Is it more difficult to keep the player’s attention by posing an easy challenge, or by a proposal that aims for a high difficulty? Summarizing a lot, I would say that it depends, above all, on the player who is targeted. And it is that, in the end, the video game cannot escape the context that surrounds it, nor the previous experiences of the player who plays it, nor the impact that all this has on the conclusions that he can draw from said experience. What I am getting at is that, in general, we tend to legitimize works that aim at high levels of difficulty, placing them as more prestigious titles than those that seek to be, above all, kind. Perhaps, for this reason, Kirby has taken so long to acquire a certain prestige, being relegated, as a general rule, to a second division in which simplicity seems to subtract. This is not to say that Kirby’s gambling is unquestionable. There is, as he would say, a bit of everything; from titles that are simply entertaining and functional (more than laudable), to great works that, in my opinion, often receive less attention than they deserve. Fortunately, the recent Kirby and the Forgotten Land, with its leap into three-dimensional environments, seems to have turned the tables. And in the wake of the positive inertia of his latest adventure, comes Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxea kind of remake that does not skimp on ambition, improving the original proposal and raising the stake to become, in its own right, a one of the best deliveries that Nintendo’s pink ball has starred in.
I like Kirby, above all, because he represents something that the video game mainstream seems bent on giving up: happiness. Later, his approaches can be more or less successful, but as far as spirit is concerned, it is usually a safe bet. Playing Kirby often means embarking on an adventure where devouring enemies is a lovable act, a jovial and charming action that doesn’t ruin the festive tone that accompanies their games, even when they embrace the epic, which it does. with more regularity than those outside of this saga would imagine. Of Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe It could be said that it is not an exception, but that would not reflect the feeling that has accompanied me during my game, because it could seem that it is limited to offering the same as always, and nothing is further from reality.
To a proposal that, in itself, was remarkable in its time (remember that the original title was released on Nintendo Wii back in 2011) so many additions have been made that it can be said that it is going a step beyond what we understand today as a remake. From the classic graphic revamp, to new absorption abilities, going through an amusement park that turns the title into a party game and an interesting epilogue that works as an extension of its endgame.
The main adventure came to Wii almost 11 years after Kirby starred in the last main installment of his desktop saga (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards). strongly influenced by Kirby Super Star Ultrathe title returned to the traditional gameplay after the commitment to the gimmick what did it mean Kirby’s Epic Yarn. The premise from then, which still exists, revolves around the figure of Glory be, an interdimensional traveler who ends up in the kingdom of Dream Land because of a breakdown in his Starship Lor. During the mishap, the ship has lost 5 major parts and 120 gears. To the traveler’s annoyance, Kirby, King Dedede, Bandana Dee, and Meta Knight decide to help him. Thus begins an adventure that takes Kirby and his friends through eight worlds that mix the classic locations of any platform, with culinary ingredients such as cream, caramel or roquefort. To which should be added the aforementioned epilogue, which not only delves into the figure of Maglor, but also allows us to control it.
But as usual in Nintendo’s platform proposals, reaching the goal of each level is only the first step. In each of them a series of hidden gears await us that will give us access to the different sections of Maglor’s spaceship. Or what is the same, to a series of Minigames that we can enjoy in company, and a string of straight that will force us to master Kirby’s different abilities, if we want to win the precious gold medal. All of this is located inside the Astrosailer, and we will be unlocking the different access doors as we collect gears through the different worlds we visit.
These extras, in fact, seem to be the seed of another of the great additions of this version: Maglolandia Fantasya completely new amusement park that emphasizes, enhances and consolidates the slope party game de Return to Dream Land. Here you will find ten classic minigames from the saga such as Samurai Kirby (one of my favourites), Hunt on the board, Ninja Dojo or Egg Catcher, and two new subgames created for the occasion: Maglor’s Grimoire Hunters and Shrilling Pistols. A whole party that pays homage to the most playful part of the saga, bringing together some of its best mini-games in this installment, and adapting its proposals to promote anger among colleagues, friends or family. Something that the title transports to its online aspect through the classic score tables, as well as through Samurai Kirby 100; a successful reinterpretation of the minigame that pits us against 99 other players in the classic katana duel.
play Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe I found it, above all, an exercise in rhythm. After the classic silent introduction, which sets out the plot premise without any fuss, the game throws you into a room that represents the first world. It is enough to go to the door closest to Kirby’s location to start the opening phase and, from there, the pace with which the game introduces new features makes it really difficult to let go of the controller. To the fast loading times, we must add the success of HAL Laboratoty when it comes to dietetize all the playable modes within the fiction that they present to us. There are menus, yes, but ignoring them is as natural as it is pleasant. All we have to do is press a single button to see how Kirby jumps onto his star, and leaves the world of Pop to enter Fantasy Mangloland. Just as it is quite natural to discover the secrets that the Astrosailer hides on our first visit inside.
The transitions, in fact, are as smooth as the game’s own animations. It is as if the kind character of the protagonist had been transferred not only to the settings, but also to the game modes, and everything related to navigability through them, reinforcing and cohering the spirit of the title. What I mean by all this is that it’s incredibly difficult to let go of the controller when you get sucked into Dream Land. The game combines, with an almost surgical success, the presentation of its different attractions, ensuring that the passage through the phases of each world is constantly dotted with a new challenge, mini-game or available skill, thus providing a continuous counterpoint that energizes the experience.
That counterpoint, moreover, is one of the greatest virtues of the best Kirbys, and it is something that, here, is hit again. Let me explain: as we have already pointed out (and everyone knows) Kirby is characterized, mainly, by presenting a friendly experience. One that can even serve as a gateway to the middle and that is ideal for the smallest of the house. There, the rhythm of the game and the balance characteristic of an affordable challenge are essential. And the numerous transformations that Kirby can opt for —which on this occasion, in addition, have been increased by new additions such as the arena ability, the mecha or the festival (from Kirby Star Allies)— are capital. Each one of these skills represents a totally different way of approaching the action, inviting experimentation, the pure playful act that goes beyond the challenge and is based on the autotelic nature of the game. Yes, there are numerous objects scattered throughout each phase that require the use of one skill or another, but changing for the sake of changing, doing it for the simple fact of experimenting, continues to be one of the main attractions of the title. And from that kind base, Return to Dream Land Deluxe knows how to rise, gradually, until delivering a type of challenge that ends up appearing almost naturally, and that demands more attention from the player. A good example of this are the special phases of each of the skills, in which we will have to compete against the clock, while accumulating points to get the precious medals.
This well-managed alternation is joined by its cheerful soundtrack, a series of compositions without which the game would lose much of its raison d’être. And it is that if Kirby is an exercise in rhythm, His music is, without a doubt, the instrument that sets the tempo. The themes scattered throughout the game are a continuum that constantly invites movement, linking sounds and getting their distribution right so that we don’t stop advancing at any time. It doesn’t matter if what we are doing is completing the main adventure, or insisting on getting the highest score in one of its minigames, music always stands as a main actor when it comes to generating that recurring idea of “one more and I’ll quit”. This, which in itself is a great production value —not always appreciated as it should—, is multiplied when, in addition, moving gives taste. And moving, on this occasion, gives a lot taste. Mainly, because the control responds as you would expect on a Nintendo platform, but also because its soft and worked animations They make moving each of their characters as pleasant as possible.
That is, in fact, the main value of a graphic revamp that has not needed so much sheet metal and paint, as it might appear at first glance, to look so adorable—advantages of effective art directions that veer away from hyperrealism. Beyond the remodeling and profiling of the characters, the settings have been polished and adapted to current resolutions, forming a whole that passes through a Switch video game without any difficulty.
But all this party would not be the same without something that, in reality, is at the center of the original proposal: the possibility of being able to enjoy the whole adventure in the company of three other people at the venue. This, together with the enhancement of its aspect focused on the minigame, make it an interesting hybrid between platforms and party gamewhich manages to combine in a natural way the joint exploration and overcoming of traditional phases, to the competition typical of the carousels of minigames of any Mario Party. A curious experiment from which a type of proposal arises that has not been explored too much in the video game, and that, seen what has been seen, has a lot to say.
For what no, I do not think that a video game needs to aim for high challenges to legitimize its status, and it gives me that Kirby, as a standard bearer of the friendly experience, is helping, little by little, to change that perspective. At least, with this vitaminized version of Return to Dream Land, the pink ball once again shows that he is an actor to take into account in the current video game scene. One that pursues, above all, outlining the formula for this type of video game that aspires to be affordable for a wide range of players (as far as skill is concerned), without renouncing to offer. a well measured and worked proposal. So I only have to say that the pink ball, in Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe, is once again a reason for joy.
