Kirby's Return to Dream Land
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| Kirby's Return to Dream Land | |
| Developer | HAL Laboratory |
| Publisher | Nintendo |
| System | Nintendo Wii, Wii U |
| Release Date | Nintendo Wii US October 24, 2011 JP October 27, 2011 EU November 25, 2011 AU December 1, 2011 Wii U JP January 28, 2015 PAL February 19, 2015 US July 30, 2015 |
| Rating | ESRB: E10+ |
Kirby's Return to Dream Land (known in Europe as Kirby's Adventure Wii) is a platforming adventure and the second Kirby installment for the Nintendo Wii. As the title indicates, Return to Dreamland returns the series to its classic gameplay style following the departure of preceding titles such as Kirby's Epic Yarn.
Development[edit]
Return to Dream Land marks the end of the attempt at a new main Kirby console game to follow Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. Three games were developed throughout the 2000s which each took Kirby in a different direction. The first attempted game was announced for the Gamecube in 2005. It followed a style similar to Kirby 64 while adding four-player cooperative multiplayer. The developers had trouble with the multiplayer, and although the game seemed to be moved up to the Wii, it was soon canceled. Two more attempts were tried over the following years, one which placed Kirby in a free-roaming 3-D environment while another was a side-scrolling platformer with a pop-up motif and more cartoonish graphics.
In the meantime, Nintendo was able to convince Feel Good to use Kirby for their new game, which resulted in the development of Kirby's Epic Yarn for the Wii. However, a fourth attempt was made at a tradtional Kirby game which succeeded. Kirby's Return to Dream Land was based more on the classic games while using some ideas leftover from the three canceled titles (such as Super Abilities and the four-player gameplay).
Plot[edit]
An alien spaceship has crash landed on Pop Star, with the pieces being scattered across the land. Kirby volunteers to find them for the alien, Magolor, so that he can return home, and Magolor offers to let him visit his homeworld of Halcandra in exchange.
Gameplay[edit]
The basic gameplay reprises from the earlier Kirby games, in that Kirby can swallow enemies and copy their abilities. Classic abilities retained, and new ones are also added, as well as special Super Abilities which can only be used after swallowing special enemies.
Return to Dream Land also adds cooperative multiplayer gameplay with up to four players. The additional players can choose to play as King Dedede, Meta Knight, Waddle Dee or a different-colored Kirby. The different characters can ride on each other, and Kirby can also swallow any number of them to spit at enemies.
Legacy[edit]
Ports/Remakes[edit]
- In 2015, it was released for download through the Wii U's eShop.
- It was remade for the Nintendo Switch in 2023 as Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. This version updated the graphics and some aspects of the gameplay while adding new features and gameplay elements such as additional Copy Abilities, a Sub-Game collection and an Extra Mode starring Magolor that acted as an epilogue for the game.
Sequels[edit]
The next Kirby adventure game was Kirby: Triple Deluxe for the 3DS. And the next console-based Kirby adventure, which followed some of the features used in this game, would be Kirby Star Allies for the Nintendo Switch.