Overall - 9.2 Kirby's Return to Dream Land is the newest game in the Kirby series as of the writing of this review. It seems to be a cross between Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. With four player support, great graphics and sound, it comes together to make one of the best sidescrolling/platforming games available on the Nintendo Wii. Although it doesn't have the whole "ten Kirbys" or "I'm made of yarn" gameplay, it's still one of, in my opinion, the best Kirby games.
Graphics - 9 The graphics for this game look very nice. The backgrounds suit the levels almost perfectly, especially in Level 3, Onion Ocean, and in underground caves. That's not to say the main graphics aren't nice. They look a lot like New Super Mario Bros Wii, almost to the point where some models and textures seem to be ripped directly from it, and some of the beach sand. From snow levels, to deserts, to water, it all looks really nice, and if you're sensitive about graphics, you will love this game.
Sound - 9 The music in Kirby games seems to always be good. From Block Ball, to Mass Attack, to Dream Land 3, they all have excellent soundtracks. So good, in fact, I think that they try to make Kirby music great intentionally, like the Mega Man series. Even the sound of a Game Over is very catchy. It doesn't remix much previous Kirby music like The Amazing Mirror did, but orginal music still sounds very good, especially in this game.
Addictiveness - 10 The game is quite addicting. Lat time I played it, I got two worlds done in one sitting. The game isn't overly easy, but that's a true sign of a good game. When you WANT to keep going, not when the game forces you because it doesn't let you save enough. There are three to five gears in each stage, similar to Star Coins in New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3D Land. The game challenges you to get them all, and some of the challenges are just the right amount of difficulty that it makes you want to try until the Virtual Boy 2 is released... which is good.
Story - 9 I can't explain much about the story in case of spoilers, but basically, Kirby is being chased by King Dedede, Meta Knight, and a Waddle Dee over a cake. Nintendo + Cake = best story ever, says Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Kirby's Return to Dream Land, singing together like a chorus. Well, anyways, you meet someone in a broken ship named Magolor. Kirby cheers him up and promises to help him. They go across the Pop Star, finding all of the pieces of the ship. Nintendo + build my ship = best story ever, sings Super Mario Galaxy, Pikmin, and K-you get the point. Anyways, Magolor then takes them to his home planet, Halcandra, where Worlds 6 and 7 are. I can't say anything else, but there is a World 8.
Depth - 8 There are, as I mentioned 8 worlds to this game, each of them, like New Super Mario Bros Wii, have a theme. Level 1 is grassy, Level 2 is a desert, Level 3 is a beach, Level 4 is a snowland, Level 5 is a tower, Level 6 is industrialized, and Level 7 is a volcano. Each of them have unique levels, with all sorts of Copy Abilities, such as Water, Beam, Leaf, Bomb, Spear, Ninja, Ice, High Jump, and many more. On top of that, there are many minigames you can find in Magalor's ship. It's not overly long, but if you want to beat it in a month, you should try playing quite a bit per week, due to the length of the game.
Difficulty - 8 Like any good game, the game progressively gets harder. There all sorts of challenge levels that you get when you get Ultra Copy Abilities, in which you fight Sphere Demons that carry two gears. Make sure you're Kirby is a smart one, because he's the one who depends on your life, and on your Demon Sphere fights. If you're playing multi-player. Player 1 CAN NOT DIE. Otherwise everyone dies... that... why?
CONCLUSION Overall, Kirby's Return to Dream Land is a great game, resembling New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and being a great platformer. This easily should be in anyone's Wii collection, even if you have Kirby's Epic Yarn. With excellent graphics, music, addictiveness, and 4 player cooperative mode, Kirby multiplayer deaths aside, this is an all-around great game, and if you don't have this, you should really consider getting it. Overall - 9.2 Kirby's Return to Dream Land is the newest game in the Kirby series as of the writing of this review. It seems to be a cross between Kirby & The Amazing Mirror and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. With four player support, great graphics and sound, it comes together to make one of the best sidescrolling/platforming games available on the Nintendo Wii. Although it doesn't have the whole "ten Kirbys" or "I'm made of yarn" gameplay, it's still one of, in my opinion, the best Kirby games.
Graphics - 9 The graphics for this game look very nice. The backgrounds suit the levels almost perfectly, especially in Level 3, Onion Ocean, and in underground caves. That's not to say the main graphics aren't nice. They look a lot like New Super Mario Bros Wii, almost to the point where some models and textures seem to be ripped directly from it, and some of the beach sand. From snow levels, to deserts, to water, it all looks really nice, and if you're sensitive about graphics, you will love this game.
Sound - 9 The music in Kirby games seems to always be good. From Block Ball, to Mass Attack, to Dream Land 3, they all have excellent soundtracks. So good, in fact, I think that they try to make Kirby music great intentionally, like the Mega Man series. Even the sound of a Game Over is very catchy. It doesn't remix much previous Kirby music like The Amazing Mirror did, but orginal music still sounds very good, especially in this game.
Addictiveness - 10 The game is quite addicting. Lat time I played it, I got two worlds done in one sitting. The game isn't overly easy, but that's a true sign of a good game. When you WANT to keep going, not when the game forces you because it doesn't let you save enough. There are three to five gears in each stage, similar to Star Coins in New Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 3D Land. The game challenges you to get them all, and some of the challenges are just the right amount of difficulty that it makes you want to try until the Virtual Boy 2 is released... which is good.
Story - 9 I can't explain much about the story in case of spoilers, but basically, Kirby is being chased by King Dedede, Meta Knight, and a Waddle Dee over a cake. Nintendo + Cake = best story ever, says Super Mario 64, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Kirby's Return to Dream Land, singing together like a chorus. Well, anyways, you meet someone in a broken ship named Magolor. Kirby cheers him up and promises to help him. They go across the Pop Star, finding all of the pieces of the ship. Nintendo + build my ship = best story ever, sings Super Mario Galaxy, Pikmin, and K-you get the point. Anyways, Magolor then takes them to his home planet, Halcandra, where Worlds 6 and 7 are. I can't say anything else, but there is a World 8.
Depth - 8 There are, as I mentioned 8 worlds to this game, each of them, like New Super Mario Bros Wii, have a theme. Level 1 is grassy, Level 2 is a desert, Level 3 is a beach, Level 4 is a snowland, Level 5 is a tower, Level 6 is industrialized, and Level 7 is a volcano. Each of them have unique levels, with all sorts of Copy Abilities, such as Water, Beam, Leaf, Bomb, Spear, Ninja, Ice, High Jump, and many more. On top of that, there are many minigames you can find in Magalor's ship. It's not overly long, but if you want to beat it in a month, you should try playing quite a bit per week, due to the length of the game.
Difficulty - 8 Like any good game, the game progressively gets harder. There all sorts of challenge levels that you get when you get Ultra Copy Abilities, in which you fight Sphere Demons that carry two gears. Make sure you're Kirby is a smart one, because he's the one who depends on your life, and on your Demon Sphere fights. If you're playing multi-player. Player 1 CAN NOT DIE. Otherwise everyone dies... that... why?
CONCLUSION Overall, Kirby's Return to Dream Land is a great game, resembling New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and being a great platformer. This easily should be in anyone's Wii collection, even if you have Kirby's Epic Yarn. With excellent graphics, music, addictiveness, and 4 player cooperative mode, Kirby multiplayer deaths aside, this is an all-around great game, and if you don't have this, you should really consider getting it. |