark of Kirby's games and this round we'll find some old ones as well as some new ones. The pretty pink ball can indeed transform into a knight armed with a sword, a bomber, a barbed ball, etc. This time, however, copy skills will be able to evolve by collecting blueprints or using rare stones and tokens collected between levels and bonus stages, with each skill having two evolutionary stages.
The bonus stages, called 'Via del Tesoro' are a really interesting addition. They are basically timed platforming mini-levels to be completed with a single specific skill. There is a minimum time to complete the level and get the reward star, and a secondary objective that can be unlocked by completing an actual speedrun that unlocks further rewards. The idea is interesting because it offers a significantly different and in some ways more demanding experience that can be dedicated to completeness or to break and vary the pace of the main adventure.
But do not believe that the main adventure itself is flat or monotonous, far from it! There are a lot of ideas brilliantly put into practice so that each world, and more specifically each area, offers a different experience. For example, the frozen world will challenge us with acrobatics on slippery platforms and frozen ponds, as well as sections or bonuses accessible by unfreezing blocks or elements through the fire ability; in a conceptually similar way, in the aquatic world we will be able to make our way by swimming or by using boats guided by the capacity of the wind.
The novelty Boccomorforsi also adds to the variety of worlds. These special abilities allow Kirby to transform into a ladder, a cone, a car, a roller coaster train, or even a drink vending machine in certain parts of the levels. Each of these morpho-capacities is functional when going beyond the zone in which it is inserted or when discovering secret sections. The ideas put into practice are really imaginative and brilliant, give a lot of variety to the gameplay and definitely increase the fun.
Skills can be upgraded at the Armory by spending Rare Stones, Tokens, and Secret Blueprints.
As we save Waddle Dee, their town will be filled with new facilities such as the cafe, Kirby's house, cinema, and armory. Each of them is functional in adventure, allowing us to face the most advanced bosses and worlds with less effort, but there is also a happy island for the finalists.
In fact, at Kirby we will be able to see and display the statuettes obtained by completing the levels and their respective objectives, similar to what we saw in Super Smash Bros. In short, on the Switch there will be no trophies but it is the closest thing to the system. On the other hand, wasn't it Super Smash Bros with its figurines that inspired the now proven trophy and achievement systems of rival platforms?
The game features a local co-op mode. A second player can cooperate from the start or join at any time like in classic coin-op. Player 2 will not command a Kirby of a second color, as was the case for example in The Amazing Mirror, but rather a Waddle Dee armed with a spear. If it is a plus to have the possibility of facing the adventure with a friend, a family member or a partner, it is on the other hand a pity that the second player does not have access to the skills of copying, resulting more of an aid to limited capacities. tasks rather than a true adventure companion. On the other hand, we understand the developer's choice: having two or more Kirbys on the screen would have made the game too easy.
And that brings us to the difficulty, which is not really exceptional, even much softer than in the previous chapters. The adventure features two difficulty levels, with Storm providing a greater challenge. Even choosing the latter, however, experienced players won't have much trouble overcoming all of the worlds with ease.
Original ideas but not either. The Boccomorfosi Morfoarco gives way to flat sections reminiscent of Pilotwings.
Enemy fire isn't particularly dangerous (boss included) and levels are littered with food that restores the energy bar. Plus, you can buy snacks from the bar to take with you and use when needed (but only one at a time). All amiibo are also supported, with those from the Kirby and Super Smash Bros ranges unlocking more prestigious rewards and better items.
The difficulty curve is therefore quite gentle, even if it rolls more in the last worlds. However, the real challenge in Kirby and the Lost Land is to complete everything one hundred percent. Finding every hidden Waddle Dee isn't easy at all, and it opens the door to replayability.
In addition, the city of Waddles offers many side activities such as mini-games of help wanted at the Café or Blitz fishing. There is also a sort of boss rush mode in the Coliseum. These are all activities that have a double function: to improve our arsenal of skills and to relax with fun games by detaching from the main adventure.
From a technical point of view, the game offers worlds filled with buildings, moving or animated structures and many enemies on the screen simultaneously. The backgrounds are well done and visible even from afar, with clever use of motion blur and depth of field to hide the LOD reduction from a distance.
Varied and solid level design. Here we see Kirby Morfolampadina in a real witch's house.
The resolution is dynamic 1080p in docked configuration and dynamic 720p on tablet, with a frame-rate of 30fps for both which is quite stable, except in a few rare cases where there are large explosions on the screen. Even though we don't have 60 frames per second like in Mario Odyssey, the closed level approach allowed HAL labs to create environments rich in detail and animated elements without putting too much strain on meager system resources.
However, while 30fps is solid enough, there is sometimes a lack of fluidity needed to execute certain actions or jumps quickly, and from that perspective, 60fps would certainly have helped. This can only underline all the more that despite the excellent efforts of the developers in optimizing experiences for the hybrid console, the weight of the years is now too much felt and we hope that Nintendo will soon release a Pro or Switch version of new generation. On the audio side, everything is in order in the standard of the series: pleasant music that fits perfectly with the landscapes and the adventure offered from time to time, without ever distracting or distracting attention.
Has the move to 3D been fully successful for Kirby? Overall, yes, but there are a few notes to take. Kirby maneuvers in three-dimensional space with the left analog, which governs movements but also orientation in space, a fundamental aspect when it comes to using skills that involve throwing projectiles, flames Or other. This system is sometimes imprecise, especially when you have to jump between platforms or fly, and at the same time also shoot. Surprisingly, the analog on the right has no useful function (in fact it only allows the frame to be shifted a few degrees), while it would have been useful to use it as a real-time aiming system, or with feet always on the ground, or at least to rotate the …
SOURCE: Reviews News
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