Kirby's Return to Dream Land

- Reviewed on Wii -

Kirby's Return to Dream Land released on October 24th, 2011. 

Developed by HAL Laboratory, and published by Nintendo, this Wii game in the historic Kirby series is / was a huge hit with its massive fanbase.

This 2D platforming game was a lot of fun to play and with its great multiplayer aspect(s), collectibles, and even side content, Kirby's Return to Dream Land is undoubtedly one of my favorites on the console (as of writing this blog post) and is well worth its VGX nomination for Best Wii Game. 

I did have a few issues with the game, but surprisingly there was hardly anything negative about my experience with this 2011 game. 

There were little to no glitches or audio mishaps, and I was pleasantly enthused throughout the entire six and a half hour long (average) game!

This review WILL have Major Spoilers so keep that in mind before continuing...

Kirby's Return to Dream Land's story is about (SPOILER) an unknown individual by the name of Magolor who crash lands in Dreamland and has his ship destroyed. 

The crash landing throws pieces of his ship away, towards five different levels, and right off the bat, we have a simple, yet effective, story to follow. 

Kirby and his friends must work together and collect all the ship pieces, in order for Magolor to return home.

There are four characters in Kirby's Return to Dream Land to play as. 

If you're playing single player (like I did), then you play as Kirby. 

However, with multiplayer, other people can join in anytime and play as King Dedede, Meta Knight, and / or Bandana Waddle Dee. 

The game actually has seven levels though, and you can play these other two after beating the first five levels and progressing further down the story.

Each level (or world) has multiple stages within them. 

The levels in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, including the two bonus ones, include...

    - Cookie Country

    - Raisin Ruins

    - Onion Ocean

    - White Wafers

    - Nutty Noon

    - Egg Engines

    - Dangerous Dinner

I do adore how these stages matched the aesthetic and theme of each world, and they were also not too long either. 

Making these stages not too long made for collecting Engine Parts (which are the game's collectibles) much smoother and less time consuming for perfectionist playstyles! 

These 120 Engine Part collectibles are entirely optional, unlike other games of this nature, and these collectibles unlock fun side modes (content) for you to enjoy when you're up for them! 

The side content isn't too memorable though, and serve no purpose to the main plot, but are fun if you have multiple players during a session. 

The sound effects in this game are gorgeous too, and the fun graphics and particle effects make this game's renders look stunning even on the Wii! 

It was very satisfying collecting the Engine Parts for example, as the sound effects used for finding them were very rewarding after solving a puzzle and / or beating a specific enemy / boss. 

This brings me to the stage layouts that were unfortunately repetitive and did start to make the game feel tiring. 

You can always tell how long a stage will be by the number of Engine Parts showed above that stage's door before entering.

The game, again, is a 2D side scrolling game (with 3D visuals) and so finding these collectibles can be fun, as you'll have to back track and what not, but progressing through the stages are just very simple and self-explanatory. 

The later levels weren't even difficult to manage and that felt like a developing failure for difficulty progression. 

If you're trying to get the Engine Parts in all the stages (like me), then you'll see a pattern of reoccurring doors with one star above them, where you know that's where to go. 

You'll also begin using super abilities (more on those later), and you'll have to progressively use them before the gauge runs out and find the secret portals that are only accessible with the ability. 

In these portals are time-based trials, and at the end of them, are special side bosses, labeled Sphere Doomers. 

These Doomers are fun to battle as they often exist on these stage specific platforms you must adapt to.

Beating these mid bosses will grant you two engine parts for your collection. 

So, to sum it up, the stages are a lot of fun and easy to revisit due to their length. 

But the layouts and difficulty progression just didn't feel up to par, and the layouts got very repetitive throughout the entire game, resulting in me feeling bored more often than not. 

Also, playing the small Bonus Game after every level was dumb in my opinion, as you have to push 2 at the perfect time when Kirby hits the slingshot and depending on where you land, you obtain a certain number of stars (which are like the coins of Kirby's Return to Dream Land). 

Just like Mario Galaxy though, your accumulated lives don't even save if you quit the game and play later. 

I was not bored; however, of the plethora of abilities you can acquire by collecting them (via their orb), or swallowing enemies that possess them. 

These abilities in Kirby's Return to Dream Land, include...

    - Beam

    - Bomb

    - Crash

    - Cutter

    - Fire

    - Hammer

    - Hi-Jump

    - Ice

    - Leaf

    - Mike

    - Needle

    - Ninja

    - Parasol

    - Sleep

    - Spark

    - Spear

    - Stone

    - Sword

    - Tornado

    - Water

    - Whip

    - Wing

The special abilities I mentioned earlier, that are often used for finding the special portals, include...

    - Ultra Sword

    - Monster Flame

    - Flare Beam

    - Snow Bowl

    - Grand Hammer

My biggest gripe with Kirby's Return to Dream Land, besides the repetitiveness of the stage layouts, is the sheer number of final boss stages in the seventh level, Dangerous Dinner. 

I could not stand how many stages were in this final boss, however I did like how (SPOILER) Magolor ended up being the true final boss, as it made for a decent and enjoyable story!

In the end, Kirby's Return to Dream Land is a wonderful and joyous experience for all ages, and with the recent port to the Nintendo Switch (as of writing this blog post), now is the best time to relive this really enjoyable adventure!

Pros: 

    - Fast Loading Times

    - Fun Music

    - Outstanding Sound Design

    - Great Plot

    - Plethora of Abilities to Find / Use

    - Creative Levels (Themes) and Stages

    - Multiplayer

    - Side Content

    - Collectibles

Cons:

    - Repetitive Stage Layouts, Resulting in Boredom Later On

    - Too Many Final Boss Segments

    - No Saving for Accumulated Lives (Per Session)

My Rating for Kirby's Return to Dream Land (on Wii):

4 / 5

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Disclaimer

All Reviews, Ratings, Pros, Cons, and Opinions Shared on this Blog (Press A Reviews) are my (Connor Butler) own Thoughts and Feelings.